Time Was

Braceville's beginnings, a grand future seen

Published by admin on Mon, 04/08/2024 - 11:36am

We have previously talked about Braceville as being a suburb of Braidwood. And for the most part this was true. There were coal shafts dug very early on near Braceville but the miners that worked them, lived in Braidwood and were transported to Braceville by railroad car. There were few, if any, houses for rent in Braceville. But all of that changed very quickly in 1880 when the town incorporated and new coal companies started digging coal shafts.

Women's changing role, and how they dressed for it

Published by admin on Mon, 04/01/2024 - 1:50pm

We have been looking at labor unions, mining problems, drinking problems, etc. during the last half of the 1890's. But have you noticed something about these topics? All these problems are about men, we rarely mention the other half of the population. Today we look at what was going on among women during that era.
Just as the men were organizing into unions and social organizations such as the Knights of Pythias or the Foresters or Odd Fellows, the ladies had started forming their own organizations.

What we looked like in the Edwardian era

Published by admin on Mon, 04/01/2024 - 1:49pm

While studying history, we tend to thing that people looked and sounded much like we do today. Neither is true. It occurred to me that in order to picture in our mind's eye what Wilmington really looked like; one of the things we have to know is how people dressed. This week we will look at the fashions from 1900 to 1910 and why they changed.

There's gold in them there hills, or not

Published by admin on Tue, 03/26/2024 - 10:56am

During Braidwood's early years, it was a city of transients. Miners would come in to work for a season then move on hoping to find greener pastures further west. By 1870 the great wild West was beginning to open up, and in 1874 an event occurred which affected even little old Braidwood. Let's go back to 1874 and listen to the call of gold from the Black Hills, South Dakota.

Let's play ball, baseball time is here

Published by admin on Mon, 03/25/2024 - 1:00pm

At a time in my life when I was down in the dumps, a good friend dragged me, kicking and screaming, to weekly Cubs games. And I found out one thing, nothing beats fun at the old ball park. You can't be depressed and scream at the umpire at the same time. Today we look at our national past time.
There is some controversy over the origins of baseball, but we do know that by the time of the Civil War it was being played everywhere. During those long days in camp, soldiers would play a game of pick-up whenever things got dull.

Living on the Sea of Grass

Published by admin on Tue, 03/19/2024 - 10:15am

Further back in time than humans can remember, 18,000 years ago, this area was covered with glaciers. As they melted, forests took over the landscape. Then, about 8,300 years ago the climate became substantially warmer and drier. And within 500 to 800 years the forests in Illinois died out except for along the stream banks. Prairies took over the landscape.

Citizen's arrest! Citizen's arrest!

Published by admin on Tue, 03/19/2024 - 10:12am

As you know, I am a big fan of old westerns. And in many of them the sheriff calls out a posse and the citizens of the town become deputies. I had the thought that this was probably unrealistic.
Today if an outlaw needed chasing, I could not imagine the police chief throwing a citizen a gun and saying “Come with me!” The response would no doubt be “Say, what!” But it seems that I was wrong. Let's climb aboard the way back machine for a few examples.

A Diamond in the rough

Published by admin on Tue, 03/12/2024 - 9:42am

Today we aim our historical binoculars in the direction of the village of Diamond. Set the time machine for 1873 to see the birth of another coal town.

The love of reading, a brief history

Published by admin on Tue, 03/12/2024 - 9:41am

The love of reading is a prevalent disease. A good portion of the population can say they have lost sleep reading a good book that they just could not put down. I, myself, am afflicted. And it's not a new disease. Let's look.
Books in the 19th century were not rare, but they were not cheap. Those who had a good home library were considered very well to-do.

A month in the life of a town, May 1878

Published by admin on Tue, 03/05/2024 - 9:14am

Today our look at Wilmington history comes from the Wilmington column in the Joliet Signal. It isn’t clear whether they had a correspondent here or they just read the Wilmington paper. Each small entry tells its own story about life in this small town.
“We understand another concert is to be given at Empire Hall on Wednesday evening, May 15th, by the Wilmington Dramatic club. Considering the material which constitutes this club, we feel safe in assuring those who attend a first class time.”