missouri humanities council

2010 Award Recipient

James Beckner

Exemplary Community Achievement

As a teacher for 33 years, James Beckner strived to make history come alive for his students, but on the weekends, it actually did. Since 1976, Beckner has been helping to recreate the Civil War in all its glory and hardships.

Beckner’s longtime career as a coach and history teacher at Grandview High School in Grandview, Mo. filled up his days, but his wife decided that it was time he picked up a hobby and get involved in the community. With a prior interest in history and the Civil War already, Beckner joined Civil War roundtables throughout Kansas City and began building his collection of Civil War memorabilia.

“I’ve always believed in history,” Beckner said. “I started doing reenactments every weekend. I’ve got bookshelves filled with books and a whole closet of Civil War clothes, but I’m still not tired of it. I try to learn everything I can.”

Beckner is now an active member and often an executive member of four Civil War round tables in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Dressed in period clothing and oftentimes riding on top of Herky Don King, his horse, Beckner has become a go-to guy for all things Civil War. He has appeared in and consulted for more than 30 movies, documentaries and plays and helped organize and enact some of the best Civil War reenactments in the five- state area. Though he loves the reenactments, the true joy is in helping others experience and understand the war better.

“You could talk to someone for hours about what happened in the Civil War, but when they get out there and hear the cannons and period music; see the horses, uniforms and doctors working on patients; and smell the cooking and gunpowder, they learn and remember more than they would from 10 hours in the classroom,” Beckner said. “I’ve always been someone that really loved history and helping others appreciate it, learn from it and make a better history in the future.”

With ancestors on both sides of the Civil War and membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans and Sons of the Union Veterans, Beckner finds it particularly important to find the truth in history.

“Part of the problem is that winners write the history books,” Beckner said. “The Union won the war, so they leave out by omission a lot of the bad things that they did. If you aren’t careful, you’ll believe that every Southerner was a bad person.”

One way Beckner has strived to share the entire story of the war is by cofounding the Missouri/Kansas Border Network, which services 24 organizations across the two states. The Network helps educate and provide resources about the border wars that went on long before and after the Civil War. Regardless of which state they tour first, visitors are encouraged to check out the organizations on the other side of the border to get the rest of the story.

Beckner also travels with his message and has given more than 300 speeches to schools and organization throughout the Kansas City area and beyond and performed living history skits, scenarios and memorials.

“James’ legacy is with the students, their families and all those that we’ve served at the Historical Societies because he invests in people,” said Carol Bohl, director of the Cass County Historical Society. “He turns people on to history by connecting and engaging with them in a way that impacts them for the long term. He encourages them to research or even tell their own stories.”

As a member of the Cass County Historical Society, Beckner is active in many of their programs and was the winner of their Education Award in 2009. Beckner is involved with various round tables, including: Civil War Round Table of Kansas City, Civil War Round Table of Western Missouri, Cass County Civil War Round Table and Independence Civil War Study Group. He was also a founding member of the Missouri Civil War Re-Enactors Association, twice serving as president. Beckner is a lifetime member of the Grandview Historical Society and the William C. Quantrill Society, winning their first Don Hale Award. He was one of the first Missouri members of the Freedoms Frontier organization and is a charter member of the Missouri Civil War Markers Program. He is also an active member of the Trail Side Center and has loaned many of his personal items to display on the Battle of Westport. As a teacher, Beckner was one of the first in Missouri to bring back the importance of the celebration of Veteran’s Day.

Beckner is married to Judi Beckner, has a son, Eric, a daughter, Dott, and two grandchildren, Kami and Kanyon.