PARK RIDGE—The Pascack Historical Society welcomes back guest speaker Robert Stevenson, Ed.D., for his latest presentation, “Have You Seen the Elephant? The Everyday Life of Johnny Reb and Billy Yank” on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m. at the Society’s museum, 19 Ridge Ave., Park Ridge.
Admission is free for PHS members and students. For non-members, a $5 donation toward museum upkeep is requested at the door (cash only).
“Have you seen the elephant?” is what one man would ask another in the 1860s when they wanted to know if he had seen battle. Battles were certainly memorable, but they were only a very small part of the life of the average Civil War soldier.
Regular soldiers had nicknames for the men on the “other side.” They were “Johnny Reb” and “Billy Yank.” Tales about these men are sometimes well known, but they are often based on false information and fairy tales…not on reality.
This presentation will cover what the army was actually like for these men, on both sides. What they believed caused the war separated men into two armies in some cases, but similarities clearly outnumbered differences among them.
All are welcome at this presentation, and complimentary refreshments will be served.
Stevenson is a professor emeritus of the Graduate Counseling Program at Mercy College and a trustee of the Pascack Historical Society. He has edited/authored a dozen books and over 70 articles and chapters in the areas of grief and loss, as well as in living history. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, Montclair State, and Fairleigh Dickinson.
For his work after 9/11 with the 88th New York Guard, Stevenson received the New York State Governor’s Medal for Defense of Freedom. His Living History Weekends have won multiple awards for creative teaching and helped make his high school a recipient of New Jersey State honors as an outstanding school.
The Society’s guest lecturers always pack the house, so please plan to arrive promptly to guarantee a seat. A question-and-answer period will follow the talk.
Free admission to lectures is just one benefit of membership in the Pascack Historical Society. Members also receive the museum’s quarterly publication, Relics, which is packed with photos and stories about life in bygone days in the Pascack Valley.
Twice a year, the Society holds Curiosity Sales teeming with antiques and collectibles at bargain prices, and members get early access. Being a PHS member also means you value historic preservation and education and want to see these efforts continue in your community.
For information about the Society, log on to pascackhistoricalsociety.org or call (201) 573-0307.