Our Rural Heritage
188 stories
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…
Our Rural Heritage: The 39th’s first bitter taste of defeat, January 1862
By Sandy Vasko When we left the 39th, it was New Year’s Eve 1861. Battle came to them on the…
Law and order in Florence Township
By Sandy Vasko I suppose that when you think of excitement and crime, Florence Township does not spring to your…
Our Rural Heritage: Civil War: Winter in the field, the 20th and the 39th
By Sandy Vasko The 20th, returned to Bird’s Point after the battle of Fredericktown on Oct. 31st, where they constructed…
Our Rural Heritage: So where were the women? A partial answer … busy!
By Sandy Vasko I was recently asked to give a talk about the important women in Will County history. It…
Our Rural Heritage: Cream of the crop, or really milking it
By Sandy Vasko Being a dairy farmer is no romp in the woods; it’s a 24/7 job. Being a lover…
Our Rural Heritage: Geese and more geese, a lake becomes a prairie
By Sandy Vasko I do not have the pleasure of living on the river, but that does not mean that…
New Year’s in the old years, Will County celebrates
Editor’s note: Sandy Vasko is on vacation. We are reprinting this holiday column from December 2021. By Sandy Vasko Well,…
Our Rural Heritage: The war begins in earnest, more volunteers step up
We can safely say that by October of 1861 the War Between the States was really starting to get serious. …