Presidential museum offers multi-sensory approach

In an exhibit of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, there are five mannequins sitting around a table in a conference room, each one looking toward an Abraham Lincoln mannequin standing at the head of the table. As visitors settle in, a seventh figure, previously believed to be a mannequin, cocks his head toward visitors and says “Welcome to the museum”.

Even though Abraham Lincoln was assassinated more than 100 years ago, his memory lives on. He rests his hat at the Abraham Lincoln presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.

In late 2003, the collection of items in the Presidential Library became open to the public. Approximately two years later, in April of 2005, the Presidential Museum opened its doors and displayed the 60,000 artifacts that were directly related to Lincoln and those close to him. Approximately 12 million items- including the key and door knob from Lincoln’s home, exist at the museum in total. Compared to other museums, museum visitor Scott Paluska said the Presidential Museum “had a lot more stuff.”

Illinois town highlights its historic roots

A church guards the small village of Maeystown, Ill., from the top of a hill, looking down on the stone houses that sit snug to the street. Visitors are greeted by a flowing creek and a stone bridge that opens to the winding roads of the village. In the distance, a landscape of the bluffs of the Mississippi River can be seen. The tiny town offers historical sites to see, a local bed and breakfast for festival goers to stay and a collection of community members ready to share the history of their town.
German immigrants founded the town in 1852. Sixty historical buildings still exist throughout the village, including the stone St. John United Church of Christ and the Corner George Inn. Maeystown is listed in the state registry of historical sites and has been listed as a historic district on the national register since 1978.

1) The Beaches
Take leave of the city sidewalks and soak up some rays on Oak Street Beach off Michigan Avenue.  Visitors have a great view of the city from North Avenue Beach.  After a trip to Fullerton Beach, head across the street to our next free attraction.

2) Lincoln Park Zoo
Free year-round, this popular tourist attraction has more than 1,000 animals.

3) Navy Pier Fireworks
Look to the sky every summer Wednesday and Saturday nights in Chicago where fireworks are launched above Navy Pier for all to enjoy.

4) Chicago Air and Water Show
At Chicago’s second-largest annual festival, a series of daredevil pilots, parachute squads and synchronized jets perform in the air above Lake Michigan while more than 2million visitors watch from the coast. This year’s show is scheduled for August 20-21.

5) Ride the Trolley
Hop on and off Chicago’s free trolley service to experience a great tour of the city. Some trolley drivers will share fun facts for riders about Chicago’s history.

The Cahokians were late Woodland Indians that first settled in the Cahokia area in approximately 700 A.D. They were considered Mississippian Indians because they settled approximately 12 miles from the Mississippi River, near present-day St. Louis in Collinsville, Ill. They hunted, fished and farmed, surrounding the outside of the city with crops such as squash, sunflowers and corn. This growing community developed structured social classes and political and social systems.

Cahokian civilization peaked from 1050 to 1200 A.D. and became a central area for surrounding towns. It was the largest city north of Mexico, spanning over six square miles and housing anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 people.

Lila Vick, volunteer and tour guide, has worked at Cahokia Mounds for 16 years.

“It’s the idea of telling people about who was here before them and about the way they lived and what they believed in,” Vick said. “What happened here helps us understand any society ... There’s lessons to be learned from knowing about past civilizations.”

Cahokia Mounds was a community that once covered approximately 4,000 acres and boasted more than 120 earthen mounds. Seventy of these are still present and protected on the now 2,200-acre site. The reason for Cahokia’s decline, around 1300 A.D., is still unknown, but experts think it might be a result of climate changes, lack of resources, overpopulation or societal conflicts.

There’s something about the first at-bat for the home team that creates a feeling unmatched the rest of the game. Fans are yelling with excitement. They are screaming with hope. Reality elsewhere doesn’t really mean anything. The Cubs — the reason we are here — have struggled all season, and now they’re well behind the Cardinals in the division race coming in.

Nobody seems to care right now. Nobody remembers the standings when that first guy carries his bat to the plate. No, the fans always scream hard for that first batter.

The Cardinals head to the outfield after a double-play ends the first half of the inning, and here is Tyler Colvin, our rookie who earned his way onto the team with a strong camp showing, strutting to the plate to lead off for the home Cubs.

And suddenly it’s happening. Two months ago, we were buying the tickets. Yesterday, we were driving 10 hours through traffic, across states. This morning, we were sitting in a Wrigleyville bar immersed in the rivalry, fans of both teams thrown together in tight quarters. One hour ago, we found our seats, and we stared in awe down onto the field. About 20 minutes ago, my brother, Drew, looked at me, and I looked at him, and without actually speaking, we both confirmed that yes, this is real. We are finally here. And now here is Colvin stepping into the batter’s box, and the ballpark is alive.

Ball. Strike. Ball. Anticipation builds.

Foul. Foul. Wild cheers.

Ball. Foul. Rampant energy.

On a full count, Cards pitcher Blake Hawksworth throws a sinker on the low, inner portion of the plate. The crowd is buzzing as Colvin swings. He connects. We jump to our feet. Everyone jumps to their feet. Gone? That looks like it might be gone! The ball sails eight rows up into the left center-field bleachers. Home run. 1-0 Cubbies. Pandemonium at Wrigley.

In Olney, Illinois, it is not uncommon to spot a flash of white darting from tree to tree.

Street crossings, welcome signs and banners decorate a downtown dedicated to the albino squirrels that have put Olney in the international spotlight since the 1960s. Even the patches of the local police officers and their police cars feature an outline of the white, bushy-tailed squirrel.

Although several small towns across America, including Marionville, Missouri, and Kenton, Tennessee, have white squirrels, Olney residents claim that it is the original “Home of the White Squirrels.” The white squirrel became Olney’s mascot in 1966.

John Stencel, a retired life science professor at Olney Community College, initiated an annual squirrel count in 1976 after he received a grant from the Illinois Academy of Science to study and keep historical records on the white squirrels. The albinos are Eastern Gray Squirrels that have a genetic mutation, which causes red eyes, pink skin and white fur.

Olney city clerk Belinda Henton took charge of the count in 2003 when Stencel retired and moved to Iowa. She said she promised him that she would keep the tradition alive.

Squirrel counting is held at 7:30 a.m. for three consecutive Saturdays in October. Squirrels are most active in October as they gather food for winter. Volunteers are designated different routes and asked to tally how many gray squirrels, white squirrels and cats they see in their specified area. Volunteers are typically Olney residents and Onley Community College students who return every year to take part in this beloved tradition. This October will mark the 32nd year of Olney’s annual squirrel count.

Cobden, Illinois

Five years ago Gerardo Jimenez was speaking at a conference in Illinois when his wife Carol fell in love with a nearby plot of land. The couple purchased the property, and today peppers of all different shades of green and red spot the land the Jimenezes named Rancho Bella Vista.

Gerardo and Carol Jimenez’s farm is located in Cobden, Illinois. The Jimenezes had always grown peppers as a hobby, but after retiring they decided to develop their pastime into a business, Darn Hot Peppers. Today, they grow 21 varieties of peppers that they use to make salsas, jellies and seasonings.

Gerardo Jimenez said he learned about agriculture as a child and his experiences helped shape the way he runs his farm.

Growing up in a family of migrant farm workers, Jimenez said he labored alongside his brothers and sisters. The fields were sprayed constantly with herbicides and pesticides. After watching the people he knew become ill because of the chemicals from the fields, Jimenez said he decided he would produce crops without the aid of harmful herbicides and pesticides.

“I wanted to be able to walk to the fields, see a good pepper, pick it up, take a bite and be comfortable knowing that the peppers have not been sprayed,” Jimenez said.

Growing peppers without chemicals is difficult work. Jimenez said he wakes up at 6 a.m. every morning to pull weeds and maintain the farm.

“You really have to love what you are doing,” Jimenez said.

In his efforts to maintain a natural farm, Jimenez uses techniques such as crop rotation. He also uses garlic and fish for fertilizer and to deter insects. He said a local high school boy’s soccer team works in the fields during the week and they always complain they can never get dates because of the smell.

The art of storytelling might be dead. Still, in the city of Chicago, the art of telling stories about the dead seems to be quite alive.

In the basement of a nightclub called Excalibur, spooky tales are the substance of the show titled Supernatural Chicago. The show began on Friday the 13th, 2003. Since then, it has run each Friday evening, year-round, with additional shows leading up to Halloween.

On one typical night, the audience gathered in the uncertainty of a candlelit basement and took their seats as an unsure, unacquainted group. Silently, a man descended the winding stairs, his face solemn. The room grew still and eyes strained to catch the first glimpse of the storyteller. There in the center of the room, he held his audience’s attention.

In December of 1803, Meriwether Lewis set up camp on the River Dubois in Illinois with many of the men who would later make up the Corps of Discovery.

During their stay at Camp River Dubois, the Corps trained to survive the conditions of the wilderness, hired more men for the journey and gathered supplies. Without the months of preparation at the camp, their campaign would not have been a success. The men’s stories during their time at River Dubois are preserved through the care of the volunteers and manager at Camp River Dubois Lewis and Clark Museum.

Museum Manager Brad Winn works to preserve the stories of the Corps. Winn said his goal is to educate people about what really happened at Camp River Dubois and to rebuke the idea that Lewis and the Corps of Discovery left from St. Louis to begin the campaign.

In one of the museum’s rooms, visitors will find a log cabin, barrels of fake food, beads and cloth. Large audio-visual exhibits talk about the history of the camp as well as display letters that the men wrote in their diaries. Winn said this exhibit provides information about the methods Lewis and Clark used to pick the men they wanted on the journey with them.