A Pleasant Surprise

[L Verge]

During the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, Surratt House has been featuring a movie night each year. In 2011, we had to start with Gone With The Wind; and we followed that in 2012 with Red Badge of Courage.

Tonight we showed Glory to an audience of about 30 patrons and plied them with free popcorn and sodas -- and candy bars for 50 cents. Glory has been around since the 1990s, but it should be shown for the next 50-100 years.

One of the members of the audience tonight was a Mr. Stan Slater, who played one of the extras in the ranks of the 54th Massachusetts. He brought some of his memorabilia with him and discussed what it was like working with the film. His most prized possession is actually a document from the Smithsonian Institution certifying that his uniform, used in the making of the film, is now on display at the Smithsonian. He was allowed to keep his rifle -- because the Smithsonian no longer accepts firearms.

It's little surprises and perqs like this that continue to make my job so enjoyable. It capped off a day where we also hosted a bus group from a Civil War Round Table in Michigan. What a nice group of people!