Author Archives: editor

Ethel Mars, artist, bohemian

Posted on June 29, 2020 by editor

Gertrude Stein’s prose-poem “Miss Furr and Miss Skene” was the first literary use of the word “gay” in the context of a same-sex relationship. The woman Stein called “Miss Furr” was patterned on Springfield-born artist and bohemian Ethel Mars (1876-1956?); … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Camp Sangamo

Posted on June 24, 2020 by editor

When the Boy Scouts opened their first Camp Sangamo in 1920, the amenities included a Victrola, a croquet set and two rowboats. But no telephone. As the Scout organization explained in the Illinois State Journal prior to opening: There will … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Parks, Sports and recreation | 2 Comments

Illinois State Fair cancelled, 1942

Posted on June 15, 2020 by editor

Farmers, horse race owners and state officials scrambled for alternatives when World War II forced cancellation of the 1942 Illinois State Fair. A couple of months after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army Air Forces leased the state fairgrounds for use … Continue reading →

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Albert Booth family, wagon makers

Posted on June 13, 2020 by editor

The A. Booth and Son Wagon Factory once dominated the northeast corner of Eighth and Washington Streets in Springfield. The factory was built by Albert Booth (1813-1873), who moved his family from Menard to Sangamon County around 1840. He first … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Industry, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Alfred Booth, grocer, developer

Posted on June 13, 2020 by editor

Alfred Booth was a grocer and property developer in Springfield for more than 60 years. His most obvious legacy is the eight-story Booth Building at 516-18 E. Monroe Street. At the height of his career, Booth (1853-1939) developed single-family residences, … Continue reading →

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Charles Longest, stickup artist and Army hero

Posted on June 6, 2020 by editor

Charles Longest was in state prison, accused of being the mastermind of an ambitious Springfield robbery gang, when he was judged fit to serve in World War II. See Springfield stickup gang, 1938. 

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Springfield’s statewide stickup gang, 1938

Posted on June 6, 2020 by editor

Authorities squelched a statewide crime wave with the arrests of a Springfield-based stickup gang in March 1938. Sangamon County assistant state’s attorney John Curren called the group, which he credited with 150 or more robberies, “the best organized gang of … Continue reading →

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‘Big Tent Theatre’ photographs

Posted on June 2, 2020 by editor

These photos apparently are publicity stills produced when the Depression-era Federal Theatre Project played a season of live, professional theater in a tent at West Grand Avenue (today’s MacArthur Boulevard) and Outer Park Drive in 1936. The venue was known … Continue reading →

Posted in Theaters, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Harry Eielson’s miracle touchdown, 1918

Posted on May 30, 2020 by editor

Harry Eielson was a dominant athlete in high school and college. The Springfield High School basketball team, with Eielson as captain, won the 1917 state championship. Eielson took first place in pole vault at the 1915-16 state track meet, setting … Continue reading →

Posted in Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Sports and recreation | 3 Comments

Body in the barrel mystery, 1930

Posted on May 25, 2020 by editor

Springfield police thought they’d wrapped up their case when junk dealer Harry Ross confessed to murdering his partner and trying to burn the man’s body. But a judge said detectives went too far when they interrogated Ross for six days … Continue reading →

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