Volunteer training Saturday at Old State Capitol
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[April 16, 2012]
SPRINGFIELD -- National Volunteer Week,
April 15-21, will be capped off at the Old State Capitol State
Historic Site in Springfield with a "Volunteer Training Day" on
Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the site's Foundation Hall on
Level 2.
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The Saturday event will recruit and train people interested in
volunteering and will introduce current volunteers to the new living
history directions being taken to commemorate the 150th anniversary
of the Civil War. The new program, titled "Illinois' Capitol Goes
to War," will feature many new exhibits, such as one on the Ladies
Soldiers' Aid Society, depicting the role of women who met in the
building and organized supplies for the comfort and relief of
Illinois troops. Displays of Civil War flags, weapons and equipment
are planned, and the "General of the Month" exhibit next to the
adjutant general's office will continue to highlight one Illinois
Civil War general each month. These new features will demonstrate
how the Old State Capitol was transformed from the seat of state
government to the headquarters of a state at war.
During the 1840s and 1850s, the Old State Capitol was the scene
of debate over issues that led the nation to war in 1861. During the
Civil War, the Statehouse was the center of the state's efforts at
wartime mobilization. The Capitol also provided space for local
events aiding the needs of local residents as well as soldier relief
efforts.
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Volunteers are vital to the continued success of the programs at
the Old State Capitol., Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices and the Vachel
Lindsay Home. Volunteers can choose to be tour guides, costumed
interpreters, greeters, costume makers and take part in special
events. Volunteers are also needed for the upcoming "History Comes
Alive" living history program this season.
The Old State Capitol State Historic Site, administered by the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday throughout the month of April and will be
open seven days a week beginning May 1.
[Text from
Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
file received from the
Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency] |