Bugles, Bayonets & Beyond
Events
What: Wisconsin's First Brigade Band
When: 7:30 p.m. March 14
Where: Monroe Arts Center, 1315 11th St.
Cost: $10 general admission, $5 students, no charge for MAC members
What: Healing the Heart of Democracy: Words and Music
When: 7:30 p.m. June 6
Where: Monroe Arts Center, 1315 11th St.
Cost: $10 general admission, $5 students, no charge for MAC members
Speaker series
All events at 7 p.m. at the Monroe Theatre Guild, 910 16th Ave., and are free and open to the public.
• March 18
"A New Birth of Freedom: Why the Civil War Matters"
Tom Howe, educator, historian and author.
• April 1
"Music of the Civil War Period"
Ingerid Kvam, Monroe Middle School music teacher and Civil War music historian.
• April 15
"The Homefront: Life in Civil War Green County"
Al Stauffacher, Monroe historian and educator.
• April 29
"The Last Act: Green County Men and the End of the Civil War"
Tom Howe, educator, historian and author.
• May 20
"A Just and Lasting Peace: Abraham Lincoln Speaks"
George Buss of Freeport. Buss has portrayed Lincoln for more than 30 years and has performed in Monroe.
Starting March 14, "Bugles, Bayonets and Beyond," a study of Green County and the Civil War, will begin a three-month siege upon Monroe with a thunderous performance by the Wisconsin First Brigade Band at the Monroe Arts Center.
On June 6, it wraps up at the same locale with a performance of words and music by Parker Palmer and Carrie Newcomer titled "Healing the Heart of Democracy: Words and Music."
In between, a speaker series will take place March 18 through May 20 at the Monroe Theatre Guild.
"This is the first time we've tried to pull so much together," said Ron Spielman, the program's committee chairman. "Our goal was to tie the subject matter to Green County, which suffered a huge local impact.
"More than 2,000 men in the Civil War came from Green County. Back then, you would find a neighbor on both sides who was off to war. We have many Civil War vets buried at Greenwood (cemetery)."
The speaker series will offer more than just talk. On the music front, an April 1 musical tribute by Monroe Middle School teacher Ingerid Kvam will be among the highlights.
"She's virtually a historian when it comes to Civil War-era music," Spielman said.
Kvam noted that words sometimes can't tell the whole story.
"Music is something that allows you to feel the time period," she said. "It captures the emotion."
Later, a historic visual will team up with words as George Buss does his impression of the 16th president with "A Just and Lasting Peace: Abraham Lincoln Speaks" on May 20.
"He's 6-foot-2 and gaunt - you'll swear it was him when he walks into the room," Spielman said of Buss. "He's been at Gettysburg, he's been everywhere."
When it's all said and done, Spielman is certain those attending will have plenty to think about. After all, he said, the issues that divided our nation 150 years ago still linger today.
"It's not like this all ended in April of 1865," he said. "We still struggled with it over the years, such as the Civil Rights fallout, and still do today. Here it is, 150 years later, and you pick up the newspaper and see we're still dealing with this stuff."
To learn more about the events and speaker series, visit civilwargreencounty.com.