THE MCHS SPEAKERS BUREAU

JUDITH CHRISTENSEN
Judith Christensen has worked as an architectural historian and preservation planner for municipal and county governments, private clients and historical/preservation groups since 1985. As a contractor, she surveyed and wrote historic sites surveys and evaluations for over 400 historical sites in Maryland and Virginia. She has written newspaper articles and other publications on local history and architecture. She was a founder of the Gaithersburg Heritage Museum (now Gaithersburg Community Museum) and currently serves as museum historian and on the collections committee. She is Executive Director of Montgomery Preservation Inc. and is also on the board of the Montgomery County Alliance for Heritage Tourism and the Montgomery County MOOseum.

WALTER A. GOETZ
Walter A. Goetz is an engineer by vocation and education, and a gold mine historian by avocation. He holds Mechanical Engineering and advanced Engineering Management degrees. He has been doing historical research on gold mining close to the Nation’s Capital, particularly in Maryland and near-by Virginia for the last 40 years. Walt has retraced the steps of a multitude of prospectors and miners, verifying and documenting remnants of the gold mines of this area. During the process of exploration and research he has accumulated what is undoubtedly the largest collection of local gold mining documents, photographs and memorabilia in existence. Walt presents a slide show and interesting anecdotes about the gold mining in Maryland or Virginia, depending on the audience.

CLARENCE HICKEY
Clarence Hickey is an interpretive docent with the Montgomery County Historical Society's (MCHS) Stonestreet Museum of 19th Century Medicine in Rockville, MD, and a re-enactor with the MCHS Speakers Bureau.  He portrays historic Rockville physician Dr. Edward E. Stonestreet who practiced medicine for 51 years (1852-1903) and was a Civil War Surgeon with the U. S. Army.  His living history portrayals, some in first person Chautauqua format, discuss: the Doctor's life and times, medical education, medical practice, and Civil War service; 19th century medicine; and Civil War medicine and its effects on civilian medical practice.  The Chatauqua format includes a first person appearance and presentation by Dr. Stonestreet (in 19th century attire), question and answer by the doctor in the 1800s, and question and answer by Clarence, stepping out of character.  The performance draws from Clarence's book SEND FOR THE DOCTOR: The Life and times of Dr. Edward E. Stonestreet, 19th Century Physician & Civil War Surgeon, Montgomery County,Maryland, published by the Montgomery County Historical Society in 2009.

DON HOUSLEY
Don Housley retired in July, 2005, after 36 years teaching U.S. history and serving the last 25 years of his teaching career as chairman of the Social Studies Department at Wheaton High School in Montgomery County, Maryland. Currently, he volunteers in the Office of Archaeology for Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission-Montgomery County. Currently, Mr. Housley serves as president  of the Mid-Potomac Chapter of the Archeological Society of Maryland and secretary of the Montgomery County Civil War Round Table.

JIM JOHNSTON
Jim Johnston, www.jameshjohnston.com, is a writer and lawyer in Washington DC. His articles on history, books, law, and technology have appeared in The Washington Post and Washington Post Magazine, The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, Legal Times of Washington, L Magazine and the Montgomery County Historical Society Story. His history writings encompass such diverse topics as Yarrow Mamout, who is the subject of one of the best, early, African-American portraits, and Confederate General John McCausland, who claimed that he could have captured Washington DC in July 1864 if he only had more men. Most recently, he published a book on the Loughborough family entitled, The Recollections of Margaret Cabell Brown Loughborough: A Southern Woman's Memories of Richmond, VA and Washington, DC in the Civil War. To learn more about this book and the Loughborough family visit his blog at http://margaretsrecollections.wordpress.com.

PATRICK LACEFIELD
Patrick Lacefield is the spokesman for the Montgomery County Executive and a Civil War reenactor who shares songs and stories from the War Between the States, wearing both blue and gray, accompanying himself on guitar. His maternal great-great-grandfather served in the Arkansas State Legislature during "independence" and his sons fought with the Arkansas cavalry. On his father's side, Patrick's ancestors served in the Tennessee infantry. Recently, he participated in the filming of the motion picture "Gods & Generals," portraying a soldier from the 20th Maine Regiment. He is a native of Arkansas who grew up in Missouri.

MARY LOU LUFF
A member and volunteer of the Montgomery County Historical Society since 1981, Mary Lou's special interest has been researching fashion, family life and home remedies. She brings to life two Rockville residents--Mrs. Upton Beall in 1815 and Mrs. Stonestreet in 1863. Her collection of artifacts and books dates as early as 1774. Mary Lou's book, Home Remedies Head to Toe: Home Medicine in the 1700s & 1800s, is available in the MCHS Museum Shop.

MAUDE MCGOVERN 
Maude McGovern has spoken on Rockville's Underground Railroad to numerous community groups and at the Maryland State Archives.  She has a BA and MA in American Civilization and indulges her lifelong interest in local history as a volunteer with the Montgomery County Historical Society and The Menare Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Underground Railroad history.

EILEEN MCGUCKIAN
Eileen McGuckian holds a BA degree from the University of Maryland, an MA from Western Maryland college, and a Master of Philosophy in American Studies from George Washington University. She is an accomplished historian, author, and recognized leader in historic preservation at the local, regional, and state levels. She is founder, past president, and immediate past Executive Director of Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, Ltd. Her 2001 book, Rockville: Portrait of a City, is a signature project of Rockville's Millennium Celebration. Eileen has written numerous other articles and books on local and state history, including The Sesquicentennial of Rockville: Local Government at 150 Years published in 2010. She has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Maryland Historical Trust, Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission, Rockville Historic District Commission, Montgomery County History Consortium, and the Rotary Club of Rockville.

LORRAINE DUTCHER MINOR
Ms. Lorraine Dutcher Minor is president of the Genealogy Club of the Montgomery County Historical Society and has served as chair of the Education Committee. Ms. Minor has completed the National Genealogical Society home study course and several Family History courses from Brigham Young University and attended the National Institute on Genealogical Research. She is a volunteer at the Washington DC Family History Center in Kensington, MD and teaches classes and speaks locally on basic genealogical subjects. She is currently doing research on her ancestors from Maine, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio and helping her husband with research in Tennessee and Kentucky. 

JEFF NAGY
An amateur geologist and mineral collector, Jeff is an expert on the mineralogy and mining history of Montgomery County.

WILLIAM OFFUTT
A native of Montgomery County, William Offutt is a retired public school and Montgomery College teacher. He is the author of Bethesda: A Social History and A History of Montgomery County as well as numerous articles for local newspapers and the Montgomery County Historical Society. He and his wife live in Bethesda.

ANTHONY PITCH
Anthony S. Pitch is the author of a number of books, the most recent being The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814. He is also the author of, "They Have Killed Papa Dead!" - The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He lives with his wife in Potomac, MD.

SUSAN SODERBERG
Susan Soderberg is a public historian with the Germantown Historical Society (Maryland), and the Friends of Oakley Cabin and the Underground Railroad. She has written several historical documents including: A Guide to Civil War Sites in Maryland: Blue and Gray in a Border State; The Met: A History of the Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad; Lest We Forget: A Guide to Civil War Monuments in Maryland; Who was Who of the Civil War Correspondents; and A History of Germantown, Maryland. Susan is a Commissioner on the Governor's Commission of Military Monuments, on the Board of the Germantown Historical Society, and holds membership in numerous national and local historical associations.