‘Knights in the Classroom’ comes to Uniontown
Daniel Andre cuts an intriguing figure as he enters the children’s library at Uniontown Public Library and asks, “How many of you kids would like to take a trip back in time?’ Dressed in a red tunic and pants with brown leather boots and a silver chain mail vest, Andre gathers up the children and their parents and marches them back into the hallway as they count back the centuries, conjuring up a magic of their own: 2000, 1900, 1800, 1700.
They make it back to 900 A.D. by the time they reach the second-floor meeting rooms, which have been mysteriously transformed into a medieval castle with stone walls and brightly colored banners.
Displays show off medieval armor, helmets, toys and musical instruments. A couple of women – Andre’s mother, Elizabeth Andre, and sister, Cheryl Andre – are dressed in gowns and headpieces. Not only do the eyes of the children light up, but so do the eyes of their parents. This is a wonderland that promises rich stories.
“Folks, you have now entered our traveling museum,’ Daniel Andre says
“The Knights of the Classroom,’ which Andre created in 1995, recently paid a visit to the library as part of its summer reading program.
Originally scheduled to take place at Bailey Park, the program was moved inside the library due to the threat of thunderstorms.
The Thursday night Bailey Park programs have included magic, music and puppets and will continue through Aug. 11 with storytellers. The library also is offering a lunchtime storytelling program at the city’s parks and a variety of programs inside the library building.
A resident of Liberty Borough, near McKeesport, Allegheny County, Andre said his fascination with the Middle Ages began 22 years ago this October. “It started as a hobby in 1983. I went to a medieval festival at Pitt-Greensburg, saw the chain mail armor and thought it was cool and that it would be neat to make them. The first vest I made out of iron clothes hangers,’ Andre said.
He continued to visit other medieval festivals, looking at the work of others, reading and teaching himself to create chain mail armor, a heavy but flexible armor that allows more movement than the plate armor seen in most Hollywood movies. The decorated vest he wore in Uniontown took 1,500 hours to build, while the average vest can take 300 to 350 hours.
Andre brought several samples of chain mail to Uniontown, offering a variety of styles and weights that he allowed parents to try after his talk. Children were able to try their own lightweight aluminum versions. Andre also showed off armor that had been designed for a horse and a dog.
“I’d love to be a knight,’ said Sam Hice, 13, of Uniontown, as he tried on aluminum chain mail and a hand-and-arm plate armor piece. “I like wearing the armor. It’d be pretty cool to go into battle in this. This thing is protection.’
Jennifer Cavallo of Uniontown tried on the real thing, including a helmet, commenting, “This is heavy.’
“Mine’s pretty heavy. I don’t think you could go too far in it,” added Joe Batronis of Adah, who along with his 8-year-old son, Jacob, tried on pieces.
Andre earned a teaching degree from California University of Pennsylvania in 1993 but uses his degree to teach living history. He has addressed more than 60,000 students through “Knights of the Classroom,’ which has become a family business, with Daniel Andre leading talks for younger audiences while Cheryl Andre, who has a master’s degree in medieval literature from Duquesne University, taking on older audiences. Cheryl Andre is also a certified labyrinth facilitator, which she explained is a walking meditation popular for that time. “Knights of the Classroom’ has addressed groups as small as six and as large as 600.
“We cover the Middle Ages from 476 A.D. to 1500 A.D., from the ancient world to the Renaissance,’ said Andre. “We specialize in medieval times, but we do Renaissance. We just booked an Irish festival in Johnstown in August. We do fairs and festivals. But we don’t do violence.’
Andre noted he recently lost an exhibition at a school because he won’t do sword fighting in front of children.
Instead, his programs try to build self-esteem, talk against drug use and encourage reading and research.
For example, at the end of the Uniontown program, Andre told the children, “Your library opens up so many worlds to you. How do I know so much about the Middle Ages? Because I read. It opens your eyes to the many worlds the library brings to you. This is just one of them.’
At Uniontown, Andre showed off pictures of dragons, medieval toys and instruments, and explained how life in the Middle Ages was similar to today. The postal system, ideas of freedom of speech and religion, and the toothbrush all come from this time.
But Andre also explained how life was different. Children completed school at age 5. By the time they were 6, they were working full time, six days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day. The church could select some 6-year-olds to become a nun or deacon. If a youngster were a hard worker, the king might decide to put him into training as a knight at age 7 by making him a page. By the time they were 8 or 9, a third of those pages had a missing finger from practicing with a sword. Most youths age 12 were married, with their spouses chosen by their parents.
“By the time you’re 15, if you weren’t married, I guess you’ve chosen to be single,’ said Andre. “You’ve already lived half your life.’
Andre continued with stories and facts, then delighted everyone by turning them loose to touch everything in the museum. The Andres don’t believe in the hands-off approach.
The audience was charmed.
“It was good,’ said Amanda Tringes, 14, of Uniontown, who said she enjoyed the armor.
“I liked the toys. The dog armor was cool. I liked the armor for the horse’s head, too,’ said Amber Sproul, 11, of Uniontown, who came to the program with her brother, Jason, 13, and mother, Lorine.
Lorine Sproul gave her approval to the program: “It was very good. It caught the kids’ attention. He is really good with the audience.’
For more information on “Knights of the Classroom,’ phone 412-672-1989. For more information on programs at the Uniontown Public Library, phone 724-437-1165.