The McDonough County Historical Society will hold its final program-centered meeting of the year on Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., in the Spoon River College Outreach Center, located on East Jackson Street. As usual, the general public is warmly invited, and there will be drinks and snacks for those who attend.
Initially, the society members who are present will vote on a slate of officers for 2027, including a new president, Tim Roberts. A distinguished WIU professor, he is both the Chairman of the History Department and the Director of the Humanities. He has produced several books and many articles and has also served as a Fulbright Lecturer. Focused on American history, and active for social causes, Roberts is also known for his commitment to engaging beyond the classroom with the general public.
The program on Nov. 9 is titled “The Tradition of Historical Remembrance in McDonough County,” and it will be delivered by John Hallwas, the well-known author of many books, hundreds of articles, and several plays that focus on our county and state.
Indeed, Hallwas is the most well-published Illinois-focused historian in the current century.
He will focus on how remembrance of the past has been so significant in our county over the generations—fostered by gravesites, civic buildings, local events, monuments, newspaper articles, books, plays, murals, exhibits, live public programs, radio and TV shows, and our WIU regional Archives collections. And Hallwas will also comment on the value of personal remembrance, through memoirs, an approach that was initiated in the nineteenth century and that blossomed during our county’s bicentennial year with a series of memoirs in the “Community News Brief”—which is slated to continue beyond 2026. The authors of those memoirs that have appeared throughout this year will be thanked for their contributions to appreciating our local past during our Bicentennial.
