Night at the Museum

November 18, 2011 in: Reflections on the Riverseparator=, &Writing

The St. Joseph Women’s Press Club met at the St. Joseph Museum this week and hostess Jackie Lewin helped us experience the Civil War.

We started with an authentic Civil War era meal made by club members.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jackie made “interpretive” tags for each dish. Eileen Lockwood’s raisin custard was delicious. Jackie made the wild plum jelly. My mom made the similar jelly from wild plums growing on our farm. Jackie even gave me some to take home! My contribution was the cornbread.
 

Alice McVicker brought us some delicacies, which to soldiers included nuts, apples and sweet pickles.

Author Joe Houts shared about his great-great-grandfather who was a surgeon in the Civil War for the South. Joe is pictured here in the Civil War Medicine display at the museum which depicts an amputation, the most common surgery performed during the war.
 
Joe also told us about his writing journey, which is very interesting because he did not learn to read until the fifth grade. He was inspired to write historical accounts because his grandmother had saved all the family papers, including medical logs from the war.
 
The St. Joseph Museum is located on Frederick Avenue and admission is just $5. It is adjacent to the Glore Psychiatric Museum and both are fascinating visits. As much fun as we had during our Civil War evening, we all agreed we didn’t want to get accidentally locked inside the museum for the night!