Life and legacy of Margaret J. Preston at next CLHS
Raylene Hlavaty will portray 19th-century Southern poet Margaret J. Preston in a first-person, costumed program hosted by the County Line Historical Society on Saturday, June 21 at 1 p.m. at the historic Shreve Presbyterian Church.
The County Line Historical Society of Wayne/Holmes will play host to Raylene Hlavaty, “The Portrayal of Margaret J. Preston,” during a program Saturday, June 21 at 1 p.m. at the historic Shreve Presbyterian Church, 343 N. Market St., Shreve.
Hlavaty portrays Margaret J. Preston. She has enjoyed singing and acting since childhood, which prompted her mother to enroll her in the Wayne Center for the Arts Youth Theater program a few summers in a row. She graduated from Triway in 1988 and Ohio State in 1992 with a B.A. in English.
During her high school years, she was active in The Friends of J.C., a skit and juggling team created by her brother Lance Weirick. She became interested in history after college when she viewed a video of David Barton recounting the story of the bullet holes left in George Washington's coat after the Battle of Monongahela in the French and Indian War. Since then she has been busy searching out the workings of God in history. She is married to Mike Hlavaty and has retired from homeschooling their three boys.
It is Aug. 27, 1870, in Lexington, Virginia, and Margaret Junkin Preston has just received her newly published book “Old Song and New.” It is a collection of poems that began many years before in Pennsylvania during her childhood and grew throughout education, illnesses, a move to Virginia, marriage and the Civil War.
In Virginia her sister met and married an odd young teacher from Virginia Military Institute, Thomas Jackson, and died bearing their first child. Jackson continued to live with the Junkin family, and Margaret became well acquainted with the man who would become known to history as “Stonewall” Jackson. Well past the age expected for marriage, Preston eventually married a widower with seven children, John Preston, founder of the VMI.
Finally with a home of her own, the whole country began to unravel. With the election of Mr. Lincoln as president, the secession of several states and a call for troops by the recently installed president, the secession of Virginia was unavoidable. Mr. Preston was soon serving Virginia in various capacities and communicating with his wife by letter. Margaret Preston had given up writing after her marriage because she felt her husband didn't approve, but he soon realized her abilities and began to encourage her writing.
In June 1864 she experienced the war firsthand when the Union Army invaded Lexington. Her smokehouse and cellar were emptied, and she watched as VMI went up in flames. Through her own many losses of war, her writing allowed her to express the heart of aching Southerners.
Then one winter day in early 1865, she received a letter from her husband. He had sent her a small poetical book and said he thought she could write something better in the same line. She set to work and soon sent a manuscript back to him in Richmond. He was full of praise for “Beechenbrook: a Rhyme of the War” and had 2,000 copies printed, but most were lost when Richmond fell.
When the struggle finally came to an end and the rebuilding began, Margaret Preston continued her writing. She had “Beechenbrook” reprinted, contributed to several magazines and wrote reviews of the current literature, all while caring for a busy household. She always felt her abilities were a gift from God that must be expressed and ought to be shared with others.
This 45-minute program will be followed by a Q-and-A. Margaret Preston is portrayed in first person and costume. The event is free to attend.
Parking is across North Market Street from the historic Shreve Presbyterian Church.