On a hot summer day in Camp Dennison Ohio, there was a Symmes Township Bicentennial Celebration Event on Saturday June 22nd. This event is referred to as the American Heritage Days.
Old Glory shares a breeze with flags of the 18th Century
This event was hosted by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) who own this historic site.
Ladies of the DAR who hosted the event
Also part of this event was the wonderful traveling “American Revolution Experience” which was on display in the Christian Waldschmidt Homestead – Welcome center. This is a terrific exhibit and tells the story of the American Revolution conflict, both leading up to and throughout the conflict. Very educational!
There were tours of the Waldschmidt home, the adjacent Civil War building and the Welcome Center which housed many period artifacts and museum pieces.
Historic Christian Waldschmidt home in Camp Dennison, host to the days events
In addition, the Cincinnati Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (CCSAR) had an awning canopy set up to house and display 18th century artifacts.
Mike Gunn shares the history of the 18th century artifacts with visitors
The event covered approximately four hours and engaged dozens of people, a large percentage of the general public who attended.
Mike Gunn of Cincinnati SAR shares history with young adults thirsty for knowledge
Color Guard Commander, Brad Jarard, appearing for today’s event in a British uniform, provided several living-history talks for groups of up to twenty people or so, which were extremely popular. His presentations included musket firing, explanations of firearms used during the Revolutionary War conflict and battlefield tactics. No one walked away during one of his presentations. He is truly a one man show and loves to share the history of these times.
Color Guard Commander Brad Jarard speaks to the audience about the soldier of the 18th century
Mike Gunn displayed and explained his collection of 18th century artifacts to various parties of interested people of all ages who stopped by to learn and stayed for a while.
Sharing knowledge and stories of the past with visitors
These two gentleman are very passionate and knowledgeable of the history, tactics and way of life for warriors during the American Revolution.
SAR participants pause for a photo opportunity!
Along the back of the canopy, we displayed some 250th Revolutionary War anniversary posters designed and made by Compatriot Doug Bates.
New historical SAR posters prepared by member Doug Bates
These were an important visual part of our exhibit and were examined and studied by several people who stopped by.
Scott Freeman used the “Revolutionary War Trivia Challenge” to engage some people and award some prizes.
Color Guard Commander speaks to the audience
As a chapter, we continue to experiment with how to make a good presence and attract and engage as many people as possible at these public events, and it is working quite well.
Demonstration of firing a 18th century replica Brown Bess flintlock musket (blanks of course!)
The results of our efforts were solid attendance, good interest, and actively engaged a lot of people, including some prospective members, despite a very hot summer day.
Interested crowd listens intently to the historical content presented by the speaker
Sincerest thanks to those who participated and contributed. As the 250th draws nearer, the single most important thing we can do to capitalize on it, is get out in the public at ceremonies and celebrations as often as possible, in front of as many people as possible, let them see and learn who we are, and let them see that we enjoy doing it.
Explaining the workings of a Flintlock Musket complete with bayonet
Scott Freeman, Cincinnati SAR Chapter President observed that it doesn’t take a lot of people or a multi-person color guard presence to make an impression, it just takes a few committed members to show up for the duration (in uniform or not) with the right stuff, a plan and a role for the event, and most importantly a desire to engage and interact with the public to the greatest extent possible, to make a very memorable and impactful showing at these public events.
Time to answer questions with visitors
This has been proven 3 times the in a little over two months, at Hamilton (Butler County), OH, at Burlington, (Boone County), KY, and Camp Dennison (Hamilton County), OH.
Flyer of the days events:
American Heritage Day – event flyer 06_22_2024
Thanks to all the visitors who enthusiastically participated. Thanks to the DAR who hosted and led tours for the participants. We are grateful to our SAR compatriots who participated and shared living history with the folks who braved a hot day to see something special!
