Curator's Corner: The Art & Alchemy of Curating

Last year, the McHenry County Historical Society & Museum celebrated 60 years of collecting, preserving, and sharing its county's history with the public. To commemorate this anniversary, our featured exhibit, “60 Years, 60 Objects: Stories from McHenry County,” remains on display through October 2024. This exhibit highlights sixty artifacts from the historical society’s collection. Object #46 is a n olive drab army uniform worn by Lester Edinger during World War I.    Many sources note that Lester Edinger wore this World War I uniform on horseback as Grand Marshall of the Woodstock and Greenwood Memorial Day parades for many years.  Lester Edinger, a son of Adam and Catherine Edinger, was born in Hebron, Indiana on December 21, 1893. Following the death of her husband, Catherine “Kitty” Edinger moved her family to Woodstock, Illinois where young Lester became a drill press operator at the typewriter factory. He joined the Illinois National Guard in Woodstock and ...

In 2022, the Crystal Lake Historical Society donated three Civil War diaries belonging to Dwight Andruss for 1863-1865. These diaries detail the life of a soldier from Seneca Township during three years of an important time in American history. This is primary material for research on several topics: the Civil War and the Walkup family of Crystal Lake. Dwight was born on Nov. 25, 1827. He wrote to his wife Eunice during the war and died December 29, 1870, at age 43. Eunice was living with her daughter’s family in 1900 and died in 1904. They are buried in Pioneer Cemetery in Seneca Township. They were the parents of Chester Llewellyn, whose daughter Ada married John M. Walkup of Crystal Lake.     In May 2023, the Polly Crandall Questers of Crystal Lake selected the 3 Andruss Civil War diaries to receive their Illinois Questers Matching Grant. Polly Crandall donated $500 of their funds, while the state grant awarded $1,000 for the project. All three Civil War diaries were prof...