Category Archives: Social life

Louis Lehmann (band director)

Posted on July 27, 2015 by editor

Professor Louis Lehmann (1851-1923) led the Illinois Watch Factory Band for 42 years, until he collapsed and died at a band rehearsal. William Dodd Chenery described the scene in 1933: For forty-two years, almost to a day, he carried on, … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Amusements, Local government, Prominent figures, Social life | Leave a comment

Assembly Ball, 1889 (photo)

Posted on July 25, 2015 by editor

This obviously staged photograph was taken by William Patton in the lobby of the Leland Hotel, Sixth Street and Capitol Avenue, in 1889. The photo was later printed in the lllinois State Journal. The caption said, in part: Here in … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Hotels & taverns, Photos and photosets, Social life | Leave a comment

Esquire theater

Posted on July 22, 2015 by editor

Springfield’s Esquire theater opened in late 1937 via an unusual alliance between two central Illinois  movie chains. Kerasotes Theaters of Springfield and Frisina Amusement Corp., founded in Taylorville, had almost simultaneously announced plans to build separate “suburban” theaters within a … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Social life, Theaters | Leave a comment

Robert Irwin (Lincoln banker & friend)

Posted on April 30, 2015 by editor

On May 18, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln wrote to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase about an “old friend who has served me all my life, and who has never before received or asked anything in return.” The friend, Robert Irwin, … Continue reading →

Posted in Early residents, Historic Sites, Lincoln, Abraham, Politics, Presidents, Prominent figures, Social life | Leave a comment

Lithuanian radicals in Sangamon County

Posted on April 3, 2015 by editor

Excerpted from the introduction to “Leftist Lithuanians,” an entry  on the blog Lithuanians in Springfield, lllinois, written by Sandy Baksys: From the beginning of 1930s through the late 1950s, Springfield seems to have been home to the “Lithuanian Lodge,” the local … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethnic groups, Lithuanians, Politics, Social life, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The potato matinee of 1925

Posted on March 30, 2015 by editor

The “potato matinee” of Christmas 1925 was the brainchild of longtime local theater manager Harry Thornton. It quickly went awry, the victim of its own success. Illinois State Journal editor/publisher J. Emil Smith, a friend of Thornton’s, heard the potato … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Children, Media, Prominent figures, Social life, Theaters | Leave a comment

The Political Rise of the Adamitis & Yacubasky Families

Posted on March 18, 2015 by editor

From Lithuanians in Springfield, Illinois The story goes that for decades, Republican Party leader Don “Doc” Adams (Lith. Adomaitis) of Springfield exercised significant patronage power in both the public and private sectors. When Doc died in 2011 at age 75, … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Hotels & taverns, Lithuanians, Politics, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life | 4 Comments

Smokey’s Den

Posted on January 30, 2015 by editor

Smokey’s Den, originally at 127 N. Fifth St., was the first bar in Springfield that openly catered to gay men and women. When Smokey’s closed in 2003, after nearly four decades in business, it was thought to be the oldest … Continue reading →

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Joey Mack, dance man

Posted on January 23, 2015 by editor

Perhaps the most famous Lithuanian-American in Springfield in the 1940s was in show business: Joey Yanaitis (Janaitis or Jonaitis) Mack. Famous in Boston, Rockford, Cleveland, Augusta, Ga., and dozens of places in between from the late 1930s through the 1940s, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Ethnic groups, Lithuanians, Social life | Leave a comment

Rotary Club of Springfield

Posted on January 10, 2015 by editor

Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois – the city’s original Rotary group and one of five local Rotarys in existence as of 2015 – held an organizational meeting, attended by 23 prospective members, on June 24, 1913, according to A Century … Continue reading →

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