Aladdin Lamp Program

Today, the museum hosted an Aladdin Lamp program presented by Bob Daniels.  The program was open to the public and we had a nice turnout.  Bob and Laura Daniels are local Princeville residents who have been collecting Aladdin lamps since the early 1990s.  Their collection started with finger lamps and has continued to grow.  We would like to thank Bob and his wife for sharing their collection with us.  We currently have an Aladdin lamp display at the museum.  Here are a few photos from today's program.

Below are photos of Bob's display.  During his presentation, we learned interesting facts about each piece.

Bob during the presentation after lighting a few of the lamps.

 
Aladdin not only made lamps, they also made lunch boxes and thermoses.

 Bob and Bill discussing Aladdin lamps after the presentation.

Joan, one of our members, stayed after the program to look through Bob's Aladdin lamp book.

 As always, there is a selection of home-baked goodies and refreshments after the program.

Stop in and see our Aladdin lamp display.  The museum is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm or by appointment.

2013 Heritage Harvest Schedule

Next week is our annual Heritage Harvest event which has been expanded to 2 days.  Starting on Friday, July 27, there will be a threshing demonstration and tractor games with the tractors on display.  We will also have a Civil War Hospital exhibit, black smith, wood turning, chain saw carving and steam train engine for the kids to ride.  In the evening, there will be a fried chicken dinner and barn dance.  Once the sun sets, we will be showing an outdoor movie.

Saturday's events start at 7:00 am with a Lion's Club pancake and sausage breakfast.  After breakfast, you can see the threshing demonstration, craft vendors, antique tractor rodeo, Akron Townhouse one room school tours, Aladdin Lamp display, small engines, saw mill, Peoria County Genealogical Society exhibit, corn shelling, Alamar Acres Clydesdale horses and much, much more.  Lunch will be catered by the Village Foods cookout cart and Li'l Giblers Lemonade Stand.

Please view the flyers below to see the complete schedule.  There is not an admission fee to get into Heritage Harvest, so bring your whole family and come out to see how farming was done many years ago.  If you have any questions, please call the museum at (309)385-1916

June 29, 1899 Issue of Princeville Republican Newspaper

The Princeville Republican newspaper was published for about 5 years, starting in 1898.  The editor/owner of the newspaper was George I. McGinnis.  In the beginning, it was advertised that you could subscribe to The Princeville Republican and the Peoria Weekly newspapers for $1.50 per year.  The Princeville Republican was a weekly newspaper published on Thursdays featuring local and national news and advertising.  Each issue contained news of residents from various area towns of which some are no longer in existence.  Towns with local news items included Princeville, Edelstein, Monica, Lawn Ridge, Duncan, Dunlap, Brimfield, Hallock and Grove.  A few years ago, we received bound Volumes I and II of the Princeville Republican from the estate of Jim Montgomery.  Rosemary Cooper of Prairie Photo Studio volunteered to take a photo of each page of the newspapers.  This allows staff and visitors to read through the newspapers because the originals are too brittle to handle.

So, what was in the news on this date 114 years ago?  The photo above is the June 29, 1899 front page of the Princeville Republican.  The front page featured who visited who in Princeville as well as meeting news.  The wedding announcements in this week's issue were for A.B. Brown & Carrie Cheesman and Peter Frye & Maggie Graham.  The Reverend C.T. Phillips of the Presbyterian church performed both ceremonies.  Mr. and Mrs. Brown were married at her Mrs. C.T. Cheesman's home, mother of the bride.  Mr. and Mrs. Frye were married at her parent's house.

When I look at these papers, the news is very interesting, but I always get distracted by the ads.  This week, at M.V. Conklin's store, you could have purchased summer corsets for 23 to 50 cents, pickles were 5 cents a dozen and a can of salmon was 10 cents.  Too bad we can't have those prices again!  Another ad that interests me is the ad for F.E. Prouty.  Mr. Prouty's business advertises undertaking, embalming, furniture, sewing machines and music.  Was Mr. Prouty's store the original supercenter with all of that under one roof.  That business was on the north side of the 100 block of East Main Street.

We are still in the process of printing out all the photos of the newspapers, but are over half done.  The newspapers are also on disc and can be viewed from a computer.  The printed pages are on display in the museum in the genealogy reference area and can be viewed during museum hours which are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm or by appointment.  Princeville is rich in history and these newspapers are a wealth of information for genealogists and local historians.  We are always looking for volunteers to help at the museum.  Please consider volunteering once a month or more to help us preserve and catalog Princeville history.

Aladdin Lamp Display

New to the museum is a display of Aladdin Lamps courtesy of Bob and Laura Daniels.  The Daniels are local residents who are Aladdin Lamp collectors and have had their lamps on display at museums, shows and programs around the state.  The display is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.  On August 18 at 2:00 pm, there will be an Aladdin Lamp program at the museum.  We invite anyone interested to come to the program to view the lamps and listen to the history of Aladdin Lamps.  A big thank you to Bob and Laura Daniels for sharing their collection with us!

Princeville Grade School Class, Faculty and Staff of 1953

The newly expanded meeting room has been reserved for many activities this spring including business meetings, luncheons, weddings and class reunions.  This weekend, the museum will be the site of the Princeville High School Class of 1957 reunion.  When the museum has a class reunion, we try to display memorabilia relating to their years in Princeville schools.  I thought I would share the class photos we found of the Princeville Grade School 8th grade class of 1953.

Princeville Grade School

Eighth Grade Class of 1953

 Front Row:  Wesley Sloan, Doug Gingrich, Bill Pierce, Bob Bouton, Bob Smith, Ray Conkright, Charlie Kraft

Middle Row:  Larry Streitmatter, Nancy Burgess, Sharlene LaMay, Joan Hyde, Marilyn Higgs, Marilyn Jones, Sharon Hawksworth, Mary Jane Streitmatter, Charlotte Lawrence, Marguerite Harmon (teacher)

Back Row:  Hayden Cooper (principal), Patricia Rumbold, Caryl Noonen, Peggy Benson, Robert Harmon, Ken Harlan, Brian Telander, Patricia Guyot, Theda Dell, Carol Asal

 

 

Princeville Grade School

7th Grade Class of 1952

This is the same class as the first photo, but 1 year younger

Front Row:  Carol Asal, Theda Dell, Sharon Hawksworth, Joan Hyde, Caryl Noonen, Patricia Guyot, Nancy Burgess

Middle Row:  Larry Streitmatter, Sharlene LaMay, Marilyn Jones, Marilyn Higgs, Mary Jane Streitmatter, Charlotte Lawrence, Peggy Benson, Margeurite Harmon (teacher)

Back Row:  Bob Smith, Charles Kraft, Wesley Sloan, Robert Bouton, Ken Harlan, Bill Pierce, Doug Gingrich



Princeville Grade School

Faculty and Staff 1953

Front Row:  Luella Teets (cafeteria), Gladys Meservy (cafeteria), John Thoman (band), Ann Thoman (music), Betty Lou Stumpf (3rd grade), Paul Robinson (6th grade home room, math, coach), Emerson Sellers (7th grade home room)

Back Row:  Nora Miller (cafeteria), Jean Mitchell (cafeteria), Josephine Slane (2nd grade), ???, Hayden Cooper (principal), Leila Althoff (5th grade), Mildred Belski (1st grade), Marian Johnson (4th grade), Marguerite Harmon (8th grade home room), Bob Schindler (janitor)

Princeville High School Freshman Class 1897-1898

One of the fun things about doing research at the museum, is that you will always get sidetracked by interesting photos and documents.  This photo sidetracked me last week when I was working on a project.  The photo is identified as "Years 1897-1898, Princeville High School, 9th Grade".  According to the PHS alumni listing, (Click her for PHS Alumni List), students in this photo graduated in years 1898-1904.  I'm not sure if this is the freshman class or a composite of all students in the school at that time.  You can see the numbers written on or near each student.  A handwritten list was with this photo identifying them all.  The students are (left to right):

Back row:  Paul Hammer, Willis Hoag, Ferris Rowcliffe, Harry Searl, Rufus Hyde, Ray Hammer, Leo Miller, Roy Hopkins, Clyde McMillen, Charles Smith.

3rd Row:   Frank Smith, Rufus Wood, Clyde Alyea, unidentified, Charles Auten, Tom Byrnes, Marion Miller, Lulu Smith, Hattie Fast

2nd Row:  Sara Best, Jenny Darby, Pearl Bliss, Myrtis Wear, Isla Pratt, Jessie Glenn, Louise Klink Williams, Nell Culver, Lillian Santee, Gracie Morrow, Eunice Palmer

1st Row:  Gladys Fast, Hattie Pierce, Forest Edwards, Cora Hackney, Prof. Baker, Ada Kneer, Della Hoag, Emma Rowcliff, Maude Hopkins, Maude Bouton.

1905 Tradesmen and Professional Men of Princeville

 

 

 

At the museum, we always have this photo on display.  It is a composite photo from 1905 of the business owners and tradesmen in Princeville.  It also has the year they started their business.  The composite is organized such that photo #1 is the oldest business established in 1864 and the newest business at the time of the composite was established in 1903.  The names of the business owners correspond to the number on the bottom left of each individual photo.  Those pictured are:

1.  O.S. Pratt, blacksmith
2. V. Weber, shoe dealer
3. J.B. Ferguson, jeweler
4.  George Belford, auctioneer
5.  Milton Wilson, insurance
6.  James Carman, painter and paper hanger
7.  Joseph German, hardware and implements
8.  M. Hammer, furniture and undertaking
9.  W.S. Weaver, poultry dealer and painter
10. J.H. Hopkins, lawyer
11. D. Kinnah, butcher and stock buyer
12. John F. Bliss, druggist
13. R.J. Nichols, blacksmith
14. A.C. Washburn, hotel proprieter
15. E.D. Minkler, hardware and implements
16. F.D. Goodman, barber
17. Joseph Friedman, hardware and implements
18. R. Heberling, restaurateur
19. J. L. Searl, grocer
20. Dr. C.H. Wilcox, physician and surgeon
21. F.E. Prouty, furniture and undertaking
22. W.K. Blanchard, dry goods and furnishings
23. M.V. Conklin, dry goods and groceries
24. O.S. Kopp, baker
25. C.J. Cheesman, groceries and dry goods
26. M.L. Sniff, real estate and insurance
27. W.H. Simmons, contractor and carpenter
28. J.C. Welphey, harness maker
29. B.P. Williams, contractor and carpenter
30. O.M. Goodale, veterinary surgeon
31. J.R. Hart, contractor and mason
32. Richard Cox, lumber and grain
33. Dr. H.C. Young, druggist
34. H.J. Cheesman, postmaster
35. N.E. Adams, harness maker
36. H. Harrison, hardware and implements
37. A.S. Pratt, painting and paper hanging
38. J.S. McDermott, carpenter and contractor
39. Ray Pratt, painting and paper hanging
40. Prof. Wm. M. Beal, principal of high school
41. A. T. Williams, painter and paper hanger
42. Dr. W. J. Price, physician and surgeon
43. W. H. Lamb, optician and jeweler
44. Dr. W. S. Hicks, dentist
45. Gail Cutler, contractor and mason
46. F.M. Churchill, barber
47. J.W. Walkington, city marshall
48. Rev. C. P. O'Neill, rector of St. Mary's
49.  Wm. Keck, manager of telephone system
50. A.W. Higbee, mine operator
51. C.H. Cornish, telegrapher
52. F. Hietter, liveryman
53. Rev. R.L. Vivian, pastor M.E. Church
54. F. H. Cutler, mayor
55. A.A. Dart, editor
56. John Dickinson, mine operator
57. Wm. Friedman, contractor and painter
58. Robert Bennett, lumber dealer
59.  W. M. Hoag, grocer
60. N.H. Ayres, grain dealer
61. Dr. W. ????, physician (I can't read this one)
62. J. A. Harmon, clothier