Author to Hold Booksigning and Program at the WCHS Museum

Joseph L. Cacibauda, author of the recently published book, “Not for Self: A Sicilian Life and Death in Marion” will be in Marion for a talk and book signing at the Williamson County Historical Society Museum on the weekend of May 26th and 27th located at 105 S. Van Buren Street in Marion.

Cacibauda’s most recent book details the life of a Sicilian farmer who comes to Marion in the early 1920’s to better his family. The lead character gets involved in the bootlegging business, becoming entangled with the KKK, warring bootleggers, gangsters and dishonest politicians ultimately embedding himself in Marion history. The story is woven largely around accurate historical facts and characters of Williamson County and Marion in the early 1920’s with some names changed to protect privacy. Anyone interested in local history or early immigrant life should find the book fascinating.

This is Joe’s second book, his first book was, “After Laughing Comes Crying: Sicilian Immigrants on Louisiana Plantations.” He has written other books, “Einstein’s Formula: A Novel” and “Bass Solos: A Novel.” Joe is a retired elementary teacher and musician living in Reno, Nevada.
Cacibauda will be available for book sales and book signing on Saturday, May 26th from 1 till 3 PM at the museum. He will also be signing books at the museum starting at 1 PM on Sunday, May 27th at the museum and will then give a program at 2 PM based on Sicilian immigrants being recruited to come work in America. He will also speak about immigrants coming into Williamson County for work and how they combined to form the social environment in the county. The public is welcome and invited to attend.

Washington School 5th Grade Classes Tour Museum

Fifth Grade classes from Washington School in Marion toured the WCHS museum Monday through Thursday, May 7th-10th, 2018. The students watched a 25 minute video entitled “Our Southern Illinois Native American Past” and then toured the museum finding out that many of yesteryears tasks required much more effort than the same task performed today. Teachers bringing their classes in for the tour were Robin Ziegler, Casey Holderfield, Travis Vickery and Rosie Gribble.

WCHS tour guides were Sharon Vansaghi, Ursula Richey, George Mavigliano and Sam Lattuca

 

WCHS Membership Meeting to be held, April 22nd, 2018

A membership meeting of the Williamson County Historical Society will be held on April 22nd, 2018 at 2:00 PM at the museum. Society business and projects completed, planned and in progress will be discussed. Our guest speaker will be Toni Garrison who will be giving a program about the history of Locust Grove in Corinth Township.

Pioneer Daughters Applications Index added to site

The Pioneer Daughters of Williamson County was organized on October 24, 1935 in preparation for the then upcoming 1939 centennial celebration of the county. Applications were filled out with the primary requirement of the organization being that the applicant be a female who has a pioneer ancestor that arrived in the county before 1840. The index to those applications is a good way to connect people to early settlers in the area and perhaps glean female maiden names. The additional index contains 2,388 references and has been added to the Master Misc. County Records Index.