Murphy announces grant to bring history to life

BUCHANAN, NY - "Have musket, will travel," is the motto of Buchanan's Living History Education Foundation, a not-for-profit education organization that supplements local schools with living history instruction. State Senator Terrence Murphy this week announced a $10,000 grant for the organization, in order to support their mission of bringing history to life in the classroom.

"From the Battles of Pines Bridge, to Sybil's Run, the Hudson Valley runs rich with the threads of history that make up the very fabric of our democracy," Murphy said. "Bringing in these master teachers makes history exciting and hands on for students and teachers, whether it's the Revolution, the War of 1812, or the Civil War. This funding will continue to help students step back in time and understand the challenges, sacrifices and choices of a bygone age that have made our country the greatest the world has ever known."

The Living History Education foundation conducts staff development programs and in-service courses for teacher centers, as well as corporate programs in partnership with the Thayer Leadership Development Group at West Point. The courses meet all state Common Core social studies framework.

Led by former teacher Joe Ryan, the program traces its routes to Blue Mountain Middle School in the fall of 1969 and has been running strong ever since with the mission of learning history by living it. Participants are fully uniformed and equipped for the French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and the Civil War.

Murphy's grant comes from so-called "bullet aid," legislative funding given in addition to the state aid amounts approved in the State budget. It does not flow through traditional state aid formulas.