The Governor Richard James Oglesby Mansion located at 421 West William Street (Decatur) will be hosting a special presentation in the Parlor on Saturday, October 10th at 2pm. This is one in a series of the mansion’s speaker series formed in memory of Edward and Carolyn Ogen. It is known as the Ogen Historic Speaker Series at the Oglesby Mansion. This presentation will feature Mikito Muroya. The topic of the presentation is “Uncle Dick: Richard Oglesby, a Governor, General, Senator, and Traveler.” Dave Davis, president of the Oglesby board of directors says “we are happy to host this unique presentation by an expert site interpreter. Mikito plans to give special focus on Oglesby’s legendary military and political career. We have many of Oglesy’s personal military medals on display in our museum.”
Mikito Muroya has always had a passion for history, which led to him studying history at Penn State. He then worked as a park ranger at five different parks, including Lincoln Home National Historic Site. He currently serves as a site interpreter at the State Historic Sites at Springfield, helping preserve and present the history of multiple historic sites in Springfield, such as the Old State Capitol, the Lincoln Tomb, and the Governor’s Mansion.
The Mansion will be open and will provide tours following the presentation which takes place in the parlor. A $5 per adult and $2 per child donation is the suggested donation. The presentation will begin at 2pm and the Mansion will close at 4pm. Members of the Board of Directors and community volunteers act as docents during the tours. The home is also open on Sunday, October 25 (2pm-4pm) for regular tours.