The Friends are Celebrating Independence!

Next Monday, July 4^th, the Friends of Independence National Historical Park will be marching in the City of Philadelphia’ s Independence Day Parade and we are super excited!!!  It is the first time in a very long time that we will be marching and representing not only our organization but also Independence National Historical Park. 

While the parade’s theme is “Independence,” the Friends’ are concentrating our groups’ theme to be “Volunteers help make our green-friendly national park a wonderful place to visit”… and it’s TRUE!  Volunteers give so much of their time and talents to the operation of our national park and we are so grateful for their efforts. 

So on July 4^th, come on down to Independence Mall (and where else would you be to celebrate America’s Birthday?…) to cheer us on.  We will be marching with the park’s eco-friendly, battery-operated truck, our “green’ Liberty Bell, and some of our great volunteers and park rangers.  Also as a special treat, we will have a special little Yankee Doodle Dandy marching with us who will be turning three that day.  Come out and wish her a Happy Birthday!

Besides the Independence Day Parade, there are many great events planned for Freedom Week.  To learn more, please visit Wawa Welcome America’s website.

Just a peak at some of what you will see from our organization at the parade.  Come down and say hello to our Summer Intern, Dane dressed in authentic 18th century clothing.

" For the love of history - A Twilight Guide's perspective"

"Excuse me, do you know when Independence Hall will close?"  This is one of the many questions a Twilight Guide answers while waiting to give a tour at the starting point, Signer's Garden, or while giving a tour.  As Twilight Guides, we are actually considered ambassadors to this great city of Philadelphia.   We are a first impression for many tourists just arriving from another destination to learn about the "City of Brotherly Love."  We are everything to all tourists.  So, we must be prepared, not only about the information that we will give on our tour, but also the common needs of tourists, such as: directions, transportation, restaurants, hotels, things for children to do, events taking place in the city, shopping; " where to go or not to go." I recall last year, two women asked if I would mind that they had to leave by 6:45pm to catch a train.  I wanted to be sure they were taking the correct train for their location as well as the time.  They did not know that the train runs every hour after 8pm for their return trip to the city.  I am not suggesting that twilight guides know everything, but with questions, such as the one above, we begin to build our knowledge base which eases the anxiety some tourists have when visiting a strange city, and many times, we are their first contact.

I have been a Twilight Guide for 19 years, and recently became a certified Philadelphia Tour Guide.  I think Philadelphia is a great city, not only historically, but culturally and aesthically.  It has a little bit of everything for everyone of all ages from the Delaware River to the Schulykill River.

What prompted me to be a tour guide?  Even though I am a math teacher, I have also taught the philosophy and history of education which includes the educational theories of Franklin and his Academy, and Jefferson, who believed females should be educated.  These theories can not be taught without an understanding of the social and political environment during the lives of these two men.  One day, at the end of a lesson I taught about the history of Philadelphia, I had a fleeting thought.  Why not tell everyone about the accomplishments of the city and such men as Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams?  At that point, I decided I wanted to be a tour guide.  I mentioned this to my parents and they told me about their friend Emma Jarman who was one of the first members of FINHP.  She was so excited when I asked her about the Friends, that she immediately gave my name and number to the guide coordinator.  The rest is history, so to speak. 

At that point, I diligently started preparing my tour by walking around INHP; buying books about the Revolution; going to the library to search for primary documents; trying actually to get into the minds of our Founding Fathers in order to portray their sentiments during my tour. I also realized that I needed to work out the logistics of guiding a tour group, i.e., starting point, moving in a somewhat straight path, which buildings and events will I highlight to illustrate my theme, and the ending point. 

After giving my first tour of about 40 people from all over the United States, and Europe, I adjusted my tour to be clearer in defining the individuals I talked about. It was at the end of the first tour when a couple from Germany waited for me to ask, " Who is this Benjamin Franklin?"  Even though I told of his many contributions to the "New Nation," I became aware through this question and discussion with them that I needed to emphasis a little more about the man himself. 

I really enjoy being a tour guide for many reasons: sharing our history with the tourists; interacting with the tourists during the tour; meeting people from all over the world; the happy and interested expressions on the tourists' faces when I relay a fact not normally found in a history textbook; the "aha" expression when events are connected; the children who ask such intelligent questions; and simply being able to make their stay in Philadelphia as memorable, exciting, and enjoyable as possible.

So, for the love of history, I am a FINHP Twilight Guide who celebrates her birthday on July 2nd with the whole Nation.

Written by Jody Blohm, Twilight Guide Coordinator
           *Jody has been a volunteer guide for 18 years

Information on Twilight Tours
Occur every evening in the summer months till Labor Day, September 5th.
Tours meet at Signer's Garden at the corner of 5th and Chestnut Streets
Tours begin at 6:00 PM and last approximately one hour.

Happy Birthday & Welcome to the Friends' new blog

Happy Birthday to the Friends of Independence National Historical Park!  Today we turn 39 Years old.  Do you know that we were the first and therefore are the oldest Friends group in the National Park Service? 

When we look over the years our organization has been in existence, we can definitely correlate it to the human life span.  In the early 70’s we were in our infancy, everything we did was new and exciting.  We had lots of people cheering us on because the important thing was that we took that first step.  In the late 70’s we hit our pre-teens, when we had to expand our world, so the Friends came up with great programs like the Twilight Tour Guides and Philadelphia Open House. 

Fast forward through our teens.  We were like the valedictorian of the class with the Miracle of Philadelphia Project celebrating the Bicentennial of the Constitution.  In our 20’s we were running full steam, became adults and took on projects like Welcome Park.  Our organization continued to mature.  In our 30’s we slowed down some, calculated risks and made sure every move was the correct one for our future.  We may not have been buying our first home, but we were thinking of the future just the same and wondering if we were on the right path. 

Now we are 39. The Friends of Independence is embracing life and using that energy to revitalize our organization.  No longer will we be quiet and go about our day –to-day work.  Now is the time to get out there and be a part of this world.

Not only are we happy to be 39 years old, but we are looking forward to turning 40 and eventually 50 and beyond.  You should be excited too, because we have some great things planned for our future and the future of Independence National Historical Park!

Below is a picture of the day that we became an organization.  If you like what you read, please subscribe to our blog.   We love to count you as a web-Friend. Stay  tuned for more things to come.

Thanks for looking at our Blog!

Our first blog will appear on Wednesday, June 15th for our 39th Anniversary.  Thanks for checking us out early and if you want to give us a gift, please make sure you subscribe to our Blog so you don't miss out on any of the news and information happening at Independence National Historical Park.  That would be the best gift of all!