Illinois Heritage

100 years ago the bells tolled across the nation announcing the end of World War I. But if history has told us anything, the wounds from that cataclysm persist to the present day and the reverberations echo on and on. It is fitting that we commemorate the anniversary of the end of “The War to End All Wars” by revisiting what Illinoisans who survived it remembered. Great appreciation is offered to guest editor Bill Kemp, who put the bones and flesh on this issue of Illinois Heritage, and to the guest authors who gave it life.

In this issue we also congratulate the 2018 Centennial Award recipients, businesses and not-for-profit organizations that have served Illinoisans for 100 or more years. At a time when we hear so much about companies leaving the state, it is a delight to recognize those corporations whose roots remain deep in the Prairie soil.

Thanks to all of you who have taken time to renew your 2019 membership in the Illinois State Historical Society. Our organization thrives because of your  commitment to our mission of “fostering awareness, understanding, research,  preservation, and recognition of history in Illinois.” 

Wishing you the very best of holiday seasons, and a happy and brilliant New Year. 

Nine months into the state's bicentennial year, the Illinois State Historical Society continues to make the commemoration as memorable as possible. So far this year we have placed or scheduled 71 Lincoln portraits in county courthouses around the state; eight historical marker dedications will be carried out between now and October 30; the Society's 2018 Centennial Awards will handed out on Saturday, November 3 at the newly restored Illinois Governor's Mansion, and our 2018 Illinois History Symposium is scheduled for December 3.

The Illinois Heritage magazine gives our members and friends a chance to share their deep passion for Prairie State history. This issue includes article from contributors all across the state: Herbert Russell from Carbondale; Kathleen Spaltro from Woodstock; Mark Flotow from Springfield; John Hallwas from Macomb; Reg Ankrom from Quincy; Will Shannon from Belleville; and Keith Sculle from Williamsville and Steve Leonard from Rochester. Each article will bring you closer to the essence of Illinois and, perhaps, stoke your own creative fires.

Thank you for reading Illinois Heritage. Your membership and gifts keep this organization vital and relevant. We cannot serve Illinois history without you. 

David Joens serves as guest editor of this issue of Illinois Heritage. His gifts of enthusiasm, professionalism, and passion for the history of our Prairie State––and most  especially his love of the architectural wonders of our Illinois statehouse––make him a splendid guide. To accomplish his task he has enlisted the help of John Lupton, director of the Illinois Supreme Court Historical Society; Mark Sorensen, past ISHS president and ex officio historian of the capitol; and illustrator William Crook Jr., who has shared one of his exquisite watercolor/pen and ink portraits of the statehouse for our cover. David also tells the story of a twelve-year collaboration between the ISHS and the Illinois House of Representatives to restore an amazing 19th-century montage that now hangs in the state capitol. The montage features individual photos of the entire 1879 House of Representatives.

Thank you for reading Illinois Heritage. Your membership and gifts keep this organization vital and relevant. We cannot serve Illinois history without you.