Plans are under way for the Civil War Helena Interpretive Plan and Research Project beginning this summer and leading up to the sesquicentennial celebration of the Battle of Helena in 2013.
    The ad hoc panel met Thursday afternoon in the Eagle Room of the Delta Cultural Center to formulate the plans.
    Joe and Maria Brent of Versailles, Ky., who penned their group Mudpuppy and Waterdog, gave a power point presentation about the historic impact of the Civil War Battle of Helena July 3, 1863.
    The group proposed July 18 as the target date for the overview and discussion at the Malco Theater.
Among the potential sites to showcase future interpretive exhibits include Freedom Park, located in the old Sibley Quarters on Biscoe St.; the Fort Curtis replica, on the vacant end of the block of the old Jefferson School near Perry and Columbia streets; Gen. Patrick Cleburne’s Yell rifles corps, at the corner of First United Methodist Church; Battery C, the artillery demonstration by the 12th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, Camp Nelson, Ky. and the Moore-Honor House, as the site for a reception.
    Mudpuppy and Waterdog will conduct the second phase of the project that will involve in-depth text, photos and maps for the interpretive exhibit’s 95 panels.
    The panel discussed the budget projections and funding for the Civil War Helena that will include Estevan Hall as the information center.
    Fund raising for the balance of exhibits need to be in place by 2012.
    Local businessmen like Joe St. Columbia Sr. and Bud Corder and historian Joe Madonia were among those envisioning the potential tourist trade from the promotion of Helena’s rich Civil War history.
    The complete Civil War Helena plan will be available at the Delta Cultural Center, Phillips County Library and through the Delta Bridge Project Web site: www.deltabridgeproject.com.
   The Brents put the Battle of Helena in perspective with the Battle of Vicksburg that occurred the same weekend as the Battle of Gettysburg. Those three battles turned the tide for the Union Army’s ultimate victory in the Civil War.
   Ernest Cunningham said he and his wife Cathy Cunningham visited other Civil War sites including Prairie Grove and found none to be anymore significant than the Helena’s impact of the war.
   Brent said major publications such as Southern Living and AAA’s Travelers look for major historical sites to feature in their magazines.