DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Stan Schneider stood back on a chilly Friday morning with musket in hand. The crackling fire in front of him and the cloth tent behind him were nothing new.
After all, Schneider has devoted 35 years to the Civil War-era history he re-enacts.
When his colonel told him the next group of students from Walton Middle School was almost ready, the 66-year-old merely straightened his stance and firmly said, “I’m ready.”
Students visiting the Florida Chautauqua Assembly learned about the devotion of the Walton Guard, a group of Civil War re-enactors based in Fort Walton Beach.
“We keep the culture and history real and alive for the students,” said Tim Schuffer, a retired lieutenant colonel and acting private in the guard who taught students about the weaponry in the 1800s.
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The assembly opened Thursday and continues through Sunday with animal exhibits, a health expo and a Chautauqua history exhibit.
The living history display was just one of many activities Friday.
Tents were set up, tools were being made and people in period clothing roamed the assembly grounds around Lake DeFuniak.
A Southern seamstress and Union and Confederate soldiers were some of the sights intended to give students a chance to step into the world of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.
“It looks like they just live in a different time,” said Walton Middle School student Noah Wright. “This is definitely more entertaining than reading about it in a book.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.
