Union and Confederate soldiers will descend upon Keokuk's Rand Park one last time this weekend for the city's 28th and final Civil War re-enactment.
The event has been a huge success over the years, bringing thousands to the city. But a dwindling number of re-enactors led organizers to declare 2015 as the final conflict.
The end of an era provides an opportunity for some of the organizers and participants to look back on the results of their hard work and determination.
Wes Pohorsky has been involved in the re-enactment since the beginning, helping his late wife Marilyn, who came up with the idea for the event when she was Keokuk's tourism director.
"Probably one of the things that I remember the most is that first year, is that expression on her face and the happiness in her voice when the whole thing finally came together and it actually did happen and all of the tents were up in the park. She made a statement, 'Here comes my cavalry,' and the cavalry horse-trailers started moving in. I guess the whole thing is the history of it for me. Just being a part of what they do and being able to listen to these re-enactors because many of them do it strictly for the history part of it. Some of them do it just because they like to shoot cannons or shoot guns, but most of the re-enactors are people who are really history buffs and they know their history. It is living history."
Dick Pohorsky said Wes and Marilyn are the reasons why he participates in the re-enactment each year.
"That first re-enactment weekend, my brother and sister-in-law invited us from Cedar Rapids down to Keokuk to witness this thing called a Civil War re-enactment. I'd never been to one and did not know what to expect, but I was a history major and a military history buff, so we accepted the invitation. 28 years ago, this Saturday, when we stepped foot into Rand Park and saw the tents and the authentically-uniformed re-enactors, smelled the smoke from the fires, I turned around to the family and said, 'We are going to be doing this.' Sure enough, we got into it, my son and I, and we have been re-enacting for 25-26 years now. And so that very first re-enactment is the one I will always remember because that's the one that got me started in a love affair with Civil War re-enacting."
The annual re-enactment has also been a family affair for Ted McGhghy and his son, Tyler.
Ted was on the Convention & Tourism Board when the decision was made to hold the re-enactment.
"Some of my favorite memories are just the people who return year after year after year and some of the things we had to do to keep these people comfortable while they were in town. We tried to host new events like the 1st Brigade Band, we had a (baseball) team called the Muffins that drew a large crowd, and every year we tended to add something that was a little different, a little unique."
Tyler McGhghy has been on the Convention & Tourism Board for 15 years, but his experience with the re-enactment goes back even farther.
"I've been involved in the Civil War re-enactment in some way for 28 years, riding around in a golf cart with my father, helping him out. Some of my fondest memories would be traveling up Orleans Avenue and just seeing tents from one end of Rand Park to the other. Smelling the firewood is something that will always be in my mind when this weekend comes along. I just really enjoy seeing all of the people come to town, all of the re-enactors in their period clothing and learning history and going to the ball and seeing how things were back in the 1860's."
Jons Olsson of Waterloo is one of the most recognizable participants in the re-enactment, having missed just a single year. He has served as a battlefield commander, led the Sunday worship services, and educated the crowd as battlefield narrator.
"I have plenty of fond memories of the event. One was standing in the lobby of the hotel with... the manager of the 1st Brigade Band, Sunday morning at 6:00 A.M., deciding 42 degrees and rain, can we hold the memorial services outside at the National Cemetery or do we have to move them inside to the Catholic High School gym? Obviously we had to move them inside. Another memory is at the conclusion of the memorial and workshop services one Sunday, a lady came up to me and said, 'Thank you' for memorializing the men and women who were lost on the Sultana, a side-wheeler that went down in the Mississippi. Her great-grandfather was one of the few people who survived the overload and sinking of that side-wheeler in the Mississippi River. I have loved the people of Keokuk. It has been an honor and a privilege to come there for 28 years."
This year's Civil War re-enactment will highlight the battles of Fort Stedman and Appomattox. Following the Battle of Appomattox, a special ceremony will be held to mark the 150th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War.
A complete schedule of events can be found here.
