Category Archives: Uncategorized

Sherwood subdivision

“A home in Sherwood is an investment in happiness,” Vredenburgh Lumber Co. promised when it marketed its new development in the 1960s. It was an effective pitch: In 2022, Sherwood was the largest single-family-home subdivision in Springfield. Sherwood’s 656 homes … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Edward Baxter (sheriff)

Edward Baxter was Sangamon County sheriff from 1894 to 1898. See Pawnee posse captures burglars, 1899.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

171 Springfield grocery stores, 1917 (list)

In February 1917, Quaker Oats partnered with Pettijohn’s Breakfast Food (Pettijohn’s made a wheat bran cereal that, like oatmeal, needed to be cooked) to offer a deal to Springfield households: anyone who sent in trademarks from the two cereals could … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Roy Bertelli, ‘Mr. Accordion’

Roy Bertelli’s mortal remains are at Oak Ridge Cemetery. His accordion is not. The internet is wrong on both counts. (Who could have guessed?) Bertelli (1910-2003), who called himself “Mr. Accordion,” gained local fame in 1997, when he paid $30,000 … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

First parking meters (1941)

Confusion, reluctance and a little apprehension were Springfieldians’ responses to the city’s first parking meters. The Illinois State Journal described their debut in its Oct. 24, 1941, edition. Springfield entered a new era of streamlined parking control yesterday as nearly … Continue reading

Posted in Law enforcement, Local government, Transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Cathedral High School basketball champions, 1939

Springfield’s Cathedral Boys High School won its only Illinois Catholic Conference basketball tournament in 1939. The 16-team event was held at the Illinois State Armory Feb. 24-26. Cathedral’s 285 students (as the name suggests, the school was open only to … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Schools and school districts, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Springfield Giants (Class D baseball)

The Springfield Giants played one season, 1950, in the Class D Mississippi-Ohio Valley baseball minor league. See Springfield Sallies.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Rooftop gunman, 1951

Updated with information on the Horn Hotel — ed. A man fired shots at random from the roof of a Springfield hotel for more than an hour the evening of July 1, 1951. Somehow, no one was injured except the … Continue reading

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

Springfield Golf Club

See Women’s golf, 1899.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Thanksgiving charity, 1921

Special meals were the order of the day for Thanksgiving 1921 at local prisons, orphanages and homes for the poor, sick and aged. And disabled veterans got a bonus that weekend: an exclusive performance by poet Carl Sandburg. A look … Continue reading

Posted in Celebrations, Children, Social services, Uncategorized | Leave a comment