Seminary Ridge Tours light due to No Reenactment

Seminary Ridge 7/1/06

For the second straight night we had smaller crowds than expected. Another guide and I each took about 20 people with us on a pleasant Saturday evening. Folks from NY, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Ocean County, New Jersey, where my wife and I vacation, came along on a tour where my storytelling was on, my jokes were a little off, and music from the Carnival echoed in the night. This group was a good one and I really enjoyed it.

There is something special about being on the Battlefield on the anniversary days. Before the tour I was trying to imagine the campus after the first day of fighting. It was enough to give me chills and something I look forward to next year.

From tours gone by...I think it was 2001 when I tried to fight in the battle reenactment and then guide a tour later that night. I thought I could easily pull it off because there was only one battle that day and I had a Seminary Ridge, the easiest tour on my voice.

When I used to participate in reenactment, I was the guy in the ranks that was screaming and cursing the whole time. Some guys would go out and laugh and joke around during the battle. Not me. I would scream my self hoarse.

Well I got a little excited during the battle and when it came to tour time, my voice in rough shape. I still had gunpowder smeared on my face when I showed up and I asked that the group of about 70 people be split 40-30. I still had just enough left that the group could hear all that I said, even though there was little tone or pitch changes to my voice!

That was the last time I tried to do both!

Looking forward to Bike Week...

"Rick Saunders"