NORWICH – The Civil War commemorative weekend presented by the Chenango County Council of the Arts and the Chenango Historical Society went extremely well, said Historical Society Director Alan Estus. The weekend was in celebration and remembrance of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.

The event began last Thursday with a display by the 61st New York volunteer regiment re-enactors, who spent the weekend camped out on the lawn of the museum. According to Jim Heine, president of the 61st volunteer re-enactors, although the group travels all across the east coast participating in various battles and events, visiting Chenango County is one of their favorites for the simple reason of the people they get to meet.

Although the 61st volunteer regiment was in actuality comprised of soldiers from Chenango, Delaware and Otsego counties, none of the men who volunteer in the group are from New York.

“We did it for political reasons,” said Heine. “Since we have people from Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware ... this way, no one is unhappy their state wasn’t chosen.”

Heine went on to explain that once they chose the regiment they would honor, each bit of research they have done has brought the men closer to the actual soldiers who fought 150 years ago. Whenever they make a trip to the area, which Heine said is a couple of times each year, they research the men’s lives and then attempt to track down their final resting places.