We did this week when Aleksandra "Olenka" Moss (on right) gave a program on Civil War reenactments.
"Olenka" is her reenactors name and she is a volunteer with the 10th Illinois Volunteer Calvary Regiment. Aleksandra is a Junior at Bloomington High School and spoke about being part of a group of Living History reenactors. She said a good reenactor studies the character they want to become.
Aleksandra is also in the calvary which, she says, is a lot of fun. Speaking as Olenka, she said women did actually fight in the Civil War but not much was written about them. Several disguised themselves as men in order to blend in.
So where do they get their clothing and supplies? She says there are Civil War shops at reenactments where they can buy uniforms and supplies. There can be anywhere from several hundred to a thousand people at a typical reenactment. There were 100,000 people at a recent Battle of Gettysburg reenactment.
The 10th Volunteer Calvary Regiment is based in Springfield and they have a "sister" group in Iowa that they participate in reenactments with.
Someone asked "what did Union soldiers carry on their horses?" She replied "they carried a saddle, saddle bags to hold necessities, a blanket and sleeping gear. There really wasn't that much room for extras"
During the reenactments, the "battles" are based on actual battles for realism. The calvary was primarily used as scounts but did see their share of fighting during actual battles.
For more information on the regiment and Civil War reenactments, click here.
Thanks to Aleksandra and her mom for making the trip from Bloomington to be with us this week.
Upcoming programs:
July 28 - Paula Pepmeyer from Ponderosa will hold a Q and A session about the possible move to Ponderosa for weekly club meetings. She can hopefully answer some of your questions about the restaurant and what they can offer us.
President Tim Moss presided. Following the Pledge of Allegiance and Kiwanis Pledge, Chuck Nicholson gave the invocation.
Guests were Tim's wife Alice and his sister-in-law Margaret Moss.
The I-I District Convention is in August and we will have a space to display the Kiwanis benches we've built and hopefully get orders from other clubs who want to buy some. We do need some help to have people at the display space and show the benches to other clubs. Let Tim or Debbie know if you can go and help sell the benches.
Tim presented Pat Stout with a "gold key" pin for bringing in three new members.
Tim received a letter from William Piper, chairman of the Spastic Paralysis Research Foundation, regarding an award given to a University of Chicago doctor who specializes in spastic paralysis research and expressed their appreciation for Kiwanis support. The Dr. will be presented with special research equipment for her laboratory during the I-I District meeting.
We'll be wrapping up the membership drive with a picnic at Tim's house at a date to be determined.
