Time Was

June 1878, another month in time

Published by admin on Mon, 07/29/2024 - 3:06pm

I chose this particular month, for no particular reason, except that there are newspapers in existence for the entire month. In this case the newspaper was the Wilmington column of the Joliet Signal. That is not always the case. So set the way back machine for 146 years ago, in the good old summer time.

The many faces of the Post Office

Published by admin on Mon, 07/22/2024 - 10:53am

If you have tried to send a package at the Post Office lately, you will usually find quite a line. In the 19th century, it was the same. It was a place where boy met girl and so much more. Our topic for today, is the Braidwood Post Office.
The first mention I can find of the Braidwood Post Office is from February 1875. “Upwards of 15,000 valentines passed through the Braidwood post office on Monday last.”

Getting away with murder, the case of Mrs. Rickey

Published by admin on Mon, 07/22/2024 - 10:52am

I have to admit it, I am a fan of murder mysteries, especially those with a twist at the end. Of course, these are figments of a creative writer's imagination.
However, I have found a real life story that happened right here in Will County in Troy Township. The judge involved was Judge Josiah Mc Roberts, known as being “the people's judge,” always lenient to those unfortunates that came before him. One wonders how he felt when the surprise ending was revealed to him.

Elwood gossip, only it’s 140 years old

Published by admin on Mon, 07/15/2024 - 12:34pm

One of the reasons we read our local paper is for the gossip. We may not call it that, but news of happenings to our neighbors is extremely interesting to us. It was no different 140 years ago. Today we repeat gossip that we read about our neighbors in Jackson Township, published over a century ago.

A case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time

Published by admin on Mon, 07/15/2024 - 12:32pm

The plot of the story seems familiar. It involves a car salesman, a test drive, a robbery, a wounded man, a get-away car, a chase by the mob, surrendering to the police, an inaccurate newspaper story and finally the truth of the matter for all to read. The movie could be a Gene Wilder comedy or a thriller with Johnny Depp. It is none of those, however. It is a true story from the Braidwood coal field. Set the way back machine for November 1916.

Scary stuff, science and technology

Published by admin on Tue, 07/09/2024 - 10:50am

Ask any senior citizen and they will say that the world is changing too quickly. Too many new things, The world is going to hell in a hand basket. We envision a world where children can't write their name, everyone will have a portable electronic device implanted in their head that will tell them what to buy at the store, when to take a pill, how to get to their destination and anything else that we used to use our brains for. Woe is the future of humanity!

The ups and downs of Braceville mines

Published by admin on Mon, 07/08/2024 - 2:12pm

Today we travel south to Braceville, another town created by King Coal. In most respects the township of Braceville is very similar to the township of Reed. Both have spots of good soil suitable for farming, and the rest poor sandy soils, only suitable for grazing.
Braceville village was laid out in 1861 by N. Cotton, who did the work himself, using a sixteen-foot pole. Consequently, as the village grew it was sometimes rather difficult to adjust conflicting claims with the claims of the plat.

Robert Waterman, Wilmington's gift to California

Published by admin on Mon, 07/01/2024 - 1:10pm

Wilmington and California share very few things. One is the famous Route 66, but most people would be hard pressed to think of something else. But look far enough back in history and we discover that we shared Robert Whitney Waterman, 17th Governor of California.
Waterman was born in 1826 in Fairfield, New York to a family of eight children. He was a hard worker from an early age. At the age of 13, in 1839, he moved to Newbury, Illinois to join a brother as a clerk. He eventually moved to Geneva where he clerked and was postmaster.

The election of 1880, just say no to the Gov

Published by admin on Mon, 07/01/2024 - 1:08pm

If you have been hiding under a rock for the past few months you might not know that there is an election coming up. And you also might not know that local officials are also up for election. However, there is a saying that all politics are local. That certainly was the case in 1880, especially in Braidwood.
It was a presidential election year; Garfield was the front-runner in this area. And most important of all, from the miners' perspective, was the Illinois governor's race. Governor Shelby Moore Cullom, Republican, was running against Lyman Trumbull, a Democrat.

Getting the story straight, a reporter's dilemma

Published by admin on Tue, 06/18/2024 - 11:43am

It's a newspaper person's dilemma. How much of the story you are hearing is correct, and how much of it is wild speculation? Even eye witnesses have different versions of the same event. How much harder then, for newspaper men in the early 19th century when telegraph was the only means of direct communication? Set the way back machine to August 1854, 170 years ago, in our sister city of Wilmington.