Meet Our Team
Kara Bocek
Organizer, InstructorKara has been involved in 1860s living history since 1995 and making reproduction clothing since 1997. She earned a degree in Anthropology from the College of William and Mary where she also took costuming and patterning classes for fun. After several years doing archaeology Kara decided to put her sewing skills to more use and started her business Corner Clothiers, which focuses on civilian men’s clothing during the American Civil War. In addition to use by living historians her reproduction clothing and accessories are used at State and National Parks across the country and appear in several productions on television and the big screen. Collecting and researching original garments and photographic images are personal passions as well as key components of her business. Kara has been an organizer and instructor since 2018.
|
Elizabeth Stewart Clark
Lecturer, InstructorElizabeth Stewart Clark has maintained her omnivorous fascination with the 19th century from childhood, with a focus on the mid-century era since 1992. She is the designer of The Sewing Academy-Historic Moments pattern line for mid-century sewing; author of The Dressmaker's Guide; and owner and host of both The Sewing Academy and History in Situ websites. She lectures and teaches nationally, and serves as Director of Interpretive Development for a minuscule history park near her home in the Idaho Rockies, where she and her family volunteer as interpreters. She has an inordinate fondness for dinosaurs, interesting rocks, whitework and terrible puns. Liz has been an instructor and featured lecturer since 2019.
|
Rose Marie Favors
OrganizerIn 2011, Rose Marie Favors and her husband John moved to Newberry, SC as stewards of a historic home built in the 1830s. Since then, the two have worked tirelessly to bring history to the "Town of Friendly Folks." A retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel with 30 years of service, Rose Marie followed John, an artillery reenactor, to living history events for years. Feeling a bit discontent with just tagging along, she decided to explore civilian reenacting. She was encouraged by the late Betty Loba to attend classes by Carolann Schmitt [Genteel Arts LLC] and, as they say, “the rest is history”. Rose Marie has served on the Corsets & Cravats planning committee since 2018.
|
Nicky Hughes
lecturer, instructorCurator, Kentucky Military History Museum – 1974-1986
Museums Division Manager, Kentucky Historical Society – 1986-1992 Curator, Kentucky’s Old State Capitol – 1992-1997 Historic Preservation Specialist, Kentucky Division of Historic Properties – 1997-2000 Curator of Historic Sites, City of Frankfort, Kentucky – 2000-2012 Executive Director, Shelby County Historical Society – 2019-present Publisher The Watchdog newsletter Editor, Camp Chase Gazette Editor, Civil War Historian Co-author, Historic Images of Frankfort, Vols. 1 & 2 Co-author, Frankfort Then and Now Author, Westminster Abbey of Kentucky – The Frankfort Cemetery Narrator and Drum Major, Saxton’s Cornet Band – 1989-present Narrator, Lexington Brass Band & The Brass Band of Louisville Colonel, The Breckinridge Battalion reenacting unit Surgeon, Western Independent Grays renacting unit |
K Krewer
InstructorK Krewer has been a Civil War reenactor since 1981, with occasional forays into earlier time periods. Although she started out as a cavalry trooper, she quickly found that the women’s roles and garments were a lot more interesting. In real life, she’s a retired civilian Army attorney. She earned a B.A. in political science, history and theatre from Upper Iowa University; a J.D. from the University of Iowa; and a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the Army War College. Moving for various Army positions gave her the chance to be a member of the Ladies’ Soldiers’ Friend Society of Nashville, the Michigan Soldiers’ Aid Society, and the 16th Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry. A collector of garments and accessories from 1840 -1865, items from her collection have been displayed at conferences, seminars, history-related events, and museums. K is an ordained Anglican deacon and is active in congregational, musical, and community service activities. She and husband Tom Flaig, a firearms instructor and retired cowboy, enjoy a rural retreat where they care for horses, a dog, twenty-something chickens and a nice big garden.
|
Ann Maddox
OrganizerAnn has been reenacting from the time she was born in 1975 and traveling to events was a frequent occurrence from toddlerhood thru the teen years. Needless to say, she was destined for a life in the hobby. Attending seminars, workshops, lectures enriched the experience and led to a desire to best represent the 1860's woman. Ann met her husband, Brad Maddox, at a reenactment dance near Charleston at Boone Hall. They now reenact together and their 2 daughters occasionally join in the fun. In 2015, Ann worked to establish the Greenville Ladies Aid Association. A reenacting group modeled from the records of the original organization during the Civil War. She enjoys collecting fans, CDV's of fans being held by their owners, and original hoods. Ann looks forward to welcoming everyone to the Palmetto State, where you'll find "Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places". Ann has served on the planning committee since 2018 and was an instructor in 2019.
|
|
Jessamyn Reeves-Brown
iNSTRUCTORJessamyn Reeves-Brown has been researching and creating historical and vintage dress since the 1980s, and sharing that information on-line since the 1990s with the help of her husband David, first through her website Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion, and more recently as moderator on the Facebook groups The Civilian Civil War Closet and Victorian-70s Antique & Vintage Clothing Dating Help.
Since attending Vassar College, Jessamyn has been a custom dressmaker, the textile curator for an 1840s house museum, board member of the Western North Carolina Historical Association, and the editor of Strings, a magazine for violin players and makers. She has performed historic and folk dances and songs and music from Renaissance madrigals to folk rock, and she has created historic clothing spanning from the 11th century to the 20th. Jessamyn was an instructor in 2018. |
Jeannie Rucker
OrganizerJeannie made her first hooped gown in 1969 at age 6, using a real sewing machine, wire hangers and an old curtain. Through the years her sewing skills have improved and she has made hundreds of costumes for pageants, parades, plays, operas and period events. Twenty five years of historical time travel include; The Revolutionary War, War Between the States, WWII and Pirates of the Carolinas. A collector of Mid-19th century clothing and accessories for 40 years, she owns and extensive collection. She is a retired Delta Flight Attendant, attended Jet Mechanic School, holds sky diving certification, private pilot, scuba dives, runs in marathons, performed in Musical Theater, traveled to 28 countries, studied ballet, harp and Italian Opera. She has held many Pageant titles. This year marks the 30th anniversary of her volunteer work with Miss America. With her husband, Chris, a retired head and neck surgeon, they have hosted a Civil War Era Ball, "The Firing on Ft. Sumter Ball" held every April in Spartanburg, SC since 2002. They live in Spartanburg with their two Persian cats, a Tortie Point named Nelly Bly and fancy retired Show Cat Princess Winnie Davis. Jeannie has been an organizer of Corsets & Cravats since 2018.
|
Carolann Schmitt
InstructorCarolann Schmitt attended her first reenactment in 1969. She founded the Genteel Arts Academy in 1988 to encourage interest in the clothing and needlework of the Civil War era, and continues to teach hands-on classes at locations across the country. From 2000 through 2018 she was the sponsor and organizer of the annual 1860s Conference/Civilian Symposium held in Harrisburg, PA. She has a lifelong interest in historic costume, sewing, needlework, and knitting and believes you can never have too many books or too much fabric.
Carolann is a Past President and former member of the Board of Directors of the Fashion Archives and Museum of Shippensburg University, a member of the Costume Society of America and the Association for Living History Farms and Museums (ALHFAM). She has contributed articles to several publications and is a featured speaker at conferences and historic sites throughout the country. Now retired from her 21st century career, she and her husband Don continue to pursue their interests in history and travel. She estimates it will be 2152 before she completes the items on her “to-do when I retire” list. Carolann has been a featured lecturer and instructor since 2018. |
Mackenzie Anderson
|
Mindy Crawford |
Stephanie Brennan |
DON SCHMITT |
A part-time job typing National Register of Historic Places Nominations in 1982 turned into a long career for Mindy Gulden Crawford. She has been the Executive Director of Preservation Pennsylvania, a statewide historic preservation advocacy group since 2006, after spending 24 years at Historic York, Inc. (20 years as Executive Director). A Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from York College coupled with a Master's degree in Historic Preservation from Goucher College has opened up many opportunities for work and volunteering. In 2019, she published a book, Historic Pennsylvania: A Tour of the Top 100 National Landmarks. Mindy has taught classes in Historic Preservation at Pennsylvania State University, York College of Pennsylvania, and Harrisburg Area Community College since 2005.
In 2015, Mindy and her husband Rodney attended their first Civil War ball in borrowed clothes all the way down to their drawers. They continue to dance, participate in Living History events with the Civilians of Gettysburg, and expand their knowledge of the period. Mindy lives in Hanover, PA (about 14 miles from Gettysburg). |
Stephanie Brennan has been reenacting the late 1850’s through the Civil War years since 1986. In her modern life, she is a Registered Nurse of 35 years. While she believes that reenacting is a great part of the hobby, she gets her real joy from creating authentic items from the period and sharing what she has learned along the way. Her current projects include building a Facebook site for infants and toddlers of the 19th century with emphasis on the 1850-1870 period, called The Nursery Basket. In the past years, she has assisted with events like Maryland My Maryland and created a Civilian Bazaar held in benefit for the US Sanitary and Christian commissions. In addition, she has presented lectures and written articles on mid 19th c. children, taverns, and Sanitary Fairs. While her children are currently grown and in the process of leaving home, they have all been supportive and involved with reenacting as a family and carry many fond memories.
|
Don Schmitt became involved in Civil War reenactments and living history in 1969 as a founding member of the 11th Pa Vol Infantry. In 1973 he joined Knaps Independent Battery E, North-South Skirmish Association, retiring from the unit in 2018. His original interest in military reenactment has evolved into an interest in mid-Victorian civilian activities and a continuing interest in competitive Civil War era black powder shooting (small arms and artillery.
Don became interested in photography, graphic arts and electronics when he was a boy. By the time he was sixteen he was a free-lance sports photographer for the Gettysburg Times newspaper, the photographer for the Gettysburg High School newspaper and yearbook, and did his own film and print processing in his own darkroom. His fascination with technology began with his introduction in 1982 to the Apple II personal computer which led to a thirty year career as a Manager and Senior Network Solutions Consultant for a regional business information systems provider. Upon his retirement at the end of 2013 Don joined the Volunteer-In-Park program at Gettysburg National Military Park providing a range of visitor services and supporting the Interpretive Park Ranger staff with their tasks. Don and Carolann are fifth-generation Gettysburgians. They have lived in or near Gettysburg their entire lives where they continue to add to their collection of original Civil War era garments while pursuing their interests in history, travel and amateur radio. |
Matthew Dipalma
Matt DiPalma has been a reenactor and historical interpreter since 1979. He has incorporated his "real world" occupations (writer, graphic designer, and artist) into his 19th-century interpretation and frequently represents a relatively well-to-do newspaper copperplate artist. Though an avid 19th century reenactor, Matt and his wife Penny reenact multiple time periods from the Dark Ages to the Second World War, where Matt frequently portrays American, Russian, or German soldiers or civilians. They have recently relocated to northern Virginia and look forward to reenacting the many time periods the area has to offer.
As a collector of historical documents and paperwork, Matt has reproduced pieces from his collection for motion pictures, television, and museums. He is a published science fiction and non-fiction author, featuring his collection in books on original documents and photographs, all of which can be found on Amazon. Of all his accomplishments, however, he is proudest of his service as a former Sergeant of Marines. |