Sleeping Heroes

I am excited about this research program the state of Kansas has planned for school children in 3rd through 8th grade over the next few years.

I am developing a program to assist teachers in my county.

GAR section at Eastside Cemetery

Kansas State Historical Society Press Release - January 25, 2012

Students Research Local Civil War Veterans 

Through Sleeping Heroes Project

TOPEKA, KS— Attorney General Derek Schmidt will launch “Sleeping Heroes,” a Civil War veteran documentation project for students grade three through eight at 3 p.m. Friday, January 27, at Memorial Hall, 120 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka. The public is invited to attend. The Sleeping Heroes website can be found at kshs.org/17356.

Sleeping Heroes is a collaboration between the Kansas Historical Society, Kansas State Department of Education, Freedom’s Frontier, and researchers John Jackson and Don Lambert to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, 2011 – 2015. This project encourages students to research Civil War veterans in their community’s cemeteries through the use of primary sources. Students share what they learn through an online database. The project was conceived in 2006 by students at Glasco Grade School.

Kansas’ connection to the Civil War is unique. Kansas Territory witnessed bloodshed over the expansion of slavery—some claim the Civil War actually started in Kansas.  After the war, Kansas earned the nickname, “the soldier state” because so many Civil War veterans settled here.

From the Kansas State Historical Society web site:

http://www.kshs.org/p/sleeping-heroes-the-impact-of-civil-war-veterans-on-kansas-communities/17356

In recognition of the 150 anniversary of the Civil War, 2011 – 2015, the Kansas Historical Society, along with its partners, is encouraging Kansas teachers to have their students research Civil War veterans in their community. Kansas’ connection to the Civil War is unique. Kansas Territory witnessed bloodshed over the expansion of slavery—some claim the Civil War actually started in Kansas. After the war, Kansas earned the nickname, “the soldier state,” because so many Civil War veterans settled here.

With this project, students will help document information about the contributions made by Civil War veterans in Kansas through the online database. The project also provides students an opportunity to see the practical applications of conducting historical research using primary sources.

Benefit to Students and Community

The Sleeping Heroes project is a great way to engage your students in doing history—not just reading about it.  The Kansas State Department of Education supports this project. The project meets many state history standards in grades three, four, seven, and eight. The project also provides students an opportunity to see the practical applications of conducting historical research using primary sources.

We are encouraging all Kansas schools to get involved, to research Civil War veterans in their communities, and submit their findings to the Historical Society’s Sleeping Heroes database. Researcher John Jackson of Chanute created the original database and made thousands of entries, most from southeast Kansas cemeteries. The database contains entries for Union and Confederate soldiers. Our goal is to add to this database through work done by Kansas students.

Another important aspect of the project is for students to use their research to answer the question “What impact did Civil War veterans have on my community?” This project is an exceptional opportunity to create a special writing project since student’s work is not just for a class grade but has real-world application.  See suggested performance assessments and projects undertaken by Glasco students for more ideas.

Riverdale Porterdale Cemetery Foundation, Inc.

Several years ago a foundation was established to restore and maintain the three city owned cemeteries in my hometown of Columbus, GA. As a donor I received an application to become a charter member of the Dales Society being established for the foundation. This foundation covers Riverdale, Porterdale and East Porterdale cemeteries.

I spent most of January back home taking care of my Daddy. I was pleased with the improvements I saw that were completed and those in progress. My Mama, 4 sisters, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Great Aunts and Uncles and others are buried at the cemeteries, most being in Riverdale.

My Mama - Riverdale Cemetery

A website has been established. And I found a video on YouTube that describes the efforts:

Photo Monument

My Photo Monument article is on the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal...Hop on over!

Blog Stats

Why do the blog stats report like they do? These are the ones provided by Blogger that were activated in May 2009.

Specifically the keywords shown when displaying by:

Now: Presuming that exact moment I selected "now"
Day: Feb 6 to Feb 7
Week: Jan 31 to Feb 7
Month: Jan 8 to Feb 6
All Time: May 2009 to Feb 2012

These keywords were searched and a link to my blog was clicked on.

Now

Day

Week
Why isn't all from Day here in the Week?
Who is searching for ME?

Month
Why isn't others from week here in Month?

All time
Why doesn't it have ALL of the others?
Sure wish I could select a time-frame!

Most of these I can see why a link to my blog was provided since I can recall blogging about the subject.

I need to go back and pay more attention to the stats provided by Site meter, which has been installed much longer than the Blogger stats.

And, I sure would love for those that landed on my blog to leave a comment. Many times I have more information than what is posted.

GYR Carnival...

...has been resurrected.

Theme: Favorite cemetery photo, taken by me.

This was a fast and easy one for me. My favorite cemetery photo, taken by me, hasn't changed in a long while. It is the stone of Georgia Mustian Davis located in the historic Linwood Cemetery in my hometown of Columbus, GA.

This cemetery offered many walks to clear my mind when my Mama was dying and during many other difficult times. 

I featured it in a 2009 blog post. I added a few updates to the original post which you can see HERE.

Hint: a portion of it is my header photo.

New vs Old

I recently spent almost a month in Georgia setting up care for my Daddy. After his stroke last year he was left with some limitations and requires help with some things. His brother lived with him and I hired someone to help. Both my Uncle and the other person died within 4 days of each other. My Uncle's death was a shock. He was a late in life baby for my Grandma. Daddy was 18 when he was born and my Uncle was only 6 years older than me. I had to scramble to get there and figure out what to do. Hopefully, the plans in place will meet his needs.

Before returning home I visited the cemetery where the person was buried that helped take care of my Daddy. Upon arriving I found a small cemetery tucked away from a busy area of town. Upon walking the grounds I was left wondering why half of the cemetery is cared for and the other half neglected. Perhaps there is more of a story there that I will discover another time.

Patrick Cemetery
Columbus, GA