Photo of the Week, 45: Christmas in Bloomington, 1941

Eighteen days after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States held a rather somber Christmas, given the coming two-front war with Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. Although the pages of the Bloomington Pantagraph were chock full of overseas war coverage and harried homefront preparations, Christmas remained a magical time for area children.

The photograph on the left shows Walter Isch of the of the Young Men's Club presenting gifts to the 18 children of the McLean County Home for Colored Children, located on the 1200 block of West Moulton Street (now MacArthur Avenue) in Bloomington. The following year the home would be renamed for Booker T. Washington.

The photograph on the right shows a group of six Cub Scouts from Den 1, Pack 10 of Franklin School, Bloomington, who made six doll beds to serve as Christmas presents for the Day Nursery. Seated are Bob Davison and Bob Harpster. The others, left to right, are Jerry Wack, Howard Montgomery, Jack Teele and Bill Vincent.

Happy Holidays from the staff of the McLean County Museum of History!