Jon Moerbe
Jon & I at the Battleground 1863 Reenactment 3/12-13/2022
The first time I wore my blue uniform I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt this was my calling. But for a while now I've started questioning that, and even contemplated leaving living history.
3/12-13/2022 I spent the weekend at Camp Mabry National Guard Armory Austin, TX, for their Battleground 1863 reenactment. There I ran into Jon, he said he thought he knew me and asked me if I have ever done a program at the Gorge Bush library in Bryant, TX, "I said yes." Then he asked me if I do Buffalo Soldier programs, "I said yes." Then he said I do know you, you came to the George Bush library when I was in the third grade and after the program, you spent some time talking to my mother and me about what goes into a haversack.
I then said, "so what you are trying to tell me is, that interaction got you started in living history." He then said, with a smile, that's why I'm here today (showing off his uniform). Jon said for the last three years he has been going into the local schools and doing living history programs, he also oversees the Rockdale I&GN Depot Museum in Thorndale TX and is the founder of Moerbe Film Production.
I have been involved with living history for 11 years and this is the greatest compliment I've ever received. I have only had two goals, preserve the legacy of my ancestors and find innovative ways to get young people involved with living history. I guess that goes to show, even though you can't see the impact you are making it doesn't mean you aren't making a difference in this world.
Oh, by the way, Jon graduates high school this year...
3/12-13/2022 I spent the weekend at Camp Mabry National Guard Armory Austin, TX, for their Battleground 1863 reenactment. There I ran into Jon, he said he thought he knew me and asked me if I have ever done a program at the Gorge Bush library in Bryant, TX, "I said yes." Then he asked me if I do Buffalo Soldier programs, "I said yes." Then he said I do know you, you came to the George Bush library when I was in the third grade and after the program, you spent some time talking to my mother and me about what goes into a haversack.
I then said, "so what you are trying to tell me is, that interaction got you started in living history." He then said, with a smile, that's why I'm here today (showing off his uniform). Jon said for the last three years he has been going into the local schools and doing living history programs, he also oversees the Rockdale I&GN Depot Museum in Thorndale TX and is the founder of Moerbe Film Production.
I have been involved with living history for 11 years and this is the greatest compliment I've ever received. I have only had two goals, preserve the legacy of my ancestors and find innovative ways to get young people involved with living history. I guess that goes to show, even though you can't see the impact you are making it doesn't mean you aren't making a difference in this world.
Oh, by the way, Jon graduates high school this year...
Fun Facts
We like to think we are in the business of teaching history.
In reality, we are in the business of creating memories.
More memories to come…
In reality, we are in the business of creating memories.
More memories to come…
- Between 2014 and 2022, I have attended 386 events throughout Texas. (I programmed in Schools, Universities, Historic Sites, Community Festivals, Parades, Recreation Centers, Libraries, and Museums etc. Sadly, during that time only 74 of those programs where in the Austin Area...)
- From 2014 to 2022, I have programmed in front of approximately 132,401 people. (Out of the 386 programs 79 we could not get a headcount...)
- The largest group I have programmed for was over 4,000 students (2017 Western Heritage Day at Hardin-Simmons University...)
- Oct. 2018, I hosted our first program for homeschooled kids in Castroville, TX, at the Landmark Inn State Historic Site. (This was the first time the Landmark Inn had an event were all the presenters were people of color...)
- The youngest group I programmed in front of was pre-school kids between the ages of 2 to 4 years old (The program lasted forty-five-minute...)
- In 2017 at the Family Fun Fest event in the town of Meridian, Texas, we saw 5 different groups of kids from 5 different towns that had seen our program. (This was my first time in Meridian, Texas...)
- October 3, 2016, I had the honor of meeting Nathen Beatty and making him an honorary Buffalo Soldier. July 4, 2017, Nathen passed away after a long, hard-fought battle with a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, or DIPG a terminal, untreatable brain tumor; he was 8 years old. (Honored...)
- Fonds’s memory, watching a young visually impaired girl’s face light up after she hit a baseball for the first time. (Priceless…)
- Saved this quote as my Facebook cover photo “Historical interpretation is not simply a recording of facts. A piano has eighty-eight keys, but to make music you choose only the few of them. As interpreters we are creating music selecting those people, places, and events that can be best conveyed meaning and understanding about the past.” It can form the book Interpreting African American History and Culture at Museums and Historic Sites edited by Max von Blagooy (That’s when I knew beyond a shadow of a doute this was my calling...)
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