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World War One Wwi

A Community in Conflict

1 item

1918
When the U.S. entered World War I, anti-German sentiment began to grow across the nation. At the time German immigrants represented about three percent of McLean County’s population.

Digital Exhibit

Articles

9 items

Bloomington’s oldest park turns 165 this week
“How pleasant it is, immediately after the noontide hour of a hot summer’s day,” mused The Pant...

Article

Four Burger brothers served in World War I
This past week marked the 100th anniversary of the American entry into World War I, though for ...

Article

Julia Vrooman brought jazz to WW I doughboys
“Julia Scott Vrooman has always been in the news,” noted The Pantagraph in early October 1976. ...

Article

Memorial tablet honors ‘Great War’ dead
One hundred years ago today, November 11, 1918, the guns in Europe fell silent after more than ...

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

Turner Hall lost monument to German pride
More than a century ago, Turner Hall was the cultural hub of Bloomington’s large and influentia...

Article

WW I freighter ‘Evergreen City’ named for Bloomington
At the end of World War I, Bloomington citizens were given the honor of having a freighter name...

Article

WW I home front featured French-Belgian relief
The War to End All Wars, as the First World War was once called, brought out the best and the w...

Article

‘Black Devils’ earned fame in WW I
During World War I, several dozen Bloomington-Normal residents fought in an African-American re...

Article

Blog

2 items

Collection Highlight: Trench Art
The Museum owns two unique and personal pieces of history that provide a glimpse of how individ...

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 119: ‘Tanks’ a lot Legionnaires! WW I relic arrives in Bloomington, 1939
Several pieces of military hardware can be found at Bloomington’s Miller Park, including this W...

Blog Post

Farming in the Great Corn Belt

2 items

1900 to 1945
Labor shortages during WWI and II, the Great Depression, improved equipment, and the shift of m...

Digital Exhibit

Farm Improvements
Farm improvements, such as fences, barns, sheds, and grain storage were expensive additions. Bu...

Digital Exhibit

Finding Aids

9 items

Bloomington Business and Professional Women’s Club Collection
During World War I, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker sent out an urgent call to make women more...

Finding Aid

Hoppe, Jim
Jim Hoppe is an avid lover of history and McLean County. He has written manuscripts about vario...

Finding Aid

Ladies Auxiliary of WWI Veterans
This collection includes a selection of materials preserved by Jennie Mae Taylor of Bloomington...

Finding Aid

Lillard Collection
This collection contains genealogical research materials for the Lillard family and a World War...

Finding Aid

Morrissey, John O.
John O’Connell Morrissey was born April 13, 1896.  He was educated in Bloomington schools, and ...

Finding Aid

O’Hara, William J.
William J. O’Hara (1896-1986) was born in the Hudson area, the son of Owen and Johanna O’Neil O...

Finding Aid

Veterans of World War 1 Barracks
The Veterans of World War 1 organization was created in 1949, first in Ohio, and then, in 1954,...

Finding Aid

World War I Collection
The World War I Collection is divided into five sections, organized from general to specific as...

Finding Aid

Zobrist, Charles J.
This collection contains material relating to the life and career of World War I veteran Charle...

Finding Aid

Oral Histories

1 item

Claude Hursey
Claude Hursey was born in Mississippi, the son of a Greek father and an African-American mother...

Oral History

Publications

1 item

McLean County, Illinois, in the World War, 1917-1918

Publication

Speakers Bureau

1 item

The 1918-1919 Flu Pandemic in McLean County

Speakers Bureau