Day 16 - Historic Photos, Mount Vernon GIS, Teaching the Constitution and Colonial Music

An early image of Washington's Tomb - roughly 1850's

Today was a great example of how diverse a day can be as a Mount Vernon Life Guard Fellow.  As a teacher fellow I have the ability to decide how I want to spend most of my time here at Mount Vernon. The education staff here at Mount Vernon though will help you schedule and contact any potential staff member at Mount Vernon for a meeting.  Since my project is focused on archaeology, the Mount Vernon education staff arranged several meetings for me during my first week with the archaeology staff here.  These meetings have been extremely helpful and the ability to sit down and visit with experts in their field is a valuable and unique opportunity.

In addition to the natural connections, archaeology staff for example for my project, I also requested if I could meet with Mount Vernon staff members in areas that I have a particular interest.  I am an unabashed History Geek. I love any intersection in which technology and history collide. Today I had meetings with experts in the areas of historical photo preservation and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) because I love those topics. 

My first meeting this morning was with Dawn Bonner, Photo Services at Mount Vernon. Dawn also happens to have graduated from my alma mater - the University of Nebraska at Kearney - and we actually attended UNK at the same time. Go Lopers! Dawn helps to ensure that the collection of images Mount Vernon has as well as managing requests to use and license images of Mount Vernon. 

Dawn described that having an image often creates a variety of questions. Who is in the picture? When was it taken? Who took the picture? Why was the picture taken in the first place? Clues like the size of trees or if specific items are located on the sides of buildings can help narrow down the process. 

She showed me some images in the collection ranging from daguerreotypes, cabinet cards, stereo cards and carte de viste cards from a Mount Vernon collection.

A glass stereo card of Mount Vernon

Stereo card of Washington's original 16 sided barn

A carte de viste of Edward Everett 

This week Mount Vernon is also hosting one of their teacher institutes, a week long workshop with teachers from around the nation here to learn more about Washington.  Their schedule is full of speakers, field trips and discussions.  I sat in on the end of a lecture by Edward S. Lengel, the author of Inventing George Washington, as he presented on the presidency of George Washington. 

After lunch a met with Eric Benson, GIS Manager at Mount Vernon to discuss how Mount Vernon uses GIS technology to both interpret the past and preserve the future.  As a geek that loves Google Maps and geography tools this is fascinating to me.  Eric showed me examples of how GIS technology is current being used to essentially inventory all the information known about the building and grounds on the estate which can then be used for a wide variety of uses.

GIS application of the Mount Vernon mansion showing the location of every "door"

Example of GIS detail of a room in the mansion

GIS of Mount Vernon Estate

Washington's farms GIS land ownership map

I thought one of the most interesting ways that GIS is used at Mount Vernon is to help manage the viewshed, all of the geography which can be viewed from a specific geographic location.  This is important to Mount Vernon because of the effort to preserve not only the estate but also the view that Washington had of the Potomac from the mansion.  Mount Vernon can use GIS tools which demonstrate how a proposed development across the Potomac will be viewed from the estate while calculating the trees and geographic layout of the area.  I would encourage you to check out this blog post that Eric wrote describing in detail how GIS is used to protect Mount Vernon's viewshed. I also visited with Becky, a student intern who is currently using GIS tools to trace the ownership of land from Mount Vernon's five farms both before and after Washington's time.  

Upon returning to the library I was able to sit in on a panel discussion from the Mount Vernon staff and several guest lecturers on methods of teaching the Constitution in the classroom. Teachers at the institute also shared examples of what works in their classrooms. After the lecture I had some time to visit with Denver Brunsman, an Associate Professor of History at George Washington University. I met Denver last fall while attending the Missouri Teacher Weekend at Mount Vernon.  We have kept in touch and I appreciate his perspective on teaching colonial America in higher education. 

Mount Vernon Teacher Institute discussion on teaching the Constitution

This evening I joined the Teacher Institute participants for an evening presentation on the music of Washington's time with David Hildebrand of the The Colonial Music Institute. He is probably the most knowledgable historian on the topic of colonial music. He demonstrated the harpsichord, the German flute, a Spanish guitar and drums.  

David Hildebrand of the The Colonial Music Institute

As you can see, the opportunities available as a Mount Vernon Life Guard Fellow is diverse and plentiful if you want to take advantage of what is available.  It is sort of like being in colonial American Disneyland for history teachers like myself.

Tomorrow I will be heading in to Washington DC to learn about Washington in the national memory at the National Portrait Gallery.

Day 15 - Mount Vernon Sunrise, the Airport and Writing

Sunrise at Mount Vernon by Eric Langhorst - July 15, 2015

Today is a bittersweet day as it is the last one with my wife Jayme here at Mount Vernon.  She flew out for my graduation last Thursday and will return home to Liberty while I stay for roughly another week of my fellowship.  We've been two crazy kids, history geeks, seeing a lot of cool places that we have often read about and watching in documentaries.  

One thing Jayme had not yet seen on her visit to Mount Vernon was the sunrise from the Mount Vernon mansion piazza.  When I asked last night if she was game to get up early - roughly 5:20 AM - she said yes so we set our alarms and headed out to reach the piazza before the sun poked out above the trees.

Quite a few teachers attending the Mount Vernon Teacher Institute this week had the some idea and were on the piazza when we arrived.  It was a beautiful morning with relatively comfortable temperatures for Virginia in July and no rain in sight.  

Sunrise at Mount Vernon reflecting back on the piazza

I have said this in previous blog entries but it is a truly emotional thing to watch the sunrise over the Potomac with almost the exact same view that Washington would have had when he was alive back in the late 1700's.  I have included some pictures below.

Sunrise at Mount Vernon

This afternoon I took Jayme to the airport and was a little sad that she was no longer there with me but also very appreciative of the time we were able to spend out here together. Typically I write my blog entry for the day in the evening before called it a day but there were so many things happening with family the past several days I wasn't able to keep up with the daily routine so I spend some time today catching up with my blog posts. 

Tomorrow is a full day of meetings, lectures and getting back to work on creating my middle school archaeology unit.

Day 14 - Montalto and The Monticello Gardens

Jayme and I at the Monticello gardens

Today Jayme and I returned to Monticello to both see some friends and soak in Jefferson's garden.  I had visited Monticello in the summer of 2012 as a participant in the Liberty Today workshop for teachers.  We participated in lectures and worked on educational content for the Monticello website.  Today was a chance to reconnect with some of the great Monticello educational staff I met back in 2012 and have kept in contact with over the years - Jacqueline Langholtz, Gary Sandling, Melanie Bowyer and Linnea Grim.  They have even participated in a Google Hangout with my students in Liberty and had a curator answer questions.

This week Monticello is hosting a group of teachers from around the country at the Monticello Teachers Institute.  They are having their meetings and presentations in the same location we did back in 2012, a beautiful mountain top named Montalto.  Monticello means "little mountain" and when you are at Monticello if you look up you will see the top of Montalto, meaning "big mountain". It is also sometimes referred to as Browns Mountain. Jefferson owned this piece of real estate when he was alive but never built anything there.  Montalto became private land when sold after Jefferson's death and a beautiful home was built on top of the mountain in the early 1900's.  The Thomas Jefferson Foundation once again owns the property.  It is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever stood and looked out on the horizon.  I have included pictures below but they don't truly do justice to the view.

Montalto view

House at Montalto

Montalto view

Jayme and I at Montalto

We went up to Montalto to join the teacher institute for a discussion with Peter Onuf, a renown Jefferson scholar and creator of an online MOOC course the University of Virginia hosts on Thomas Jefferson.  The discussion was lively and at one point the differences in public perception of Jefferson vs Washington was entertained.  Next we had lunch on the patio overlooking the valley below and then took some pictures from Montalto looking down on Monticello below.  I enjoyed not only the incredible view but also seeing the education staff from Monticello again.

After taking what seemed liked a ton of pictures from Montalto, we headed down the mountain. Jayme and I participated in the garden tour, which took roughly an hour and discussed Jefferson's flower gardens, his orchards and the 1,000 foot long vegetable garden with over 250 varieties of over 70 species. The weather cooperated and although it was hot there was also a slight breeze.

Monticello garden

Monticello garden

Monticello garden

Monticello vegetable garden

Monticello garden

Jayme and I enjoy having a garden in our backyard and although it is not large, we do enjoy the collection of vegetables and herbs that we grow.  It was a lot of fun to walk through his garden, see the vegetables up close that we have read about in books and see the way in which some of the plants were grown in certain arrangements. We have a lot of ideas to incorporate in our garden design for next year and we'll be making garden stakes to identify the plants in our garden just like Jefferson did at Monticello. We also bought several different types of seeds at the gift shop harvested from plants there at Monticello.  

Before leaving we toured the exhibits in museum.  My favorite Jefferson item has always been the portable ivory notebooks that he would use to write done observations throughout the day using pencil.  When he returned home he would then write the observations in his books and wipe the pencil markings off the ivory so he could use them again the next day.  While we were at Monticello the archaeologists were not actively working on the site near Mulberry Row but I did learn that at Monticello they are not certain where the slave cemetery is located.  This is an interesting comparison with the work currently being done at Mount Vernon on the slave cemetery survey which is included in the lesson plan I am developing as part of my fellowship.

Jefferson's portable ivory notebooks

I wanted to share the gardens at Monticello with Jayme ever since the first saw them in 2012 and I felt so fortunate that we could now walk through the gardens together.  It was a great day and we enjoyed taking the long way back on our drive home to Mount Vernon.  We got home in time to watch the major league baseball All-Star Game and all of our Kansas City Royals taking part in the action. Tomorrow Jayme will return home to Liberty while I stay to finish my work as a fellow but I am so happy that were able to see and do so many memorable things in the past several days at Mount Vernon and Monticello.

Day 13 - Two Presidents in One Afternoon - Montpelier and Monticello

Jayme and I rented a car this morning and headed south on a road trip to visit Monticello.  I had participated in a Liberty Today workshop with the Monticello education staff back in 2012 and knew that someday I wanted to be able to share the experience of Jefferson's mountain with Jayme.  Jayme loves gardens and has read about Jefferson's gardens for the past several years. Visiting Monticello would also allow me to compare slavery burials at Monticello with that of Mount Vernon, one of the areas of focus for the lesson plan I am creating as a Mount Vernon Life Guard Fellow.

We decided to take the "road less traveled" and took the more scenic of the routes recommended by Google Maps.  It would take almost a half hour more but would lead us to Charlottesville via highway instead of interstate.  As we headed down Constitution Highway - that is the actual name of the highway - we realized it would take us right by Montpelier.  Montpelier is the home of James Madison, Father of the Constitution and our 4th President.  We weren't on a specific schedule so we decided to stop for a tour of the home and the gardens.  Madison's gardens were also a focus in the book Founding Gardeners.

Gate to Madison's Garden

Montpelier is a much different founding father historic home when compared to Mount Vernon and Monticello.  Montpelier was later owned and lived in by the DuPont family until the National Historic Trust took over in 1984.  The DuPont family had made modern improvements to the home and added to the structure.  The National Historic Trust has been renovating and restoring the home to it's form in Madison's retirement.  Thus, the home is historic and yet has a "new feel" to it when you tour.  

We both enjoyed the tour of the home, which lasted roughly an hour. The last time I was at Montpelier in 2012 they had restored the rooms on the first floor but had not yet restored the rooms upstairs. Madison's room upstairs in which he gathered books and read prior to attending the Constitutional Convention was probably my favorite room.  You could argue that our Constitution was literally born in that room.

Jayme, James, Dolly and Eric

We didn't have a ton of time after the house tour because we did want to reach Monticello by mid afternoon but we did want to walk through gardens since we had read about it. It has rained a little in the morning but by the time we walked through the garden it was over.  I was actually a neat time to walk through his garden because there was a light haze and rain droplets on the leaves.  The garden looked more like a traditional European garden and Jayme found a couple of paths that appeared to be almost hidden and let back around the side of the garden and led us back to the front gates.  

Madison's garden

Madison's garden

Madison's garden

Leaf in Madison's garden after the rain

Madison's garden

After a quick stop at the gift shop we were back on the road and on our way to Monticello.  We reached the mountain at around 2:00 and ate a quick lunch in the gift shop.  We both ate lunch with items that included vegetables from the gardens onsite at Monticello. Jayme and I both thought this was pretty cool. Our house tour was set for 4:30 so we had a little time to look around the outside of the house and the gardens before our tour.  Our guide for the tour was a friend, Linnea Grimm - Director of Education and Visitor Programs. I met Linnea back in 2012 when I participated in the Liberty Today workshop. She gave an excellent tour of Monticello and later gave us a tour of the second floor and the dome room. Jayme and I both thought the house had so much more room, especially for bedrooms, than it appears from the outside.

Jayme and I at Monticello

Jefferson's vegetable garden

Monticello

It was time to leave the mountain but we were coming back tomorrow.  We went into Charlottesville to get set up for the night and went down to the Historic Downtown Mall and ate at a great farm to market place called The Whiskey Jar. Many of the stores in the downtown area were closed but we bought a historic map at Blue Whale Books and got some frozen yogurt before calling it a day.  

The Whiskey Jar

In the morning we were headed back up the mountain to see Jefferson's gardens and a trip to Montalto to see more friends from the Monticello education staff.

Day 12 - Sharing Mount Vernon with My Family

The Langhorsts at Mount Vernon

Today I had the pleasure of sharing a place that I have come to love over several visits in the past several years - Mount Vernon - with my family.  Jayme and I had visited Mount Vernon on a summer vacation in 2005 but my mom and dad had never visited.  My parents both love history and my dad is a former history teacher / librarian who is also an accomplished gardener.  I have been looking forward to showing my family Mount Vernon for a long time.  

We visited Mount Vernon on a Sunday and purchased our tickets the day before online.  Purchasing tickets for your Mount Vernon visit saves you a little on the price of the ticket and also allows you to select the time at which you would like to take your tour of the mansion.  We entered the grounds when they opened at 8 AM and were first in line for the mansion tour at 9 AM. Prior to the mansion tour we sat outside on the piazza and took in the beauty of the morning overlooking the Potomac.  

Dad at Mount Vernon

After enjoying the mansion tour we explored the out buildings prior to visiting Washington's tomb.  We arrived just before the morning wreath laying ceremony.  My dad volunteered to read a portion of Washington's writing during the ceremony.  I recorded it on my cell phone and the video can be seen below.  He was given the copy of the reading to keep as well. It was a special moment and one that I know my dad will remember.

Dad at Washington's Tomb - Mount Vernon

Next up was the landscape and gardens tour.  My dad loves gardening so this was the one thing he looked most forward to on the grounds. It was a great tour and the weather even cooperated with a slight occasional breeze.  We toured the bowling green, the upper garden, the lower garden and the back lawn.  All of us have read Founding Gardeners and The General in the Garden so it was great to see the gardens in person. 

Lower Garden at Mount Vernon

Later in the day we visited the pioneer farm. Seeing Washington's 16 sided barn in action with a threshing demonstration was a highlight. After visiting the exhibits and a little shopping we went into Alexandria for a night on the town a fancy dessert.  

It was a memorable day and one that I know I, and my family, won't soon forget.  My parents will be heading back to Kansas City in the morning. The next phase of the adventure begins tomorrow for Jayme and I as we head to Monticello in the morning.

Rubbing George's Nose for Good Luck

Day 11 - Doctoral Graduation - Mission Accomplished!

Mission accomplished - none of this would be possible without my amazing wife Jayme and we celebrate this together

Today's activities are not directly related to my work at a Mount Vernon Life Guard Fellow but since it is happening during my fellowship I thought I would also share on this blog.  Six years ago I began to work on my Ed.D from Walden University in Teacher Leadership.  I completed my dissertation this past spring and the graduation ceremony coincidently was scheduled for July 11 in National Harbor, Maryland - just minutes from Mount Vernon.  My wife and parents flew in to attend my graduation so that is the plan for today - attend graduation.

Me, Jayme, mom and dad at graduation - July 11, 2015

As a doctoral graduate I participated in the hooding ceremony which took place earlier in the day.  All of the Walden graduation ceremonies were held at the Gaylord National Convention Center.  I registered, put on my regalia and then took my assigned seat awaiting the start of the ceremony.  Jayme and my parents were seated a section over in front of the stage.  As we waited in our seats for the start of the ceremony we talked about the struggles we faced the path we all took to reach this point.  To be honest I found it a little overwhelming as I sat there.  The convention center was playing some music over the speakers on stage and one of my favorite songs started, "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. It all felt a little surreal.

Hooding ceremony for Walden University doctorate at National Harbor, Maryland

Before I knew it everyone in my row stood up and we walked up to the stage to be hooded.  I held my hood in my hand and as my name was read the hood was placed over my head.  Walden recorded the hooding ceremony and it is available on YouTube.  If you are interested in seeing the five seconds it took to call my name and place the hood over my head check out the video below at 33:45.  It was a satisfying feeling and even though I had completed my work for the degree a couple of months earlier it was a great way to formally end my doctoral journey and I was so happy that family was there to help me celebrate.  A lot of people helped me get here and it was gratifying to have some of them here today.

After the ceremony we took some pictures, grabbed a coffee and explored the National Harbor area a little.  I have been fascinated by the sculpture "Awakening" since seeing it the movie "The Net". It was removed from Hains Point to National Harbor in 2007. I took a couple of pictures of Awakening before heading back to Mount Vernon.  

Awakening sculpture in National Harbor, Maryland

We went back to Mount Vernon where we toured the library and ate a meal at the Mount Vernon Inn which my dad described as "the best meal I have ever had". Good day. Tomorrow I get to share Mount Vernon with my family. My mom and dad have never been to Mount Vernon so I can't wait to show them the mansion and the grounds.

Day 10 - Back to the Dig Site - Archaeology with My Wife

Jayme and I at the Mount Vernon Archaeology Site

Today was my second opportunity to volunteer at the slave cemetery archaeological site at Mount Vernon. The slave cemetery site is active on almost every Friday and Saturday during the summer and into the fall. This time is special though because my wife Jayme is here for several days.  She has a social studies education degree and also has an interest in archaeology. We woke up early on Friday morning and reported to the Mount Vernon Archaeology lab for work at the site.  My parents fly in this afternoon for graduation tomorrow so Jayme and I are able to work at the site the first half of the day until we need to get cleaned up to pick up my parents at the airport.

When we reached the site Jason, the site crew chief, assigned us areas and groups in which to work.  I started working with a Marine on his day off and Dave, a consistent volunteer which whom I worked last week.  We continued to work on the grid that we worked on last Friday.  Last week we removed the top layer of topsoil in a new grid and now we were working to level off the grid. The ground penetrating radar results from 1985 showed that part of a burial shaft should be located in this particular corner of the grid.  

Map of the slavery cemetery survey site at Mount Vernon showing results of ground penetrating survey in 1980's

My task was dry screening the soil we removed from the grid.  This was what I did last week most of the day at the site so it felt comfortable.  (Here is a video of the dry screening process.) We look for any items that looks as if it should be saved - most pieces of stone what look as if they have been altered by man in making stone tools. All of these are kept and placed in an object bag which goes back to the archaeology lab with all of the details of where it was found.  

Close up of a "flake" found in the dry screening process at Mount Vernon site

Working the dry screening table at Mount Vernon archaeological site

Side view of a different flake found in the dry screening at Mount Vernon site

Jayme was assigned another grid on the site and did much of the same work - dry screening soil taken from another grid at a screening table.  We checked on each other throughout the morning to see if the other had found anything.  Both of use were finding these "flakes" but nothing like a complete projectile point.

Jayme working the dry screening table at the slave cemetery survey site at Mount Vernon

About halfway through the morning, Jason moved me over to a new area where I worked with a married military couple. Our task was to start work on a new grid separated from the area already being excavated. First we had to use a square shovel to cut through the grass and topsoil and make a grid which would allow us to remove the topsoil easier.  This process takes a lot of time and once the dirt is removed it takes a long time to dry screen because there are a lot of roots and organic material on the top layer.  

Creating a grid with short shovel to remove top layer of topsoil from new section

We did continue to find the signs of human activity in the form of "flakes" from tool making over a thousand years ago.  Jason mentioned that the site is somewhat unusual since it is location near the Mount Vernon mansion that has been relatively undisturbed over the years since it was a cemetery but you also often find flakes and projectile points on the surface since it is on a hillside and there is erosion and wash down the hill.

Jayme and I had a great day volunteering at the site and were happy to contribute to the work being done on the slave cemetery survey site.  We look forward to keeping an eye on future work at the site and the findings in years to come.

After cleaning up - archaeology is hard work - we took the bus and Metro into DC to pick up my parents as they landed at Reagan National Airport.  They are staying in Old Town Alexandria during their stay here so we ventured out to have a great meal in Alexandria.  Jayme and I so enjoyed our meal the previous night at Virtue Feed and Grain that we made reservations to take my parents there tonight.  After a wonderful meal we went on a night Potomac River cruise to see the monuments by night.  It was a great night to be on the water. We had a great night in Alexandria and then went back to get a good night's sleep before the day which awaits us tomorrow - graduation.

Virtue Feed & Grain in Alexandria