Columnist

Halloween and cabbages, Whaaaaat?

Published by admin on Tue, 10/04/2022 - 11:14am

Well, there is no doubt Halloween is just around the corner, actually around every corner where scary people in yards or giant spider lurk. Whether it is trick-or-treating, partying or watching scary movies on TV we all sort of participate.
I hope you receive a cabbage from your true love. What you may ask, has cabbage got to do with anything? Well, I'm not exactly sure, but let's look at what we know.

October 1922, nothing much doing

Published by admin on Tue, 10/04/2022 - 11:08am

There really wasn't much going on 100 years ago. You might say it was a slow news month. But that doesn't mean the newspapers did not find things to write about. So, climb into the wayback machine, seat belts optional, and set the controls for October 1922.
One of the first things you will notice is the new “look” of the Wilmington Advocate. The ads were more finely printed, and a bit more sophisticated. Case in point, the ad from Hermes-Smith Cash Store.

Decorate for Halloween sipping on a hot buttered rum cocktail

Published by admin on Tue, 10/04/2022 - 10:51am

We are now over a week in to fall 2022, perhaps you have the Halloween and/or fall decorations up at your house. Before you know it, Thanksgiving will be here, followed by weeks of Christmas functions.
You may have your grandmothers Christmas cookie recipe and mom's pumpkin pie recipe, but do you have a Hot Buttered Rum recipe?
Seriously, you need a good Hot Buttered Rum recipe.
One reason that many of us shy away from Hot Buttered Rum is that many of the recipes online are too labor intensive and are simply overkill in terms of ingredients.

Millions being spent in race for Illinois Supreme Court

Published by admin on Sun, 10/02/2022 - 10:38am

The labor union and trial lawyer-backed All for Justice independent expenditure committee has so far reported raising $3.5 million, with, I’m told, at least another $5 million in pledges. The committee’s sole purpose is to back the two Democratic candidates running for the Illinois Supreme Court, Appellate Justice Mary K. O’Brien and Judge Elizabeth Rochford. And its spending is finally beginning.

Bring back the Boulevardier cocktail

Published by admin on Tue, 09/27/2022 - 10:02am

The annual list of the bestselling cocktails in the world published by Drinks International serves as one of the best barometers of the latest trends in mixology.
It's always interesting to see which cocktail holds the coveted #1 position, which was awarded to the Negroni in 2022. Also making a move up this year from the 18th spot to #12 is a classic whiskey cocktail with a loyal following. Let's see if we can get the Boulevardier into the top 10 for 2023!

Let's have a show!

Published by admin on Tue, 09/27/2022 - 10:00am

Remember those old Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland movies? They were both teenagers somewhere in the heart of the great U.S.A. Mickey would come in all excited shouting, “Let's have a show!” and all of a sudden a Broadway variety show came out of nowhere with all the local kids turned into fabulous singers and dancers.
I always thought that behavior was fairly bizarre, but I have found this type of behavior in history right here in Wilmington.

Getting an education in early Braidwood

Published by admin on Tue, 09/27/2022 - 9:58am

Perhaps there is no more important measure of a community than its schools. And, although the miners who came rushing into Braidwood in the 19th century were rough, tough people, they knew the value of an education, and like all parents wanted their children to do better than themselves.
M. J. Donna in his book The Braidwood Story tells us that the first school built in Braidwood was built by William Cunnea. It was one-room, built of brick, the first structure in Braidwood to make that claim. It was built about 1864 and abandoned when more modern schools were built.

The perfect drink for a cool fall night, the Classic Manhattan

Published by admin on Tue, 09/20/2022 - 11:26am

If there is anything better than a Manhattan nightcap on a cool fall or winter night, I haven't found it. Dry, sweet, or perfect, a classic Manhattan always seems to hit the spot when the leaves begin to turn.
It was a long hot summer, but the back-to-school sales are over and the Packers have already defeated the Bears in their first meeting of the 2022 season.
This is our sign that it is time to turn the page on the old calendar. No, not to October. To Manhattan season!

Saloon keepers the backbone of society?

Published by admin on Tue, 09/20/2022 - 11:23am

The above statement hardly seems decent or responsible these days. But in the early mining towns it was the truth. Saloons were more than just a place to get drunk.
And the people who ran them were popular and respected members of the community. Our mission today is to go “bar hopping” in the 19th century coal towns.
I believe it is safe to say that one of the first businesses to spring to life when a coal town was created was the saloon, the primary reason being the beer and whiskey they served.

Heavy traffic in Wilmington, so what's new?

Published by admin on Tue, 09/20/2022 - 11:18am

Last weekend, I met a couple of my gentle readers at the Peotone Mill Fest, hello to them. They were there to see that really special mill. That mill is special because it was originally powered by wind power.