Time Was

From horse to iron horse, the C. & A. Railroad

Published by admin on Tue, 12/03/2019 - 11:18am

Transportation has changed radically since Wilmington was first put on the map. Early pioneers arrived here by horse and wagon, over muddy roads, with poor accommodations along the way, exposed to the elements and bounced over every stone and stick in the way. There was no other choice.

Hunting, an old autumn tradition

Published by admin on Tue, 11/26/2019 - 12:10pm

Autumn signals the start of the school year, the beginning of cool weather, the raking of leaves and for some, the start of the hunting season. This also means buying a hunting license, reading the new game laws, and trying to find a good duck or goose blind. Laws governing the shooting of game are fairly recent in our history. Let's look at the 19th century sportsman and hunting on our Kankakee.

The paving that tripped up a mayor, very Hazzard-ous

Published by admin on Tue, 11/26/2019 - 11:59am

Elections are now starting to gear up for the spring primary. Who will win is not always obvious, especially when a hot-button issue is brought before the voters. The issue doesn't have to be huge, sometime a small thing, like snow plowing, can bring down a candidate. Set the way-back for the spring of 1921 and the Wilmington mayor's race.

Beauty in bottle, 19th century cosmetics

Published by admin on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 9:24am

Page through any women's magazine and you will find all the beauty preparations you could possibly think of. It is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. But time was, when you had to concoct those potions and lotions yourself.
Our reference today is a book entitled, “Our Deportments or The Manners, Conduct and Dress of the Most Refined Society” published in Chicago in 1881.
In the section titled “Toilet Recipes” we read the following:

Get your hands off of my horse or I'll shoot!

Published by admin on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 9:23am

As a fan of John Wayne, Roy Rodgers, and Mr. Dillon (not necessarily in that order) the above words were familiar to me. They were also familiar to 19th century folks who lived in these parts. Let's look at the worst kind of criminals there ever was — the horse thief!

The Manhattan massacre, early prairie pioneers

Published by admin on Tue, 11/12/2019 - 1:24pm

In previous columns we have been guilty of ignoring our neighbors to the north and west. Jackson Township was actually the site of the earliest white settlement in this area. Manhattan, better known as Five Mile Grove was also the site of early white settlement. Let's give the Jacksonites and Manhattanites their fair due and look into the very beginnings of those townships.

Recipes from a simpler time

Published by admin on Tue, 11/12/2019 - 1:09pm

Cooking is fast becoming a lost art. Statistics tell us that we are eating out more and more often. So today we go back to a simpler time, when cooking at home was common.

The 19th century's most dangerous job

Published by admin on Tue, 11/05/2019 - 1:48pm

Actually, the above may be a bit of an overstatement, but not by much.
Even today this job ranks eighth most dangerous in the world. And certainly, in the 19th century it was even more dangerous. Many people reading this column are employed in this line of work, and I am willing to bet they would agree. I am talking about farming, plain and simple. Today we look at some of the many examples of the danger they faced.
Our first examples highlight the fact that children, even today employed on the family farm, ran great risks dealing with the livestock.

It hit like lightning, the big fraud

Published by admin on Tue, 11/05/2019 - 1:32pm

In the 19th century there were many words to describe someone who was fraudulent, or who earned his money in a disreputable way. They might be called a huckster, a fraud, a drummer, a dead-beat or they might be called “a lightning rod salesman.” The last name was the worst of all. Today we look at the lightning rod salesman.

Escaped! Less than famous escapes

Published by admin on Tue, 10/29/2019 - 12:43pm

A few years ago I happened to be in Lockport when the news came on the radio.
A convict that was being transported to Stateville, had escaped on 9th Street. Later that night when I saw the evening news I realized how many law enforcement officers were involved in finding one handcuffed guy in a portable john. Today we look at how escaped convicts were dealt with in the 19th century.