Archive of: July, 2015

My Communications degree program at Illinois State University requires an internship.When I started at ISU last fall I was apprehensive about it. Where would I apply? Would I have time to fit it in with my work schedule? What would I like to do? These questions ran through my noggin' over and over until I realized what I really enjoyed…talking and history.

On Wednesday, July 14, 1948, 80-year-old Henry David Boyer was found dead in his room in an abandoned commercial building in the Weldon (DeWitt County) business district. Dr. W.R. Marvel of Weldon said Boyer had suffered a fatal heart attack, probably sometime the night of Monday, July 12.

Weldon resident Goke Goken, who had not seen Boyer for several days, entered the building and discovered the body. Boyer had come to Weldon from Marissa, a community in St. Clair County, after the death of his wife some 25 years ago. He had worked as a farmhand.

Seen here are British foreign exchange students (left to right) Anthony Lodge, Ian Humphreys (though in local news coverage Ian’s last name was also spelled Humphries), Michael Wasilewski, and Alan Evans...

Seen here from March 1988 are Laesch employees Ben Christiansen (left) and Ben Kiley filling and packing a supply of chocolate almond ice cream.

The Coachman Motel opened on January 30, 1961, at 406 E. Washington St., on the eastern edge of downtown Bloomington.

Opened in 1919 and located at 904 Hovey Ave. in Normal, Victory Hall was a safe place for boys from troubled families.

Opened in 1919 and located at 904 Hovey Ave. in Normal, Victory Hall was a safe place for boys from troubled families. At the time of this photograph (unfortunately, no one is identified) Victory Hall was home to 43 “wards”.

Fourth of July fireworks at Bloomington’s Miller Park have been a local holiday tradition for several generations...

Joseph E. Burkey and his wife Leila opened their six-lane bowling “palace” in mid-August 1941, at 211 E. Front St