Posts about People
Two Pieces of World War II Accessioned into the Museum's Library and Archives
In the last week, the Museum has accessioned two unique pieces of World War II history: a P.O.W. diary and a collection of 16 pr...
McHistory: Bloomington-Normal Under Jim Crow Law
Listen to the audio on...
Don Munson Named 2018 History Maker Honoree
Donald G. Munson was born September 26, 1941, in Gibson City and attended Gibson City schools. Growing up an only child, Don spent a lo...
Paul and Sandra Harmon Named 2018 History Maker Honorees
Paul and Sandra Harmon shake their heads when they’re referred to as a “power couple,” but that’s how many people in the community desc...
2018 History Makers Announced
The McLean County Museum of History announced on Tuesday four recipients of the 2018 History Makers award to be presented during the Mu...
Museum, Prairie Pride Coalition host trip to Albert Cashier musical in Chicago
BLOOMINGTON - The McLean County Museum of History is currently taking reservations for a special bus trip to see “The Civility of Alber...
An Old Master returns home ‘Doc’ Bradshaw, July 19, 1962
Kenneth “Doc” Bradshaw, one of the more accomplished pianists to come out of the Twin Cities, returned home in July 1962 after a sevent...
Glen Dotson and ‘Sparky’ Towanda, January 1941
Glen Dotson is seen here in late January 1941 with his new pet pigeon “Sparky.” Glen’s previous pigeon had been killed by an automobile...
Frankie Finck, Gridley’s ‘strong baby’ August 1949
Margy Finck of Gridley demonstrates how her six-month-old son Frankie was able to balance in her hands. Frankie’s doctor was said to ad...
New American citizen May 24, 1941
Twenty-six people became American citizens in a naturalization ceremony held May 24, 1941, in the McLean County Courthouse. Overseeing ...
Parking meters perplex motorists Downtown Bloomington, May 1941
Parking meters were first installed in downtown Bloomington in February 1940. By the following spring these contraptions were still con...
Woops! Roller-skating messenger State Farm Insurance, summer 1940
More than a week ago we posted a photograph from this set. Here’s another one. At the time, State Farm was testing the feasibility of h...
Lexington Art Show July 1962
Jack Statz and Jann Thompson Anderson served as judges for an art show held in conjunction with Lexington’s annual homecoming festiviti...
City Hoosegow September 1938
Old Bloomington City Hall, located at the corner of East and Monroe streets downtown, included eight narrow holding cells. These were l...
Clarke Triplets Turn Eight Downs, August 1949
Mary, Margaret, and Marilyn Clarke of Downs (don’t ask us to identify who’s who!) turned eight years old on August 21, 1949. Their moth...
Readying for college Fall of 1949
Bill and Edmunds Rolley enjoy an apparently carefree day in the Twin Cities before heading off to Northwestern University in Evanston, ...
Red Cross knitters July 1940
In the summer of 1940, Marietta Howard, McLean County Red Cross executive secretary, issued an “S.O.S.” for local knitters. The local c...
Roller-Skating messengers State Farm Insurance, summer 1940
Fayne Hoobler (left, on skates) delivers mail to Dorothy Thompson on the sixth floor the State Farm Insurance Companies high-rise offic...
Mackinaw River catch, July 1940 Boolman residence, Bloomington
Chester Boolman, 820 W. Washington St., shows his 21-month-old son Melvin a 15-pound catfish he caught below the Kappa Bridge on the Ma...
Lexington Dog Show July 31, 1940
Seen here are 5 of the 30 some entries for the children’s dog show, held July 31, 1940, in Lexington. They’re at Lexington Park, with t...
Red, White, and Kaboom! Independence Day 1941
Nine-year-old Tommy Roberts of Bloomington stocks up on fireworks for the July 4, 1941 festivities.The Museum wishes you and yours a ha...
Independence Day 1964 Miller Park, Bloomington
For well over a century, Miller Park on Bloomington’s west side has served as home to many the city’s Fourth of July activities, includ...
Tot Tries Tiny Tractor August 1947
Three-year-old Janet Schultze gets comfortable on her father Floyd Schultze’s two-cylinder, nine horsepower tractor. This was no child’...
Beckley-Moots Wedding Saybrook, September 1938
William C. Beckley and Bernadine Cleo Moots of Cropsey ready for their September 3, 1938 wedding at Saybrook Methodist Church.The coupl...
BPD’s Rogues Gallery August 1947
Bloomington Police Chief Clyde Hibbens (left) and Officer James Daley examine some of the 1,600 mug shots in the department’s newly acq...
Bull in Barbershop Hudson, June 19, 1947
We’ve all heard the expression “bull in a china shop,” but how about one in a barbershop? Herb Abrams (astride the mauve bull) promised...
Bzzzz! June 30, 1938
William Knuth, a laid off boilermaker and hobbyist beekeeper, was called to the Darling Poultry and Fish Market, 218 S. Center St., to ...
Ms. Stanberry and Queenie July 21, 1938
Gretchen Stanberry, a senior in the school of music at MacMurray Women’s College in Jacksonville, was the guest speaker before the Bloo...
Three hospitals; three styles of caps June 1958
The distinctive caps worn by graduate nurses at the three Bloomington-Normal hospitals were compared and contrasted during the local St...
I beg to differ … Waterloo v. Bloomers, July 6, 1938
From 1901 to 1939, Bloomington was home to the Bloomers of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. Here’s Len Backer, Waterloo Red Hawks skip...
Paving, 400 block North Main Street June 1938
Workmen with local contractor Berenz & Son lay asphalt down the 400 block of North Main Street in Bloomington. Today, the Jaeger’s ...
4-H Lamb Show June 27, 1951
In late June 1951, the McLean County 4-H market lamb show was held at the Producers Stock Yards, located at East LaFayette Street and t...
Miller Park Beach July 1941
For decades Miller Park beach was the most popular spots in the Twin Cities to cool off during the summer months. If you can identify a...
The Iceman Cometh … but for how long? June 1957
Once a common sight in windows throughout the Twin Cities and beyond, ice carts were becoming an increasingly rare sight by 1957. What ...
LeRoy High’s Ron Crosby Teacher of Year, May 1964
At the end of the 1964 school year, Leroy High School students selected biology teacher and basketball coach Ron Crosby (left) as “Teac...
Excuse me, comin’ through May 1968
On May 22, 1968, workers removed a roof off a gas station being dismantled at the corner of Lee and Washington streets on the west end ...
Book Lover in Seventh Heaven May 1968
Retired schoolteacher Elsa Schilling found a quiet corner of Withers Public Library hoping to find a few keepers during the 10-cent boo...
Memorial Day tradition Poppy Sales, May 1938
The local Veterans of Foreign Wars John H. Kraus post prepares for its 17th annual poppy sale in this late May 1938 photograph. Left to...
Redd-Williams Legion Post McBarnes Building, January 1942
Seen here are Redd-Williams American Legion Post #163 members at the McBarnes Memorial Building on East Grove Street in Bloomington. Fo...
4-H Gathering Undated
These patient 4-H members are waiting for something to wrap up before they can enjoy their meal. Note the needlework in front of them a...
Local Guardsmen Head to Chicago June 1938
On June 20, 1938, about 40 members of Bloomington’s 2nd Battalion, 108th Quartermaster Regiment, headed to Chicago for the annual Illin...
Illinois State Normal University Junior-Senior Prom, 1949
Several ISNU coeds show off their gowns for the June 10, 1949 junior-senior prom. Louise Claymore (left) is in a blue chiffon; Barbara ...
Extra, extra, read all about it! Pantagraph’s graduation edition, May 1949
Danvers High School seniors are seen here pouring though The Daily Pantagraph’s 56-page graduation edition of May 18, 1949. The Pantagr...
BHS Student Lounge May 1948
Bloomington High School students Wanda Rust (right) and Margaret Schlemmer work on murals in the newly opened student lounge, a repurpo...
Artist and Author Visit Bloomington May 1948
Artist Bob Hooton (left) and writer Dan Wickenden, both fresh from an extended stay in the Central American nation of Guatemala, arrive...
The Great Levant, February 1950 Pianist performs in Bloomington
Oscar Levant (right), the famed American pianist, composer, and actor, performed with the Bloomington-Normal Symphony on two consecutiv...
Municipal Workers on Strike May 1968
Bloomington’s public service employees responsible for garbage pickup and cleanup work staged a seven-day strike in early May 1968. Thi...
Franklin Park’s new evergreens April 1958
In the spring of 1958, the Bloomington-Normal Garden Club planted a series of evergreens at Franklin Park, the city’s oldest green spac...
Judy Stone Named 2017 History Makers Honoree
Judy Stone was born in Columbus, Ohio on July 21, 1932. After growing up in Ohio, Judy received her bachelor’s degree in English from D...
Jeanne and Charles Morris Named 2017 History Makers Honorees
The story of how Jeanne and Charles Morris met “usually gets a smile,” according to Charles. The two met as college students working at...
Craig Hart Named 2017 History Makers Honoree
Craig Hart was born on January 11, 1934 in Streator, Illinois. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Economics and his Mast...
Jesse Smart Named 2017 History Makers Honoree
Jesse Smart was born on April 29, 1939 on a small family farm in Pike County, IL. After graduating as class valedictorian at East Pike ...
Elizabeth Paullin Funk Undated
This circa early 1930s portrait of Elizabeth Paullin Funk was taken by Clara Brian, longtime McLean County Home Bureau adviser. The Mus...
‘Private Joe’ Fifer Memorial Day 1934
The gentlemen in the center is Joseph “Private Joe” Fifer of Bloomington, who served as Illinois governor from 1889 to 1893. For Memori...
Dr. Moate becomes proficient knitter April 1946
Dr. Thomas Moate, who practiced medicine in Gridley for 50 years, picked up knitting at the age of 70. He’s seen here in mid-April 1947...
Pointer and Setter Club Field Trials, April 1946
That’s “Jake,” a pointer puppy owned by “bird dog man” G.S. Bryant of Springfield and handled here by E.T. Burke of Farmersville. Jake ...
Bloomington High Aegis staff October 1954
Several weeks ago we ran a photograph from a set of 1954 negatives showing the staff of Aegis, the BHS student newspaper. Here’s anothe...
Extra! Extra! Read All About it! BHS student newspaper, 1954
The Aegis is Bloomington High School’s longtime student newspaper. Here’s chief photographer Bob Stoner in late October 1954 snapping B...
Better Babies Conference May 1929
The Pantagraph and Second Presbyterian Church, Bloomington, sponsored a three-day “Better Babies Conference,” May 7-9, 1929. Seen here ...
Television comes to Danvers June 1949
Who remembers television coming to their home? In June 1949, The Pantagraph reported on the arrival of television to several area commu...
‘Brick’ Young, March 1936 Pantagraph Sports Editor and Official
Normal resident Doug Rosenbaum served in the officiating crew as field judge for last weekend’s Super Bowl LI. Doug also worked Super ...
Rockets, mid-1940s Twin-City Recreation Center
The Rockets were an informal team connected to the Twin-City Recreation Center, 318 S. Main St., Bloomington. They played games Friday ...
Twin Cities Bowler Peggy Schultz February 1942
This photograph comes from the Museum’s expansive Pantagraph Negatives Collection. Unfortunately, we know only who’s featured here, Peg...
Redd-Williams Legion Post January 1942
For much of the 20th century the Twin Cities had segregated American Legion posts. Seen here are Redd-Williams post members and auxilia...
Moose Hunters Bag Rabbits January 23, 1947
Members of the Bloomington Loyal Order of the Moose staged a rabbit hunt in south-central Illinois, between Pana and Vandalia, in Janua...
Soap Box Derby Saybrook, July 14, 1937
That’s Bob Butler on the white pony towing Eugene Stauffer, third-place soap box derby finisher in the Class B division. Some 350 area ...
World War II Scrap Drive Colfax, June 1943
In the early summer of 1943, some forty Colfax area residents, mostly farmers, gathered twenty tons of scrap for the war effort. That’s...
Lathrop's Barbershop, 1914
George Lathrop was a Bloomington barber for many years. This February 1914 photograph shows the interior of his barbershop when it was ...
Emerson School, Bloomington March 1976
Built in the early 1900s, Emerson School was demolished in 1985. Designed by prominent Bloomington architect Arthur L. Pillsbury, it wa...
Mobile Home Living, Bloomington Catherine Heineman, January 1953
By 1953, there were at least 10 mobile home parks with a combined 165 “trailers” in the Twin Cities. Here’s Catherine Heineman, a resid...
"Gridley High, January 1953 County Hoops Champs"
Here’s Gridley High School Coach Clarence “Merk” Kyger readying his varsity squad for the 1953 McLean County Basketball Tournament, whi...
Pothole Season Laesch Dairy Truck, January 1965
Winter is hard on Twin City streets, with local residents always on the lookout for kidney-jarring, hubcap-rattling potholes. Here’s a ...
New Year’s Eve 1948 In with the new, out with the old …
The Pantagraph ran this staged photograph of Father Time and Baby New Year on the last day of 1948. Unfortunately, we don’t know the na...
Christmas 1953
On December 25, 1953, The Pantagraph ran a series of Christmas Day photographs such as this one. Yet these two toddlers were not identi...
Toy, toys, and more toys Christmastime 1953
This week we’ve posted several photographs from a set showing downtown Bloomington holiday shoppers in mid-December 1953. As with the p...
Holiday Shopping Downtown Bloomington, December 1953
Seen here are shoppers out and about downtown Bloomington in mid-December 1953. This location, as well as the folks shown here, are uni...
December Sleigh Ride, 1963
These young women appear to be having the time of their lives. Unfortunately, we do not known the who, what, where, and why of this fab...
Santa No Replacement for Mama Downtown Bloomington, December 4, 1948
Santa arrived by train to Bloomington on December 4, 1948, and spent much of the day greeting children in his specially erected hut on ...
Santa at the Courthouse Square Downtown Bloomington, 1948
On December 4, 1948, Santa Claus arrived in Bloomington via the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad. Upon disembarking at the old west sid...
Jennie Wickizer’s Bakery Downtown Bloomington, undated
In April 1894, Jennie Wickizer purchased the commercial building at the corner of Main and Mulberry streets on the north end of downtow...
LeRoy’s CCC Camp August 1934
LeRoy was home to a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work camp during the Great Depression. The view here is looking northeast, with d...
Herman Jack’s Christmas tree December 1952
In April 1950, DeWitt County farmer Herman Jack planted 1,500 evergreen seedlings on sloping, erodible land on his farm southwest of Fa...
Armistice Day 1945 parade Downtown Bloomington
This photograph, taken from the east steps of the McLean County Courthouse (now Museum), offers a partial view of the 200 block of Nort...
George Stewart World War I veteran
This photograph, undated, shows George Stewart, a local (and well-decorated) World War I veteran. The “163” on his American Legion cap ...
Jack Cruser ‘Ugliest’ Costume Winner, 1968
On Oct. 31, 1968, the Normal Parks and Recreation Department and the Optimist and Rotary clubs sponsored a Halloween costume parade at ...
World War II Home Front Gas Rationing, July 1943
Ted Colteaux hands over his gasoline ration book to Lee Harris of Harris Super Service Station, 807 S. Main St., Bloomington. During th...
Halloween Party Mystery
The exact date of this photo, let alone the name of the group are unknown. It is c.1918 and the room is in the Illinois House lobby, a ...
Bird House Contest, 1930s Anchor Grade School
This wonderful photograph comes from the Museum’s William Brigham Collection. Brigham was the longtime superintendent of McLean County ...
Hougham’s Halloween Party? Village of McLean, ca. 1890
Not much is known about this photo other than the handwritten caption indicating it was taken at Albert and Betty (or Bettie) Hougham’s...
Aaron Copland at IWU February 1958
Composer Aaron Copland was the featured guest for Illinois Wesleyan University's Seventh Annual Symposium of Contemporary American...
Nation’s Best Corn Huskers November 1939
Into the 1940s, corn was picked not by machine but by hand. Local, state, and national corn husking contests were all the rage in the 1...
Susan Emrath Computer Pioneer, 1968
In early November 1968, The Pantagraph profiled Susan Emrath, a recent Illinois State University graduate working as a systems engineer...
Beich Bowlers, 1942
Not much is known about this photograph, including the reference to “Merry-Go-Round.” We do know that at least four of the five women s...
Put Up Your Dukes Small Fry Boxers, March 1958
Billy Kletz (left) and Jim Heafer get ready for the upcoming Small Fry Boxing Championship at the Western Avenue Community Center. Keep...
Private Joe’ Fifer Laid to Rest August 8, 1938
Seen here are pallbearers bringing the casket of Joseph “Private Joe” Fifer into the old downtown Bloomington Unitarian Church, 209 N. ...
New Two-Way Radios Bloomington Fire Department, 1953
The BFD tried out its new two-way radio system in late August 1953. Seen here are Fireman Robert Colyer (left) driving the service truc...
LeRoy Fall Festival September 1963
The 1963 LeRoy Fall festival was held over four days, September 4-7. Billed as “Illinois largest free fall festival,” live entertainmen...
Darlene Bishop, Doll Collector Heyworth, August 1938
Twelve-year-old Darlene Bishop poses with her collection of 225 dolls in August 1938. Darlene, seen here in her bedroom at the family h...
Grand Champion Gilt McLean County Fair, Aug. 6, 1958
That’s a proud Walter Gottschalk of Danvers at the 1958 McLean County 4-H Club Fair. He’s posing with his grand champion gilt hog, a Sp...
Prairie Daze Hudson, July 12, 1980
Acacia fraternity members from Illinois Wesleyan University compete in the outhouse race at Hudson’s Prairie Daze summer fest back in 1...
LeRoy Centennial Queen October 19, 1935
This photo was taken of the LeRoy Centennial parade, held back in 1935. Rose Mae Bishop (seated) served as centennial queen. Margaret A...
LeRoy Centennial Parade October 19, 1935
A merchant’s parade was one of the highlights of LeRoy’s three-day centennial celebration, October 18-20, 1935. Some 6,000 folks lined ...
Ozark Air Lines Touches Down Bloomington Municipal Airport, Nov. 6, 1950
An estimated 200 area residents were on hand at the Municipal Airport (now Central Illinois Regional Airport) to celebrate the start of...
Jim Ameche and WJBC December 1949
National radio personality Jim Ameche (center) helped WJBC Radio inaugurate its new transmitter building, new pylon antenna, and other ...
Idle Youth Miller Park, July 1957
These unidentified boys are seen here a few days before Independence Day 1957, hanging out at Miller Park on Bloomington’s west side.Th...
Bloomington Bloomers Fans Field, 1913
For the better part of four decades Bloomington fielded a team in the well-regarded Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. In 1913, the Bloomers...
Memorial Day 1960 African-American Legionnaires
The Redd-William American Legion Post color guard heads north on East Street in downtown Bloomington during the Memorial Day parade of ...
My Store, undated Downtown Bloomington
Oscar Mandel and brother-in-law Albert Schwarzman opened this five-story “trade palace,” located on the northeast corner of Center and ...
Irving School, Bloomington Eighth Grade Graduates, 1925
Here’s the Irving School class of 1925. In 2016 Irving is still a public school on Bloomington’s west side (though the old building in ...
North Side of Courthouse Square Downtown Bloomington, circa 1956
Here’s a wonderful view of the 100 block of West Jefferson Street, or the north side of the Courthouse Square. Pictured here are Roland...
Ready, Aim, Fire! BPD Firing Range, May 1936
Seen here are four members of the Bloomington Police Department taking target practice with their Smith & Wesson .38 service revolv...
Play Ball! Cooksville, 1909
McLean County’s smaller communities, including the Village of Cooksville, once fielded competitive baseball clubs that welcomed all com...
Mount Hope Ladies Aid Moore’s Mill Marker, August 1968
The most famous gristmill in McLean County was the one operated by the Moore family of Mount Hope Township. Situated on the south bank ...
Father Ric Schneider Named 2016 History Makers Honoree
Born July 21, 1932 in Louisville, KYSince Father Ric Schneider arrived in Bloomington to become the pastor of St. Mary’s Parish 23 year...
Jill Hutchison Named 2016 History Makers Honoree
Born: March 8, 1945 in The Bronx, New YorkA Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and an internationally respected authority ...
Jack Porter Named 2016 History Makers Honoree
Born June 4,1936 in Chicago, Illinois, Jack Porter’s passion for social justice has defined his life and career over five decades. Insp...
Gordon Ropp Named 2016 History Makers Honoree
Born April 5, 1933 in Normal, ILIt is impossible to study the history of agriculture and rural life in McLean County without exa...
East Grove Street, Bloomington July 1956
Phillip Hogan (on bike) chats with Marty Weigman is this summer of 1956 scene along East Grove Street, looking east. The intersection s...
Fashion Show Prep, late April 1958 Octavia High School, Colfax
This late April 1958 scene shows Octavia High School student Marcella Brucker at a sewing machine working on a dress she planned to mod...
Illinois Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs Annual Convention, Bloomington 1918
The Illinois Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs held its nineteenth convention in Bloomington in late August 1918. Seen here are conve...
When Paperboys Were … Boys Pantagraph Carriers, May 1929
These lively lads were earning a life’s worth of lessons as Pantagraph paperboys back in the spring of 1929. Unfortunately, these carri...
Bohemian Bloomington Evans Building, December 1947
In the mid-1940s, the Evans Building earned the nickname “Little Greenwich Village” due to all the colorful characters that made the do...
American Passion Play Backstage Laughs, 1954
Every spring Delmar D. Darrah’s theatrical retelling of “the greatest story ever told” is brought back to life on the local stage. The ...
Dedication of Holton Homes Bloomington’s West Side, July 1954
Several hundred folks sat in the shade of a box elder tree on Sunday, July 11, 1954, for the dedication of Bloomington’s new public hou...
Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church Bloomington, June 9, 1940
Founded in October 1865 as South Hill Baptist Church, Mt Pisgah Baptist Church has played an important leadership role in the local Afr...
B-29 Bomber Visits Courthouse Square June 13, 1950
Back during the early years of the Cold War the fuselage of a U.S. Air Force B-29 Superfortress was put on display on the McLean County...
Patrol Boys Confab, January 1946 Franklin School, Bloomington
Some 140 patrol boys from nine Bloomington public schools gathered at Franklin School on January 8, 1946, for a joint meeting on traffi...
On Your Mark . . . Street Sledding, December 31, 1946
Who says there aren’t hills in Central Illinois? These youngsters took advantage of the chilly, snowy weather over the 1946-1947 New Ye...
Twin City Stork Club New Year’s Day 1958
Nancy Sue Hannah was the first Bloomington-Normal newborn of 1958, arriving 12 hours and 25 minutes into the new year. Also pictured he...
Happy New Year! Dale Miller’s Orchestra, mid-1930s
Beginning in Roaring Twenties, area ballrooms, dance halls and clubs featured tuxedo-clad bands (or orchestras, as they were often call...
Be of Good Cheer Livingston’s, Early 1950s
Seen here from the early 1950s is Livingston’s, the gone-but-not-forgotten local department store on the south side of the Courthouse S...
Courthouse Caroling December 23, 1935
The ninth annual “Community Christmas Carol Sing” was held on the McLean County Courthouse Square on December 23, 1935. Seen here are l...
Christmas Caravan, 1935
During the Great Depression 80 downtown Bloomington merchants staged a “Christmas Caravan” promotion to boost holiday retail sales. The...
Winter Wonderland Miller Park Ice Skating, 1958
Ice skating was once popular at Miller Park on Bloomington’s west side. Fifty-seven years ago, mid-December 1958, three young women (le...
Corny Christmas Contest, 1934 Guess the Number of Kernels
Back in December 1934, the Bloomington Association of Commerce (now the McLean County Chamber of Commerce) staged a “corny” promotion t...
Community Players Groundbreaking December 7, 1960
On December 7, 1960, Community Players Theatre broke ground for the playhouse on 201 Robinhood Lane. Seen here (left to right) are arch...
‘Lucky Lindy’ Bails Out November 1926
On the evening of November 3, 1926, Charles Lindbergh jumped out of his U.S. airmail biplane somewhere in the skies far above McLean Co...
Halloween Party, 1939 Holy Trinity Parish Kindergarten, Bloomington
Holy Trinity Catholic Church's afternoon kindergarten class enjoyed candied apples among other treats during this Halloween Day 19...
Bo Peep Has Found Her Sheep Halloween Parade, Bloomington 1938
A Depression-era tradition in Bloomington was the annual Halloween Mardi Gras parade and street dance. Seen here from the parade of Oct...
October Means ‘Rocktober’ The Defenbaughs Meets Elvis, 1957
Back in the spring of 1957, Bloomington teenagers Nancy Defenbaugh and her older brother Jim were vacationing in Memphis, TN, with thei...
Spooktacular 1957 Jefferson School, Bloomington
The Jefferson School PTA held an all-family Halloween party on October 28, 1957. Seen here are prize winners for the prettiest, most or...
FDR in Bloomington October 14, 1936
On October 14, 1936 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt campaigned in Bloomington. FDR’s whistle stop tour pulled into Union Depot on t...
An apple (or bushel) a day … Lilly Orchard, October 1950
In the first half of the 20th century Lilly Orchard, located some sixteen miles west of the Twin Cities, was one of the more popular ar...
Mother Road Turns Deadly October 28, 1949
John M. Newman of Pittsfield, IL, was killed on October 28, 1949, when his Pacific Intermountain Express truck sideswiped an automobile...
Corn Belt Harvest September 1939
In the 76 years since these photographs were taken the Corn Belt countryside has undergone an absolute transformation when it comes to ...
Homecoming 1949 Bloomington High School
Seen here are two photographs of Bloomington’s 1949 homecoming festivities. The photo on the left shows BHS homecoming queen Diane Tayl...
Photo of the Week: Dolls On Parade O’Neil Park, July 1939
The once-annual O’Neil Park doll parade on Bloomington’s west side prepares to get underway, Friday, July 28, 1936. The parade was led ...
Angelic Coeds, September 27, 1940 Dedication of the Van Leer Chime Tower
Bill Kemp's “Page from Our Past” column in the Pantagraph (linked below) detailed the history of the chime tower on the Broadview ...
Bloomington Centennial ‘Young Pioneers’ Parade, September 19, 1950
The City of Bloomington celebrated its centennial over a seven-day extravaganza, September 17-23, 1950 (though the kickoff dance held S...
Bloomington Centennial 65 Years Ago this Week!
On September 15, 1950, Bloomington kicked off its centennial celebration with a “Queen’s Ball” at what is now called the Center for Per...
Fall Means College Football ISNU ‘Teachers,’ 1907
Back in 1907, the Illinois State Normal University Teachers (the nickname would be changed to “Red Birds” in 1923 and then “Redbirds” a...
Photo of the Week, 130: Dogs of War, 1946 Bella and Her Two Surprises
U.S. Army veteran Dwight Pierceall of Normal received quite a shock on June 6, 1946, when he opened a crate sent from Europe. Inside wa...
Reserve Champions Illinois State Fair, August 17, 1949
McLean County 4-H youth have an enviable record when it comes to Illinois State Fair showings. Back on August 17, 1949, for instance, M...
Photo of the Week, 129: Reserve Champions Illinois State Fair, August 17, 1949
The Illinois State Fair gets underway today in Springfield and runs through Sunday, August 23. McLean County 4-H youth have an enviab...
Photo of the Week, 127: Death in Central Illinois, 1948
On Wednesday, July 14, 1948, 80-year-old Henry David Boyer was found dead in his room in an abandoned commercial building in the Weldon...
Photo of the Week, 126: ‘Fab Four’ in Bloomington, 1950
The Beatles didn’t arrive in the U.S. until February 1964, but some 14 years earlier Bloomington-Normal experienced its own British Inv...
Photo of the Week, 124: ‘Swing Time’ at Victory Hall October 1935
Opened in 1919 and located at 904 Hovey Ave. in Normal, Victory Hall was a safe place for boys from troubled families. At the time of t...
Miller Park Fishing Season Underway June 1938
Fishing at Miller Park on Bloomington’s west side has been a time-honored local tradition since the late 1800s. This Depression-era pho...
Photo of the week, 121: Miller Park Fishing Season Underway -- June 1938
Did you know today, June 18, is National Go Fishing Day? Fishing at Miller Park on Bloomington’s west side has been a time-honored loc...
Flag Day, 1948
Local Girl Scouts hoist Old Glory at Forrest Park in south Bloomington in preparation for Flag Day 1948. Running the Stars and Stripes ...
Photo of the Week, 120: Carl Loeseke’s Homing Pigeons, 1938
Seen here is Bloomington restaurateur Carl J. Loeseke tending to many of his homing pigeons at his 1103 W. Moulton St. (now MacArthur A...
Springtime in “BloNo’ Iris Walk, 1939
Although you wouldn’t know it from this past weekend’s weather, the end of May and the beginning of June mark the traditional start of ...
Photo of the Week, 117: ISSCS Graduates, 1958
Normal was the longtime home to the state-run orphanage known as the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School. “Home Kids” (as...
Photo of the Week: ISSCS Graduates, 1958
Normal was the longtime home to the state-run orphanage known as the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School. “Home Kids” (as...
Remember the Fallen
McLean County has long honored its war dead. In 1869, local officials saw to the erection in the center of Franklin Park a monument fea...
Chenoa Airport, 1948
The most recent Sunday Pantagraph “Page from Our Past” installment examined the fascinating history of Chenoa airport, which opened in ...
Photo of the Week, 114: Downtown Bloomington, 1931
Seen here is the 100 block of N. Madison St. in 1931. The crowd gathered outside the four-story building is likely comprised of unemplo...
Merlin Kennedy, 2015 McLean County History Maker
The local story of the American Civil Rights Movement cannot be told without a chapter on Merlin Kennedy. His unique style of leadershi...
Photo of the Week, 108: Beekeeping During Wartime Sugar Shortage
In late February / early March 1942, Cropsey area farmer Edward Adams discussed the benefits of raising honeybees during the sugar shor...
Photo of the Week, 99: Calling All Cars! Normal Police Department, 1938
Seen here is Normal Police Chief James Clarence Land in mid-January 1938 with the department's new radio hookup (including the lou...
Photo of the Week, 96: The Most Popular Guy in the Room
On December 23, 1944, more than 600 grade school children attended the Town of Normal's thirteenth annual community Christmas prog...
Photo of the Week, 94: Thanksgiving at ISSCS, 1962
For more than a century, the Town of Normal was home to a state-run orphanage: the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children&#...
Photo of the Week, 84: 'Bloody 66' claims 4 victims in early February 1939
On Friday, February 3, 1939, four area men were killed in a late evening automobile accident on U.S. Route 66, about 2 miles south of C...
Photo of the Week, 83: Swiped Bell Returned to Redbird Roost, September 20, 1967
Back in the 1960s when Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University still played each other in football, pranks were comm...
Photo of the Week, 82: 'Starr' Attraction at Normal Chamber Banquet, 1969
Famed Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr was the keynote speaker at the March 26, 1969 Normal Chamber of Commerce banquet. There ...
Photo of the Week, 75: Amen and Let's Eat!
Established in 1864/1865, the Illinois' Soldiers' Orphans' Home (later renamed ISSCS) was a state-run orphanage in north...
Photo of the Week, 74: Red, White and Blue in Sepia
In the years after the Civil War, Union Army veteran Gilbert Henderson Bates sought, in his own eccentric way, to help heal the section...
Photo of the Week, 71: Grim Reapers Pay Respects to Fallen Comrade
On June 16, 1970, about 50 members of the Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club led a funeral procession for L. Wayne Martin, a 24-year-old Bloo...
We All Scream for Ice Cream
How long exactly have people been screaming for ice cream? No one really knows for sure; but, I do know that nothing beats the taste of...
McHistory: Going to Danvers to Take the Cure
Listen to the audio on WGLT...
Photo of the Week, 64: Redbirds Crowned National Champs in 1969
Get Your Replica Cap Today! Illinois State University's baseball team captured the NCAA College Division (now Division II) nation...
Easter Parade, LeRoy Style, 1937
On Sunday, April 9, 1937, The Pantagraph ran a photo spread on LeRoy ladies getting ready for Easter church services and family get-tog...
Photo of the Week, 57: Dedication of the Normal Post Office, 1936
On March 1, 1936, several hundred area residents gathered for the dedication of the Normal Post Office, located at 200 West North Stree...
Photo of the Week, 54: Ike Sander’s “Short Order House,” ca. 1903-1911
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1878, Isaac Joshua Beasley Sanders
came to Bloomington sometime in the 1890s. “Ike" Sanders and ...
Photo of the Week, 53: Bloomington-Normal Branch of the NAACP, 1944
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation's foremost African-American civil rights organi...
Photo of the Week, 41: We’re Number One!
Museum to Sell Replica Redbird Cap from 1969 Championship Season On June 6, 1969, Illinois State University's baseball team capt...
Big Dance in Colfax—100 years ago!
Museum volunteer Amy Miller recently donated a sizable collection of dance cards and ot...
Photo of the Week, 36: "Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free..."
On Saturday, May 25, 1940 in Bloomington, a group of 20 immigrants became U.S. citizens after a naturalization examination and swearing...
Photo of the Week, 32: Are you ready for some football?
Pictured here is the 1915 University High School football team. The “U Men" (the school nickname “Pioneers" was still a long...
Photo of the Week, 30: Gertrude Fifer and Grandson Joe Bohrer
Unitarian Church, Downtown Bloomington Easter Day 1932, Seen here are Gertrude Lewis Fifer and her grandson Joseph Fifer Bohrer, Easter...
Photo of the Week, 28: Waaaaaa!
Newborn Nursery, St. Joseph's Hospital, Bloomington 1929. Seen here are Sisters M. Eligia Trumper (right) and M. Aloysia Plum in t...
Photo of the Week, 27: Shhhhh!
Many a “seasoned" citizen well remembers Withers Library, which stood at the northeast corner of East and Washington. Old Withers ...
Photo of the Week, 26: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!
Olympic Speedster Jesse Owens Visits Bloomington Famed Olympian Jesse Owens visited Bloomington on June 27, 1938, less than two years a...
Photo of the Week, 25: Et tu, Brute? “Julius Caesar” at the Consistory, 1931
Long before the 1978 inaugural season of what would become the Illinois Shakespeare Festival (held at the Ewing Cultural Center), local...
Photo of the Week, 24: Seven ball in the corner pocket . . .
Students at the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School (ISSCS) play pool at Horner Hall, circa 1955-1956. ISS...
Photo of the Week, 23: World War II Drinking Fountain Flows Once More!
On October 19, 1948, the local Pearl Harbor chapter of the American War Mothers dedicated a drinking fountain to McLean County's W...
Photo of the Week, 22: A Little Off the Top
Not much is known of this curious scene other than the fact that the chimpanzee is from the Miller Park Zoo. If you know the name of th...
Photo of the Week, 21: Kadgihn’s, downtown Bloomington, 1921
For about a decade, from the mid-1910s to the mid-1920s, Herman Kadgihn ran a newsstand and cigar shop at 607½ North Main Street. No on...
Photo of the Week 19: New Deal Rally, September 1933
In September 1933, during the dark days of the Great Depression, Bloomington hosted a parade and a series of programs trumpeting Presid...
Photo of the Week, 18: 1,000 License Plates Contributed in WW II Drive
During the Second World War, communities such as Bloomington scrounged for scrap metal to boost the war effort. This early February 194...
Photo of the Week, 8: Ike Sanders "Up, Up and Away"
This week's photo comes from the Museum's Bloomington-Normal Black History Project Collection. This “gag shot," circa 19...
Photo of the Week, 6: Dynamite Stump Removal
400 pounds of dynamite subdue cottonwood, hackberry stumps. These two photographs appeared in the March 27, 1937 Pantagraph. The origin...
Photo of the Week, 5: Beich Employees Packing Whiz Bars
This undated photograph shows Paul F. Beich Candy Co. employees packing Whiz Bars, a marshmallow, chocolate and peanut concoction that ...
Photo of the Week, 2: Don Munson & LaJean, 1968
I stumbled across this photograph while perusing a collection of recently donated photographs. I knew that the smartly dressed figure i...
Photo of the Week, 1: Bowling Association Tournament
In late January 1963, Bloomington-Normal hosted the 34th annual Illinois Women's Bowling Association (IWBA) state tournament. This...