Where History Is Happening

Links to Some Upcoming Events

The Civil War and DuPage County: A Local Perspective Saturday, April 16, 2011 12 pm - 4 pm Join us for the exhibit opening which commemorates the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War by reflecting on the relationship between the soldiers and their families and friends during this time of dramatic change and hardship. Letters, photos and documents from the Museum’s archives are featured as well as many artifacts from the permanent collection.

Plant Medicines Past and Present Wednesday, April 20, 2011 6:00 p.m. Kitchen at Farmhouse Museum, Elk Grove Village Join certified herbalist, Jenny Pawlak, for an informative talk about plant medicines that were used in the 1800's and which herbal remedies are still used today. Refreshments such as tea and lavender cookies will be available. Participants will also create a simple lavender sleep pillow. Suitable for ages 15 and older. Regisration required by April 18th due to limited seating. $3 Historical Society Members/$5 non-members

Sheep Shearng at Kline Creek Farm Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17 10:00 am - 4:00 PM Watch as sheepdogs herd the flock and farmhands shear sheep. Then, learn how washed wool becomes spun yarn. Activities ongoing. All ages. Free. Registration not required.

Stephen Douglas, We Hardly Know Ye

While most folks have heard of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and some are familiar with “The Little Giant” nickname, that’s usually the extant of their knowledge of Stephen Douglas. Particularly from residents of Illinois, however, Douglas deserves a little more attention.

“The Little Giant” moniker refers to his short stature – he was only five foot four – as well as to his standing in political circles where he was well-respected. Douglas served in the Illinois House of Representatives, the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was also States’ Attorney, Illinois Secretary of State and an associate justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. Douglas also ran for President against Abraham Lincoln in 1860, but the famous debates actually occurred in 1858 when the two men were both seeking election to the Senate. Douglas didn’t win the Presidential race, but he did win the Senate seat.

Stephen Douglas and the slavery issue are much discussed. He wrote the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 which inflamed the Republican Party and helped polarize the northern and southern states. Douglas wasn’t really pro-slavery, but he wasn’t really anti-slavery either. In fact, he was in possession of slaves inherited from his first wife who owned a cotton plantation.

Douglas bought lots of land in Chicago and intended to make a good profit on it once the railroads started reaching across the Mississippi River. For that to happen, he needed to move along the laws that would open up Kansas and Nebraska to settlement. Illinois, whom Douglas represented in Washington, was a slave-free state and so Douglas was expected to prohibit slavery in the new territories. But he needed the support of southern lawmakers to get the bill passed and they of course wanted to allow slavery.

Trying to fill his role as the ultimate compromiser, Douglas proposed that the residents of those territories be given the right to determine whether they would or would not allow slavery. Besides, he figured the climate was such that southern-style plantations would never take hold in Nebraska and so slaves wouldn’t even be needed, making the whole debate moot.

Douglas’s attempts to compromise backfired and the fall-out became more fuel to the fire that was smoldering between the North and the South. By the time President Lincoln took office 150 years this month, the Confederate States had already declared succession.

He may have lost the Presidency to Lincoln, but Douglas wasn’t about to lose the country. He immediately turned all of his considerable energy toward supporting the new President and reconciliation. Unfortunately, he contracted typhoid fever and died just a few weeks after the Civil War began at the age of 48.

Come See the New Library – and Kate’s New Book!

The Fountaindale Library in Bolingbrook is once again hosting a bevy of authors to wrap up their National Library Week celebrations on Saturday, April 16 with an Author Fair.

Kate will be among them, bringing with her newly-released activity book, a companion to Ruth by Lake and Prairie. The book includes puzzles, paper dolls and ships, pioneer recipes and other fun things to do within a simplified summary of Ruth’s story.

Also new is the Fountaindale Library. Long in the preparation, Bolingbrook is cutting the ribbon this Saturday, March 26 on their beautiful new facility. The public is welcome to share the excitement which begins at 12:30pm and includes story-telling, musicians and jugglers.

Of course you can also check out the new library on April 16 during the Author Fair. This year’s theme for Library Week is “Create Your Own Story @ Your Library.” Come on over and chat with Kate about how to create your story!

Where History Is Happening

Women of the Civil War
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The women of the civil war era did not command on the battlefield yet their participation in the conflict impacted its outcome and radically changed their lives and the future of women in America. Join Jim Weren for this captivating presentation featuring his own illustrations and fascinating narrative, all in honor of Women’s History Month. Bloomingdale Public Library.


Lincoln's Chicago
Now Open
Monday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Sunday, 12:00 noon–5:00 p.m.

Lincoln was a frequent visitor to Chicago; The city became his second home and political headquarters during his rise to prominence. This gallery features portraits of Lincoln’s contemporaries with lithograph views of Chicago created in the 1860s. The pairings provide a glimpse of the city that Lincoln knew—a dynamic young metropolis on the verge of greatness.


Songs of the Civil War
Thursday, April 7, 7:00 PM

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War, the History Singers will perform and discuss the music of the time at the Woodridge Public Library. In those days before electronic forms of communication (except telegraph), music was used to stir patriotic fervor, sustain morale, regulate camp life, and even report news in the midst of the chaos of battle. Registration is requested. You can register online, by phone or in person.For further information call the Adult/Young Adult Department Reference Desk at 630-487-2577or email askus@woodridgelibrary.org

Museum of Funeral Customs to Live Again!

Actually, just the artifacts will live again, but even that's pretty exciting!

You may remember the Brief History story from last year about the Museum of Funeral Customs being forced to close due to the economy, lowered tourism and greater expenses. The Museum used to be right outside the gates of Oakwood Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln is buried with his family in Springfield. It was a fitting location, not only because of its proximity to a cemetery, but also because the museum held many Lincoln exhibits.

Just this month, the Hancock County Journal-Pilot reported that the entire contents of the Funeral Customs museum has been transferred into the care of the Kibbe Hancock Heritage Museum. Kibbe received tables, chairs and display cases in addition to a computer record system, but most importantly, the museum is now the keeper of hundreds of artifacts and research items.

The Museum of Funeral Customs closed their doors in the spring of 2009 and hoped to be able to move all of their collection to one owner rather than see it broken up and scattered. There was no cost to the Kibbe museum, and they are already planning how to best display this wealth of material.

They hope to have the Lincoln exhibits ready by March of 2012 which will include a miniature of Lincoln's funeral train and a replica of his coffin. This spring already the museum will put on view a Victorian embalming room and a selection of unusual caskets.

The Kibbe Hancock Heritage Museum is in Carthage, Illinois, not too far from Macomb. The Funeral Museum artifacts will be a great addition to their current collection and it's wonderful to know that someone has taken responsibility to bring those macabre items back to life.