Learn about ‘Civil War Ghosts and Legends’

Submitted by Elgin Public Museum

Plans are under way for a program jointly presented by the Elgin Public Museum and the Elgin Area Historic Society Museum.

While intended as a fundraiser, it is also an opportunity for the community to meet people from both museums and share storytelling and refreshments.

The program, “Civil War Ghosts and Legends,” will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 14, at the Lords Park Pavilion, 100 Oakwood Blvd. in Elgin.

True stories and legends will be woven with traditional songs and poetry from the most “uncivil war.” Join storyteller Brian “Fox” Ellis as he takes listeners back in time to the bloody battlefields, gruesome field hospitals and haunted graveyards of America’s deadliest war.

In the persona of Mathias Stritt, a German immigrant who was one of the first to enlist in Peoria, Ill., and later marched with Sherman as he burned Atlanta and marched to the sea, Fox uses poems by Walt Whitman and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, interspersing his rich knowledge of the war with classic horror stories by Civil War soldier/reporter Ambrose Bierce.

The program is for ages 10 and older.

Brian “Fox” Ellis has done a number of programs at the Elgin Public Museum to sellout crowds. Seating is limited at this program, so reserve early.

Admission is $10. Members with a membership card to either museum will be admitted for $8. Registration can be done by phone at Elgin Public Museum, (847) 741-6655, or the History Museum, (847) 742-4248. For prepaid admission, use the Elgin Public Museum website, www.elginpublicmuseum.org, with a credit card.