Mess Night at the Museum

Join us as Peter Skelly, Lincoln Fellowship of Wisconsin President and local historian, shares the inspiring story of Joseph (Ira) Dutton. Raised in Janesville in the 1850s, Dutton enlisted in the 13th Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War and achieved the rank of lieutenant and district quartermaster. After the war, he remained in the South, experienced a challenging decade, and converted to Catholicism at age 40. Looking for penance for past “sins” he moved to the Hawaiian Island of Molokai where he dedicated 44 years of his life to serving people with Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy).