Testimonials
Dear Ben,
Thank you for bringing a fascinating piece of history alive for the nine members of our office staff. We were looking for a fun, but meaningful way to celebrate a piece of hard work we had just finished, and your two-hour interlude capped off by our having lunch together was perfect. I recommend your excellent tour to tourists, families and locals who want to know more about their heritage.
David L. Williams
Executive Vice President
Mass. State Auto Dealers Assoc.
Boston, MA
Greetings Ben,
Thank you for one of the most engaging, educational and enjoyable walking tours of Boston that our group had experienced on our six-day tour of the birthplace of America. You gave an excellent college-level tour for seventeen undergraduate interior design students eager to learn about the history of not only a place, but of the people that once inhabited the city of Boston. Your wonderful verbal explanations of how the present was shaped by the past was augmented by incredible historical photographs - and even more impressive - original historic newspapers about Paul Revere and others of vintage time periods.
Never before had a tour guide presented such delicate artifacts for all to examine and review. Never before had the tour guide been a direct descendant of people that were part of a very real past history! Tangible bits of history linked our present tour with a very real past. Thank you for providing such a wonderful tour - one that will not be forgotten - and one that will remain in our memories as the most experiential!
Sincerely,
Daniel Joseph Whittaker
Instructor
Art Institutes International Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
Dear Ben,
On behalf of our group, we'd like to thank you for what was the highlight of our Boston trip! Our group of 15 Latter Day Saint youth and 5 of their leaders have a tremendous interest in our own personal family histories and I believe your tour has inspired some of these youth and adults to work on their genealogies. You not only found your ancestors, you also got to personally know those in your family that came before you. The love you have for them shows in your tour and in your book.
You held the attention of our youth throughout the tour, a tough task with teenagers! We were impressed with your historical knowledge of the area and the way you brought the Freedom Trail to life through your pictures, historic newspapers, and stories of the sites we visited. The children really appreciated the time you took with them and were very impressed that you stayed and had lunch with us at Quincy Market. I would recommend your tour to anyone, especially those with an interest in family history and genealogy work. We'll be back again, perhaps with more adults than youth next time. Thanks very much!
Keith Barron
LDS Church
Palmyra, NY
Dear Ben,
We have not stopped talking about the tour we took with you. The children and the adults were equally enthralled and captivated by your stories and your engaging manner. One of the children has already taken the book with him to school to show his teacher, and told her all about our visit. On the way home to New York, we played quiz games with one of the 7-year-olds, and were amazed at how much he remembered and understood from the day we spent with you. You were the pied piper of this visit.
We were impressed not only with your ability to hold the attention of all the members of our family, but with the accuracy of the information you presented. The documents you shared and the pictures you showed gave a real sense of the authenticity of what you were telling us.
Thank you again, and we would welcome the opportunity to describe your tour (and book) to anyone who is interested in booking with you. Please don't hesitate to have prospective travelers contact us for a personal recommendation. We are sure to be in Boston again, and will make every effort to get in touch when we return. Thank you for your time, your expertise, and your patience.
Betty Ann and Richard Ross
Ed and Laura Ross
Roberta Ross, and the children (Daliah, Jared and Jonathan)
Syosset, NY
My sister and I spent a day with Ben walking throughout Boston. Ben's knowledge and enthusiasm about Boston's history was astounding! We have both taken many such tours in other cities and both came away feeling this was THE best value and one of the most interesting tours we've had the pleasure of taking. Ben is gracious, entertaining and an extremely knowledgeable guide. I highly recommend his tour.
Nancy Bozich
Mesa, AZ
Dear Ben,
I wanted to thank you for the magical experience our family had during your tour of the Freedom Trail. The kids are still talking about it today. I can't think of a better way for our children to learn about history; you really made the Freedom Trail come to life for them with the illustrations & artifacts you shared with us. I was amazed at how both my four-year-old & seven-year-old paid attention throughout the trip; but was even more surprised at how you managed to translate history for them and make it so much fun. I plan on both listening to the audio and reading your book to the kids in the next few days and I am particularly looking forward to tying some of the stories in the book to our historic tour. Once again thank you for the tour, I hope to see you soon (and take the tour again with the kids) when we visit Boston in the future.
Sincerely,
Mayer S. Abbo & Family
Delray Beach, FL
Dear Ben,
We all had such a wonderful time enjoying your knowledge of our beloved Boston. Thank you so much for all the extra effort you put into the time we had with you. I was telling someone yesterday - I felt like I was walking around with an old friend. I know the 23 children (and I) learned much from you. The book was a terrific way to bring it all to light for them. We especially enjoyed how you made connections to modern day life.
Paula Breuer
Homeschooling Group
of 8 Families
Topsfield, MA
Dear Ben,
So many guided tours are oriented toward adults and leave kids whining, "how much longer?" But despite a blustery November day, my 9 and 11 year olds were wrapped up in the historical reality you created through your storytelling style, humor, and use of documents and props to keep them not only interested and involved, but enthralled. Thank you for your energy and enthusiasm in bringing history to life!
Ann, Jim, Cole and McKenzie Bridgman
Glen Ellyn, IL
Ben,
Thank you for providing our high school group with such an engaging and informative walking tour of historic Boston. I really don't think we could have asked or hoped for anything better. Having personally participated in numerous other historical walking tours (not only in the Boston area, but also in the New York and Washington, D.C., areas), I can honestly say that yours was the best. Your ability to elicit and hold the interest of high school students is a talent I have seldom seen in walking-tour guides, and one that I hold in very high regard.
Michael J. Zartler
Teacher
Smithtown High School
Long Island, NY
Ben,
I have to say that in my 15 years of teaching, this was one of the best field trips ever! You were extremely informative and certainly knowledgeable about the subject matter. One can see the passion you have for history. Everything was perfect from beginning to end, despite our late arrival. We appreciate your willingness to be flexible and understanding of our group's needs. Your props and different ways of getting the students engaged demonstrated a real talent of interpersonal communication skills. We plan to use your services again next year for sure!
You have inspired us so much, in fact, that we're really taking this experience a step further. Here's what we plan to do. We are reviewing all of the pictures with the students. They are recalling the interesting facts that you presented to us. We are printing out the photos of the sites, and each child will get a different subject to research. They will each write an essay about their picture, (The historical significance really....) and we'll compile the writing and pictures into a 4th grade book. Wait.... there's more.... we'll use "Keynote" software to make a digital presentation of the photos and their work. We will certainly share the final product with you when we are finished.
We have done nothing but rave about your services to our colleagues upon our return. We have the green light to keep this field trip in our budget for next year. I'd be happy to share your business card with other teachers.
Stephanie Syre-Hager
Fourth Grade Teacher
Applewild School
Fitchburg, MA
Dear Ben,
I was one of the parent/chaperones on your Freedom Trail/Sons of Liberty program this Wednesday with the Greenland Central School. I am more than embarrassed to admit that I went to school and worked in Boston for 20 years before moving to Greenland NH in 1989 but never walked the Trail! I love Boston and history and walked the city a million times during my time there. I have to say that it was more than worth the wait to take the tour with you! Your family historical connection to the goings on in Boston as well as your admirable breadth of knowledge of the facts (and factoids!) made it the best day ever. I will enjoy reading your book. Thank you so much!!
Jane King
Greenland, NH
Dear Ben,
I just want to thank you once again for an informative and thoroughly enjoyable Freedom Trail Tour! The kids were totally into it....and so were their parents! We received LOTS of positive feedback!
Same time next year?
Shelley Baglino
Wrentham Public Schools
Wrentham, MA
Ben,
Your book and your tour are phenomenal! The kids loved your visuals and the spyglass was a big hit!
The students wrote you thank you cards and they are enclosed. Thanks again, we had a great time.
Melissa Fleishman
Cohen Hillel Academy
Marblehead, MA
Notes from the students:
-Thank you sooooo much Ben! This experience was awesome! I really liked seeing all the old places from colonial times! This trip was sweet and your book is awesome! Samuel Y.
-Thank you for giving us a tour of Boston. You explained it to us so well I could picture it in my mind. I enjoyed all of the engravings that you showed us and I especially liked the grasshopper weather vane. The tour of Boston was a very fun experience. Becah
-Thank you so much for the tour of the Freedom Trail. It was so much fun. One of my favorite things was the Paul Revere House. Another thing that I enjoyed was visiting where the Boston Massacre occured. Again thank you so much. I had fun being your main assistant! Amanda
-Thank you for taking us on the tour. I thought it was funny when you showed us the gold food in the street representing the haymarket. I also thought it was really cool seeing the spyglass. Maybe I'll be ingraved in a sidewalk one day. Thank you again. Evan.
-Thank you for taking us around the freedom trail in Boston. My favorite parts were going to the old north church, Paul Revere's house, and the weather vane at fanuel hall. Zachary
-Thank you for taking us on the wonderful tour. I really enjoyed the Old North Church. My favorite part of the church was the cubicals and how each family could deccarate there own cubical. I also enjoyed the Hay market and the gold in the streets. Michael
-Thank you so much for the awesome tour. My favorite part was seeing the spyglass. I also enjoyed seeing Paul Revere's house. I learned so much. Thanks again, I had a great time! Emily
-Thank you for being our tour guide on the Freedom Trail. A couple things I enjoyed most were the golden streets, the spyglass, and seeing Paul Revere's house. I also liked the weathervanes and the grave with bullet marks in it. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Thank you, Lauren
May 13, 2009
Dear Ben,
Thank you. The tour was amazing! You are so good with the children! The fourth & fifth grade students and I learned so much. Yes, I did receive the Online Access to the Colonial Newspapers. I was just about to go find one for tomorrow's lesson. Thanks again for all you did. You made the event very, very special!
Sincerely,
Sandra Brazier
Franco American School
Lowell, MA
P.S. As we studied Social Studies today, the kids kept saying, "We saw that with Ben!" They were so excited, and I was VERY happy. Thanks for making my job so much easier.
May 14, 2009
Ben,
I wanted to personally tell you that my expectations for today's trip were far exceeded. You not only gave the students a great foundation of history, but you also spiced it with enough interest and third grade humor, that they LOVED the trip. I keep hearing, "That was AWESOME!" They did not say the same for Plimoth Plantation. So that's a testament to you as a guide.
If you ever need a recommendation or anything, I'd be happy to help promote your tour. I hope the third grade makes this a regular event in the Spring. We're very much looking forward to listening to your book. Plus, the pennies are a BIG hit!!
Also, Alee Rogers was impressed with your unique ability to educate, entertain, and engage while effectively managing such a large group.
Many many thanks,
Amy Heutel
Cambridge Friends School
Cambridge, MA
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