114 Docent Learning Curve

No Civil War hoopskirts when standing behind
a narrow counter!  I wear normal clothes!

What I have learned

As a museum docent

Each Sunday in the summer and fall I volunteer as a docent at the Old Court House Civil War Museum.

Although the second floor exhibits are self guided, we give an introduction to the courthouse and the museum in the courtroom before we sent people upstairs.


I enjoy talking about history, but the most fascinating part of the job is the interaction with the visitors. Each person or group is different and I have learned a great deal.


Involve the kids. 

I used to be frustrated trying to get my message across when the parents were distracted trying to keep the children quiet and listening. I quickly learned to turn the kids into junior docents and then everyone enjoyed it. Part of the explanation of the courtroom is to describe how the courtroom worked. I direct children from place to place in the courtroom from the clerk of the court's desk to the judge's desk (where they have to pound their fists and say "Guilty") to the sheriff's desk where the witness (a child) is sworn in. They also assume parts of a jury member and the defendant. We frequently have to pause for photo opportunities!

Give very specific instructions to children. 

I used to ask children to open to the drawer at the clerk's desk and tell me what they see. "Nothing," they say. Now I ask them if they see any writing. I have also learned to tell the parents to go with them because children frequently cannot read the cursive signatures that the clerks wrote in the drawer. They can decipher the dates that accompany the signatures. The dates range from 1850 and on.

Assume nothing about what people know or don't know about history. 

I have been consistently amazed at what adults and children don't know about the Civil War. I talk about Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, because there is a curse addressed to Davis in the upstairs graffiti. I don't expect people to remember who he was but some people do, including many visitors from overseas!

But I am surprised that people don't remember John Brown--not even the song! I also erroneously expect people to have a general idea about when the war happened. Then, there are occasionally individuals who have to tell me everything they know about the war and I try for patience.

Enjoy the wonderful connections. 

Every couple of weeks someone comes in who had a ancestor who fought in the area. We try to write down each connection so we have a record. The Battlefields Foundation invited all descendants of soldiers who fought in the 3rd Battle of Winchester to come to the courthouse museum a few years ago--what a great turnout with many remarkable stories!  

One visitor from a number of years ago really amazed us. Aaron Underwood of the 1st U.S. Cavalry lost his i.d. badge at the Battle of Cedar Creek. We were not able to discover much about Underwood because his service record showed that he went west with his unit after the war and deserted in Kansas July 28, 1866. A man who was visiting the museum said he was a descendant. He said that Underwood deserted and had an Indian wife and child. His Indian family died and he returned home to Ohio. Deserters were not closely tracked in those days. Underwood remarried and had children. And a descendant of those children came to visit!

The arrow points to the U in Underwood.
Many i.d. badges had the image of McClellan on the reverse side.

You never know who will buy what. 

I try to guess who will pay the entrance fee to tour the exhibit and who won't and don't have a very good guessing record. Likewise, I cannot predict whether people will buy anything or not or what they will buy. 

Last week a gentleman told me he had lot of Civil War books and that our gift shop had a nice collection. He asked me which were my favorites and why. I told him about four titles and he brought three of them!

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation took over the museum this February and there is much work to do to refresh/redesign the exhibits. 

Some people pay their money and spend 10 to 15 minutes upstairs; others stay for hours. Either way, visitors are always complimentary. And I find them all very interesting!

                     Trish