By Sherry A. Kuiper

The sound of horseshoes clacking on the cobblestones and the chatter of people echo through downtown Annapolis.  The dock is busy with merchant ships coming and going.  A new nation is on the horizon and information is in high demand.   In a nearby print shop, Anne Catharine Green is working the next edition of the Maryland Gazette.

Anne Catharine Green was a woman ahead of her time.  From 1767 until her death, Green owned and published the Maryland Gazette. The present-day Capital Gazette pays homage to Green and its roots with her publication in the company’s history.  Green was the official printer for the province of Maryland, publishing law and printing money in addition to her paper.

Anne Catharine Green died on March 30, 1775, one month before Lexington Alarm, the first official battle of the American Revolution.  You can still find Green in Annapolis today.  She is alive and well thanks to Diane Rey.

Rey is a living history interpreter who has been portraying Anne Catharine Green for six years.  Rey now shares the personal journey she has taken to tell the story of the pioneer who broke the mold for women in the 18th century.

Becoming Anne, as Rey fondly refers to her, was fate.  Rey, a journalist herself for the Capital Gazette, says she was always drawn to Green and had an interest in her.

The Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame inducted Green in 2010.  On a whim, Rey called the curator for Historic Annapolis and asked her if they would be interested in having a living history interpreter for Anne Catharine Green.

“She just got silent on the other end of the phone, I thought I had lost her,” Rey said.

The curator was still there.  She went on to tell Rey that she just left a meeting where they were discussing recent grant money and how great it would be to have someone portray Anne Catharine Green.

“It was almost like fate,” said Rey.

Rey was whisked away to Colonial Williamsburg to have the town milliner create a reproduction of the dress that Anne Catharine Green wore in the only portrait in existence of her.  Little did Rey know, that her trip to Virginia was about more than getting a dress, she was about to become part of the production that is Colonial Williamsburg.

“I thought I was just going to go have fun in Williamsburg and try on a dress,” said Rey. “Instead I was a real performer.  What a nail bitter!”

Rey jumped right in.  At first, she admits she was a bit nervous but finally decided to go for it and give it her all.

Portraying Anne Catharine Green isn’t easy.  Rey says she has to channel Anne and get into character and sometimes it’s hard to return to “today.”

“I have to travel 200 years in time when I go back and then come back to the present day.  It’s a real mental effort,” said Rey.  “While I am in the 18th century, I’m ok.  It’s the transition points that require a lot of effort.”

When Rey steps out as Anne Catharine Green, the audience is always different.  Whether it’s children or seniors, people who are interested in history or people who just happen upon her, Rey has to find a way to connect them with Anne Catherine Green.

“You can just come at her from so many different angles.  I never get bored portraying Mrs. Green,” said Rey.

Rey was thinking about retiring her historical interpretation of Anne Catharine Green in August.  The reason? She was to turn the age Anne Catherine Green was when she passed away.   The good news is, Rey has reconsidered.

“I don’t think I can give her up in good conscience unless I can pass the baton on to somebody else,” said Rey.  “Now that she’s back, I don’t want her to fade away again.”

From the cobblestones of Annapolis in the 1770’s to the streets of the city today, Anne Catharine Green’s legacy lives on.  Next time you are roaming around downtown Annapolis, keep your eyes open for Diane Rey, or rather, Anne Catharine Green.