ARISE (The Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise) will host O.J. Fargo this Sunday, January 19th at the American Legion Memorial Building (the Armory), for a program entitled “Just Before the Battle Mother- A Visit from a Civil War Soldier. “ The event starts at 2-p.m., and after an overview of Iowa’s involvement in the Civil War, you will be introduced to a returning Civil War soldier played by Mr. Fargo.

Mr. Fargo will dresses in full Union Army regalia for the presentation and focuses the presentation on an individual ordinary soldier’s experience. He will bring along a full roster of all men who served in and from Iowa in the Civil war to enable the participants to check for ancestors who served. He will also provide a display of civil War artifacts. Fargo has done more than 100 history presentations throughout the state including historical societies, libraries, schools, professional organizations and many other groups. He is the author of three books and editor of two CD-ROMs containing 320,000 pages of searchable text and 10,000 Civil War pictures.

The presentation is free and open to the public. The Building is handicapped accessible. Refreshments will be served. The program is sponsored by ARISE. Supporting funds are provided by Humanities Iowa and the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission.