Cemetery Care Course
Date: Saturday, May 11th
Time: 12:30 PM
Where: Douglas County Museum
Cost: Free
Always wanted to clean up a family member’s gravestone? Would you like to help take care of an aging cemetery? John Heider will lead this classroom workshop at the museum on gravestone cleaning and care.
His workshops present the necessary information for an individual person or group of people to clean, reset, or repair stone grave markers and his training methods follow federal, state, and professional guidelines. This course will provide an introduction to current information, provide modern methods, present approved materials, and illustrate the application of suitable tools. The course will take place indoors at the museum.
Thanks to a donation from Vintage Karma of Tuscola, the course is free for those who sign-up!
Please note that although the class is free, we still need you to make a reservation since class size is limited to 40 people. Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity! Be sure to RSVP to save your spot. Call 217-253-2535, email douglascountymuseum@hotmail.com or send us a Facebook message. Please make sure you receive a confirmation back from us.
Visit http://www.ripltd.com/ for more info on John's courses
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Building Rentals
Interested in renting out the Museum for an event or even just a short meeting? We rent out our main exhibit space for all kinds of events from short business meetings to large fundraising events. Our exhibit cases are all on wheels and can move off the floor. We also have a full kitchen, dinner service sets, flatware, dishes, banquet tables, and chairs that are available for you to use. If you are interested in renting the building for your event, please call us at 217-235-2535 or email us at douglascountymuseum@hotmail.com. Download the rental form and send it along with your request.
The Museum offers a variety of events and programs throughout the year. We host speakers on local historical topics, have larger events with local musicians and exhibit openings, host craft workshops, give tours and much more!
Rental information is at the bottom of this page.
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Events
ann bradford stokes: African-American Civil War Nurse
Date: Saturday, April 27th
Time: 1:00 PM
Where: Douglas County Museum
Cost: Free
About the presentation:
Ann Bradford Strokes (1833-1903) worked aboard the Navy’s first Hospital Ship Red Rover of Mound City, Illinois. She worked with sick and wounded soldiers aboard the United States Naval Hospital Ship (U.S.N.) throughout the Western Theater of the Civil War on both the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries.
Stokes lived mostly aboard the Red Rover, but occasionally stayed in the Mound City contraband camp in a community of over two thousand people. She volunteered with the Sisters of the Holy Cross and Naval ship officers working as “first class boy,” cook, laundress, mender– anything to get food to eat. Eventually, Ann assumed the role of a nurse, leading to the beginning of a profession that would last generations. She was the first woman to earn a pension for her work with the U.S.N. Red Rover. After 18 months as an African American Civil War nurse, she left service in November 1864. Several years later, Ann learned to read and write. She settled, remarried, and remained in Southern Illinois for the rest of her life. In a fascinating reenactment, Marlene Rivero will breathe life back into Ann Stokes and her story, captivating audiences and informing new learners.
About the presenter:
My name is Marlene Rivero I am retired from the U.S. Forest Service. I started utilizing my storytelling talents in 1999 as a first-person heritage interpreter with the Forest Service. Later, I became lead heritage interpreter for the agency in African American interpretation and presentations and served in that role for eleven years. From 2003 to 2006, I was a national guest speaker for the Corps of Discovery Expedition, the program, York’s Mother, retraced the 1803 journey of Lewis and Clark Expedition.
This event is being produced in partnership with Illinois Humanities. The Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau invites Illinois authors, artists, and educators to share their expertise and enthusiasm with people throughout the state, enabling local nonprofit organizations to present free-admission cultural programs of high quality to their communities for a modest fee.
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