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...calls what they do “sneaky history.” Others have called their performances “entertaining and intelligent” and “the most popular part of the event,” and said, “I don’t remember when I’ve had so much fun—and I’ve learned, too!” Ride has delighted audiences of all ages, in settings as varied as conferences and schools.
"You live up to all your glowing recommendations."
Ann Birney brought Amelia Earhart to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in its first-ever dramatic performance. And Joyce Thierer as Calamity Jane has fascinated audiences from chautauqua attendees to four year olds since 1990. Both are ideal programs for conferences and annual meetings. Performances are generally followed by...
SME - Portals of Time
...is the dynamic team of Belinda and Mike Adams. Gymnasium, stage, or outdoor setting—educational and entertaining assemblies and programs for all occasions and all ages—programs are designed to fit your site.
"The students were delighted"
-Brandon, WI
"Excellent program! History came alive..."
-Belleville, IL
"[H]eld students’ attention very well. Even the small children were enthralled"
—Longford, KS
The Buffalo Hunters, 1860s -1870s. How one family made their mark on Kansas! Join Jedidiah and Sarah Star and their two teenage daughters as they...
Nan's Covered Wagon
...pulls into your community and amazes children and adults alike with its authenticity. Typical of wagons used to cross the continent in the mid 19th century, Nan’s wagon was built in Wisconsin over 100 years ago. It is fully equipped with bows and cover, tent fly, tar bucket, wagonjack and odometer. Visitors typically will find Nan sewing, cooking a stew, or baking biscuits.
Yvonne Larson has traveled over five hundred miles of the Oregon Trail with her wagon and studied the diaries of emigrants. As Nan she enjoys telling their stories. She fits in well with social studies units from 1820 to 1890, including...
Sod-Busting Kansas History
Agricultural historian Nolan Sump carries his love for the history of farming onto the stage with stories told by three first-person personae. Humor balances hardship in these tales based on real stories.
J.W. Rauschenberg is an 1880 German immigrant farmer. He discusses growing up in Germany, coming to America, and the adventures of life in the 1870s and 1880s.
Hank Emerson is a 1930s Dust Bowl farmer in Morton...
Gladys the Riveter: World War II Home Front Heroine
Teresa Bachman’s aunts worked at the Boeing airplane plant in Wichita during World War II. Her interpretation of the mythic Rosie the Riveter is based on their stories and a study of the realities of factory work and the World War II home front in general. Gladys, by treating the audience as “new hires,” helps us understand the challenges (large gloves, overly friendly supervisors, exhaustion, child care) and pleasures (great pay, after-work recreation, helping in the war effort) of doing “men’s work” in the 1940s.
"A timely topic interpreted with humor, poignancy, and intelligence."
Teresa Bachman is...
Clyde V. Cessna, Pioneer Pilot
The name Cessna has long been associated with the manufacture of airplanes in Wichita, Kansas, the Air Capital of the World. From humble beginnings in Kingman County, Kansas near the small town of Adams, came Clyde Cessna, an automobile dealer with a dream to fly his own plane. Not just any airplane, but a revolutionary monoplane, one with a full cantilever wing (a single wing without struts or braces), unheard of at that time.
Eight years after the Wright brothers' successful flight he became one of the first west of the Mississippi to fly. Following crack-ups, frustrations, and near financial ruin the pioneer was at last airborne.
Gary Krehbiel tells in vivid detail...
Lvnghstry
…brings to you people who live in the turbulent times of “Bleeding Kansas”, and the Civil War.
George and Diane Bernheimer have been “bringing the people of our past into the present” since 1995. Their historically accurate, educational, and entertaining portrayals have been taken to the classroom, historic sites, and to groups interested in learning more about the history of Kansas and our nation. Their presentations are best suited to audiences from 6th grade through adult and can supplement lessons in the Kansas standards for grades 6 through 8.
“The Bernheimers are a joy to work with. They are consummate professionals thoroughly researching their subjects and presenting compelling and accurate portrayals.” - Kelley Collins - Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management - Fort Scott National Historic Site
Louise Thaden, Beech Pilot
Louise Thaden's record-setting flights, often besting those of her friend Amelia Earhart, introduced the Travel Air 4000 and Beechcraft Staggerwing to the awestruck public. And who could better portray record-setting pilot Louise Thaden than Bonnie Johnson, cross country race pilot(she has a 1946 Luscombe8A), aerospace test engineer, math teacher, and Merkel Airplane Co. Operations Manager?
Performer Bonnie Johnson takes the audience back to 1958, when Louise has just received her first jet ride with son Bill. The winner of the 1929 "Powder Puff" Derby and 1936 Bendix cross country race talks about how...
Crooked Creek Regulators
Buffalo Hunter Billy Dixon was either in the right place at the right time, or the right place at the wrong time. An excellent shot, by 1870 he had already won fame as a hunter and scout, but he is now remembered for what happened at the Battle of Adobe Walls in the panhandle of Texas in 1874, where a small trading community of twenty-nine held off seven hundred Plains Indian warriors.
Dodge City's own Assistant Marshall Marc Ferguson offers Billy's stories and those of the better known Doc Holliday...
Deborah Samson, Soldier of the American Revolution
...is portrayed by Anna Smith. Samson was one of the first American women known to have impersonated a man to enlist in the army and take part in combat. She was also the first to receive a pension. Samson was descended from Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford, the famous Captain Myles Standish, and Captain Simeon Samson, who distinguished himself in the French and Indian Wars. Stories of these brave men influenced her scheme to disguise herself as a man to fight with General George Washington's Continental Army against England for American Independence.
Anna Smith joined the Kansas Army National Guard when...
Mary Jane Ritchie and the Kansas Underground Railroad Historian and educator Anne Hawkins
transports audiences back in time as
Topeka, Kansas, pioneer and Underground Railroad operative, Mary Jane
Ritchie. Adults and young people learn how they could have participated in
the Underground Railroad through Kansas Territory in 1860, as Mrs. Ritchie
advises what preparations you would need to turn your homestead into an UGRR
station, and what routes to travel if you wish to work as a conductor,
transporting fugitives north and east to freedom. Learn from stories of
successful escapes, as well as brutal losses. But be warned . . . the
dangers are rampant and penalties severe if you are caught breaking the U.S.
Fugitive Slave Law! Fortunately, Mrs. Ritchie can share what help - and hope
- is available to you if you undertake this secret work.
Njoy History
as Norman Joy takes you back to April 15, 1865, inside General Robert E. Lee's residence in Richmond, Virginia the day he returns home at the end of the Civil War. General, now civilian, Lee shares with his family thoughts about the war and about his future as a civilian. Norman brings General Lee to life because of his own years of military service and his historical research connection with the character of General Robert E. Lee. His portrayal retells the story with a believable realism.
Alive with History
is the creation of Doug McGovern, presenting the stories of men who made America. Talk to Alexander Gardner, the man who photographed the American Civil War; who captured more photographs of Lincoln than any other photographer;
who documented the western expansion with pictures of a proposed continental rail route through Kansas to California; who created photo-journalism; and who started a Utopian colony and benevolent insurance services. Alex may also give a lecture on stereo photography!
Interact with a true hero like Franklin Hogan who was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions ruing the Civil War. Follow his travels from Pennsylvania through the war and to his settlement and life in Kansas.
A Changing World
...awaits, should you choose to venture there. Listen as Clara Gowing, mission school teacher, paints with vivid colors a world teaming with the interactions of tribal people, missionaries, and others who impacted life on an eastern Kansas reservation. This experience will challenge audiences to explore different perspectives and people groups present in mid-nineteenth century Kansas.
Bob Spear
is a versatile storyteller and musician. He comes to you as ultimate Western storyteller and mythmaker Buffalo Bill Cody back from 1917 on a long life well-lived, or as beloved singer/songwirter/actor Burl Ives. Bob is also the author of several history books, including on about Leavenworth, Kansas, where young Bill Cody grew up.
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This site was created in 2003 by the Kansas Alliance of Professional Historic Performers and Ride into History Cultural and Educational Project, Inc. with an Attraction Development Grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing Travel & Tourism Development Division
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Ongoing website maintenance performed by Megan Matile
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