People's University: The Civil War 1865 & the Lincoln Legacy

March 31, 2015

Event starts at 7:00 PM.
The latest series in the People's University program at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling will focus on the closing battles of the Civil War, and the assassination and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln and the struggles of veterans returning from war. Classes will meet on consecutive Tuesday evenings at 7 PM, from March 3 through April 21 in the library's auditorium.

Appomattox & Surrender

“If the Thing is Pressed, I Think That Lee Will Surrender” – Appomattox & Surrender. This class will cover the battles and movements of “the final campaign,” resulting the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House.


Instructor:  Patrick A. Schroeder

Patrick A. Schroeder earned a B.S. in Historical Park Administration from Shepherd College and an M.A. in Civil War History from Virginia Tech.  He worked as a seasonal living history interpreter at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and full-time at the Patrick Henry National Memorial. He is now the full-time Historian of Appomattox Court House National Historical Park.

March 24 at noon: Nurse/Poet Jeanne Bryner (Hughes Lecture Series)

Jeanne Bryner, a nurse and poet, will read from her work, which has been described as “real-deal, no-happy-meals-sold-here poetry.” Her appearance is sponsored by the Hughes Lecture Series at WLU.

March 17 at noon: The Irish Potato Famine

March 10: Dr. Jeff Rutherford

March 3 at noon: The Poetry of Javersak

Feb. 17: Wide Open Steubenville

Author Susan Guy will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday February 17 at noon discuss her book, Mobsters, Madams & Murder in Steubenville, Ohio: The Story of Little Chicago. Gambling, prostitution and bootlegging have been going on in Steubenville for well over one hundred years. Its Water Street red-light district drew men from hundreds of miles away, as well as underage runaways. The white slave trade was rampant, and along with all the vice crimes, murders became a weekly occurrence. Law enforcement seemed to turn a blind eye, and cries of political corruption were heard in the state capital. This scenario replayed itself over and over again during the past century as mobsters and madams ruled and murders plagued the city and county at an alarming rate. Newspapers nationwide would come to nickname this mecca of murder “Little Chicago.” Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and complimentary beverages are served. Please see the library's web site at www.ohiocountylibrary.org or call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Feb. 10 at Noon: William Burrus

"I was born in Wheeling on 12th street and other than the years 1943 and 1944 was a resident of the community.  That period was prior to the removal of the Jim Crow legislation that separated citizens by race including schools, movie theaters, the skating rink and medical services.  I was a student in the last graduating class 1954, that was required by state law to be educated in separate facilities. " -Bill Burrus

In celebration of Black History Month, Wheeling born William Burrus will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday February 10 at noon. Mr. Burrus attended Lincoln High School, graduating in the last class segregated by race in 1954. He went to work for the US Postal Service and was elected executive Vice President of the American Postal Workers Union, the 10th largest union in the country. He was later elected international president. Mr. Burrus will discuss his books, My Journey: A Postal & Unique American Experience and Black History We Remember. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and complimentary beverages are served. Please see the library's web site at www.ohiocountylibrary.org or call 304-232-0244 for more information.