Historic Fort Wayne Civil War Days and More!

For most of May through July I feel like I'm constantly on the run, especially when that means being on the road.  This blog comes out on a Saturday so the Anton Art Center in Mount Clemens  will celebrate their 50th anniversary with Super SatARTday.  Their building was the old Carnegie public library, so it seems appropriate that, as former children's librarian at the newer Mount Clemens Public Library, I preview my library summer reading program.  Libraries all across the country are thinking astronomically for their summer reading programs as it's also the 50th anniversary of the Moon Walk.

Sunday I return to Historic Fort Wayne for their annual Civil War Days.

Sarah Edmonds as Franklin Thompson

It's always a reunion to get together with friends and fellow re-enactors, like Elise Parker, who does a great job of presenting as Sarah Emma Edmonds, known for serving as a man and later as a nurse with the Union Army during the American Civil War. She even was granted a military pension.  In 1992, Sarah was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame and some of Elise's research helped make that possible. 

Look for us in the Commandant's house.  I'll only be able to be there on Sunday and look forward once again to bringing the story of Liberetta Lerich Green, who grew up on a Shelby Township Underground Railroad Station and her brothers were in the Michigan "Fighting Fifth" Infantry. 








The sidebar here contains Detroit newspaper articles from the Civil War era I was able to locate and reproduce about the Michigan Fifth Infantry.  Here's a picture of those brothers, Will and Ike.  Ike or Isaac started out as a bugle boy, was a "guest of the Confederacy" along with his older brother, Will, at Libby Prison.  His injuries were so bad, he was sent home, only to be brought back to be a Major with the Third Infantry which suffered even worse fatalities that the Fifth's loss of a quarter of its men.

Major Isaac Lerich and Will Lerich

For those of you who know my husband, yes, he'll be there, too, so listen for his banjo playing music from those days.

Hope to see you there or at another of my historical programs.