Our Rural Heritage
188 stories
When Will County Was Wild
By Sandy Vasko I do mean that in a literal way. Northern Illinois was a wilderness long after Illinois became…
Trick-or-Treat! You got a rock? I Got a Cabbage
By Sandy Vasko I know it’s early to be talking about this subject, but if the store shelves are any…
WWI: Ag’s importance during the Great War
By Sandy Vasko September of 1917 saw the rigors of war come to the home front. Price gouging was going…
Pioneer, gold miner, world traveler, N. N. Osburn
By Sandy Vasko We use the phrase “hardy pioneer” often without really thinking about exactly how “hardy” they really were.…
WWI: Summer and Fall, 1917, the reality of war
By Sandy Vasko By July 1917, Will County faced the reality of war time. Folks prepared as best they could.…
Wesley boy changes local politics
By Sandy Vasko We are now into that seemingly endless time, that between the primaries and the November election. And…
The beginnings of the ‘forgotten war’
By Sandy Vasko This starts a series of articles about what I call the “forgotten war,” World War One. Looking…
Chaos and death in Lorenzo
By Sandy Vasko I ambivalent about trains. For instance, I hate them when I am stuck at a crossing for…
Civil War: July 1865: Huzzah for the 100th!
By Sandy Vasko Patriotic fever had hit epidemic proportions during the first week of July, 1865. The war was over,…
Civil War: May 1865, the long road home
By Sandy Vasko Although the streets were full of people, it was strangely quiet. May blossoms filled the air, but…
Civil War: April 1865, extreme joy and sorrow
By Sandy Vasko April, it’s spring, and things happen quickly in the spring. One minute the ground is bare and…
The short life of a canal boat: the Mohawk Belle
By Sandy Vasko What could be more pleasant than a trip on the river. Soft breezes blowing, your best gal…