Press Release

Event Brief: Bloomington, Illinois– On March 11, 2006, The McLean County Museum of History, 200 North Main St., will open the exhibit, The Block Documents: A Collection of Presidential Papers. On March 11, at 2:00 p.m., Dan Guillory, Professor emeritus from Millikin University, will present, Reading Between the Lines.

Full Press Release:

History Museum’s New Exhibit to Feature Presidential Papers

Susan Hartzold, Curator
McLean County Museum
of History
200 N. Main Street
Bloomington, Illinois 61701
1-(309) 827-0428
HYPERLINK "mailto:skhartzold@mchistory.org" skhartzold@mchistory.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bloomington, Illinois– On March 11, 2006, The McLean County Museum of History, 200 North Main St., will open the exhibit, The Block Documents: A Collection of Presidential Papers. The Block documents were collected by Joseph and Lucille Block of Chicago, and donated to the Illinois State Historical Society. These Presidential materials include handwritten notes and letters, photographs, engravings and cartoons of the day.

This collection, which features several signed Lincoln documents,
is being exhibited for the first time outside of Springfield, Illinois.
The documents were first shown at the Lincoln Home National Historical Site this past December and include handwritten notes from Lincoln to Generals Grant and Meade, and a letter from Andrew Jackson to a friend. The papers reflect the feelings and attitudes of the time.

The museum will offer two programs in conjunction with this exhibit.
On March 11, at 2:00 p.m., Dan Guillory, Professor emeritus from Millikin University, will present, Reading Between the Lines. Noted author of four books, Guillory will tell the stories behind the documents featured in the collection. On Saturday, April 1, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Dottie Hopkins-Rehan, archivist for the Block documents collection will present, Preserving the Past: A Paper conservation Workshop. The workshop will cover how to clean, repair and preserve important family documents. There is a $15.00 registration fee for this workshop. The exhibit showing is made possible by the Illinois State Historical Society and through a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council. For more information on these and other fine programs contact the museum 1-(309) 827-0428 or visit the website at www.mchistory.org.