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Historical society literature program and exhibit to open Feb. 12

January 23, 2021

The Lewes Historical Society is launching a new program focused on introducing age-appropriate historic literature to third- and fourth-graders in the region.

Children’s Historic Adventures in Reading will use 11 popular books curated from the past 300 years to link the historical significance of each book to the present. “The telling of stories has not changed; only the means in which they are shared,” said Marcos Salaverria, LHS director of education. The program is being sponsored by Bethany Beach Books, which will provide free copies of each month’s titles to the first 10 registrants.

February’s inaugural presentation will be free and open to the public, and held virtually at 4:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12, via  Zoom. In recognition of Black History Month, the society has chosen the book “Poetry for Young People” by Langston Hughes. All registrants for the February program will receive a complimentary activity bag to help children follow along in the virtual reading program. The bag will also include a sketch pad and a copy of a Langston Hughes poem, and can be picked up from the Lewes History Museum from noon to 3 p.m., Feb. 12 only, while supplies last.

The Lewes Historical Society’s much-awaited exhibition, 17 Men: Portraits of Black Civil War Soldiers, will open at 6 p.m., Feb. 12, at the Lewes History Museum. The exhibit celebrates the research and artwork of Michigan-based medical illustrator and genealogist Shayne Davidson. Born of a surviving, palm-size 1860s photo album documenting soldiers from the Mid-Atlantic region who served under Union Capt. William A. Prickitt, 17 Men will bring these nearly forgotten figures to almost life-scale proportions via Davidson’s hand. The photo album is now in the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

Portraits will be accompanied by a scholarly biography that identifies the complexities of each man’s life before, during and after the Civil War. This is a particularly appropriate exhibition for the Lewes Historical Society, as six of the 17 soldiers came from this region of Delaware, and without doubt walked the streets of Lewes.

For more information on Children’s Historic Adventures in Reading or to register, go to historiclewes.org./educational-programs.

Museum hours for 17 Men: Portraits of Black Civil War Soldiers will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. Beginning Tuesday, March 16, the schedule will extend to include Tuesday and Wednesday during the same time.

Museum admission, which includes the exhibition, is $5. 

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