Local ACW events: April 2009 Archives

Living history buffs construct a mock frontier settlement in Gettysburg during the 2009 History Meets the Arts spring festival.

An area of increasing interest to me is Pennsylvania's history of border wars between the Native Americans who inhabited the state and the colonists. I am a native of "the dark and bloody ground," southern and east-central Ohio, which saw considerable fighting between the invading settlers and the natives, as did northern Kentucky. The Ohio Country warfare has been featured in a number of movies (Including "Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier" and many others that helped shape my interest in the period as well as in several popular books and an Elizabeth Montgomery TV miniseries, "The Awakening Land").

Now that I live in Pennsylvania, I have become increasingly aware of this state's frontier history, which rivals the Ohio-Kentucky region, and in some ways, exceeds it in terms of the scope and variety of interactions between the colonists and natives.

Gettysburg again this year plays host to dozens of nationally known artists and sculptors during the annual History Meets the Arts 2009 spring festival. There are many wine and cheese receptions to mark these personal appearances, and artists will be glad to sign their prints and collectibles. Several well known Civil War artists will be on hand, including York County's very own Bradley Schmehl, whose excellent painting "Columbia Bridge Burning" graces the cover of my recently released book Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition.

A full schedule of events and guest appearances can be found on the organization's website.

Pulitzer Prize winning historian Dr. James McPherson will speak at the gala 50th anniversary meeting of the Harrisburg Civil War Round Table on Friday, May 15. His topic will be "Lincoln, Slavery and the West."

From Mickey Kraft... The Lancaster Civil War Round Table will once again be raising funds for the Civil War Preservation Trust by having dinner beginning at 6:00pm at Hoss's Steak House in Lititz, Pennsylvania, on Monday, April 20, 2009.

We're not all eating together...it's you and your friends and family. It costs you nothing but the cost of your dinner. You will need a community fundraiser card to hand to the cashier when you pay and then Hoss's will donate 20% of your bill to our cause. If you want to participate, contact me and I will see that you get a card for your group. Also, at 7:30, we will play trivia games again like we did last time. These will not be Civil War questions. This way everyone can play. For, $1.00 per game you can have a chance at prizes. It was a lot of fun last time!

Because I cannot yet drive following my recent surgery to reattach a retina in my eye, my daughter drove me to the York Fairgrounds yesterday for my scheduled book signing and local TV interview at the York Book & Paper Fair. We sold a reasonable amount of books and, most importantly, I got to spend time with her.

The mix of dealers was quite interesting, with a smattering of Civil War related material being offered at a few tables, including old newspapers, art prints, and photographs. Besides collectible and vintage book dealers, the show also had comic book dealers, postcards, vinyl records, movie and political collectibles, posters, advertising pieces, and all sorts of other paper memorabilia. Because my daughter and I both work for a leading global paper company, the show took on even more interest. Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so there are no pix to share of this event.

My hat's off to Pam and Jim Lewin of the York Emporium for organizing and promoting this show, and I really, really look forward to the autumn rendition of the Book & Paper Fair when I will more time and better eyesight to peruse the vendor's wares and perhaps stay for the auction.

Thanks Jim for a job well done, and here's to your next effort!

Photo provided by Channel 16 and the York Emporium. Local TV personality Greg Johnson interviews me about my books and my interest in the Civil War.