Category Archives: Amusements

The “divine healer” sensation, 1896

Posted on January 15, 2021 by editor

August Schrader, “the divine healer,” set up shop in Springfield for 10 days in 1896. Thousands of people, complaining of maladies ranging from arthritis to kidney disease to blindness, sought treatment. Crowds blocked downtown streets, and trains brought people to … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Journalism, Medicine, Spectacles | 2 Comments

Theater bombings, 1931-32

Posted on January 3, 2021 by editor

Unhappy theater workers were the immediate suspects in 1931, when bombs – both explosives and stink bombs – went off in three local cinemas. A few months later, another bomb wrecked the home of a theater manager. Members of Springfield … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Depression, Labor unions, Law enforcement, Theaters | Leave a comment

New Year’s 1921

Posted on December 29, 2020 by editor

What was on the minds of Sangamon County residents for New Year’s 1921? Potholes. For its special New Year’s coverage on Sunday, Jan. 2, 1921, the Illinois State Journal asked 47 “prominent citizens” (not surprisingly for the time, all were … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Celebrations, Journalism, Law enforcement, Local government, Prominent figures, Social life, Transportation | Leave a comment

Carl Vandagrift, baseball player/manager

Posted on December 20, 2020 by editor

Carl Vandagrift, the only Cantrall native to play major-league baseball, played for or managed at least 10 minor-league teams before he died at age 37. Vandagrift’s big-league career amounted to only 43 games in the short-lived Federal League, which challenged … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Sports and recreation | 4 Comments

Courting and marriage in early Illinois

Posted on December 9, 2020 by editor

Speaking to the 1873 meeting of the Old Settlers of Sangamon County, former Gov. John Palmer remembered the process of courting and marriage when he arrived in Illinois in the 1830s. From the 1881 History of Sangamon County; together with … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Early residents, Family life, Prominent figures, Social life | Leave a comment

First hunting license (1903)

Posted on November 21, 2020 by editor

The first hunting license ever issued in Sangamon County went to the father of Illinois’ hunting license law, railroad executive Horace S. Rearden. Illinois had regulated hunting since 1853, when the state made it unlawful “for any person to kill … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Animals, Prominent figures, Sports and recreation | 1 Comment

Theodore Lorch, actor

Posted on September 1, 2020 by editor

Theodore Lorch, who spent his teenage years in Springfield, was a film and stage actor whose busy career spanned the 1900s through the 1940s. Although he had leading roles in such movies as the 1920 version of “Last of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Media, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sangamon Fair and Springfield Exposition, 1890

Posted on August 17, 2020 by editor

The Sangamon Fair and Springfield Exposition of 1890 would be “one of the grandest events in the way of a local fair that has ever been held in the state of Illinois,” the Illinois State Register proclaimed that August. Everybody … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Amusements, Illinois State Fair, Spectacles | Leave a comment

William Dodd Chenery, impresario

Posted on August 4, 2020 by editor

The dedication of Lake Springfield on July 12, 1935 featured an elaborate pageant involving more than 100 participants – among them city fathers who portrayed themselves in a drama depicting the planning and construction of the lake. The Illinois State … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Celebrations, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures, Social life, Spectacles | Leave a comment

‘The Big Tent Theatre’, 1936

Posted on April 28, 2020 by editor

The Big Tent Theatre, one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Depression-relief programs, played to packed houses at West Grand Avenue (today’s MacArthur Boulevard) and Outer Park Drive in 1936. The Big Tent was formally part of the Federal Theatre Project, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Depression, Theaters, Uncategorized | 3 Comments