Time Was

A-hunting we will go, or playing fowl

Published by admin on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 9:00am

    Hunting season is here. Whether it is for goose, duck or pheasant, hunting for the many varieties of fowl has always been a tradition in our area. Of course, there is one species missing today, the prairie chicken. Grab your gun, a hunting we will go.

Elwood gossip, only 140 years old

Published by admin on Wed, 11/15/2017 - 9:00am

    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.

Tramping through history, men on the move

Published by admin on Wed, 11/15/2017 - 9:00am

    It was the 1870's and a whole army of men were on the move throughout the nation. They moved mostly by train, well-hidden in freight cars.
    Some were new immigrants who could not find a job; many were men who had fought and seen too much during the Civil War. Others were refugees from the slums of the large eastern cities. They were generally known as tramps.
    Braidwood was a well-known destination among these men. Coal was coming into its own, factories, railroads and home-heating needs meant the demand for coal exceeded the amount produced.

November 1917, somewhere over there

Published by admin on Wed, 11/08/2017 - 9:00am

    As Thanksgiving approached, families all over the area had one less for dinner. Young men and boys were finishing up at training camps and heading somewhere over there. Times were hard, food was scarce and the whole world was getting colder.
    Ronald Jardine, who had enlisted early and was stationed with the British Expeditionary Forces in France, wrote home often.

Horse thieves, a deadly occupation

Published by admin on Wed, 11/08/2017 - 9:00am

    “Get your hands off of my horse or I'll shoot!”
    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 criminals there ever was - the horse thief!

Enforcing the law, we need a marshal

Published by admin on Wed, 11/01/2017 - 9:00am

    When prosperity hit Wilmington in the 1860's and 1870's it brought with it more than money. Between the coal mines and opening of navigation on the river many young men moved into the area for the jobs.
    With them they brought the typical problems of civilization, including crime.
    At the time there was no permanent police force, just part-time law officers.  There were several of them, and they were called when problems arose.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Irish in all of us

Published by admin on Wed, 11/01/2017 - 9:00am

    In 1836, the year Will County was formed, a group of Irish coal miners in Pennsylvania founded an organization called the Ancient Order of Hibernians, mainly in response to bigotry against both the Irish and the Catholics.
    By 1874 the Irish coal miners of Braidwood had formed a very active Braidwood Division. Today we set the way-back machine to Aug. 15, 1879 when Braidwood was the center of Hibernian activity.

Butter not miss this one, an early Wilmington enterprise

Published by admin on Wed, 10/25/2017 - 9:00am

    Today we talk about one of my favorite vices. No, not that one - it's a food vice - butter.
    It must run in the family because my great-grandmother, Katerina, won a medal for her butter making abilities back in Sweden
    Butter was also important to Wilmingtonians back in the 19th century. Let's take a look.

Let me entertain you, or what we did before television

Published by admin on Wed, 10/25/2017 - 9:00am

    Actually, it's more than television, isn't it? So, let us say that our entertainment comes from a screen, whether it's hand held or a giant one sitting in our living room.
    Time was, when folks had to go somewhere to see images on a screen. Today we look at the world of images for entertainment.
    Braidwood had its first taste of images on a “screen” in 1871, and it was called a panorama.

A familiar face, a letter from home

Published by admin on Wed, 10/18/2017 - 9:00am

    In October 1917, Wilmington boys were scattered to the winds. Some were even serving “somewhere over there.”
    All these small-town boys were seeing sights that were strange and even intimidating. The joy of seeing a familiar face, or to read a letter from the familiar hand of a friend or loved one helped them lessen the anxiety. You can hear it in their own letters home.
    Robert Jardine was a faithful letter writer. He was stationed at a field hospital in France with the British Expeditionary Forces.