Seminary Saturday Night!

Saturday May 27th, 2006 Seminary Ridge

Ideal weather for a walk! Warm and a light breeze. People from Texas, Ohio, and some Pennsylvanians from Philly to Pittsburg came out. I even brought a few friends along for the ride!

I was a little frustrated when the tour began. I was expected the group to be twice the size, and we all know how I prefer larger groups. But it wasn't meant to be, so off we went aggravated guide and all! Some people take out their frustrations by exercise or meditation. I have learned over the years to channel that energy into my storytelling. I find that I can get real creative with my tone of voice when I am a little sideways before the tour. When I sold timeshare, I had a manager that would intentionally get me upset before sales presentations. He told me that my numbers were better when I was upset. Maybe he was right. When it comes to showtime, you must perform no matter what the circumstances. I guess what they say is true, the show must go on.

At the beginning of my Seminary Ridge tour, we have to recite a disclaimer at the request of the Seminary. If there are any kids in the group, I will usually try to get them involved with this. I'll ask them if they have a good memory. Then I'll tell them to repeat the disclaimer after I'm done reciting it. Most of the time the kids jump at the chance. What they don't know is that I can recite this thing with lightning speed! Then of course, they have no idea what I said, can't repeat it, and are left a little embarrassed in front of the group. Lollipops cure that everytime! On Saturday though, the only two kids in the group did not want to help me out at all! One of them flat out refused. I practically had to give them the candy up front! I had to ask them "if they would please humor the tour guide" by playing along. Like pulling teeth! I always get a kick out of how groups and individuals react and interact on tour. I wonder if anyone has studied this on a more scientific level?

From tours gone by... I try to always mention Hugh Ziegler and his experiences at Gettysburg when I'm out on the Seminary. He was ten years old when the battle came to his front door. He was excited before the battle and horrified afterwards. He had to help carry amputated limbs outside of Schmucker Hall. Gruesome work for a child that age. I tell Hugh's story to show how the war effected children in many different ways. There are no ghosts involved in this story, it is just one of my "interpretive rants."

I told Hugh's story back in April of this year and before I could transition into the next story a woman asked me a question that I consider one of the best I've ever been asked. "What happened to him?" she asked. "What did he grow up to be?" I almost fell to the ground! I told her that he lived unitl the 1930's and settled in Oklahoma. She was relived to know that he did well. It is a pleasure to see someone connect to a story, and in this case the subject of the story, on such a personal level. I look forward to the next such person!

Sleep well,

"Rick Saunders"

Ghosts of Fredericksburg

Mark Nesbitt's brand new Ghosts of Fredericksburg Candlelight Walking Tours begin tonight. I know that Mark and Carol are real excited about working in Fredericksburg! Best of luck to all of the Fredericksburg guides! Don't scare 'em too much!

If you're ever in Fredericksburg, Va stop in for a walk.

Visit www.ghostsoffredericksburg.com

Sleep well,

"Rick Saunders"

Update from Friday's Seminary Ridge Tour

When I was checking in at the HQ before Monday's Tour, the woman who works in the office showed me an email she recieved that day. I mentioned all of the nice cameras on that tour in my entry from the other day. It seems that at least one of those cameras caught one of the wierdest photos I've ever seen!

Thanks to Jamie T for allowing me to post this photo!

On the bottom right you can see a "flare" around my arm. Looking closely at that "flare" I see a face! There was no one standing behind me at the time. There's more than one way you can expierence a ghost!

Another note on this photo. Where this photo was taken, in front of Schmucker Hall, I have had lantern problems over the past few weeks. This Saturday night's Seminary tour might get real interesting.

Keep your cameras on the ready and sleep well...

"Rick Saunders"

Busy Monday on Baltimore St

Monday, May 22, 2006 Baltimore St Tour

This tour really goes to show that you never know what you're going to get, as far as group sizes go, on any given night. There was 40 people with me Monday night, compared to only 14 the Friday before. One would assume that it would be busier on Friday, but this time that was not the case! A group of 20 high school kids from Pine Grove, PA did make up half of the group, but hey I'll take it! I love bigger groups and this one was just about at maximum capacity for what I prefer for the Baltimore Street Tour. So off we went.

It is always interesting to see how a group is going to react when half are school children, or in some cases boy/girl scouts, and the rest are the "normal type" tourist; people on vacation, couples out on date night or something like that. These kids were in the AP History class and they talked their teacher to take them out of school for a half day and go to Gettysburg. When school groups tell me something like that, I seriously get a warm, fuzzy feeling. There is nothing better than a school group that has studied the battle a little and their only stop on the field trip is Gettysburg! They're not thinking about going to Hershey Park or NYC. These kids were great.

There were some really nice folks that joined us Monday night. There were four people from Santa Fe, New Mexico. I haven't had anyone from NM in quite some time. I had some locals and couples from Virginia and Maryland as well. I had a little trouble getting to greet everyone the way like to. We started in the court yard at our headquarters and it was tough to tell who was in the school group as there were people scattered everywhere. I hope I didn't miss anyone.

Since there was a group of high school seniors on the tour, I went to the GAR hall on Middle St and told some of the college stories. It's amazing how one little joke about college kids and partying can make you "cool" to a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds. It almost never fails!

It seemed like everyone had fun, I know I enjoyed it!

From tours gone by...A few years go on the Seminary, when I asked who came the fartherest to see the Ghosts of Gettysburg, there was one guy who thought he had it! He proudly boasted "California!" and awaited his kudos. Before I handed him the lollipop prize I kept going around the group asking where they were all from and came to a guy who was from Hawaii! He was a native Hawaiian, belonged to the Navy, was stationed at Pearl Harbor and was on vacation with his family. My Californian tourist was crushed! I gave him a pop anyways! How's that saying go? "So close but so far away." In his case, being so far away brought him close, but not close enough!

Sleep Well.

"Rick Saunders"

Seminary Ridge May 19, '06

It was a nice Friday night, right around 58 degrees and very little breeze. 14 real nice folks joined me last night. Had a couple from Boston, a whole bunch of people from all over Pennsylvania and three bikers from Milwaukee on their way home from Bike Week in Myrtle Beach. "It's the only way to see America" she told me. Amen sister!

There was a lot of nice cameras on tour last night and these folks must have taken my picture at least 20 times. If you didn't know it, you'd think there was a small electrical storm around Old Dorm for about 5 minutes. Flashes going off everywhere!

Towards the end of the walk I had what I call "stunned silence" after the "Buried Alive" story. There were no children in the group so I let these people have it. "Buried Alive" is the most intense and intimidating story in my arsenal and after it was over, the group just stood there. They said nothing, blank stares on their faces, and I could see a few catching their breaths afterwards. Awesome! That is what it's all about! Every person in the group seemed to be hanging on every word. I have been playing with my verbage of this story. I trimmed it down some, used a few more power words, put a little anger in my tone of voice and brought that story home! I need to say it again, AWESOME!

From tours gone by... I don't remember exactly how this came up last night, but since there were no children in the group, I told the group about this little incident that happened about 6-7 years ago. I was guiding the Carlisle St. tour which takes you on to the campus of Gettysburg College. We were in front of Stevens Hall and I was telling the "Blue Boy" story. This story is very depressing. In order for this story to be effective you need to tell the history of the Homestead Orphanage and it cruel mistress, who abused the children, way before you get to ghost part of the story. A lot of times you will see people getting upset which means you are doing your job with this story. But this one night I had these two guys in the back of the group having a great time. They were smiling and carrying on. I was watching these guys all tour and I didn't think they were drunk or on anything, so I didn't know what they were up to. As we were walking back into town, they came up to me and revealed the reason for their behavior. Stevens Hall is the girls dorm at Gettysburg College and I guess there was a girl changing in one of the windows. These guys, who were middled aged and on a Gettysburg weekend without their families, told me that seeing that made their whole trip. I don't know if anyone else caught the peep show that night, I know I missed it. Ever since, every time I go to Stevens Hall I make sure I bounce my voice off of the building a few times before I get into the stories over there. You never know what you're going to see on a Ghosts of Gettysburg candlelight walking tour!

Sleep well,

"Rick Saunders"

Baltimore St 5/18/06

Group tour! Last night I spent some time with some very curious fourth graders from southern Ohio. You know you're in for an interesting evening when the tour leader tells you that they just spent 9 hours on the bus without stopping very much. That sends shivers up my spine! First thing you do there is walk the group a little ways to let them stretch there legs and burn a little of their pent up energy! These kids were in good spirits and the weather held for us. All in all it was a nice night for a walk.

As enthusiastic as these kids were, it always blows my mind as to why you would take your students on a three day field trip to a historic site that you don't teach about before you come. There was only one kid in the group that had been to Gettysburg before and most of these kids knew nothing about the Civil War. It got to the point where the "Civil War buff" parent had to answer all the questions. I had to break it down to basic concepts for these kids to set up the human interest stories. "Where would you take wounded men?" "Why there?" I think these kids got it for the most part. I love the look on the kids' faces when you make them actually think while they're on a field trip!

Another thing that blows my mind is how many young kids have a cell phone. When it was time to take pictures of a building, more phones came out than cameras! Crazy.

From tours gone by...I remember one time I had a reenactor in my group. That particular night he was in his Confederate uniform. After the tour he came up and tipped me with the gold Sacagewa dollars. He made the comment that since he was up North, his Confederate money was no good. It was a neat exchange and the few people that were still hanging around got a kick out of it! I talked to this guy for awhile and he told me a story that Mark published in one of his latter books.

Sleep well,

"Rick Saunders"

Thursday, May 11 2006 Carlisle St.

What a terrible night for a walk! The thunderstorms and heavy downpours began about ten minutes before we started. The tour was up in the air for a minute, but we decided to put the kids on the bus and drive around in circles while I told stories with the microphone.

This group of 8th graders from the Johnstown, PA area deserves an award for their behavior. They were excellent considering they were wet, cold, and left up to their own devices in the comfort of their seats on the bus. They all paid attention and some even asked questions! Wild. Most groups that I have come across in that situation would have skipped the tour altogether and took the kids to the hotel to let them go swimming.

I will admit that it is not easy telling stories moving at 35 mph, stop and go through town. The windows fogged up in the bus, the driver had no idea where he was going, and I'm taking him down the narrow streets around the college. Talk about the blind leading the blind! There were a few really tight spots and thankfully this guy was a pro. We made it around without damaging any vehicles.

Halfway through, the kids got cold and asked the bus driver to turn the heat on. For the guy wearing a wet wool greatcoat, turning the heat on did not sound like a good idea! It was a very warm last 25 minutes!

The only building that these kids saw was Stevens Hall. That, of course, is home to the "Blue Boy" story which is somewhat depressing when you talk about the mistreatment of the children at the orphanage. But hey, what can you do? This tour, if that what it was, was over in about 45 minutes. The kids seemed to enjoy the experience and I got a kick out of playing with my tone of voice over the microphone.

It could have been worse, at least it didn't snow!

From tours gone by… There was one night where I was on the balcony smoking a cig when I heard a group of people below me talking. They told this one guy that there was a soldier on the balcony and he adamantly refused to turn around and look. So I took the bunting that was hanging on the railing and dipped it down in front of him a few times then lifted it back up and ducked down so he couldn't see me! This guy didn't know what to do. His friends were laughing and this guy really wanted to know how that happened. I couldn't help myself from laughing out loud and finally revealed myself on the balcony. That's when one of his friends said "See, I told you there was a soldier on the balcony!" Good times!

Sleep well.
"Rick Saunders

Seminary Ridge 5/6/06

What a night for a walk! Perfect temperature and very little breeze. It was a smaller group than I was hoping for, especially since it was Saturday night. But 15 is better than 5. Nice folks from Pittsburg, Indiana, North Carolina, and New Jersey.

Honestly last night I was just going through the motions for the most part. I have trouble getting really geared up for smaller groups. There wasn't anyone in the group offering themselves up for any abuse, which sometimes happens with smaller groups. There's less people to embarrass yourself in front of I guess. Therefore I had to be the butt of most of my own jokes.

It always surprises me how groups react to certain jokes. I usually tell the same jokes in the same spot tour after tour. Last night was no different. These people laughed very hard at the kid in the window joke. I tell this story about a kid who lived in one of the houses on the Seminary who used to run up to his room and flick the lights on and off for a minute when he would see the group coming, and then I act all disappointed when he doesn't do it. I’ll admit I’m hamming it up here pretty good. These people thought that was great! I really don't see how this is as funny as other people do, but it works. I guess even Seinfeld gets tired of his own jokes after awhile.

Alright, so I get a great reaction from that one, and almost no reaction on the next joke where the kid hides under the covers. "If you're ever scared by a ghost and you're lying in bed, hide under the covers! You're safe under there!" I didn't mistime this joke or anything and only got a minimal reaction. This one woman even gave me a dirty look. I didn't ask her daughter to the prom or anything, so I don't know where that look came from. It's the least offensive joke in my arsenal. Strange.

The "dead ringer" joke usually gets the same reaction and last night was no different. Same thing with this joke that I tell about a mouse and then a skunk scaring the group off this stonewall. I use certain jokes to keep the tempo of the tour where I need it. If I have to get into a historical interpretive rant, I will set it up with some humor or follow it with a joke. Ghost story telling is about giving the people what they paid for, entertainment. They can get the history for free at the park! Jokes, humor, and human interest stories will overcome the dull spots and weak stories.

A well timed, good natured joke can also set up a group to be blown away by a more intimidating and frightening story. This worked well last night with "Buried Alive." Although I wasn't really pumped up for the walk, I did get a little creative with this story. I told the group about families hearing screams in the house and brought it home with the parents thinking their children are having a nightmare, but then realizing that the kids are at a sleepover down the street. Every person with children in the group nodded their head. Gotcha!

All in all, it was a decent walk with decent returns, but I'd still rather have more people in the group!

From tours gone by… About two or three years ago on the Seminary I told the joke about the kid playing with the lights and of course the group laughed. But what was really neat about that night was whoever was closing up Schmucker Hall for the Historical Society flicked the lights on and off for us over the door on the east side of the building! The group went bananas! That little act made the tour for most of these people and I appreciated the random nature of it, mainly because that is the only time in 7 years that a ACHS staff member has done it for us!

Sleep well

"Rick Saunders"

Baltimore St. 5/4/06

Hello! I am writing this blog to catalog my experiences as a tour guide/ storyteller for the Ghosts of Gettysburg. I am in my ninth season and have a ton of little stories, not necessarily related to ghosts, that I've experienced over the years. I've met tons of interesting people along the way. I have guided well over 400 walks and talked to well over 10,000 people, there's got to be something interesting stuff in there somewhere!

Last night, Thursday May 4 I had a group of about 30 fifth graders from Brunswick, NJ. I don't know what it is but groups from New Jersey are always a little different. Two kids left the tour after my opening, "How people experience ghosts" story set. There's nothing overly scary about these stories, I even end them with a joke, which I think I mistimed last night b/c only 35% of the group got it. Either way two down and 28 to go.

As we went along these kids began scaring themselves. Talking themselves into being scared. I tried to break this up by throwing in a little history lesson to set up stories for later on in the tour. This group had never heard of JEB Stuart or George A Custer, but they did know that Lincoln was in town for a cemetery dedication. It blows my mind how many kids come through that town that can recite the Gettysburg Address but have no idea why Lincoln wrote it or why he was there to deliver it!

As we continued on, of course the sidewalk got clogged because another guide took up the whole sidewalk with her group. That and the fact that 5 groups were passing each other at the same spot at the same time. It is school group season in Gettysburg! I finished in our headquarters yard, but not before a local gave us a rap concert by pulling over and blaring his music for us.

After we finished, a woman came up and told me that she had stayed in the Krauth House years ago while taking a youth ministry seminar. I always finish every tour with the Krauth House story regardless of the tour we're on. Most folks will never know what house I'm referring to even though they probably will drive by it 5-6 times. The woman told me how spooky she remembered the house being and how much she enjoyed hearing a story about it, especially since she wasn't expecting one. Sometimes the littlest things will make a visitor's experience that much better.

All in all, it was a good time with a good group of kids.

From tours gone by....Some years ago I had a group on Lincoln Square and it was around 11 PM. As I was in the middle of a story, we hear this car tearing around the traffic circle. Stopping in mid-sentence I turn around to see a woman hanging out of the passenger's side door screaming "Let me out of this @!#%&* car!" The driver was leaning over grabbing her and pulling her back into the car. She had at least one leg out and I fully expected to see her tumble out of the car. The driver managed to pull her back into the car and navigate the circle! He then went tearing down Baltimore St squealing his tires the whole time. I didn't know what to say my group and I wished I had a camera to take a picture of their faces. There was an akward silence, when a guy in the group pipes up and says something along the lines of "Holy #%$&, what was that about!" We all had a laugh and I responded "You see folks, you never know, late on a Saturday night, sometimes there are things scarier than ghosts here on Lincoln Square.” That was one of the wildest things I've ever seen in 9 seasons of guiding in Gettysburg!

Hope you all sleep very well!

"Rick Saunders"