If you walk through Boston’s Seaport District or pass through the neighborhood’s Silver Line station, you might spot your neighbor’s face plastered across a building.
No, there aren’t new billboards advertising a Lexington lawyer or political candidate in the city.
But there are large banners featuring Bruce Leader, Lexington resident and member of the Lexington Minute Men, atop his horse, Nikko, reenacting Paul Revere’s midnight ride.
Leader had no idea the photo was made into banners until one of his friends from the Lexington Minute Men spotted the blown up pictures, snapped a photo, and sent it to him.
Upon seeing the photo, Leader felt proud, he told the Observer.
“I feel really grateful and proud, not just as an individual, but as a member of the Lexington Minute Men, that I had the opportunity to represent Lexington and that historical era,” he said. “We try to keep the memory of these historical figures alive and do justice to the men that we are portraying. We take it very seriously.”
The photo that’s been blown up was taken at Fenway Park on Apr. 23 during a celebration to mark the nation’s 250th birthday before a Red Sox-Yankees game.
“I, playing Paul Revere, and Bob Allegretto, another Minute Man playing George Washington, were asked to appear at Fenway Park for the 250th anniversary celebration,” Leader said. “We rode out to the field and back, and I was waving to the fans when they took the photo.”
After seeing the large poster for the first time on his phone screen, Leader quickly discovered there are multiple copies of the banner hung elsewhere. Some are displayed in the Silver Line station and other pictures of Leader and Allegretto from the Fenway Park celebration have been shown in a montage before Red Sox games.
A long-time Lexington resident who both grew up and raised his children in the town, Leader has been a member of the Lexington Minute Men since 2003. While he actually started out with World War II reenactments in the 1990s, Leader decided to join the Minute Men because of his love of the town’s history and the Revolutionary War era.
“I have held a number of different roles in the Minute Men, between commissary sergeant, treasury sergeant, adjutant lieutenant, and just as a member,” Leader said. “For maybe 10 or 11 years, I’ve played the part of Thaddeus Bowman because I have a horse. I also play the part of Paul Revere for the Paul Revere’s ride event jointly put on by the Lexington History Museums and the Lexington Minute Men.”
Asked what his favorite part of portraying Bowman and Revere is, Leader said he enjoys keeping their legacy alive while also getting to ride and spend time with his horse, Nikko.
“Everything on the horse, including the saddle and bridge, is completely authentic,” Leader said. “My entire kit that I have is authentic: my wig, my clothes, which I make by hand, everything.”
The Lexington Minute Men have placed a growing emphasis on authenticity, striving to portray the figures they represent as accurately as possible, Leader said. For him, that effort is ultimately about keeping history at the center.
“These historical figures were just average people in the town, and they did something extraordinary,” Leader said. “It’s less about me, but more about them being remembered, appreciated, and not forgotten.”