Learning about the Civil War in a textbook is one way to teach it. Seeing it and experiencing it in person brings a whole new perspective.

That’s why Jim Thorpe High School history teacher Chris Holub brought the Civil War reenactment to the Jim Thorpe High School on Monday.

“I teach a civil war class here, and this is an extension of that,” Holub said. “We also try to do a field trip each year. But, there’s no substitute for students to be able to see this, smell it, hear it, we’re hitting them with all the senses.”

Holub brought several fellow Civil War reenactors to the school from the 153rd PA Volunteer Infantry to the school, to show students what life was like for the soldiers. The program included music from that era, tents set up to show how they lived in battle, and the operation and firing of their rifles.

Tom Mulkern of Boyertown; Ralph Clay of Jim Thorpe; Gary Weaver of Egypt and Holub demonstrated how the soldiers would load their weapons, aim, and fire them.

Even with blanks, the rifle firing made the students jump at the noise.

“That’s only four guys,” Mulkern explained to the students. “Imagine 400 or even 4,000 firing at the same time.”

Inside the school auditorium, Jim Vincent had much of his collection of actual Civil War memorabilia on display.

“It seems when you have actual Civil War items on display, it makes history come alive a little bit more than seeing it in books,” Vincent said.

Vincent’s displays included uniforms, photographs, guns and knives, cooking utensils and more, all actual items used during the civil war.

Asked what started him collecting Civil War items, Vincent replied, “My grandfather. He worked for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in the 1930s, working to take the battlefields and turn them into the parks that we see today.

“He found some artifacts and brought them home. They’ve been passed down and now I’ve got them.”

“I think (reenactments, displays) are important because it shows people how we got to where we are today. You don’t learn it out of a book as much if you can see it. When you can see it, it means more. It drives the point home what people sacrificed during the war.”