The Midieval French Tradition, La Guiannée is celebrated on New Year's Eve, December 31st in Prairie du Rocher, Illinois.

La Guiannée (or La Guignolée) is a French medieval New Year's Eve tradition that is still practiced in two towns in the United States. The tradition related to poor people being able to ask the more wealthy for food and drink at the celebrations of winter.

Revelers at a La Guiannée celebrated in Prairie du Rocher, Randolph County, Illinois, in the 1930s which is a medieval French tradition. Note the prevalence of French surnames among those gathered. The costumes replicate those of the original French settlers who founded the village and celebrated the first Guiannée there in 1722.

Customarily a troupe of traveling male singers went from door to door to entertain and ring in the new year. Hosts were expected to give them food and drink. Other sources say the young men were seeking donations for Twelfth Night (a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany (the manifestation of Christ, with tradition marking the date on either Januaty 5th or 6th).

Begun as a way for the poor to be given gratuities by the rich, it also became a community social event for young men to visit with the families of young women.

Over time, the practice became an occasion for visiting with relatives and friends and was more or less a traveling feast. At first it was carried on only by young men, often in costume; women joined the party in the 20th century. In many years, the people appeared in disguise, as part of the celebration was a kind of overturning of the common order.

This tradition has been practiced annually since 1722 in Prairie du Rocher, Illinois. It has been revived in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. Both were former French colonial villages settled by French Canadians in the eighteenth century and the villages are across the Mississippi River from each other.

In Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, current celebrations feature singers and musicians, attired in colonial dress, who begin their night's journey at the local American Legion Hall. They make their way through all the restaurants, bars, nursing homes and high school gyms, ending at midnight at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

Upon arrival at a local home or business the group sings two verses outside, and then when invited inside the entire song is sung. After the singing has finished it is local custom that food and drink are offered to the singers. The group then proceeds on to the next stop.

Choeur des Sources - La Guignolée

Translation of the words of the traditional song, La Guignolée:

Good evening master and mistress,

And all who live with you.

For the first day of the year,

You owe us La Guignolée.

If you have nothing to give,

A chine of meat or so will do.

A chine of meat is not a big thing,

Only ninety feet long.

Again, we don't ask for very much,

Only the oldest daughter of the house.

We will give her lots of good cheer,

And we will surely warm her feet.

Now, we greet you,

And beg you to forgive us please.

If we have acted a little crazy,

We meant it in good fun.

Another time we'll surely be careful

To know when we must come back here again.

Let us dance La Guenille,

La Guenille, La Guenille!

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The Kiosk Sphinx, a Private Museum, in Chicago, Illinois.

WASHINGTON PORTER SR. AND THE FAMILY FORTUNE. 

Washington Porter Sr.

Chicago businessman Washington Porter Sr. was the president of Porter Brothers Company, a fruit trading company that was the first to ship fruit to Chicago from California via railcars in 1869. Porter was one of 45 directors of the World's Columbian Exposition, working hard to convince Congress to hold the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. 

Porter Sr. was born in Boone County, Illinois, in 1844 or 1846 and died in 1922. He was a civil war veteran. By the 1890s, Washington Porter Senior's fruit company was handling eight thousand carloads of fruit a year. Porter became wealthy and started buying up prime Chicago real estate. The Tribune described Porter as "one of Chicago's opulent citizens, a typical Westerner, and withal a character."

WASHINGTON PORTER JR'S KIOSK SPHINX MUSEUM.
The "Kiosk Sphinx" was the name given to an unusual private museum at 4044 Oakenwald Avenue which was the back yard of his deceased parent's house at 4043 Lake Park Avenue. It was designed and built (from 1928 to 1933) at a cost of $350,000 by eccentric Chicago millionaire Washington Porter Jr. in the Oakland community of Chicago, to house Porter Jr. antique collections and to rival the 1933 Chicago Century of Progress World's Fair.

A young Washington Porter Jr., circa Oct. 1919. Porter Jr., who was the son of wealthy businessman Washington Porter Sr., was a former American Legation Secretary in Copenhagen. In 1919, when Porter Jr. was 24 years old, he married a Danish woman while overseas. The marriage was brief and in 1922 Porter's wife filed for divorce amid scandalous newspaper reports of desertion. 
Note: this photo has a small amount of white paint surrounding Porter's head.

In 1932, Washington Porter Jr. was legally ordered to give a million dollars back to his mother, which he had swindled from the widow after his wealthy father died in 1922. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Porter Jr. was building his art museum in the back of the family mansion and throwing lavish theme parties for Chicago's elite. Note: This photo has been damaged and is undated. 

The tower was easily seen from Lake Shore Drive, was supposed to have been entirely covered in stone with a huge illuminated glass sphinx at the top, which gives us the “Sphinx” half of the name. The “Kiosk” refers to the Ottoman Empire term for a free-standing garden pavilion – and the sphinx was to be on top of a towering kiosk, thus the name. But it was never finished.

Looking Southwest at the Kiosk Sphinx and Porter Mansion.

The penthouse, grotto, and terrace are a few of the many extraordinary features of the architecturally unusual Kiosk Sphinx, the dream house which Washington Porter Jr. has erected after six years of work and an expenditure of $350,000. Society was finally given an opportunity to view the sunken gardens, cascades, and other oddities of design at a "gala opening" on May 23, 1934. The photo was taken in April 1934.
Note the Vault Lights (prism glass) used on the patio.

The 150 ft. tower, an Egyptian obelisk called the Kiosk Sphinx, is being completed on the Washington Porter Jr. estate on May 12, 1934, at 4043 Lake Park Ave. in Chicago. The tower was to have a 15x15 foot illuminated winged sphinx made of glass sitting at the top so it could be visible to motorists on Lake Shore Drive. Porter Jr. said, "All the old emperors had their kiosks, and I have mine." The sphinx would never make it to the top of the tower.

The house was described in the Chicago Tribune as a “Rococo combination of spires, domes, and ornate staircases.” There were grottos, glass-floored terraces, secret passages, and theme rooms filled with the art treasures and antiques of the owner who had the house built to his specifications.

Washington Porter Jr., from left, and his cousins Genevieve Porter, and Virginia Porter, look at the many pieces of art in Porter Jr.'s eccentric "art castle", called the Kiosk Sphinx, during the museums exclusive grand opening on May 23, 1934. The Tribune reported Porter Jr. as saying, "My father and I spent years in all corners of the world collecting the exhibit."

Wanita Fong worships a statue, which was one of the sacred possessions of Chinese emperors, and is now included in Washington Porter Jr.'s art collection at Kiosk Sphinx, at 4043 Lake Park Ave. in Chicago in Aug. 1934. Porter Jr. opened the museum on Aug. 27, 1934, saying, "I am opening the museum to the public so citizens of Chicago may... make a world tour of art in a grand scale."

Washington Porter Jr. was an obsessive collector of art and antiques. Porter Jr. built at the rear of his parent's old mansion the unusual structure consisted of a combined residence and private museum for Porter's collections. Also built was a 15 story metal-framed observation tower, built to observe the 1933 World's Fair, which was never given its complete stone cladding and a fifteen-foot illuminated glass sphinx at the very top. Porter referred to this glass figure as the "Kiosk Sphinx" (i.e. the Kiosk's Sphinx) and gave this name to the entire complex. It also derived from Porter's interest in Egyptian antiquities which were among the treasures displayed in his private galleries. 

Washington Porter Jr. sits in the Cook County courtroom of Judge George Rooney on Dec. 18, 1935, as witnesses testify. Porter Jr. appeared in court to fight his sister, Mrs. Frances Porter White, who was claiming Porter Jr. needed to surrender furnishings and other property in the old Porter mansion as part of her inheritance. Their mother, Frances Lee Porter, had died in May 1935. Her will provided that two-thirds of the estate go to her daughter, and one-third go to her son. Washington Porter Jr. lived in the mansion with his "bizarre Kiosk Sphinx" museum, which housed his art collection and was valued at $500,000, according to the Tribune.

Among his objects was a considerable amount of table silver marked with an "N" which he has claimed belonged to the first Napoleon. The variety of the collection is indicated by the fact that he claimed that his goldfish had a value of four or five thousand dollars.

Porter Jr. never had the opportunity to spend much time at his dream building. His financial resources were stretched by the project, and he was constantly being sued for unpaid debts and other legal difficulties.

In March 1935, Washington Porter Jr. was in court when his mother's maid sued him for false arrest. For 31 years Marie Sauer was the maid for Frances Lee Porter (Washington's mother) at their mansion on Lake Park Ave. Sauer was awarded $500 in damages against her employer's son after Porter Jr. had Sauer arrested on Jan. 24, 1932, accusing the maid of stealing a $10,000 Russian silver tea set. The set was later found in the home and Porter Jr. was accused of planting the evidence. According to Tribune, "The Porters, mother, and son, live under the same roof, but are not on good terms and maintain separate establishments, Mrs. Sauer said."

In June 1939, Washington Porter Jr. was fined $10.00 by Judge Gutnecht for driving a car without a driver's license. Porter Jr. was arrested when he was driving down Columbus Drive without a license, inspection sticker, and with only one headlight burning on May 31, 1939. Porter Jr.'s bail was set at $40, but he only had $17. His butler had to come and bail him out of the Central police station.

An old friend of the family, named Mrs. Frank G. Logan, feared the art collection would be lost and bought the Kiosk Sphinx. Porter Jr. claimed she had only agreed to take care of it until he got back on his feet, but she kicked him out and put the property up for sale. About a year later, Porter Jr. gathered up some friends and raided the house, kicking out Mrs. Logan’s people. He barricaded himself inside with a chef.

Washington Porter Jr., 47, right, and his friend Robert McDonald, 21, look over Porter Jr.'s art collection in March 1941 after the pair re-seized Porter's family estate and "art castle." Porter Jr. had lost the house and art collection when the state came after him for not paying $15,020 of taxes. An art collector bought the estate and collection at a sheriff's sale, but Porter Jr. fought the woman by breaking into his previous home and squatting in it with Mr. McDonald.

Washington Porter Jr., 47, admires pieces of art in his "art castle" at 4043 Lake Park Ave. in Chicago in March 1941. Porter Jr. had broken into his own home and re-seized his art collection and estate. According to the Tribune, "Porter posted a note on the plate glass door of the mansion which reads: 'A man's house is his castle. So, enough said. No admittance to anyone unless by my order.'"

In September of 1942, after a small fire, the building seems to have been condemned and the collections bought at a Sheriff's Sale for $17,500, according to the newspapers, by Mrs. Logan who has headed a society for what she terms "Sanity in Art" and has conducted a campaign against modernism in various Chicago galleries. 

An exasperated judge ordered Porter Jr. to get a job and see a psychiatrist. Instead, Porter Jr. fled to California and the house became “a spectacular ruin,” after neighborhood people looted it over several weeks in September of 1942.

Officer John O'Connell of the Hyde Park station looks at the debris left at the Washington Porter Jr. home after neighborhood people looted it over several weeks in September 1942. According to the Tribune, "Hyde Park police ran into a bedlam yesterday as they drew up to the old Washington Porter mansion at 4043 Lake Park Avenue in response to a call that 'an army of 200 kids are ransacking the place piece by piece.' One boy, about 7, was seen lugging away a miniature head of Medusa, done in marble, snaky locks and all." 

The “Sphinx Kiosk” was left to rot until it was finally demolished in 1957 to make way for the 2nd phase of the Chicago Housing Authority's Lakefront Properties which included two-story row houses, the Olander Homes and Washington Park Homes.

The Washington Porter Jr. mansion, with a view of the Kiosk Sphinx museum built on the back of the residence, at 4043 Lake Park Ave. on Nov. 20, 1948. The architecturally bizarre building that Porter Jr. once described as "Egyptian with a touch of Italian Renaissance", was torn down in 1957 to make way for a Chicago Housing Authority project. 

A view from the tower in the rear of the fabled home of Washington Porter Jr., at 4043 Lake Park Ave., is being demolished on Sept. 17, 1957, to make way for a Chicago Housing Authority project. Porter Jr. had the architecturally unusual mansion built onto the back end of his parent's home and called it the Kiosk Sphinx. His dream house, which held his vast art collection, took six years to build at an expenditure of $350,000.

Amended: During 1962 and 1963, two projects were completed on the near South Side. The first was the Washington Park Homes. It is made up of 67 buildings on 27 scattered sites in the area bounded by 39th and 63rd Streets, and from Lake Michigan west to Stewart Avenue. Seven of the buildings were 16-story high rises of the same design as Robert Taylor Homes. These buildings contained a total of 1,065 units.

On the site of the “Sphinx Kiosk” at 4040 S. Oakenwald Ave., CHA constructed a high-rise that was the first in the complex which became known as the Lakefront Properties. The remaining 378 units of the Washington Park Homes were located in 60 groups of two-story row houses. 

Porter Jr. died in the 1980s and his ashes were scattered in Lake Michigan.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Henri de Tonti and his Connection with what would become Illinois. (1650-1704)

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In historical writing and analysis, PRESENTISM introduces present-day ideas and perspectives into depictions or interpretations of the past. Presentism is a form of cultural bias that creates a distorted understanding of the subject matter. Reading modern notions of morality into the past is committing the error of presentism. Historical accounts are written by people and can be slanted, so I try my hardest to present fact-based and well-researched articles.

Facts don't require one's approval or acceptance.

I present [PG-13] articles without regard to race, color, political party, or religious beliefs, including Atheism, national origin, citizenship status, gender, LGBTQ+ status, disability, military status, or educational level. What I present are facts — NOT Alternative Facts — about the subject. You won't find articles or readers' comments that spread rumors, lies, hateful statements, and people instigating arguments or fights.

FOR HISTORICAL CLARITY

When I write about the INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, I follow this historical terminology:

• The use of old commonly used terms, disrespectful today, i.e., REDMAN or REDMEN, SAVAGES, and HALF-BREED are explained in this article.

Writing about AFRICAN-AMERICAN history, I follow these race terms:

• "NEGRO" was the term used until the mid-1960s.
• "BLACK" started being used in the mid-1960s.
• "AFRICAN-AMERICAN" [Afro-American] began usage in the late 1980s.

— PLEASE PRACTICE HISTORICISM —

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PAST IN ITS OWN CONTEXT.

 

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Henri de Tonti

Among the many adventurers who accompanied René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (Sieur de La Salle is a title only: translating to "Lord of the Manor.") to America and took part in exploring the wilds of the West, was an Italian of noble birth by the name of Henri de Tonti. Some years before, young Tonti, with his father's family, was banished from Italy because they had taken part in a revolution in that country and found a home in Rouen, France. Tonti, having a military education, joined the French army and served five years, a part of the time, as a captain in the National Guards. At the close of the war, he was discharged from service, came to America, and joined La Salle in his enterprise. La Salle made Tonti his lieutenant, or second in command, and the sequel shows that he was worthy of the trust placed in him. 

Tonti's right hand having been shot off in the Sicilian war, its place was supplied with an iron one, which he kept always covered with a glove.

With this iron hand, Tonti, on different occasions, broke the heads or knocked out the teeth of disorderly Indians, which caused them to believe that he possessed supernatural power.

Tonti brought with him from France a large sum of money, which he used in common with La Salle in exploring and taking possession of the West, as well as in trade with the Indians.

The late Dr. Sparks says history never can do ample justice to Tonti. His life was one of patriotism and self-sacrifice, and the discovery and taking possession of the great West belonged mainly to him.

It was in January of 1680 that La Salle and Tonti built Fort de Crévecoeur (which was also known variously as Fort Saint Louis II, Fort Saint Louis du Pimiteoui, Fort Pimiteoui, and Old Fort Peoria. Pimiteoui, was the name of what is today's Peoria Lake), on the east bank of the Illinois River, near modern-day Peoria. The fort was completed in March of 1680.

La Salle left Tonti to hold Fort Crèvecoeur while La Salle returned to Ontario. Shortly after, Tonti joined a party to secure the Fort Saint Louis du Rocher fortifications at today's Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois [1]. The remaining people at Fort Crèvecoeur pillaged the stores of supplies and supposedly fled back to Canada.

In the spring of 1682, Tonti journeyed with La Salle on his descent of the Mississippi River. Tonti's letters and journals are valuable sources of material for these explorations. Henri de Tonti returned to the fort to salvage what he could, moving what was left to Fort St. Louis.

When La Salle returned to France in 1683, he left Tonti behind to hold Fort Saint Louis on the Illinois River. He was to relinquish this control to Louis-Henri de Baugy under the orders of Frontenac. Three years later, he learned from remnants of La Salle's ill-fated Texas settlement that La Salle was attempting to ascend the Mississippi River. Tonti proceeded south on his own to meet La Salle on his ascent. He failed to find La Salle and made it to the Gulf of Mexico before turning back. He left several men near the mouth of the Arkansas River to establish a trading post there on land granted to him by La Salle for his service. This location would become the historical Arkansas Post, the first permanent European settlement in the lower Mississippi region.

During 1687, Tonti was engaged in wars with the English and their Iroquois allies. In 1688, he returned to Fort Saint Louis and found members of La Salle's party who concealed La Salle's death. Tonti sent out parties to find survivors and then started out himself in October 1689.

Tonti returned to the site to build a new settlement called Pimiteoui in 1691. The settlement would become what we know today as Peoria. This is also the basis of Peoria's claim for being Illinois' oldest city.

Forty years of Tonti's life were spent in the wilds of the West, enduring hardships, dangers, and deprivations, associating with savages, and without the benefits and comforts of civilization. His fortune sacrificed health and manhood destroyed became a wanderer along the Gulf of Mexico, but at last, returned to die at Fort Saint Louis du Rocher, and his bones now rest on the bank of the Illinois River at the west end of Starved Rock. He died of yellow fever in 1704.

In one of the Louvre picture galleries in Paris, a full-length portrait of a youthful-looking man dressed in French uniform, with epaulets on his shoulders and an eagle on his breast, can be seen. His left-hand holds a sword, while the left presents a singular appearance, as though deformed, but is hidden by a glove. This tall, graceful figure and piercing black eyes never fail to attract (the attention of strangers and inquiry would naturally arise for the history of the person here represented. Below this portrait is painted in large letters with the name "Henri de Tonti, la voyageur des Amerique."

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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[1] Starved Rock State Park is rich with the footprints of Henri de Tonti. Tonti Canyon is narrow, with two 80-foot waterfalls. There is a back canyon with three more waterfalls that only flow with snowmelt or rain runoff. It's a beautiful place. Tonti Canyon connects to La Salle Canyon, which boasts the largest water flow in cascades and waterfalls.

Tonti Canyon, Starved Rock State Park, Illinois

La Salle Canyon, Starved Rock State Park, Illinois