characteristics of Jacksonville, and they determined the character of our Centennial Celebrations. Jacksonville early made a reputation as an education and institution centre. Most of the newcomers into the west were seeking their fortunes. Ideals which inspired such a place as Jacksonville were too much like those they had left. They did not offer immediate returns to the great army of seekers of fortune. They looked at such places and went on where they found people with more inspiring stories of immediate returns. While most of those who thought of locating here passed on to a settlement of a type more consistent with their ideals, those who joined this community had ideals of education and community institutions which made them outstanding factors in directing the early legislation of the new state. We were not without great captains of industry as illustrated by such characters as Jacob Strawn, Joseph Capps, Captain John Henry; yet they, too, had ideals of education and state institutions. Thus it came about that Jacksonville was the early center of educational and institutional progress in Illinois. This gave us a wealth of history and historic characters on which to build our Centennial celebrations. For these reasons it was early decided that instead of a celebration occupying a few days or weeks, we would celebrate a number of events at various times during the year, with the additional object of interesting and using the greatest number of our citizens, representing every walk in community life. In every city there are necessarily a variety of interests. To attract all, there must be a variety in functions. These we divided into four main groups: (a) Those for instruction and education; (b) Those for entertainment; (c) Those for permanent effect; (d) Those for financial profit. Our experience shows that there are many ways in which all or several of these may be combined. ORGANIZATION Our preliminary discussions sought a method of organization which would reach every element of the community. The procedure adopted was as follows: 1. The Mayor suggested to the City Council that our one hundredth birthday should be appropriately observed. 2. The Mayor and City Council asked the Chamber of Commerce to direct the method of organization. 3. Such an undertaking as we desired could not have been put over as it was, without the active co-operation of a progressive and public-spirited mayor and city council. 4. The Chamber of Commerce appointed a committee of organization. 5. This committee invited every church, lodge and society in the community to send a representative to a general committee of one hundred. 6. The committee of one hundred met, and appointed an excutive committee of twenty-four, to be known as the Centennial Commission, to have full charge of the celebrations and to appoint all sub-committees. 7. The Centennial Commission outlined a program to occupy practically the whole year and appointed the necessary committees to carry it out. A word is in order here regarding the relation of the Chamber of Commerce to the Centennial project. The Headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce and all of its personnel were put fully at the disposal of the commission. The Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce was made secretary of the Commission and gave us at the start expert executive service without which much that we did could not have been undertaken. A trained secretary is indispensable to success. The names and the character of our committees will be found in the Jacksonville number of the Journal of the State Historical Society, which was wholly devoted to the Jacksonville Centennial. It is not necessary to repeat them here. In a general way the program outlined at that time was carried out. PRESS BUREAU Early we organized a "Press Bureau", which met at a luncheon each Tuesday to discuss publicity, both as to its character and its method. The chairman of the various activities were invited to these luncheons to tell the press representatives of the plans and the progress they were making. SPEAKERS' BUREAU A somewhat unusual department of our Centennial effort was the "Speaker's Bureau". This committee organized fifty speakers, among our citizens, each of whom would be willing, during the year, to accept three invitations to speak in neighboring cities. Our secretary simply announced to the various luncheon clubs and similar organizations in Illinois that invitations would be accepted. Many invitations were received and we were able to respond to practically all of them. This gave us a splendid opportunity to discuss our city and our Centennial plans with many select groups. It also enabled us to to cultivate the spirit of neighborliness and we hope was of interest to the listeners. OLD RELICS The committee on Old Relics made an exhibit for two months at the Public Library which was visited by hundreds. The older people were reminded of many things they had forgotten and the young secured a liberal education in the methods and ma terials used by their ancestors. During the Exposition, a large part of this exhibit was displayed by the merchants in the show windows in most attractive ways. The furniture dealers displayed old articles of furniture; the jewelers, jewelry; the hardware dealers, articles of hardware, guns, etc. The merchants were of great assistance to the committee for they took an active interest in building up their own exhibits, furnished transportation and in every way showed a true historical spirit toward the occasion. The amount of available material seemed almost unlimited and the great problem was to obtain facilities for bringing it in and room in which to display it properly. FORMER RESIDENTS Thousands of former residents came home for a visit and several hundred who were not able to come wrote interesting letters in response to communications from our Former Resident's Committee, which carried on an active campaign of correspondence, with our former citizens, throughout the year. The publication of letters from former residents was one of the most interesting and profitable contributions to our effort. ORIGINAL SURVEY The active celebrations began in April with an outdoor drama depicting the various steps in the original survey and the laying out of the town. At that time there was only one cabin on the townsite so that as a matter of fact, the town was laid out and made the county seat of the new county of Morgan, set aside by the legislature of 1823, before it was really settled. The celebration of the "Original Survey" was staged in Central Park. PUBLIC SCHOOLS The next month the founding of the first public school was commemorated and all of the pupils of the public school took part. A granite marker was unveiled at the site and appropriate addresses were made by prominent educators and others. This school may have been the first one organized under an enactment of the legislature which provided for free schools supported by general taxation. This law as passed was proposed by Joseph Duncan, later governor of Illinois, and only existed two years. The state had to wait more than twenty years for another such law. The educational temperament of Jacksonville citizens is well shown by the fact that they were among the first, to spread such a tax and to start the school. This celebration proved interesting and instructive, not only to the adult population, but to the children as well. COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EXPOSITION One of the outstanding events of the year was a Commercial and Industrial Exposition, put on by the business interests of the city. It was staged in the public square and occupied the whole of the first week of June. The result proved that our business men were as much alive to historic values as any group of our citizens. All traffic was barred from the public square during the week and the whole space converted into a temporary exposition free to all who would come. As far as possible each trade and industry was urged to display not only the wares of today and their method of manufacture, but to illustrate the various steps which had been taken in such manufacture and use during the last century. Hundreds of interesting methods and relics were displayed. One or two illustrations may be in place. The methods of home lighting, from the tallow dip to the most approved electric light, were displayed. The making of cloth, from the spinning wheel and hand loom to the most approved modern machinery was shown. The development of the railroad was illustrated, beginning with the first engine used in the Mississippi Valley on the Northern Cross Railroad from Meredosia to Jacksonville, down to the most modern freight and passenger equipment. All the railroads, which serve us, contributed generously to this exhibit which was historic and educational as well as commercial, in value. The railroad managers caught the spirit of history and added greatly to our celebration. On a number of days during both the Commercial and Industrial Exposition and Pageant Week special trains were provided. Each day of the week had its program of speakers and entertainers. For those who sought only entertainment, free acts and shows of various kinds were provided. It is estimated that approximately fifty thousand people were in Jacksonville on "Home Coming" day of this week. A monster parade of organizations and floats was a feature of the day. The parade was over three miles long of close formation and contained many floats and exhibits of highly historical value. The parade was arranged in historic order, beginning with a lone Indian, and progressing through various stages of the development of transportation, building, equipment, commerce, institutions and education, down to our most modern methods. The parade itself was an education in our historic progress. Queens were elected, proxies from former residents were auctioned, luncheons and dinners were given, store windows were decorated with historic relics and in fact the whole week was given over to social, educational and historic festivities in which the whole population and thousands of their friends participated. One day was given up to children, another to farmers and agricultural interests and another to the fraternal organizations. Appropriate speakers were provided for each occasion. The evening of fraternal day was given over to a parade of all fraternal |