Illinois Bicentennial Celebration 2018 Introduction & An Evening with Abraham Lincoln
Dr. Mark Zumhagen
The MHS is happy to again welcome Mark Zumhagen, a part of the Monee community since 2005, to the stage to present readings of some of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speeches and witty remarks. Mark is a Family Physician in Orland Park, who’s interest in Abraham Lincoln began ten years ago when he gave the Gettysburg Address at his children’s school. Mark bears an uncanny resemblance to Illinois’ favorite son and has portrayed Lincoln for many audiences.
Monee Community Building in Firemen’s Park 5162 W Court Street Monee, IL 60449
The Monee Historical Society is sponsoring a Illinois Bicentennial Photo Contest.
The Monee, Illinois Historical Society (www.moneehistoricalsociety.com), and the Village of Monee are sponsoring a photo contest to going to celebrate Illinois’ 200th birthday in 2018.
Celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Illinois! Take Abraham Lincoln out for a date!
Illinois became the 21st state on December 3, 1818. We at the Monee, Illinois Historical Society are celebrating!
To participate, print out and color Abraham Lincoln, then take a selfie of you and Abe celebrating all over our fair state! Post these selfies to social media with the hashtags #FlatAbe, #MoneeIL and #200Illinois.
Photos entries may also be dropped off at the community building at Fireman’s Park on Court Street in Monee.
Prizes will be awarded for the most imaginative photos and ones that capture the spirit of Illinois. The contest kicks off on Memorial Day and all entries must be received by August 30, 2018. Prizes will be awarded at the Monee Fall Fair on September 9, 2018.
Submit as many photos as you like and we will post on the MHS and Village Social Media sites, as well as in the Monee Community building as space permits. Everyone is eligible to enter.
Participants can apply either on line or at the community building. (If using the hashtags on social media, you don’t have to fill out the below – we will contact you through your social media account) Please include:
• Name
• Address
• Phone
• Email
• Age (if under 18)
Click here to download and print your Abraham Lincoln! Flat Abe
Illinois Bicentennial Celebration 2018 Introduction & An Evening with Abraham Lincoln
Dr. Mark Zumhagen
The MHS is happy to again welcome Mark Zumhagen, a part of the Monee community since 2005, to the stage to present readings of some of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speeches and witty remarks. Mark is a Family Physician in Orland Park, who’s interest in Abraham Lincoln began ten years ago when he gave the Gettysburg Address at his children’s school. Mark bears an uncanny resemblance to Illinois favorite son and has portrayed Lincoln for many audiences.
Christi Holston
President, Monee Historical Society
Illinois is 200 years old this year and Monee plans to celebrate.
We will outline some of the exciting plans for the upcoming Bicentennial celebrations
Monee Community Building in Firemen’s Park
5162 W Court Street
Monee, IL 60449
7PM Thursday, February 8h, 2018
Free program, light refreshments will be served
I have been to 5 funerals this year. With each person I lose, I reflect on the person, their life and the people they touched. Naturally, the five people I have lost have been different ages, from different economic backgrounds and different family situations. There was beautiful Ronnie Sinon. She was a coworker and a cousin by marriage. She went far too young, and leaves a husband of only a year. There was Doris (Tyler) Zum Mallen; my first cousin, twice removed. She attained the great age of 91, and leaves 5 children, 12 grandchildren, and many great grandchildren behind. My uncle Mike Langenfeld was the hardest for me. Also too young, Mike had a great interest in military history. He was a veteran and a long time boy scout leader. Also gone is Calvin Bisping, who leaves three young adult sons and his sweet wife Laurie (nee Artman) as well as many people in the town of Peotone who greatly mourn his early passing. Possibly the most tragic was the 31 year old wife of a high school friend, Jeff Molsen. Though I never met his Whitney, I hurt greatly for my friend as he deals with his loss.
The one thing they hold in common: they could not take it with them. Not their money, not their toys, not their loved ones. They all leave a void behind them. And the thing is, it will happen to every single one of us. It might be tomorrow, it might be when we are 99 years old, but it will happen. It is unavoidable. At times, this inevitability is enough to bring me to my knees as I think of those I love who might go before me, or those who I leave behind that will mourn my passage.
So, what can be done? Can we change the outcome? No. But what we CAN do is control what we leave behind in terms of our legacy. Our story can be told. We can tell it. In whatever way we want. We can keep a journal of our thoughts, our beliefs, our accomplishments and triumphs. We can record our voices, tell our story in our own words. We can video a message, a prayer, a request. We can ensure that we are not forgotten and that our name and memory is preserved for those we care about in the future, including those that are not even born yet.
A great way to do this is to research and record our family history. Tracing your lineage is a way to connect the past and the future. You serve as the bridge between the two. By recording the information of your life and the lives of those closest to you, you preserve that vital family link and bring your ancestors to your descendants.
The hard part is starting. We all think we will “have time later” or will do it when you have a break in your hectic day to day life. NO!! Do not wait! Start NOW. With smartphones today, you can quickly jot down information as you think of it when you’re waiting for the train or in the doctor’s office. Email it to yourself. Create a “Family Legacy” folder and put the emails there. Better yet, set up a free Drop Box account and save it there. Make sure to give others access or leave your email password where it can be recovered after you’ve passed. When other family members email you something you want preserved about the family, put it in the same folder. Copy family photos from Facebook to the folder. Get a birth announcement in the mail? Snap a photo and email it to that folder. A newspaper clipping that mentions your son’s baseball game or your daughter’s graduation? Take a photo and email it.
Even if you do NOTHING else to research your family, you have this folder that will give a peek into your life and the lives of your family members. Later, if you do decide to go further, or if you have a family member that wants to begin research, you have a great head start. These baby steps can help you get started and make the task seem less daunting.
Death is the end of our physical self, but it doesn’t have to be the end of our life. Live on by preserving what’s important to you and leave behind something to comfort those you love.
Rev. Betsy Youdris is a retired United Methodist pastor who is connected to the Frankfort United Methodist Church. She blends her love of storytelling, quilting, the Civil War, & the Underground Railroad to present: Hidden in Plain Sight: the story of Quilts & the Underground Railroad.
Rev Youdris’ husband Chuck is a longtime collector of Civil War (black powder) firearms. With his Civil War artillery corporal’s uniform, he will present and talk about his firearm collection.
As Charles & Elizabeth Henneman, the Youdris’ will portray an Ohio farm couple whose farm served as a stop on the Underground Railroad to Canada.
WHERE:
Monee Community Building in Firemen’s Park
5162 W Court Street
Monee, IL 60449
WHEN:
Thursday, November 9th, 2017
7:15PM
Free program, light refreshments will be available
Walter E. “Wally” Erickson was born on May 3, 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of six children. His parents were Frank Edwin Erickson and Ellen Emily Runquist. Ellen immigrated to the United States in about 1903, and was closely followed by Frank. The couple married just after their arrival in Chicago.
His siblings were Edith (married Bernard Logan), John, (married Myrtle Stolzner), Bill (married Irene Tarry), Einer (died in a a fall from a horse at age 16) and Allen, (married Leona Holl).
The family operated a business out of their home in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, digging basements for residences. A fire that occurred in the 1920’s destroyed their barn and equipment. The family moved to the farm of a friend near Olympia Fields, Illinois and later to a farm outside Monee.
Walter Erickson with parents, Frank and Ellen
Walter Erickson with big brother, Allen.
For fun, Wally and his brother Allen would go to the dances held in Monee at the fairgrounds. At one of these dances, the two brothers met friends Ruth and Leona. Wally married Ruth Marie Elizabeth Diercks on 29 Nov 1947. Ruth was born Jun 19, 1921 in Monee to Henry and Adella (Behrens) Diercks. Leona Ethel Holl, the daughter of Christ and Esther Conrad Holl was born in Monee January 10, 1922. She and Allen were married June 4, 1944.
Ruth and Wally Erickson
On March 14, 1942, Wally enlisted in the United States Army. He became a signalist, and his job was to man the radio and pass orders. After three months training he left for Europe on the Queen Elizabeth, landing first in Scotland and then travelling to Ireland for more training. He was in the United Kingdom for a year and a half when the orders came in to invade France. He landed on Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944, shortly after the first and most brutal wave of D-Day. The first order was to dig trenches for the men already killed on the beach. During an interview in 1993, Walter was asked how many men he saw die. He became quiet, and it took him a moment to answer. Finally, he said “The first evening, I went to bed it was dark. When I awoke in the morning there were three or four dead around me. They were probably there when I went to sleep.” Wally stayed in Europe until October 1945, and was one of the last to leave. Walter is the recipient of multiple ribbons and metals, and was honorably discharged.
Taken in England, November 12, 1943
After the war, Walter worked as a tool and die maker at Western Electric in Cicero. He and Ruth lived in LaGrange Park but spent the winters in Florida, near his brother Eric in the Sarasota.
He was a member of the Monee American Legion and the LaGrange VFW. Ruth and Walter were members of Grace Lutheran Church of LaGrange.
In 1993, Walter and Ruth traveled to his parents hometown of Uddevalla, Sweden, where Walter was able to see the house where his mother grew up.
Ruth died Aug 26, 2004 in La Grange Memorial Hospital. Walter died Jan 19, 2007, also in La Grange Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Mark Zumhagen
