Academy for Lifelong Learning to Commemorate 150th Anniversary of Civil War with Interesting Conversations

The Academy for Lifelong Learning at Inver Hills Community College has partnered with the Dakota County Historical Society for the 2012 Interesting Conversations with Interesting People series to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The 2012 schedule will feature three programs this spring that are free and open to the public.

• "Letters of the Civil War"—March 22, 3-4:30 p.m., Liberal Arts 210, Inver Hills Community College

Inver Hills English Professor David Page and his students have been transcribing and annotating more than 100 original Civil War-era letters to and from Abraham Colby, a quartermaster in the voluntary artillery battery from New York. Page will explain current trends in Civil War scholarship and how the Colby letters fit within these trends.

• "Confessions of a Civil War Reenactor: What and How I Learned at Civil War Encampments (and you can, too!)"—April 12, 3-4:30 p.m., College Center 290, Inver Hills Community College

Hastings Middle School teacher Spencer Johnson will share his experiences as a Civil War reenactor. Reenactments of Civil War battles and events began early after the war as a way to preserve and tell the stories of this significant period in American history.

• "The Civil War Trunk"—May 10, 3-4:30 p.m., College Center 290, Inver Hills Community College

Jessica Bierbrauer from the Dakota County Historical Society will present artifacts from community ancestors that offer insights into the lives of soldiers and civilians during the Civil War. For years the Historical Society has been collecting and preserving artifacts to tell the stories of the community's ancestors.

The Interesting Conversations with Interesting People will continue the Civil War series in the fall with three more events. On Sept. 20, Steve Werle, a teacher at Academy of Holy Angels and author of "An American Gothic: The Life & Times & Legacy of William Gates LeDuc," will lead a talk on Gen. William Gates LeDuc, an early settler in Minnesota and quartermaster in the Union Army. On Oct. 11, Inver Hills Anthropology Instructor Jeremy Nienow will discuss "Doing Anthropology in the Shadow of the War: Newspaper Research, Culture Shock and the Civil War" and present information on his survey of newspapers from Southeast Minnesota from 1850 to 1870. Finally, on Nov. 15, Inver Hills Music Professor Stanley Rothrock will present "Music of the Civil War."

The Academy for Lifelong Learning represents a community of adult learners who come together to explore new and varied interests. The program is based on the strength and resources of Inver Hills and focuses on the core areas of personal enrichment, professional development and civic engagement. For a detailed list of all events offered by the Academy, visit www.inverhills.edu/ALL.