Carolyn Ivanoff Presents Historical & Educational Programs for School & Community Organizations
Available on this website are a variety of local and American history programs and publications.
CONTACT: civanoff@sbcglobal.net if you wish to schedule at program for your organization.
Carolyn Ivanoff is a retired high school administrator and independent historian. She writes and speaks frequently on American history at local, state, and national venues. In 2003 Carolyn was named Civil War Trust's Teacher of the Year. In 2010, 2011 and 2013 her education programs received Awards of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations. In 2016 Carolyn was honored by the Connecticut Council of Social Studies with the Bruce Fraser Friend of the Social Studies Award. In 2018-19 Carolyn served as project coordinator for the 17th Connecticut Flagpole preservation and re-dedication ceremony on Barlow’s Knoll at Gettysburg National Military Park. This project was honored with a 2019 Award of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations (CLHO) for preservation. Her book, We Fought at Gettysburg, features first-hand accounts by the survivors of the 17th Connecticut Infantry and their experiences on the greatest battlefield of the American Civil War.
DARE TO TEACH tells the story of Prudence Crandall who began a school in Canterbury, Connecticut in 1833 to educate black girls. She would be bullied, harassed, threatened, fined, jailed, and tried three times because she dared to teach. The school was victimized by the populace who contaminated the well, attempted arson, and ultimately the school was destroyed by rioters and closed. Connecticut and Canterbury recanted their positions and voted a pension to Prudence in old age. Prudence Crandall would ultimately be honored and celebrated as the Connecticut State Heroine. This program was awarded a 2013 Connecticut League of History Organizations Award of Merit Honorable Mention for education programming.
CLARA BARTON'S CIVIL WAR AND THE CREATION OF THE MISSING SOLDIERS' OFFICE: Miss Clara Barton was known as the Angel of the Battlefield for her service as a nurse and relief worker during the Civil War. In March of 1865, with written permission from President Lincoln, Barton established the Missing Soldiers Office in her boarding house on 7th Street in Washington, D.C. As the Civil War was coming to a close, over 40 percent of the dead remained unidentified. Tens of thousands of grieving families did not know the fate of their loved ones. From the time she first went onto the battlefield Barton was acutely aware, and deeply concerned, for the fate of the men whom she cared for and their families. With the opening of the Missing Soldiers’ Office, Barton dedicated herself to the search for the missing and the identification of the dead. By time the office closed in 1868, Barton had worked herself into exhaustion. More than 22,000 unknown dead had been identified, 13,000 at Andersonville alone. In 1868 Barton left for Europe to recover her health. Upon her return to the United States Barton would dedicate herself to the founding of the American Red Cross and by the end of her life in 1912 her work would touch millions of lives around the world and continues to do so today.
The Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut was one of the most iconic and unique American manufacturing companies in history. The company created made to order, one of a kind, unique zinc tombstones and monuments from 1874 until 1914. During this period the huge national demand for personal and public monuments seemed endless. Bridgeport's Monumental Bronze Company became the distinctive and exclusive purveyor of cast monuments and tombstones. Each and every one of them unique. These metal markers, monuments to famous people, citizen soldiers, public and personal funerary memorials were a remarkable tribute to American manufacturing and ingenuity. Monumental Bronze called their product white bronze and was a true American original. Their legacy, these beautiful and distinct gray-blue monuments, affectionately referred to as "zinkies" can be seen in cemeteries, public parks and squares throughout the nation.
Often small individual encounters in history, experienced by common people like us, caught in the maelstrom of events, hold larger truths. Sometimes these experiences have meaning—not only for those who experience them, but for us in today’s world. This program follows twelve members of the 17th Connecticut Regiment through the three-day Battle of Gettysburg and beyond in July 1863. It focuses on the stories of the wounded, the caregivers, and the honored dead. These men fought for their lives, lost friends, and suffered themselves at Gettysburg. Their sacrifices are still with us today and from them we inherited great social and medical advances. Because of their sacrifices we began to understand the hidden costs of war, and that not all wounds are visible. The stories of these twelve citizen soldiers highlight the meaning that their lives and experiences have for our generation today: socially, medically, and psychologically. These are their stories.
WE FOUGHT AT GETTYSBURG: COMRADES IN COMBAT: hear the voices of the men of the 17th Connecticut, the Fairfield County Regiment, who were at the Battle of Gettysburg. These firsthand accounts from those who were wounded, captured, nursed their comrades, lost friends, and survived to fight on to preserve the Union in the American Civil War.
We Fought At Gettysburg
Available from Gettysburg Publishing https://gettysburgpublishing.com/on-line-store-1/ols/products/we-fought-at-gettysburg and wherever books are sold.