C.R. Walgreen Sr.'s first drug store, 4134 Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago, 1901. At right is store handyman Caleb Danner. (The man at left is not identified.)

Centennial Awards Program October 19

The Illinois State Historical Society's seventeenth annual Centennial Awards Program will be held October 19, 2001, at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. Documented century-old businesses and organizations, including Walgreen Drug Stores, the Illinois Press Association, and the Salvation Army, will be honored at a special banquet and receive a commemorative plaque inscribed by Governor George Ryan. Award winners will also receive a one-year membership in the Society and use of the Centennial Awards logo as long as they remain active in the Society. Guest presenters at the awards banquet will be Pat Brickhouse and Jack Taylor. For more information about the event, call 217-525-2781, or visit the ishs website at www.prairienet.org/ishs.

On June 24, 1832, 150 Sauk warriors led by Black Hawk attacked a small fort near the settlement of Apple River. The Apple River Fort was one of the few forts actually attacked by Sauk warriors; it was also the site of one of the only battles in which Black Hawk actually participated.

The Apple River Fort in Elizabeth, Illinois, became the state's newest historic site on January 1, 2001. The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) took over operation of the site from the Apple River Fort Historic Foundation, a group of volunteers who reconstructed the Black Hawk Warera fort, built an interpretive center, and opened them to the public. The Apple River Fort and the interpretive center are open from noon to 4 p.m. on Fridays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

The state's purchase was facilitated by a $160,000 Illinois FIRST grant from Governor George H. Ryan. Susan Gordy, who served as lead interpreter at Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site in Lerna for more than seven years, is the site manager.

The Illinois State Historical Society recently received a $76,000 bequest to help promote outstanding teaching in the public schools. The gift was made through the estate of Alta McCullough, a retired world and U.S. history teacher from Centralia, who passed away on September 15, 2000. A life member of the ISHS, Ms. McCullough earned her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Illinois at Champaign, taught at Centralia High School for twenty-nine years, and worked as a travel agent before her retirement. Her gift to the Society was specifically earmarked for the Olive Foster Award, which was set up in 1988 to recognize and reward outstanding teachers.

"With this bequest as a starting point, the Society hopes to reinvigorate its support programs for teachers and students," said executive director Tom Teague. He promised more details in the near future.

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Society, IHPA annouce Hostick Awards

The 2001 King V. Hostick Awards, which provide financial assistance to graduate students in history and library science who are writing dissertations dealing with Illinois, have been announced by the Illinois State Historical Society and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

The Hostick Awards were established by the late Springfield manuscript dealer, whose own interest in Lincoln and Illinois history was sparked by the late Governor Henry Horner, also an avid Lincoln collector. Hostick's long-time interest was in the Illinois State Historical Library, which is the premier repository of materials dealing with Illinois history and the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. Hostick was also an officer and a life member of the Illinois State Historical Society.

The King V. Hostick Awards are intended to advance our understanding of Illinois' past while nurturing new generations of scholars with an interest in Illinois history. They were first granted in the 1996 - 1997 academic year. To date, 51 dissertations have been presented. They are funded jointly by the Society and IHPA. For further information, contact Tom Teague, Executive Director, Illinois State Historical Society, 210 S. 6th St., Suite 200, Springfield, IL 62701.

The 2001 Hostick winners are as follows:

Paula J. Anders, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
"Moral Education in One-Room Schools: Macoupin County as a Case Study, 1906- 1940."

This study will examine teaching and learning methods in Brighton Township and the effect of local schools on community identity. Exploring the ways national events and trends such as immigration, consumerism, economic depression, war, and the growth of nationalism affected the instillation of character and morality in Brighton Township will offer a better understanding of how it was achieved in other similar areas of the United States. Specific attention will be given to the teaching of morality (also called character education) and in a broader sense, ethics, patriotism and character.

Pamela L. Baker, The University of Illinois at Chicago.
"The National Road and the Promise of Improvement, 1802 - 1841."

The National Road was the largest transportation projects undertaken by the federal government during the 19th century. By examining several towns along the National Road corridor from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois, the study will show how these communities were tied to a larger process of regional development. It will also show how people viewed the role of central government in promoting the project, the interplay between federal and state governments, and important constitutional questions raised by the National Road project.

Susan Roth Breitzer, The University of Iowa.
"Class, Ethnicity, and Community: The Jewish Labor Movement of Chicago, 1886- 1928."

This study will examine the effect of migration to Chicago on the class and ethnic identities of Eastern European Jewish immigrants during the period from the Haymarkct Riot to the late 1920s. A special emphasis will be placed on their relationship with mainstream American society as well as the more established German Jewish community.

Lionel Kimble, Jr., The University of Iowa.
"Combating the City of Neighborhoods: Employment, Housing, and Civil Rights in Chicago, 1940 - 1955."

World War II Chicago witnessed an explosion of black migration and residential segregation, a heightened role of the war-era federal government, and democratic rhetoric to combat the Axis Powers. The changing power relationship between blacks, business, and the federal government that occurred during World War II set the tone for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The dissertation will add to the important wartime story of black Chicago and highlight both the racial and gender dimension of American citizenship.

Matthew R. Lindaman, The University of Kansas.
"Heimat in the Heartland: A Trans-Atlantic German Migration"

This dissertation will analyzes both the sending and receiving areas involved in the 19th century migration of the East Friesians, who settled primarily in Illinois and Iowa from their homeland in Northwest Germany. In Illinois, East Friesians settled around Pekin, Peoria, Golden and Emden, retaining strong ethnic and regional loyalties that were not submerged in being "German." Their economic success and their ease in adapting to American life is set against maintaining the key components of their East Friesian identity well into the 20th century - language, communication networks, and religion.

Russell McClintock, Clark University.
"Response to Secession: Northern Political Culture and the Crisis of the Union, 1860-1861."

What did Northerners say and do in response to the threat of southern secession, and at what point did Northern public opinion begin to coalesce around a determination to go to war in order to prevent disunion? This question is the focus of this dissertation. While the range of Northern responses was much wider than historians have generally concluded, surprisingly the most reliable predictor of an individual's response to southern secession was not class, ethnicity, religion or region, but political affiliation.

Robert M. Owens, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison, the Hoosiers, and the Primacy of Indian Policy in the Early Republic."

Traditional accounts of Thomas Jefferson's Indian policy and statecraft focus almost exclusively on the national government's efforts (or lack thereof) to direct settlement. This dissertation will examine the relationship between the national government, the territorial authorities, and the territorial citizenry in determining what steps were necessary to settle western lands and deal with the Indians. Three broad themes will be examined. First, the intellectual tension created when Enlightenment ideals about personal rights encountered practical issues of land ownership and acquisition. Second, American resolve concerning such intellectual issues when confronted by the political and social obstacles that arise when governing a republic. Third, the diffusion of ideas and political power from the center of government to the periphery of frontier settlements.

Jennifer L. Weber, Princeton University.
"The Civil War and Northern Society."

This dissertation looks at communities in six states that sent their men to war in six units: The 6th Iowa, 1st Minnesota, 31st Illinois, 2nd Vermont, 73rd New York, and 1st Maryland. Specifically, the work will examine how the war affected non-combatants and reshaped their lives, how they regarded these changes, what influenced their opinions about the war, and how home front difficulties affected civilian support for the war. Five themes will be emphasized in each community: Recruitment and the draft; loss and longing; economics and labor; war aims and means; and the will to wage war in the face of horrendous losses.

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