Columnist

When memory fades, Memorial Day in the first decade

Published by admin on Tue, 05/21/2024 - 10:09am

Most people know that Memorial Day was created to honor the dead of the Civil War. During the 19th century the graves were decorated with flowers, now we usually put a flag on the grave. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, the veterans of the War Between the States were dying in great numbers. There was less and less who remembered. While this story is based on Braidwood's sister city, Wilmington, it was true throughout the country.

The Phoenix rises from the ashes, and paper flies out

Published by admin on Mon, 05/20/2024 - 1:13pm

When we left the paper mill last, it had burned down, the machinery was partially melted, and the insurance did not cover the entire loss. That was May 1, 1879.Set the wayback machine to August 1879 to see the Phoenix rise from the ashes.
We read on August 8, 1879, “The last of the reconstructed machinery is now being put in position at the Enterprise paper mills. In a few weeks more the straw will begin to fly and emerge from the mill “lined and unlined.”

State licensing delays are unacceptable

Published by admin on Fri, 05/17/2024 - 4:33pm

Back in April, the Executive Director of the American Nurses Association Illinois, Susan Swart, told my associate Isabel Miller that advanced practice registered nurses are losing their jobs because of ongoing and severe state licensing delays.
Swart said some of those nurses are waiting “a year to 18 months” to get their licenses from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).
“The nurses apply for [jobs] because they're accepting this position and [licensing] is taking so long, they're losing positions,” Swart said.

How many ways are there to escape?

Published by admin on Mon, 05/13/2024 - 1:46pm

Today we step away from Braidwood to the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet where we will look at the history of escapes. Although built to resemble a castle with stone turrets and iron gates, it was far from escape proof and the walls at times seemed to leak like a sieve.

Turning straw into gold, how they did it

Published by admin on Mon, 05/13/2024 - 1:37pm

I heard the other day that there is a shortage of cardboard boxes. It is no wonder. In our deliver it the next day economy, it is everywhere you look, especially on your front porch. Step into the way back machine, set the controls to January, 1876, as Wilmington started thinking “paper.”

Now is not the right time for Mayor Johnson to be asking for $1 billion

Published by admin on Sun, 05/12/2024 - 4:23pm

Much of the Illinois Statehouse appeared to be girding itself for battle with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson before his Springfield visit last week.
After dramatically announcing to Chicago reporters earlier in the week that the city’s families are “owed” $1 billion from state government, particularly education, Gov. JB Pritzker sent two distinct messages to the building.

The year civil rights were suspended, 1868

Published by admin on Tue, 05/07/2024 - 10:52am

We hear a lot about civil rights and the constitution these days. Who has a right to do what, say what, or stop people from saying whatever they want. This is certainly not a new thing. In Braidwood in the year 1868, those topics were hot conversation. In saloons, general stores and in the newspapers, We are going to look at that year to see what it was all about.

A nice place to visit, the endless summer of 1879

Published by admin on Mon, 05/06/2024 - 1:29pm

It's been a cool spring, and I for one, am anxious for warm weather. So today we take the way back machine to the summer of 1879, the endless summer.
I call it that because it was in that summer, more than any other, that Wilmington became what we would term, a resort town, where days and nights were filled with fun things to do, and people from all around flocked here for recreation and entertainment.

New tax may be needed to bail out RTA

Published by admin on Sat, 05/04/2024 - 2:20pm

Governor JB Pritzker unexpectedly moved away last week from his long-standing opposition to taxing services, saying he didn’t want to start taking ideas off the table as lawmakers search for ways to fund and reform the Chicago region’s mass transit system.
A major business group predictably pushed back.

Motoring around town, the horseless carriage

Published by admin on Mon, 04/29/2024 - 12:19pm

I can hardly imagine what life was like before the internal combustion engine. A short run into town would turn into hours if we had to get the horse, hitch him up to the carriage, and drive at a pace of a few miles per hour hoping desperately that nothing frightens the horse into a run away.
And if it was raining or snowing the process would be even worse. It was no wonder then that when the automobile was invented Wilmingtonians took to it immediately.