Obendorf: This is the weather for soup and more hot chocolate as I stay huddled up in my chair. Alexa tells me the next day or two will not be any better as she warns people to stay in.

The Elmhurst History Museum will debut a new, original exhibition, “Anatomy of Healthcare: DuPage County Medical History,” which will open Jan. 23 and run through May 3.

Oswego’s Little White School Museum invites you to share your stories and help preserve the community’s priceless local history and heritage.

One of Crystal Lake’s oldest buildings, constructed in about 1853, was completely torn down Tuesday after a year-long effort to preserve it was unsuccessful.

Despite efforts to save the structure, built in the 1850s, Crystal Lake's Academy Building became a pile of rubble Tuesday with the completion of demolition.

Back in the 1800s, the selection—not to mention the quality—of the meats consumers could buy was a lot slimmer. But the constant has always been that meat has offered farmers an easier, more compact way to get their grain to market.

Back by popular demand for an encore presentation Saturday, Jan. 31, Tom Wadsworth will speak about stagecoach history in northwestern Illinois (1828-1855).

The Geneva City Council's vote Monday of 6-4 was not enough to overturn the Historic Preservation Commission's denial of the developer's petition to demolish an historic circa-1840 blacksmith shop.

The Ogle County Historical Society recently introduced officers and board members for 2026.

Will County on Monday joined the United States, Joliet's Rialto Square Theatre and Route 66 in marking 2026 as an historic year.

Wild Winter Wednesday’s Jan. 14 program will feature the Rev. John Byker speaking about the early history of Fulton and how Gerardus “George” deBey was instrumental as an early Fulton recruiter.

As Shaw Media continues its 175th-anniversary celebration, today we look at historical newspaper covers, including our coverage of Amelia Earhart’s solo flight across the Pacific

Recently we lost Nancy Parks from our church and Max Snook and Richard Jacks from our community.

The celebration will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb 6. Take a tour of the apartment where the Reagans lived and discover more of Tampico’s history.

Record stories that captured people's attention in years passed.

The Flagg Township Museum held its annual meeting Jan. 3 at the museum.

As Shaw Media continues its 175th-anniversary celebration, we delve into the archives of January 10: In 1929, the cover of the Daily Chronicle's lead story detailed a plot by a prisoner to “dope” his way out of jail using morphine-laced candy

Playing at professional baseball's highest level was a feat achieved by five people born in Lee County: Lou Bevilacqua of Nelson, George Bristow of Paw Paw, Betty Degner of Amboy, Leroy Herrmann of Steward and Frank Shaughnessy of Amboy.

A group of preservationists are making a last-ditch effort to convince the Geneva City Council not to approve demolish request for the circa 1840s blacksmith shop at 4 E. State St.

Guest column: A special doll and a phone call from a friend brighten the holiday season.

Obendorf: I am always amazed how quickly some people say goodbye to Christmas and look to the year coming next.

Demolition has begun on Crystal Lake's Academy Building, one of the oldest structures in town. Preservationists' efforts to save it were unsuccessful, but they were able to document the building before its demise.

Stories of mistaken identity, forgotten diaries, vanished communities and newly uncovered literary treasures anchor this year’s Lake County History Symposium, presented virtually on Zoom from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 8 and 15.

Now days, we take it for granted that the United States flag belongs in front of our schools, post offices, and other public structures—not to mention in front of so many private homes.

One of Crystal Lake’s oldest standing buildings, built in about 1853, is scheduled to be torn down starting this week after a year-long effort to preserve it was unsuccessful.

Village trustees have approved landmark status for the 1888 house, located at 23822 W. Lockport St. It has been in the same family since its construction.

Wild Winter Wednesday’s first program of 2026 will be Jan. 7 at the Windmill Cultural Center, 110 10th Ave., Fulton.

As Christmas gatherings take place, enjoy being with your friends and family. This is what the holiday season is all about.

In recent years, Christmas decorations have been coming out immediately after Halloween, and by Thanksgiving we’re bombarded with demands that we buy this or that gift. Unfortunately, I suspect some of my ancestors might be responsible for this holiday excess.

Obendorf: Polo’s Christmas celebration came off in fine style and Polo Historical Society had two full trolleys and two partial ones.

Rochelle historian Tom McDermott tells the story of German immigrants Rudolf and Else Metzger and their journey to Rochelle.

Almost year since OSF HealthCare took over Dixon’s former KSB Hospital, the City Council voted Monday, Dec. 15, to repeal the 130-year-old ordinance that created KSB.

150 years on, a small Lee County village still finds its strength in the neighbors who never stopped looking out for one another. As Compton celebrates its sesquicentennial, its people remind each other what truly endures in their small town.

Obendorf: The Polo Historical Museum has very old Christmas ornaments and trees that have been donated. We love the tree with bubble lights that still work and of course our Santa that spent many years in Muench Shoe Store is still dancing at the museum.

To honor the commitment to service of military members and their families in the Yorkville-area, several veterans and family members gathered to share tales of those who have served during the annual Veterans Day Tribute program at Chapel on the Green.

There will be no Oregon Depot Museum program in December. Programs will resume in January 2026.

José “Carlos” Ordaz, a longtime Rochelle resident and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway worker of 30 years, was recently featured along with Rochelle in the Rieles y Raíces exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.

The 150-page book contains over 50 of his best Dixon history articles published in the Dixon Telegraph and the Sterling Gazette since 2023.

Work has begun on a new section of Elburn's Blackberry Creek development, and five of the streets there will be named for local families with deep roots.

Obendorf: I remember the days when I would get a 25-pound turkey and wrap it in foil. Then it went into the oven at a very high temperature and came out four hours later in great shape for eating. Now they do it in a big deep fryer in half the time.

Record stories that captured people's attention in years passed.

The Geneva Historic Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16 at City Hall, 109 James St., to consider developer Shodeen's third request to raze a circa-1840 blacksmith shop.

Crystal Lake's 1850s Academy Building is expected to be demolished now that efforts to raise money to move the structure from church property have not succeeded.

Join the La Grange Area Historical Society Dec. 14 for an evening of hors d’oeuvres, drinks and desserts in four historic homes in La Grange.

The Lombard Historical Society has announced its 2025 holiday calendar of events

After the telephone moved beyond experimental use, telephone service began appearing in Illinois in the late 1870s and 1880s

Having some cents of Ogle County history: Centennial, quasquicentennial, sesquicentennial, dosquicentennial … Ogle County can observe them all this year, from the anniversary of driving through a cut up rock to blazing trails and rails.

The Polo Historical Society is getting ready for its new Christmas trolley tour. The holiday tour featuring Polo's architecture will take place Dec. 6, 2025.

The exhibit runs through Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the Flagg-Rochelle Public Library. The display is free and open to the public at any time the library is open. The pop-up exhibition connects audiences with the people and places that shaped the nation's birth.

Come to the Polo Museum, 113 N. Franklin St., on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, and take an architecture tour on the Holly Trolley.