6-16-09

Day Three, 6-16-09

Today was a simple day in terms of movement but the impact the activities had on the boys was profound. We traveled from Cleveland to Hagerstown, MD in the morning, visited the Antietam Civil War battle field in the afternoon and performed at the First Christian Church in Hagerstown in the evening. Each activity seemed to be spiritually linked resulting in an audience on their feet and history brought to life in the lyrics and sounds of Lincoln’s Legacy.

The drive from Cleveland to Hagerstown was smooth and uneventful. The trip was broken up by a couple of rest stops and a lunch stop. The boys kept us on schedule by being punctual at each stop.

Our first stop in Pennsylvania was the Civil War battlefield of Antietam. This battlefield has the dubious distinction of being the location of the bloodiest one day battle in American history. The battle at Antietam, September 15, 1862, produced over 23,000 American casualties. This number has not been matched since.

We arrived in time for a 30 min talk by a National Park Ranger in the observation room overlooking the battlefield. The boys followed along with interest. From there, we walked to a small white church across the street from the visitor’s center called the Dunker Church. Built in the 1800’s by a German pacifist congregation, it was designed for maximum acoustic effect for unaccompanied singers. The inner room was a simple square room with wood floors and plaster walls but the sound was amazing. The boys assembled inside and sang 4 or 5 songs from their Lincoln’s Legacy repertoire. The words of Lincoln echoed throughout the small church bringing history to life as the boys sang. We had an audience of abut 3 or 4 couples and families including one couple passing by that stopped in to see what was going on. We would see them again later. The Dunker Church yard turned out to be the site of the cease fire agreement that ended fighting at Antietam.

After a group photo in front of the church we loaded the bus and headed into Hagerstown for dinner at a strip mall and then to the First Christian Church for our concert.

After a short rehearsal and blocking session, the boys quickly changed into concert attire and took the stage. The pews filled with about 150 people eagerly anticipating what was to come. Maryland was a border state during the Civil War. Half of the state was aligned with the North and half with the south. These people live and breathe Civil War history so we struck a particular chord with our audience.

Remember the couple that stopped in the Dunker Church at Antietam? Well, they followed us to Hagerstown and were in the audience for the concert. They said they were so impressed with what they heard earlier in the day, they decided to treat themselves to the concert. We have groupies.

We received a rousing standing ovation and hand shakes after the performance. We certainly left a lasting impression on the audience and we have an open invitation to return.

The boys met their home stay families at a cookie and punch reception and scattered to all parts of Hagerstown for a good nights rest. At least that is what we hope. We shall see…