News and Events
Christmas memorabilia display from 2018
Despite cool temperatures and rain, 2018 event drew a many appreciative onlookers to view vintage Christmas memorabilia and this year's offerings in the Rock Around the Quilted Tree contest and exhibit.
Apple Bake-off 2018
Bake-off on point for taste
Judy Link of Marengo make it a clean sweep this year. The Heritage Fair pie-baking champion also claimed the grand prize for her carramel apple pie Oct. 7 at this year's Cider Fest.
Winners, by category, were:
PIE: First, Judy Link; second, Becky Kokes of Lindenhurst; third, Adrianne Adams of Richmond.
CAKE: First, Nancy Hoadley of Woodstock; second, Jean Turner of Huntley;
Mosquitoes have us scratching our heads
Just when we thought last month’s frost had put the freeze on mosquito numbers, we’ve had to rethink our fall prognosis.
There definitely are fewer of the pests, but all of the rain and the return of higher temperatures is making the hair stand up on my neck. Either that or it’s a mosquito bite.
Woodstock's Andrew House plaqued
Members of the McHenry County Historical Society and its Historic Sites Committee gathered Saturday, Sept. 29, for the plaquing of historic Dan and Lorena Andrew House at 411 Lawndale Ave. in Woodstock.
Ray Bock said it was the home’s uniqueness and pedigree which prompted he and his wife, Cindy, buy it in December 2000.. Not only is it an excellent example of Prairie Style design, its celebrity stems from the architect original owners, Dan and Lorena Andrew, hired to design it.
Boone County Museum of HIstory
Field trip by the McHenry Co. Joint Council of Historic Groups
Ace is the place for history
After almost 90 years, the Bohn family of Woodstock is exiting the hardware business and selling its store on Route 47.
Ernest “Ernie” Bohn Sr. started his career in hardware retailing in 1921, and in July 1929, with his sisters, Minnie and Edith, he bought the former Osborn Hardware at 104 Cass St. His grandson and current co-owner, Phil Bohn, said Ernie got interested in the hardware business while attending school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He specialized in window treatments at the city’s largest hardware store, Wolff, Kubly and Hirsig Co.
Preserve the past, be it paper or prairie style
Digitizing Documents
Newspapers and the communal history they chronicle are disappearing – not only current mastheads, but the many publications that have been relegated to memory.
While we Instagram each other (yes, folks, it’s a verb now), newsprint is turning to dust before our eyes.
The McHenry County Historical Society and Museum recognizes this threat. Spearheaded by its library committee, MCHS began investigating how we not only could preserve this information in an accessible way for the public, but also raise the money necessary to do the job.
Civil discourse required in latest Civil War controversy
Erected in 1913, the Civil War statue presiding over the University of North Carolina campus at Chapel Hill was toppled last Monday. Since the horrific Dylann Roof church shooting in June 2015, more than 113 symbols of the Confederacy have been removed across the nation with more than 1,740 still standing, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group.
- Courtesy University of North Carolina postcard collection
Civil discourse required in latest Civil War controversy
Polluting our planet with plastic simply not logical
To me, the hyped-up arrival of biodegradable drinking straws is a little bit like the return of “old” Coke. Was it ever really gone?
Pringle School Restoration
Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie
Those attending Sunday's program in the 1867 Pringle School were treated to a unique and fun form of time travel, as Miss Hoffmann (Ellie Carlson) took "students" through their paces while "parents" and members of the "school board" watched with delight. In addition to raising awareness about this National Register-worthy structure, the program generated donations toward completing the school's restoration.
Pringle School Restoration Plan
I. Preservation Actions
Soak up local history rather than rinse it out
Not unlike the city of Chicago after the great fire of 1871, municipalities nowadays are being forced to takes a hands-on approach to redevelopment.
Back then, architects embraced new fireproof construction materials such as terra cotta. We saw the advent of the skyscraper and a more integrated transportation network that would serve the city well during the 1893 World Columbian Exposition – visited by about 27.5 million people.
2018 Raffle Quilt
Quilt winner selected
Wendy Lauen of McHenry is this year's winner of Heritage Quilters' "Forever Poppies" quilt. Bo McConnell selected the winning ticket during the Nov. 7 afternoon quilt program. Lauen is not a quilter like her mother-in-law, nor has she purchased a quilt raffle ticket in the past. If you know her, consider stopping by. Perhaps some of that luck will rub off!!
Futuristic view of local dairy industry milky at best
A September 1912 edition of the Wilmot, Wisconsin, Agitator put the dairy dilemma this way:
“The announcement of the fall and winter milk prices of the large handlers in the Elgin territory at an average of $1.70 per hundred [weight] for the six months dating Oct. 1 seems to be very unsatisfactory to a large number of the producers, and while they very generally signed for the usual amounts, claim there can be no money in the business at prevailing prices. …
Annual Meeting
About 50 people attended the 2018 annual meeting of the McHenry County Historical Society Monday, July 16, at the museum. Prior to guest speaker Michael Rehberg's enthusiastic program titled "Sordid and Scandalous Lake Geneva," members conducted a little business:
• Retired Administrator Nancy Fike presented this year's Fike Scholarship winner, Ashley Peldiak of Cary, to the group. The Cary-Grove High School graduate plans on studying writing and history at Drake University this fall.
• Members adopted several bylaws amendments:
Heritage Fair Car Show
Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's Heritage Fair Car Show. It was the largest yet!
Jorge and Erin O'Connell Diaz of Bull Valley captured Best of Show honors at this year's Heritage Fair Car Show for their 1947, all-original 1947 Mercury Woodie station wagon. "This is one of those classic pieces of artwork," Erin said of their car. "It symbolizes America, really."
Bob Hartman of Marengo earned this one-of-a-kind People's Choice trophy for his survivor 1956 Chevy Bel Air. Other winner were as follows:
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