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Stirring up the melting pot

Published by admin on Mon, 04/14/2025 - 11:11am

The United States has always, until recently, been proud to be called the great melting pot. If any place in our great country exemplifies this metaphor, it's Braidwood. After the mines were open, Braidwood's population exploded overnight, with people from many different nations. What sort of folks were these? If we were to categorize them today, we would probably call most of them left-wing radicals who came to this country to stir up trouble. Not a fair description? Perhaps. Today we look at the early “trouble makers” that gave Braidwood its start.

When hogs ran wild, good times in early Wilmington

Published by admin on Mon, 04/14/2025 - 11:08am

It is hard to imagine what it was like. I try to, but I really can't. Wilmington during the first decade was a frontier town if there ever was one. When I come across stories of those days, I eagerly read them, searching for details to fill in the blanks in my imagination. Today I share them with you. Set the way back machine to February 1839, almost 175 years ago.
The following was printed on January 4, 1873 in the Wilmington Advocate. It is not clear who was being interviewed, as they seemed to want to be anonymous.

Illinois in for a very rough fiscal road

Published by admin on Sun, 04/13/2025 - 1:12pm

Gov. JB Pritzker said last week that the extreme uncertainty with the US government and the international economy might mean that the legislature may have to reconvene to reconfigure the state budget after it adjourns at the end of next month.
“It may very well be that we're going to have to come back at some point, depending on what the president does,” Pritzker said during an unrelated press conference.

What's in a name, popular remedies in 1877

Published by admin on Mon, 04/07/2025 - 9:55am

Of all the businesses that came and went in Braidwood, we have never mentioned the druggists. It is an oversight that I am correcting. Surely the druggist was one of the most necessary businesses in an era where manual labor in dangerous environments, and wretched health conditions existed. However, the drugs that were sold were not exactly like the kind we get over the counter now. Set the way-back machine for 1877.

Encouraging new business was everybody's business

Published by admin on Mon, 04/07/2025 - 9:52am

There are times when I am reading old newspapers that I forget what year I'm looking at, is it 1880 or 2025? I certainly can't tell by what I am reading. The most striking similarity is the search for new businesses to come to town. Whether it's a new glucose factory in 1880 or a new intermodal in 2025, the talk is about creating jobs by luring new businesses to town.

Vote by mail taking a bigger role

Published by admin on Sat, 04/05/2025 - 10:07am

You’ve probably read about the Republican Party implosion last week in suburban municipal and township campaigns, particularly in DuPage County.
It’s important to remember that these consolidated elections are not always a reliable indication of the future. They’re very low turnout, and in years like this – when the election was held during a hugely controversial US president’s first 100 days – they can be influenced by the outrage of the moment, particularly when one political party was putting its finger on the scale, as the Democratic Party of Illinois was.

No vaccine for this disease; base ball fever

Published by admin on Mon, 03/31/2025 - 11:59am

I know I have it, and I also know there is no cure. There is only one thing that will alleviate the symptoms, but not the disease. Yes, I am talking about base ball fever. I enjoy seeing a live game, in person or on a screen. Reruns of old games don't cut it. I always know how it's going to turn out, unlike a live game where anything can happen and usually does.
So, in the spirit of the moment, let's take a virtual tour of baseball in Wilmington through the ages. Also note that I spell the name of the game with two words, as was done up until the 1920's.

Cleaning up, but why in Spring?

Published by admin on Mon, 03/31/2025 - 11:52am

It’s officially Spring. That means that flowers, warm breezes and fun times outdoors are just around the corner. But to my mother, it meant spring house cleaning. I could never figure out why people wanted to ruin a wonderful season with housework. Today we clean up 19th century style.
For the larger part of the 1800’s, most homes were heated with small stoves, usually located in the parlor, or any other part of the house where people gathered. These were put up in the fall along with the stove pipes, and usually vented out a side wall not a chimney.

Service taxes proposed to help bail out mass transit agencies

Published by admin on Sat, 03/29/2025 - 4:01pm

The Civic Federation, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability recently released a report calling for the expansion of the sales tax to several services, claiming such a move could raise $2 billion for the state.
The state imposes an additional sales tax in the Regional Transit Authority’s jurisdiction. Last week’s study found that expanding those specific RTA sales taxes to services could generate an additional $315 million per year.

Searching for a hero – the case of M. Henry

Published by admin on Mon, 03/24/2025 - 12:31pm

Today’s story is only somewhat related to Braidwood, and, I can’t even prove that. But it is one of the many trails down which I have traveled searching its history. It starts with a sad story from October of 1909.