So, we spent the day after our trip to Springfield visiting the doctor and visiting a cemetery. No, the two are not related.
Our homeschool co-op scheduled a field trip for the Springdale Cemetery Tour on Thursday, October 9. The Springdale Cemetery is a huge, sprawling, hilly place that has been in business for a very long time. (This is where I have run the half-marathon relay every September. Yep, it’s that big.) Each year, a local theater troupe picks several locally famous people who are buried near each other to introduce to visitors by way of dressing up and telling each one’s story in first person.
We have never taken this tour before, and the kids and I greatly enjoyed it. We first met a gentlemen who had been killed in the Battle of Corinth (Mississippi) during the Civil War. He was introduce by his daughter, who was buried near him.
We next met William Hawley Smith, an educator and author, and his wife, Ellen Galusha Smith, who made her mark as an artist.
Then, it was firefighter Albert Schlag, a German immigrant who helped start the volunteer fire departments in Peoria. He blew himself up lighting some fireworks on the Fourth of July in 1879 and is buried under a tombstone shaped as a fire hydrant, complete with a fire helmet on top.
Juliette Ohl, who was married to a Peoria baker, was up next. She told us her story and then offered us bits of bread from a basket.
We next met Joseph Petarde, renowned sculptor, whose work is on display all over this cemetery, the city of Peoria, and Illinois. He created a statue of Lincoln that still stands in Springfield in the capitol square. He passed away in 1942.
Finally, we heard from Robert Avery, an industrialist and inventor, after whom a community in Peoria was named. (I think it was originally its own village and was absorbed into the bigger city later.) He invented several farming implements that sold well and made him a wealthy man. We got to sing along with him as he told his story! Mr. Avery died of acute appendicitis in 1892 at age 52.
This was definitely no dry historical presentation. The kids and I were riveted, and we’re looking forward to going back next year. Very cool! Of course, Charlotte was hobbling around on her crutches here, too. The upside is that she got to sit down on one of the few chairs available at every presentation!
When this tour was finished, we headed to Jeremy’s six-month checkup. The doctor confirmed what we already knew…Jeremy is growing well and looks healthy! He is still pretty wheezy, though, and the doctor told us this time that his upper respiratory tract is immature and that the wheezing should let up as he grows and the cartilage in the tubes firms up. Let’s hope so!
We also found out that Jeremy is in the 99th percentile for height and the 75th for weight. He is one long baby.
After that appointment, we dashed over to Olan Mills to get some Halloween/six-month pictures done of Jeremy. This was not the best of all possible plans for this particular day, and I had a hungry, cranky baby dressed in an elephant outfit who wasn’t keen on being photographed. The older two kids were also in their costumes, and I think that we got one picture where everyone was happy and didn’t look goofy.
Oh, well. Maybe next time!
To top off this nutty week, we had co-op the following day on Friday. That afternoon, we also had a co-op-planned field trip to the local planetarium. In a late addition, Elijah had broken a guitar string, so we had to cram in a trip to the music store in between the two, since no one in this family knows yet how to replace guitar strings! Charlotte and Elijah attended the planetarium presentation, while I sat outside with Jeremy. On the way home, we swung back by the music store to pick up the freshly-strung guitar.
Then, we got home and collapsed. The poor baby was fit to be tied, as he really hadn’t had a decent nap in his bed all week.
Note to self: next time, try spreading things out a little. Yikes!
Have a good one!
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