Dreamers Alana, Tammy, Cody, Susan and Sarah next to three of the exhibit panels.
The Grand Opening at the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse could not have gone any better. The exhibit consisted of six giant comic pages focusing on Hale’s time in New London as schoolmaster at the Union Schoolhouse.
Dreamers and other attendees started arriving around 1 PM and the event stayed strong until we closed up at 4 PM. It was HOT and gave us all an idea of what it must’ve been like for Mr. Hale and his students on a sunny summer’s day.
You can see all six panels on the wall.
The schoolhouse was moved since the last time I was there. It now sits right on the parade, next to a beautiful new plaza. I loved its new home!
Things like this just do not happen when you live in Ohio.
The militia came out to christen the schoolhouse with a gunfire salute!
Walt Woodward, Connecticut’s State Historian, kicked off the event with a short talk about Nathan Hale. He praised our exhibit for breaking ground in depicting Nathan Hale’s life, rather than just his death. He said we’d made him more of a hero by making him more of a man.
Kind words that meant a lot to all of us.
Jennifer is awfully tech savvy for a lady in a bonnet!
Next was my turn to speak. However, we ran into technical difficulties. Inevitable at these sorts of events, right? With a little help from my friends, we recovered quickly and the rest of my talk went off without a hitch.
The talks were held up on the second floor of the Schoolhouse. Yes, it was even hotter up there.
We had a full crowd upstairs the schoolhouse. I spoke about writing historical narrative and why it is important because it engages people who think that they are not interested in history. I also talked about fandom and why you shouldn’t just write it off.
I closed by going through our process for the exhibit step by step. All around it was a good time. The crowd seemed to enjoy it, and I know that I did!
What is more fun than talking about Nathan Hale? Not much.
As you can see, the schoolhouse was packed throughout the event. Some stayed the whole time, others drifted in and out. There was great energy there, despite the hot weather!
Of course we had some Dreamer goodies! Books and prints and comics and I <3 Nathan tees and Knowlton’s Rangers tees!
- Who is that lovely lady hawking my wares?
My parents made the trip the whole way up from Pittsburgh to New London for the opening! I sure am glad they did because they were a fantastic help handling the merchandise table while I was talking to people about the exhibit.
(If they look familiar well… they may or may not have been present at one of Ben’s games.)
Thanks, guys! I love you.
Stephen Shaw tells Dreamers Susan and Sarah about the recently completed restoration of the Nathan Hale School House.
What a great honor to have my work, depicting the life of one of my heroes, hanging up inside of a historic site where he actually taught. The Dreamer’s Nathan Hale is all grown up now!
Rachel Smith talks about her part of the project: Research!
It was fun to spend a day with the folks who worked on the exhibit together. I had not met Jennifer Eifrig in person yet, but after all our phone calls I felt like I already knew her. Stephen had given me a tour of the schoolhouse years ago when I went on a Nathan Hale research trip. And Rachel and I have been Nathan fans friends for years.
The team: Jennifer Eifrig, Project Manager, Stephen Shaw of the SAR, me, and Rachel Smith, Historian.
The panels were printed on a special kind of vinyl that hung right on the wall like a decal. They were beautiful! I want a set for my office…
By the end of the day the heat was getting to us all. Perhaps those in period dress more so than the rest of us…
Stephen demonstrates how to use an 18th Century iPad.
After it was over we all went out for drinks and, let’s be honest, air conditioning!
A huge thank you to the Connecticut SAR and all the folks who were a part of the exhibit for giving me this amazing opportunity. The exhibit is a permanent installation. So if you missed it out, you can plan for it in the future.
Looks like it was a great event! Wish I could have gone this weekend for the opening. I’ll have to check it out later!
It’ll be up for a long time! I hope you like it!
I did sneak some of the Warrens into the background of one of the panels. Shhh!
Oh Lora, I really wish we could have made it to see you!! We closer to the schoolhouse now too (well alot closer than when we were in Boston!) I can’t wait to go now just to see your artwork there! Such an honor!! Every time we’d pass the sign for the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse when visiting family in CT, I always thought of you and wanted to stop for pictures :)
You’ll have to stop! It’s one of my favorite historic sites. Just because, well… you know, Nathan Hale taught there.
Love the last picture. I’m 99.9% sure that’s where Sarah and I had lunch. To quote myself “it looks all colonial! Well… Federalish. We have to eat here it’s American revolution awareness month!”. I was a tad bit overexcited about the exhibit…
It was, and you did say that! They also had quite a good lobster roll. The exhibit was fantastic. It was great to meet so many interesting people (not the least of whom was Lora!) and I learned a lot both about restoration and how to present history to a wider audience. Hooray for fandom! History is more fun when you become friends with the subject!
“American Revolution Awareness month”? Oh, god I love that…
…….um, June or July?
July. It seems (at least in Massachusetts and Virginia) that people get really into the fourth and it keeps going for the whole week plus a little. The amount of reenactors increases in July as well.
My fourth will be full of a milita shooting dragoons, fireworks, and my boss dressing my sister up as an 18th century strumpet!!!!
Oh, I love that! “American Revolution Awareness Month”!
Here is one that I found today. You know what I am? An 18thcenturyophile,
I am also a Nathan Hale-o-phile , Joseph Warren O-Phile, and an American Revolution-OPhile. :)
Oh, god, that looks like it was fun. I really wanted to go — Bridgeport is only 80 minutes away — but alas, work called, so poop (and really, i need the money as much as a dreamer/Nathan fix, if not more. Still, I will answer your question…..
What is more fun than talking about Nathan Hale?
-Hugging Nathan Hale
-Taiking to Nathan Hale
-Eating ice cream on a hot day (with Nathan Hale)
You win. All of those things are better!!!
What an awesome (if hot!) day – how I wish I could’ve been there! Congrats on being a part of such a cool thing! Yay history! Yay Dreamer!
So, I must ask: what’s the wooden plank above the panels? Did Nathan SIT on it at some point…? :)
I believe that was an original wall panel. There was another plank upstairs just like it.
It was one of the original wall boards, and it had student graffiti carved into it.
Divinna and I had an awesome time! It was great to see you again, Lora – and come to find out, Stephen Shaw lives in my hometown, about 7 minutes away.
He’s a cool bloke.
It kind of flipped me out – when Divinna and I first walked up to the schoolhouse, Stephen was outside prepping his musket and he looked at me and said “You must be Tammy!”. That’s the third time I’ve gone to something historical and someone I haven’t met yet already knows me (as Tammy, Tamesin, or Miss Eustis). My reputation proceeds me!
The esteemed Tamesin Eusitis needs no introduction…!
Wow! That looks like it was an awesome experience. I really need to get up to the northeast to do some historical sight-seeing. I love my Texas Revolutionary history, but it’s important to broaden one’s horizons, n’est pas? :)
On an unrelated(ish) note, I’ve been bouncing out of my seat all morning thinking about seeing the next Dreamer update…and then I remembered that tomorrow is a holiday, and I will not be following routine…which means I might be too distracted to remember to check any of my comics. :( I really need to work on that…
If there is ONE comic you read on Wednesday, it should be The Dreamer.
New issue starts on the Fourth! Don’t forget.
Appropriate start date for a new issue of this comic, I think. :) I’ll do my best to remember!
Worst case scenario, I get back-to-back days of Dreamer by reading the page Thursday. :)
The pages/posters on Nathan Hales school look awesome.
(gets microscope to see them).
Is that going to be in the next comic?
wooo wwwweeeeee !!!
The cover of book 15 looks so cool.
Poor Alan though …looks like he caught the Neons.
Hey I would like to see pictures of you dressed up!!!
*Me* dressed up? Ha! I don’t think so. I live in Ohio. Not so much Rev War culture going on in these parts.
Well Lora if you ever do want to dress up I know where you can get a dress! Haha
Revolutionary war events are sparse but not impossible to find. Fort Laurens in Bolivar has some small events, but I’m getting my shortgown and petticoat out for the fair at New Boston. It’s probably the biggest colonial event I’ve found in Ohio and is definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already. :)
I live in Cleveland and love the Rev. war era.
I met you in Columbus last year I think it was.
Awesome recap, Lora — I had such fun visiting the school house, and your presentation was awesome! It was also great to meet you and the Dreamers who made it. A good time was certainly had by all.
Also, my Knowlton’s Rangers shirt is now my favorite T.
Aren’t they so soft & cozy?!
So wonderful to FINALLY meet you too, Alana! And TJ (aka Nathan Hale’s nephew), too.
*does a mental spit take* Wait a minute… I see my ol’ Nathan fan art and Freddy cosplay photo on that slide from your presentation! I feel so honored…! xD
Great recap! So much fun! Your description of the heat reminds me of when I give tours of the post office we have at the historical park I volunteer at… it does indeed get a bit stuffy in the summertime… xD This was actually the first time I saw a picture of the schoolhouse in its new location, too. Looks lovely! The schoolhouse and homestead still top my list of places I want to visit on vacation. :D
How cool is that?!
Although–I can see heat rising off that room, just in the pictures. Just looking at those reenactors makes me sweat!
The panels, though–they look totally awesome. Wish I could go see them live.
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