Winter

Resources are listed in alphabetical order. More information can always be found by using our website search bar, or contacting a member of our staff.

Articles

Pages from our Past articles written by Bill Kemp

4 items

portrait of a white man in a three piece suit with very messy dark hair and massive sideburns

Fearsome ‘Sudden Change’ threatened pioneer life and limb

A cataclysmic meteorological event swept across much of Central Illinois the afternoon of Dec. ...

Article

The two giant Santas looming over the entryway to local retailer Livingston’s can be seen in this circa late 1950s photograph.

In 1955, downtown Bloomington 'dressed in holiday style'

Back in 1955, Bloomington was less than half its current size, toys were still made in America,...

Article

Located at the corner of Roosevelt and Front streets, the Bloomington Coliseum was the Twin City's premier venue for indoor baseball. This fieldhouse-type building was torn down in 1961. The advertisement in the upper right appeared in the Feb. 7, 1908, Pantagraph.

Indoor baseball once popular winter pastime

Part of baseball’s attraction as the National Pastime is the sport’s inextricable connection to...

Article

New Year’s Eve 1919 meant hope for better times

One hundred years ago, New Year’s Eve 1919 brought hope for better days to come. After all, the...

Article

Biographies

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Guthrie, Adam

Adam Guthrie was born on March 10, 1825 in Circleville, Pickaway Co., Ohio. He was one of twelv...

Biography

Blog

13 items

Beats shoveling … Normal, Dec. 22, 1953

Three inches of snow the morning of Dec. 22, 1953, had Don Locke of Bryan’s Standard Service St...

Blog Post

Holiday Hoops Pontiac, Dec. 30, 1948

The Pontiac Holiday Tournament is the nation’s oldest such Christmastime classic, dating as it ...

Blog Post

Holiday Shopping Downtown Bloomington, December 1953

Seen here are shoppers out and about downtown Bloomington in mid-December 1953. This location, ...

Blog Post

Holiday Shopping 1932 Downtown Bloomington

Back in the 1930s downtown was the place to go for all your holiday shopping. This snowy Depres...

Blog Post

Holiday season comes to an end January 4, 1965

Is there anything sadder than a dry and tindery Christmas tree, sans ornaments and lights, unce...

Blog Post

McHistory: Winter of Deep Snow

Listen to the audio on WGLT's website hereMcHistory goes back in time to explore big momen...

Blog Post

Mississippi Orphans Go Sledding Highland Park, Bloomington, 1963

Pastor J.H. Yohe of First Pentecostal Church of Bloomington gives a sled a push at Highland Par...

Blog Post

Museum Celebrates Return of Iconic Livingston Santa, Public Art to Downtown Bloomington

Blog Post

Mystery Snow Scene - Mystery Solved!

UPDATE: This scene looks north where Clinton St. approaches Oakland Ave, then jogs left to cont...

Blog Post

Santa and His Six (?) Reindeer Bloomington Christmas Parade, 1929

The December 3, 1929 Christmas parade in Bloomington featured Santa Claus, six marching bands, ...

Blog Post

Santa on Parade December 1948

On December 5, 1948, Santa arrived in Bloomington via the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad. Fro...

Blog Post

Snow-shrouded Bloomington, undated 200 Block E. Jefferson St., north side

None of these buildings are standing today. This is all surface parking for Second Presbyterian...

Blog Post

Snowbound Illinois Central Northeast of Fletcher, February 1908

A heavy snowfall in February 1908 put a halt to this steam locomotive somewhere between Merna a...

Blog Post

Finding Aids

Archival collection finding aids (full contents of collections available on site)

1 item

Christmas

Christmas is an annual winter festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primar...

Finding Aid