Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to today's episode of the Midlife Happiness Project.
Have you ever looked back at some of the hobbies that you had as a kid and thought that it might be fun to revisit them now that you're an adult? Well, Andrew, our guest today, decided to pursue a hobby that he developed as a little kid, and today it's blossomed into a new passion, including writing books, giving lectures, and launching a new website. Although Andrew had a full career in financial services, he's recently become a leading expert in historical soldier artists of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. By revisiting this hobby he initially started as a kid, he found a new community, tackled new challenges, and discovered a renewed passion for history.
And make sure that you stick around for my wrap up, where I uncover some research that shows how valuable hobbies can really be to our own personal happiness. So join me in adding some happiness to your life.
Welcome back to the Midlife Happiness program project. And today I have another fascinating guest.
So this is Andrew. Lovely to have you on the program, Andrew.
[00:01:31] Speaker B: Great to be here. Thank you.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: So Andrew is a really interesting guest that we brought on today, unlike our other guests, in that most people that we have as guests on this, this show are people who have really sought out something interesting that inspires them, that lights a fire for them at this unique time in their life. But what makes Andrew unique is he's actually had this interest, this thing, in his life since he was a small boy, and it's sort of grown and grown, and now it's become his thing, which we will get to. But a little bit about Andrew. He has a career in financial services.
He majored in history at Brown, and he collected hand painted toy soldiers from his childhood, which sparked an interest in history, which is bringing us to the thing that he's here to talk with us today about. And on that note, what is this thing for you?
[00:02:48] Speaker B: Well, my thing is history and storytelling through military art. Military history.
And as you said, it started as a young boy. My father would, if I got good grades in school, he would give me a couple of toy soldiers. That's how it sort of started. And I think I'm a bit of a visual learner. So having these figures, I can put them in the context of a period in time in history.
And that, coupled with a lot of reading, just reinforced my interest in history. And so, yeah, I collected some of these little figures on and off over the years, and I'd spend, collect my allowance and then buy some and build up little units of, of troops from different time periods in history.
So that's evolved from that. At Brown, there's a very, very well known military art collection. It's called the Anne Sk. Brown Military collection. And I became involved with that as an alumnus of the school in 1996. And it's a sort of treasure trove of books and art on history militaria, if you will. There's about 28,000 images. And so I've been involved since 1996, and over that time, I've done, you know, I think, with the thing, if you, so to speak, is one thing leads to the next. So I got involved, and I first did a little project to reproduce these map markers that supposedly Napoleon used to mark out campaigns. We did a reproduction of these little, they look like little chess pieces. And then later on, I helped to organize a World War one, two World War one centennial exhibits in 2014 and again in 2017, 1st, commemorating the european start of the war, and then in 2017, the centennial of the American joining that war. And that was an exhibit that happened in two places in Washington, DC, at the Woodrow Wilson House. And then it moved on to Kansas City to the national World War one museum. And it was all art from the collection. So that was just very interesting and being engaged with the curators from the different museums. And the collection has a curator as well. So really getting our curator working with the other curators to put together a really interesting exhibit.
And then as time went on, I actually did a book. I call it a sort of coffee table book. It's art from one of the soldier artists in the collection, a German named Herbert, Herbert Knodel, very famous in the mid sort of 20th century.
And he was a soldier and an artist wounded in the first world War. But he painted lots of figures from all periods in history. And I did a book of the art in the collection on his german unit. So that's a book that came out in 2007.
And then this is decades that I've been involved with it on and off. So, as you said, I was working full time in financial services. So this isn't something I had a lot of time for at points in my career. Career. But with COVID it was interesting.
We were sort of all locked down. And I sort of took a deep dive into a couple of the different soldier artists in the collection.
And from that, I've been doing presentations on these individual artists. Soldier artists. I think it's important I say soldier artists because they were both, they were soldiers trained as soldiers, but they were also the three that I do it on were all professional artists and covering 18th, 19th, and 20th century, european as well as american. So really international, not just us based history, but those first I gave those in Covid over Zoom in Covid during COVID And then when the pandemic receded, I started doing them in person. And that's been great, interacting with audiences, telling these stories, elucidating facts of history, interesting things that people might not necessarily know as seen from the perspective of these participants who witnessed these things and then, through their art, expressed what they were seeing. So that's what I've been doing, and it's led now to a book I'm writing that's historical fiction. This first one is set in the Civil War period. So using all that background I have in all these different things, you know, sort of fuel this book, which is sort of an action thriller. So that's sort of where I am now. So it's, you know, it's gone from the toy soldiers to writing a book and doing, you know, giving talks and helping arrange museum exhibits. So really it spans the breadth of activities.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: I think what's really interesting hearing this is, I think a lot of people maybe when they first, you know, were listening to me introduce you, the first thought is, oh, he's a history buff.
He's going to talk about history. But what's really unique about your perspective is this is very specific. This is soldier artists, and that's really interesting. So they're providing a first account visual history of what was going on.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: Right. And, you know, just to elaborate a little bit on that. So there were three. The first is a french officer here in the US, in America during the Revolutionary War, and he kept a diary that was illustrated with his art. So with him, we have his diary and the art, and that was fascinating reading. This is a very young officer. He came here, he was only 18 years old, but just his impressions of America. And then his art drawing was interesting, having the diary and the art. And there's a famous image in his diary, probably one of the most famous in the collection of a black soldier in the American Revolution. That was in a combat role. A lot of the blacks might have been in more support roles, but this was a soldier in the first Rhode island regiment that was in combat. And so that's depicted in his diary, which is sort of interesting. So people may have stereotypes that black soldiers didn't fight, but in fact they did. And they did well.
And then the second one I do, it's on the 1812 invasion of Russia, Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia. And there was an artillery officer who was German, but he was an ally of the French, and he was also an artist. And he sketched. So during the invasion and retreat, it was about over six months in 1812, he sketched everything that he saw and then went. And he miraculously survived this disaster campaign. It was a mess. 600,000 men went in. Only 100,000 came out six months later. It was a disaster. And he was one of the survivors. But he took his sketches and then he later converted them into complete art, like color, painted it out from the sketches.
That whole collection of his art really tells the story. It was like an embedded CNN type of reporter that went in on the invasion and on the retreat. So that's an interesting story. And he provides descriptions of all of his art. So it's a real eye opening story that he tells. And then the last one I've been doing is on an American from World War Two who was in the Pacific, and he basically joined the american army before the war even started.
He had a brother who was in the military, and they really knew that war was coming. So he joined about a year before America got into the war. And he served through the occupation in Japan. He was in the army for five years. He had been trained as an artist, and he spent about half of his five years in the US moving around to different bases and doing different things, and then the other half in the southeast Pacific, Philippines, Australia, New guinea, and then ultimately in Japan. And what he did that was interesting, in addition to a vast amount of art, was he wrote letters home to his mother every other, every two or three days for five years. He wrote letters home. Right. There was no email. There was no texting. He wrote letters, and the family donated the letters and his art to the collection at Brown. And so again, during COVID but downtime, I read all the letters and sort of then compile a presentation on the letters of what he was seeing and then matching it with his art. So that's a very unique perspective.
That artist. His name was John Cullen Murphy. He also was mentored by Norman Rockwell. So there's an interesting tie to a well known artist. And then after the war, John Colin Murphy became a famous nationally syndicated illustrator of a cartoon called Prince Valiant for about 33 years, an award winning cartoonist. So he had an interesting career after the war, but his wartime experience as a young man was quite interesting. And the other thing I'll say, the last thing I'll say about him was that he joined as a private. Right. The lowest level in the military. And in five years, he became a major, so he became an officer, and then he moved through the officer Rankhennesse. You know, he had quite a run in the american army during those five years. So those three different talks are interesting to give. They're fun to give, and it's nice to engage with audiences and share these stories with them.
[00:12:32] Speaker A: Absolutely. So if you've had this interest your whole life since you were a small boy, and obviously you've had a family, you have a career, at what point would you say you decided to sort of really weave this into your life more and make this more a part of your daily life?
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Right. Well, yeah. Covid was a big thing because we were sort of locked down and had more time. And I don't really like watching a lot of television. I mean, you know, I just. Tv's not my thing. So reading and just delving in more into the material and because the collection's so big that I've talked about three soldier artists that I talk about, but, you know, there's dozens and dozens of them. Right. I've just scratched the surface, really. So it's this vast resource that's available to continue to tell other stories. But I think Covid, for me was what started to really bring me in to it, to be able to spend more time. And then now I'm sort of transitioning out of my financial services career, so I have more time there and so I can devote it to this interest, intellectual interest, I don't know what you call it, but passion, the thing. So the combination of COVID and sort of transitioning out of the traditional corporate ladder, so to speak.
[00:14:08] Speaker A: And as this pertains, you know, we throw this word happiness around, and obviously it means different things to different people. And obviously this is fulfilling to you.
As you say, there's an intellectual sort of challenge about learning about this and making yourself sort of a specialist in this and presenting on this. But can you speak to how this brings happiness to your life? And is there a social component? I assume you're part of a community of enthusiasts.
On what levels would you say that this has really brought happiness into your life?
[00:14:57] Speaker B: Well, yeah, I think for me it's how one thing has led to the next, has led to the next. And there have been enriching things that I've done through this interest of mine.
Intellectual, discovering new things, finding out things that I didn't know. And that's always exciting and learning. I think, too, that with history, sometimes what's omitted is just as important as what's included. So just getting a sense of that from these different, you know, soldier artists and the things that they wrote about and created art on.
But so I think it's in. It's. There's camaraderie with, for example, the trustees of this collection I've been involved with at Brown University for, you know, over 25 years. Their camaraderie there of doing things with them, you know, helping to. To guide the collection in the role as a trustee has been fulfilling and brings happiness. And it's a way that keeps me connected to my university in a way that's of something of interest to me.
So that's good. And I think also I like presenting. I like the engagement with the audience and the questions they ask, things that come to mind. That sort of bonding that you get as a presenter with an audience is nice. I mean, some people don't like public speaking. Others do.
I think I'm confident because I know the material right. So I'm speaking from a bit of a point of the point of authority, if you will. I know more about it than anyone else in the room because I've studied it so much and I want to share that. I like that interaction with the audience and sharing it. So that brings happiness.
But, yes, I think that's sort of the things that do it for me, it's like an onion. You keep peeling back the layers and going deeper and deeper and deeper and each level is new discoveries and new things and they all bring levels of satisfaction and happiness.
[00:17:11] Speaker A: And so here's a question.
Studying history the way that you have as in depth as you have, does it affect your perspective about the way you live your life presently or certainly the way you look at the future?
[00:17:34] Speaker B: Wow. I don't know. That's an interesting question.
I don't know. I mean, I would say maybe not. I mean, I think that I look at these characters and what they've done and I find that enriching and interesting. And it's telling a story. It's a piece of a story, and there are many other participants in any of those events, right? So everyone has a perspective on it.
But, yeah, I think what I get out of it, like how I lead my life, I mean, it's.
It brings a sense of. I don't say fulfillment, but satisfaction in absorbing this material and understanding how it is a piece of something bigger that I think, I think about in my life. The one thing I do when I'm reading history, I like underdogs in history who overcome great obstacles. So that's something, you know, I like in seeing that people that have real tough challenges and tough times, who have limited or less resources are able to be successful. That's inspiring. Right. To some degree, you know, seeing that. So learning about that. But, yeah, I think, I mean, day to day, I don't know, it might be something subconscious or something, but, you know, I respect the. The people that you look at them with a degree of respect. Right. You're looking into what they did, how they experienced it.
I'm not judging them.
You're sort of looking down at the event has already passed, and it's just telling it as objectively as you can. So that's, I guess, the types of things I get out of it in terms of day to day.
[00:19:30] Speaker A: And how did you get inspired from going to being, as you say, a public speaker and being sort of a master of all this information? How did you. At what point did you decide you actually wanted to become a writer and actually write a book?
[00:19:47] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. And this is a real book. The first book I did was just what I call a coffee table book. It just has beautiful images of the art. But this is a real book. And, you know, it's interesting because you see a few things. The book, it takes place here, where I live in North Carolina, and this was a summer resort for a lot of the wealthy Charleston people, including cabinet level members of the confederate government who came here. And I see that all around me here where I live. And from that, it's sort of this idea of a story came together with some of these characters, real characters, with some fictitious activities. And one of the two cabinet secretaries, he ran ships that ran the blockade. There's a big naval blockade out of Charleston, and he was sending ships to England to bring in armaments, and he'd send out cotton and tobacco. So there's this element of the ship captains, and then there's some relationships with Germans that some people here had, and there's some interesting architectural features that are here that are actually true, but they sound like total fiction, but they're actually true. So I think you see a few of these elements, and that could be woven into a story, and then from that, the story takes form, and it's a living process. So I'm about 60 pages into this book, and it'll probably be, I don't know, around 300, give or take, I'm guessing, but, yeah, it's just sort of. It's not big battle scenes. It's all behind the lines. It's union infiltrators come down here to do some, some missions in this part of the country. And so there's a bunch of different characters that were here at that time, including confederate deserters who were running amok in the countryside. So you've got all these different parties, and so I throw in some things they're competing for and meetings they're having, you know? So, yeah, I think living in an area, you know, I see it. That sort of gave me the spark for this particular book.
[00:22:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I know a lot of people, you know, they want to write the great american novel, as they say, but I think people get overwhelmed. It's just, it's such a huge undertaking, writing a book. Do you look at it as something that you put pressure on yourself? I've started this. I have to finish it. Or are you just. Ultimately, of course, you want to finish this book, but are you allowing yourself to just enjoy the process of writing the book?
[00:22:41] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a good question. So I think I'm trying to write this book. Like, I'd like to read it. You know, the type of fun book interesting, some history, some made up stuff, you know, fun narrative, interesting characters. You know, it's just, I'm not trying to be Leo Tolstoy, you know, or John Steinbeck or, you know, it's more of like, you know, I'm going to say summer reading, but it's, it's meant to be fun, interesting with some, a lot of wild twists.
But that's what's driving me. I just want to write a fun book, like, type of book that I'd like to read for fun.
That would be a little bit informative, entertaining, sort of some crazy stuff happening.
That's what, that's what's motivated me. And I think that, I mean, whether this happens or not, who knows? But I'm thinking as I'm writing it, that this book, it could be, you know, a streaming service like Netflix or someone could take it and make it into a one season type of show, that sort of type of action and drama and stuff happening. That's the way I'm thinking about it as I'm writing.
So, yeah, and it is overwhelming in some respects because, you know, you look at a blank screen and you got to start, was it Stephen King said? He said, people ask him how he writes, and he says one word at a time, and that's what I do. Right. You're just writing one word at a time, and there'll be a lot of editing and so. But, yeah, you take it one step at a time, one word at a time. And you write something that you think you would like, you want to read and you'd enjoy reading. So hopefully there's an audience for that, too. You know, we'll see.
[00:24:20] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I hear exactly what you're saying, and that if there's something you really want to do, it's easy to talk yourself out of it. You just have to decide to start. It's really kind of that simple. And yes, you have an endgame for it all. But to your point, this is as much about the process and you loving the idea of this and creating something, bringing something to life, which think is very inspiring. And I've so enjoyed our conversation because again, as I started this program talking about you, was that taking this idea that I think people at a certain age, they feel they have to reinvent themselves or if they have to reinvigorate their life or inject some real excitement into it, it necessarily means doing something new, embracing something new. And what you've talked about today, which is, I think, very relatable, is that it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. You can dig deep and access things that you've always felt really compelling and interesting and find a way of expressing that and pursuing that as an adult. And, you know, I think that's fantastic.
[00:25:49] Speaker B: Yeah. No, I think that's right. I mean, going back, like, what you enjoyed doing when you were young, younger can be the foundation for activity as an adult, you know, so. Yes, definitely. That's a good. I agree. It doesn't have to be something new. It can be something that's, if you will, from years earlier, for sure.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: Well, it's been a delight having you on our program, and good luck with your book. We would certainly be happy to plug it when it is done, and we wish you all the best. And again, this is a really unique, different conversation, and I know one that a lot of people can relate to, just, again, sort of accessing your, you know, your past to sort of drive your future. I really like that idea.
[00:26:39] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, and there's one other thing I wanted to say, that one thing I did recently with my daughter, she's a sort of web designer, very good web designer. She created a website for me that I've, all these different activities are sort of under this website. So that's been fun. It's like the digital, the digital presence of these different activities that I've been doing.
[00:27:02] Speaker A: Do you want to share what that website is? Sure.
[00:27:04] Speaker B: Sure. It's just Andrew Wolf. Wolf.com Andrew wolf.com so all these different things are sort of in there. And so it's. And it was fun working with her on that. Sure. Yeah. Just another.
[00:27:20] Speaker A: Does she share your interest in soldier art and history? Not so much.
[00:27:25] Speaker B: Not so much. That's okay.
[00:27:28] Speaker A: Everybody has their thing.
[00:27:30] Speaker B: Exactly. She has her thing. It's not, it's not my.
[00:27:33] Speaker A: Not that.
Well, just. Just be happy. Your kids want to hang out with you, right?
[00:27:39] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:27:40] Speaker A: You're winning on that. Okay. Well, again, thank you so much. Much, much appreciated. And on that note, we will see you again on the midlife happiness project.
Well, that was definitely interesting. I cannot say I have ever met a historical soldier artist expert, and I imagine you haven't either. But there are a couple themes that I wanted to dig into regarding my interview with Andrew. And so I did a little research.
The first is the value of revisiting some of your childhood hobbies. We've talked a bit about this on this podcast about sometimes finding something new isn't nearly as exciting as revisiting things that you were interested in when you were a small child. And as we heard from Andrew, his passion for history really actually started when he was a little kid. It turns out that this is a well established phenomena, and it has a name. It's called a happiness anchor. And it's when you have positive memories and experience from your childhood. And this happiness anchor, it can bring some of those good feelings from your childhood back into the present day. Often this experience will allow us as adults to feel joy, connection, or even relaxation that perhaps hasn't been felt for a very long time.
And the second theme that I wanted to focus on was this idea around having a hobby. And a study published in 2023 suggests that having a hobby is good for your health, mood, and more. Researchers surveyed over 93,000 people across 16 countries, and they found that people with hobbies reported better health, more happiness, fewer symptoms of depression, and overall higher life satisfaction.
So whether it's history, gardening, volunteering, or any number of other potential hobbies you may have, finding something that you enjoy can bring real happiness to your life. As a matter of fact, it is scientifically proven.
Join us again for the Midlife Happiness project.
It's a good day.
[00:30:33] Speaker B: It's a good day.
We.
