SIDNEY — Sidney will again host a Civil War Living History Weekend, Sept. 15-16, 2018.
Planning is already underway for the event, which will again be in Tawawa Park.
“As we proved in our inaugural effort, the park’s 220 acres are ideal for such an event,” said J.R. Sharp, a Confederate reenactor whose Company B of the 1st Tennessee Infantry encamped at Brookside for its spring drill on more than one occasion. Capt. Sharp commands Company B, has been re-enacting for two decades and is on the committee organizing the event.
“There is no question that the park’s unique terrain features, including Tawawa Creek, Amos Lake, the valley and the overlooking bluffs, will once again provide both the re-enactors and spectators with a unique experience,” said Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst, who is again chairing the organizing committee.
“Some re-enactors came last year almost as scouts for their respective units,” Barhorst said. “I can’t tell you how often individual visitors, some from several states away, commented on the natural beauty of the park. Some came from cities five, six and seven times larger than Sidney. They couldn’t believe that a city our size could have such a wonderful park when their own communities didn’t.”
“I heard the same comments,” said Parks and Recreation Director Duane Gaier, also a member of the planning committee. “When I told them that the advertisements all detailed the wooded terrain, the water features and the hills and valleys, their response was nearly always the same: ‘Do you have any idea how many communities have told us their event was going to be held in their wonderful city park with all the features you claimed to have and when we arrived, we found a concrete slab with a couple of basketball hoops and not a tree or stream in sight?’”
“An event like the Civil War Living History Weekend is one that I had discussed for nearly two decades with re-enactors like Doug Slagel and Doug Benson,” Shelby County Historical Society Executive Director Tilda Phlipot said. “Both have been active members of our organization, and both have extensive reenacting experience. Our initial event went well, and we are looking forward to next year’s event. Such programs are a great way for us to teach the community an important part of our history and make it come alive.
“Events like this could not be accomplished without the strong partnerships we have within the community,” she added. “We’ll need even more volunteers this year than during the first event because of the increased number of re-enactors expected to attend.”
Slagel, who has been active as a Union re-enactor for more than two decades, is again serving as a member of the planning committee. He has extensive experience helping to organize national events.
“Many re-enactors were involved in major events leading up to the Civil War’s Sesquicentennial (2011-2015), and there simply wasn’t a good way to move into a crowded field of events. With the Civil War’s 150th anniversary now behind us, re-enactors are looking for events that require less travel and expense than those big national events and are now open to new events.” Slagel said.
“When planning for the 2016 event, we were looking at a biennial event, one that would fit the off-years with the event held at Zoar Village. Re-enactors like to be able to schedule their time, and this would provide them the opportunity to schedule vacation at the same time each year, heading to Shelby County one year and to Tuscarawas County the next. That worked well, and we are pleased with the result,” Sharp noted.
In addition to Union and Confederate units camping at the park, there will also be civilian units. Elizabeth Topping, who has been re-enacting as a period civilian for 24 years, is again serving as a member of the organizing committee with emphasis on the civilian camp.
“Although we had only a handful of sutlers last year, they all enjoyed the experience and plan to return,” Topping said. “Working out the ‘bugs’ associated with our first event was relatively easy. Those who attended had an enjoyable experience. I expect that most will bring associates with them next year.”
“We chose the fall for a number of reasons,” Barhorst said. “We wanted to avoid the long-established re-enactment at Ohio Village, school is in session and students have the opportunity to attend on their own time without disrupting the school schedule, and the fall just seemed to be a better time for the park in that the sound of gunfire would not disturb the wildlife as much, especially nesting birds.”
“As a result of this being an ongoing event, we have an interactive website fully operational so that event information is available to both re-enactors and spectators,” Sharp said. When he is not commanding the 1st Tennessee Company B, Sharp is an end-user computing technician for the Kettering Health Network.
The event will be funded in part through a grant from the city’s lodging tax, administered through the Shelby County Historical Society.
“The lodging tax was levied to raise funds to help bring tourists to the community,” Barhorst said. “This is one of a variety of events Council has looked at that are family-friendly and will encourage travelers to come to the community. After our experience in 2016, we know that the Civil War Living History Weekend fits that definition.”
