THE 1956 PINKSTAFF TORNADO
On February 25, 1956, an F-2 tornado struck Pinkstaff around 2:30 in the morning. A church, a school, and numerous homes were destroyed. Power and phone lines were downed. Trees were uprooted and thrown across roads. Dozens of outbuildings were destroyed. Over a million and a half dollars in property damage occurred but surprisingly, not a single life was lost. The Historical Society will present a program about this devasting event on Monday night at 7:00 pm November 24, 20
Lawrence Lore
Nov 211 min read
Train Accident Kills Emmons and Bray 1955
Train Accident March 10, 1955 Two prominent Lawrenceville citizens were victims of a fatal train-truck crash just north of Pinkstaff at 11:45 am when the south bound New York Central Train struck the pick-up truck in which they were riding. The men, Frank Bray, retired assistant postmaster was instantly killed while his companion, Lyman Emmons, former state senator and prominent Lawrenceville funeral director, died at the Lawrence County Memorial Hospital at 1:40 o’clock
Lawrence Lore
Nov 202 min read
Women-second only to the press . . .
November 19th, 1880 Old man winter had pitched his tent right here and looked like he was going to stay. The sudden cold spell with six inches of snow made one hustle along lively to the fire. All the weather prophets predicted a cold winter. Miss Mary Buntin was still very ill. William Laws of Sumner would be the Deputy Sheriff after December. Isaac Shields of Birds Station moved to Olney and was reading law with Judge A Shaw . The Dedication of the Pleasant Ridge Chri
Lawrence Lore
Nov 192 min read
Soda Pop Bottles
These black and White photos do not do justice to the lightly tinted green glass of these "Soda Pop Bottles". The one on the left is a recent acquisition. It is a 6 1/2 fl. oz bottle stamped on the bottom " S & M" and imprinted with the head of an Indian chief wearing a feather headdress and the words "The Bottling Works Lawrenceville Ill" The one on the right is one of three in our possession and is 8 inches tall and stamped with an "L" on the bottom. It is imprinted "Lawre
Lawrence Lore
Nov 181 min read
Madge and Dorothy's Uniforms
Our newest exhibit at the History Center features dresses from 1850-1950, the last being the army uniform of Magdalene Angle Fleckenstein known as Madge. Madge was born in 1920 in the Klondike area near Chauncey. She attended grade school at the nearby one-room school, going on to graduate from Bridgeport High School in 1940. After graduation Madge enrolled in the Olney School of Nursing and after three years graduated from there as well. She enlisted in the Army Nurse Cor
Lawrence Lore
Nov 172 min read
..stockings for Santa Claus to stow goodies in..
The History Center will NOT be open this Sunday November 16. November 12 1880 Now that the elections were over, the local news was more abundant in Lawrence County. Mary Buntin, the editor of the Rural Republican , stated that the ladies were all about electing one of their sex as a school director. She promised to see that there was fair play, and a fair ballot. She also advised that her long illness had made large demands upon her pocketbook and asked that anyone owing m
Lawrence Lore
Nov 144 min read
Prison Debate of 1977
The History Center will NOT be open this Sunday November 16. Early in 1977, Governor James Thompson announced that two additional medium-security prisons would be built in Illinois to ease over-crowding by a rapidly growing prison population. The population had exploded from 5,980 inmates in July 1973, to 10,450 inmates in 1977. Besides the inmate population explosion, updates were needed to present facilities to support the current over-crowding. The new medium-security pr
Lawrence Lore
Nov 132 min read
Peg Doll
The History Center will NOT be open this Sunday November 16. Dolls are little figures of a person and each one tells a story. The Historical Society has over 400 dolls in our collection. This 4” delicately carved wood peg doll has wood jointed arms and legs, painted features and handmade clothing. She is dressed in a cream silk ribbon dress trimmed with black cotton lace. Circa Mid 19 th century These peg wood dolls, also known as 'Dutch Dolls', originated as simple lathe
Lawrence Lore
Nov 121 min read
Ten Thousand Men Cry
Second Lieutenant (Air Corps) Vernon L Burda was a navigator on a B-24 bomber in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Burda was captured by German forces after his aircraft was shot down on or about July 16, 1944, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his return to U.S. Military Control at the end of hostilities in May 1945. (This is a long article but the ending will make you cry.) While not a resident of Lawrence County, Burda’s experiences were recorded in the George
Lawrence Lore
Nov 1110 min read
Lucinda Melton Porter
One of the dresses on display at the Historical Society's newest exhibit belonged to Lucinda Porter. Lucinda Melton Porter was born in 1837 in Denison Township to a family with deep local pioneer roots. Her father Benjamin Melton had fought in the Revolutionary War so when she was born, he was between 70 and 80 years old. His daughter Lucinda was married for the first time at age 16 but widowed at age 23 with a young 5-year-old boy. In 1862 Lucinda married David Porter. Luc
Lawrence Lore
Nov 102 min read