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Editor’s note: The Illinois State Historical Society is the proud recipient of a three-year, matching grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation® (Syracuse, New York) to place 25 new historical markers around the state that focus on marginalized or neglected narratives in Illinois history. Deryn Pomeroy, Trustee and Director of Strategic Initiatives of the foundation, agreed to answer these questions we posed to her.

There is so much history in the November-December issue of Illinois Heritage, and our list of contributors continues to grow. Bucky Halker’s portrait of Woody Guthrie in Illinois is a fascinating look at a 20th century icon not generally associated with the Prairie State, and Dave Joens’ “Breaking up is Hard to Do,” a  discussion of Illinois’s contentious sectionalism, explores the many aborted paths to secession in our 204-year history. Chris Suerdieck’s “The First Burger King” tells us about a mom-and-pop hamburger joint in Mattoon that made headlines simply by sticking to a winning recipe, and we say goodbye to Dr. G. Cullom Davis, a friend and colleague who changed the way we do history.

In this issue of Illinois Heritage we take a canoe trip with “Ernie” Hemingway and his chums down the Des Plaines and Illinois rivers, meet a celebrated children’s author and artist from Macomb, investigate Chicago’s “Babbling Burglar” and his gang of bent cops, plant trees in Kewanee with some enterprising high school students, and explore the evolution of the Illinois prairie into an agricultural incubator for farming innovations around the world.

The Spring 2022 issue of the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society is now available. The Journal, the scholarly publication of the ISHS, is published quarterly and is a benefit of membership in the Illinois State Historical Society. Each issue includes articles, essays, book reviews, and documents about history, literature, art technology, law, and other subjects related to Illinois and the Midwest. Visit our Membership page for membership options and information. Click on the “Read More” button to see a list of articles and reviews included in this issue.

Are you or is someone you know interested in serving on the Illinois State Historical Society's Advisory Board? We're always looking for talented, committed people to join the ISHS Board and Advisory Board to help us meet our goal to "foster awareness, understanding, research, preservation, and recognition of history in Illinois."