Meet Our Team
We are pleased to announce our staff for Corsets & Cravats 2020.
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 was an organizer and instructor in 2018 and 2019.
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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.
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Lindsey Foster
Lecturer, InstructorLindsey Foster dove into professional historic interpretation five years ago at the Atlanta History Center, interpreting the Trail of Tears, the American Civil War, and the Civil Rights movement as a Museum Educator, and interning with the Southeastern Museums Conference. She also began attending 19th century living history events with colleagues in that same year. In 2016, she relocated to pursue a career at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation as an Historic Interpreter, and received her certification from the National Association for Interpretation in 2017 (CIG). Her areas of expertise are African-American history, law, justice, and society; gender power dynamics, and domestic arts.
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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 served on the Corsets & Cravats planning committee of in 2018 and 2019, and was an instructor in 2019.
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Marc Hermann
InstructorMarc A. Hermann, a native of Brooklyn, New York, grew up chasing fire engines for fun, and later for a career as a news photographer. He serves as the curator of the Fire Bell Club of New York, an officially sanctioned organization of fire service enthusiasts, to which he has belonged since 2004. He has volunteered and lectured at the New York City Fire Museum, and appeared in and consulted on numerous historical film and television projects. A lifelong history enthusiast, Marc sought to incorporate his affinity for the New York Fire Department into his interpretive portfolio, and has spent over two decades building his research into the topic. In addition to his 19th century studies, he serves as the historian and secretary of the New York Press Photographers Association.
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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 |
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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.
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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. |
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dON sCHMITT
iNSTRUCTORDon 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. |
Ernest Sheally
iNSTRUCTOR Ernest Shealy was born and raised in Newberry. He received his BA in Fine Arts from the College of Charleston in 1985. In 1987, he received an MA in Architectural History and a Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia. He has worked with The Charleston Museum and its historic houses. In 1996, he returned to Newberry to direct the Newberry Visitors Center until 2003. Since then, he has been self-employed and worked with the Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) program at the Isle of Palms. Currently, he is curator of the Newberry Museum.
Ernest has been active in community, preservation and museum concerns for many years. He served on the board of the Lake Murray Country Visitors Center for six years and has been chairman of the Newberry County Accommodations Tax Commission since 2000. He also served on the State Review Board for the National Register of Historic Places. Ernest was one of the founders of the Newberry County Museum Association and continues to serve as the museum curator. He also serves on the board of the Newberry County Historical & Museum Society. Since 2002, Ernest has co-hosted a monthly radio show on WKDK (AM 1240) in Newberry. Each month he offers a road trip in and around Newberry County, exploring legends, historic sites, wildflowers and cemeteries. He is currently restoring an 1896 farmhouse on Silverstreet with his cat, “Bubba.” |
dAVID sHIELDS
iNSTRUCTORDavid Shields, a University of South Carolina English professor, is at the center of an effort that spans 15 years and features dozens of chefs and farmers to help revive Lowcountry cuisine. He is chairman of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, which has helped reintroduce fruits, grains and vegetables that were found in the South during the 18th and 19th centuries, including: Carolina Gold Rice, Seashore Black Seed Rye, Sea Island White Flint Corn, Purple Ribbon Sugar Cane, Carolina African Runner Peanut, Bradford Watermelon, and Benne. As Chair of The Slow Food Ark of Taste for the South, he identifies and assists “the utilization of the most historically resonant, delicious, and imperiled foods of the region” for a global register of the world’s most important foods. He is author of several books. The Culinarians profiles 175 influential cooks and restaurateurs from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. It was nominated for the 2018 James Beard Award in the Reference, History and Scholarship. His 2015 title, Southern Provisions explores the rich history of Southern cuisine.
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Mackenzie Anderson
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Janine Whiteman
Instructor Janine Whiteman has been researching clothing and accessories of the Civil War era for 25 years. Along with her husband Phillip, she started the PNJW Collections Civilian Exhibit in 1997. This collection of Civil War-era artifacts includes men's, women's and children's clothing, shoes, hats, accessories, and other civilian artifacts. The collection is used to create a traveling exhibit, which is periodically set up at historic sites and National Parks. Janine has provided educational presentations at Civil War reenactments, National and Regional conferences, historical society meetings, civic group meetings and for the NSDAR.
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Phillip Whiteman
InstructorPhillip Whiteman is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He has a history degree from the University of Alabama and has been involved with living history for 24 years. Along with 19th-Century men's clothing, his primary interests are financial and political aspects of the Civil War. Phillip is currently digitalizing and cataloging historical documents for the Kennesaw Mountain NBP library. In 2017 Phillip started teaching Senior Adult Education Classes on the Civil War.
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