Lorne Greene In My History Class

[Eric Paddon]

The last few days the students I teach American history to have been learning right from Commander Adama himself. :)

Back in the late 60s, when Lorne was starring on "Bonanza" he narrated a magnificent NBC documentary "The Journals Of Lewis And Clark." It's a great overview of this important expedition that marked the last chapter in the 300 year process of discovery in the Western Hemisphere and opened up America to a bold new era of settlement (along with its attendant problems caused by the uneasy contact with the Indian tribes, as well as the environmental ramifications). In the early 90s, this and other vintage documentaries were released on VHS, and I've found it to be a worthwhile teaching tool in the classroom whenever I cover the age of Thomas Jefferson, since I think students need to get a full appreciation of just how an important event this was in our history.

Strangely appropriate that Commander Adama, who led the Colonial people into the unknown domains of space, would be narrating a fascinating tale of 30 men setting out on a 16 month trek across the North American continent through all kinds of obstacles and not knowing what they would encounter. :)

[BST]

"A rag tag fleet in search of a shining blue water known as Pacific."

:D

Eric,

I may just have to get that video. American history has always been a favorite subject of mine. Having Lorne Greene narrating the story of the Lewis & Clark expedition is an added bonus.

:thumbsup:

[BST]

While we're on the subject of Lewis and Clark, have you ever been to St. Louis?

My wife, daughter, and I were on our way home, from a vacation visit to friends in Oklahoma, and stopped in St. Louis for the night. While exploring the city and while in the vicinity of the Arch AND quite by accident, discovered that there is an underground museum situated between the legs of the Arch. The museum is devoted entirely to the expedition of Lewis and Clark.

We spent the ENTIRE evening in there, completely amazed and very much impressed.

:thumbsup:

Check the link: Museum of Westward Expansion (http://www.nps.gov/jeff/)

[Eric Paddon]

The only time I've been to St. Louis was to change planes while making my first ever trip to California in 1983.

That sounds like a great museum. Wish I'd found room to get down there when I was based in IL, even though being in the Chicago area put me a long ways from there!

You can get a copy of the documentary on e-bay for just $4.99 assuming no one else bids on it. The tape was part of a mail-order only series put out by NBC and Time-Life in the early 90s. Greene's narration is set to some authentic period recreations of the expedition and the effect is quite good. It gives you a good "you are there" feeling of taking part in the journey.

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMERICA-a-Look-Back-Lewis-and-Clark-vhs-Time-Life_W0QQitemZ9110445840QQcategoryZ309QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[BST]

The only time I've been to St. Louis was to change planes while making my first ever trip to California in 1983.

That sounds like a great museum. Wish I'd found room to get down there when I was based in IL, even though being in the Chicago area put me a long ways from there!

You can get a copy of the documentary on e-bay for just $4.99 assuming no one else bids on it. The tape was part of a mail-order only series put out by NBC and Time-Life in the early 90s. Greene's narration is set to some authentic period recreations of the expedition and the effect is quite good. It gives you a good "you are there" feeling of taking part in the journey.

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMERICA-a-Look-Back-Lewis-and-Clark-vhs-Time-Life_W0QQitemZ9110445840QQcategoryZ309QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Thanks for the heads-up about the documentary. :)

Regarding the museum, it was really unlike other museums that I've been to. It had a bit of a "homestyle" feel to it -- soft lighting, carpeted floors, earth-tone shades to the decor. If we had the opportunity for more time, we could easily have spent an entire day in there.

I'll have to tell you about that trip, sometime.

:)

[Darrell Lawrence]

I've seen "500 Nations" used to teach class on Native Americans :)

[TopGun]

Sounds cool

[bsg1fan1975]

way to go Eric. What a great way to teach your class by using a tape with our favorite commander. I hope they got alot out of the lesson!

[Eric Paddon]

I'll find out for sure when they take their exam next week! :)

The really nice thing about this older documentary is that it goes into full detail in one hour which meant I didn't have to use some of these more recent PBS documentaries on Lewis and Clark that run several hours altogether and would have forced me to show them only part of the story.

[Charybdis]

Can't remember about the museum under the arch, but I have been up inside the arch looking out those little windows up there! Very cool...

as for Lorne Greene, back in the '70s, I think, he also narrated a wildlife series called "Last of the Wild." I remember catching reruns of this while I was a kid back in the very early 1980s. Very neat. He ended every program with the tag line, "...last of the wild," referring to whatever animal he was currently talking about. I wonder if those are on tape or DVD too?

[Eric Paddon]

Well, today's the day where I once again let Commander Adama be the guide to my students on the Lewis And Clark expedition. I've probably had to watch this documentary about a half dozen times in the last year alone and I never get tired of it.

[Senmut]

He also narrated a docu called Wildfire!, back about 1971. I remember seeing it in school, back on good old 16mm film. Anyone know if that is on video, at all?