Boone County Historical Museum continues lecture series

By Matt Helm

REPORTER

The Boone County Historical Museum continued its 2016 Lecture Series with a performance by the Battlefield Balladeers on Tuesday, July 12 at 6 p.m. at the Community Building Complex of Boone County, located at 111 W. First St. in Belvidere.

“The Battlefield Balladeers are musicians that dress in Civil War era clothing and play instruments that would’ve been used at the time,” Executive Director of the Boone County Historical Museum Anna Pivoras said. “Their repertoire consists of patriotic, sentimental, and comedic songs of the period along with minstrel favorites and the melodies of Stephen Foster.”

Tickets for the show were $5 per person and $4 for museum members.

Pivoras said that the performance promised “fun for children and adults alike while also being educational.

“Each song they sing is prefaced with historical information about the song,” Pivoras said.“Audiences are encouraged to sing a long and clap as the Balladeers perform.”

The Battlefield Balladeers perform all over the Midwest.

“I heard about them through social media and thought they would be a good fit for us,” Pivoras said. “The Battlefield Balladeers have performed at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the Chicago History Museum, the battlefield of Gettysburg and many more iconic locations.”

The Battlefield Balladeers performance was the second installment of the Boone County Historical Museum’s 2016 Lecture Series.

The final lecture “Borden’s and the Early Dairy Industry in Boone County” will be held on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Boone County Historical Museum Grand Gallery. It will be delivered by the Production Manager at Dean Foods Ice Cream John Ellingson.

In other museum news, over Heritage Days weekend, Manley Motors hosted the Drive 4 UR Community fundraiser in the museum parking lot. For every test drive taken Ford donated $20 to the museum.

“I haven’t heard the final numbers, but more than a hundred people participated,” Pivoras said. “It was really a great thing for us and we’d like to thank Manley Motors for their support and hard work for the event.”

All profits from the Battlefield Balladeers performance went to support the museum.

For more information, call (815) 544-8391.