Douglas Park Amusements, Danville, Illinois.

Douglas Park Amusements was an amusement park located in Danville, Illinois that opened in 1953 at 1333 East Main Street in Danville. The park was owned and operated by the City of Danville and employed about 20 people during the summer months. Douglas Park Amusements was a popular destination for families from Danville and the surrounding area.

The park was open from May to September each year. The park featured a number of rides, including the Little Dipper roller coaster, a Tilt-A-Whirl, a carousel, boats, a Ferris wheel, and a miniature train. There was also a playground, a picnic area, a number of games of skill, and a refreshment stand. The park was especially busy on weekends and during the summer months. 

The park closed sometime in the late 1970s. The exact date of closure is unknown, but it is believed that the park was closed due to financial difficulties.

Brenda Mac driving the train at Douglas Park Amusements.

Today, the site of Douglas Park Amusements is still a public park. However, there are no longer any rides or attractions. The park is now used primarily for picnicking, walking, and playing sports.

Although Douglas Park Amusements is no longer in operation, the memories of the park live on in the hearts of those who visited it. The park was a place where families could make memories that would last a lifetime.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Al Capone, a big fan of jazz music, gave many now-famous jazz musicians their start in Chicago.

Louis Armstrong

Al Capone supported jazz musicians. Capone was a big fan of jazz music, and he helped to promote and support Negro jazz musicians in Chicago. 

During the Prohibition Era (1920-1933), alcohol was banned in the United States. It's claimed that Al Capone owned, in whole or part, a few hundred speakeasies in Chicago. His love for live jazz music played in speakeasies to attract more patrons. The performances saved jazz musicians from poverty and provided musicians with a steady income and stable living conditions, helping them focus on their music and promoting the development of jazz music. This also explained why the Jazz Age overlapped with the Prohibition Era.

Between 1923 and World War II, Chicago was the jazz capital of the world thanks to the Great Migration, which brought thousands of Negroes from the Deep South to Chicago's South Side. More than 70 nightclubs, ballrooms, and theatre halls lined the Douglas Community's Bronzeville Neighborhood streets, particularly along a stretch of State Street known as "The Stroll" from 31st to 39th Streets.

The Sunset Café, 315 East 35th Street, Chicago, Illinois.

Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Earl Hines, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band, and Nat King Cole all came of age in clubs owned and controlled by Al Capone. Sadly, "The Stroll" was demolished after World War II.

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The Sunset Café is highly recognized in the earliest forms of U.S. jazz history.

The Sunset Café held significant value to the infamous Al Capone. Joe Glaser's mother was the original owner of the building until her passing. She leased the building to Edward Fox and Sam Rifas, who were direct employees of Al Capone. After Louis Armstrong and Joe Glaser left for New York, Edward Fox became the sole manager of the Café and the band under the leadership of Earl Hines. Since the Café was located within the Chicago Outfit properties, that connection allowed the Sunset Café to remain open during the Great Depression, unlike many other jazz clubs.

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Joe E. Lewis, comedian, actor and singer, was attacked by Al Capone lieutenant, "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn's men in 1927 after he refused to take his act to the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, 4802 North Broadway, which Capone partly owned.

Lewis was assaulted in his 10th-floor Commonwealth Hotel room, on November 8, 1927, by three enforcers sent by McGurn. The enforcers, including Sam Giancana and Leonard "Needles" Gianola, mutilated Lewis by cutting his throat and tongue and leaving him for dead. Capone was fond of Lewis and was upset with the assault but would not take action against one of his top lieutenants. Instead, he provided Lewis with $10,000 ($175,000 today) to aid his recovery and eventually resumed his career.

Later renamed the Grand Terrace Café when Al Capone bought a 25% stake, this "black-and-tan" (integrated) jazz club was one of the most essential venues in music history. It's where Earl "Fatha" Hines and Louis Armstrong made a name for themselves playing duets in the mid-20s. A few years later, it's where Cab Calloway and Nat King Cole landed some of their first professional gigs alongside legends like Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, and even Benny Goodman.

When the Grand Terrace Café opened in place of the Sunset Café, pianist Earl Hines took up the mantle of bandleader. Ed Fox managed both Hines and the club. During Hines' time at the Grand Terrace, the band was broadcast nationally every weekend for an hour on WMAQ and another hour on WNEP. 

The Grand Terrace Café closed in 1940, and the building served as the district office of Congressman William L. Dawson for many years. Glaser sold the building to Meyers' father, Henry, in 1962, who then opened Meyers Ace Hardware.

Capone's support helped to make jazz music a mainstream art form.

A Chicago branch of New York City's Cotton Club was run by Al's brother Ralph "Bottles" Capone.

As a result of Capone's support, jazz music flourished during the Prohibition era, making jazz music a mainstream art form.

It is important to note that Capone's support of jazz musicians was not entirely altruistic. He saw jazz music as a way to make money and gain influence. However, his support positively impacted the development of jazz music, and he is credited with helping to make it one of the world's most popular genres of music.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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June 28, 2023, 10:12 AM CT.

Thank you, Neil, for unequivocally portraying Al Capone the way he was. It is an excellent article. There was a reason that my family was so good to the opposition.

Your Friend,                                             

Deirdre Marie Capone 

The Wigwam, Chicago.

There is a third building that should stand on the street, which led from Abraham Lincoln's Kentucky Log Cabin to the White House. Lincoln was obliged to pass this building before he reached Washington D.C. The building was built in 1860, at the corner of Market Street (North Wacker Drive today) and Lake Street in Chicago, a large structure one hundred and eighty feet long and one hundred feet wide. 

It was made of plain pine boards, and in some respects, both the characteristics of a log cabin and a government building were conserved. It was called the "Wigwam," which was built on the site of the old Sauganash Hotel.

On the morning of May 16, 1860, the delegates of the Republican Convention arrived for the purpose of naming the next candidate for the Presidency of the United States on the Republican ticket. It was on Friday, March 18, that this purpose was achieved. It may be truly said that Lincoln passed from his Cabin to the White House by way of the Wigwam. 

The History of Chicago's "Wigwam" Buildings.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

The rocking chair that President Lincoln was sitting in when shot at Ford's Theatre.

One of the most interesting relics associated with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln is an old rocking chair that is currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Lincoln was seated in this chair at the time of the attack by John Wilkes Booth. When the conspirators were tried, it came into possession of the government along with other items which were exhibited at the trial.

The Chair is displayed in a hermetically sealed, temperature and humidity-controlled room.

Major Henry Rathbone [1], who was in the box with the Lincolns at the time of the shooting, made this statement in his affidavit signed two days after the President's death. When the party entered the box, a cushioned rocking arm-chair was standing at the end of the box, furthest from the stage. ... The President seated himself in this chair, leaving the chair once to put on his overcoat. He remained seated until he was shot.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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[1] Major Henry Rathbone was stabbed in the chest by John Wilkes Booth during the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. Rathbone attempted to stop Booth from escaping and was stabbed in his chest just below his left nipple that, pierced his lung. He survived the attack, but the wound left him permanently disabled.

President Lincoln's Last Handwritten Note on April 14, 1865.

For many years it has been understood that Lincoln's last handwritten note was on a card and inscribed as follows:

"April 14, 1865. Allow Mr. Ashmum & friend to come in at 9 am tomorrow. A Lincoln."

Example: A handwritten note on the back of a piece of scrap paper. Note the writing on the reverse side.

Let this man take the oath of Dec. 8, 1863 + be discharged.
A. Lincoln, March 2, 1865.

Mr. Emanuel Hertz, Lincoln collector, believes he has discovered a later writing in the form of a pardon to which Lincoln put his signature. This valuable document reads: "Let the prisoner be released on taking the oath of December 8, 1863. A. Lincoln. April 14, 1865." It was the last presidential act before going to Ford's Theatre.

It tells us all we will ever need to know about Lincoln that the most popular form of his autograph is not on legal briefs or military documents, or even wartime letters but on small slips of paper bearing, more or less, a dozen words of forgiveness:

Let this man take the oath of December 8, 1863 and be discharged.

The Oath of December 8 was announced by Lincoln, on that day, in his annual message to Congress in 1863. He would offer a pardon to any man who would swear, without coercion, his allegiance to the Union. The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction provided, then, a general pardon to soldiers in the Rebellion and to those, too, who deserted the Union cause. 

The Oath reads in part: "I, [name], do solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union of states thereunder; and that I will, in like manner, abide and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves... So help me, God.”

The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

A PROCLAMATION.

WHEREAS, in and by the Constitution of the United States, it is provided that the President “shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment;” and

Whereas, a rebellion now exists whereby the loyal state governments of several states have for a long time been subverted, and many persons have committed, and are now guilty of, treason against the United States; and

Whereas, with reference to said rebellion and treason, laws have been enacted by congress, declaring forfeitures and confiscation of property and liberation of slaves, all upon terms and conditions therein stated, and also declaring that the President was thereby authorized at any time thereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons who may have participated in the existing rebellion, in any state or part thereof, pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions and at such times and on such conditions as he may deem expedient for the public welfare; and

Whereas, the congressional declaration for limited and conditional pardon accords with well-established judicial exposition of the pardoning power; and

Whereas, with reference to said rebellion, the President of the United States has issued several proclamations, with provisions in regard to the liberation of slaves; and

Whereas, it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in said rebellion to resume their allegiance to the United States, and to reinaugurate loyal state governments within and for their respective states: Therefore–

I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States, do proclaim, declare, and make known to all persons who have, directly or by implication, participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, that a full pardon is hereby granted to them and each of them, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and in property cases where rights of third parties shall have intervened, and upon the condition that every such person shall take and subscribe an oath, and thenceforward keep and maintain said oath inviolate; and which oath shall be registered for permanent preservation, and shall be of the tenor and effect following, to wit:–

“I, [Full Name], do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all acts of congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by congress, or by decision of the supreme court; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the supreme court. So help me God.”

The persons excepted from the benefits of the foregoing provisions are all who are, or shall have been, civil or diplomatic officers or agents of the so-called Confederate government; all who have left judicial stations under the United States to aid the rebellion; all who are, or shall have been, military or naval officers of said so-called Confederate government above the rank of colonel in the army or of lieutenant in the navy; all who left seats in the United States congress to aid the rebellion; all who resigned commissions in the army or navy of the United States and afterwards aided the rebellion; and all who have engaged in any way in treating colored persons, or white persons in charge of such, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war, and which persons may have been found in the United States service as soldiers, seamen, or in any other capacity.

And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known that whenever, in any of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, a number of persons, not less than one tenth in number of the votes cast in such state at the presidential election of the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty, each having taken the oath aforesaid, and not having since violated it, and being a qualified voter by the election law of the state existing immediately before the so-called act of secession, and excluding all others, shall reëstablish a state government which shall be republican, and in nowise contravening said oath, such shall be recognized as the true government of the state, and the state shall receive thereunder the benefits of the constitutional provision which declares that “the United States shall guaranty to every state in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or the executive, (when the legislature cannot be convened,) against domestic violence.”

And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known that any provision which may be adopted by such state government in relation to the freed people of such state, which shall recognize and declare their permanent freedom, provide for their education, and which may yet be consistent as a temporary arrangement with their present condition as a laboring, landless, and homeless class, will not be objected to by the National Executive.

And it is suggested as not improper that, in constructing a loyal state government in any state, the name of the state, the boundary, the subdivisions, the constitution, and the general code of laws, as before the rebellion, be maintained, subject only to the modifications made necessary by the conditions hereinbefore stated, and such others, if any, not contravening said conditions, and which may be deemed expedient by those framing the new state government.

To avoid misunderstanding, it may be proper to say that this proclamation, so far as it relates to state governments, has no reference to states wherein loyal state governments have all the while been maintained. And, for the same reason, it may be proper to further say, that whether members sent to congress from any state shall be admitted to seats constitutionally rests exclusively with the respective houses, and not to any extent with the Executive. And still further, that this proclamation is intended to present the people of the states wherein the national authority has been suspended, and loyal state governments have been subverted, a mode in and by which the national authority and loyal state governments may be reëstablished within said states, or in any of them; and while the mode presented is the best the Executive can suggest, with his present impressions, it must not be understood that no other possible mode would be acceptable.

Given under my hand at the city of Washington the eighth day of December, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth.

By the President:

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

December 8, 1863