Author Archives: editor

Milk dumping protest, 1938

Posted on September 21, 2024 by editor

With negotiations at a standstill in November 1938, militant farmers ambushed four dairy delivery trucks and dumped thousands of gallons of milk on Sangamon County highways. The protest lasted only a day, squelched by court action and lack of support … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Farming | Leave a comment

Sangamon County sheriffs, 1821-2024

Posted on September 20, 2024 by editor

This entry has been updated. Here is a list of people who have served as sheriff of Sangamon County since the county was established on Jan. 30, 1821. Dates indicate when the sheriffs were commissioned unless noted. John Taylor: 1821, … Continue reading →

Posted in Law enforcement, Local government, Politics, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Kresge shootout, 1933

Posted on September 13, 2024 by editor

A wild shootout erupted when police detectives interrupted a stickup at the Kresge store in downtown Springfield the day after Christmas 1933. As bullets flew, the robbers jumped into a waiting car and drove away. One officer  followed in a … Continue reading →

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

‘Patty Reed’s doll’ (Donner Party artifact)

Posted on September 10, 2024 by editor

Like the Donner Party itself, the best-known relic of that pioneer tragedy hails from Sangamon County. The Donner Party, of course, is remembered primarily because some of the emigrants, snowbound in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains in 1846-47, reportedly resorted to … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Disasters, Early residents, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Transient shelters, 1934-35

Posted on September 6, 2024 by editor

When a jobless migrant – a “hobo” or “tramp” – wandered into Springfield during the Great Depression, he might have been in for a surprise: a well-stocked shelter offering meals, a bed, work opportunities and even recreation. Springfield’s transient-aid program … Continue reading →

Posted in Depression, Hotels & taverns, Social services, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Camp Shuster, 1923-31

Posted on August 28, 2024 by editor

Camp Shuster, on the banks of Lick Creek southwest of Springfield, was a YMCA-operated summer camp. See Edgar Shanklin suicide, 1926.

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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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