Letters home will come to life in voices

MILFORD — Question: What happens when you combine the Columns Museum, the American Readers Theater, Professor Sarah Smith Ducksworth, Ed.D. (an African-American scholar), the letters of Milton W. Bailey from the Korean War to his family who lived on High Street in Milford, a wine and cheese reception, and a pot roast dinner? Answer: You get a stunning dramatization of this young African American soldier’s deep family love and a candid look at the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of many African Americans who came of age during this period. A joint presentation of the Pike County Historical Society and the American Readers Theater, this event on Feb. 23 will be at the Columns Museum in recognition of Black History Month, said Museum Director Lori Strelecki. The Davis/Bailey family traces its roots back to the antebellum world. Sarah Davis, the family matriarch purchased a piece of the American dream with Civil War pension money and settled on High Street at the turn of the century. The family’s last survivor, Beatrice Bailey, who lived on for several decades after her son Milton died in the Korean War, maintained the family history in an album documenting the love, struggle, and determination of this family within a timeframe of over 100 years. This album tells the story of one family’s attempt to assimilate in Middle America and is historically representative of many African American families who made similar strides through persistence and dedication to a goal. The Davis/Bailey family album is now a permanent exhibit at the Columns and will be on display at the Feb. 23 event. Dr. Sarah Smith Ducksworth, a professor at Kean College in New Jersey is currently writing a book about the Davis/Bailey family as a microcosm for the important untold story of post-Civil War African American families. She has researched the family, studied and analyzed the album. Ducksworth will be giving an introduction to the performance at the Columns. Martin Moli, a professional actor with The American Readers Theater, will perform a dramatic reading of Sergeant First Class Milton Bailey’s letters. The American Readers Theater is a not-for-profit organization of professional actors who promote literacy through the art of dramatic reading. This is its third season in Pike County. Indeed, it is the first and only arts organization in Pike County to have been honored with a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts. Jeffrey Stocker, the founder and director of the theater, said he was very moved when he showed the letters of Milton Bailey to Moli, who started rehearsing the letters and felt a great affinity for the piece. Moli, an African American who grew up in a small town similar to Milton Bailey, said it brought up a great awareness in him of what an African American was going through at that time while being away from home. The Letters Home evening events will begin at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Columns Museum on Broad Street. There will be a wine and cheese reception and a short historical Power Point introduction by Dr. Sarah Smith Ducksworth. The ART dramatic reading will begin at 7 p.m. A pot roast dinner will be elegantly served at about 7:45 p.m., and members of the Board of Directors of the Pike County Historical Society will be at each table. It is expected to be an interesting, educational, and moving evening. Tickets for this fundraiser are $40 per person. Reservations are absolutely necessary and must be made in advance by calling Lori Strelecki, museum director, at the Columns: 570-296-8126.