Author Archives: editor

Ball Township High School (closed high schools)

Posted on June 19, 2014 by editor

Quick facts about Ball Township High School from Illinois High School Glory Days, a website that chronicles more than 1,100 closed high schools throughout Illinois. Year opened: September 1923 (35 students in attendance) First graduating class: 1924 (2 seniors) Year closed: … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Schools and school districts | Leave a comment

John H. Catherwood (Medal of Honor, 1911)

Posted on June 18, 2014 by editor

Springfield native John Hugh Catherwood (1888-1930), a seaman on the U.S. Navy gunboat USS Pampanga during what is called the “Action against Philippine Outlaws” in 1911, received the Medal of Honor for his actions during a firefight with Moro rebels. … Continue reading →

Posted in Military | 2 Comments

A.J. Liebling on Lincoln’s presence in Springfield (1950)

Posted on June 13, 2014 by editor

A.J. Liebling (1904-63), noted essayist and press critic for The New Yorker magazine, visited Springfield in 1950 for the first article in a New Yorker series on the Lincoln tradition. Among those Liebling interviewed were George “Gib” Bunn Jr., Gertrude … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Lincoln, Abraham, Prominent figures, Springfield | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

114th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Posted on June 12, 2014 by editor

The 114th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, made up of men from Sangamon Cass and Menard counties, was known as the “Sangamo,” “Sangamon” or even “Lincoln’s Home” regiment during its Civil War service. The 114th was formed in the summer of … Continue reading →

Posted in Military | 9 Comments

Meredith Rhule

Posted on June 8, 2014 by editor

Meredith Rhule (1910-74), a Springfield native, led Burmese and Chinese guerrillas, often behind Japanese lines, during World War II. He won election as Sangamon County sheriff in 1946, but served only one term after newspaper investigations found he had ignored … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement, Military, Prominent figures | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Hawthorne Place

Posted on June 5, 2014 by editor

The developers of the Hawthorne Place subdivision were ahead of their time. Its construction, starting in 1902, triggered Springfield’s suburban growth and created new ways of living for residents of the city. Hawthorne Place, which takes in Whittier, Lowell and … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Architecture, Local government, Prominent figures, Springfield | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Gambling and the Sangamon County underworld,1948

Posted on June 4, 2014 by editor

The 1948 slaying of a dice game “stickman” helped expose a Sangamon County underworld that featured wide-open gambling and, allegedly, systematic bribery of state, county and city officials. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch at the time had a team of reporters … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Journalism, Law enforcement, Local government, Media, Politics, Prominent figures | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Robbery of Rochester State Bank, 1930

Posted on May 29, 2014 by editor

The Nov. 26, 1930, robbery of the Rochester State Bank quickly became a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style affair, complete with a car chase in which the robbers’ car was riddled by shots from a police officer’s submachine gun.  “Four bandits are nabbed on … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

West End Brewery

Posted on May 26, 2014 by editor

Henry Long operated a brewery near present-day Fayette and Feldkamp streets in the late 1860s and early 1870s Long paid $2,500 for a 14-acre tract of land from Peter and George Miller on Sept. 22, 1865. The land, at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Breweries, Business | 1 Comment

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum controversies

Posted on May 26, 2014 by editor

Design and construction of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum took years and involved a variety of political squabbles and maneuvering. If politics could have been put aside, the facility would have been completed much sooner. Of course, since … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Historic Sites, Illinois capital, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Museums, Politics, Presidential candidates, Presidents, Prominent figures, State government | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment