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History will come to life at Henry County Heritage Center Museum
Characters from Mt. Pleasant’s history will tell stories of their lives in new program
MT. PLEASANT — Henry County Heritage Trust, in partnership with the Mt. Pleasant Community Theater, invite the public to visit with Voices from the Past in a new program opening this Saturday.
“We found that people like to hear stories,” Henry County Heritage Trust Treasurer Pat White explained. “While it is great to read all of our plaques and look at all our displays, people like hearing stories being told as opposed to having to walk around and read things themselves.”
So, HCHT brainstormed a unique way to tell stories by partnering with the community theater to bring some of the earliest residents of Mt. Pleasant to life through brief monologues performed by community actors in period attire.
The first Voices from the Past event will feature Mt. Pleasant Founder Presley Saunders, portrayed by Bob Becker, and Presley’s sister-in-law, Diana Bowen, played by Talisa Jacobs on Saturday, Sept. 14 in the Mt. Pleasant Room of the Henry County Heritage Center Museum.
According to White, the Bowen character will share about an oil painting located in the Saunder’s room of the Mt. Pleasant Room of the museum. This oil painting, while originally painted in Mt. Pleasant has made its way to multiple other states before returning.
Presley’s character will share photos of his wife, the Spring House, and other bits of history as he shares about the founder of Mt. Pleasant.
The program will take a break on Sept. 21 for a Pioneer Cemetery Day and return Saturday, Sept. 28 featuring Doug Snavely, portraying Samuel Luke Howe, the founder of Howe’s Academy, and Carrie Muhs, portraying Belle Babb Mansfield, the first woman in the United States licensed to practice law.
Mansfield and Snavely will come to life in the Education Room at the museum as they focus on their contributions to education from Mt. Pleasant. While the Education Room already features many displays on Howe’s Academy, HCHT will bring in more Mansfield items for the second week.
Not only will those attending the event hear from the characters, but they also will be able to explore the museum and learn more at their leisure as the museum will open from 1-4 p.m. for each event. The actors will perform short 5—10-minute monologues multiple times from 2-3 p.m. so, guests can stop by at any time to catch the program.
“I hope it goes well, and I hope people enjoy it, because we really like the idea of telling stories this way,” White said. “Maybe it will be a little more entertaining so people can learn and have some fun with it.”
The museum will remain open through October on Saturdays, but will close for the winter, except for scheduled tours. White is hopeful that this event will draw people in and during the museum’s offseason they can put together more of these programs to continue gives voices to those from the past.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
