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courtesy/McLean County Museum of HistoryMcLean County and Central Illinois are gearing up for America 250 with a bunch of events, everything from a community drone show on July 2 to readings of the Declaration of Independence at Connie Link Amphitheater in Normal and in Downtown Bloomington. It's not the first national anniversary involving a big celebration. Let’s go back 50 years to hear what they did for the nation’s Bicentennial. -
McLean County Museum of History/CourtesyThe closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S. war with Iran has sent energy prices way up. Something similar happened back in 1973 during the OPEC oil embargo. Find out more in this episode of McHistory.
![Jesse Fell, the founder of the Town of Normal [center] is depicted in the 1938 depression era mural in the Normal Post Office.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/34da079/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2613x1456+847+0/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8b%2F1d%2F096c7ca14caa87b684720c912060%2Fpels-mural-11-6-25-a.jpg)
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There's a declaration of emergency over the number of unhoused people in Bloomington right now, and efforts to provide new housing and expanded space in shelters. In this episode of WGLT's series "McHistory," you'll learn that the issue is not new — though the response today is perhaps more humane than it was in other eras. -
Despite the reputation of Bloomington-Normal as a staid, quiet community with nicknames such as "Borington" and "Insuranceville," the Twin Cities has a long history of protests. While there have been a lot of non-violent political protests around Bloomington-Normal lately, some past actions were not so civil. -
The iconic Route 66 will hit the century mark next year. Before it became the "Mother Road," it was Illinois Route 4. And on it was a rest spot for those early motorists on the south side of Bloomington. -
Imagine, if you will, how big a deal it would be if Taylor Swift gave a concert in Bloomington-Normal. That's the equivalent to the appearance of lyric tenor John McCormack on Nov. 24, 1924. -
Illinois has a deep connection to the Underground Railroad. That's why lawmakers are pushing an initiative to preserve sites connected to this key part of history. -
It seems like a new biography of President Abraham Lincoln comes out every few years, trying to discern new perspectives of his time and character. Lincoln himself didn't write much about his life, so what he did put down on paper has an outsized importance. -
McHistory is a co-production of WGLT and the McLean County Museum of History. -
McHistory is a co-production of WGLT and the McLean County Museum of History.
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McHistory is a co-production of WGLT and the McLean County Museum of History. -
This week's episode of McHistory recounts Eleanor Roosevelt's visit to Bloomington-Normal in 1937.
