The U.S. Capitol Historical Society will continue its Lunch Bites with Steve and Jane series in July. Each lecture is free and open to all–please share the information with anyone who may be interested! However, you must register to join the Zoom webinar. All webinars begin at noon EDT.
July 16: Q&A Day!
It’s another Q&A Day! USCHS President/CEO Jane Campbell and U.S. Capitol Historical Society Chief Guide Steve Livengood may address cliffhangers from previous sessions, answer questions saved from earlier webinars, and take your new questions about the Capitol and related topics.
Steve Livengood was fascinated by the U.S. Capitol even before he left his native Kansas and started volunteering in his congressman’s office as a college freshman in 1965. He began to learn about the building by giving tours to the visitors from his home district. After earning a B.A. in political science at the American University in Washington, DC, and after experiencing the risks of good citizenship in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, Livengood became a Ph.D. candidate in Recent U.S. History at Emory University in Atlanta. His subsequent career has been as an association executive and public affairs consultant. In 1998, Livengood capped four years as an active volunteer tour guide in the U.S. Capitol by becoming coordinator of the volunteer programs of the United States Capitol Historical Society. He is now Chief Guide at USCHS. He leads VIP and specialized tours of the Capitol, trains staff guides and Society volunteers and organizes promotional activities for Society programs.
Jane Campbell took on the leadership of the US Capitol Historical Society following her service in state, local, and national politics in which she served as the first woman Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio which was the highlight of her 21 years in elected office. In 2009, following an appointment at the Harvard Kennedy School, Campbell responded to the call from Sen. Mary Landrieu to come to Washington as her chief of staff where she helped to rebuild New Orleans after Katrina and capture the penalty money from the BP oil spill for coastal restoration in the Gulf Coast states.
July 23: Special Guest Hayden Wetzel
Special guest Hayden Wetzel joins USCHS President/CEO Jane Campbell for this edition of Lunch Bites with Steve and Jane. Step away from your desk for this discussion of animal control on Capitol Hill!
Wetzel will look at the District government’s efforts to control loose animals–particularly farm animals (hogs, horses, geese, and so forth) in the early days of the city, first by the police force and after 1871 the District pound crew, with an emphasis on the situation on Capitol Hill. As one news article noted: “No owner of a goat was ever known to surrender his animal without a fight, and assistance was never lacking.” The conversation will include the defense of local sheep by Marines from their barracks, complaints of chickens despoiling Stanton Square, and the famous Battle of Lincoln Park. Wetzel will also recount the many situations of animals found on the Capitol grounds over the years.
SPEAKER: Hayden Wetzel, a retired Federal Government employee, has done extensive research on the history of Washington, D.C. as a volunteer with the DC Preservation League, resulting currently in about 15 landmark nominations. He has published studies of the planning and construction of public parks in the Southwest Urban Renewal area, the history of Buzzard Point, and this account of the history of animal control in Washington from 1791 to about 1940, including pound operations, the work of humane organizations, and the collection of dead animals from public spaces. This study grew out of landmark nominations for the old pound and the Animal Rescue League shelter.
July 30: History All Around Us, Part 8
USCHS President/CEO Jane Campbell will interview U.S. Capitol Historical Society Chief Guide Steve Livengood in a presentation he calls “Capitol Officials: Square 688.” Based on the USCHS book Creating Capitol Hill, Steve will tell tales based on this location and show a few vintage photos from the book. He’ll add stories from his own experience and incidents from more recent times too! (See above for speaker biographies.)
