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10Backstage: Behind the ExhibitsCheck out the articles below to learn more about some of the exhibits you will see at CivicFest. Freedom Rising Freedom Rising A multimedia presentation about the U.S. Constitution comes all the way from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, adding a live, theatrical element to CivicFest. “Freedom Rising” features actors, drama and other special effects and scenic elements from the original award-winning production in Philadelphia. “Freedom Rising” has received extensive praise from regional theater critics, and recently won a Thea award for outstanding achievement by a museum attraction. Steve Frank, Vice President of Education and Exhibits at the National Constitution Center, explains more: Q: What topics are covered in the presentation? Q: Why is this presentation so special? How does it present
the Constitution in an interesting and different way? Q: Will this be the first time the production has traveled? Q: What do people say or feel after visiting the exhibit? Q: What do you hope people will take away from the presentation? For more information visit the National Constitution Center’s website at http://constitutioncenter.org/ White House Model One of the most exciting CivicFest exhibits is an amazingly detailed replica of the White House created by John Zweifel and his family. Zweifel conceived the idea in 1956, after he toured the White House and began to wonder about the rooms not included on the public tour. He believed that all Americans should be able to see and experience all of the rooms of the White House. He decided to make a model so that all Americans could have full access, even to the private areas. The project began to take shape in 1975 when Zweifel was allowed to see the entire White House and examine it in great detail. Zweifel relied on photographs, numerous tours, and drawings to handcraft the 60- by 20-foot model, built on a scale of one foot to one inch. The project demanded more than 600,000 hours, combining the efforts of many specialty artists and the entire Zweifel family, including John, his wife Jan and their six children. Zweifel insisted upon extreme attention to accuracy and detail in making the furniture and fixtures. Each phone in each room rings and the televisions work. Even more amazing, each tiny portrait is accurate and hand painted. Each tiny book replicated in miniature in the White House can be opened and page through. In addition, new First Families notify the Zweifels about changes they make so the Zweifels can update the model house to reflect exactly what each room looks like in the present. The White House model has been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution and at various presidential libraries, where its minute precision has charmed and captivated audiences. Visitors to CivicFest will now have a once-in-lifetime opportunity to experience the entire White House up close and in person. Sources The White House Comes To College Station White House in Miniature Forgotten Founders – Historic Documents & Coins of Freedom Your eighth grade teacher lied to you. George Washington was not the first president of the United States, according to historian Stanley L. Klos. Few people have researched the details of the U.S. presidency as closely as Klos. His research has uncovered the four presidents of the Continental Congress and ten Presidents of the United States under the Articles of Confederation between 1774 and 1787. These men signed letters, treaties and other documents with the official title “President of the United States” prior to President Washington’s 1789 inauguration. CivicFest hosts an exhibit created by Klos, derived from his research of historic documents and his book: President Who? Forgotten Founders, which includes brief biographies on each of the forgotten founders. The exhibit will showcase rare historic documents, letters, manuscripts, newspapers and broadsides related to the lives of these 14 forgotten founding fathers. The exhibit also includes oil paintings of each. In the past, Klos’ work has raised some controversy. “I’m not trying to write history, I’m trying to right [it],” he said. “Unfortunately it does upset people.” While he agrees with scholars that George Washington was the first President under the U.S. Constitution, he argues that our founding fathers can and should be broadened to include men who came before the Constitution. Documents such as the Treaty of Paris have been signed “President of the United States” by Thomas Mifflin. John Hancock also signed his congressional resolution as “President” Hancock on March 16, 1776. The other forgotten founders presiding under the Articles of Confederation are Samuel Huntington, John Hanson, Thomas McKean, Nathaniel Gorham, Arthur St. Clair, Cyrus Griffin, Elias Boudinot, and Richard Lee Henry. Klos eagerly anticipates the CivicFest exhibit. “It celebrates the great political process…the nomination and election of the U.S. President and all of the related history and traditions of the office,” Klos said. “That’s something all Americans should be aware of.” Additionally, gold, silver and bronze coins commemorating forgotten founders and unrecognized former U.S. capitols will be available for purchase. These coins are controversial. In May, Klos filed suit against U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson, Jr., in an attempt to commemorate through the Presidential Coin Act the ten presidents under the Articles of Confederation. Klos requested Secretary Paulson add the forgotten founders to the Presidential $1 coin series. Attend CivicFest to learn more about these founding fathers your eighth grade history teacher forgot to tell you about. Sources: Local Music Talent to Perform on CivicFest Live Stage CivicFest will host a live stage featuring local bands like The Mouldy Figs and The Seward Concert Band. Their focus is jazz and patriotic music. A "mouldy fig" is a person who studies and plays old jazz. Jim “Fig” Field founded The Mouldy Figs, an old jazz and variety band, in 1959, when he was a high school junior in Parkridge, Illinois. Field grew up influenced by the Chicago jazz style of the late 1950s. He began his music career when he purchased his first washboard for $1.50 in 1959. He still plays this unusual percussion instrument. Field is also the musical coordinator for CivicFest. Field continued to explore his musical options when he relocated to the Twin Cities in 1970. The Mouldy Figs began performing in St. Paul in 1973 at Fiorito's on Sixth Street and Selby Avenue. The Figs played there and at the Lower Levi Lounge for eight years. They have also played for years at the Bungalow in Hudson and the Mainstreet Cafe in Hopkins. The Mouldy Figs have a steady local fan base and have released three professional recordings. These recordings are available online at http://themouldyfigs.com. Another Twin Cities-based group that will perform live at CivicFest is The Seward Concert Band. The band consists of a diverse group of doctors, nurses, housewives, students, retirees, sales people and administrators who all share the same passion for performing music. The Seward Concert Band will be performing a number of patriotic songs on the live stage. Conductor Dennis Malmberg hopes to inspire the CivicFest audience to find and practice a hobby they enjoy beyond normal work and to share these additional talents with the community. Sources: Minnesota! Exhibit This year is an exciting one for the state of Minnesota. Not only will St. Paul and Minneapolis host the Republican National Convention and CivicFest, the entire state is celebrating Minnesota’s 150th birthday. Minnesota first became a state in 1858, making 2008 the 150th anniversary of statehood, officially known as the Sesquicentennial. Minnesota’s 150 years of state history will be part of the Minnesota! exhibit, which will also feature information on Minnesota’s American Indian cultural history, immigration, women’s suffrage in Minnesota, the Minnesota State Fair since 1854, and the state’s quilting and flour milling history. The Minnesota Quilters organization will contribute three quilts for display. The first quilt, designed and created by Patricia Cox, features Minnesota symbols including the Minnesota state seal, the Sesquicentennial logo, images of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, and Minnesota’s state bird and flower, the loon and Showy Lady’s Slipper. Nationally recognized quilter Eunice Hill is contributing a quilt showcasing Minnesota’s great outdoors, including scenes from Minnesota’s many lakes and parks. The third quilt is designed to look like an American flag, while also depicting the life story of a Minnesota soldier who fought in the Civil War. This quilt was made by Gail Bakkom, a former costume designer for the Minnesota Opera. In addition to the quilts illustrating aspects of Minnesota, there will be a crib quilt from the 1860s and antique thimbles, needles and sewing bird clamps. Other featured items include: women’s suffrage buttons from the early 1900s, a Sesquicentennial Easter egg painted by local artists and displayed at the White House, cultural artifacts contributed by the state’s American Indian tribes, a school of wooden walleye fish painted and decorated by young artists, and a Tilt-A-Whirl car manufactured in Faribault, Minnesota. Come to CivicFest to see this informative display of Minnesota history. Sources: Minnesota Quilters, http://www.mnquilt.org/ Presidential Health Exhibit Have you ever wondered what will happen if the U.S. President ever falls ill? Who attends to the President and where? Is there a White House physician and what does he or she do? These answers will be provided at the Presidential Health Exhibit at CivicFest. The exhibit examines the health and medical treatment of the President, a very public patient. A seriously injured or ill President can have significant political, economic, diplomatic and military consequences for the nation as they may have to yield power. Thus, the White House physicians, through the care they provide, have a responsibility to both the President as an individual patient as well as to the nation. Presidents are usually cared for at military hospitals such as Bethesda Naval Hospital or the Walter Reed Army Center. The White House physicians are usually drawn from the military or federal health services such as the Veterans Administration, but the President can request any specialized care from anywhere in the country. The exhibit highlights the history of presidential health from George Washington to George W. Bush, drawing from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia's exhibit, "When the President is the Patient." Profiles of Dr. E. "Connie" Mariano and Dr. Richard Tubb, Brigadier General are included. There will also be a media component about the historical role of Mayo Clinic doctors in treating U.S. Presidents. Sources: JStor: the white house physician, http://www.jstor.org/pss/3791893 |
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