Did You Know?

I love learning about history. My son-in-law, once a history teacher himself, introduced me to several authors who write really good stuff. That got me started.

I’ve read everything William Manchester ever wrote, including the trilogy of biographies about the life of Winston Churchill, (3,000 pages). We’ve visited the Normandy beaches, been to the Tower of London, done Jack the Ripper tours, and been to at least a dozen Civil War sites. I’ve watched the Ken Burns documentaries, been to Mesa Verde, Canyon de Chelly, and Tombstone.

I subscribe to True West magazine, and read books about Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. I make dioramas of historical places and events. I’ve taken history courses at Gilder Lehrman and Hillsdale College. You get the picture.

I’ve often wondered what it would take to be a guide at a historic site like Gettysburg. A friend of mine, Jack, knowing my passion for history, emailed an article entitled, “The test to become a Gettysburg battlefield guide has a 90% failure rate.” Reading that pretty much brought me back to earth.

Those of you who aspire to a retirement activity like this should know that, according to the article, the Gettysburg guide test:
– Entails about 180 different questions and three essays.
– Sees some aspirants move to or near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in order to be better prepared,
– Has seen some lawyers who’ve taken it say it’s more difficult than the bar exam.
– Is followed by interviews, a weekend at the battlefield displaying the would-be guide’s knowledge, and finally a two-hour mock tour.
– Has the National Park Service cap the number of guides at about 150 and only offers the test as needed, meaning that prospective guides don’t even know when they’ll be taking it.
– Resulted, in 2017, with only nine of the 97 applicants passed the test.
– Is not regularly scheduled. The most recent test was given in December, 2024, seven years after the last exam.

I’m hoping the test to be a WalMart greeter is not as requiring.