McHenry County High School Seniors, apply for the Nancy Fike Scholarship
News and Events
Future of historical buildings in Greenwood, Richmond could hinge on public involvement
Some heavy lifting is required if John and Heather Ferris are to save the Greenwood General Store, and they want you to lend a hand.
The couple hopes to wrap up the funding necessary to buy the business and historic building by early 2022 – after making the electrical and plumbing upgrades required by the bank.
Memorial Hall a testament to public involvement
By all accounts, everyone wants to save Memorial Hall. The $230,000 question: What is the best, most sustainable approach?
The village of Richmond’s on-again, off-again sale of the 1906 National Register of Historic Places landmark to a private owner took another twist Thursday night when Richmond Township residents Rachel and Jim Prickett proposed creating a nonprofit to manage it. The W.A. McConnell Foundation would lease the 5,700-square-foot building from the village … That is, if the village still owns it.
Historical Field Trips
The self-guided Historical Field Trips for Northeast McHenry County are perfect for families, groups and individuals who want to learn more about the rich history of their county!
Historical Field Trips are available for:
• Richmond
• Spring Grove
• Wonder Lake
• Ringwood
• McCullom Lake
• McHenry
• Johnsburg
They include addresses and historical information for each of the
exciting stops along the route. They are clear and easy to follow!
Voting is a right worth exercising, preserving
The last consolidated election occurred in November 2020, and we’re still talking about it. It’s that piece of gum stuck on the bottom of your shoe; the neighbor dog’s doo-doo caught in the treads of your lawn tactor tire.
It’s hard to get off … and it smells funny.
Historic Instruments of Illinois
CLICK HERE to listen to a recording:
UNION – Chris Vallillo, a musician and historian from downstate Macomb, hopes who attend Monday’s free presentation by the McHenry County Historical Society leave with added admiration for music’s power to inspire and heal.
Community Foundation awards grant
The Community Foundation for McHenry County approved a grant of $2,760 on Aug. 26, 2020, help defray storage rental charges for many of the larger items in the Society’s collection. MCHS has in excess of 10,000 accessioned items in its collection for current and future generations to enjoy.
Getting the right to vote has never come easy
While marking Women’s History Month, it is important to remember Illinois was among the first states in the Union to ratify the 19th Amendment – the very first, if one discounts the language error that prompted a second vote on June 17, 1919.
But not everyone supported a woman’s right to vote, even among women.
Picture Postcards: The Happy Invention
UNION – Illinois is the birthplace of the American picture postcard, a souvenir of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Katherine Hamilton-Smith, former director of cultural resources for the Lake County Forest Preserves in Libertyville and founding curator of the Curt Teich postcard, discussed the impact from the billions of postcards produced in this country and abroad during her March 22 virual program: “Picture Postcards: The Happy Invention." The free lecture was made possible with funding from Illinois Humanities.
Speed limits originally a hit-or-miss proposition
There was a time when people took their lives into their own hands simply crossing the street.
Big towns, small towns; it didn’t matter. People were routinely killed by railroad and trolly cars, carriages and wagons, and flying debris from unsecured loads and improperly maintained vehicles. And a culprit behind many of these crashes was speed.
Doctor of invention
Today video cameras are almost everywhere. We’ve gotten so used to them that we go about our daily activities without giving them a second thought. But, they work! Just flip through any cable provider’s channels and you’ll see the finished product – hours of video footage turned into TV programs featuring “cops and robbers.”
You can’t beat this concoction when it comes to safe roads
The McHenry County Division of Transportation is sweet on winter in a big way … sugar beet sweet.
Used since 1995, the county DOT slowly has championed a salt-free diet – as much as possible. Maintenance Superintendent Ed Markison said that during all but the iciest of storms, county trucks use a combination of 80 percent salt brine and 20 percent sugar beet juice. County trucks are equipped with 1,000-gallon tanks of the ice-melt mixture.
Small Town Square
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
To say the past three years have been a challenge, is an understatement. Coping with a virus that seemingly will not go away and an economy struggling to gain traction, Americans have nevertheless relied on good humor, resourcefulness and a can-do spirit in order to maintain the traditions they love.
One of those traditions is the annual McHenry County Historical Society quilt raffle.
Food History at Home
McHenry County Historical Society has launched a historical, how-to approach video series. Its free five-part “Food History at Home” teaches viewers about the history of particular foods.
What's cooking? A little history
This pandemic and the subsequent social distancing requirements have led people to rediscover something your grandma considered a prerequisite: Household skills.
The ‘People’s Houses’ are endangered in Washington and at home
The events of Jan. 6 brought to mind two incidents in American history – on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
By now we’ve all seen the images and wrestled with the sobering reality that five people lost their lives after protestors breached the building in a failed attempt to derail certification of the November 2020 election by Congress. In the melee, doors and windows were damaged, desks tipped over and photographs torn from the walls. Early repair estimates, excluding labor, place repairs between $270,000 and $350,000.
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