On the Square Blog
May 11th, 2016
Society Horse Show Fans Field, Bloomington, 1953
Fans Field, an old minor league ballpark once located on Bloomington’s south side, off Main Street and behind (or east) of the National Guard Armory, used to host an annual horse show. The June 20-21, 1953 show, featuring 286 horses in 34 classes, was sponsored by the Corn Belt Horseman’s Associa...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
May 9th, 2016
Future Flying Farmers? Bloomington Municipal Airport, 1953
The McLean County chapter of Flying Farmers offered free airplane rides to some 70 moms and dads on Father’s Day, June 21, 1953. Mothers were included because the Mother’s Day event was rained out. Seen here at Bloomington Municipal Airport (now Central Illinois Regional Airport) are Ivel Wade (l...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
May 8th, 2016
Dennis Minder with Measles, May 8, 1958
A lot of visitors were coming to see Don and Bernadine Minder, 1037 E. Front St., Bloomington, in early May 1958 because they just had a baby. The problem was their six-year-old son Dennis had come down with the measles! Caroline Minder placed this sign at the front door to give visitors an appro...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
May 6th, 2016
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’s and Klemm’s, two longtime local retailers. Looking east down Jefferson Street one also gets a look at Woolworth’s, the Auto Hotel, and the Irvin Theatre.Those ...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
May 5th, 2016
Illinois State Normal University 77th annual Commencement Ceremonies, June 11, 1936
ISU (the “N” was shed in 1964) held a series of graduation ceremonies for its various colleges Friday June 6 and Saturday June 7, 2016. Back in 1936, there was one graduation ceremony for all graduates, and it was staged on the Quad.Seen here are unidentified faculty members presumably taking pri...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
May 4th, 2016
Bloomington High School Under Construction, August 1958
This aerial shows the “new” Bloomington High School, corner of Towanda Avenue and Locust Street on the city’s eastside, roughly one year before opening. A local firm headed by Edgar E. Lundeen and Dean F. Hilfinger served as architects for this underappreciated modernist beauty. The price tag was...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
May 2nd, 2016
Knights of Columbus’ New Home 1206 N. Main St., Bloomington December 1927
Corn Belt Bank executive J. Thornton Snell had this magnificent Queen Anne-style home built in 1889-1890. He died unexpectedly in April 1896 at the age of 56 and his widow Hannah continued to live here until the early 1920s.In December 1927, the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service and fratern...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 30th, 2016
James Moberly Farm Funks Grove Township, May 1936
This photograph was one in a series featured in the May 23, 1936 Pantagraph under the headline “Tractor Power and Tractor Care Growing in Importance on Farm.”This late May 1936 scene shows James Moberly (though which individual is James is unknown) of Funks Grove Township grinding valves and fitt...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 29th, 2016
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 revolvers. The more industrious members of the BPD had earlier converted a hayloft in the garage wing of old City Hall (located at the northwest corner of East and Monr...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 28th, 2016
Wheeler Triplets, June 4, 1936 Brokaw Hospital, Normal
Brokaw Hospital maternity nurses (left to right) Mary Heinzel and Clara Keller, along with maternity supervisor Ruth Munson, are seen here keeping the Wheeler triplets on their strict feeding schedule—one ounce of milk every two hours. In an age well before infertility treatments, triplets were e...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 27th, 2016
New Corn Belt Bank, November 1961 East and Jefferson, Downtown Bloomington
Construction began on a new Corn Belt Bank home office on September 13, 1960. The Bloomington bank was moving two blocks east from its longtime home on the Courthouse Square. The new auto-centric location offered drive-through banking facilities and plenty of parking, two conveniences not availab...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 26th, 2016
Irvin Theatre, June 1938 202 E. Jefferson St., Bloomington
Opened in 1915 as the finest movie house in the Twin Cities, the Irvin (or at least its marquee) is seen in this June 1938 sidewalk-and-street scene. The view is looking east. The old theater was torn down in the fall of 1987 and today the site is a surface parking lot for Second Presbyterian Chu...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 22nd, 2016
Intern Reflection: Heather Evert
What do we keep that will tell our history to others?Scrapbooks, schoolbooks, photos, mementos, letters, documents, awards. We like seeing our name in print (or, today, mentioned in an online post), we love sending photos to friends and family so they can see what we’ve seen. We hang on to heirlo...
3 mins read by Heather Evert
April 22nd, 2016
Intern Reflection: Rachael Laing
The first question everyone asks when they find out that I am attending ISU’s graduate program for history is “What specific era do you study?” That’s a lie, the first question is usually “So you want to be a teacher?” The answer to both is – no. Teachers are incredibly important, and sometimes e...
2 mins read by Rachael Laing
April 22nd, 2016
Labor Secretary Visits Bloomington October 17, 1935
Department of Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet, stopped in the Twin Cities on October 17, 1935. She spoke at Capen Auditorium on the Illinois State Normal University campus. She talked about workplace health and safety.That’s Perkins on the left. She ...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 21st, 2016
Lost Bloomington South End of Downtown
This undated aerial photo shows the six blocks bounded by Front, East, Olive, and Madison streets (outlined in red) that were razed beginning in the late 1950s to make way for an urban renewal “superblock” featuring the Law & Justice Center, what would become the Abraham Lincoln parking deck,...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 20th, 2016
McDonald’s Open for Business 806 S. Main St., Normal February 1959
An intrepid Museum staffer tracked this wonderful image down, taken in mid-February 1959 - this being the first McDonald’s in the Twin Cities. Soon after, the drive-in opened. A regular hamburger cost 15 cents back in February 1959. Adjusted for inflation, that’s the equivalent of $1.25 in 2016 d...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 19th, 2016
Carolyn Cameron ‘Miss Bloomington’ 1950
In July 1950, 19-year-old Carolyn Cameron of Pekin was crowned Jaycees’ “Miss Bloomington” 1950. Cameron, an Illinois Wesleyan University student, bested 26 other young woman for the honor. Seen here on the old Bloomington High School stage behind Cameron were the runner-ups: Carolyn Dowse, Sue W...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 18th, 2016
Smell that Smoke! Cecil Cone’s Barbecue, May 1953
In early May 1953, former Bloomington Mayor Cecil Cone brought past and present city officials together for a barbecue at his home, 703 E. Market St. Seen here (left to right) are Mary and Cecil Cone, Clarine Mather, and city councilman Monroe Dodge. Others at this smoky soiree included current M...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 14th, 2016
Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival Lunch & Learn Talk Today, 12:10 to 12:40 p.m.
On Thursday April 14, 2016 Illinois State University Professor Emeritus Robert Bradley gave a talk entitled “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: The Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival in Court.” It was a fascinating discussion on the myriad of court battles surrounding the May 30-June 1, 1970 rock & ...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 13th, 2016
En Garde! Fencing Comes to Wesleyan April 1941
In the spring of 1941, fencing became the newest sport on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus. Seen here are Prof. R.M. Chase giving pointers (pun intended) to Russell Stickney (left) and Bill Trierweiler. Looking on is Robert Lucey, captain of the fencing group. It was said that in his under...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 12th, 2016
Brown’s Business College, 1930 526-530 N. Main St., Bloomington
Brown’s Business College, a chain of schools established by G.W. Brown of Jacksonville, offered classes in various downstate Illinois communities, including Galesburg, Moline, and Peoria. The school maintained a “campus” in Bloomington from the 1890s to the early 1940s. Around 1909, Brown’s moved...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 11th, 2016
Pantagraph Expansion, Circa 1935 Madison and Washington streets Downtown Bloomington
By 1935, The Pantagraph had outgrown its 1887 home. Construction of new and expanded quarters began that year at the same location. Unwilling to suspend publication or to temporarily relocate operations elsewhere, Pantagraph management had the 1887 building torn down while the new Art Deco-styled...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 9th, 2016
Tri-Valley History Fair has long history at the Museum
It’s that time of year again! Projects created by seventh grade students attending Tri-Valley Middle School are now on display throughout the halls of the Museum from now until April 25. Projects on display feature a wide variety of topics including local favorites such as Steak n’ Shake, the Gam...
3 mins read by Candace Summers
April 9th, 2016
Illinois Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home Home Band, 1930
The Sunday April 3, 2016 Pantagraph recounted the story of the Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home Band, organized in 1897-98 and active into the 1960s. This state-run home in north Normal changed its name to the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School (ISSCS) in 1931. It’s believed this photo, the...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 8th, 2016
Fans Field, South Bloomington Aerial, 1938
This photo recalls the Bloomers, Bloomington’s professional minor league team that played in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League from 1901 to 1939. The Bloomers home was Fans Field. Today, this site is occupied by Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department’s RT Dunn Fields and a series of businesse...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 7th, 2016
East Twin Grove Farmers’ Picnic July 28, 1922
In late July 1922, the McLean County Farm Bureau and the McLean County Home Bureau held a picnic west of Bloomington for farmers and rural folk from six area townships. A crew from Homestead Films, Inc. of Chicago was also there to shoot scenes for a seven-reel silent picture to be called “The Yo...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 6th, 2016
Depression-Era Skaters Bloomington, Circa 1930s
This lovely photo is a mystery. The year, location, and those pictured are unknown.If you can help us, please contact Museum Librarian Bill Kemp at 309-827-0428 or BKemp@mchistory.org....
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 5th, 2016
Play Ball! Cooksville, 1909
McLean County’s smaller communities, including the Village of Cooksville, once fielded competitive baseball clubs that welcomed all comers. Costello & O’Malley’s (note the misspelling on the photo—Costello with an extra “T”) was a menswear store on the 300 block of Main Street in downtown Blo...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 4th, 2016
McDonald’s in Normal 806 S. Main St., 1961
The Twin Cities first McDonald’s restaurant opened in early 1959. The view here is looking southeast from the 800 block of South Main Street in Normal. The chain, which at this time boasted some 100 restaurants, had earlier opened drive-ins in Peoria and Decatur. Today, of course, McDonald's...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp