Our Rural Heritage
188 stories
Florence farmers fought the big guy
By Sandy Vasko The high cost of gasoline, the dangers fossil fuels poses to our environment, the effects on the…
Old soldiers, old times, Civil War reunions
By Sandy Vasko At the turn of the 20th century there were still quite a few Civil War vets in…
Kill or keep? Will County wild things
By Sandy Vasko Every once in a while, we hear of sightings of animals that have long since left our…
Republicans vs. Dems, or rallying for a winner
By Sandy Vasko The office of President of the United States and the topic of elections is never far from…
Mining the Miners: Equal opportunity in the gold fields
By Sandy Vasko Today, we are leaving Illinois to go to that land of milk and honey – California. The…
Looking at the earliest days, pioneers’ reunions
By Sandy Vasko The 1880s in this area was a time for looking back. Many soldiers’ reunions were held, and…
It’s that time of year, Chautauqua
By Sandy Vasko If the above word is unfamiliar to you, it’s because the grand social movement that was Chautauqua…
Searching for Illinois’ roots? Start in Kaskaskia
By Sandy Vasko Ah, it’s summer, and for some it means summer vacation. If you are a history buff, and…
Teenagers in trouble, the age-old problem
By Sandy Vasko I have heard many adults describe the wild times of their youth and murmur, “That’s when I…
Riding the river, a good time for all
By Sandy Vasko Today, we step outside the boundaries of Will County to Kankakee County, specifically Rockville, located about where…
Farmers united, it was called the Grange
By Sandy Vasko While trying to put together a picture of what made Will County what it is today, I…
Riding the C & A, always something new
By Sandy Vasko Transportation in the earliest years of Will County consisted of horses and canal boats. By the 1850s,…