Piscatorial dynamiters & fearless finny anarchists

May 25, 2023 / Comments Off on Piscatorial dynamiters & fearless finny anarchists

By Sandy Vasko In the southwestern part of Will County spring means one thing – fishing. Most avid fishermen have already wet a line by…

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The Civil War: Slow times and a different type of shot

May 18, 2023 / Comments Off on The Civil War: Slow times and a different type of shot

By Sandy Vasko Summer on the battle fronts for Will County troops was uneventful. The boys had been through a type of hell, and had…

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A Castle on the prairie, smell that money

May 11, 2023 / Comments Off on A Castle on the prairie, smell that money

By Sandy Vasko When I was growing up a wooded area of Homer Township, a local farmer would let his hogs run loose. In the…

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Civil War: April 1862 — the Battle at Shiloh

May 4, 2023 / Comments Off on Civil War: April 1862 — the Battle at Shiloh

By Sandy Vasko Shiloh is a Hebrew word; it means “place of peace.” And so it was, until April 1862, when it came to mean…

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Coal Wars come to a head in Braidwood

April 27, 2023 / Comments Off on Coal Wars come to a head in Braidwood

By Sandy Vasko The two sides were ready, the Illinois Militia was armed, the miners probably were armed. Gen. Ducat sent pickets ahead of the…

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Coal Wars: Preparing for battle, the militia arrives on the scene

April 20, 2023 / Comments Off on Coal Wars: Preparing for battle, the militia arrives on the scene

By Sandy Vasko When we last met, it was Monday, July 23, 1877. Sheriff Noble and his posse had just been “thrown out of town”…

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Miners vs. Coal Companies, Round 3

April 13, 2023 / Comments Off on Miners vs. Coal Companies, Round 3

By Sandy Vasko It is the spring of 1877. Once again, the coal companies propose to reduce the wages of the miners. But the miners…

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16 Tons, and What Do You Get? The Shaft

April 6, 2023 / Comments Off on 16 Tons, and What Do You Get? The Shaft

By Sandy Vasko In the last few years, many have lost their jobs, many saw inflation take them into poverty, many saw hard times. These…

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Our Rural Heritage: The Civil War: March 1862 – men on the move

March 30, 2023 / Comments Off on Our Rural Heritage: The Civil War: March 1862 – men on the move

By Sandy Vasko We are back to the Civil War. It is early in the war, and most of the men had not really “seen…

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A snapshot in time, Mokena 1877

March 23, 2023 / Comments Off on A snapshot in time, Mokena 1877

By Sandy Vasko Set the way-back machine for June, 1877; place Mokena. From the Joliet Weekly Sun: “Mokena is a good-sized village. Seven hundred is…

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