History Comes Alive at Centuries & Sleuths

By Augie Aleksy of Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore

Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore has developed at least three unique programs that have been received very enthusiastically by customers, the public, and the local media. Even before I opened my store, I knew I wanted to have events where history would actually come alive. Well, when I opened up C&S in 1990 (the store will be celebrating its 15th anniversary in November), thanks to a great response from my newfound customers, I had the opportunity.

It has primarily been members of C&S's History Discussion Group who have been our performers. Our first program was "The Trial of Richard III for the Murder of His Two Nephews." We were very fortunate to have real attorneys representing both prosecution and defense. And to top that off, we had a federal court judge, the Honorable Eugene Wedoff, volunteer to be our judge. He wore his robes and brought his own gavel. The place was packed wall to wall.

Over the course of time, we have also had 11 "Meeting of Minds" programs featuring historical personages. (I received permission from Steve Allen to use the same title as his PBS programs when he first visited C&S in August 1992.) We've had a "Hearing for Impeachment Proceedings Against FDR for His Prior Knowledge of the Attack on Pearl Harbor," "The Great Debate With Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun," and more. At the end of this year, we'll have our next "Meeting of Minds," with Benjamin Franklin, Nellie Bly, Ida B. Wells, and Edward R. Morrow.

The performers are all volunteers -- among them are teachers, reporters, stockbrokers, attorneys, and marketing consultants. We've even had a professional actor who played Lincoln in a debate with Jefferson Davis and FDR when we had "The Big Three: Churchill, Stalin & FDR." In the last few years, I have charged $10 per person, and we've been completely booked.

Our Mystery Discussion Group has put on six plays, five of which were written by members of the Mystery Discussion Group:

• St. Valentine Day's Mascara of Hollywood & Crime by Carol Hauswald (February 1994)
• Dead Men Don't Wear Tartan or Where There's a Will There's a Way by Carol Hauswald and Brenda Watkins (October 1996)
• Tales From the Cryptographer: A Radio Drama Set on the Evening of December 6, 1941 by Carol Hauswald, Brenda Watkins, Tracy Aleksy, and Carol Fyfe (October 1997)
• The Dead Sleep Lightly: A Radio Mystery with Gideon Fell by John Dickson Carr (October 2000)
• Blood on Blue, Gray & Black: A Mystery Set in the American Civil War by Carol Hauswald, Steve Homeier, Julie Jezuit, and Tracy Aleksy (October 2002)
• The Beautiful Lady or Foul Play at the Colombian Exposition Chicago, 1893 by Sally Behary (October 2003)

With local chef Paul Zeissler, we have put on 10 programs of "Beans 'n the Pot of What's Cookin' in History and Mystery." We serve food and give a talk about the food from different periods in history or from various mysteries. Subjects have included:

• Food on Campaign: Napoleonic Wars, American Civil War. and the Spanish American War
• Dining With Sherlock Holmes
• Nero Wolfe Cookbook
• What the Romans Ate
• High Teas
• Last Dinner on the Titanic
• An English Christmas
• Food in the Middle East on the Original Christmas
• The Godfather's Cookbook
• The Meals of Lewis & Clark on Expedition

About every three to five years, we present the program "Chicago Authors, Chicago Readers": We invite authors from the metropolitan area to be members of panels (usually four authors each and including fiction and nonfiction) to talk about themselves and their books. The event typically features eight panels and lasts two weekends; two panels are held on each Saturday and Sunday. The audience includes C&S's regular customers and those who have heard about the sessions via advertising.

At all of these events, attendees are aware that C&S is the sponsor, and we are open to sell books before and after each of them.

All these events are in addition to our regular author events and monthly mystery, history, opinionated critic, and G. K. Chesterton Society meetings. On our business card, we have a list of the qualities that set us apart. One is "Creative Programming."

You can check our website, www.centuriesandsleuths.com, for our current schedule of events.

Augie Aleksy is the owner of Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore in Forest Park, Illinois.