History travel is not
an intellectual pursuit

Look at our kids. They know naturally that history is fun!

Think back in your own life, to when you were a child - five, six, seven years or older. What kind of role-playing did you and others enjoy? Chances are, at least some of your games were history-inspired.

I recall that my youngest brother practically lived in his Davy Crockett suit after seeing the Disney film, and he endlessly sang “Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier...” My middle brother loved wearing his cowboy outfit, with “six shooters” holstered at his sides, ready for action. I developed a great fondness for Native American cultures and imagined myself as a kindred spirit. History subjects are great fodder for creative young minds.

Regrettably, many older children and adults lose this joy. (I once was among them.) They come to think of history as an “intellectual pursuit.” This is a curious belief, considering that many of our most popular movies, books, TV shows, board games and children's toys have an historical theme. In my own case, I realize now that I made a poor distinction between “history” (as in people, events and places) and “heritage” (as in valued things passed down from previous generations).

Our history and our heritage are intertwined, as a recent news show about Afghanistan adroitly pointed out. The report was about the efforts of Afghan people to protect their historic treasures from the devastation of war. Everyday folks risk torture and death by hiding museum collections that invaders have targeted for destruction. “Without our culture, we have no history,” an Afghan man explained. His people would do whatever was needed.

“History is real simple,” talk show host Rush Limbaugh reportedly said. “You know what history is? It's what happened.” That's a simplistic statement - the “truth” of history varies with one's point of view. Still, Limbaugh's comment is a good one. There is a tendency to make U.S. history too complicated. We memorize facts when we should be meeting the individuals, cultures and lifestyles that created “America.”

I noted as a child that President John F. Kennedy had a great love of history. That mattered to me back then, despite my youth. Decades after his death, Ronald Reagan said of him: “One sensed that he loved mankind as it was, in spite of itself, and that he had little patience with those who would perfect what was really not meant to be perfect...he understood the tension between good and evil in the history of man...and the constant working out of that tension.” History shows us the nature of being human. Its lessons are timeless.

Today, some media columnists, historians and academicians worry that history may become “history.” In the college classroom, that might be true - Harvard earlier this year discontinued its general history requirements. But in everyday life, heritage tourism is growing in popularity according to a report published by the National Recreation and Park Association. In Virginia alone, a 2003-04 survey by the Virginia Tourism Corp. showed, about 20 percent of that state's visitors - 6 million households - came to see an historic site or museum. Similar findings have been reported by others.

What is the draw of history-oriented destinations? One answer stands out to me: America's historical parks and living history museums offer dynamic, real-world opportunities to come in touch with our roots, as a people and as a nation.

I take delight in knowing that children understand the joys of history travel. Their classroom field trips and enthusiastic participation at historical sites are the reason we have so much living history here in America. Kids love the personal side of America's past. Just watch their faces when they have a chance to try spinning thread, making a broom or dipping a candle at an historical village. Listen as they compete with one another to talk about what they just discovered while touring an old fort. Try to control their lively, noisy explorations when they board replica seventeenth-century sailing ships.

I became passionate about U.S. history relatively late in my life - as a “fifty-something” baby boomer - not through book learning but through traveling. I no longer make a distinction between our nation's history and its heritage. Through history travel, the true meanings of our culture come to life. Even when the destinations are reconstructions, what they represent is real and personal. They tell the story of our national family. They remind us: who we are now and what is happening now are striking reflections of all the people and events that came before us. We learn and grow.

Whether history is a life-long passion for you or a new-found pleasure, I hope this website and our guidebook will reawaken the child in you, excite your imagination and stimulate new travel adventures.

For generations, national heroes have been part of our children's education and entertainment.

If there is one thing kids love to do, it is to dress up and live in another time period or pretend to be someone famous.

And it isn't unusual for grown-ups to do the same thing.