The guest speaker was Calvin Chapelle who is the new Site Director of Confederate Memorial Park. The park is part of the Alabama Historical Commission to Protect, Preserve and Interpret Alabama's Historic Places. Calvin began by providing a background of his personal life including showing on the projector photographs of his great grandfather Abram Chappelle who was a Confederate veteran. He is a native of Montgomery and a 5th generation Alabamian. He holds a Bachelors degree in Art History from the University of Tennessee and a Masters degree in Museum Studies from the Philadelphia University of the Arts. Prior to his position at CMP he served as Executive Director for a private foundation that oversees Mabry-Hazen House and Knoxville's Confederate Cemetery, the final resting place of over 1,600 Confederate soldiers. Here he helped restore the historic caretaker's cottage on the grounds. While in Knoxville, he also served as Heritage Tourism Coordinator for Visit Knoxville and as Chairman of the Knox County Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission which held the Blue and Gray Reunion and Freedom Jubilee. His fascination with the Civil War began with his father's interest in genealogy and a childhood trip to Fort Morgan State Historic Site where several of his ancestors served in the 21st Alabama Infantry. Calvin began reenactments at the age of 9 in a drum and fife unit and he plays many period instruments today in events and presentations.
Calvin brings 18 years of museum experience to Confederate Memorial Park. The park comprises 102 acres in Mountain Creek and includes two cemeteries, picnic pavilions, a museum, period buildings including a chapel as well as the Alabama Division SCV library. The park was a Confederate soldier's home established to care for destitute veterans so that they would have food, shelter and medical care. Other such homes were established in other states such as in Hermitage TN. The home was founded by Jefferson Manly Falkner. Mountain Creek was an area with summer cottages built there to escape the summer heat of Montgomery. Many prominent people and organizations contributed to the development and building of the Confederate veteran's home in Mountain Creek including Ell Torrence, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, Booker T. Washington (who contributed $100), the United Daughters of the Confederacy, as well as the Episcopal church. These donations were used to build cottages for the veterans to reside as well as a Memorial Hall (completed in 1904), hospital, mess hall, dairy farm and other community buildings. Calvin displayed photos of some of the early administrators of the home including Commandant Fowler, Kate Lassiter (buried in nearby Marbry Baptist Church) who was a matron/nurse, Dr. Marshall Fielder who was a Commandant and Confederate veteran himself and John Neland who was the first Commandant not a veteran.
Calvin shared his vision for the future of this wonderful historical asset also including a greater social media presence online. He has started additional events at CMP like a Winter Quarters in January 2019 which brought reenactors from Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee as well as Alabama for a month long encampment including cooking, inspections, drills, drum and fife, even period correct barber shaving service. In October a commissary cooking event is being planned. This Saturday September 14th Calvin will host a walking tour of the park. Calvin is expanding his and the park's presence at community presentations and festivals and is working elsewhere including Ft.Morgan in south Alabama. Partnering with other historic organizations like Old Alabama Town, the Archives and others, his goal is to present history in authentic appropriate presentations and open the dialogue to respect and preserve our state's and nation's invaluable history and heritage even helping with a new slave dwelling project at Old Alabama Town and seeking other groups interested in preserving black Southern history.
No comments:
Post a Comment