Category Archives: Business

Soybeans

Posted on August 30, 2014 by editor

Soybeans, now the second-leading crop in Sangamon County (as they are in most of the Midwest), became a staple on county farms in the 1920s. The increase in soybean production already had been dramatic, but it had started from a … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Business, Farming | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Duncan McDonald, labor leader

Posted on August 1, 2014 by editor

Duncan McDonald (1873-1965), while not as well-known as John L. Lewis, was almost certainly more principled as both a United Mine Workers leader and a politician. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s Chronicling Illinois collection characterizes McDonald’s labor career this way: … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Business, Coal mines and mining, Lincoln, Abraham, Politics, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, Springfield Survey | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Lora Hieronymus Robie (educator and book lover)

Posted on July 12, 2014 by editor

Lora Hieronymus Robie, one-half of the couple who had Frank Lloyd Wright design Chicago’s famed Robie House, spent far more time as a Springfield resident than she did in the house named after her and her husband. Lora Robie (1878-1947) … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Business, Education, Prominent figures, Women | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Spaulding (village)

Posted on July 10, 2014 by editor

The village of Spaulding, off Illinois 54 east of Springfield, got its name from a mammoth nursery and orchard. In central Illinois, the name Spaulding today is synonymous with Lake Springfield and City Water, Light and Power. But before Willis … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Business, Coal mines and mining, Communities, Farming, Prominent figures | 10 Comments

The Mack family and Springfield’s McDonald’s restaurants

Posted on July 6, 2014 by editor

Springfield’s Lithuanian historian, Sandy Baksys, covers the beginnings of McDonald’s restaurants in Springfield in three posts on her Lithuanians in Springfield, Illinois web site. Here’s how she led off the first installment: Anybody who’s eaten a McDonald’s hamburger in Springfield … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Ethnic groups, Lithuanians, Prominent figures, Restaurants | 1 Comment

Auto dealers in Springfield (Studebaker through Yugo)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by editor

Note: This is one in a five-part list of automobile brands sold in Springfield through mid-2014 and the dealers who sold them. The list is broken up because of the length of the full list. The original list was compiled by … Continue reading →

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Auto dealers in Springfield (Oakland through Stoddard-Dayton)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by editor

Note: This is one in a five-part list of automobile brands sold in Springfield through mid-2014 and the dealers who sold them. The list is broken up because of the length of the full list. The original list was compiled by … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Business | 1 Comment

Auto dealers in Springfield (Ingram through Nissan)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by editor

Note: This is one in a five-part list of automobile brands sold in Springfield through mid-2014 and the dealers who sold them. The list is broken up because of the length of the full list. The original list was compiled by … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Business | 1 Comment

Auto dealers in Springfield (Datsun through Hyundai)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by editor

Note: This is one in a five-part list of automobile brands sold in Springfield through mid-2014 and the dealers who sold them. The list is broken up because of the length of the full list. The original list was compiled by … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Business, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Auto dealers in Springfield (Abbott-Detroit through Crow)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by editor

Note: This is the first of a five-part list of automobile brands sold in Springfield through mid-2014 and the dealers who sold them. The list is broken up because of the length of the full list. The original list was … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Business | Leave a comment