Happy 49th Birthday to Me!

Flight to Freedom Production

I am pleased to announce a new historical production entitled:  Flight to Freedom: The Fields Family and Freedom's Fortress, which will be held twice on Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM at the historic Fort Monroe.  This production will be a collaborative endeavor with myself and Ms. Ajena C. Rogers, a descendant of James A. Fields.  Mr. Fields was a part of the first graduating class of Hampton Normal and Agricultural and Institute (now Hampton University) in 1871.  We will present a dramatic interpretation of her family’s escape from slavery in Hanover County, VA to Fort Monroe during the Civil War.  This production will include dramatic readings enhanced with us singing, multimedia PowerPoints, and video clips.  The event is free to the public.

For more information on the Flight to Freedom production, click here to visit this website.

For more information on James A. Fields, visit the James A. Fields House Blog at www.jamesafieldshouse.blogspot.com

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Table Displays at Crowns Program

I did two table displays at my Crowns program held on Saturday, June 30, 2012 with various hat related photos and other items.  The hats on the first table belong to a colleague.  The hat, pocketbook, tablecloth, and Bible cover on the second table belonged to my maternal grandmother.

The Perfect Hat

This hat which I received as a gift from a friend on Sunday, June 24th was a perfect match for this outfit. Minutes before she gave me the hat, I was sitting in my car and pulled out the jacket to this outfit from a bag which was in the passenger's seat. This bag of clothing was to be taken to the cleaners the next day.
"I'll wear this outfit on Saturday," I said to myself as I looked at the jacket. Minutes later I went into the restaurant to meet with three high school friends. One friend had moved away and she arrived to the restaurant a few minutes later with three bags containing individual gifts for the rest for us. As I peered into my bag, I stared in disbelief and told my fiends that prior to coming into the restaurant, I had just decided to wear an outfit with the same colors as the hat. After we finished our meals, we took pictures of me wearing the hat. Afterwards we went to my car and compared the hat with the outfit to be sure that that the colors matched. My friends all agreed that it was a perfect match.
"A hat sets off an outfit," my grandmother would say if she were alive. This hat indeed set off this outfit and I look forward to wearing the assemble again.

Professor Dru on Pier at Crabshack Restaurant overlooking James River Bridge, Newport News, VA

Professor Dru at Crowns Program, Isle of Wight County, Museum, Smithfield, VA

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Familiar Faces on Museum Poster

Yesterday, I went over to the museum where I will be presenting my hat program this Saturday.  The main objective of this trip was to look at the area where I will be presenting and to discuss logistics of conducting the program.  As I entered the museum, to my right I saw out of the corner of my eye this large poster on this board advertising my program.  “Oh…Grandma!” I said to myself at my initial glimpse of the familiar face of lady on the right in the top photo.  I had already been sent a .pdf file of this advertisement, but seeing the enlarged poster of my maternal grandmother’s face on the message board of the Isle of Wight CountyMuseum was a true delight.  As if this were my first time seeing this poster, I stopped to look at it on the board.  To the left of my grandmother is Sister Odell Hayes who was a member of our church as well as one of my Sunday School Teachers and this photo was taken around the 1950s.  The lady below Grandma and Sister Hayes is Anna T. McPhillips, a family member Thomas MacEntee and her photo was taken around 1923.  The photo of the two adorable little girls dressed in their Easter’s finest during the 1960s is of Heather Wilkinson Rojo and her little sister.  These are all lovely representatives of “Hat Queens and Princesses” and I look forward to the presenting of my third hat history program this year.  It will be a year next month since Grandma passed awat and my family and I miss her dearly.  But despite that she has left this earth, her spirit still lives on through her teachings and her HATS!

Contributing My Research to a Worthy Cause

I've been busy working all week on an application to the National Park Service (NPS) to nominate the James A. Fields House for inclusion in the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program.  This project was initiated by one of Mr. Fields' descendants and I'm helping her to get the application completed by adding the historical research which I've done on her ancestor whose historic house is in my community. We are both thoroughly excited about this joint endeavor and expect positive results from our submission. As a genealogist and family historian, I am thrilled to be able to contribute my research to such a worthy cause.

Hat History Program

I am pleased to announce that I will be doing another Hat History Program later this month at the Isle of Wight County Museum in Smithfield, VA (Home of the Virginia Ham).

Thanks to Thomas MacEntee and Heather Rojo for use of your hat photos.

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