It was a quiet, foggy morning on McPherson Ridge, just west of the town of Gettysburg. A group of people stood facing down the Chambersburg Pike, awaiting the oncoming Confederates. They knew they would relive this moment many times after that day. The year was 1996 and the people were tourists and historians from the Lincoln Forum.
Although this month’s speaker, Pennsylvania native Stephen Recker, had toured many battlefields as a child, nothing prepared him for the excitement of reliving the battle that day in the company of Licensed Battlefield Guide Gary Kross. That fateful morning on McPherson Ridge, full of wide-eyed inspiration, Recker embarked on his five-year journey to create Virtual Gettysburg, an interactive simulation of Kross’ battlefield tour.
With computer and projector at hand, Recker will take you to the Gettysburg battlefield via his interactive CD-ROM battlefield tour and discuss the challenges involved in using emerging technologies to understand yesterday’s historical events. He will also be prepared to discuss the works of Bachelder, Tipton, Brady and others who have documented the battlefield before him. As his talk for our Round Table coincides with the commercial release date of the product, our group will witness the first public showing of the completed work.
Stephen has a degree in Composition from the Berklee College of Music, and spent 20 years as a touring and recording guitarist. He now limits his playing to the worship band at Pasadena Christian Center. He has produced CD-ROMs for Apple, Adobe, Macromedia. JPL-NASA, and Raytheon-Hughes; but his current goal is to be at the center of the interactive storm as the United States celebrates the sesqui-centennial of the Civil War starting in 2011. You can view his product at www.virtualgettysburg.com.
Join with us as we witness the launch of a very special product for every Civil War student, and celebrate the success of one of our very own Round Table members.
Janet Whaley
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