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
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
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
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
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
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
In the spring of 1914, the village of McHenry held their elections to vote for their public officials and on some key issues of the day, such as if they should abolish the poll tax. Yet, the biggest issue to many was whether or not the village of McHenry should abolish their saloons. However, the vote… Continue reading The McHenry’s Historic Election of 1914
