Vandalia's Statehouse

The Tenth Illinois General Assembly convened in my hometown on December 5, 1836. It was the first government session to meet at our Vandalia Statehouse. The session initiated a bold system of public works ("internal improvements"), selected Springfield to be the next state capital, moved along authorization of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and incorporated the then-small city of Chicago. 

The session was also a gathering of great political talent. Of its members, Abraham Lincoln became president, five became U.S. senators (Stephen A Douglas, James Semple, James Shields, O. H. Browning, and William Richardson), eight became congressmen (Robert Smith, John McClernand, Stephen A. Douglas, John J. Hardin, William Richardson, Abraham Lincoln, E. D. Baker, and John Hogan), and one became Illinois governor (Augustus French). The assembly also included past and future Illinois attorneys general, state treasurers, and state auditors. John McClernand became a Union general, John Logan was the father of Union general John A. Logan. Lincoln, Baker, and Hardin, notable Whigs at this session, died in service to their country.

Lincoln was 27 years old in 1836, and Douglas was 23. This session was the only time that they served together in the legislature. They had first met at Vandalia in 1834. 

The first picture of the title page of the Illinois Senate journal for this session (photobombed with the shadow of cat ears...). The second page is from the House journal, showing the 77-6 vote on a resolution upholding the constitutional right of states to hold slaves and the right of the District of Columbia to retain slavery in spite of congressional efforts to the contrary. Notice Lincoln's name among the six negative votes. Later in the session, Lincoln and Dan Stone published an explanation (which, unfortunately, is missing in this incomplete copy of the House journal).

St. Nicholas Day

 December 6 is the feast day of St. Nicholas, the Christian bishop who died on this day in 343. He is the patron saint of several occupations and is specially associated with the protection of children. Although Advent is a time of longing and reflection rather than fulfillment, Nicholas bids us to show God’s love in tangible ways and to stay happy. I found a site that has this: “Celebrating St. Nicholas on his day in Advent brings a bit of fun and festivity into homes, churches, and schools. His small treats and surprises help keep the spirit of good St. Nicholas, especially when stories of his goodness and kind deeds are told and ways to express his care for those in need are sought. Saint Nicholas helps us remember Christmas is a feast of love, hope, kindness and generosity.” Compelling and "human" as the story is, there is no historical evidence that Nicholas slapped the heretic Arius at the Council of Nicea--although the story is very often repeated as fact. The legend dates from a thousand years after the saint's time. Several years ago, Beth bought me this lovely icon in Belgrade.

Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address

This crowd scene is the only known photograph of Lincoln at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863. Photographers needed time to set up their cameras, and by the time they set up to photograph his actual speech, he was finished. One photographer commented, "Oh, I wish I had a cell phone, but they won't be invented until six score and seventeen years from now!" 🙂 

Anyway: Lincoln's speech got mixed reviews but has become a classic. He used biblical images of new birth and sanctification. He was also, to some people at the time, innovative for believing that the nation was founded with the Declaration of Independence, rather than with the Constitution. 

One more fun fact: the bearded man seated to Lincoln's right is Ward Hill Lamon, his bodyguard. Tragically, Lamon was on assignment to Richmond the night that Lincoln was killed. Later, Lamon wrote two books about Lincoln. I have one downstairs in my Lincoln collection that I started years ago with Henry's Beef 'n' Burger money. 🙂 

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln

November 19, 1863

Jack D. Rittenhouse

 Born November 15, 1912, Jack D. Rittenhouse collected books and also printing presses while he was an advertising executive. He began his own publishing company, Stagecoach Press, which for a number of years produced books on the West, New Mexico, and reprints of important texts. His first own book, for which he is often remembered, was "A Guide Book to Highway 66" (1946). To research the book, he undertook the herculean task of driving the entire route, writing down mileages between towns, reporting the numbers of services in each town, and discovering helpful information for travelers. He wanted to reassure inexperienced travelers that a vacation in the West was very doable when you plan ahead. The book has been reprinted and gives an informative look at the highway in the immediate post-war time. Here's an original copy: 

Kristallnacht Anniversary

In 1938, Herschel Grynszpan was a 19-year-old Jew born and raised in Hanover, of a Polish family. Driven to desperation by the treatment of Polish Jews in Germany, Grynszpan shot and fatally wounded the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath on November 7. Grynszpan was arrested, and his fate is unknown. But the assassination set off a wave of anti-Jewish pogroms on November 9-10 throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and areas of the Sudetenland. The violence became known as Kristallnacht, "Night of Broken Glass," because of the many Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues attacked. Kristallnacht also was a turning point in Nazi policies against the Jews. 

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht?fbclid=IwY2xjawOAyfdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFQUU5QeElOYlJ3Rk5sYmNOc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHnNoslKMiEf33d6KQIputCLGml3VUT9mUQlhiXUSZRqlzI_ylwZRlxcbWf1J_aem_cnypXVP0SjWo5DhnDcPxlQ

Fall of the Berlin Wall Anniversary

November 9th is the 36th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. On November 9, 1989, East German party leader Günter Schabowski was giving a televised press conference. He made a surprising announcement: that East German citizens could apply for permission to travel without the usual requirements, and that permanent emigration at all border crossings, including those of East and West Berlin, was now allowed. This announcement was startling, but Schabowski said, "As far as I know, it takes effect immediately, without delay" ("Das tritt nach meiner Kenntnis ... ist das sofort ... unverzüglich"). His information was actually incomplete, and he had not been properly briefed how to handle the announcement. So his role in the day was to be a player in a bureaucratic mixup. As that same evening moved along, thousands of people who had been listening to the press conference gathered at the Berlin Wall, outnumbering the soldiers, who did not use force against them. Removal of the Wall began and continued during the weeks ahead. People hammered and picked at the wall, opening sections. Pieces were kept and traded as souvenirs. What remained of the wall was officially removed in the summer of 1990. Berlin roads that had been blocked by the wall's construction in 1961 were reopened. Within the year, East and West Germany were reunited. 

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Veterans Day

It's Veterans Day! My dad and his cousins Virgil Strobel, Charlie Strobel, and Delmar Strobel all went to WWII at about the same time, and Charlie was killed in Italy. Their uncle Ed was in World War I, and their grandfather John Strobel was in the Civil War. Another of my ancestors George Washburn, was also in the Civil War. My cousin Wayne Crawford did a tour in Vietnam, my cousin Max Storm served in West Germany, and my distant cousin Lewis Crawford was the first Fayette Co., IL death in World War I. I've also ancestors and distant great-uncles who fought in the Mexican War (Josiah Williams II), the Black Hawk War (John Carson), the War of 1812 (Winslow Pilcher, below; Josiah Williams I; and George Washington Williams), and the Revolution (John Kay, John Starrett Carson, Thomas Mahon). I trace some of these histories on my "Grace, Place" blog. Beth's dad, Bob Powell, was in the Navy in WWII and her grandfather Arthur McNabb was in WWI. My mom had a successful, if short career as a school teacher while Dad was overseas. Remembering all who served. 

99 Years of Federal Highways

 The United States Numbered Highway System, or Federal Highway System, was formed on this day in 1926. Route 66 thus began on this day as well.. The system laid out national highways on a grid, with U.S. 1 on the east coast, U.S. 101 on the west coast, and 1-ending highways in between. A similar west-east system with U.S. 10 in the north and U.S. 90 in the south; and then many other highways more or less following the pattern. Some highways were diagonal, like U.S. 42, 52, 62, and 66. Older, named highways like the Lincoln Highway, the National Old Trails Highway, the Dixie Highway, and others became numbered. The development and numbering of the highways continued over time. The Interstate Highway System, passed in 1956, introduced larger highways and also replaced some older ones, like Route 66 and U.S. 99, most of U.S. 91, and others. This picture is the former U.S. 40 just west of my hometown, previously part of the National Old Trails Highway.

A Whale of an Anniversary

55 years ago! On November 9, 1970, a 45-foot-long sperm whale washed ashore at Florence, Oregon. The dead whale was estimated to weigh 8 tons. State officials decided to use dynamite to blow up the carcass into small chunks that scavenger animals and birds could eat. An official decided to use 1000 pounds of dynamite, far too much, as a demolition expert warned. The whale was exploded on November 12---but a lot of the body remained on the beach, and large, falling chunks caused onlookers to flee. No one was hurt, although people were inundated with a rain of smelly whale stuff, and a big chunk crushed the roof of an unoccupied car. Seagulls were scared away. Bulldozers were called in to push the whale remains out to sea--and explosives were never again used in Florence to deal with beached whale carcasses. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CLumsir34 

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Landscape: Tom Thomson

 Tom Thomson, "Spring" (1916).  

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Landscape: Pissarro

 Camille Pissarro, Gelee blanche a Eragny (1902). From Facebook, "Tree of Life - Depiction of Trees in Art".

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Landscape: Maxfield Parrish

Maxfield Parris, "Sheltering Oaks" (1956). From Facebook, "World Gallery" 

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Landscape: George Wolfe

 George Wolfe (British, 1834-1890), 'July in Leigh Woods'. From the "Tree of Life" Facebook group.  

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Anniversary of the First Transcontinental Telegraph

 Another anniversary!!  🙂 I looked up some of the history of the telegraph. English and Russian inventors developed early versions in the 1830s. Samuel F. B. Morse developed his namesake Morse Code and in 1844 sent the first message, "What hath God wrought?" (which, I learned, is from Numbers 23:23, meaning "Look what God has done!"). I read somewhere that the telegraph was important on a limited basis in the Mexican War. THEN, 164 years ago today, October 24, 1861, workers of the Western Union Telegraph Company linked the eastern and western telegraph networks of the U.S. at Salt Lake City. Thus, they completed the first transcontinental line in the U.S. President Lincoln received the first telegraph message on this unified system. As this article discusses, Lincoln not only used the technology for the war effort but often stayed in the telegraph room during crucial times. There is a great scene in the 'Lincoln" movie where Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) starts quizzing the two young telegraph operators (played by Adam Driver and Drew Sease) about Euclid, and they're like, "What's he talking about? This is awkward" LOL.)

https://www.history.com/articles/abraham-lincoln-telegraph-civil-war?fbclid=IwY2xjawNonhVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHjCKGFcnNxnexL1X_armBmTIxlc1ux67q3wc6DiXkQcFaW3J52rBB4Ayqv_r_aem_VA0hr4WWroH7ROd-J8OoVA

Also: 

https://www.usnews.com/news/history/articles/2009/02/11/abraham-lincoln-a-technology-leader-of-his-time?fbclid=IwY2xjawNooNJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuqmGqP2g_ieWQ_wQWADJWVX2tRKRn6YnqyEN5IP3JXaOn8M0P13pDE1L8m3_aem_kfkccdEWbFeymk6wlyqwxg

My First Published Article

42 years ago this month, I had my first article published, woot! It was a piece about my hometown. It appeared in the Nov.-Dec. 1983 issue of Illinois Magazine (which at the time was a new incarnation of the old Outdoor Illinois). That issue had a pretty cover. Friend-prolific author-activist John J. Dunphy of Alton's Second Reading Book Shop had an article in the issue, too! (I didn't know him then.) As he would joke, with so much writing talent in one issue, a copy should be an expensive collector's item, LOL. My writing style has improved, I hope.

Tragic Anniversary

Forty years ago yesterday, American tourist Leon Klinghoffer was shot, killed, and thrown overboard from the cruise ship Achille Lauro, by members of the Palestinian Liberation Front who had hijacked the ship. Klinghoffer was Jewish and used a wheelchair. He was the only passenger to be killed. His body was recovered and buried in New Jersey; his wife died a few months later of cancer. The hostage takers were apprehended in Italy and tried and convicted there. Composer John Adams wrote an opera, "The Death of Klinghoffer", which premiered in 1991 and was staged by the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in 2011.

Landscape: Olga Wisinger-Florian

Olga Wisinger-Florian, "Falling Leaves" (1899). Belvedere Museum in Vienna.  

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Landscape: Wyeth

 Andrew Wyeth, "The Oak" (1944). 

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Landscape: N. C. Wyeth

N.C. Wyeth, Pyle's Barn, c. 1917-1921. Collections.brandywine.org

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60th Anniversary of "Hogan's Heroes"

"Hogan's Heroes" premiered sixty years ago, September 17, 1965. It ran for six seasons, until April 1971. It was set in the fictional Luft Stalag 13, where the group of five prisoners in Barracks 2 conduct an impressive intelligence and sabotage effort via their tunnel system and communications, under the noses of the incompetent Luftwaffe commandant and bumbling sergeant. Seemingly the guards in the towers are all nearsighted, since the prisoners often pull some nonsense right out in the yard. The four major German roles and also Cpl. LeBeau were played by Jewish actors, who thus made fun of Nazis; Werner Klemperer, for instance, stipulated that his character Col. Klink must always be the fool. Every episode contained a reference to Klink's perfect record of no escapes, and also a reference to the Eastern Front. We love to end our day with reruns of the show on MeTV. The show received praise from the NAACP for having an African-American as second-in-command of the team. A lot of popular actors of the time guest starred in different roles over the six years. Some are still alive, like the entertaining Nita Talbot, but the regular cast have all passed away. 

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Landscape: Hopper

 Edward Hopper, "Trees and Beach" (1916-1919). https://whitney.org/collection/works/6109

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50 Years, "Wish You Were Here"

Pink Floyd's ninth studio album, "Wish You Were Here", was released 50 years ago today. The album contained the nine-part piece "Shine On, You Crazy Diamond" and the title song, both tributes to group co-founder Syd Barrett, who had been let go because of his drug use and mental state. The other two songs were bitter laments about the music industry, "Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar." Sadly, Barrett showed up unannounced and confused to the recording sessions. He had put on extra weight and had shaved his head and eyebrows, and the band members didn't recognize him at first. The album was difficult for the group in that it was the follow-up to the huge "Dark Side of the Moon". The cover was by Hipgnosis, which did other Floyd albums. The stuntman who was (actually) set on fire for the shoot was Ronnie Rondell Jr., who died just last month, aged 88. 

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Landscape: Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, "Paysage à Cagnes" (1898).  From: https://blog.dorotheum.com/en/pierre-auguste-renoir-ideal-landscape/

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Anniversary of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

 Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released on September 10, 1991. Grunge entered the mainstream in a big way! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg

Phantom of the Opera 100th Anniversary

"The Phantom of the Opera" was released in New York on September 6, 1925! Among dramatizations of the novel over the years, Lon Chaney's makeup is closest to the novel's description of Erik's face. How effective that the audience sees Erik's face before Christine does. It is said that actress Mary Philbin didn't know what he'd look like until he turned around, making her reaction genuine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NHL6j9DMh4 

Landscape: Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian, "Row of Eleven Poplars in Red, Yellow, Blue and Green" (1908). 

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"HIghway 61" Revisited Anniversary

"Once upon a time you dressed so fine/ You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?" Bob Dylan's landmark sixth album, "Highway 61 Revisited," was released sixty years ago, August 30, 1965. U.S. 61 is the highway from his hometown of Duluth down to "blues" cities like St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans. Wikipedia: "Critics have focused on the innovative way Dylan combined driving, blues-based music with the subtlety of poetry to create songs that captured the political and cultural climate of contemporary America." The opening of the final song, "Desolation Row", refers to a lynching that happened in Duluth in 1920. https://www.chimesfreedom.com/2016/06/14/theyre-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging-the-real-lynching-in-dylans-desolation-row/

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A Remembered Antique Mall

An old postcard for The Elms Motel in Greenville, IL, just off US 40 on the Dudleyville Rd. The place is gone now. But the motel building was an antique mall in the '80s and '90s. The inside walls between the rooms had been removed. Beth and my parents and I liked to shop there. We have a little 1904 World's Fair metal cup that we purchased there.

Landscape: Gauguin

 Paul Gauguin, "Tree lined road, Rouen" (1885)  

 

(1885)

Landscape: Monet

Claude Monet, "Street in Sainte-Adresse" (1867). The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts.  

Landscapes: Maurice Cullen

Maurice Cullen, "Summer St Eustache" 1906. From: https://www.klinkhoff.ca/fr/viewing-room/57/works/artworks-5436-maurice-cullen-summer-st-eustache-1906/

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Landscapes: J. M. W. Turner

J. M. W. Turner, Rain, Steam, and Speed – The Great Western Railway (1844). 

Here's a good article about it: https://www.datocms-assets.com/128928/1753723589-parashah-and-politics-47-shoftim-updated-1.pdf

Wizard of Oz anniversary

Although "The Wizard of Oz" appeared in a few theaters during August 1939, the movie was released nationwide on August 25, 1939. (In an obviously unrelated event, the war in Europe began just a week later.) Costing $2.7 million, the movie was MGM's most expensive production at the time. The New Yorker critic didn't like it, calling the film a "stinkeroo" So much for critics.  It has become the most-watched movie in history, especially since it began to be aired on TV, beginning in 1956.

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Colonial Ancestors James and Mary Washburn

 Beth and I recently made a trip to Bridgewater, MA, just west of Plymouth. We visited the First Cemetery in Bridgewater and, with some looking, found the graves of my 6th-great-grandparents, Mary (Bowden) Washburn (1669-1747) and James Washburn (1672-1749). 

I had along photos of the stones from Find-a-Grave, so I'd know their shape.  I'm so glad that I did, because the stones are at present rather unreadable. They're much more clear at that site, in photos from 2007. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22519024/james-washburn https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22518989/mary-washburn

Mary and James were married in 1693. James' father John Washburn emigrated to Plymouth from Bengeworth, England in about 1635. James' mother was Elizabeth Mitchell Washburn, a granddaughter of Mayflower passenger Francis Cooke. So there are two cool immigration stories. I have much more on the early Washburns at my other blog, paulstroble.wordpress.com 

The 350th anniversary of James' birth was three years ago!  May 15, 2022. So I'm glad I found his grave somewhat close in time to that occasion. 

Mary and James' great-grandson David Washburn settled in Fayette County, IL in the 1830s, and with his wife Esther Griffith established the family there, yay. (I was born and raised in Vandalia and Fayette County.) My mom's maternal grandmother was a granddaughter of David and Esther. 

This next picture is kind of spooky. The inscription reads, "REBECCA wife of John Washburn died about 1717. Her age is unknown. She was the first person buried in this yard." Find-a-Grave gives her birth date as 1645. Her husband John (1649-1719)--a brother of my ancestor James--is buried beside her. He was the one who donated the land for this graveyard. The interesting stone to the left, however, is another brother, Sgt. Samuel Washburn (1652-1720). Brothers John and Samuel fought in the King Philip's War.

Here are an unsorted variety of other stones--Washburns and others---in the cemetery.