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Past Event Photos

Arlington House Public Screening of The National Parks

September 19, 2009

WETA members shared in a public viewing of The National Parks: This is America at Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, which was the home of Robert E. Lee and is a National Park Service site.  The free event featured speakers, a tour of Arlington House and the grounds, and a screening from the steps of the house, with the dramatic backdrop of the D.C. skyline.

Event photos

Check out our slideshow below to see photos from the event! Click on the main photo to see its caption.

The event centered around the theme of Arlington House as a park of living history.  Past, present and future of the site were represented in stories of the history of the house, how it came to be a national park site, the personal connections individuals have with its story (a descendent of a slave who had served in the house now works to save Arlington House; a local teacher inspired a student that is now a Park Ranger at Arlington House), as well as the importance of supporting the future of the house.  This theme of the amazing stories, personal connection, and importance of national parks was tied through with a screening of This is America, the outreach documentary for The National Parks, developed to tell about the evolving idea of the park and the contemporary individuals who are a part of its story.

Event Speakers

Matt Penrod, Park Ranger and National Park Service Education Specialist

Wayne Parks, PhD, A direct descendent of three generations of enslaved people who built, cultivated and nurtured the Custis-Lee estate.

Jim Percoco and Jin Prugsawan, A local teacher who has inspired many of his students to become professinoal Park Rangers, and one of his students who followed that path and is now a Park Ranger at Arlington House.

Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, Member of "Save Historic Arlington House"

Elizabeth Pryor, an author, historian, and Robert E. Lee expert, Author of Clara Barton: Professional Angel and  Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee through His Private Letters.

And a representative from WETA.