Getting to Know Minuteman National Park
Getting to Know National Parks and How Ours Came to Be
To kick off our work together, we started the day in the classroom sharing why each of us elected to be a part of this project. Then we watched some clips about how National Parks came to be.
THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICAS BEST IDEA | Theodore Roosevelt
AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS: THIS IS AMERICA | Ken Burns
MINUTEMAN NATIONAL PARK
Then, we traveled to the Visitors Center in Lincoln to have lunch at one of their picnic tables and watch their video, which provided historical context for Minuteman National Park.
After watching the video, Leslie Obleschuk, Chief of Interpretation and Education met with us in the lecture hall to offer more context about Minuteman National Park. Leslie shared the history and creation of MMPark, some of the business aspects, ideas about having artists in the park, how resources can be used, ongoing projects with scholars in the Park, and took questions. Students were especially curious to learn more about Native Americans and Black People who fought alongside better known Minutemen. She provided maps and we decided to walk out to "Parkers Revenge", where a recent excavation provided more accuracy surrounding a battle fought on the opening day of our country's revolution. With metal detectors and professionals on hand, folks explored the events that occurred at Parker's Revenge; some previously understood facts were reconsidered, as the process surfaced new evidence and information. This lead us to talking about "historical forensics" and a discussion about the importance of being "stewards to history". What is the importance of accuracy in recreating battles related to the founding of our nation? Who cares? Should we care about such detailed accuracy?
Before we left the park, we circled-up on a large rock beside a weathered grave marker dedicated to a fallen British Soldier. We shared some closing thoughts, and one student offered that the entire park is kind of like a huge grave site, like a singular, national burial place. We then began to collectively recognize the historical significance of this park as a memorial to people and ideas that were quickly changing. The war marked both a nationally acknowledged "death" just as new ideas and leaders were being "born". The park is both a place of good nights, and, good mornings. This thought reminded me of Maya Angelou's Poem, On The Pulse of Morning, which we read in the opening days of the semester.
