LCHS Museums

okay okay- I don’t have the go ahead to go full swing on here just yet, but you can (and should!) find us on FB, the clock app, and Insta as @lchsmuseum (or LaSalle County Historical Society for FB) to stay connected for now! 💚

okay okay- I don’t have the go ahead to go full swing on here just yet, but you can (and should!) find us on FB, the clock app, and Insta as @lchsmuseum (or LaSalle County Historical Society for FB) to stay connected for now! 💚

Sounds like us! It’s just me (hi!) for social media- but we see the merit in being on Bluesky! We’re just playing it by ear for now. We can’t wait for yall to join!

We just want to make sure that this isn’t a platform geared towards any one political party, for example, but rather ensure it is a platform for the free flow of ideas/info! I don’t anticipate there being any issue with us having a presence here, and we look forward to getting started on Bluesky!

woah, hi Bluesky peeps! There are over 700 of you right now… crazy!
Currently, we’re waiting to ensure Bluesky is a fair platform to share info on. Please hold tight while we get clearance for posting!

Don’t tell FB… but y’all get to see this first. List of noncompliance from Luminous Processes Inc in Ottawa IL, a company which painted radium dials. This is from late 1978😱
#radiumgirls #darkhistory

Girl Scouts make everything better! 💚

#womenshistory #lasallecountyhistory #illinoishistory #radiumdial #history

the sad case of the #radiumgirls… a 1978 meeting between the city of Ottawa IL, Luminous Processes Inc, the Nuclear Regulatory Committee, and State of IL Health Dept.
This page shows comments from women in the audience- former workers of LPI, which had closed just months before.
The 2nd generation

several weathered pieces of paper sit on a larger beige sheet, they are intended to be attached to the larger sheet but time has worn down the glue. one paper is a white piece detailing the commencement of Minonk-Dana High School’s 1951 class.

a set of shoelaces, an adorable cocktail napkin (from “Club Palamar” in Pontiac Illinois) featuring a Scotty dog with a martini, and a white LaSalle County 4H clothing award ribbon grace a larger sheet of beige scrapbook paper. It is old and slightly stained from age.

photo of said scrapbook pages for tax

uh oh…

the organization here is heavenly 😍

me and my work bestie make everything a two person job… taping down elements in an accessioned scrapbook? I fold the document tape into triangles and she sticks the papers down ✨
and yes, it IS necessary!
#museum #workbestie #museumpeople #archivist

Open-air?! So cool!! We love that you have so many historic buildings- a museum after our own heart, truly!

hi new friends! where are y’all from? we’re a nonprofit museum located in historic Utica, Illinois! 💚 #museum

we will absolutely keep you in the loop as we go through this info- we are working on scanning the documents and converting the cassettes to mp3 as we digest the info in preparation for new literature and exhibits. The woman who did this originally is the brilliant late Catherine Quigg of Ottawa IL!

the women were again under the impression that it was safe. in one interview, a woman working in the 60s says they had figured it was so long ago that it couldn’t possibly be the same- they believed the company had taken new steps to protect them… the opposite was true. it’s a devastating sequel END

what we do know is that this second and third wave of women continued to work with radium and tritium until the 1970s, when the company was finally shut down (now under a different name than the one that went to court in the 20s). the stories were so downplayed nationally and locally that 2

unfortunately the vast majority of info about these eras is in documents and cassette tape interviews we received a few months ago- we are working to go through the collection and get information published asap!!
the info was compiled by a local woman turned investigative journalist! 1

okay okay- did you know that there was a second and even third era, if you will, of Radium Girls that worked until the 70’s? 😅 After a while, a chemical called Tritium entered the scene and is suspected to be just as bad as the original radium

and suddenly, a museum wedding is a must- OMG

what do y'all know about the Radium Girls? is this a safe space, because... 👀
#radiumgirls #womenshistory

we could make this happen...

nothing more radical than having physical copies of the music you love- in both senses of the word!