Time Was

William Mooney, power behind the throne

Published by admin on Tue, 09/17/2019 - 1:36pm

The expression, “the power behind the throne” is used to describe someone, who though not in the public light, still holds decision-making power. Today we look at William Mooney, a man I would describe as being the power behind the throne.
William Mooney was born in Scotland in 1841, a son of a coal miner. At the early age of 9, Will started working in the mines himself. In 1865, he immigrated to the United States, arriving in New York, but quickly finding work in the coal mines of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Sidewalks, sewers and streets, say no to change

Published by admin on Mon, 09/16/2019 - 4:21pm

Have you ever tried to take away an old beat-up blanket or toy away from a toddler, trying to replace it with a newer, nicer, cleaner one?
Most of the time that action is met with cries and general opposition from the child. Sometimes groups of citizens can behave the same way, opposing modern improvements just because the old has always been good enough.

Competition, the life blood of Braidwood

Published by admin on Tue, 09/10/2019 - 11:21am

Competition, they say, is healthy. If that is true, then early Braidwood was a very healthy place. At work, the miners competed as to who could dig the most coal, the reward being more money in the pocket. But outside of the mine shaft the competition was just as fierce. Let's take the time machine back to the early 1870s when Braidwood was less than a decade old.

Another way of life, the tall grass prairie

Published by admin on Tue, 09/10/2019 - 11:14am

When the first settlers came to Will County, they had their choice of places to put down roots. Wilmington was high on the list, it had everything — flowing streams, dense forests, open grass lands to farm. It is no wonder then that Wilmington was settled very early on. The same is not true for other townships. Today we travel just a few miles east to Peotone Township and the tall grass prairie.

Schoolmaster Thomas Walsh and Grove School

Published by admin on Tue, 09/03/2019 - 3:47pm

Last week our story was about a bunch of rough young men who tried to intimidate their school master in a one room school house in a rural setting. Since Braidwood sprang into being almost overnight, there were no one room school houses, but larger ones to accommodate the rising population of miners. Today, we look at one man and one school to see how it compares.

The awakening of the labor movement

Published by admin on Tue, 09/03/2019 - 1:10pm

We have just finished celebrating Labor Day. It signifies the end of summer, the start of school, the last big cook-out, or the last 3-day weekend until Columbus Day.
It became a national holiday on June 28, 1894 when Grover Cleveland signed the bill making the first Monday in September, Labor Day. It's real meaning though, is to celebrate the working men and women in this country who grub it out everyday to put food on the table.

Is there a doctor in the house or in the town?

Published by admin on Tue, 08/20/2019 - 4:37pm

Contrary to popular belief, doctors were not all that scarce in the 19th century. First because the amount of schooling necessary to call yourself a doctor was much less, and second if you called yourself a doctor and you acted like a doctor, then for all intents and purposes you were a doctor. After all, how was anyone going to know any different. Today we look at doctoring in Wilmington, good, bad and weird.

A friendly game turned serious

Published by admin on Tue, 08/20/2019 - 4:35pm

When we elect our city, or for that matter, county, officials, in most cases we know the person. Sometimes we vote for them just for that reason, rather than voting on their qualifications. This sometimes results in an official who is not fit for his job.
This was the case in Braceville in January of 1897 when the Marshall's office was held by a man who just did not like confrontation. It all started with a game of Seven-Up (a popular card game) that escalated to a show down.
The following has been taken directly from the Feb. 9 edition of the Joliet Daily News.

Reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic, or schools and scholars

Published by admin on Tue, 08/06/2019 - 11:02am

It comes earlier and earlier every year. Time was when I was a youngster, it didn't start until the second week of September. I am talking abut the start of the school year, and it is almost upon us. Today we look at early education in Wilmington and vicinity.

Women criminals, what to do with them?

Published by admin on Tue, 08/06/2019 - 10:59am

Women are the flowers of society, being pure of heart, chaste of mind, and incapable of intentionally doing wrong. This was in essence the prevailing notion of the weaker sex during the 19th century. Of course, it has no basis in fact. Women were fully as capable of committing crimes as men, but with perhaps, less opportunity. In Braidwood, women were saloon owners and frequenters as well.