Archaeology and Photography

The first pictures are of the kids digging out near Five Forks. The last two were taken by the campers of each other dressed in uniforms that were slightly too big.

The kids actually found a few historically significant things while digging.
Most of it was just rusty nails and tin cans though. 

The man on the right is the park historian, Jimmy Blankenship. He knows everything about the park.

Can You Dig It?

Today we took the campers to Five Forks, where the park is getting ready to put in a new parking spot. According to federal law before the parking spaces can be made the area must be surveyed for archaeological significance. The kids had a chance to use the metal detectors, dig, and screen the soil. It was hot and the ground was hard but the kids loved finding things in the ground. Nearly everything they found was not nearly old enough to be historically significant or to relate to the Civil War. However, a few things from the early 1900's came out of the ground (mostly just bits of rusty barbed wire or nails), and the kids were allowed to keep these if they wanted. They all found some rusted piece of metal to take home and show their parents.

By the time we got back the other activity I had planned, which involved the kids taking pictures with the digital cameras, was rushed and didn't come off nearly as successful as I'd wanted it to. Perhaps I'll get a chance to try the activity again another week.

Pictures of the GPS Scavenger Hunt

The kids took a while getting used to the GPS receivers, but once they caught on  most seemed to enjoy it a lot.

These two got the prize for most boxes found.

The kids listen to close to half of my instructions about half of the time.
So its really like a normal day at school in that regard. 

110 Degrees

According to reports the heat index has reached 110 today or it will soon. The heat is oppressive and there is no breeze. I'm not certain if I've ever been more soaked with sweat. The humidity it through the roof.

The plan for today was to take the campers out to look for boxes I hid in the woods using GPS receivers and compasses; basically a form of geocaching. Putting together this activity was part of my internship project, but I was worried that due to the short attention spans and the heat that the kids might hate it. However, they took to it immediately. So much so that the heat did not apparently bother them. I had to make them slow down and not leave their water bottles behind in their rush to find the treasure that the boxes contained. (Trading cards with the pictures of Civil War generals). I also, after more than an hour of slowly melting in the heat, had to make them come in though they all complained that they wanted to find the rest of the boxes.

I hope the activity will be a keeper for the park. I also hope it cools down before tomorrow when we go out with the park archaeologist on a dig.

Pictures of Blandford Cemetery

From where I took this picture the cemetery spread out in every direction exactly as  it looks above. Beyond that arch in the background is another large area full of graves.

The mausoleum of Confederate Gen. Mahone one of the southern heroes of the siege of Petersburg.

Some people buried in Blandford cannot be identified and others are known to be buried here for whom there is no marker and the location of their grave is not known. It is somewhat uncertain how many people total are buried here. Many of the confederate soldiers were buried in mass graves.

Blandford Cemetery

I spent an hour or so walking around Blandford Cemetery yesterday evening. I was amazed at the amount of graves. Many Confederate soldiers were buried in Blandford during and after the Civil War. However there are graves dating back to the early part of the 1700's and perhaps later. The oldest grave that I personally saw was dated 1702. The church there, which was abandoned by its congregation before the start of the Civil War, was restored after the war and is supposed to be beautiful. I thought I might be able to talk the caretakers into letting me in the building for free, but I evidently didn't talk fast enough. I'll go back at some point, pay the fee, and get the view from the inside, but last night I was more interested in walking around. The staff was about to go home for the evening anyway and I didn't want to be rushed looking around the place.

The cemetery itself is wonderful and very interesting with all its old stones and impressive (sometimes odd shaped) monuments. However, I was shocked at the sheer volume of gnats that inhabit the cemetery grounds. As large as the place is I thought I'd be able to get away from them, but there was no escape. Either the bugs followed me or they were simply everywhere. I would have stayed a lot longer if I could have rid myself of them.

St. Paul's of Petersburg

Today I attended service at St. Paul's Episcopal church in Petersburg. The building is large and extremely beautiful. It's a historically significant place since Robert E. Lee and his staff attended services there during the 292 day siege of Petersburg. The interior, except for the additions of some subtle electric lights, seems hardly to have changed since Gen. Lee was there. All the woodwork is old and dark against the white plaster walls. The sanctuary is almost entirely lit by light from the enormous and very old stained glass windows (Most date back to the 1800's before the Civil War).The congregation is small these days but very friendly. I was invited three times to the organ concert this Wednesday. The skill of the organist makes me hope that I'll have time to go. The priest who spoke today was filling in for the rector who was on vacation and the sermon on the parable of the sower was well done; straightforward yet insightful in a commonsense kind of way. The thing that very much impressed me about the speaker was his manner of speaking. I constantly tell my classes that when they're presenting or speaking to project without yelling and to make eye contact. This priest - Father Gilbert if I remember correctly - did these things better than anyone I have personally seen speak publicly. He had the same calm, deliberate, easy-yet-intense manner of speaking that I've seen only in old films of Teddy Roosevelt or Winston Churchill. I would be prepared to testify that the man never once glanced at his notes, and that he quoted scripture perfectly without looking at the text. I felt that for most of the sermon, which was short, poignant, and well referenced as all good sermons should be, he was looking and speaking directly to me. It hardly mattered that I was sitting a little over halfway toward the back. Father Gilbert is perhaps 65 years old and I think the only comparison I can make is with someone like Garrison Keillor who has gained ability by speaking sincerely and well as part of a long career.

I'll most probably be going back to St. Paul's next week.   

St. Paul's