See World War I exhibit at St. Charles History Museum

The minute I saw actor Gary Cooper shoot some German soldiers and capture a bundle of them in the movie “Sergeant York,” it sparked my interest in World War I.

Many years later, I had to read a book like “Conscience” by Louisa Thomas to get a better understanding of the soul searching that people like Alvin York went through before either reporting to the draft board, or becoming a conscientious objector.

The same sort of anxiety unfolded in towns across the country, but ultimately many young men answered the call to duty — and the St. Charles History Museum has spent nearly two years piecing together that local story.

“Homefront — Echoes of the Great War” officially opened last weekend and will be on display at the museum through the first week of January 2019. It is an impressive array of local artifacts, textiles and stories.

And it's also the first showcase of what summer intern Amelia Deering of Elgin hopes is many in a future career of bringing history to life. She's a sophomore at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, majoring in history and German. So the wheels are in motion to reach her goal.

“I have always been interested in museums, but I have never dived into a project like this before,” Deering said during the opening night of the exhibit. “I am so grateful the museum gave me full creative control over this massive project.”

And massive, it is.

It's not overwhelming in terms of what a visitor would look over when coming to the museum, but definitely massive in the amount of work that went into piecing together the museum's artifacts with local stories. It covers a general history of the U.S. involvement in this European clash and then reveals the names and faces of St. Charles participants.

One local story is about Wilfred Oakes, who was killed in the Lorraine region of France in 1918. It's a tough luck story for Wilfred, considering he had pneumonia while heading to Europe and was nearly sent home. He recovered enough to move into active duty — and paid the ultimate price.

His younger brother, in a family with eight children, was LeRoy Oakes, who went on to become a well-known athlete and city official in St. Charles. So much so, that a forest preserve on the city's northwest side carries his name.

You can also learn about Colonel Fabyan's code breakers team at the Riverbank Labs during the war, as well as stories about the women who served as nurses.

“This was a real team effort, with volunteers Mike and Shannon Darling having a big part in collecting the military inventory, but it was Amelia's passion that made it happen,” said museum executive director Alison Costanzo.

Pete's helping hand:

When taking a job as a young sports editor in this area 40 years ago, there were a few sports I hadn't reported on too often during my college years. Track was one of those sports.

So it was that Bruce Peterson, a state champion track coach at Kaneland High School, took the time to explain to me the various events and strategies, and how a track meet was scored.

His kindness in welcoming me to cover his teams and all sports at Kaneland made it a much easier task in my first year on the job.

It became apparent fairly quickly that he treated everyone that same way. He wasn't a softy as a coach, but he had all of the admirable traits one would expect of a guy who served his country in World War II as a Marine at Iwo Jima.

He called Batavia his home, but his work life was surely centered around that campus in Maple Park that now carries his name on the athletic field.

“Pete” passed away at the age of 92 a couple of weeks ago in St. Augustine, Florida. I can't let this fine fellow go on to his maker without saying thanks for all of the help he gave me and countless hundreds of young athletes and students during his career.

Strong support of art:

Water Street Studios in Batavia exemplifies an appreciation of art that the city had not seen with this type of dedication in the past.

In just nine years, Water Street has conducted tens of thousands of free art sessions, and hundreds of art classes in more than 25 art mediums.

It stages nearly 30 exhibitions annually that feature more than 100 local, regional or national artists, as well as numerous after-school programs for those in the Fox Valley who want to expand their art knowledge and skills.

That's why the studio should be proud to host its ninth anniversary show from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14 at the 160 S. Water St. location.

The event will feature a silent auction, beer and whiskey tastings with Solemn Oath Brewery and Whisky Acres Distilling Co. Appetizers from Gaetano's in Batavia will also be available.

• dheun@sbcglobal.net