Echoes of Elgin: Timeless Tales from the Elgin History Museum

In response to his petition for divorce, Mrs. Wells of Chicago had her husband John Henry Wells declared insane and committed to the Illinois Northern Insane Asylum in Elgin.  The story does not end there. This echo from April 19, 2008 tells the tale.

More than just the name of a watch model, "Lady Elgin" has two other meanings among fans of Elgin lore. Tune into this echo from July 7, 1996 to find out those meanings.

This echo from May 27, 2002 recounts an event during the Civil War, proving that human kindness can exist, even in times of conflict.

Perhaps you know that the 19th Amendment gave women (most women, and often only in a legal sense) the right to vote in 1920. But did you know that over 100 Elgin women first voted in April of 1899? Or that Elgin women once got tired of waiting for bureaucracy to fix a problem and did it themselves, aided by wheelbarrows, horse-driven wagons and numerous loads of gravel?  This echo from November 28, 1999 tells the tale.

Almost 26 years have passed since E.C. "Mike" Alft first told this story on October 24, 1999.  That is still less time than it took for Elgin to move from concept to concrete on the IL Rte 20 bypass. 

If you invested in the Preston Reduction Company of Elgin in 1888, chances are you are still waiting for your dividend check. Investor, beware; reminds this echo from December 8, 1985.

This echo from May 8, 1983 tells the tale of Frank Brown, grave robber.

Pearl Harbor, the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the Battle of Leyte...these are key points in the history of U.S. involvement in WWII. Elginites made the ultimate sacrifice in assuring a "Victory at Sea".  Local Historian E.C. "Mike" Alft honors some of these sailors, by name, in this echo from May 24, 1998.

That one time a house fell off a barge and into the Fox River. An echo from August 16, 1982.

Elgin Eagle Brewing Co. could trace its roots back to 1849.  After all those years, it found a way to weather local and national Prohibition...sort of.  Pour yourself a glass of "cereal beverage" and listen to this echo from February 8, 1998.