WALLA WALLA — Join Fort Walla Walla Museum, 755 NE Myra Road, every Sunday for Living History, a chance to dialogue with various Walla Walla historical figures.

The talks begin at 2 p.m. Next up, on Oct. 20, is William Tye, assistant railroad conductor. Portrayed by Gary Lentz, this railroad man will tell rolling tales of the trains that kept the town of Walla Walla chugging along.

For more information, visit fwwm.org. Living History is a volunteer troupe that provides shows from April through October. Performances are subject to change.

New exhibit

The museum also has a new exhibit on display: “Day of the Dead: No Me Olvides.” Día de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday devoted to remembering and celebrating loved ones who have passed. This multi-day festival includes honoring the deceased using marigold flowers, building home altars called ofrendas with the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these items as gifts for the deceased.

The museum will display family altars and art made by the valley’s Hispanic artists. Visitors are encouraged to take the time to stop by while the museum celebrates Día de los Muertos.

‘The War of the Worlds’

The museum will end this year’s Living History series with a live radio play of “The War of the Worlds” on Sunday, Oct. 27, 6 p.m.

Written and acted by volunteers, this play is a retelling of H.G. Wells’ “The War of the World,” but it hypothesizes that the alien threat of the original story lands at Bennington Lake and it is the people of Walla Walla who are the first to contact the new extraterrestrial threat.

The original story was written in 1897 and was later staged as a radio broadcast in 1938, with faux news anchors and a true cast of characters interviewed throughout the story. It is believed that some of the original audience hearing the broadcast missed the show’s introduction and believed the play to be a real news broadcast, sparking outrage and panic in listeners.

Food, drinks and entertainment provided.

After-Hours

The monthly Museum After-Hours program on Oct. 24 features Gary Lentz, who will present “All Aboard! It’s 1875 and the railroad is coming to Walla Walla.” Admission is free.

Beginning at 5 p.m., his presentation features views of the railroad’s growth from two small engines and a few locally built cars to what it is today. The stretch of railroad from Walla Walla to Wallula is the oldest point-to-point rail operation in Washington.

Learn why Dr. Dorsey Baker’s WW&CR Railroad was nicknamed “The Rawhide Railroad,” why “snakeheads” were a threat to passengers and why the fledgling railroad was boycotted in its early years by the same people it promised to serve.

Fort Walla Walla Museum is in the process of restoring one of the original engines on the WW&CR. The fourth of six engines owned by the railroad, the Blue Mountain, is currently on display.

Information

The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of October, and open until 4 p.m. during winter. Find information and admission rates at fwwm.org.