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Articles about Animals

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Lightning a menace, past and present

 By Bill Kemp. Published on May 17, 2015.
On May 20, 1897, a heavy afternoon shower accompanied by a “brilliant electrical display” passed through the Lexington area, catching 1...
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Great Epizootic of 1872 ravaged the horse population

 By Bill Kemp. Published on August 14, 2016.
Bloomington’s streets were eerily quiet for several weeks in late November and early December 1872. Missing from the normally bustling ...
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Extinct passenger pigeon once visitor to Central Illinois

 By Bill Kemp. Published on December 18, 2016.
In 1810, 24-year-old attorney Henry Marie Brackenridge traveled down the Ohio River to Ste. Genevieve, Mo. and what was still known as ...
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Bloomington home to world champion singing mouse

 By Bill Kemp. Published on June 25, 2017.
“The voice that spanned continents and oceans to win international acclaim is forever stilled,” announced a somber Pantagraph in Octobe...
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Beloved ‘Rags’ rode the rails to local fame

 By Bill Kemp. Published on September 10, 2017.
The story of “Rags” is proof that most everyone loves a shaggy dog story, especially those of the literal kind.From 1907 to 1912...
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Silos sentinels of Corn Belt since late 19th century

 By Bill Kemp. Published on March 11, 2018.
Farm silos, an iconic symbol of the Corn Belt, have long flummoxed city and suburban folk. Frustrated parents clueless as to the purpos...
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Adam Bogardus, world champion wing shot

 By Bill Kemp. Published on July 28, 2019.
In the fall of 1875, at a shooting tournament in Bloomington, champion marksman Adam H. Bogardus killed 25 of 28 pigeons in 2 minutes a...