US Grant in living history

11/10/2025

Today in 1775, the world's finest fighting force was authorized by the Second Continental Congress.
The first American Marines mustered in at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia PA.
I myself became a US Marine on Oct 9, 1984.
Huzzah to our brave men in every age that stood or stand for our Republic.

11/01/2025

The camp was set by 2pm, and there were already a good amount of visitors. To my delight, a young boy and his family from India stopped, and the boy was OH SO HAPPY to play with the battle map.
The seating area is for the Great Locomotive Chase, the western theater map is there to point out the rail network of the country in 1864, and of course, my camp desk where I can read Harpers Weekly and handle my mail.
I will present the Great Locomotive Chase on Saturday afternoon for whoever is gathered in those chairs.

11/01/2025

Here is a special consideration... and a fundraiser for the museum, now that they broke ground on the roundhouse out in the yard....
I have always wanted to adopt 1223, my all-time favorite locomotive. She ran across the street at Strasburg RR for most of my life, but was retired from service and returned to the museum in the late 1980's never to run again. At least she is preserved forever!!
She was the star of two movies, "The Broadway Limited" of 1940, and "Hello Dolly" in 1969. She was retired from active service on the PRR in 1957, and put into storage until the Strasburg RR leased her from the Pennsylvania RR in the early 1960's to pull excursion trains on their line.
My first memories of riding trains was behind her and standing trackside in awe as she breathed coal smoke and smiled that gorgeous smile she has.
The museum has a cool program to fundraise, by adopting the various equipment, and they will post a tag on that artifact with the name you choose to show for having raised the money. They told me if I gave them the $250 to adopt her, the sign could carry "US Grant in Living History" as her host. SO, your help to do that would be much appreciated, so please DM me about how we can do this.

10/28/2025

With Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

10/20/2025

10/20/2025

The first weekend of November will be spent at my favorite museum.

10/15/2025

The second half of October is a busy month

10/15/2025

10/15/2025

Here is my presentation schedule for the remainder of October.
In this are two General Grant presentations before the Trains & Troops weekend right after Halloween at the PA State RR Museum in Strasburg PA.
Most of the shows will be the Railroad Ghost Stories program, but I also debut a reading of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in the middle of that. I will do that as Pres. Grant, as the author, Washington Irving was one of his favorites in his youth.
21 - Antebellum Marine Band Brass Quintet at Cross Keys Village, New Oxford PA 6 pm
22 - Retirement Community (Passavant) Zelienople PA 1:30 pm Railroad Ghost Stories
23 – Bradford Library, Bradford PA 6 pm
Railroad Ghost Stories
25 – SATURDAY Delmont Library, Delmont PA 1 pm
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
26 – Jackson Mansion, Apollo PA, 6 pm
Friendship With Lincoln
28 – Cumberland Woods, Alison Park PA 11 am
Winning The War In The West
29 - Peters Twp Library, McMurray PA, 6 pm
RR Ghost Stories
31 - Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, 1 pm SET UP FOR WEEKEND TRAINS & TROOPS EVENT.

10/12/2025

As it is in my live speaking programs as US Grant, I refrain from ANY discussion of modern politics, leaving the audience to make any comparisons or connections based on the information I present from a living history perspective in the time Grant was alive ONLY. I find this much better to keep the enflamed rhetoric we can't escape anymore as we go about our lives out of my story telling in character.

This subject though, seems ripe for a bit of sounding off about something greatly overlooked about Grant's political awakening and growth in the role of chief executive.

There are some right now saying that Pres. Trump is the only president to truly support the Jewish people.

HOWEVER, in his second term, Grant took note of the pogroms in Ukraine and Russia and made official condemnations of them for it. After his mistaken General Order 11 in December of 1862 he made his apologies and the Jewish voters rewarded him in 1868, and he did not forget.

This was the first foray into international affairs for the US, and he was reticent to commit our country to such. BUT, because of the nature of the offenses on the Jews of those lands, he felt it was too important to overlook.

In the end, it was Jewish financiers who funded the building of his mausoleum in NYC.