The Plainville
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 12, Number 26
Plainville’s Only Weekly Newspaper
www.plainvillecitizen.com
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Historical Society exhibit tells tale Class of ‘63 alum look back on the good ol’ days of ‘Plainville in the Civil War’ By Julie Sopchak The Plainville Citizen
This summer, the Plainville Historical Society will run a Civil War exhibit highlighting men who served from Plainville. Nancy Eberhardt, president of the historical society, said there have been Plainville-centric Civil War exhibits before, but none that focused on the soldiers. “Might as well let people know about the guys who served,” Eberhardt said. “They were the ones involved.” Sixty-four soldiers were verified to be from Plainville, with a total list of 105. The remaining, Eberhardt said, were soldiers who re-located to Plainville after serving. The exhibit features many artifacts of the war, though not many personal belongings of the Plainville men. The one exception is a saddle, owned by Miles Tyler. Eberhardt said families would likely choose to hang on to their ancestors’ belongings. “I don’t blame families for holding on to them,” she said. Eberhardt said a lot of information on the soldiers was found by going through the national archives and military and pension records. One of reasons Eberhardt said the society decided to put on the exhibit was the Civil War statue in town. Erected in memory of the defenders of the flag, the statue turned 100 years old this year. Plainville was represent-
Citizen photo by Julie Sopchak
Sixty-four soldiers from Plainville fought in the Civil War, and many more re-located to town after the war. The Plainville Historical Society has brought the local soldiers’ stories to life. ed at all the major battles and events throughout the war, from Bull Run, to Antietam, to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender, and more. Augustus Hitchcock, one of the soldiers from town, Eberhardt explained, was killed after being injured at Antietam. He was shot, and while the bullet was removed, infection eventually took over, as was common when a bullet was removed. John Hills was sent to Camp Sumter, also known as Andersonville Prison in Georgia, where inmates were crowded far beyond capacity in an open space with constant exposure to the sun. He was killed while imprisoned. Eberhardt also talked about the 5th and 20th regiments, which she said “had a right to be ticked off.” The regiments, both including Plainville men, traveled to
Gettysburg July 1, 1863. On July 2, they were told to seize, fortify, and hold Culp’s Hill, a landform that provided key position for Union defense. After four hours of digging breastworks and creating defensive positions they were told they needed to travel to Gettysburg to reinforce troops. When that task was completed, they returned to Culp’s Hill the same day around 10 p.m., only to find Confederate soldiers had taken their position. The Connecticut 29th Colored Regiment was one of three northern colored state units and included three Plainville men. Eberhardt said the regiment was the first to enter Richmond, Va. for capture, though when they got there the Confederates were already in the process of burning everything. See Exhibit, page 6
Listening to Lorna Cyr and Derald Theriault reminisce about their time at Plainville High School, it’s evident that a lot has changed since they roamed the halls 50 years ago. Cyr and Theriault are members of the Class of 1963, which is celebrating its half-century reunion this year. From stories about classmates to the stark comparisons between generations, the PHS alum remembered their class, which graduated some 175 students, and now has about 150. “We were kind of a clique within ourselves,” Cyr said, describing how well the Class of ’63 stuck together. “We were always in competi-
tion with the class before and the class behind us.” Cyr talked about what courses were like at PHS back in the day, particularly how women were steered towards nursing, secretarial, or teaching careers. Even if a woman did have a profession, she said, the goal was to help her find a man. The other common option was to become a housewife. “A lot of women got left behind in that era,” said Cyr, adding she was interested in industrial arts, but never had the opportunity to pursue it as a career. Some courses were divided by gender. Boys took woodshop, metalworking, and automotive, while girls took typing, home econom-
See Reunion, page 6
Then and now: 1963 vs. 2013 No. 1 hit: 1963 – “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs; 2013 – “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell. Top-grossing film: 1963 – Cleopatra; 2013 – Iron Man 3 Best-selling book: 1963 – The Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris West; 2013 – Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander. Top-rated television show: 1963 – The Beverly Hillbillies; 2013 – NCIS. President: 1963 – John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson; 2013 – Barack Obama Cost of a new home: 1963 – $19,300; 2013 – $152,000 Gallon of gas: 1963 – 30 cents; 2013 – $3.58
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By Julie Sopchak The Plainville Citizen