Calendar of Events at the Museum

The museum has quite a few events on the calendar, please be sure to plan on attending.

Saturday, February 25 is the fourth annual Snowflake Luncheon. This event if not just for the ladies! Chris Delbridge will be the entertainment. The catered luncheon is served on the museum's snowflake china. There are a few tickets left which can be purchased at Princeville State Bank and the museum. This is a fun event that helps to support the museum so call a friend and plan on attending.




Wednesay, March 14 is the next Community Coffee at the museum from 8:00 am to 10:30. We serve coffee, tea, donuts and home baked goodies. This is a popular event and you never know who will be there. It is fun to sit and visit with friends and neighbors. During the coffee, we usually bring out some old pictures and/or artifacts and usually get some great stories from our residents about the items.





This year is the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Village of Princeville. The museum is collecting family favorite recipes to publish a cookbook in honor of the Semidemiseptcentennial Anniversary. Recipe forms are available at the museum, Lillie M. Evans Library and Village Hall. Recipe submissions are due by April 1 at those locations. Please send in your family's favorite recipes. This is a great way to honor your ancestors by sumbitting a recipe in their memory.

In May, the museum will be hosting the annual garage sale fundraiser. Doing some spring cleaning? The museum is taking donations now for the garage sale. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and will provide a receipt for your donation just like Goodwill and Salvation Army. Please consider supporting the museum with your cast offs. If you have an item too big to deliver, please call and we can make arrangements for a pick up.

Lastly, we are planning a beer and wine tasting in April. In the past, we have done this event in February. We will send out more information as soon as the details are finalized.

As always, we are looking for volunteers. Whether you can help weekly, monthly or occasionally, we rely on volunteers. Our volunteers help with artifacts, clerical work,event planning, event set up and much more. Please call the museum and let us know when you can help.

Northwest Corner of Walnut and Evans Streets

Today I want to share with you two pictures of the northwest corner of Walnut and Evans street. The color postcard is from the files at the Lillie M. Evans Library, the other is from a 1942 Peoria Star newspaper. The Lillie M. Evans Library is currently on this corner. The color postcard shows a two story building in the background with a balcony. At that time it was known as the Hitchcock Building and, according to stories, housed a tavern, dance hall, meeting room and was used as a place to meet. The building in the foreground was Village Hall. In the newspaper photo, you can see that the building had been added on to. If you look closely, you can see "Weaver's Hatchery" on the building. From reading papers here at the museum, a person could buy eggs, chickens and other goods at the hatchery. Do you know any more about this building and how it was used?

UPDATE: One of our members just stopped by and says he remembers the second floor of the Hitchcock Building had a wood floor. The wood floor was great for dancing. They even roller skated up there. He also mentioned the second floor of Village Hall had a basketball court. The windows were covered with wire fence. They boy scouts met upstairs as well as other community groups. The first floor had a kitchen. The Princeville Kiwanis Club met on the first floor with the ladies cooking a meal in the kitchen to serve the members. Please share any of your memories of these buildings with us by leaving a comment.

The Thief Detective and Mutual Aid Association of Princeville

Recently, the museum was given the opportunity to view and scan some old photos, booklets, newsletters and papers that have been in storage at the Lillie M. Evans . We will be sharing many of these items with you via the blog. The originals are available by request at the library. One of the first items I want to share with you is from a booklet published by the Princeville Telephone in 1902.

The Thief Detective and Mutual Aid Association (T.D. & M.A.A.) of Princeville was organized during the Civil War in August of 1863. Horses and mules were in great demand during the war which resulted in organized horse theft across the country, reaching the Princeville area in 1863. The purpose of the T.D. & M.A.A. was to recover stolen property and capture the thief. During the years the T.D. & M.A.A. was in existence, they recovered quite a bit of stolen property for its members including horses and clover seed.

The T.D. & M.A.A. was founded by William P. Smith, Solomon Bliss, Charles Beach, Vaughn Williams, and S.S. Slane. William P. Smith was the first captain and was succeeded by Solomon Bliss, H.F. Irwin, John Corbett, J.D. Hammer, and S.S. Slane. Other members named in the booklet include J.T. Slane, T. Moody, Frank Beall, Emmanuel Keller, John Miller, A.B. DeBord, Charles Taylor, M.V. Conklin, Dr. T.E. Alyea, Joseph Friedman and W.H. Wisenberg. Photos of many of these men are in this booklet. The photos are at the bottom of this post. They are a group of serious looking men!

The booklet includes a few stories about how they recovered horses and captured the thieves, including a trip to Cuba, Illinois, to pick up horses that were stolen from Edward Auten. There is another story about the capture of the thief of clover seed and the return of the stolen goods.

Come on out to the museum to see a copy of this booklet and view the other pieces of Princeville history that we have on display. Researching your family history? The museum has numerous resources available to help you research families from Princeville and the surrounding area.

Annual Snowflake Luncheon

Tickets are available now for the Annual Snowflake Luncheon on Saturday, February 25 at the museum. The catered luncheon will be served on the museum's snowflake china. Entertainment will be provided by Mr. Christoper Delbridge. Doors will open at 11:30 am with the meal served at 12:15 pm and the entertainment at 1:00 pm. Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for non-members and are available for purchase at the museum and Princeville State Bank. Advance ticket sales only! For more information, please call the museum at (309)385-1916.

Save the date for the following upcoming events at the museum:
Wednesday, February 8: Community Coffee
Wednesday, March 14: Community Coffee
Saturday, April 21: Wine Tasting and Fundraiser
Saturday, July 28: 4th Annual Heritage Harvest

PHS Future Homemakers of America

The museum recently received a donation from Princeville High School of Future Homemakers of America memorabilia including scrapbooks, certificates, photos, banners and much more. As most of you know, FHA is now FCCLA (Family, Community and Career Leaders of America). The name change occurred in 1999. Princeville High School has a long history of FHA and FCCLA. We appreciate PHS for sharing these memories with us. If you would like to view any of these items, please come visit. For any questions, please email phmarchives@frontier.com.




Pictured above is a group photo of the FHA members in the 1946-1947 school year. Looks like a presentation on grooming? This would have been in the old PHS building on East Main Street. The members that year were (not in order of how they appear in photo): Janet Martin, Eileen Heinz, Louise Gould, Joan Ryan, Virginia Burdick, Jeanette Camp, Dorothy Baurer, Betty Guth, Phyllis Gruner, Wintress Webster, Mae Callery, Joan Berry, Joan Kelly, Doris Oppelz, Donna Fry, Kathleen Dubois, Marjorie Peterson, Anna Mae Noland, Wilma Wieland, Ruth Ryan, Frances Adams, Jean Doubet, Edith Williams, Beverly Nuss, Ethel Burns, Cleta Stewart, Patricia Laisure, Cecelia Dallinger, Marjorie Morris, Betty Sniff, Patricia Allan, Rita Ryan, Mary Wys, Eleanor Asal, Betty Guth, Patsy Sniff, Barbara Colgan, Joan Murnan, Marie Foster, Mary Ann Smith, Doris Miller, Donna Boyer, Dorothy Camp, Iola Doubet, Joyce White, Ruth Gruner, Bernice Wagenbach, Dorothy Callery, JoAnne Purcell, Particia Carr, Betty Lawrence, Betty Lindsey, Amy DeBord, Marjorie Emory, Marilyn Ingle, Leona Smith, Judy Friedman, Patricia Calhoun, Emily Menold, Ruth Guth, Della Streitmatter, Evelyn Gruner, Martha Peterson, Marilyn Noonen, Helen Adolphson, Martha Jean Baughman, Mary Ellen Beall, Audrey Buskirk, Betty McDonnell, Marcella Whitaker, Barbara Delbridge, Rosemary Schelkopf, Shirley Biederbeck, Jeanne Coats, Phyllis Kirtley, Maxine Kelly, Velma Stewart, Barbara Cheesman, Donna Allen, Ruth Ann Oakes, Miriam Hemmer.




The above photo is from December 18th, 1957 for the annual Christmas Tea. Look at the ladies' hats, aren't they exquisite? The description in the yearbook is: Wednesday afternoon, December 18th, from 2 to 4 the F.H.A. had its annual Christmas Tea in the Home Economics Room. This tea is for all the mothers of the high school students. The freshman Home Ec. girls decorated the room and made the delicious cookies, open faced sandwiches and punch. Mrs. Dorothy Caldwell poured the punch and Christmas carols were played during the tea. The ladies in photos are not identified. From the description, we assume the lady at the punch bowl is Dorothy Caldwell. If you know any of the ladies in the pictures, please let us know.




This last photo is from the 1959-1960 yearbook. The members who wore costumes are Judy Graves, Colette Godsil, Mary Ann Kelly, Emma Sue Gilkeson, Joyce Rumbold, Mary Gilles, Marilyn Emery, Sharon Pullen, Sharon Kuhn. Do any of you remember this pizza party? Any comments on how you made your costume?

PHS Show Choir at Community Coffee

Today was the monthly Community Coffee at the museum. The Princeville High School Show Choir performed during the coffee. Mr. Chris Delbridge, Choir Director, led the students in an outstanding performance. The Princeville Heritage Museum would like to thank PHS, Mr. Delbridge and the Show Choir for the entertainment. It was a special treat to have them perform during the coffee. The next community coffee is on January 11, 2012 from 8:00 am to 10:30 am. As you can see by the pictures, the community coffee is a great time to visit with friends and neighbors.







Below are some pictures of the PHS Show Choir. These students have been working hard all semester, coming in early in the morning to practice. If you haven't been to a performance, you need to go see them.

One Room Schools

As you know, the restored Akron Townhouse School is on the museum grounds. The school was built in 1900. The last class in the schoolhouse was in 1958. The building was moved to the museum grounds in 2004. The Akron Townhouse school is just one of many one room schools in the area. In the archives, the museum has many photos, school books, report cards, grade books and other memorabilia from area one room schools. Just recently, we received a donation of two undated photos from Hawley School. Fortunately, the students' names were written on the back.



The picture above was taken on the doorsteps of the school. The back row, left to right is LaVern Streitmatter, Raymond Newell, Iva Newell, Helen Gehrig. Next Row is Walter Gehrig, Clarence Hawley, Bernadine Streitmatter. Next Row is Ervin Martin, Alice Martin, Bernice Callery. Front row is Kathleen Callery, Nathan Martin, LeRoy Ehnle, Bobbie Berchtold.



The picture above must have been taken on a cold day!! The students identified in the photo are in the back row: Walt Gehrig, Helen Gehrig, Iva Newell, LaVern Streitmatter, Ivan Newell, Clarence Hawley, Bernadine Streitmatter. Front: Joe Callery, Kathleen Callery, Alice Martin, Nathan Martin, Bernice Callery, Bob Berchtold, Robert Ehnle, Ervin Martin.

If you are interested in the history of Peoria County One Room Schools, be sure to visit the Peoria County One Room Schools website at: www.peoriacountyoneroomschools.com