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Summer chautauquas

Carbondale Community Arts, Inc. will holds its 2003 Summer Chautauqua on the theme "From Sea to Shining Sea: The Lewis and Clark Expedition," from June 29 to July 7 in three southern Illinois towns: Carbondale, Murphysboro, and Carterville. Guest scholars offer interpretations of the historic expedition from several unusual perspectives, including those of York, the African-American slave who made the voyage; Sacagawea, the expendition's Native American guide; and Meriwether Lewis, as seen through the eyes of his mother.

Additional Chautauqua programs focus on French Illinois folklore and folk music, Negro spirituals of the 19th century, southern Illinois flora and fauna, and 19l Century American Expansionism and its political legacies. Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) are available to teachers who sign up in advance for the series of lectures and workshops. All chautauqua programs are open to the public and free of charge. For a complete schedule call 618-457-5100, or visit the ISHS website at vvww.historyillinois.org.

Jacksonville will host its Prairieland Chautauqua 2003, under the big tent in Jacksonville's Community Park from Wednesday, July 2, to Sunday, July 6, 2003. This year's theme is "American Women." Professional historians and actor-interpreters will present the lives of five remarkable American women on consecutive evenings, interspersed with educational seminars, workshops, lectures, and concerts. Each evening's program will be preceded by a catered sit-down dinner. CPDU's will also be available for teachers who sign up in advance.

The program is as follows:

Wednesday, July 2: "Susan B. Anthony"
Annette Baldwin Kolasinski, presenter
Thursday, July 3: "The Revolutionary Abigail Adams"
Rebecca Bloomfield, presenter
Friday, July 4: "Ladybird Johnson"
Rebecca Bloomfield, presenter
Saturday, July 5: Josephine Baker"
Vernice Jackson, presenter
Sunday, July 6: "Calamity Jane"
Dr. Leah Schwartz, presenter
For more information contact Dr. Wolf D. Fuhrig, 508 West College Avenue, Jacksonville, IL 62650, phone: 217-243-2423, fax: 217-245-1226, e-mail: wdluhi-ia@aol.cum.

Strike zone

Before there were brand-name baseball trading cards, baseball cards came as inserts with packs of cigarettes. The Honus Wagner T206 baseball card of 1909 (shown at left), one of the most highly prized and most valuable, was sold at an auction two years ago for $1.2 million. Its story and dozens of others are the focus of Baseball As America, on exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum through July 20, 2003. The exhibition includes such themes as baseball players as mythic American heroes, baseball

and technology, baseball as ritual, baseball and economics, and baseball and popular culture. A special exhibit area highlights baseball in Chicago. For more information, call the Field Museum at 312-922-9410.

Stride through history

Docents from the Chicago Historical Society will conduct a series of two-hour walking tours through some of the Windy City's most beautiful and historic neighborhoods this spring. Tours of Chicago's Gold Coast, Old Town, and Lincoln Park are planned in April, with more tours scheduled for the summer. Single tours are $10 each, or $25 for all three with preregistration. The schedule follows:

Chicago's Gold Coast. Stroll among the elegant townhouses and opulent mansions of Chicago's Astor Street historic district, home to such prominent and illustrious families as the McCormicks, the Wrigleys, and the Palmers, and hear fascinating stories of former famous residents on this two-mile promenade. Monday, April 14 at 1 p.m., and Saturday, April 5 & 26, at 10 a.m.

Exploring Old Town. From its Victorian roots to its trendy present, see how Old Town became known for its delightful (and sometimes off-beat) denizens, both past and present, and also for its charming architecture, featuring styles ranging from Victorian frame cottages to Queen Anne-style mansions, early balloon-frame architecture, and even some structures that survived the Great Chicago Fire. Monday, April 7 and 28, 1 p.m., and Saturday April 12, 10 a.m.

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A Stroll in the Park. Discover the history of Chicago's beautiful Lincoln Park on this two-mile promenade among its gorgeous gardens and across its broad green lawns adorned with statues of such luminaries as William Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln. Saturday, April 19, 10 a.m. and Monday, April 21,1 p.m.

For more information on these and other CHS tours, call 312-642-4600, or visit the Society's website at www.chicagoh istorv.org.


Passengers board the Eastland moments before it capsized in the Chicago River on the morning of July 24, 1915. More than 800 people lost their lives, including 22 entire families.

Historical marker rededication

With the completion of the Wacker Drive reconstruction, the Eastland Disaster historical marker will be rededicated near the site of the Eastland Disaster on Thursday morning, July 24, 2003. The new marker is a near-replica of the original marker that stood from 1989 through 2000 and was erected by the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. The replacement marker was co-funded by the Eastland Disaster Historical Society and the Chicago Public Art Program of the Department of Cultural Affairs, with support from the Illinois State Historical Society. On July 24, 1915, the Eastland capsized in the Chicago River while still in its moorings. Of the 2,501 people on board, many of them families of Western Electric Company employees who'd planned a picnic outing that day, 844 drowned. For more information, visit the Eastland Disaster Historical Society at www.castlanddisaster.org.

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Photo courtesy Prairie Archives

Generations

A Writing Contest for High School Students

Who are we and how did we come here? How has living in Illinois shaped the lives of our families and communities?

These are the questions high school students in central Illinois are invited to explore creatively in the third annual Generations competition, co-sponsored by the Illinois Humanities Council/Central Illinois Regional Planning Committee (IHCRPC), and the Illinois State Historical Society. The deadline is March 28, 2003.

Entries can be historically accurate fictional narratives, family histories, personal narratives, expository essays, interviews, poems, or songs. Writers should use research and imagination to take us into past lives.

Cash prizes for first ($300), second ($200), and third ($100) will be awarded to the best entries. In addition, outstanding writing will be published in Humanities Connection, the newsletter of the IHCRPC. Submission Guidelines:

Submit one prose piece or up to three poems or songs, no more than 3,000 words total. No handwritten entries. Entries will not be returned: keep a copy of anything you submit.

Do not put your name on your entry. Instead, include a cover page with your name, address, telephone, the name of your teacher, and your school.

Mail entries to:
Generations High School Writing Competition
c/o Robert Grindy
Richland Community College
One College Park
Decatur, IL 62521
Or send entries electronically in an MS Word attachment to rgrindy@richland.cdu
For more information, click the Generations link at www.historyillinois.org. or call (217) 875-7211 ext. 367.

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