Exploring History & Discovering Your Spark
It has been a busy couple of weeks, but I am working on something special that will be published soon. I am by no means an art snob, so I surprised myself when I stumbled into an artist whose work I really admire. The Italian-American artist Alfonso Iannelli sculpted some impressive pieces right here in… Continue reading In the Works…
Toys are fun to play with, and some have been fun to play and learn with for many, many years!
It was last May that the old, bronze light went back up in the lobby area on the second floor of the Winnebago County Courthouse. It had been nearly two years since we re-acquired the old chandelier that was removed sometime in the 1970s. I spent several days working on that light to get it… Continue reading More Courthouse Lights
Read the history I discovered in the courthouse boiler room.
I am sticking to my resolution and started reading this book tonight. I picked this one up a while back at Half Priced Books. Now I am finally getting around to reading it. Just from reading the synopsis, I feel like some of the issues from 1919 might be similar to our current times. I'll… Continue reading Savage Peace
Another year is gone and a new one begins, which means it is goal setting time! This past year was a whirlwind year for our little family. My wife and I welcomed a baby boy into our family, and we are adjusting well into our new role as parents. Our pups Theodore and Franklin are… Continue reading New Year, New Goals
The Lebanon Historical Society posted on its Facebook page some transcripts of the Town of Lebanon Justice of the Peace records. One of the entries was about a murder that happened which included sworn testimony given by my Great-Great Grandpa Johann Frederick during an inquest held at the Lebanon Town Hall. This was a great story… Continue reading Great-Great-Grandpa Frederick the Murder Witness
One of my many responsibilities at work includes tending the boiler and boiler equipment at the Winnebago County Courthouse. Our building is heated with steam boilers. The boilers are not nearly as old as our condensate pumps--which are original equipment to the building. We have a pair of Chicago Pump Company "Condo-Vac" condensation pumps. As… Continue reading “Condo-Vac” Pump Overhaul
In a previous post, I wrote about my family members that served in the United States military during World War I. Those were the only three I had known of that had served, but I recently discovered that my Great Granduncle Leo Zillmer also served with American Expeditionary Forces over in Europe. Since then I've… Continue reading Ancestors in the Great War Update
A few posts ago I talked about a house being considered for the Oshkosh Landmarks Commission Historic Plaque Program and the research I did for the property owners. Earlier this year we had another property owner express interest in having his property locally landmarked, which protects a structure's historic character from being drastically altered. The… Continue reading Local Building Research #2
The Weekend Historian 