DECATUR – The Macon County History Museum will host a program on two central Illinois topics at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 7. The event is free and will last approximately one hour.
Tom Emery, a historical scholar from Carlinville, will spend part of the hour discussing his 2020 work, “Abraham Lincoln and the Heritage of Illinois State University.” He will use the rest of the time to talk about Enoch Gastman, a figure in the early educational history of Decatur.
Gastman, the first student in Illinois State University history, spent 47 years as a teacher and principal at Decatur and was revered locally and throughout the state and country, Emery explained in a statement from hurry. It will cover many aspects of Gastman’s professional and personal life, highlighting the challenges Gastman had to overcome.
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Next, Emery’s 288-page book details how Lincoln served as an advocate for the state Board of Education, which oversaw ISU in its early days, and how he wrote the guarantee to secure funding for the ISU. university. In doing so, Lincoln ensured that the university would be located in Bloomington-Normal.
Many of ISU’s early funders were allies and friends of Lincoln in Bloomington-Normal, the press release continues. Lincoln was close to some of the early professors at ISU as well as several early school board members.
Emery collaborated with Carl Kasten, a graduate of ISU in 1966 and former chairman of the university’s board of trustees, who designed the project. Kasten should be present with Emery during the discussion.
The Macon County History Museum is located at 5580 N. Fork Road in Decatur. For more information, call 217-422-4919 or email info@mchsdecatur.org.
My Country is You: Music by and about America and Americans
‘The Star-Spangled Banner’
The play was written in 1814 as a poem the day after a 25-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. The Battle of Baltimore came shortly after the British attacked Washington, D.C. , burning down the Capitol, the Treasury and the President’s house. From a boat in the harbor, lawyer Francis Scott Key watched the bombardment and expected the American fort to be defeated. But as morning broke and the smoke of battle cleared, the American flag still flew above the fort. The song was adopted as the country’s national anthem in 1931. The 15-star, 15-stripe flag is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“God bless the United States”, Lee Greenwood
Also known as “Proud to Be an American”, Greenwood recorded the song in 1984. It enjoyed a resurgence in popularity during the Gulf War in 1990 and after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Greenwood wrote the song in the aftermath of the Soviets. Shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, a 1983 flight from New York to Seoul via Anchorage, Alaska. This attack was one of the most tense moments of the Cold War.
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
‘America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)’
The lyrics are from 1813. The melody used is the same as the UK national anthem “God Save the Queen”. The song was a de facto national anthem until the adaptation of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. The first verse was included by Martin Luther King Jr. in his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech. The verse was also quoted in an upcoming song on this list.
DAVID PROEBER, TROUSER FILE
“Living in America”, James Brown
Featured in the movie “Rocky IV,” James Brown’s latest single benefited from MTV exposure and the patriotic atmosphere of the mid-1980s. The 1985 song was a Grammy-winning performance by Brown.
KEVORK DJANSEZIAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Stars and Stripes Forever”
In 1987, this composition by John Phillip Sousa was named the official National March of the United States of America. The catchy song is one of the most familiar on the list, from its use by bands to its use in the “Popeye” cartoons.
ARINDAM MAHANTA, UNSPLASH
“America, the Beautiful”, Ray Charles
“Oh, beautiful, for a spacious sky…” The composers of the late 19th century work – lyricist Katharine Lee Bates and composer Samuel A. Ward – never met. Ray Charles’ recording came to widespread attention in America’s bicentennial year, 1976. “Majesties of the Violet Mountains” refers to the shadow of Colorado’s Pikes Peak.
WINSLOW TOWNSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
‘God bless America’
Jewish immigrant Irving Berlin wrote the song while serving in the United States Army in 1918. He revised it in 1938. The later version was introduced by singer Kate Smith, becoming his signature song. Now it’s a seventh inning game in major league baseball games.
JUSTIN HURT, THE TROUSER
“America”, Neil Diamond
“They’re coming to America.” Diamond wrote the upbeat song as part of his 1980 musical remake “The Jazz Singer.” It ends with the spoken interpolation of the traditional patriotic song “America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)”.
RICHARD DREW, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“ROCK in the United States”, John Mellencamp
The 1985 song is captioned “A Salute to 60’s Rock”. Songwriter Mellencamp had his band learn to play around 100 songs from the 1960s before recording the song.
JOE LEDFORD, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“You’re a Great Old Flag”
George M. Cohan’s 1906 march was the first song from a musical to sell over a million copies of sheet music. The lyrics were inspired by an encounter he had with a Civil War veteran who fought at Gettysburg.
MICHALE DWYER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Born in the USA”, Bruce Springsteen
The most contrary song on this list. The chorus is an anthem of pride, but the verses of the 1984 song address the economic hardships of Vietnam veterans.
BRAD BARKET, INVISION, AP
‘My shot’ from ‘Hamilton’
The third song from the 2015 musical features rap recitations by four men discussing their radical hopes and visions for the emerging country.
EVAN AGOSTINI, INVISION VIA AP
“Back in the States”, Chuck Berry
“I’m so happy to live in the United States.” The 1959 song from the father of rock and roll is an ode to drive-ins, corner cafes and jukeboxes. It is said to have been written after Berry returned to the United States from an overseas trip after witnessing the standard of living of Australian Aborigines.
JOSH REYNOLDS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Contact Robyn Skaggs at robyn.skaggs@lee.net or 309-820-3244.
