Would You Like History Sprinkled on Your Ice Cream?

It’s not often these days that one gets to listen to Abraham Lincoln speak. Or Frederick Douglass. Or Harriet Beecher Stowe.

But’s that just one of the many activities that will be available for you to do at the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at the Pine Grove Historical Museum, 405 Cesar Chavez Ave., in Pontiac.

Of course, President Lincoln, abolitionist Douglass and Stowe, author of the classic “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” have long since passed on, but they will be faithfully recreated by costumer re-enactors.

“We call it our porch talk,” said event chairman, Rodger Zeller, vice president of the OCPHS. “For an hour or so they will speak from the front porch of the mansion.” The porch talks will be held at 12:30 and 2 p.m.

The mansion is the home of Moses Wisner, Michigan’s 12th governor who lived there in the mid-1800s. Wisner was a strong abolitionist, so he would have approved of the speakers.

However, they will make up just a part of the activities scheduled for the day. Music will be provided by the Peace Jubilee Civil War Band brass quintet, performing 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the Men of Grace, from the Grace Centers of Hope, performing from noon to 3 p.m.; and Golden Griffon, performing Civil War-era hammered dulcimer and violin compositions from 2 to 5 p.m.

Veterans will play a special role in the day’s events. There will be an opening march through the grounds with VFW Post 1370 of Pontiac carrying the colors at noon. There also will be a veterans’ tent on site for socializing and special recognition will be paid to the vets. The Pontiac High School ROTC will present the flag.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman will be among the guests at the opening ceremonies.

There will be other attractions, as well. “We’ll have a Civil War cannon shooting off on the hour every hour.”

The Civil War was raging exactly 150 years ago, and much of the emphasis on the event will be on that great conflict. The Sisters of the Union will be demonstrating campfire cooking. And there will be free cake and ice cream for everyone.

There will also be tours of the historical grounds, a quilt raffle and items on sale.

Admission is $5 for adults and $10 for a family of five. There’s free, secure parking on site.

For more information, visit the OCPHS website at www.OCPHS.org