Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs do not necessarily represent those of the Kansas Alliance of Professional Historical Performers. However, in an increasingly polarized world, we at KAPHP believe that being open-minded is necessary to think critically and rationally. Therefore, our programs and classes reflect our open-mindedness in the inquiry, seeking, and acquiring of scholars to speak at our events and teach classes for membership.
We encourage our participants to join us in stepping outside our comfort zones, considering other perspectives and ideas, and being open-minded while attending KAPHP events. Our events feature scholars who hold various opinions, some opposite our own. Our historical character presentations reflect the character's time socially, philosophically, politically, and in language usage.
Programs offered by KAPHP members:
Abigail Adams Wife of John Adams and voice of women's rights through him at the organizing congress of the United States. Remember her admonition to her husband, John, during the Continental Congress... "Remember the Ladies."
Adams’s Museum of Westward Expansion Almost every family has artifacts or memento's passed down from generation to generation. The Adams have collected original pieces of history to share with you. Imagine your Grandfather reading from this bible or carrying this canteen. Belinda loves to share the stories behind the items
Amelia Earhart runs into the room, apologizes for being late, and explains the latest problem with her attempt to fly around the world at the equator.
She also tells dramatic stories about her childhood, including a harrowing sled "flight" between the legs of a horse, and about becoming the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air.
Boys of Bushong Postmistress Lorene "Myrt" Weeks knew the intimate details of her small community during World War II as four classmates from Bushong High School enlisted and trained togeather in preparation for the mission at Normandy Beach.
With only 125 residents, what becomes of this small commuinity with the highest D-Day casualties per capita in the nation? This is the story of the homefront - familes, sweethearts and blue stars sewn over with gold threads.
Buffalo Hunter Billy Dixon was either in the right place at the right time, or the right place at the wrong time. An excellent shot, by 1870 he had already won fame as a hunter and scout.
He is now remembered for what happened at the Battle of Adobe Walls in the panhandle of Texas in 1874. Dodge City's own Assistant Marshall Marc Ferguson offers Billy's stories.
The Buffalo Hunters, 1860s -1870s How one family made their mark on Kansas! Join Jedidiah and Sarah Star and their two teenage daughters as they hunt buffalo, smoke the meat, and sell meat and hides to trading posts. Hear how the demand changes the hunt over time, and how Sarah copes alone on the ranch.
Catherine the Great of Russia 18th century ruler in her own right who secured strategic alliances with European allies, facilitated Mennonite religious freedoms, and with a non-aggression treaty facilitated the colonists in the American Revolution, and brought Russia into modernity.
Civil War Photography Photos were taken at only 7 of the Civil War battlefields. Alexander Gardener was the leader in 3 of those and his team worked on many more. By the end of the Civil War, he was recognized as one of the preeminent photographers of the time.
Civil War Ephemera A photograph with no information about it is as lost to history as one that has been discarded or destroyed. Many stories can be told about these.
Clara Gowing A strong willed young woman who is educated in New England and wants to make a difference. She answers to call to serve as a teacher at the Delaware Indian Mission School in 1860's Kansas.
Deborah Samson They said a woman could not fight for her country. They did not know Deborah Samson. Samson disguises herself as a man to join General George Washington’s Continental Army to fight for American independence from England’s King George III.
Samson proves fresh insights into the role of common people who made their own unique contributions to the American Revolution and is associated with new possibilities of freedom or opportunity for women.
Doc Holliday Wrongly portrayed in books and movies, Holliday was a Georgia-born gentleman, dentist, and "sporting man," who went West in a vain attempt to cure his tuberculosis.
Dolley Madison The wife of James Madison, President of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for her social graces, which boosted her husband’s popularity as President. She did much to define the role of the President's spouse, known only much later by the title First Lady. Dolley Madison also helped to furnish the newly constructed White House. When the British set fire to it in 1814, she was credited with saving the classic portrait of George Washington.
Eleanor Roosevelt For a girl who was very shy in her youth without much self-confidence, Eleanor grew into what President Harry Truman called “First Lady of the World.”
Her life has been filled with efforts to improve the quality of life for all. She is delighted to visit you to share what she has been doing to further equality for all throughout the US and also the world.
Governor Nehemiah Green, the fourth governor of Kansas.Listen in as he tells stories of coming to Kansas Territory in 1855, serving in the Civil War, becoming ordained as a Methodist minister and later becoming the governor of Kansas in 1868.
Grandma Curtis Permelia Hubbard Curtis, paternal grandmother of the little Indian boy who would become Vice President of the United States. Charles Curtis was raised by his grandmothers.
One could trace her lineage to the 1832 landinf of the Good Ship Elizabeth on the shores of New England. The other trace her lineage to Chief White Hair (Pawhuska) of the Osage people and Chief White Plume of the Kanza people. Which life would Charlie choose?
Hank Emerson is a 1930s Dust Bowl farmer in Morton County, Kansas during the "dirty thirties"
History of Photography The process of capturing early photos; tintypes, albumen prints, ambrotypes, and others.
How long does it take to skin a buffalo? What do you do with the meat and hide? And the questions for all time: If there were so many buffalo in the early 1800s, what happened to them?
Who were the people who followed the great herds of buffalo and harvested the meat, hides, and bones, and why did they do it? Questions are answered willingly and thoroughly.
John Henry, Civil War Soldier An unbiased look at the Civil War—two soldiers, both named John Henry, share their experiences from everyday camp chores to battle fields. A full-day in-depth hands-on program which involves drilling, flag design, rationing, and games.
Mrs. J.T. Smith (Henrietta) 1877, Twelve years after the Civil War, Henrietta and her young family load everything they own on a train to follow her Civil War husband, Union Captain Joseph T. Smith from Indiana to the un-tamed town of Lincoln Center.
When they arrive in Lincoln Center, they are greeted with a hearty welcome. The Smith’s prosper and enjoy life as much as one can on the prairie until a tragic incident occurs. Moving to Manhattan, Kansas, Henrietta reflects on her past twelve years of joys, sorrow and adventures on the Kansas plains.
3-D Imaging and How to Record Stereo Views 3-d imaging is a physical process of recording and displaying the world view that is automatically performed humans. There are a number of methods of generating such images. These can be replicated using a digital camera with some computer support.
Julia Archibald Holmes traveled the Santa Fe Trail in 1858, becoming in the process the first woman to climb to the top of Pike's Peak. She did her hiking in a (scandalous!) bloomer outfit.
When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, Julia and her husband left Santa Fe, dropped their two-year-old off with her parents in Lawrence, and went to DC to offer their services, returning with Henry's appointment as Secretary of the Territory of New Mexico.
J.W. Rauschenberg is an 1880 German immigrant farmer. He discusses growing up in Germany, coming to America, and the adventures of life in the 1870s and 1880s.
Katharine Wright The sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright brothers, the business and public relations face of success behind them. Her story has family, romance, and relationship issues. She was loved in Europe as the American Girl.
Kittie Hays on the Santa Fe Trail Council Grove, Kansas Territory, was an exciting place in the mid-1800s. And Kittie Hays Houghton, adopted daughter of lifelong bachelor, trader, and frontiersman Seth Millington Hays, was at the center of it all.
Kitty Frank adapts the Kittie Hays story for school and family audiences from second grade, up, including festivals, and a wide variety of adult audiences in every imaginable setting.
Louise Thaden The only woman aviator (aviatrix) who held the three major competitive awards in aviation at the same time. A contemporary of Amelia Earhart, and responsible face for promoting Wichita aviation success for Travel Air and Beechcraft because of her aviation feats.
Mamie Eisenhower The wife of United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961. Mamie was born in Iowa into entrepreneurial wealth. Her Father retired at age 35 to San Antonio, Texas, where she met a lowly 2nd Lieutenant Army Officer. Mamie chose love over her debutant status. She trekked across the world with her husband and worked alongside of him as a rising, officer's wife. As First Lady, she entertained a wide range of foreign dignitaries with a confident style and dedication to charitable needs.
Marie Webster An Indiana native who brought renewed respect for, interest in, and admiration of quilts to the 20th century with her quilt designs that were the first quilts published in full color in a major magazine, in the January, 1911 Ladies Home Journal magazine.
Debbie Divine uses Marie’s actual script from her presentations for us today. Take yourself back to 1925 as we welcome Marie Webster.
Marion Sloan Russell "In 1857 I may have been the youngest on that trail and today I may well be the only one left to tell about the old old tale of the Santa Fe Trail."
Five times Marion travels the Santa Fe Trail before age 21. Marion Sloan Russell enjoys telling about her adventures on the Santa Fe Trail with her mother and brother, as her first travels begin as a young girl of 7.
Millie Glass Fowler, Pioneer Woman Millie and her husband John, along with eight of their eleven children, traveled west in 1855 and settled in Kansas Territory. Millie shares the everyday hardships and joys of pioneer life n Kansas.
Mary Ann McCutchan: Pioneer Woman in Bleeding Kansas. Mary Ann McCutchan tells her story of moving to Kansas Territory in 1859 with her husband and six children. Living in Kanwaka, a community just west of Lawrence, their experiences include the Underground Railroad, border ruffians, Quantrill’s Raid, and the Civil War while their family grows and they build a new life on the frontier.
The Nelly Don Story The fifth daughter in a large Irish Catholic family, Nell Quinlan of Parsons, Kansas, discovered a talent for converting dowdy hand-me-downs into pretty frocks. To her sewing skills she added a talent for business and a wise first marriage to create the Nelly Don fashion brand which revolutionized women’s ready to wear clothing.
Of course, that’s only part of Nell’s story. She became a mother under mysterious circumstances, was kidnapped, held for ransom and then rescued by Johnny Lazio, the organized mob boss of Kansas City. Nell's second husband was the controversial mayor, attorney, presidential candidate and retired U.S. Senator James A. Reed.
Night at Your Museum! Have you seen Night at the Museum? The displays come alive at night. And that's what will make it all the more startling when we bring history alive at your museum or historic site.
Community members arrive for tours, having a vague idea that this is something special, but confident in their knowledge that museum exhibits don't come alive. And then, something shifts. The magic begins!
Photo Journalism and the Development of Photo Ethics Published pictures during the Civil War were limited to engravings, lithographs or photographic pictures reproduced as direct photo prints. The introduction of actual photos increased the possibility for transfer of detailed images, but the way to utilize these and the ethics of recording them and claiming ownership were only being defined. Alexander Gardner introduced the first photo Journalism in his Sketchbook of the Civil War.
Rachel Carson’s Unquiet Autumn Rachel Carson is a key figure in the history of the environmental movement because of the wake-up call she issued in her 1963 book Silent Spring, and the response it drew from the chemical industry.
Railroad Surveys and Views of Indians Alexander Gardener was hired to procure publicity for the Kansas Pacific Railroad through photos of the land over which the railroad was being developed. He also took photographs of Indian visitors to Washington and in the field during the Railroad photos and as a representative at the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie.
Rose Kretsinger Quilter, Artist, Author (1886-1963) was a nationally famous 20th century quilter from Emporia, Kansas. Rose shared her knowledge and love of quilting in part through her co-authorship of the highly acclaimed Romance of the Patchwork Quilt. She is in the Quilter’s Hall of Fame and has two quilts in the Top 100 Quilts of the 20th Century.
Sallie Lindsay White wife of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist William Allen White, and co-owner of the Emporia Gazette. Sallie excelled as a teacher, suffragette, mother, wife and hostess.
The Scout and the Schoolteacher School teacher Victoria Westman and Wagon scout, former fur trapper, and trader, Charles Taggert.
Taggert's contempt for the “civilized” immigrant will bring a smile to your face! His first experience on the Santa Fe Road in 1824 will enthrall you.
Listen as Mrs. Victoria Westman prepares to travel west on the Oregon Trail with her canine companion, Thor. Learn what is required to make the arduous journey. Mrs. Westman will hold “classes expect all to participate in lessons taken from 1836 McGuffy’s Readers.
Suzanna (Dora) Salter Dora Salter was the first woman in America to be elected to a political office. She governed as Mayor for Argonia, Kansas during the unrest at a time of strong opposition to liquor and supported by the WCTU voters. During her political tenure in Argonia, she birthed and lost a child. She went on as a widow and successfully raised her children before old age.
