Time Was

The journey begins, California or bust

Published by admin on Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:29am

Today we are going back to 1850 and the intrepid men who ventured from Will County to El Dorado, commonly known as the gold fields of California to search for riches and a better future.
We know two men from Wilmington, William Goodwin and H. J. Northam left together in March of 1850. Goodwin was a married man with children, while Northam was a 29-year-old well-to-do bachelor merchant. We don't know if these two were friends, or only had the same goal.

Fishing by hook, crook or dynamite

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

As the industrial age started polluting land, sea and sky during the first decade of the 20th century people started to appreciate the unspoiled, unpolluted places. The Kankakee River, both up and down stream from Wilmington was one such place.
Fish in the Kankakee that decade were abundant. We read on June 24, 1904 in the Wilmington Advocate, “Fishermen complain that the river is swarming with minnows and small pickerel and the fish have so much food they will not bite at bait though they may be seen in large numbers.”

The birth and early history of Essex

Published by admin on Mon, 03/03/2025 - 12:19pm

Today we set our sights south to the town of Essex. Set the wayback machine for December 19, 1879.
We first read of Essex's birth announcement in the Wilmington Advocate, “Essex is booming as a new railroad town. Messrs. Odell and Lonergan are about putting up corn cribs there, it is said. Town lots have been staked off and a railroad depot located, so report says.” Odell was an entrepreneur from the Wilmington area originally, but he had his hand in almost every town in the coal field, including the one named after him.

The Civil War vets of Braidwood

Published by admin on Mon, 02/24/2025 - 12:01pm

The love/hate relationship between Braidwood and Wilmington has been going on a very long time. Wilmington has always felt she had cornered the market on Civil War history. But that's not totally accurate. The War Between the States is not generally considered when we look at the history of Braidwood. It was happened about the same time as Braidwood was just starting to come into existence. However, many returning soldiers moved to Braidwood and vicinity because there were jobs to be had in the mines. So, let's look at the Civil War vets in Braidwood.

The beginnings of Carbon Hill

Published by admin on Mon, 02/24/2025 - 10:58am

Today we turn our attention to the north and west a bit to look at neighboring Carbon Hill. Officially Carbon Hill has only existed since 1892, but the mining camps of Scotch Hill, Bunker Hill and Oklahoma were there long before.

The sad strange case of Mary Labor

Published by admin on Mon, 02/17/2025 - 12:28pm

It was a dark and stormy night. The light from the computer monitor cut the blackness like a knife. I sat down to look at my e-mails and there it was - looking me straight in the face. It was an invitation to (dramatic organ chord here) “The sad strange case of Mary Labor.” No, it's not the start of a 1930's radio show, it's another compelling Will County story.

Appearing in person for your entertainment pleasure

Published by admin on Mon, 02/17/2025 - 12:19pm

With all the means we have for electronic entertainment such as You tube, Pandora, Netflix, etc. you would think that going to a live show would have gone out of style. However, concerts and live plays still sell out, i.e. Hamilton. Yes, there is nothing like the real thing. And so it was in the 19th century.
Every small town had an “opera house” or like Wilmington, an Empire Hall that had a stage and everything required to put on not only plays, but all kinds of entertainments from classical music to black-faced minstrel shows to plays.

Disaster relief, who gave and who took

Published by admin on Mon, 02/10/2025 - 3:14pm

Whether it's a hurricane in Louisiana, Haiti or Cuba or an earthquake in the Mid-East disaster relief agencies respond immediately with pleas for money. And they are rarely disappointed. There are many generous people in the world who truly care about their fellow human beings' plight.
It is February. A time when many think back to the Diamond Mine disaster and its aftermath. Today we look at the response to that disaster. In the interest of clarity, I have changed all the references to money into today's equivalent.

Diphtheria and the downfall of Wilmington schools

Published by admin on Mon, 02/10/2025 - 3:13pm

We live in an age when most childhood diseases have been controlled by vaccines. Measles, mumps, whooping cough and diphtheria are no longer child killers. But there was a time when the mere mention of these diseases put people into a panic. That panic changed the very ownership of Wilmington Public School.

Grab your partners, let’s dance away the night

Published by admin on Mon, 02/03/2025 - 12:59pm

Today we are looking at the social occasion known as the dance. I don’t see a lot of them happening these days. But the dance in the 19th century was the primary way for guys and gals to meet, and if you were lucky, actually touch each other in a socially acceptable way. Strike up the band, the dance has begun.
The first ethnic groups to come to Braidwood were from the British Isles. So it is no wonder that the first mention of the dance I have is the following from January 13, 1872: “Four dances in Braidwood on Robert Burns’ birthday, the 25th of January.”