From Victorian to the Vote” March 20 – 21 at Dana-Thomas House

Women’s suffrage event to feature living history performances

SPRINGFIELD – The women’s suffrage movement of the late 19th early 20th centuries had a champion in Susan Lawrence Dana, and a special event Saturday and Sunday, March 20 and 21 at her Springfield home will bring suffrage to life through living history performances.

From Victorian to the Vote” will be presented both days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Dana-Thomas House State Historic Site at Fourth and Lawrence in Springfield.  Re-enactors portraying Mrs. Dana and her fellow suffragettes will gather in the home to discuss both sides of securing the right to vote for women and other social causes of the early 1900s.  The cast of characters includes Amy Zepp as Susan Lawrence Dana; Pam VanAlstine as Mrs. Dana’s cousin, Florence Lawrence; Kathy Liesman as Mrs. Harris Hickox; Nancy Long as Mrs. George Day; and Regina McGuire as Mrs. Stuart Brown. 

The early 1900s were turbulent times for women because many believed in the old Victorian ways where women belonged in the home and nowhere else, while others began to see the need for change both inside and outside the home.  Susan Dana supported the suffrage movement, serving for a year as president of Springfield’s Equal Suffrage Club and entertaining delegations of women, including Jane Addams and her Chicago colleagues, who came to lobby the state legislature.

Susan became interested in what she called her “great commission,” to promote racial equality, the right of women to vote, and children’s issues.  She gave a talk on “Children and the Home” with a theme of progressive education for children and women, and argued that mothers often made “slaves of themselves and tyrants of the little ones.”  She believed that every child had the right to a happy childhood and a good education.

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Dana-Thomas House State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is open for public tours Wednesday through Sunday, with the first tour starting at 9 a.m. and the last tour of the day at 4 p.m.  A donation of $5 for adults, $3 for children and $13 per family is suggested.

The King V. Hostick Award Competition for 2010-2011

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Illinois State Historical Society invite applications for the 2010-2011 King V. Hostick Award. The award was established by the late manuscript dealer, King V. Hostick, to provide financial assistance to graduate students in history and library science writing dissertations dealing with Illinois. Stipends are individually determined up to $3,000. Preference may be given to research conducted at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (formerly the Illinois State Historical Library). All applications must be received by March 12, 2010 either by United States mail or as an electronic file. Award decisions will me made by June, 2010 and awards distributed by July, 2010.

For further information contact Thomas F. Schwartz, Illinois State Historian, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, 112 N. Sixth Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701-1507, (217) 782-2118, FAX (217) 558-1574 or click here to email Tom_Schwartz

Artist in Residence” program at Vachel Lindsay Home March 2 – 27 features humanitarian photographs of Lee Malany

SPRINGFIELD – The “Artist in Residence” program series at the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site continues with an exhibit of humanitarian photographs by Springfield’s Lee Malany, whose work will be on display in the home March 2 - 27. There will be a public reception March 20 from 2-4 p.m. when the Lee and representatives from his partner organizations including the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and Hospital Sisters Health Systems will discuss his relief work around the world.

“Shelter” is a display of selected Malany photographs from his ongoing work as a Disaster Response and Mitigation Engineer and Land, Shelter, and Infrastructure Specialist with the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.  A selection of photographs from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Darfur region of the Sudan, and Peru reflect the people and conditions that Malany has encountered during his foreign assistance work.  Malany has just returned from Haiti after assisting the Red Cross with relief efforts there.      

Malany is an engineer, maintains a law practice, and describes himself as “semi-retired.”  He first became involved in overseas housing projects through Habitat for Humanity International, and for many years was construction director for Habitat for Humanity in Sangamon County.  In addition to the locations that will be depicted in the photographs at the Vachel Lindsay Home, Malany has worked in Kosovo, Tajikistan, Macedonia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Hungary, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Indonesia, and the Philippines.  He also assisted with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Louisiana and Mississippi.   

“How appropriate that Lee Malany's efforts to helpother people are on display at the Vachel Lindsay Home.  If ever a family were dedicated to helping others, it was the Lindsays.  Dr. Lindsay worked tirelessly, often without pay, to provide medical care to the poor and to minorities.  Mrs. Lindsay served on numerous community and church organizations, all with the goal of assisting others.  Olive Lindsay, the older daughter, and her husband were medical missionaries to China for 22 years.  And Vachel himself continually insisted that his creative work was meant to improve the lives of ALL people, but especially the neglected, the forgotten, and the downtrodden,” said Vachel Lindsay Association President Dennis Camp.

The Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site at 603 S. Fifth Street, Springfield, is the birthplace and longtime residence of poet, author and artist Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, 1879-1931.  It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for free public tours.

Spend Lincoln’s Birthday
at his folks’ house
Lincoln Log Cabin open on Lincoln’s Birthday

Deadline is March 10, 2010

Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site near Charleston will be open on Friday, February 12 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Volunteers at the site will be engaged in typical daily activities representing 19th century life on the Illinois prairie. Visitors may see activities centered on the hearth including cooking the noon day meal and candle dipping. For a listing of all special events or for more information call Lincoln Log Cabin at 217/345-1845, or visit www.lincolnlogcabin.org .

Call for Papers / Proposals
for the 12th Annual
Conference on
Illinois History

Deadline is March 10, 2010

Proposals for teacher workshops and individual papers or panels on any aspect of Illinois' history, culture, politics, geography, literature, and archaeology are requested for the Conference on Illinois History. The Conference welcomes submissions from professional and avocational historians, graduate students, and those engaged in the study of Illinois history at libraries, historic sites, museums, and historical societies. Click here for more information.