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This day in history: The first Lincoln-Douglas debate
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On Aug. 21, 1858 over 10,000 residents gathered in Washington Square Park in Ottawa to hear Abraham Lincoln and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas debate as they ran against each other to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate.
There were no seats and the crowd was so boisterous that the debate was delayed by half an hour.
The Udderly cool story of the State Fair Butter Cow
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The Illinois State Fair is filled with traditions, from carnival rides and concerts to livestock competitions and plenty of fair food. But for generations of fairgoers, no trip to Springfield is complete without stopping by the Dairy Building to see one of the fair’s most recognizable attractions... the Butter Cow.
The Butter Cow has been an unofficial icon of the Illinois State Fair since the 1920s. Each year, approximately 500 pounds of unsalted butter are carefully sculpted by hand to create the life-sized cow. The process takes several days, transforming an everyday dairy product into a work of art.
Passing it on: A Springfield resident receives recognition for blood donation
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For Springfield resident David Butt, what started as a one-time blood donation to learn his blood type turned into donating blood 400 times.
Butt has been donating blood since 1990 and has now reached the 400-donation mark. In honor of that milestone, the Fresenius Kabi National Blood Donation Hall of Fame will recognize him this year.
Twice a month, Butt makes his regular Power Red donation, which removes the platelets from his blood for donation. He used to donate whole blood, which can be done every 56 days, but he switched to platelet donation in 2008.
A summer tradition like no other: the Chicago Air and Water Show
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One weekend in August, the Chicago lakefront hosts the largest and oldest free-admission air and water exhibition in the United States. This past weekend (Aug. 15 – Aug. 16), Chicago’s lakefront saw over one million visitors for the annual showcase and bone-rattling displays.
Although this display is best seen on Chicago’s lakefront, you can see and hear the display from around the city which makes this a one-of-a-kind display. Whether you are at show-center at North Avenue Beach, in the Loop, at Wrigley Field, on a boat in Lake Michigan, or on one of the countless rooftops across the city, you can see and hear the displays from all across the city.
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