FASTER than a speeding bullet

More POWERFUL than a locomotive...able to LEAP over a tall building in a single bound. Imagine it's 1933. The country was in the grip of the Great Depression. The people were in desperate need of some good news, something to cheer them up. What they needed was a Hero.

In 1972 the Illinois house of representatives declared Metropolis the official home of Superman.  In the town square there stands a 12 foot tall reminder of that uniquely heroic icon.  Put up in 1993 and cast from solid bronze it was replacing an earlier one that was made of fiberglass (And apparently full of bullet holes).  At the bottom of the statue is the motto for which this hero is best remembered. Truth-Justice-and the American Way.

Just two blocks down from the Man of Steel is a smaller statue of his main squeeze in life, intrepid reporter Lois Lane. Also cast in bronze, it captures her in the process of writing down a tidbit of juicy information, probably for some blockbuster article she's working on.

  Metropolis loves it's claim to fame. There's a Superman museum across the street from the statue. just down the street there's a Superman costume in the window of the local gym. The local paper is even named the Daily Planet. There's several other sights in town, making this a  great all day visit for just yourself or your family.

Tenting on the ol' camp ground

Last weekend was the Civil war reenactment out at our local city park. There were demonstrations of artillery fire, marksmanship, cavalry charges and more. Reenactors portrayed soldiers from both sides of the conflict to great effect.

But Civil war camps weren't just soldiers preparing for battle. There were camp followers, nurses, doctors, supply depots, photographers, and more. People looking to support the troops and give them a taste of home life in an otherwise dismal situation.

We are fortunate that our reenactors not only showed us the times of battle but also the down times in between.

The South will RISE again!

Blue against Gray. Brother against Brother. Families split right down the middle. This was the reality of the American civil war. In 1862 a rebellious South, seeing Northern heavy handedness as infringing on their individual rights went to war with its northern neighbors. The result was four grueling years of warfare and bloodshed that still has an impact on society today.

Every autumn We in Bureau county are fortunate to be able to revisit that period of history though with far less fatal results. The annual Blue and Gray festival has been held now for over twenty years and is a huge draw for historians, fellow photographers, and tourists alike. There are battle reenactments, men and women walking around in period dresses and uniforms, and authentic displays of what camp life was like for men, and women too.

It's loud, heart pounding, and a HUGE treat to watch. For an afternoon, you can step back thru a doorway in time and see what it was like to fight for the Union, or to defiantly shout a rebel yell. I highly recommend you mark your calendars and plan to attend the next one.

Wanted to give folks an update

Apparently there was a glitch of some kind yesterday on my blog page. I have no idea how it happened but with the exception of my current post and the last one, every other post lost all their photographs.  I have the originals saved in a different location but the album on my blogger site was somehow deleted.

Over the next few weeks I'll be re-adding the lost photo's so I ask for people to bear with me. Thank you for your patronage of my blog.  John

Oakdale Women's Reformatory

Everyone's heard of the Dwight correctional facility just outside Dwight, IL. It housed prisoners there for years and was shut down just a few years ago. It was part of a grinding penal system and no one who came out of there did so without a few scars and bad memories. But it wasn't always that way.

In the early 1930's Illinois prisons were dank, overcrowded, and sanitary conditions were fair at best. Dismal at worst. The Women's Clubs of Illinois undertook a project to build an institution strictly for incarcerated women and in 1931 at a cost of $850,000.00 a state of the art facility was built in the farmlands outside Dwight. The location was chosen for it's pleasant countryside,  flora and fauna because it was believed that "Beautiful surroundings, orderly training and kindliness would overcome the effects of bad breeding, environment, and adverse mental conditions".

Here are a few lines from the dedication brochure that was given out on opening day: "Believing idleness is a contributing cause for the unrest and discontent so prevalent in institutions the policy that has been approved allows for 8 hours of work or school 6 days a week", "The commercial laundry offers an excellent opportunity for those adapted to this work-hand laundry being part of the training. The industrial building includes space for power sewing machines, with opportunity for hand sewing, mending, fancy work and the factory type of sewing. The garden of 12 acres, the care of the flowers and shrubs, 130 sheep and 2000 chickens and the farm work provide the outdoor work so beneficial to certain groups. Home economics and canning form part of the work"

Recreation at the reformatory included community singing, dancing,movies, and in the summer months there was baseball, volleyball, croquet, and horseshoe pitching.  Each inmate had her own closet, a bed, a dresser and a rocking chair!  Inmates ate in a spacious dining room with tables and chairs and even had a sun porch to spend cool evenings on.

The facility is state owned property and is strictly off limits but if you ever get down that way it's worth a moment to pulls off the road and snap a picture of the stately castle like towers and turrets of this dream that ultimately failed.

I'd like to give a big shout out to the Dwight Historical Society for graciously allowing me to post several of their photo's of the interior of the reformatory. It's much appreciated!