My Triple Header

Last week, Mark and I hit the road to give three talks in three nights.  As we left the rental car place in south Mississippi, we were hoping the Ohio license plates wouldn't draw unneeded attention in central Alabama and southern Tennesseee.  I would be able to talk my way out of anything with my Mississippi accent.  But Mark probably wouldn't, considering he is from Iowa.....and would be wearing his Federal uniform.  Of course, I say all of this in jest.  We have always been treated extremely well everywhere we have gone.


The icky forecast held true, unfortunately.  It rained all the way to Guntersville.  The yucky weather, coupled with the change in the normal meeting day as well as venue, equaled a low turnout.  That is certainly understandable.  It's just one of those things that can't be helped.  I am just thankful to be given the opportunity to spread the word about women soldiers.

Trevor Siprelle introducing me.  I need to learn to stand up straight!

Trevor Siprelle, president of the Marshall County Civil War Round Table, along with another member, was there early and helped me get set up.  He was especially adept at dealing with an unruly screen!  When everybody was settled into their seats, he introduced me, and I gave my talk.   One older guy sat with a scowl on his face the entire time and would always divert his eyes when I looked at him.  I knew his "type" and during the question and answer time, he validated my instinct.  While he complimented me on the presentation, he basically said it was all "BS" and nothing more than a "fantasy."  He claimed there was no way women would be able to fool anybody.  After all, they were "making love" to the men.  Those were his words, which he said in disgust while waving a hand in the air.  I was shocked at the rudeness.  Mark actually stood up and reiterated a lot of the points I had made.  I dared not speak until I was confident I could control my tongue.  Once that was accomplished, I agreed that there were quite a few women whose identity was known.  As a matter of fact, I think it was more common for a woman to have had a male confidant and assistant than for women such as Jennie Hodgers to serve throughout the war with her identity completely intact.  I had even talked about that during my presentation, which seemed to be lost to him, so I offered more examples and then patted my binder filled with newspaper articles, service records, and other documents while reminding folks that they were more than welcome to come examine my research.  As expected, the man chose not to.  After the question and answer time was up, everybody made their way to my gear where Mark was prepared to answer questions.  Meanwhile, others approached me with more inquiries and compliments.  The man came up and cracked some joke about marriage.  I can't even recall what he said.

Fortunately, one bad apple doesn't spoil the rest, as they say.  And I certainly don't judge a group of people based on one soul.  The rest of them were very affable, and I enjoyed talking to them very much.  One gentleman in particular smiled the entire time and was very engaging with questions and comments.  Trevor, was as well, and was very helpful with getting everything taken down.  We stayed and chatted for a while afterwards and then off we went to Westhaven.

Westhaven is a beautiful community in Franklin, Tennessee.  They offer their residents all sorts of activities and amenities, one of which being Westhaven University.  Amy Law contacted me and invited me to teach a class, which I eagerly accepted.  I love Franklin, and so does one of my former high-school and college students, Chelbie Engle, who moved there.  She graced me with her presence during my talk and then we got to catch up afterwards.  I missed seeing my friends, Greg and Beth Wade, this trip

Amy Law introducing me.

For whatever reason, I was very nervous during most of this presentation, and I have no idea why!  Maybe it was because of the intimate theater seating?  Maybe it was because my class was sold out?  I have no idea, but I'm disappointed in myself for my delivery.  Nevertheless, I still saw smiling faces in the crowd.  They were engaging and complimentary.  Amy was very nice and extremely helpful.  She had it all together!  When we arrived, she was there and had already been working with the audio/visual equipment in the theater.  I bring my own projector and PA system by the way, just in case.

Finally, I wrapped up the triple header in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, which is in the Birmingham area.  The first member who arrived was a retired general who was a super nice and respectful gentleman.  We talked for a while as Mark and I were setting up.  As the rest of the crowd began filtering in, I was glad to see a number of women among them.  Some were guests who belonged to a local DAR group.  This was another wonderful bunch, and I was extremely relaxed while speaking.  Dan Peace presented me with a nice speaker's gift of an envelope with a Harriet Tubman postage stamp upon its first issue in 1995.  Such items are certainly not expected or required.

Alabama Civil War Round Table

It's easy for me to get long winded (as a reader can see by this post), but I had to really watch the clock in this case because they had to be out of the library by a certain time or be charged another day!  Yikes!  Thankfully, we were successful in that endeavor.  They invited Mark and me to join them for a meal afterwards, which we accepted.  There, the conversation continued and alternated between them asking more questions about women soldiers to sharing various stories about themselves. I learned that one of the gentlemen was a former FBI agent who had worked on the Birmingham bombing case years ago. 

Mark and I finally had to bid them adieu and head to Chattanooga where we spent two more rain-filled days trying to enjoy the final vestiges of our trip while recovering my voice.  All in all, it was a successful and enjoyable week despite the crappy weather.

Sometimes, I receive emails from attendees.  They always make me feel good and give me the strength to continue.   A gentleman from the Guntersville talk said, "That was one of the best presentations I have seen, 'outstanding'." And one of the members of the Alabama Civil War Round Table shared a comment one of the DAR ladies sent him: "The program was amazing.  I have heard a few other programs about women in the Civil War, but nothing to compare with this.  Shelby was terrific."  Amy Law said, "Shelby’s presentation of Forbidden, Hidden, and Forgotten was fantastic. Her passion about this subject came through in this dynamic, interactive presentation. She took the time to research information specific to our state. The presentation got rave reviews from the attendees." Such wonderful and kind words like these keep me focused on my research and eager to give my next talk.  

(By the way, sometimes it's easier to share different information in different areas.  I generally will post information about my talks and research here on my blog and then more pictures on the Facebook page, a link for which can be found at the top of the this page.)