Decoration Day

At the end of the American civil war thousands of men from both sides lay in countless graves across the country. By the late 1860's communities across America were holding tributes to the fallen, putting flowers on their graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns. Those small beginnings led to what we know as Memorial Day today.

John Logan, a Union general, called for a national day of remembrance on May 30th, 1868 and on that day general James Garfield gave a speech at Arlington National cemetery where 5000 attendee's decorated the graves of 20,000 union and confederate soldiers buried there.  The tradition caught on and by 1890 every state had its own Decoration day.

Originally, Decoration day only honored those men lost in the civil war, but as WW 1 progressed the holiday was generally accepted to honor soldiers who had fallen in any war.  For decades Memorial Day fell on May 30th, regardless of what the actual day was. But in 1968 congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, setting Memorial Day on the last Monday in May, thus giving federal employees a 3 day weekend.

So as you stoke up your Bar-B-Ques and pop open the can of beer just before the big game, take a moment to remember Why you have this 3 day weekend and if you have a Veteran in the family, or know a Vet, thank them for their service.

Finding myself in Manhattan

On a recent trip over to Indiana I took the opportunity to travel some of the back roads of Illinois and happened to pass thru Manhattan. Manhattan, Illinois, that is. It's a quiet village south and east of Joliet which has one great feature that immediately drew my attention. It has a historic Round barn.

In 1893 Chicago hosted the Great Columbia Exposition which featured some of the most memorable buildings and attractions available at the time. Commemorating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus discovering America, The exposition covered more than 600 acres of ground, featured over 200 buildings representing the cutting edge of American technology at the time. There was the worlds first and original Ferris wheel, There were three life sized reproductions of the "Nina", the "Pinta" & the "Santa Maria", There were moving pictures in the very first commercial movie theater. It had a "Travelator" a moving sidewalk people could either stand or sit on which traveled in one giant loop around the fair.

27 MILLION people attended the fair from May the 1st thru October 21st when the fair closed. One of the notable visitors was Helen Keller who toured it along with Dr. Alexander Graham Bell. It was such a popular draw that Buffalo Bill Cody set up his wild west show just outside the fair grounds and entertained the masses. The cost of the fair was 1.5 Million dollars (38.8 million today). the fair made that money back within a few weeks of opening.

There are some notable survivors from that fair. The Field Museum of Chicago is one, the Museum of Science and Industry is one, The Art Institute is another. And then there's the story of the round barn.  The barn was not displayed at the fair. Rather the wood that the barn is constructed of was provided by the vast quantities of lumber that as left over after the many temporary buildings from the fair were disassembled. And so it was that John Baker purchased some of the lumber and constructed two round barns in 1898.

One barn is gone but the other survives to this day and is now a park and museum. There are five levels to the barn, level one originally used for horses and cows for a dairy operation but now consisting of horse drawn farm machinery. Level two was originally used to store hay for the livestock but now holds various implements which were used in the day to day running of the farm. The third level was once an apartment but now holds items that would have been used in the farm house itself. The fourth level is a good spot to view that inner workings of the framework and construction while the fifth level allowed air to circulate through the barn.

Nearly 100 years went by and in 1986 the barn was modified to be turned into a public museum, now called the Baker-Koren Round Barn farm park. They host civil war reenactments there, pioneer days, petting zoo's and more. A golf course is also on the property. If you ever find yourself down that way it is Well Worth the time to stop and marvel at another Round barn and soak in some of the history those walls have seen.

Loyal to the end

I recently took a trip up to Rock Island and with the help of fellow photographer Sean Flynn explored the Chippiannock cemetery. Chippiannock which is a native american term which means 'Place of the Dead' was founded in 1854 and consists of 62 acres of rolling hills and grasslands. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 it is the resting place of soldiers, civil war generals, prominent politicians and business leaders and so much more.

But today I'd like to tell you about the children of Otis and Harriet Dimick.  In 1878 diseases which are easily controlled today were rampant thruout the world and in the fall of that year diphtheria was raging like a wildfire through the city of Rock Island.  Tragically brother and sister Eddie and Josie Dimick contracted the disease. According to local accounts at the time they went to school on Thursday, got sick on Friday, and died the following Tuesday night.

For two years afterwards the grief stricken parents would visit the grave accompanied by the family dog which had been devoted to the children.  But eventually time passed, wounds started to heal and the family moved on. The dog, however, could not. For the rest of its life the family dog would walk the two miles by itself to the cemetery and lay next to the children's grave from dawn to dusk. So devoted to their memory was he that when the dog died the family asked for permission to bury him next to the children but the cemetery board refused.

So the family did the next best thing. They commissioned a Chicago artist to create a life sized statue of the canine, lying down with it's head resting on its paws and had it placed at the feet of the children's grave, forever guarding and protecting them in death as it had sought to do so in life.  It's a quiet, peaceful spot in the cemetery and if you ever have a chance to drive up there stop for a moment and pay homage to the ultimate expression of Man's best friend.  Many thanks to Sean Flynn for contributing some of his photo's for today's post.

The name means "Place of the Dead"

I recently took a trip up to Rock Island and with the help of fellow photographer Sean Flynn explored the Chippiannock cemetery. Chippiannock which is a native american term which means 'Place of the Dead' was founded in 1854 and consists of 62 acres of rolling hills and grasslands. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 it is the resting place of soldiers, civil war generals, prominent politicians and business leaders and so much more.

There were markers of all shapes and sizes, big and small. Some were very ornate and some were simple in their presentation. Some of the more prominent people buried there are:

*Napoleon Buford, a Union general of the civil war, his half brother was General John Buford who fought at Gettysburg.

*Ransom Cable, president of the Chicago,Rick Island, & Pacific railroad

*William Hoffman, another civil war Union general

*Richard Mansill, whose marker is thought to represent the four pillars of the universe

*Captain David Tipton, steamboat captain and personal friend of Mark Twain

And so many more. The day I was there I spent hours inside the place and barely scratched the surface. If cemeteries and the histories behind the people interred there fascinate you, or if ornate markers from a near forgotten age interest you consider a drive up to visit the Chippiannock.