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July/August 2010
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Relating History Martha Washington. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. Caroline Scott Harrison. Those are just a few of the 24 women Patsy Johnson Gaines plays as an historical re-enactor. Since the early 1980s, she has performed as many as 160 times a year in front of audiences ranging from schoolchildren to DAR members to retirement home residents.
Mrs. Gaines performed about once a year until 1985, when she promoted herself as an historical re-enactor to local women’s and religious clubs. A few shows later, word spread quickly of Mrs. Gaines’ ability to bring history to life. The secret, she says, is the meticulous preparation she does prior to any performance. “The first thing I do is read every book I can find on the subject and make notes on everything. By reading it all, you can see the common thread, which helps as I decide what to cover in the script.” Mrs. Gaines also has traveled to museums dedicated to her characters or their hometowns. “It really helps me get a feeling for where they lived,” she says. It also helps in her fact-checking. “There’s a lot of wrong information out there,” she says. After finalizing a script, Mrs. Gaines turns her attention to costume and props, which fill the entire third floor of her Victorian house. Props are especially important for younger audiences, but finding the right prop to go with the story can be a challenge. “Every year for a school group in Kentucky I perform as Jenny Wiley, a pioneer woman who was captured by American Indians,” she says. “When the Indians came, she was busy sewing a shirt for her husband, which is an important part of the story. But I can’t take all of that sewing equipment, so I take a basket of eggs to show she was busy and couldn’t leave when she was supposed to.” Mrs. Gaines develops characters on her own, but she also takes requests from the groups that hire her. A church group, for example, asked her to perform as Susanna Wesley, known as the “Mother of Methodism.” A Jewish women’s group requested she portray Golda Meir, Israel’s first female prime minister. To relate the ancestry and early life of George Washington, Mrs. Gaines becomes Mary Ball Washington. She also plays historical figures’ wives, including Martha Washington, America’s first first lady, and Rebecca Boone, wife of Kentucky frontiersman Daniel Boone. One of her favorite characters is Fanny Crosby, who wrote thousands of Christian hymns despite being blind since infancy. “People tell me they learn more about history through a monologue than they ever did in school,” she says. At the National Chairmen’s Association Brunch at Continental Congress, Mrs. Gaines performed as Caroline Scott Harrison, first NSDAR President General and wife of President Benjamin Harrison. Mrs. Gaines just finished a three-year term as Ohio State Regent and is looking forward to doing more work for the Cincinnati Chapter, Cincinnati, Ohio, of which she’s been a member for 27 years. She’s always on the lookout for new program ideas. “Ever since 1982, I’ve read at least a book a week and have kept track of every single one in a notebook,” she explains. “I write down interesting notes and whether they would make a good monologue.”
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Traditions of Service Many of today’s children do not have relatives who are veterans, which means fewer of them will grow up appreciating the traditions of service. In her history classes at Creston Middle School in Creston, Iowa, teacher Lesa Downing helps her students bridge that gap. For more than 12 years, Downing has engaged her students’ minds—and hearts—through a program connecting them with veterans in this community southwest of Des Moines. Her efforts have been recognized: The Iowa state DAR named her Outstanding Teacher of American History in 2006, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars named her Iowa Veterans Teacher of the Year in February. Downing says she was inspired to start the program by stories her late grandfather-in-law, Melvin Sharp, told about his experiences in the European Theater in World War II, including liberating some of the concentration camps. She realized that local veterans could provide a trove of information that wouldn’t be found in books. And, because she tries to teach citizenship, not just history, the veterans could serve as examples to inspire young minds. For the first program in 1999, she and her class invited area veterans to an assembly during which they shared experiences and photographs. Downing believes in allowing students to take the lead on projects; with her help, they decided to create a video about veterans featuring clips from every war since World War I and a musical soundtrack from each era. The program ultimately involved much of the school: Art students made welcoming posters and decorations; members of the Future Farmers of America and National Honor Society assisted with valet parking; special education students distributed programs; and the second-grade students sang and formed a human flag. The packed gym resounded with applause as the veterans, escorted in according to their branch of service, received a standing ovation. The specifics of the program have varied each year since then, but the essence is the same: The students organize the program and, in the process, meet and learn about remarkable people living just down the street or across town. “This year they put on a fashion show. The students found uniforms from each war back to World War I, and it was fun to see them get excited and help each other. One would say something like ‘Oh, my granddad has a uniform from the Vietnam War,’ and they’d come up with other ideas.” Students wore the uniforms at the show, and each student made a presentation about the veteran who owned the uniform and the era in which he or she served. “The look in the veterans’ eyes during the program was so wonderful—they were so proud to have the students wear their uniforms,” Downing says. The students make scrapbooks of every program. These have become treasured items that are shared with senior citizens and others in the town. Downing has taken her passion for teaching young people to become responsible citizens beyond the walls of her classroom. She has also been instrumental in starting a middle-school student government whose leadership changes monthly so all the students have a chance to participate. When she taught high school early in her career, Downing created a Big Sister/Little Sister program that paired ninth- and 12th-grade girls to help provide role models and positive influences for the younger students. Downing also sponsors Y-Teens and Fellowship of Christian Athletes groups, and she volunteers in many community programs. Some of Downing’s students have formed lifelong friendships with the veterans they have met. “One of my goals with the program was to bridge the generation gap,” she says. “I can honestly say students have gained an appreciation for our veterans of war and the reason our nation honors these fine men and women on Veterans Day.”
FEATURES George Washington’s Library, Reborn A digital library project helps piece together the first president’s far-flung collection of books. A History of Hats In early America, the hat was considered an essential part of a woman’s ensemble, providing a means of expressing social status, style and personality. Colonial Beauties, Modern Monsters Faced with untillable soil and unfamiliar vegetation, early American settlers sent for the plants they knew and loved from home. How we wish they hadn’t. DEPARTMENTS Spirited Adventures: Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn. Sharing a common American Indian history, Minneapolis and St. Paul also enjoy cultural connections. Visions of America: Cannons and Camaraderie After a rocky start, early Fourth of July traditions helped the quintessential patriotic holiday take root in post-war America. Bookshelf: Reviews of the new NSDAR release My Father Was a Soldier: The Real Daughters of the American Revolution, compiled by Tracy E. Robinson and Rebecca C. Baird, plus Lost States: Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It by Michael Trinklein and American Privacy: The 400-Year History of Our Most Contested Right by Frederick Lane Whatnot: Including items on the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, 18th-Century Road Food and the Old Town Alexandria Farmers’ Market Plus: The President General’s Message, Letters To purchase an issue of American Spirit, contact magazinesubscriptions@dar.org To subscribe to American Spirit, visit Subscribe.
Coming in September/October 2010: The Birth of America’s Postal System Collectibles: Postage Stamps Historic Home: Portsmouth’s Rundlet-May House Spirited Adventures: Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, Maine |
Her hobby started with a book on Hannah Dustin she read in 1982. She researched the Puritan woman—who is famous for escaping from her American Indian captors—and turned the story into “Gallant Warrior,” a monologue she performed as a member of a drama circle in her hometown of Wyoming, Ohio. 
This elaborate epergne, or centerpiece, was made in England out of earthenware between 1780 and 1800. During the 18th century such an item would have been called a grand plat ménage, meaning a pile of plates. In the wealthy household of the period, dessert was often a grand affair, with an object like this one placed in the center of the table. The classical figure of Plenty at the top alluded to the variety of sweetmeats, fruits and nuts that would have been placed in each of the scallop-shell baskets.
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