History

Attic find leads retired teacher to write book

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Registration is required for this program. There is limited seating available at this time. Please call 724.941.9430 #1 to inquire if any seats are available.

While cleaning out his parent’s attic, Carleton Young discovered an enormous collection of letters written during the Civil War by two soldiers. After spending about five years transcribing the letters with the help of friends, the retired history teacher compiled their stories into the book Voices from the Attic: The Williamstown Boys in the Civil War.

Young will visit the Peters Township Public Library on Thursday, December 1 at 7:00 p.m. to talk about the book and his efforts to retrace the steps of the two brothers based on their letters home as they fought in the Civil War. A book signing will follow the presentation.

Young’s book tells the story of two brothers who witnessed and made history by fighting in the Peninsula Campaign, then at South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Cedar Creek. They preserved that history through their surprisingly detailed and insightful letters, rediscovered after 150 years in his parent’s attic.

 

Steel City Grooves – Johnny Costa

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When you think of jazz towns in America, New Orleans and New York are obvious choices that come to mind, but Pittsburgh also has played an important role in the evolution of jazz – often called the one true American art form. In these cities, music thrives; performers are born and nurtured to their creative maturity, and the hip culture of jazz music is expressed in the language, attitudes and even the dress of each generation.

The library, in partnership with the Washington Symphony Orchestra, will host a representative from the Senator John Heinz History Center at Steel City Grooves: Celebrating Pittsburgh’s Jazz Legends on Tuesday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. This program will feature an audio-visual biographic sketch of Johnny Costa (1922-1996), an important contributor to jazz with Western PA roots.

Registration is required for this program. Register online or call 724.941.9430 #1.

Lincoln: The Careworn, Gentle Face of Wartime Violence

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Dr. Elaine Frantz Parsons visits the library on Thursday, September 22 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. for her presentation Abraham Lincoln: The Careworn, Gentle Face of Wartime Violence. Political cartoons, like other popular media, often focused on the person of Abraham Lincoln as a way to think about the inconceivable violence of the Civil War. Depicted as a calm, rational man, slow to anger, physically strong yet ungainly and nonthreatening, Lincoln came to serve as a sign of the controlled and patient wisdom of the north, as opposed to the aggression of the south. As a plain “man of the people”, his was the common sense of the common man. This made the fact that he controlled a capacity for violence unknown to the nation seemingly less troubling. This program will discuss how the figure of Lincoln mediated discussions of violence during the war.

Registration is required for this program. Register online or call 724.941.9430 #1.

Dr. Parsons is an associate professor of history at Duquesne University. Her most recent book, Ku-Klux: The Birth of the Klan in the Reconstruction Era, was published in January 2016. She is currently working on a labor history of hired violence workers.

 

An Evening with Abraham Lincoln

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On Thursday, September 8 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. the library will host An Evening with Abraham Lincoln. Impressionist Richard Miller will share stories and anecdotes from Lincoln’s presidency and early years. Questions are encouraged to enhance the interaction with the audience.

Miller is a member of the Association of Lincoln presenters and portrays Lincoln several times a year at parades, fairs, and other events. He is an avid reader of books about Lincoln and finds him to possess an outstanding sense of humor.

Registration is closed for this program.

Looking at Lincoln Exhibit

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Beginning Tuesday, August 30 through Tuesday, September 27, the library was chosen by Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to host the exhibit Looking at Lincoln: Political Cartoons from the Civil War Era. This national traveling exhibition explores the Civil War and issues of slavery through political cartoons depicting Abraham Lincoln and his policies. These cartoons are vividly biting; they invite us to put aside twenty-first-century assumptions and look at events through the eyes of people living in the era. Among the highlights are: a California printing of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln and political cartoons relating to the election of 1860. As Americans continue to debate the legacy of slavery, these cartoons provide a historical point of reference for current events. The public is invited to view the exhibit during library hours.