On Friday, May 11, 1877, Winnebago County would experience one of the worst disasters it had suffered up to that time. While constructing a new courthouse, the time came to lower the new dome onto the limestone walls. The men were all in place as they lowered the elaborate piece onto the walls. Folks in town had been fascinated with the whole process and they lined the streets. Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound.
Warner Samuel Anderson was born in Geneva, Illinois June 18, 1866 to parents Swan and Frederika. Later records would state that his parents had both been born in Sweden. According to records in Ancestry, Swan and Frederika Anderson came over from Sweden on the ship Lucia in May of 1852.
Looking back later there was nothing to indicate the day would be any different from others. It started out as just another typical day. It was June 9, 1966 and the weather that day was overcast with an occasional drizzle.
Most people in Northern Illinois wouldn’t have recognized the names Catherine Rekate, Carl A. Reimann, or Betty F. Piche. But that would change on December 29, 1972. It was a Friday night and the Christmas lights were still up in the Pine Village Steakhouse and Tavern in Yorkville, Illinois
February 15, 1911 was a day that many people in Rockford would remember for a long time. It was an unusual day for a couple of reasons. One, the ice had started to go out on the river about a month early.
The Spanish American War has been referred to as the “forgotten war” but for the families of the men who died during that time, it can never be forgotten. The war took a heavy toll on Winnebago County. It took some of our best and brightest boys
William Sayles was looking forward to the end of his shift on that rainy Saturday. It was August 29, 1931 and William was just about finished with his shift as a conductor for the Interurban railway on School Street. It was 11:30p.m. when William spotted a young man running alongside the car.
Vincent Yankavich’s name had been mentioned in the Rockford newspapers many times over the years. He was a star baseball and basketball player in high school. Vincent was so popular with the other basketball players that he was chosen Captain of the team in 1925.
Anyone who knew the little family before that July day would say that one thing was certain, Vernon Plager loved his wife and daughter more than anything.
When bones washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan near Manitowoc in 1947, folks speculated that the bones might be a clue to a mystery that had been unfolding since the beginning of May of that year. They were wrong as it turned out. The bones weren’t even human.
“We are pained to be called upon to record a terrible and bloody tragedy which occurred yesterday at one and a half o’clock.” These words begin the newspaper article that described the death of a young man named Banks Dixon, he was 36 years old and he had moved from England to Rockford around 1854.
There is something about stories of the old west that has fascinated people for years. These tales usually focus on one character who overcame unbelievable obstacles including fighting with Native Americans, the elements, animal attacks or marauding men.
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