MODEL EXHIBITIONS

PRESENTING THE TOUR: "SITES REENACTMENT TOUR"

TWO EXHIBITS:
COLLECTING, PRESENTING, AND REACHING THE COMMUNITY

 

PRESENTING THE TOUR: "SITES REENACTMENT TOUR"

As previously mentioned in the Intern Models section, interns were involved in the researching and writing of a script that, as reported in the Spring 2000 Friends of Arrow Rock newsletter, would "introduce visitors to John and Nannie Sites in Arrow Rock in 1880." The character of a young servant girl, Virginia, was created as the means to introduce visitors to "Uncle Johnnie and Aunt Nannie" and take visitors to the home and gun shop. Nannie's character was set to present her role in the Sites' restored 1875 home, and John's character was situated in the restored gun shop next door.

Just as the reenactment tour was centered around specific historical characters, it was also centered on a historical theme relevant to Arrow Rock. The intern group decided to build its script on the theme of "Dealing with Change" because, as is stated in the Spring 2000 newsletter, "the Sites lived in Arrow Rock for sixty years and experienced many types of changes." Thus, in the course of the half-hour tour, "visitors [would get] a picture of the changes experienced in Arrow Rock as well as in the personal lives of John and Nannie Sites."

After the interns' script had been presented and critiqued at a volunteer group session at the end of April, Friends of Arrow Rock staff and volunteers undertook the task of revising and adding to the original script. By the end of May, work was complete on the script and actors were hired, in part with grant funds, to portray the three characters. In specific, a recent Missouri Valley College theatre graduate was hired to portray John, and a college student was hired to portray Nannie. Friends staff also hired three high school students who were each to "learn the part of Virginia, the [fictional] servant girl." Funding from the grant was also used to supply historic costuming for these five summer staff workers.

As Kathy Borgman reported, tours were "offered on weekends in the months of June and July, as well as to several bus tours and summer school groups." In all, this living history exhibit ran from 27 May to 30 July, presenting to the public on a total of twenty days. These tours resulted in a pointed success for the Friends of Arrow Rock. In June and July, as Ms. Borgman's report continued, "tours doubled from last year with 825 people viewing the special tour. We had successfully created a first-person tour."

Visitor evaluations of the tour also pointed to a successful living history tour model. Ms. Borgman reported: "when asked how informative the tour was, 97 responded 'very'; 20 said 'above average'; 27 said 'adequate'; and no one said it was poor." Similarly favorable results were reported when visitors were asked how enjoyable the tour was, with a total of 147 visitors responding in the 'very' or 'above average' categories.