Two big events, this month and next month, will be at the Little White School Museum in Oswego.
• Proud of all the history on your family you’ve discovered? Find out how to showcase all your hard work during “Thinking Inside the Box: Display Your Family History in a New and Unique Way,” starting at noon, Saturday, Feb. 25, in the Little White School Museum’s Roger Matile Room. The Museum is at 72 Polk Street, Oswego.
The session is the first of two fun and informative history-related programs at Oswego’s Little White School Museum with host Oswegoland Heritage Association, in partnership with the Oswegoland Park District.
Creating a family history shadowbox is a fun and easy way to display the fascinating family genealogy that so many genealogists discover. Expert Candace Marx will walk participants through the fascinating procedure, step-by-step from gathering supplies, planning a composition, and putting the finishing touches on a unique shadowbox that highlights participants’ achievements, hobbies, and personality. In addition, those who attend will learn some crafting best practices and look at great online resources to get their creativity flowing. Plus, participants will discuss the history behind shadowboxes and displaying treasured items from loved ones.
Registration is $5 in advance, recommended to help presenters plan, but walk-ins are always welcome the day of the program. To register, call the Oswegoland Park District at 630-554-1010 or visit the park district web site at https://www.oswegolandparkdistrict.org/.
• Then at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 18, everyone is invited to the Museum to enjoy “From War Plants to Prairie Plants: Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and the Joliet Arsenal.”
During World War II, thousands of worked at the Joliet Arsenal to manufacture ammunition for the Nation’s Armed Forces. Today, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is 26 years into an ambitious 100 year-long program to restore 20,000 acres of the former Joliet Arsenal (1940-1996) of native tallgrass prairie.
The history of the Arsenal Era is not something to merely glance at in time’s rearview mirror. It represents a pivotal period in the saga of the United States, the Midwest, and Illinois. In preparation to meet the war clouds on the horizon in 1940, more than 50 square miles of agricultural land was transformed in a matter of months into one of the world’s largest explosives and weapons manufacturing and assembly plants. At its peak, the Joliet Arsenal employed more than 20,000, many of whom had never before been a part of the workforce. From the tragedy of catastrophic explosions to employee-staged musical reviews, much of our national life through three wars, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, played out at the Joliet Arsenal.
Midewin NTP Heritage Program manager and archaeologist, Joe Wheeler, will explore some of the most interesting of those stories.
Registration is $5 per person, either at the door or in advance by calling 630-554-1010, or by visiting the Oswegoland Park District web site at www.oswegolandparkdistrict.org.
For more information about the Little White School Museum, the Oswegoland Heritage Association, or other Museum programs, call 630-554-2999, or visit their website at www.littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org.
—Little White School Museum