The United States wasn't in the First World War for long, but when it did become involved, the nation fully immersed itself in the conflict. Overall, the county bought over $5 million in liberty war bonds and raised over $100,000 in donations. Not bad for a county with 33,000 people according to the 1920 census.… Continue reading Armistice Day & the “Home-Coming For The Boys”
Category: Community Events
Decoration Day in 19th Century McHenry
Following the Civil War, the nation was looking for various way to heal itself and deal with the carnage it had just gone through. Decorating the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers with flowers became the tradition that we now call Memorial Day. Declared by General John Logan in 1868, Decoration Day (or what is… Continue reading Decoration Day in 19th Century McHenry
Operation Alert
In the 1950s, the US was in the tensest time of the Cold War. This new type of war brought a new variety of fears due to the weapons of mass destruction that were available. The most infamous being the atomic bomb. Civilian defense organizations were set up at the state and national level. Many… Continue reading Operation Alert
The McHenry Lyceum
During the early 1920s, Rev. Father Martin J. McEvoy of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church brought a series of concerts and other entertaining acts to McHenry in the form of a Lyceum. It combined education and entertainment in a variety of outlets such as lectures, concerts and a plethora of other performances. Lyceums took off in… Continue reading The McHenry Lyceum
The Masquerade Ball of February 1878
In August of 1919, a local resident named “Buff” Feltz stopped by the McHenry Plaindealer office with an old dance program he found in walls of a Crystal Lake house he helped raze. Plaindealer editor, F. G. Schreiner found the program interesting and posted the details of the dance thinking that some of the “old-timers”… Continue reading The Masquerade Ball of February 1878
Red Faber Pitches in McHenry
In the summer of 1935 St. Mary's softball charity game proved to be a memorable one. It pitted teams from the McHenry Elderly Men and St. Mary's Holy Name Society and featured a bonus game that between the Married Men vs. the Single Men. People were really looking forward to the game as it featured… Continue reading Red Faber Pitches in McHenry
McHenry’s Dollar Days
During most of the 20th Century, McHenry had a semi-annual event called Dollar Day. Eventually, in the 1950s as the event became more popular, Dollar Days that was held most often over a two day period. The concept was relativity simple. Businesses in town would offer items at a $1 or offer drastically reduced prices on items.… Continue reading McHenry’s Dollar Days
