Historical society commemorates Lincoln with weekend of events

MILFORD, PA — The Pike County Historical Society will hold a special Lincoln Weekend from Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13. The event will commemorate President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession as his body traveled from Washington, DC to its resting place in his hometown of Springfield, IL.

On April 21, 1865, President Lincoln’s funeral train passed through Harrisburg. As he lay in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, tens of thousands of mourning citizens viewed their assassinated President at his funeral ceremony.

The weekend commemorating the event will feature activities including Civil War re-enactments, discussions with Lincoln scholars, historical movies and a solemn funeral procession and ceremony resembling those of President Lincoln’s in 1865. It will begin on Friday, April 11, with a reception at the Columns Museum, starting with a short soliloquy by Darren Fouse in which he portrays Lincoln and puts forth the late President’s thoughts regarding his own mortality. (President Lincoln had several dreams and premonitions that warned him of his fate.)

On Saturday, April 12, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Civil War re-enactors will camp on the grounds of the Columns Museum, presenting to the public different aspects of a soldier’s life during the Civil War. Presentations will include the preparation and cooking of food on the battlefield, close-order drilling of the troops and weapon demonstrations.

At 11:00 a.m., Joanna Szackmary, of the 56th NY Re-enactors Group, will lecture on rituals and mourning attire, with several examples of clothing on loan from the prestigious collection of Juanita Leisch Jensen, an expert on 19th century clothing. At 1:00 p.m., Szackmary will present a program called “Quilts of Comfort,” in which she will discuss the meanings and the necessity of mourning quilts.

On Sunday, April 13, at 12:30 p.m. a funeral procession will depart from the Stroyan Funeral Home at 405 West Har-

ford Street. A replica of Lincoln’s original coffin, accompanied by fife and drummers and Union Civil War re-enactors, will be carried in a horse-drawn carriage to the Columns Museum on Broad Street. There will be a small memorial service with eulogies, followed by a vocal performance by Jacqueline Kroschell, a leading soprano with the Opera Theatre of New York (see article below). The weekend will come to a close with members of the American Readers Theatre reading letters written by Jeannie Gourlay and other eyewitnesses to the assassination.

The weekend’s activities are brought to the public courtesy of The Pike County Historical Society, Stroyan Funeral Home and Orange and Rockland Utilities. These companies funded a large percentage of the costs surrounding the event.

There will be a $25 charge for Friday night’s performance and reception, with proceeds going to offset additional costs for the weekend. All other events are being offered free to the public.

For more information visit pikecountyhistoricalsociety.org or call 570/296-8126.