The following notice appeared in The Herald-News on October 19, 2016. You may access the original notice here.

LOCKPORT – The White Oak Library District is pleased to present the “Civil War Field Embalming: A Demonstration of Period Technique” program at its Lockport Branch Library, at 121 E. 8th St., Lockport.

The program will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p..m. Oct. 24

Portraying Dr. Benjamin F. Lyford in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, Jon Austin offers a first-person presentation in the style of a nineteenth-century medical school lecture, using a re-enactor “corpse” as a visual aid.

Austin addresses such topics as period medicine and chemistry, human anatomy, the verification of death, and the preparation of deceased soldiers’ remains for shipping and burial.

Also covered are such subjects as nineteenth-century mourning rituals, Lincoln’s funeral, and the ways in which modern funeral practices have developed over time. This event is a “Road Scholars” program made possible by a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council.

Registration is required. Call 815-552-4250.