The Cicadas Are A-Coming-- Part 2: The Females Do the Clicking

These two broods coming/came to Illinois have spent 13 or 17 years underground.

It is the females who click.  (I have now noticed that some of the cicadas I catch make the clicking sound and some don't.  Now I know which ones I'm dealing with.)

While underground munching on roots, they aerate the soil which is beneficial.

They start climbing/burrowing to the top when soil temperatures reach 64 degrees.  This is why they emerge sooner to the southern areas.  (We sure had lots of hype about them coming from the news stations.)

The last time the two broods have come at the same time was 1803.

For best cicada viewing and hearing go to Lake Forest and Highland Park in Lake County, Illinois.

Cicadas are one of the loudest living insects.

Lake County estimated to have 23 billion of the little critters.

Don't refer to them as locusts.  That makes them mad.

They had a Cicada Fest at Ryerson Woods on June 8.

--Cooter

The History of Holiday Park (Ingleside, Illinois)

Last night I attended a presentation on the history of Holiday Park given at the Fox Lake Public Library in Illinois.  The place was packed with a largely older crowd.

Holiday park operated from the 1950s to 1990s and continually grew and evolved until it covered a huge area between US Highway 12 and Illinois Highway 134.  It included Wooster Lake, two ponds, a ski hill, water slide, bar and restaurant with banquet facilities.

Many of the high school kids of Fox Lake worked there while growing up and after the presentation, there was a rather long series of people getting up and talking about their experiences.

it must have been a fun place, judging by the comments.

--Cooter

Area Lakes Were the Key to the Growth of Antioch, Illinois-- Part 1

From the 2016 Stateline by Sandra Landen-Machaj.

In the early 1800s, the Antioch area was the home of the Pottawatomi Indian tribe, a semi-nomadic group that moved throughout northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin hunting and fishing.

The area had a rolling landscape and many glacial lakes and was rich in fish and wild fowl.  Life was good for them until the arrival of the white man.

The first recorded settlement in what was to become Antioch was a log cabin built along Sequoit Creek, a tributary of the Fox River.  It was on this spot that brothers Darius and Thomas Gage built their cabin shortly after the winter of 1837.

One of the first businesses was a sawmill.  One was built by Hiram Buttrick in 1839 to provide for the lumber needs of a growing community.

--DaCoot

MLB in Chicago's Northwest Suburbs-- Part 3: Some Major League Ballplayers

Here are a few ballplayers from Lake and McHenry counties who made it to the majors:

CHUCK HILLER from Johnsburg had an outstanding career in the majors.  As a member of the 1962 New York Giants, he made history becoming the first National League player to hit a grand slam in the World Series.  This allowed the Giants to beat the Yankees 7-3 and win the World Series.

BILLY AND BOBBY KLAUS were professional ballplayers from Fox Lake.  Billy played in the major leagues from 1952 to 1963, playing for several teams in his 11-year career.

His brother Bobby had a much shorter major league career, playing for only two years, 1964 and 1965.

There are plaques honor these two at the Grant High School baseball field in Fox Lake.

ERIC ECKENSTAHLER was born in Waukegan but attended high school in Antioch.  After attending Illinois State University, he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers and played 27 games for them in 2002 and 2003.

--Baser

MLB in Chicago's Northwest Suburbs-- Part 2: Local Teams Played for Community Pride

And, the game of baseball is still real popular.  Just look at what happened in Chicago last week when the Cubs won the 2016 World Series.

Baseball has been around since 1839 and is played by young and old alike.  The Major Leagues began with 8 teams in 1876 and now has 30 teams.  Since the 1800s, local teams have played for their communities.  While these players may dream of getting a spot on a major league roster, it is highly unlikely.

From the late 1800s, the local teams in Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois were very active and competed against each other.  Community pride was at stake.

Some players from local high schools did make it to the majors.  Some only lasted for a short time, others got to be well-known.

Tomorrow I Will Write About Some of Them Who Made It.  --Cooter

Illinois' Chain of Lakes-- Part 1: Enjoy It

From the June 29, 2016,  Hi-Liter (Lake County, Illinois) "The Chain of Lakes: Enjoying summertime on the water" by Sandra Landen Machaj.

I can sure agree with that.  We have been boating now ever since 1985, when we bought out first boat, a 1979 Imperial.  Then we got a 1990 Four Winns and have had a 2003 Bayliner since then.  I always though owning a boat would be a stupid thing to do until I started deejaying at various places on the Chain of Lakes and seeing how much fun the folks were having.

"It's summertime and the living is easy.  It's a time to kick back and enjoy the great outdoors.  Fishing (well, not us), boating and swimming become the priorities of the day as the temperatures rise.

"What better place to be than along the Fox River and the many lakes that a part of the Chain O' Lakes?  The Fox River enters Illinois at Antioch and meanders through L:ake County, through the Chain O' Lakes and into McHenry County before it continues to make its way on its own down to the Illinois River.

--CootBoat

American Legion Baseball in High Gear Around Here-- Part 1

I have recently become aware of the existence of a baseball team at our American Legion Post 703 here in Fox Lake, Illinois, of which I am a member of the Sons of the American Legion because of my grandfather, a World War I veteran.

The teams in area, the Illinois 10th District American Legion Baseball are in high gear with their season which runs from mid-June to mid-July.  All the boys on our team also play on the Grant High School baseball team.  Home games are played at Grant High School here in Fox Lake.

Last year, there were 14 teams in the league and Lake Zurich came in first with a 12-0 record.  Our Fox Lake team, the Fox Lake Bulldogs, were 8-4-1.  Other teams were also all from Lake County:  Lake Villa, Zion, Waukegan, Deerfield, Grayslake, Mundelein, Libertyville, Lake Forest, Gurnee and Wauconda.

Play Ball!!--Cooter

KKK in Chicago in the 1920s-- Part 1

From the Jan. 25, 2015, Chicago Tribune Flashback "Chicago and the KKK" by Ron Grossman.

In the 1920s, the Klan found fertile recruiting ground in the North.

They gathered August 16, 1921, at Central Park Avenue, just south of Foster Avenue in Chicago and then formed a car caravan to a destination in the suburbs near today's US-12 and Old Rand Road.

There they held a mass initiation ceremony called "naturalization."

The Tribune reported the next day: "A huge bonfire had been lighted.  Thousands of members of the order, each bearing aloft a torch, took position in the form of a blazing cross.  The blindfolded initiates were herded inside.  Upon the weird assemblage the searchlights of the automobiles drawn about in a great assembly shone with white intensity.

"Pickets patrolled beyond the pale, terrifying the curious citizens of the countryside by their grotesque appearances."

--Cooter

Six Flags Great America in Illinois Turns 40

From the 2015 Summer Fun Guide.

This is our biggie amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, Lake County in the state's northeast corner across the stateline from Wisconsin.

Six Flags Great America is celebrating 40 seasons of thrills in 2015.  It opened on the nation's Bicentennial in 1976, at a cost of $50 million with classic American-themed territories.

Today, it is one of the largest theme parks iin the country.  Park president Hank salemi says: "In 2015 we plan to celebrate out park's history and how it has grown onto one of the premier amusement parks in the country.  From the American Eagle to Goliath, and Whizzer to X-Flight, the Skyline of Great America has grown impressively over the last four decades."

As part of the celebration, the Carousel Plaza and Hometown Square sections of the park are being refreshed.

Three original children's rides also will be brought back: Tots Livery Surrey Carriages, Red Baron Airplanes and Lady bugs.  (Maybe something I could ride and enjoy without being "skeered" out of my mind.

From just there roller coasters in 1976 to 14 today, Great America is now home to 80 rides, attractions and slides spread across 100 acres of land.

It is also home to the world's tallest, steepest and fastest wooden roller coaster--  Goliath.

No Thanks On That Last One or Any of the Other 13 Coasters.  --DaScaredCoot

Veterans Memorial Planned for CLC-- Part 2

Wayne Maczko come from a highly-decorated military family and served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1972.

According to the college, there is a total of 597 veterans at the college and 12 adult education military students.  There are also another 30 noncredit military students.

To donate or purchase a brick, visit www.clcillinois.edu/gateway/military/veterans-memorial.

The college has a long history of support for veterans.

Veteran Memorial Planned for Lake County's CLC-- Part 1

From the Dec. 11, 2014, Lake County (Il.) Suburban Life "$5,000 donation puts CLC closer to veteran memorial completion" by Stephanie Kohl.

A recent $5,000 donation from the Military Order of the World Wars has put the College of Lake County (CLC) closer to completion of its Veterans Memorial.

The effort for a memorial began back in 2006 with Wayne Maczko, a stationary engineer at the Grayslake campus of the college and U.S. Army veteran.  He was inspired by a photo from Arlington National Cemetery  of a man in a squatting position about to place a flag in front of a marker.

The Veterans Memorial is on the west side of campus, Willow Lake veterans Memorial Park is just missing its soldier.  Roughly $60,000 needs to be raised to complete the bronze statue which will be about 1 1/3 the size of a person.

What About Lake County's Real Early History?

From the Fall/Winter 2011 Hometown Heritage bulletin of the Fox Lake-Grant Township (Il) Area Historical Society.

That would be Lake County, Illinois, in the northeastern corner of the state.

Many of the lakes in the Chain of Lakes were created when the Wisconsin Glacier melted. Indians of the central Algonquin Indian tribes lived in the area for many years. This would include the Miami, Mascouten Fox and Potawatomi. They led a semimobile life hunting, fished gathered wild plants and grew corn.

In 1673, Joliet and Marguette passed through what is today the Chain of Lakes State Park during their Illinois explorations. French trappers and traders were the first Europeans to explore the area. The first European settlement was at Fort Hill, near Mundelein. This was a large mound formerly used as a lookout post by the Indians.

In the 1800s, Europeans began settling in the area, especially after the Indian removal. But there were few settlements because of the transportation difficulty.

A Quick Lake County Background. --DaCoot

Last Public Hanging in Lake County, 1874

From the March 16, 2010 Daily Herald.

The last public hanging in Lake County, Illinois, where I lived for 18 years, occurred Feb. 27, 1874. Christopher Rafferty of Cook County (Chicago) had killed Chicago police officer Patrick O'Meara.

On August 4, 1872, Rafferty was in a saloon on South Halstead in Chicago when he was approached by two cops and told they had a warrant for arrest for a breach of peace charge for making improper noise and disturbing. Rafferty said he's shoot id they laid hands on him.

He turned to leave when O'Meara blocked the door and Rafferty drew a pistol and shot him. he also fired two shots at Officer Scanlon, but missed. Rafferty got away, but was captured the next day.

At trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to hang. Rafferty's attorney appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court because the fact that Rafferty was drunk at the time of the shooting had not been allowed into testimony. The court rules in his favor.

A second trial was held in Waukegan. The defense attorney tried to say the warrant was invalid as the police magistrate left blank warrants on his desk that officers could fill out.

Witnesses said that O'Meara had it in for Rafferty.

There ended up being a third trial where Rafferty was found guilty despite much evidence and many witnesses to the contrary and the man met his death at the gallows.

A Case of Blind Justice? --DaCoot

Lake County, Illinois, History

In the Dec. 9th Daily Herald, columnist Diana Dretske wrote of the county's French connection, going all the way back to French Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette and trader Louis Jolliet who are believed to have landed at the mouth of the Dead River in whatis now Illinois Beach State Park in Zion. By 1695, there was a trading post built on a bluff above Lake Michigan at current-day Waukegan.

In 1763, the whole area was turned over to Britain after the French loss in the French and Indian War.

In the 1830s, a settler of German and a settler of Scottish ancestry named Jacob Sprecht and John Strang came to the area. Each had fought in the Napoleonic Wars.

Jacob Sprecht, (1788-1874) was a native of Darmstadt, Germany, and had been conscripted into the French Army. He and his wife Anna Elizabeth migrated to the US and settled near Milburn in 1843 and became farmers.

John Strang (1779-1866) was a seaman and impressed into British service where he fought French forces at the Battle of the Nile. As a result of the battle, he temporarily lost his eyesight.

In 1835, he and wife Margaret Clellan migrated to Canada. Three of his sons found employment on the Illinois-Michigan Canal and later settled in Milburn in 1838. John and Margaret joined them the following year.

I lived in Lake County for 18 years in Vernon Hills and Round Lake Beach. I also taught middle school in Round Lake for 33 years.

A Bit of History, Local-Style. --Cooter