I would really have liked to see more of the video that was presented on the bus first thing this morning. Can someone tell me what the title was? Is this the video that Scott has a copy of that we can check out? Maybe we shouldn’t have started the video until everyone was on the bus and quiet. There was a little too much chaos and I really couldn’t follow the video. Just the images called to me for more research.

Going to the place where the Haymarket bombing actually occurred put things in to perspective. As I’ve stated before in my blog, actually seeing such places brings the reading to life. It is so important for us to experience the locations of these occurances,not just read about them on a flat page. If only we could teach all our classes that way too. Hands on experience brings things into stark reality for our students. Seeing the place where the gallows were was almost eerie. In my minds eye, I could see the placement of the gallows, see the convicted as they walked up the stairs and in defiance refused to confess. Even though there is nothing in the area to mark the spot, after having read about the incident, it was like you could feel something in the air; tension, disbelief, fear, certainty, and even hate.

Moving on the the Pullmantown, I was actually stunned. I have to admit that since this an area of history that I don’t normally teach (I usually focus on colonial history) I really had no idea that there was an actual town developed around the manufacture of Pullman cars. It was so interesting to see houses and the actual plant that are still standing. I was so excited that we got to walk through the plant. You could visualize the men coming in to work, the administration looking down on them, the noise and hard work that occurred in those buildings. I also loved visiting the Hotel Florence. It had such character and it’s almost as if you could feel Pullman sitting in his suite upstairs, changing the color of blinds to beacon people from the plant to come and speak with him. Can you imagine being the one called over? Pullman came across as a harsh almost tyrannical man. Not sure I would have wanted to meet with him alone.