Category Archives: Ethnic groups

Bettie Allen (African-American history interviews))

Posted on September 21, 2014 by editor

Born in Springfield, Bettie Allen began working as a mechanic as a teenager and continued into adulthood, while also working for state government  She volunteered in the South, doing voter registration and civil rights work, in the 1960s. In an … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Ethnic groups, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Springfield African-American History Foundation interviews

Posted on September 21, 2014 by editor

As of late 2015, the Springfield African-American History Foundation, in conjunction with the oral history efforts of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, had published interviews with 30 black residents of Springfield. Those interviews can be found here. Interviewees are: Adams, Rosia: … Continue reading →

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Lithuanian children at Palmer School, 1910s

Posted on August 22, 2014 by editor

Excerpted from “An Immigrant Childhood,” written by Ann Tisckos Wisnosky and republished on Sandy Baksys’ Lithuanians in Springfield web site.   When we started Palmer School, we were looked upon as “those foreign kids” and sometimes called names. Other ethnic groups … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Education, Ethnic groups, Lithuanians, Schools and school districts | Tagged | 5 Comments

Slot machine hijacker reforms

Posted on July 25, 2014 by editor

From Sandy’s Blog, News and Profiles, a section of Lithuanians in Springfield, Illinois: According to Wally Surgis Jr., bootlegging during Prohibition provided the perfect pathway to illegal activity for Lithuanians and other immigrants for whom alcohol consumption and production was … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Ethnic groups, Lithuanians | Leave a comment

A blended immigrant family: Treinis/Nevada/Zakar

Posted on July 25, 2014 by editor

From Sandy’s Blog, News and Profiles, a section of Lithuanians in Springfield, Illinois: Lithuanian coal-mining families in Springfield at the turn of the 20th Century had many hardships — and virtues — in common. Hard work, faith and determination were … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Communities, Ethnic groups, Family life, Lithuanians | 8 Comments

St. Vincent de Paul Church

Posted on July 6, 2014 by editor

The story of Lithuanians in Springfield began with young Lithuanian men who first sought work in the coal mines, then returned home and bought land, started families and hoped for a better future. Other Lithuanian miners, however, remained transients for … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches, Coal mines and mining, Communities, Ethnic groups, Lithuanians | 2 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

The Cara-Sel Lounge

Posted on June 27, 2014 by editor

One of the more colorful Lithuanian-American businesses in Springfield was the Cara-Sel Lounge, Seventh Street and North Grand Ave, operated for 17 years by Tony and Carol Yuscius. Tony (1923-2009) was the son of Lithuanian-born Joseph and Marcella (Radavich) Yuscius. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Coal mines and mining, Ethnic groups, Hotels & taverns, Lithuanians, Restaurants | 2 Comments

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

Orange Judd buildings, Rochester

Posted on May 22, 2014 by editor

Buildings pictured in a 1918 collection, the Orange Judd Farmer Pictorial Community Album of Rochester Township and Village, are part of a walking tour created under sponsorship of the Rochester Historical Preservation Society. The Orange Judd Publishing Co. produced a … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Architecture, Buildings, Communities, Historic Sites, Histories, National Register, Prominent figures | Tagged | Leave a comment