Author Archives: editor

Edgar Shanklin suicide, 1926

Posted on August 27, 2024 by editor

Searchers used boats, grappling hooks and dynamite to try to retrieve the body of Edgar M. Shanklin from Lick Creek. But it took more than a month for the icy, swollen stream to relinquish the remains of the Springfield business … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

B&Z Pastry Shop

Posted on August 18, 2024 by editor

Neither Viktor Benesch nor Dan Zeigler stayed in Springfield all that long. But their wedding cakes, cookies, pastries and whipped-cream cakes were local fixtures for 50-plus years. Benesch and Zeigler donated their initials to the B&Z Pastry Shop. More importantly, … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Grocery markets | Leave a comment

Quality Dairy

Posted on August 10, 2024 by editor

Quality Dairy opened in 1936 and sold milk and other dairy products for over 40 years in Springfield. It also was the innovator that introduced square milk bottles (“the shape of a bottle housewives have been looking for”) to the … Continue reading →

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First Methodist Church’s electric sign, 1911

Posted on August 8, 2024 by editor

Springfield’s First Methodist Church broke with local tradition in 1911, when it installed an electric sign over the church door. The Illinois State Register took note in a Dec. 19, 1911, article: “Church Has An Electric Sign,” the headline read. … Continue reading →

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Henson Robinson Co./Henson Robinson Zoo

Posted on July 25, 2024 by editor

The standard version is that Henson Robinson planned to go to California but got distracted by Springfield. The real story is more complicated, but the result was the same. Robinson (1839-1900), a tinner born in Ohio, became the founder of … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Museums, Parks, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Philemon Stout’s big party (1898)

Posted on July 15, 2024 by editor

Philemon Stout knew how to throw a party. It was 1898, and Stout (1822-1910) had had a good life. He owned nearly 2,000 acres of prime farmland near Cotton Hill. He had served as school trustee, highway commissioner, and justice … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Early residents, Farming, Prominent figures, Social life, Spectacles | 1 Comment

Mary Lincoln funeral, 1882

Posted on July 8, 2024 by editor

Thousands of people viewed Abraham Lincoln’s body between the time of his assassination on April 14, 1865, and his burial two weeks later. By contrast, only relatives and friends were given access to a private viewing following the death of … Continue reading →

Posted in Lincoln, Abraham, Presidents, Prominent figures, Spectacles, Women | Leave a comment

‘Derecho’ storm, 2023

Posted on July 5, 2024 by editor

The storm that hit Sangamon County on June 29, 2023, wasn’t, by definition, a tornado. But you couldn’t tell that from the destruction.  In a tornado (or a hurricane), winds circulate in a spiral. The 2023 damage was caused instead … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Uncategorized, Weather | 2 Comments

George and Winnie Colin, folk art

Posted on June 27, 2024 by editor

George and Winnie Colin came as a set. George (1929-2014) was the artist, self-inspired and self-taught. He produced drawings, paintings, wooden cutouts and quirky sculptures at an amazing pace from a studio in tiny Salisbury. Colin’s style was variously described … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Photos and photosets, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

U.S. Grant speech at Lincoln Tomb dedication, 1874

Posted on June 23, 2024 by editor

President Ulysses Grant was not the main speaker when Abraham Lincoln’s tomb was dedicated on Oct. 15, 1874. Grant was asked to deliver the official dedication address, but declined. He did, however, did give a short speech at the ceremony, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Historic Sites, Lincoln Tomb, Museums, Presidents, Uncategorized | Leave a comment