Monroe County History Center.

Today was quite full for us.  This morning we went to Bloomington to a Child Evangelism Prayer meeting.  It was wonderful to be together with believers.  There were several from other churches praying together for our communities, for each other, and for revival. 

After the meeting, we completed a tour of the warehouse that will eventually become a Christian community center.  The building had been donated to a Christian media company, but that company/ministry has allowed several other ministries to use the offices.    It was very exciting to hear what they have planned.  I felt a wonderful presence the minute I walked through that door.  

After the tour, we helped our CEF director load some boxes into the new area she is going to use as a library for child evangelism materials, and we spent some time talking about our ministry and our plans for the future.  

  

I decided that since we were already going to be in Bloomington, we'd make a day of it and also have a field trip.  I chose to take the boys to the Monroe County History Center.

  We enjoyed the displays.   I decided to add the silly pictures as well as the serious ones.  

 This was a flag from the 27th (?) Regiment.  

Union uniform. Silly faces.

 Justin & Jonathan were pretending they didn't believe Ryan when he is trying to tell them a giant Kodiak bear is about to eat them.  This bear had been in one of the old local gun shops for several years.

 Posing with John Dillinger

 In an old schoolroom display.  I loved the old desks.  The boys were pretending they didn't want to be there.

 Yes, that is a dunce hat on that chair in the corner.  I can only imagine what the boys were carrying on about.

 An old cabin

 I could not get a clear picture of this for some reason.  Maybe it was the lighting in this room, but it is filled with old muskets and lots of Civil War items. Justin said he loved these guns in particular.

Field Trip: Lawrence County Museum of History

The boys have been doing really well with their school work , so I rewarded them with a little field trip Wednesday, October 19th.  We went to the Lawrence County Museum of History.

It was a cool, drizzly day, but that didn't diminish the fun.   We had a wonderful day.

The last two are from when I took them to McDonald's after our visit to the museum to get ice cream and mochas. 

Indiana State History: day 2

Abraham Lincoln lived in Indiana for 14 years (age 7 to age 21). 

*Note:  All italics are quotes from the book Singing Indiana History by Martha Chrisman Riley.

"Honest Abe.  He earned that name in Indiana, and it followed him throughout his life.  Abraham Lincoln stood for honesty, plain talk, story telling, and democracy.  On the Indiana soil Abe grew to be a man.  Indiana nurtured Abraham Lincoln."

Lincoln once said that his mother's favorite ballad was "Barbara Allen'.  If so, he must have heard it often as a child:




One of Abraham Lincoln's favorite songs was "Blue-Tail Fly" also known as "Jimmy Crack Corn." He called it that "buzzing song", and even played the tune on his harmonica.


Abraham Lincoln's mother read the Bible daily to her family and encouraged her children to read it as well. She also sang hymns and spiritual songs. One of her favorite hymns was "Wayfaring Stranger". This is a folk hymn. It was not composed for a hymn book, but rather originated in the souther Appalacian mountains and was passed on by oral tradition.

Indiana History, day 1

We are studying Indiana history!  My plan is to do an intensive unit study about Indiana history.  I am not sure how long it will last, but the reason for the intensity is because because I am using library books. 

The books we are using are the following:

Singing Indiana History by Martha Chrisman Riley, Seeds of a Nation: Indiana by P.M. Boekhoff and Stuart A. Kallen, Carole Marsh's Indiana Timeline, Indiana History, and Indiana Jeapordy

I am trying to use Youtube to look up any songs that might be mentioned in the Singing Indiana History book. I am not one to think the music part is just something that should be required, but I do think it is fun.  Perhaps it will help the boys remember a little bit about Indiana history.

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 "Ah Si mon moine voilait danser!"

This song is said to have been performed by the French fur traders while paddling their canoes:



Women in old Fort Vincennes sang the song "Alouette" as they prepared chickens for cooking.  "Alouette" means "little lark: and the words are about plucking the bird's feathers from the various parts of its body. :-)



Military music was also heard in Indiana's French forts.
"Rigaudon" by Boismortier in 1730: