The Christmas Truce: A Silent Night Along the Western Front
244 Wood Street
Lexington, MA 02421
USA
Speaker: John Horrigan
Emmy Award Winning TV Host of “The Folklorist”
On Christmas Eve, 1914 there was a cessation of hostilities along the Western Front. In certain places along the lines, some Germans proposed a halt to the raucous fighting during the opening phases of stalemate in the Great European War. British, French and Canadian men fraternized with the enemy in “No Man’s Land” and exchanged wine, cheese, chocolate and other commodities well into Christmas Day. There was even a friendly soccer match! Come hear the Christmas Songs they sung from their trenches and learn about additional Christmas truces in 1915, 1916 and 1917.
John Horrigan is a professional sports announcer, program manager, internet entrepreneur and historical lecturer. He has over 100 lecture titles in his portfolio and has extensive experience researching, lecturing and producing historical vignettes about American and world history, the American Revolution, historical weather events, historical astronomy, maritime disasters, military history, unexplained events and music history.
He has served as a professional sports announcer for the Boston Bruins Alumni for 22 years, announcing their charity and celebrity hockey games across North America, including the “Legends Winter Classic” outdoors at Fenway Park in Boston in 2010. Horrigan has also worked extensively with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and NHL Alumni. John has announced charity basketball games with current members of the New England Patriots for over 20 years and has been and comedy basketball announcer for 22 years with the Harlem Magicians, Harlem Wizards, Harlem Rockets, Harlem Hoopsters and the Court Jesters. In 2011 and 2013, he announced a comedy basketball tribute game at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts that featured comedy basketball legends, including members of the Harlem Globetrotters. Horrigan had the opportunity of a lifetime when he served as the public address announcer for a June 5th, 2012 baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox.
John is also a three-time Emmy Award-winning (and ten-time Emmy nominee) television host, writer and producer for “The Folklorist”. In 2014, the program won a Boston/New England Emmy® Award for “Outstanding Historical/Cultural/Special Program” and received five nominations for “Program – Host / Moderator”, “Writer – Program”, “Outstanding Historical/Cultural Program/Special”, “Editing” and “Photography”. In 2013, Horrigan won a Boston/New England Emmy® Award for best “Program – Host / Moderator” (and was nominated three times) for best “Writer – Program” and best “Historical/Cultural Program/Special”. In 2012, “The Folklorist” won its first Boston/New England Emmy® Award (and received two nominations) for best “Promotion Program – Single Spot”. Since 2013, the program has won eight Telly Awards, four Communicator Awards and took First Place in the American Community Media-New England Regional Video Festival in the “Arts and Theater Program” Category. The series is currently in production for its second season. Horrigan also provided the narration for recently-released film “The Bridgewater Triangle”, which received an honorable mention award for “Best Documentary Feature” at the 6th annual Southeast New England Film, Music and Arts Festival.
His full-time profession is (the stuff above are professional hobbies) a program manager for the MRI-Gradient Amplifier division for Analogic Corporation in Peabody, Massachusetts. This position calls his acting, lecturing, mathematical and research skills all into play daily. “Someone once told me that I have a photographic memory, but I can’t remember who said it.” John recently celebrated his 10th wedding anniversary with his wife Jennique and resides in Waltham, Massachusetts.
His many websites include: www.johnhorrigan.com, www.usfolklore.com and www.folklorist.tv
The meeting will be held at the Lincoln Lab Auditorium, 244 Wood Street., Lexington, MA at 4:00 PM December 17, 2014 and is being co-sponsored by AESS Chapter and the New Hampshire Life Members Affinity Group. Refreshments will be served at 3:30 PM. Registration is in the main lobby. Foreign national visitors to Lincoln Lab require visit requests. Please pre-register by e-mail to reception@ll.mit.edu and indicate your citizenship. Please use the Wood Street Gate. For directions go to http://www.ll.mit.edu/. For other information, contact Len Long, Chairman, at (781)894-3943, or l.long@ieee.org. or Steve Teahan at steahan@comcast.net. If you would like to be on the Life Members database so we can inform you of special programs including field trips plus added events like a global warming debate, please send us an e-mail with your contact information. This meeting is cosponsored by the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society (AESS).