A crowd of more than 40 people filled the Summit Hill Heritage Center Thursday night to enjoy a musical trip back through time guided by Pennsylvania Humanities Council speaker Tom Jolin, who played over an hour of Civil War-era music. The program was sponsored by the Summit Hill GAR Cemetery in conjunction with a grant from the PHC.

"We have made such great strides in turning the cemetery around, and it is through the support of everyone in the town and those away who have loved ones buried in our cemetery. Your donations continue to help us administer the cemetery, and on behalf of the board, I want to thank all of you. This free program tonight is our way of thanking you for your support so far," said GAR president David A. Wargo before introducing Tom Jolin of Gettysburg.Jolin opened his performance with a beautiful tune on the dulcimer, which he explained afterward was crafted by himself. With each song, he provided some background and history into the music which for the most part either came from the Civil War era or was associated with it later. Besides the dulcimer, he also played selections on the harmonica, banjo and squeezebox accordion.One of the most engaging songs he played on the banjo, which he explained has its roots in Africa. When the Africans were brought here and enslaved, he said, they had no musical instruments, so they learned to make them from the materials here. One of the results was the banjo. He then sang a Negro spiritual called "No More Auction Block For Me," which was written by Thomas Higginson, a colonel in the First South Carolina volunteers. The song describes when the slave owners in South Carolina fled before the approaching Northern Army, leaving their slaves confused and alone. They mustered into a regiment and became the first black regiment of soldiers in the Union Army.Higginson was inspired to write a history called "Army Life in the Black Regiment," in which he detailed the song.Jolin played a unique arrangement of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and "Ring the Banjo." The former song was written after the 1836 battle of San Jacinto during the War for Texas Independence while the latter was a Stephen Foster tune that was merged very creatively together.Some of the other selections the audience clapped and tapped along to included "Battle Cry of Freedom," "Bonnie Blue Flag," "Oh, Susannah" and "Lincoln and Liberty."He told a story of children orphaned when their father was killed in the Battle of Gettysburg. The town used a photograph of the three children the dead soldier was clutching in his hand and had copies submitted to towns throughout Pennsylvania and New York. Eventually they found them and the widow in New York. The town was so moved, they brought the widow and children to Gettysburg and started an orphanage managed by her in which her children were reared. The song "Children of the Battlefield" was a fundraising song written to help fund the home.The concert lasted a little over an hour, and the people enjoyed it.Dr. Lou Vermillion said, "This was a great program, Dave. We were happy to come and listen."Before the show, about 10 people gathered with Wargo, Vermillion and Board Secretary Tom Phillips to give Jolin a tour of the GAR Cemetery, which contains the remains of 57 Civil War veterans. Some of the highlights of the tour included the grave of Henry Neumuller, a soldier killed in Antietam, the Civil GAR Post plaque donated by Lansford Borough and containing the names of all the members of ET Conner Post 177 and the grave of the first white child born in Mauch Chunk Township, which was the jurisdiction before the formation of Summit Hill. Jolin offered the song "My Sweet Home" during the tour.The next event in the 100th Ludlow Park Anniversary weekend is the Mule Driver's Ball at the Heritage Center tonight at 7. For more information, call Deb Ranck at 570-645-9133.