The Harrison High School Dragoons

When I was a teenager, I attended William Henry Harrison High School, a brand new high school located two miles from the site of The Battle of Tippecanoe and named after the man who had led the American forces in the fight.

Given free rein to choose new uniforms for the new school, the band director selected military uniforms. These were highly unusual for the time as other band uniforms in the 1970s were basically a jacket, matching pants, a brimmed hat with a plume, and spats. As a result, our band really stood out in parades and at events as a result.

Another eye-catcher for us were our dragoons. Historically, dragoons were a mounted infantry who went into battle on horseback but dismounted to actually fight. Continuing the military theme, our band director decided to have a mounted cavalry as part of its marching band presentation. Since it was a rural high school, finding band members with horses was no problem.

I played the flute in the band, but when we were marching and bringing the dragoons along, I got to ride!

This is my Quarter Horse, Cee Hunt and me getting ready to march. (Any other model collectors think he looks like a Breyer Lady Phase in this photo?)

Written on the back of the photo was that it was 1974 and we were marching at a rally in Battle Ground, the town that grew up around the battle site. The group in red jackets were from Washington, DC and called "The Olde Guard."

I don't remember anything else about this particular march, but it had to have been something pretty special for a group from Washington, DC to fly to and participate in!

Eventually, we all were given saddle blankets like these; mine is still in my tack trunk. At this time I did not yet have mine so I used my show blanket. (I still have all the tack that is on Cee; it's stored out at the barn in the tack room.)

I have been trying to reconnect with others who rode in the Harrison Dragoons with me, but have not had much luck yet. Hopefully I will be able to write another blog entry with more pictures and information soon.

I still count myself as lucky to have had such a unique opportunity!

A Memorial to my Mom

On Thursday, October 12, the Tippecanoe County Historical Association planted a tree in my mother's memory on the battlefield. What an honor that is! It is a national monument as well as a cemetery for those who died in The Battle of Tippecanoe. (My mother was a historian who preserved much of our area's history by researching and publishing books about it.)

The tree is a beautiful burr oak, and if things go well, it should live 250-300 years!

We gathered around Allen Nail, head groundskeeper and the man who had the idea for the memorial, and he told us a little bit about the tree, then invited us to add mulch and water and then spend as much time there as we wished.

 Great Uncle Rick and Ian began by adding some water. 

I love how the tree is near the highway so we can drive by and see Mom's tree whenever we wish!

The idea that two of my mother's great-grandchildren helped plant the tree and then may return over the years with their children, grandchildren, and maybe even great-grandchildren, brings tears to my eyes.

 Mila is such a big help!

 The kids LOVED those water jugs.

I hope to go out every October for the rest of my life and have my photo taken with the tree. I am also going to go back out and measure the trunk's circumference - I think it will be fun to track its growth over time.

My siblings Jenny, Leslie, and Steve. Leslie and I have always been horsey girls, Jenny not so much, and Steve always found horses to be useful fodder to tease his sisters.

So, as adults now, of course, we had to do Steve's old "horse feet" move at him. He would drum his hands as though they were hooves and neigh at me when I was a child and DRIVE ME NUTS. Now, it is a wonderful family memory that makes us all laugh.

 These kids worked hard planting that tree!

I love that there is a living memorial to my mother in a place that holds great meaning to her as well as to the rest of our family. And I hope this tree is important to future generations of our family as well.