On Christmas Eve, 1880, an Arcola painter-illustrator and his wife welcomed John Gruelle to the family. John sank roots into the professional illustration trade himself at age 25 when he […]
Category: Illinois / regional
Christmas in Illinois: Dear Santa
From the UIP release Christmas in Illinois, edited by James Ballowe: Before sitting on Santa’s lap in department stores became the way children let Santa and their parents know what […]
200 Years of Illinois: The Cavaness Murders
On December 13, 1984, a remarkable murder took place outside of St. Louis. Dale Cavaness, a physician in Eldorado, Illinois, killed his ne’er-do-well son Sean with two gunshots to the […]
200 Years of Illinois: The other black gold
On November 8, 1810, the first recorded load of Illinois coal reached the market in New Orleans. The event may sound ordinary, but it represented a significant pivot in state […]
Awards: St. Louis Rising
The 2016 Missouri History Book Award goes to Carl J. Ekberg’s and Sharon K. Person’s St. Louis Rising: The French Regime of Louis St. Ange de Bellerive, adding to acclaim that has already […]
200 Years of Illinois: That Ribbon Lincoln Highway
The nation’s great coast-to-coast route in the pre-interstate era, Lincoln Highway was formally dedicated by the Lincoln Highway Association on October 31, 1913. Carl G. Fisher, the head of the […]
200 Years of Illinois: Tarzan the Everlasting
This October marks the 104th anniversary of the debut of a pop culture titan. Born of woman, raised by apes, Tarzan swung into American consciousness via the pen of underemployed […]
In search of good cornbread
Tonight Cynthia Clampitt continues her barnstorming book tour of the Midwest with a reading a book signing in Winfield, Illinois. (Seven p.m. at the Public Library.) To celebrate, the blog […]
200 Years of Illinois: Grange’s Ghost Story
On October 18, 1924, a streak of fire and breath of flame named Harold “Red” Grange had a game for the ages, scoring six touchdowns against a University of Michigan defense […]
200 Years of Illinois: White Squirrel Roundup
This weekend, citizens in Olney will begin the annual census of the town’s famous albino squirrel population, to see just how the white varmints have fared over the past year. […]
200 Years of Illinois: Mies van der Rohe in the House
On October 7, 2004, the National Register of Historic Places added the Farnsworth House, located near Plano, to its list of significant locales. Beautiful, yet a challenge to human habitation, […]
200 Years of Illinois: Moses in No Man’s Land
On October 4, 1923, Charlton Heston floated down Lake Michigan in a reed basket and bumped ashore at No Man’s Land, Illinois. A proverbial land of milk and honey—well, booze and […]