Exploring The Backroads: Public History with Jessica Hanson

I've had my first week teaching again. The new country commute is beautiful. Wandered into town a day or two before beginning last week to do some last minute lesson planning. I'm having my students do a genealogical research project. I am allowing them to choose between three cemeteries. The first is called Maplewood Cemetery (35.35,-86.21); within that graveyard, there is a special monument/ section dedicated to (407 specifically now known) Confederate soldiers. They were buried there either after dying on the fields of Civil War battle, in one of the hospitals established when Tullahoma (TN) was headquarters for the army of Tennessee during the first six months of 1863 (following the battle of Murfreesboro and preceding the withdrawal of the army to Chattanooga), or were re-interred. Originally, more than 500 southern soldiers were simply buried with wooden headboards, but soon all vestiges of individual markers were lost in what essentially became a mass grave. In...

Short & sweet is usually not me, though I am only 5' 0". ;) I need to learn to forgive myself (and others) for more than just my rambling though.  In our viral, personal, & professional worlds, we all usually wear different masks. I had an idea mapped out for my life: go to college (work really hard while doing so), marry, have no kids, and travel! I mean, the theme of my blog is all about travel. However, over the past two years, I have been taken on a much different journey.  I have found out who true friends are, through hardships of my own and some I have most likely brought upon myself. I'm human though (and so are they). Forgiveness #1 .  I found that when I truly begin to look around me, the surroundings do not make a lot of difference. Ideally, many would enjoy scouring every inch of the gorgeous world we all call home (yet ultimately take for granted). But sometimes it is not possible. I moved to a new state (with a higher cost of living), bega...