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- History at Home - Photography and the Civil War
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Fee: $35.00
Dates: 9/9/2025 - 9/9/2025
Times: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 1
Building: Online
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Christina Smith
Photography was coming of age during the American Civil War. Mathew Brady and other photojournalists brought the carnage, suffering, and sacrifice of war to the home front. Soldiers posed in their uniforms to send final mementoes home to their loved ones. Lastly, photography documented the war from beginning to end with huge impacts to the nation’s morale.
This class examines how photography was used during the war not only for news propaganda and documenting the ravages of war, but also in remembering and memorializing the dead.
Zoom Class. Participants will need a computer with Internet access, webcam, and microphone to join the Zoom meeting. Zoom meeting information will be sent via email before the class starts.
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- History at Home - Lee's Surrender at Appomattox
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Fee: $35.00
Dates: 9/23/2025 - 9/23/2025
Times: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 1
Building: Online
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Christina Smith
On April 9, 1865, and after four long years of war, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia, officially ending the American Civil War. This class examines the events that led to Lee’s retreat out of the trenches of Petersburg, the surrender, the terms of the agreement, the impacts on the armies, and the reaction from the nation.
Zoom Class. Participants will need a computer with Internet access, webcam, and microphone to join the Zoom meeting. Zoom meeting information will be sent via email before the class starts.
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- Introduction to Photography - Post-Processing with Lightroom Classic
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Fee: $199.00
Dates: 9/23/2025 - 10/28/2025
Times: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 6
Building: Peoria Campus - Hickory Hall
Room: Hickory 106
Instructor: Doug Bergeron
Capturing an image with your camera is only the first step to presenting amazing images to your audience. If you are not post-processing your images then your images are not all that they can be. In this course the instructor will introduce you to the basics of post-processing. This is a course to help you take a good image and make it a Wow! image. This is not about image fabrication and manipulation using a computer application. We will be introducing the basic concepts of image cropping and straightening, exposure adjustments, contrast control, local adjustments, white balance/color correction, burning and dodging.
This course will be using the Adobe Lightroom Classic (LrC) application. Lightroom Classic is the de facto standard for post processing used by the photography industry. LrC is available with the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography bundle, which also includes Photoshop and Lightroom (Lr) for tablets and portable devices. You will be introduced to the Lightroom workflow, learn about the Lightroom catalog and how to create one, import and store images in Lightroom, learn how to do global enhancements and localized or targeted enhancements, fix common problems, save images for posting to the Internet or passing on to other applications, how to color register your monitor, create panoramic images. The instructor will also show you how to integrate your camera directly to Lightroom using the Tethering function.
Students will be required to bring their own laptops, have Adobe Creative Cloud accounts already set up, and have Lightroom Classic (LrC) installed. Although this course was developed on and is presented using a Windows platform, students that will be working with Apple devices are welcome. All the functions in the Windows version are present in the Apple version, although some functions may be in slightly different locations.
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- Central Illinois' Role in the Civil Rights Movement
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Two men from central Illinois were integral to the passage of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act: Sen. Everett Dirksen of Pekin and the Rev. C.T. Vivian of Macomb. One led as a lawmaker, the other as an activist. We'll discuss how their experiences growing up in this region helped set them on their respective paths. We'll also examine Dirksen's challenges in crafting the bipartisan legislation and Vivian's work standing up to segregation on the front lines as he worked and marched alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Finally, we'll look deeper into the turbulent 1960s as we review the next steps both men took on America's continuing road toward equity and equality.
Objectives:
- Showcase the Peoria region's role in a significant part of the nation's late 20th century history and the local values that made the work of Viviana and Dirksen successful
- Develop the audience's understanding of the parallel (and related) roles played by the civil rights protest movement and allies in Congress (what historian Doris Kearns Goodwin has called the meeting of "the outside movement and the inside power.")
- Explore the question of "what's next?" as we view the follow-up effects of their work throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
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- Coin and Currency Collecting
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Fee: $35.00
Dates: 9/25/2025 - 9/25/2025
Times: 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Th
Sessions: 1
Building: Peoria Campus
Room: Hickory Hall 105
Instructor: Rick Farmer
Discover the fascinating world of U.S. coin and currency collecting! Novice collectors will receive expert tips on getting started, currency identification, and how to sell a coin collection you may have inherited. Led by a long-time collector, discussions will cover types of collecting, how to build a collection on a budget, and responsible ways to dispose of coins. Bring a coin to class that you’re curious about—hands-on learning makes this class both informative and fun! You’ll gain practical knowledge to help you avoid common pitfalls and make informed decisions. Whether you're pursuing a new hobby or managing a family inheritance, this course offers something valuable for everyone.
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- History at Home - Women in the Civil War
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Fee: $35.00
Dates: 10/14/2025 - 10/14/2025
Times: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 1
Building: Online
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Christina Smith
The Civil War significantly affected the lives of American women. A handful disguised themselves as men and joined the fight. Others served as spies and nurses. Many more took on new roles at home after their husbands, brothers, and fathers responded to the call to arms. Thousands of enslaved women began the transition to freedom. This class will describe how the Civil War shaped, impacted, and transformed the lives of women.
Zoom Class. Participants will need a computer with Internet access, webcam, and microphone to join the Zoom meeting. Zoom meeting information will be sent via email before the class starts.
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- History at Home - Civil War Congresses
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Fee: $35.00
Dates: 10/28/2025 - 10/28/2025
Times: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 1
Building: Online
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Christina Smith
Today’s political climate leaves Congress in constant gridlock and a reputation of achieving little. By contrast, the 37th Congress, elected in the Fall of 1860, was the most productive Congress in U.S. History. Why? Secession caused Congressmen and Senators to resign their seats and return to their homes in the South. Many of them became members in the Provisional Confederate Congress.
This class will examine the accomplishments and failures of the 37th Congress (1861-1863), the 38th Congress (1863-1865), and the three Confederate Congresses.
Zoom Class. Participants will need a computer with Internet access, webcam, and microphone to join the Zoom meeting. Zoom meeting information will be sent via email before the class starts.
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- Advanced Homebrewing with all Grains
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Learn about advanced brewing techniques which you can do in the comfort of your kitchen or back patio.
In this class, you will learn:
- Methods of extracting Wort from Malted Grain: Traditional Mash and Sparge, Recirculation Full Volume Mash, and Brew in a bag.
- Water: basic water chemistry
- Malts: Base Malts, crystal Malts, and other specialty malts.
- Hops: Bittering and Flavoring, and Calculating International Bitter units from their Alpha Acids.
- Yeast: Dry and Liquid, and how to make a yeast starter.
- Fermentation: Ales and Lagers, Pressure Fermentation, and types of fermenters.
Instructor: Gary Gilles and Dick Miller
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- History at Home - Thanksgiving During the Civil War
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Fee: $35.00
Dates: 11/11/2025 - 11/11/2025
Times: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 1
Building: Online
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Christina Smith
Thanksgiving stands as one of the most American of holidays, honoring the harvest feasts of the earliest arrivals during the colonial days. Yet, Thanksgiving as an American holiday was influenced and created out of efforts during the American Civil War. This class examines the first Thanksgiving harvest feasts, its origins in the Civil War, Lincoln’s efforts to federalize the holiday, and how politicians still struggling economically with the Great Depression altered Thanksgiving forever.
Zoom Class. Participants will need a computer with Internet access, webcam, and microphone to join the Zoom meeting. Zoom meeting information will be sent via email before the class starts.
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- History at Home - Christmas During the Civil War
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Fee: $35.00
Dates: 12/2/2025 - 12/2/2025
Times: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 1
Building: Online
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Christina Smith
By the time the American Civil War began, the whole concept of Christmas and the majority of our present day Christmas customs and traditions were already established. Through letters, diaries, stories, drawings, manuscripts, and books, this class reconstructs how soldiers and civilians celebrated the holiday during a period of battle and bloodshed. We will also follow Lincoln's holidays through his time in the White House.
Zoom Class. Participants will need a computer with Internet access, webcam, and microphone to join the Zoom meeting. Zoom meeting information will be sent via email before the class starts.
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