"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.
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