A couple of weeks ago I was watching Friday Night Lights (thank you Netflix) and it was the episode where the character Julie Taylor was rocking her college interview and she had this revelation at the end:
When I started high school, I couldn’t wait to get out of [my hometown]… And now that I’m actually getting close to leaving, I’m starting to appreciate that I was shaped by my town... I guess what I’m trying to say is that– I’m surprised by how happy I am, to be from where I’m from.
I can relate. I haven’t lived in Williamsport since I was 18, but it’s still where my family and my heart are and a little dose of hometown pride goes a long way. So, when my family asked me if I wanted to drive down to Appomattox, Virginia on April 9th to watch the Williamsport Repasz band perform at the Appomattox Civil War Sesquicentennial ceremony, I said hell yes.
Now, why Appomattox you may ask?
Well, here’s a little history lesson for you: Appomattox is the site that bore witness to the end of the Civil War, or at least the beginning thereof, when Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9th, 1865. Both armies were present at the time, one battered and defeated, the other elated and victorious. When the terms of surrender were agreed upon and respective parties shook hands, a Yankee band from Williamsport Pennsylvania in attendance began to play the Star Spangled Banner. Fast forward 150 years, and lo and behold, the band (called the Repasz band) is still in existence and my sister is a clarinet player in the second row. The Repasz band was invited back by the U.S. Department of Interior to play at the ceremony commemorating the watershed moment in our country, and thus the road trip to Appomattox.
Pretty cool, right? You can check out my photos of the Repasz band, the ceremony, and the reenactment below. Enjoy!
