Friday, November 9, 2018

The 1968 Illinois Earthquake, a "New Madrid Fault event," was the largest recorded earthquake in the state of Illinois.

Striking at 11:02 AM on November 9, 1968, it measured 5.4 on the Richter scale. Although there were no fatalities, the event caused considerable structural damage to buildings, including the toppling of chimneys and shaking in Chicago, the region's largest city. The earthquake was among the most widely felt in U.S. history, affecting 23 states over 580,000 square miles.
Isoseismal map for the 1968 Illinois event.
I–III are Not felt; too Weak, IV is Light, V is Moderate, VI is Strong, and VII is Powerful.
In studying its cause, scientists discovered the Cottage Grove Fault in the Southern Illinois Basin. Within the region, millions felt the rupture. Reactions to the earthquake varied: some people near the epicenter did not react to the shaking, while others panicked. A future earthquake in the region is highly likely; in 2005, seismologists and geologists estimated a 90% chance of a magnitude 6–7 tremor before 2055, likely originating in the Wabash Valley seismic zone on the Illinois–Indiana border or the New Madrid fault zone. The first recorded Illinois earthquake was from 1795 when a small earthquake shook the frontier settlement of Kaskaskia.

Data from large earthquakes—in May and July 1909 and November 1968—suggest that earthquakes in the area are of moderate magnitude but can be felt over a large geographical area, mainly because of the lack of fault lines. The May 1909 Aurora earthquake affected people in an area of 500,000 square miles; the 1968 Illinois earthquake was felt by those living in about 580,000 square miles. Contradicting that the region's earthquakes are felt over a wide area, a 1965 shock was only noticed near Tamms, even though it had the same intensity level (VII) as those of 1909 and 1968. Before 1968, earthquakes had been recorded in 1838, 1857, 1876, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1887, 1891, 1903, 1905, 1912, 1917, 1922, 1934, 1939, 1947, 1953, 1955, and 1958. Since 1968, other earthquakes have occurred in the same region in 1972, 1974, 1984, and 2008. 

The quake struck on Saturday, November 9, 1968, at 11:02 AM. The quake's epicenter was slightly northwest of Broughton in Hamilton County and close to the Illinois–Indiana border, about 120 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri. Surrounding the epicenter were several small towns built on flat glacial lake plains and low hills. Scientists described the rupture as "strong". During the quake, surface wave and body wave magnitudes were measured at 5.2 and 5.54, respectively. The magnitude of the quake reached 5.4 on the Richter scale. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 16 miles. A fault plane solution for the earthquake confirmed two nodal planes (one is always a fault plane, the other an auxiliary plane) striking north–south and dipping approximately 45 degrees to the east and to the west. This faulting suggests dip-slip reverse motion and a horizontal east–west axis of confining stress. At the time of the earthquake, no faults were known in the immediate epicentral region. Still, the motion corresponded to movement along the Wabash Valley Fault System roughly 10 miles east of the region.

The rupture also partly occurred on the New Madrid Fault, responsible for the great New Madrid earthquakes in 1812. The New Madrid tremors were the most powerful earthquakes to hit the contiguous United States. Various theories were put forward for the cause of the rupture. Donald Roll, director of seismology at Loyola University Chicago, proposed that the quake was caused by massive amounts of silt deposited by rivers, generating a "seesaw" effect on the plates beneath. "The weight of the silt depressed one end of the block and tipped up the other," he said. However, scientists eventually realized the cause was a then-unknown fault, the Cottage Grove Fault, a small tear in the Earth's rock in the Southern Illinois Basin near Harrisburg, Illinois.
The fault, which is aligned east–west, is connected to the north–south trending Wabash Valley Fault System at its eastern end. Seismographic mapping completed by geologists revealed monoclines, anticlines, and synclines, all suggesting deformation during the Paleozoic era when strike-slip faulting took place nearby. The fault runs along an ancient Precambrianterrane boundary. It was active mainly in the Late Pennsylvanian and Early Permian epochs around 300 million years ago.

In 2005, scientists determined a 90% probability of a magnitude 6–7 earthquake in the New Madrid area during the next 50 years. This could cause potentially high damage in the Chicago metropolitan area, which has a population of nearly ten million people. Pressure on the fault where the 1811–1812 Madrid earthquakes occurred was believed to be increasing, but a later study by Eric Calais of Purdue University and other experts concluded the land adjacent to the New Madrid fault was moving less than 0.0079 inches a year, increasing the span between expected earthquakes on the fault to 500–1,000 years. Scientists anticipating a future earthquake suggest the Wabash Valley Fault as a possible source, calling it "dangerous." 

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Acorn Ridge (Amusement) Park, Lemont, Illinois. (late-1940s-1989)


Acorn Ridge Park (late-1940s-1989) was located at 119th Street and Route 171 in Lemont, adjacent to the Cog Hill Golf Course and near I-55 and I-294.

Acorn Ridge was only open during the summer weekends and the rides operated only on weekends. A number of the rides were trailer mounted, as traveling carnivals use. They had "Pump cars" or hand-cranked cars, a trailer-mounted kiddie coaster, Bumper (7) cars, Hayrides (the park's favorite ride), (2) Arrow 3/4 scale 1906 replica 3-seat antique cars with 10 horsepower Kohler gasoline engine.

LOCATION MAP
I was contacted by R.J., searching for information and photos of this Amusement Park.

R.J. writes, "The most intriguing thing that I recall was that in the late fall, the rides would be tarped and moved to the side, and the grove would fill with actual gypsy wagons, which wintered there. 

I believe the park area was still there into the 80s, although by then, the rides were gone, replaced with many picnic tables.


I would occasionally drive by there to see what had happened to the park and to see if the gypsy wagons ever returned. They didn't, and the park fell into disuse. It was vacant probably until the early 90s and was eventually sold, and it may have been developed into a subdivision."

UPDATED August 16, 2022:
I joined and posted this article in the "Long Time Lemonters," Facebook group. Kelly Orbell Rauch, the granddaughter of Opal Orbell, one of the owners of Acorn Ridge Park, started out with a comment that said, "Who the hell gave these people that information[?]" said Rauch, referring to the personal comment in the article by R.J. 
 
Kelly Orbell Rauch, if you're interested in adding to the article, contact me at LivingHistoryOfIllinois@yahoo.com. 

In the last image in this post, we ask people to HELP expand this amusement park's history with pictures and stories. I'm also more than happy to discuss any issues people have with the data or pictures, but please, don't be aggressive out of the gate because there's nowhere to go from there. 

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 


Below are photographs of Acorn Ridge Park, 1989.
Allen Herschell "Little Beauty" Merry-Go-Round; 2-abreast with (20) wood body, metal leg (1/2 & 1/2) horses and (3) kiddie ponies.
Sellner Tilt-A-Whirl
Eli № 10 Ferris Wheel

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Albert G. Lane Manual Training High School, Chicago, Illinois. (1908)

Located on Division and Sedgwick, the Albert Grannis Lane Manual Training High School opened in September 1908. The school was formally dedicated on Washington's birthday, February 1909 and is named for Albert Grannis Lane, Chicago Superintendent of Schools. As industrial education's popularity continued to grow through the years and Lane added many new courses to its curriculum, Principal Bogan recommended that the school's name be changed to reflect all of the courses offered. In 1909 the school became known as the Albert Grannis Lane Technical High School.
Exterior view of the Albert G. Lane School with a group of children standing on the sidewalk at one corner of the building. The school was located at the intersection of West Division and North Sedgwick Streets in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois. (1908)
By 1915 the school was in full swing. The building was in almost constant use. Carpentry, cabinet making, and wood turning were offered to first year students. Sophomores were given extensive training in the fields of foundry, forge, welding, core making, and molding. Juniors worked in the most popular shop, the machine shop. It was equipped with 80 machines and 60 lathes cast and built at Lane. Seniors were given the most advanced shop, the electric shop. There they built motors, generators, transformers, and other instruments. Other classes, such as art, classical architecture, drafting, and English were offered to develop students' communication skills. The print shop was the best equipped high school print shop in America. It was equipped with the newest and most advanced equipment of the time. Its jobs included the 4 page Lane Daily, the 56 page monthly Tech Prep, and the annual 200 page yearbook plus other out of school jobs. At this time, Jack T. Nelson, a student, felt it was time for Lane to have a school song. He wrote the words and music of "Go Lane Go," making Lane one of only a handful of schools with an original school song.

In 1929 a comprehensive music program was established at Lane. Chicago Symphony Orchestra director Frederick Stock and Superintendent William Bogan worked together in making up the new curriculum. By 1930 Lane had grown to a population of 7,000 students. To relieve the overcrowded conditions at the school, it was decided to build a new Lane Tech. Board of Education architect John C. Christensen began preparing plans for the world's foremost high school complex. On June 24, 1930 groundbreaking ceremonies took place at Western and Addison. (today's Lane Technical High School) The new building was a beautiful combination of function and art. Like the old Lane, it was designed to allow the teachers and pupils to work in a comfortable environment. On dedication day, September 17, 1934, 9000 boys marched from Cubs Park to the new school. Lane's new population required many new provisions. Classes had to be staged in three shifts, and commencement exercises were held at the International Amphitheater.

World War II provided Laneites with many opportunities to show the ideals of Albert G. Lane and his school. Many war drives were carried out by Lane students. These drives provided the war effort with four Red Cross ambulances, a B-17 Flying Fortress, and over 3 million dollars in war bonds. Lane's 50th anniversary in 1958 brought a very important change to the school. America, fearing the Soviet space supremacy, became preoccupied with establishing a sound space program. To aid in the education of scientists and engineers, Lane assumed a closed admission policy. The school dropped its remedial courses and took only the students that would make the greatest contributions to American science.

The year 1971 brought the most noticeable change in Lane's history. The Board of Education approved Superintendent James Redmond's recommendation to admit girls to Lane Tech. He cited a drop in enrollment and the lack of a technical school that admits girls as reasons for the change. The school was in a turmoil after this decision. Fifteen hundred Lane boys protested at the Board of Education. The general fear was that the school's quality would drop and within a few years Lane would be just another high school. Actually, the school's overall academic quality improved with the addition of girls.

ALBERT GRANNIS LANE
Born in a small, modest home in 1841 on what is now the corner of State and Van Buren Streets, Albert Grannis Lane made a permanent impression on Chicago and its people. Imbued with a strong work ethic, Mr. Lane took his first job at the age of seven.

Through his initiative and hard work, Albert G. Lane earned an appointment as the principal of the Franklin School just after his graduation from high school. Thus, at the age of seventeen, he became the youngest principal in the history of the Chicago Public Schools system. In 1869, Mr. Lane became Superintendent of the Cook County schools where he made many innovations to improve the quality of the public schools. During his long career, Mr. Lane also served as Superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools and President of the National Education Association.

Mr. Lane's most cherished dream was the creation of a large high school dedicated to providing students with hands-on experiences in technical education while developing and enhancing their academic skills. Lane Technical High School is the realization of that dream.

Today they go by; Lane Tech College Prep High School.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.