Pekin in 1924: a city celebrates its centennial (Part Three)
As we continue our series on Pekin’s celebration of its Centennial in July 1924, this week at “From the History Room” we present transcriptions of two more Pekin Daily Times articles that ran in the Wednesday, July 2, 1924 edition of the newspaper. Last week we shared the front page Centennial store from that issue, which also had Centennial stories on pages 2 and 3, as well as a relevant editorial on page 4. This week we’ll present the page 4 editorial and the Centennial guest register from page 2:
The Pekin Centennial banner is suspended at the intersection of Court and Capitol streets in this photograph that looks westward down the Lower 300 block of Court Street. A similar downtown banner was created for Pekin’s Bicentennial celebrations throughout 2024. The vista shown in this photo looks drastically different today. At the left is seen the Schipper & Block Building, which had been built in Dec. 1922 to replaced the previous Schipper’s store that had been destroyed by fire. The Tazewell County Board recently tore down the vacant former Schipper & Block Building.
THANKSGIVING DUE
It was a gracious welcome Pekin extended to its guests today on the opening of its three-day Centennial celebration. The sun rose on a city whose people were happy in the knowledge that at last the day had arrived when their much-heralded event would begin – an occasion which would proclaim to the world a community’s gratitude for one hundred years of progress – for the century of blessings bestowed upon it by the Almighty. And truly, their thanksgiving was evident.
One hundred years ago the first white settler came to Tazewell county. The first house was built by Jonathan Tharp. Since then the strides in the commonwealth’s growth have been rapid. A city is not builded in a day and the first one hundred years are the hardest are sayings which contain a lot of truth.
No better proof can be shown of the city’s development than the relics which form one of the features of the Centennial. Pekin is to be congratulated for its preservation of these precious heirlooms and articles which portray the advance made by its residents. There are many things in the display which should prove of interest to the native and to the visitor. A day spent viewing these antiques will be one worth while.
A good deal of credit is due the Old Relics committee for their efforts in putting them before the public. In some cases it took persuasion on top of persuasion to secure relics which money could not buy – antiques which are sacred to their owners.
They are the silent interpreters of the city’s progress. If a tale they could tell it would be more interesting than any their owners could relate – a story which would deal with the hardships, problems and heartaches experience in the building of our city.
When we gaze on these relics give thought to the gratitude due our ancestors. Give thanks to God that Pekin, once a lone spot of one settler, is now a city of over 14,000 souls.
GUESTS CENTENNIAL REGISTER GROWING
Visitors Here From As Far As Eastern Coast
The register of Centennial guests in the first floor corridor of the court house this noon showed visitors from all over the state and a few from as far away as the eastern coast. The list of registrants was growing rapidly, a significant indication of the success of the Centennial.
Mrs. H. C. Howell, Davenport, Ia. William Kutsch, Decatur, Ill.
Mrs. Louise Clayton Perdeu, Rock Island.
Frank Smith, Mackinaw.
Miss Mollie Charlton, Peoria.
Kathryn Hollis, Petersburg, Ill.
Edna Dice, Petersburg, Ill.
Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Bates, Jr., Chicago.
Edward Hickey, Delavan.
Mr. and Mrs. R. D. Rogers, Wilmington, Delaware.
H. W. Hartman, Chapin, Ill.
Mrs. M. J. Dorsey, Peoria.
Emil and Alice Vedel, Decatur.
Mary S. Barnes, Peoria.
Miss Lucille Short, Emden.
Our series will continue in two weeks, when we will present the Pekin Daily Times’ long list of historical relics and antiques that were displayed downtown during the Centennial celebration.
Local History Program Coordinator at the Pekin Public Library. I oversee the library's local history room collection and write a weekly local history column/blog.
