Today marks the start of the 200th Year of Illinois Statehood, as it was 199 years ago this day that Illinois became a state. The Governor's Office of Illinois Bicentennial has a number of wonderful celebrations already listed on its website for the coming year.
I myself am eager to celebrate Illinois over the course of this year, the place where I was born and have been a citizen all my life, which motivates me to think about what's special about Illinois and how it has contributed to the world around it.
In my effort to celebrate this 200th Year of Illinois leading up to the Bicentennial in 2018, I will share 200 things about Illinois in various posts on my blog.
And I'm making popcorn #1 on my list. It is the official state snack food, as signed into law by Governor Rod Blagojevich back in 2003. I think the choice is fitting because there's so much corn grown in Illinois. Popcorn is a quintessential product of the soil, which suits the Illinois Bicentennial's catchphrase "Born. Built. Grown."
A healthy treat I like to share with people is popcorn I buy at the Oak Park Farmers' Market--#2 on my list--as there are many farmers throughout Illinois who sell their goods at markets like the one in Oak Park. They sell ears of corn that can be put in the microwave to make popcorn, which pops right off the ear. And it's just the flavor of the popcorn itself, in a natural state. Indeed, it's pretty tasty.
So as I get myself into the spirit of celebration today, I eat and share some of that popcorn as I celebrate.
Furthermore, it's quite timely that the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest had an Open House on this day at its recently opened History Museum--#3 on my list.
I went there for a visit in the middle of last month with my then-fellow colleagues at the Oak Park Public Library. Toward the end of our time there, I mentioned to Frank Lipo, the Executive Director, how appropriate it was to have the open house of the history museum on Illinois's Statehood Day. He then mentioned to me that the OPRF Historical Society started 50 years ago in response to a call issued by the organizers of Illinois's 150th-year celebration. They asked what people in local communities were doing to commemorate Illinois history, and that encouraged some citizens in Oak Park and River Forest to start the historical society. (They even met at the Oak Park Public Library as they got the society started.)
Visiting something like the OPRF History Museum helps focus my thoughts on my place in this state of Illinois, and the place my community of Oak Park has in this state, even as just days ago I pondered the special part Oak Park has played in my life upon the 25th anniversary of moving here.
Even as visitors to the museum get to know the history of this local area, we can be part of commemorating its history as part of the larger story of Illinois, just as those who started the OPRF Historical Society did nearly a half-century ago. We recall what our history is about, to better understand who we are, as we go forth to be the best in our own place and for the world around us.
On display at the museum is a desk given to a local resident who was part of the Illinois State Constitutional Convention back around 1970. This story is just one of many local residents who helped shape the world around them. We reflect their stories as we draw from its richness to make Illinois the right kind of place.
While I am a lifelong Oak Park resident, I was actually born on the North Side of Chicago, and moved here when I was 20 months old. I can say I've had a truly Illinois experience as I have the mark of the city of Chicago on me, and then went into the suburbs, encompassing a greater sense of being an Illinoisan. That movement is a good way for me to start focusing on the vastness of everything Illinois has from Cairo to South Beloit, from Quincy to Danville, and everything in between, and that's plenty of reason to celebrate leading up to the Bicentennial Day on December 3, 2018.
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