Surratt Conference Update

[L Verge]

Trust me, Dave's girlfriend is on my staff -- those socks will come off his hands so fast the hands may come with them!!!

On second thought, we'll privately tape his puppet presentation without the audience and sell the videos... Even better, we'll convince The Muppets to do a segment on the Lincoln assassination. I guess y'all know that their creator, the late-Jim Henson, was a Maryland boy.

[Jim Page]

I guess y'all know that their creator, the late-Jim Henson, was a Maryland boy.

Yep; the house he lived in when he went to high school is two blocks from mine in the historic district of Hyattsville. My understanding is that Kermit was born there when Henson started doing TV commercials for Wilkins Coffee.

--Jim

[Dave Taylor]

Here's a little sneak peek at my presentation to assuage your worrying, Jim:

The Garrett Family and John Wilkes Booth by Dave Taylor DRAFT

[Jim Garrett]

Well now I feel much better. I was nervous that Dave was going to have sock puppets for JWB, Herold, Richard Garrett, Willie Jett and so on. I'm so relieved he isn't doing something juvenile!

[John E.]

Here's a little sneak peek at my presentation to assuage your worrying, Jim:

The Garrett Family and John Wilkes Booth by Dave Taylor DRAFT

Very cool ! Was that barn on the same site as the old one? I'm presuming of course that the one pictured is not the original.

[Hess1865]

Well now I feel much better. I was nervous that Dave was going to have sock puppets for JWB, Herold, Richard Garrett, Willie Jett and so on. I'm so relieved he isn't doing something juvenile!

Will the sock puppet be signing autographs or posing for pictures???

[L Verge]

Well, I see that schools in Dave's county are closed due to the snow also... Lindsey, please make sure that the socks are clean before the conference!

Since we have a Garrett descendant coming to the conference (thanks to Dave's research and people skills), have you warned him about the puppets?

[BettyO]

Can I bring a Powell descendant as "Show and Tell?"

[Gene C]

Very nice Dave. Entertaining without being stupid. It takes a true professional and artist to present a dignified and serious presentation using sock puppets.
Wish I could be there.

[Dave Taylor]

Very cool ! Was that barn on the same site as the old one? I'm presuming of course that the one pictured is not the original.

John, you are correct that this is not a photo of the original barn. However, according to a newspaper article I found, this barn was built on about the same location as the original. This picture was taken by Otto Eisenschiml around 1932. I changed it a little bit for my blog:

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Well now I feel much better. I was nervous that Dave was going to have sock puppets for JWB, Herold, Richard Garrett, Willie Jett and so on. I'm so relieved he isn't doing something juvenile!

You know me, Jim. Professional is my middle name.

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Since we have a Garrett descendant coming to the conference (thanks to Dave's research and people skills), have you warned him about the puppets?

I'm hoping Judge Hughes has a ventriloquism background. Then we'll have the vaudeville feel I'm looking for.

[Laurie Verge]

Just as long as one "dummy" doesn't sit on the lap of another "dummy".....

[Dave Taylor]

Well, we're just about a week away, and I'm getting really amped up for the conference. The speaker pool is phenomenal with such an interesting assortment of topics. Yesterday, I made considerable headway in my speech and this weekend I am going to be a hermit. I will stay in my office, emerging only for the necessities of life, as I finish up my presentation.

[BettyO]

Same here, Dave! I know exactly what you mean!! I, too am a hermit until Thursday!

By the way - LOVE the sock puppet presentation!

[Laurie Verge]

The audience for our speakers will be phenomenal also, so prepare yourselves for Q&A. However, we do strictly enforce time limits for each speaker.

Speaking of the audience, we will be closing registration as of this afternoon's mail. In years past, we have allowed walk-ins as late as Saturday mornings. However, we have reached our limit as to how many can attend and still keep the classroom setting so that people have tables in front of them to write on. Our next option (perhaps next year) will be to go to theater-style seating to accommodate more people. Right now, our registration stands at 119 - over twenty more than last year. Our banquet on Saturday night will include an additional 26 people.

Lots of new people to make friends with!

[Jim Garrett]

I am anxiously awaiting the conference this weekend. This is such a great time to get together with old friends and put real faces with avatars. This will be the best conference yet through all the efforts put forth by the Surratt Society. This is an opportunity to give a special thank you to the entire group at the Surratt Society and especially our own "legendary member", Laurie.