Living History and Walking Tours
Contact Director of Programs Matt Gagle or call 301-340-2825 to schedule a Speakers Bureau presentation.
*NEW* I Am Not Content: An Hour with Frances Perkins
Speaker: Kathie Mack, with Steve LaRocque
The life of Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor under Franklin Delano Roosevelt and founder of Social Security, is retold in this one-woman play by Steve LaRocque. Frances Perkins was a good storyteller, and much of the text of the play is taken directly from her writings and speeches. The setting is an introductory lecture given by Ms. Perkins at Cornell University, where she was a faculty member from 1957 through 1965. As she introduces herself to the class, she recounts significant events of her life, including witnessing the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, her relentless pursuit of worker safety issues in New York factories, and her twelve years as FDR’s Secretary of Labor, when she played a key role in developing the economic recovery programs of the New Deal and the landmark legislation that established Social Security. Through the anecdotes and life narrative, Frances Perkins reiterates her fundamental principle: as long as there is a single American worker who does not have decent wages, humane hours, and a safe place to work, “I am not content.”
*In-person only*
Byline: Ernie Pyle
Speaker: Steve LaRocque with Kathie Mack
Byline: Ernie Pyle is a one-man, one-hour show created by Steve LaRocque to showcase excerpts from the wartime columns of Ernie Pyle. The script consists entirely of excerpts from Pyle’s reports from the front, used by permission of the Scripps-Howard Foundation. One of the first “embedded” reporters, Ernie Pyle wrote a column that ran daily in Scripps-Howard newspapers during World War II. Byline: Ernie Pyle features actor Steve LaRocque as Ernie Pyle, recounting the major events of World War II in Pyle’s own words. The actor becomes the reporter, appalled at the tragic waste of war and the brutal conditions it imposes on the men who fight it, yet personally committed to going back to it, again and again.
*In-person only*
The Country Doctor in the 1800s: The Life & Times of Dr. Edward Stonestreet of Rockville
Reenactor: Clarence Hickey
This first person portrayal reflects the life and historic times of Dr. Stonestreet when he practiced medicine in Montgomery County from 1852-1903. It is based on the speaker’s 2009 book Send for the Doctor, which chronicles Dr. Stonestreet’s: medical education; 51-year medical practice of house calls and office visits as local physician and surgeon; response to accidents and injuries; service as Civil War surgeon with the Union Army, as well as the historic times during which the doctor lived and practiced. This presentation also is available as a PowerPoint slide show. A field trip option can be included to visit the Stonestreet Museum of 19th Century Medicine in Rockville, Maryland. Book sales and signings can be included, with all of the sales proceeds going to Montgomery History.
Songs & Stories from the Blue & the Gray
Reenactor: Patrick Lacefield
Join this descendant of Civil War veterans who shares songs and stories from the War Between the States, wearing both blue and gray, accompanying himself on guitar.
*In-person only*
Developing a Persona and Historical Character for Your Site or Museum
Speaker: Several Speakers Bureau Reenactors/Speakers
Explore the process and fun of creating and developing an accurate and interesting persona for an historical character. Explore choosing a character, how to research the character’s life and times, and the necessity of keeping the interpretation fresh and interesting.
*In-person only*