Our Rural Heritage
184 stories
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
Snapshots of Mokena, 1870s
By Sandy Vasko Once again, we are going to look at the small bits that made up a town’s everyday…
Quirky bits from Jackson Township
There are times in my research that I come across a bit that probably will never work up into a…
February 1862 — The fight moves on to Tennessee
By Sandy Vasko February 1862 saw the 20th on the move. On Feb. 2, they left Cairo aboard steamships bound…
Our Rural Heritage: Whatever became of Twelve Mile Grove?
By Sandy Vasko Today we look at the area known as Twelve Mile Grove, named such because it is twelve…