This morning the family went to New Market, VA to visit the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park & Hall of Valor Civil War Museum. It commemorates the last decisive battle victory the Confederacy would have in the Shenandoah Valley by using teenage cadets from the Virginia Military Institute in addition to other soldiers.
Thoughts / Reactions:
• I hadn’t heard of the Battle of New Market before and interesting to hear how the VMI cadets came into use. VMI had provided several key leaders to the Confederacy over time including Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee to name a few.
• It became apparent that we are still in ‘The South’ as the Museum was set up by the VMI and presented a southern perspective…still a little strange to see Confederate flags sold and prominent in the Gift Shop. It reflects my ‘Yankee’ upbringing and perspective.
• Was able to shoot some video that I will hopefully be able to utilize in iMovie for teaching my American History class in the future.
• In traveling to New Market, it gave us a gorgeous view of the Shenandoah River Valley. Absolutely gorgeous.
The last official event of the Pollard Family Reunion tonight involved photographs being taken, Preston (he and his family live in Baton Rouge, LA) cooking/providing Jambalaya for dinner, Jane singing several songs for the family, Keenan doing a stand-up comedy routine, and a DVD/slideshow presentation involving the family photos provided before the Reunion. It ended around midnight. Overall, the reunion was a HUGE success. Most family members will be heading out in the morning!
Thoughts / Reactions:
• This was impressive. The entire weekend was very well coordinated and was able to be enjoyed by everyone there. Not only was it relaxing and enjoyable overall, the fact that it wasn’t a wedding or a funeral brought a relaxed vibe that let EVERYONE enjoy it for what it was…fellowship of the ‘family’. How many people get the opportunity to do such a thing?
• One other positive aspect of the weekend is the notion that everyone had the opportunity to go home with the ‘Pollard Family History Book’ that puts the Pollard family genealogy in ‘concrete’ fashion, which is priceless. At the end of the evening, they had a photo slideshow that showed pictures of all of the relatives and how they are tied together. The slideshow and the 'Pollard Bilble' really tied the whole weekend together well!
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