IN THE PIPELINE:Family of history buffs recreates battles

“I was looking at the field behind the Newland House and it was so nice and wide and empty. Then my friend, Carl Clink, who worked with me on the [Historical] Society said, ‘Maybe we could have a battle there.’”

I’m speaking with 70-year old Maureen Rivers, a transplant from Lexington, Mass. She’s explaining to me, in her beautifully tinged New England accent, how when you grow up in war country (in her case, the Revolutionary War), the glory of recreated battles is just something in your blood. And that’s what inspired her and fellow historians to give birth to the now-famous Civil War re-enactments here in Huntington Beach.

She got involved right away in the local Historical Society once she moved here from back east. And it was while she was tending to the Newland House that she and Clink had their brainstorm. The battles started out up on the hill by the venerable landmark house 14 years ago, but they quickly outgrew that property.

That’s why, this weekend, 900-plus tents will be pitched across Central Park. That’s why more than a dozen cannons will be rolled in by soldiers representing the Union and Confederate armies. And that’s why thousands of spectators will be there, awestruck, as the battle erupts and the smell of spent gunpowder fills the air.

To say the annual Civil War re-enactments are a family affair in the Rivers household is an understatement.

Maureen may have helped inspire the idea but today it’s her daughter, Kelly Rivers, president of the Huntington Beach Historical Society, who plots the battlefield strategies and logistics needed to make this spectacular recreation real.

“There comes a time you need to pass these thing along. Now I simply like to go and watch,” Maureen says.

Kelly’s life, however, becomes a blur leading up the battle. Arranging for 900 “soldiers” who come to Huntington Beach from all over the country, getting permits, arranging for cleanup — one gets the feeling Kelly would have been handy planning things at the original Gettysburg. She laughs at the suggestion that the bulk of the task is on her shoulders.

“I have so much help; that’s what makes it possible,” she says.

She rattles off the names of families she knows through Boy Scouts who, each year, are up for the challenge.

Kelly lists them proudly: “There’s the Mercado family, the Carr family, the Macpherson family, the Johnsen family, Joy and Gary Gentry — and, of course, my husband Ben.” Last but not least is Darrell Rivers, their 16-year-old son and Civil War buff (and soon-to-be Eagle Scout) whose passion for this particular war leads his mom to think he may have some extended attachment to it.

“He’s an old soul,’ Kelly says of her son. “At Gettysburg, when he was there with my dad, it was as if he’d been there before, a long time ago. It’s hard to explain but it’s something very special.”

Darrell is also vice president of the Huntington Beach Historical Society.

Something else special about this year’s re-enactment is the fact that the Rivers family is in the middle of coping with a tremendous loss. Recently, tragically, Kelly’s dad, Bernard, a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Army, passed away. This family of historians was shaken to the core.

“My folks live with us,” Kelly said. “He was like a second dad to our son.”

Maureen reflected that strong New England resolve in her voice.

“We were married 50 years,” she said. “Such a wonderful, wonderful man. The love of my life.”

Yet they soldier on in preparation for this tumultuous weekend.

If you are among the thousands of excited spectators to visit Central Park this weekend, you’ll no doubt marvel at the authenticity of the tent encampment and actual battle recreation. But don’t forget to take a moment to pay tribute to a local family of history buffs for whom Labor Day truly means labor — and a labor of love. Maybe they’ll be selling hamburgers, adjusting uniforms, helping to carry a flag — wherever they are and whatever they are doing, please help me salute the Rivers family.

Historic footnote: Did you know California actually played an important part in the Civil War? Yes, the major engagements occurred in the East, but troops from Drum Barracks in Los Angeles protected much of the Southwest and helped the Union secure the territory, which is now Arizona and New Mexico.

California also provided 15,725 volunteers to the Union Armies during the Civil War, which amounted to two full regiments and one battalion of cavalry, eight full regiments of infantry, and one battalion of infantry called mountaineers. Plus, local soldiers aided in keeping the land between California and the rest of the Union from anarchy — they held off Confederate fighters in Texas and prevented them from forging west. As well, they helped secure the Pacific Coast, which kept the confederacy from gaining strength there, too.

Everything takes place Saturday in Central Park. There will be live canon battles, camps, actors in costume and food vendors. The schedule: 10 a.m. opens, 1:30 p.m. battle; living history weapons demo at 2:30 p.m., final battle at 4 p.m., twilight concert to follow. On Sunday, church service at 8 a.m., camp opens at 9 a.m., first battle at 11 a.m., weapons demo at noon, second battle at 2 p.m. If parking fills up at the park there will be shuttles available.