Pouring Salt into the Wound

Seriously? Seriously. You won't believe this--but unfortunately it is true. Today Blago decided to sign the bill to reverse his budget cuts . . . EXCEPT for the part where the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency would get some money back. Seriously. It doesn't make any sense. He said that the decision to reject the proposed money to keep the state historic sites open was made "with great reluctance," but "sound financial management" and "prudent fiscal policy" required him to turn down the IHPA money. (Yes, I'm throwing up in my mouth a little.) Somehow he manages to keep making the situation worse. Now, as you can imagine, the IHPA employees being laid off feel even worse than they did before. :-( This is how everyone feels about Governor Blagojevich:

When Life Gives You Onions

"All politicians should have three hats--one to throw into the ring, one to talk through, and one to pull rabbits out of."

-Carl Sandburg

Ah, the wisdom of Carl Sandburg--one of America's most brilliant writers. Carl Sandburg's house in North Carolina is a beautiful national park site that pays tribute to the man, his family, and his legendary writing. He was a native of Galesburg, Illinois and thought so highly of his home state that he requested to have his ashes returned to his birthplace upon his death. So, Carl Sandburg's final resting place, in the shadow of his birthplace, became an Illinois State Historic Site. The ashes of Sandburg, his wife, and two of their daughters are buried underneath "Remembrance Rock" behind the cottage where he was born. Unfortunately, unless Illinois' most notorious politician, Governor Blagojevich, pulls a big rabbit out of his hat before Sunday, November 30, 2008, at 5:00 p.m., Carl Sandburg's birthplace will CLOSE to the public along with a number of other sites. According to today's State Journal-Register, the bill to restore state site funding is still "sitting untouched on the governor's desk." People here have given up hope that he will sign it. Carl Sandburg would not approve. But wait, the story gets more heart-wrenching. The current site manager at Carl Sandburg's birthplace who has worked there for 20+ years and put his whole heart into the site, who is also dying of kidney cancer and has a very ill wife, is getting laid-off on November 30. The thought makes one want to curl up and cry. The part that upsets this man the most is that he won't be passing the site off to anyone--it will just be CLOSED, and its future is more than uncertain. The current IHPA director has already said that she thinks the site is a waste of money and would like to get rid of it.

You know that a situation has gone to pot when, in one day, you see two grown adults cry about it. Today was another fun but heart-breaking day of traveling to historic sites, helping them pack up their things, and wishing them luck in the uncertain future. Linda and I left bright and early today for Bishop Hill, Illinois, which was a Swedish Utopian settlement started in 1846. The town is absolutely fascinating, and IHPA owns about half of the town's buildings--all of which will close on November 30. Bishop Hill's most famous resident was a painter named Olof Krans who painted some fabulous folk art scenes of the Midwest. IHPA owns 103 of his paintings, all of which have been on display in Bishop Hill but which will soon be locked up and covered with cotton sheets. Linda and I got to meet all of the Bishop Hill employees who are such sweet, wonderful people. The site manager there is the only one there not being laid-off--she's supposed to figure out how to maintain all of the buildings by herself--and when she was telling us about the other employees who are being laid-off, she started to cry. There is a delightful older man named Dan who has worked at the site for a number of years. When he found out that I was the person from the far away place of Orem, Utah, who had written the petition about the historic sites, he couldn't believe it. :-) He was so cute! He said, "Wow, the chances of me meeting you had to be one in ten thousand. That is very admirable that you would take the initiative to do that." The thing that makes me feel bad is that, for all intents and purposes, the petition hasn't fulfilled its purpose, and there's nothing I can do to help all of these nice people.

Most of the morning was spent taking artifacts off the walls, tables, etc., and putting them in more secure areas. Here's an action shot of Linda and me removing one of the many mirrors from the walls of a cool old hotel there in town. The neatest thing we did was build a gigantic triangular box out of two other boxes to accommodate a gigantic wall clock. As was the case at the Pierre Menard Home last week, the Bishop Hill people are packing everything up and hoping that no one breaks into the buildings.

After our busy morning, the dear Bishop Hill people wanted to go to lunch with us at an awesome local place called the Filling Station. I've been snapping some pictures for next spring's internship report I'll need to give to my professors and classmates, and Linda and I realized that we needed a picture in front of an eating establishment, since the best parts of our road trips have been lunch :-) The Filling Station was wonderful--I had a great hamburger.

After lunch we bid our goodbyes and headed south to Galesburg. We did a little Christmas shopping and got ice cream on our way to the Carl Sandburg Birthplace. Mom and I stopped at the Carl Sandburg site in May on our way home from school, but unfortunately we got there after 5:00, so we weren't able to see inside. So Linda wanted to make sure I got to see the Sandburg cottage and meet the site director. He is such a dear, sweet man, and I have been crying all evening as I've been thinking about him. He was the second person we saw cry today when he was talking to us about his wife. A layoff is the last thing he needs. He truly loves the Carl Sandburg site, and he's realized that the IHPA director (and the governor) don't care one whit about it. It truly is heartbreaking. I hope that someday Governor Blagojevich has to answer to Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln, and a whole bunch of other people for his actions--or non-actions. I'm hoping that he'll have some kind of "Christmas Carol" experience before November 30 where he's visited by the spirits of all of the historical figures he's essentially tossed into the trash.

I can't even describe what a sad disaster this whole situation is. Like I said last week, it's more than just the history being pushed aside--it's people's LIVES! The most upsetting thing is that things could be fixed--if Blago would sign the freaking bill--but he won't. Basically, everything can be explained by these words: those who WOULD do something to help fix things can't, and those who COULD do something to fix things won't. To again quote Carl Sandburg, "Life is like an onion: you peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep." Seeing this IHPA situation first-hand has definitely shown me the "onion" side of life--potent, bitter, and capable of making one cry. So I say, "When life gives you onions, let them rot for a while, take them to Chicago, and place them under Blago's pillow."

Tiffanymarriedgreg

Yummmmmmmmy. I'm still thinking about the perfect Reuben sandwich I had yesterday. Mmmmmmm. Greg and I stopped in Tuscola at Flesor's Candy Kitchen on our way to Charleston, and I had one of the world's best Reubens. The key to the perfect Reuben is replacing the sauerkraut with warm red cabbage. It was divine.

We had a great time in C-town! I enjoyed being back--especially since I didn't have to worry about school. :-) First we visited Dr. Small and Mr. Riccio. Dr. Small made us some delicious hot chocolate (yesterday was the perfect hot chocolate day--it was FREEZING outside!), and we had fun visiting with all of the dogs, cats, and horses there. Then we visited the cute Stowell family. They are so much fun! Greg was tickling little Sadie, and she said to her mom, "Mommy! THAT GUY keep tickling me!" Missy said, "Sadie, that guy's name is Greg. You know, Tiffany married Greg." Then Sadie said, "Tiffanymarriedgreg keep tickling me!" :-) We had some tasty Thai food for dinner with the Stowells and had a wonderful evening at their home. Missy made some really good cookies. Then Greg and I had a nice visit with Dr. Reid, and then we headed for home. It was great to spend the day with friends!

When History Meets Reality

Today was AWESOME! But it was also another reminder of how sad the current IHPA situation is. I met more wonderful people today--people who are losing their jobs at the end of the month :-( It totally breaks my heart to see all of this unfolding. These are real people with real lives--they've got families to provide for, parents to take care of--and now they're getting the figurative carpet pulled out from under their feet because of some dumb bureaucratic issues in Chicago. Fewer people will be laid off than they originally anticipated, but that doesn't help the people who are still getting laid off. Not only are these people losing their jobs, but sites like the Pierre Menard Home are literally just closing their doors. Who is going to make sure the sites aren't vandalized? Who is going to make sure that people don't come and steal all of the collections? If they open the sites again in the future, who are they going to hire to run them--if their previous employees have all moved on with their lives? Those who truly care about the sites--the people being laid off--are sad to just walk away from places and things they care about, but they don't have any choice.

This morning Linda and I left bright and early for Ellis Grove, Illinois, which is about three hours south of Springfield. It was a beautiful drive, and we ended up in the Mississippi River flood plain which, no matter where you are along the river, is spectacular. The Pierre Menard Home, Fort de Chartres, and Fort Kaskaskia are all within about 10 miles of each other right along the river. We spent most of our time at the Pierre Menard Home helping the site manager decide what to do with all of the collections in the house. We brought down a bunch of packing supplies so that the collections can be as safe as possible under the current circumstances. The Pierre Menard Home is a great French Colonial house that looks like it was plopped down in Illinois right from central Louisiana. It is in a wonderful location and overlooks the Mississippi River. The site manager there, Andrew, is one of the people being laid off. He kind of looks like a softer version of 24's Jack Bauer--with a goatee. He was the nicest guy, and now he has to figure out what to do to take care of his family. It is really very sad.

After we got our work done, we met the Fort Kaskaskia people in Prairie du Rocher (which, in Illinois, is pronounced "roach-er"). We went to this cool little bar/restaurant--in a small town, those are the places that always seem to have the best food! The place was awesome, and we all had the famous "Rocher Melt." A Rocher Melt is a cheese burger served on Texas toast and topped with mushrooms and onions. It was awesome. For dessert, Linda and I had to try the coconut cream pie, and it was FREAKING AWESOME! It was about five inches high--topped with coconut meringue, and it was fresh out of the oven. I think it's one of the best things I've ever eaten. The Fort Kaskaskia men were hilarious, and we all had a good time chatting. Linda and I left Prairie du Rocher at about 2:00 and made it home to Springfield by 5:00. We had a great time chatting and, once again, I learned many things. I think I have learned more in the last two weeks than I did during a whole semester at school! :-) Unfortunately I've also had to learn about the reality of the history world--which can be quite ugly when the wrong people (like Gov. Blago) get involved. I sincerely, sincerely hope that all of the people being affected by this unfortunate turn of events will be able to move on with their lives and find success and happiness in whatever they do. Though I am sad that the history of places like the Pierre Menard Home is basically getting thrown into the trash, the saddest part of the whole thing is seeing the people whose lives are being significantly disrupted.

Tomorrow Greg and I are going to take a mini road trip to Charleston! We are excited to visit some of our favorite Charleston people: Dr. Small and Mr. Riccio, as well as the wonderful, cute, and kind Stowell Family! We are planning to stop in Tuscola for the best Reuben sandwiches in the entire world, and we'll also have some of our favorite Thai food in Charleston. Good times.

General Sherman's Flowers

Today was so much fun!! My internship seriously rocks. Linda took me over to the Abraham Lincoln Library to visit her friends in the conservation lab. They showed us all of these cool projects they're working on. It takes some serious skill to be a conservator. On some of their damaged documents, they have to use a microscope to help them remove tiny strands of paper one at a time! The coolest thing they have in their lab right now is this wicker basket with a few dried flower petals in it. It doesn't look like much, but when you learn what it is, it's super cool. It was the basket of flowers placed on Abraham Lincoln's casket by General William T. Sherman in 1865! The thing I love about hanging out with the Sprinfield history crowd is that it's a group of people who are as interested in Abraham Lincoln as I am. :-)

Tomorrow Linda and I are off to southern Illinois to the Pierre Menard Home. It will be a great trip, but it's kind of sad that we have to help them pack up all of their artifacts to prepare for the site to close at the end of the month. Next Wednesday we get to go on another road trip up to Galesburg to help them pack up their things at the Carl Sandburg Birthplace and the Bishop Hill settlement. I wish that these sites weren't closing, but the trips will be fun. Linda and I are also going to go shopping while we're in Galesburg :-) Tonight Greg cooked some really delicious fish, and the other night he made some really delicious stir fry. He is quite the chef! Well, I'm off to bed to rest up for tomorrow's fun day.