"The Music of World War I" webinar set for Nov. 12

As part of their recognition of Oswego area veterans with their annual "Remembering Our Veterans" exhibit, the Little White School Museum will host a special webinar on "The Music of World War I" from 2-3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12.

According to Oswegoland Heritage Association Program Chair Tina Beaird, for their $5 registration fee, participants will connect with presenter Andrew Bullen for a lively discussion of how World War I and music affected each other.

The interactive online event is sponsored by the heritage association in partnership with the Oswegoland Park District.

World War I has been called the most musical of all wars. This discussion will compare and contrast the British and American experiences of the important year of 1916 through contemporary sheet music. Wide-ranging topics up for discussion include the U.S. Army's Punitive Raid on Mexico, reaction to British Nurse Edith Cavell's shooting, opposition to America's involvement in the war, the Preparedness Movement/Plattsburg Movement, Britain's Battle of the Somme, the appearance of the tank, and the British Shell Crisis and the music those events prompted.

Bullen, the Information Technology Coordinator for the Illinois State Library, has been working with digital humanities systems for more than 25 years. He specializes in digital access management systems, especially working with systems that preserve and make available born-digital archives. He also has explored using digital media to create online narratives. As a resident of the Pullman neighborhood in Chicago, he has worked on digitizing Pullman archives as well as demographic data for Pullman residents from 1883 to 1940.

To register and receive your on-line code for the webinar, visit the park district's on-line registration portal at https://www.oswegolandparkdistrict.org/event/the-music-of-world-war-i/ and click on the "Register" button, or call the park district at 630-554-1010.

This year's "Remembering Our Veterans" special exhibit will open to the public on Thursday, Nov. 10 and run through Sunday, Nov. 27. The exhibit features hundreds of rarely seen artifacts, documents, and photographs drawn from the museum's collections that relate to Oswego men and women who served from the Civil War through the 21st Century conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Exhibit admission is free. The Little White School Museum is located at 72 Polk Street, Oswego. Regular museum hours are Thursday and Friday, 2 to 6:30 p.m .; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m .; and Monday, 4-9 p.m. The museum is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

For more information on the "Remembering Our Veterans" exhibit or the museum, call 630-554-2999, email [email protected], or visit their website, http://www.littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org.