Community Spotlight: Community Essay Contest

As yesterday marked the beginning of Black History Month, there are a series of events happening all month long, that highlight various individuals and the contributions they’ve made to American history.

The John A. Logan Museum located in Murphysboro, will host an essay contest for elementary, middle, and high school students in the Murphysboro area.

The contest recognizes and celebrates the many achievements of black Americans and their roles in U.S. history. Contestants are encouraged to focus on notable African Americans and the Civil War.

All essays must be submitted by February 15. The contest winners will receive a cash prize and be announced at a grand reveal, on February 26, 2017.

Because the contest celebrates Black History Month, the topics will focus on notable African Americans and the Civil War.

For more information please visit: http://thesouthern.com/calendar/community/essay-contest--the-john-a-logan-museum-murphysboro/event_9ea9a0a4-d9ba-11e6-962a-308d99b2b460.html

Woodstock, Illinois residents prepare for annual Groundhog Day festivities

As Feb. 2 quickly approaches, residents of one Illinois town are preparing to celebrate a holiday that has made the town internationally famous.

Woodstock, located 51 miles northwest of Chicago, was the filming location of the movie “Groundhog Day.” Although the film is set in Pennsylvania, director Harold Ramis loved the quintessentially American feel of the Woodstock town square and surrounding neighborhoods.

The lead role of the film would even be played by an Illinois native, Bill Murray, who was born in Evanston and raised in Wilmette.

Since the filming in 1992, Woodstock has held celebrations every Groundhog Day to commemorate both the holiday and the film that was described by the American Film Institute as the “eighth best fantasy genre film” in history.

Different events happening in Woodstock on Groundhog Day include a dinner dance, free screenings of the movie and walking tours showcasing town landmarks seen in the film. For a full schedule of events, you can visit the Woodstock Groundhog Days Committee website.

Throwback Thursday: Abraham Lincoln’s lyceum address

• Springfield
• history
• Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln gave a speech titled “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions” to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield on Jan. 27, 1838. Lincoln talked about the dangers of slavery in the United States because its existence could corrupt the federal government.

During this time, Lincoln was unmarried and in his late 20s serving as a novice lawyer and a state representative. Historians believe the speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln was inspired by an event that roused and divided the nation on the topic of slavery. In the fall of 1837, Elijah Lovejoy, an abolitionist newspaper editor, was murdered by a pro-slavery mob while trying to defend himself and his printing press near Alton. The arguments for and against slavery were being made in the time of Lincoln, and he was far from shy when it came to expressing his misgivings of its continuance in the United States.

In this speech, he warned against mob behavior and urged Americans to keep their faith in law. He believed that the injuries of slavery could not be contained within select states.

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Did You Know? Famed author and Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway was born in Illinois.

Ernest Hemingway was born July 21, 1899, in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. His father, Clarence, was a physician and his mother was a former opera performer. Growing up, he spent many summers at his family’s home on the banks of Walloon Lake in Michigan. He attended high school in the Oak Park public school system.

He began writing while in high school and upon graduating, he moved to Kansas City to be a reporter for the Star. Less than a year later, he began serving in World War I with the American Red Cross as an ambulance driver. During his service, he was injured on the Austro-Italian front.

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