The Yankees are coming!
During the weekend of May 19-22, the city of Warren will resemble downtown Gettysburg in 1861. Events will take place from Thursday evening, May 19, through Sunday, May 22, to commemorate, educate, entertain and recognize the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
Beginning with the opening ceremonies on the front steps of the Warren City Building at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 19, guest speakers Mayor Mark Phillips, author John Ferry, and President Abraham Lincoln will offer their opening remarks to kick off the four days of remembrance.
The Warren Players production of "Servants of the Wind" will open at the Struthers Library Theatre at 8 p.m. on May 19 and continue on May 20 and 21 at 8 p.m. and May 22 at 2 p.m. With President Lincoln in attendance on opening night and re-enactors in the audience throughout the run of the show, this production will recount the part Warren County played in the Civil War. There were 1,600 Warren County men enlisted and serving these United States during that turbulent four-year period. Their families remained behind striving to keep their farms or businesses going.
The play, written by John Ferry, focuses on several Warren county families. Ferry has stitched together diaries, letters, reminiscences and histories to create a rich, teeming tapestry of the Civil War as seen though the eyes of northern soldiers and "the girls they left behind." Colonel George Cobham and his wife, Anne, of Warren, James and Susan Miller of Lander, Calvin Blanchard who lived between Sheffield and Barnes, Captain Harrison Allen of Warren, and Charlie and Frank Lyons of Farmington Township are featured in this play along with several other families.
The play is so much more than mere entertainment - it is educational and engaging. This is our history, our heritage, a re-telling of actual people and events that helped to build Warren County. It is also a play about war and battles, camp life, and the hardships those families faced. Their strength and fortitude throughout is an impressive tribute to the American spirit. So much of what you will experience as you watch the play can be attributed to what is being experienced in our country today. The uniqueness of this play, this story, is that it is ours. We become enthralled with films like "Gettysburg" and "Glory" but know very little about Warren County's role in the war between the states. We've all become very proud of our ancestors who felt the call of duty and stepped up.
One location you should be sure to visit during the weekend's events is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the corner of Hickory Street and Pennsylvania Avenue at the bridge. This remarkable monument is a memorial to those brave men who served and the women who kept the home fires burning. The battles where Warren County men fought are listed on the monument.
The play tells incredible real life stories that will surprise and amaze you. Tickets for Servants of the Wind, $14 adult and $12 for seniors and students, are available at the theater office or at the door . Call 723-7231 The show is rated PG-13.
SEE SCHEDULE, PAGE 2.