“Just before the battle, Mother”
Mulberry Center church program tells a Civil War story Saturday
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On Saturday, the Mulberry Center church, located in the Wilson Brewer Park, will be the site where O.J. Fargo will be presenting his program, "Just before the battle, Mother: A visit from a Civil War soldier."
The Wilson Brewer Park is located at 220 Ohio St. The program begins at 1 p.m., and is a project supported in part by Humanities Iowa.
O. J. Fargo is a resident of Creston, and retired from the Green Valley Area Education Agency. An educator, he was an adjunct professor for the Southwest Community College, Buena Vista, Drake and Morningside colleges. He is the author of two books on Iowa history on the everyday life of a Civil War soldier and Iowa in the Civil War.
The presentation on Saturday will be from the point of view of a 35 year old enlisted Civil War soldier.
"I'm not 35 years old, but I portray a guy who is 35," he said. He noted that others do programs about the Civil War, but often they dress like generals. "Nobody ever talked about what the common soldier talks about."
"The premise is that once I start, it's 1865," he explained, "I've been gone for four years and I'm on my way back home. I just stopped in Webster City on my way home."
"I talk about how I got into the war in the first place, what I ate, where I slept," he continued. "I encourage people to ask questions throughout the presentation. It's like a conversation."
As an educator, Fargo wanted to find a way to make history more interesting. About 20 years ago he started a database on Civil War soldiers from Iowa. By doing this, when he talked about the Civil War, it became more relatable to students.
"The way they were teaching the Civil War, I thought was boring," said Fargo. "That's when I started the database."
With his database, he can tell how many and who enlisted from any area in the state of Iowa. With that he can connect students to an ancestor, or ancestor of people they know.
In addition to researching, writing, lecturing and public appearances, he is also president of an Iowa regiment of Civil War re-enactors, "The Army of the Southwest."
The re-enactors in "The Army of the Southwest" are from all over the state of Iowa, with meetings held in Waukee. "We have about 50 members, with about half participating in the re-enactments."
Fargo initially got involved with the re-enactors because he wanted to find someone to talk with him about history.
"They started a re-enactment group just north of us, and I thought these guys would be good to talk with," he said. "My family wasn't interested in history," he continued. "I'm what you would refer to as a History Nerd. They were the only people who would talk about history with me."
The presentation Saturday is meant to be interactive.
"I encourage people to ask questions, it's a dialogue," he explained "I'm in the education business, I'm pleased to do that. I'll be there ahead of time and will stick around as long as anyone wants to.
The presentation that starts at 1 p.m. usually lasts an hour, but Fargo will stay to talk with individuals after the program is completed.
The presentation is free to the public, but donations are encouraged to help support the maintenance and care of the Mulberry Center Church and to support future programs held at the church.