Our Rural Heritage
188 stories
Separate but not equal: women prisoners at Joliet
By Sandy Vasko One of the things that I notice about all the hoopla surrounding the old State Penitentiary on…
When will we see ‘the elephant’?
By Sandy Vasko “Seeing the elephant” … it’s what every soldier and soldier “wanna-be” wanted to do during the Civil…
Our Rural Heritage: Holiday shopping — 1876 style
By Sandy Vasko This week, we continue walking through downtown Joliet during the holiday season of 1876. The next establishment…
The Christmas lights of long ago
By Sandy Vasko Well, Thanksgiving is behind us, and that magical time of year is only a few weeks away.…
The home front gets involved
By Sandy Vasko Today, we continue our look at Will County in the Civil War. Last time, we talked about…
A manly diversion, shooting pigeons in the park
Accuracy with a weapon has always been a trait to be admired. And proving that accuracy was considered “a manly…
Our rural heritage
By Sandy Vasko Last time we looked at the Civil War in Will County, we witnessed a wedding. But there…
Dance, drink, boat and fish … Custer Park was the place
By Sandy Vasko Today, we travel to the south and the Kankakee River to a small, almost forgotten village. At…