Time Was

    Living in the rich agricultural area of our county, we see food all around us. Even in those corn fields we find the much talked about high fructose corn syrup. Many think that that product is a recent additive to the American food source. That is not true. One hundred years ago it was part of the great effort to win the war.
    As more and more men were drafted the government found itself with a problem. All those men needed to be fed well if they were to fight at their greatest potential.

    The signs are all around us, Pottawattamie camp ground, Indian Boundary Line and Wauponsie Glacial Trail. Those romantic Native American names are not just for show. Time was when white man did not live here, only tribes of warring Indians roamed the prairie.
    Set the way-back machine to the late 17th century for a look around.
    The very state we live in, Illinois, is named for a tribe of Indians. The Illinois Indians were made up of five distinct bands: Kaskaskias, Cahohias, Peorias, Tamaroas and Mickgamies.

Our story today concerns abolitionists, those people who helped slaves escape. Sometimes they helped people who had left slavery behind in the south and were desperately trying to get to Canada. But that was not the situation in today's story.

Sometimes it's hard to picture something that you are not familiar with. I find that it is true when I talk about coal mining. The only experience I have with it directly is at the Science & Industry museum where long ago I remember going down to the coal mine. I remember feeling somewhat claustrophobic. Our subject today is the coal shafts themselves.