An inquiry from a 7th grade student has served as a reminder of an
interesting episode in Greenville's history.
Recently a 7th grade student named Kelsie Layne emailed Randy Alderman,
executive director of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, asking for
information about the visit of the Liberty Bell to Greenville in 1915.
The student's hometown wasn't mentioned in the email, but apparently it
is outside of the immediate Bond County area.
The student was working on a History Fair project about the Liberty
Bell's travels through Illinois by rail in 1915.
Alderman asked Dean and Nelda Anthony to research the matter and they
came up with an article in the Greenville Advocate dated Nov. 22, 1915.
Sure enough the Liberty Bell really did come to Greenville !
The visit was part of a cross-country trip to and from Philadelphia and
the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco.
A large headline in the Advocate on Monday Nov. 22, 1915 read: "FIVE
THOUSAND GREET LIBERTY BELL AT DEPOT."
A great many children were among the 5,000 who were at the Pennsylvania
station on Sunday afternoon.
That morning several local ministers preached patriotic sermons and in
some cases parishioners were dismissed a bit early so they would have
plenty of time to get to the station.
Originally the train was scheduled to arrive at 12:40 p.m., but under a
revised schedule, it pulled in at 1:06 p.m.
There was quite a hubbub at the depot. The Advocate reported that "Long
before arrival of the bell, throngs surged through South Second Street
across the railroad platform to South Third Street."
Fortunately, as the Advocate reported, "nobody was hurt and there were
no arrests and no troubles of any kind."
The station platform was policed by officials from the Vandalia
railroad line, by the sheriff and his deputies, by the police chief and
his men, as well as by members of the fire department.
Also present was the Greenville band, which played several tunes as the
crowd waited, as well as the National Anthem as the train pulled in.
Bearing the U.S. flag were members of the Colby Post of the Grand Army
of the Republic (GAR), commanded by W. D. Matney, and the Boy Scouts,
led by Scoutmaster Will Hoffman. Both groups marched to the station en
masse.
At first there were plans for Sunday Schools to march as a body to the
depot, "but the teachers refused to accept responsibility for the
children. This plan was abandoned and the parents took charge of the
children."
The Liberty Bell (which was rung on July 8, 1776 after the first public
reading of the Declaration of Independence) was on the last of seven
cars.
The world-famous crack in the bell could be seen. The Liberty Bell was
on an open car and was surrounded by flowers.
In 1915 the Liberty Bell was owned by the City of Philadelphia, which
paid the $75,000 cost of the round trip to California.
Among those on the train at the Greenville stop were U.S. Congressmen W.
A. Rodenberg of East St. Louis and M. D. Foster of Olney, and State
Sen. Stephen Canaday of Hillsboro.
Also on board was U.S. Sen. Boise Penrose of Philadelphia.
Local arrangements for the event were handled by the Greenville Chamber
of Commerce.
The train left after five minutes.
The train made a stop at Highland before arriving at Greenville. The
next stop was Vandalia. The Advocate reported "Arrangements at Vandalia
were similar to those at Greenville, the streets being roped off and no
autos allowed in the reserved part of the city."
Commenting on the recent emailed inquiry from the student. Randy
Alderman said, "One of the most enjoyable aspects of my position with
the Chamber of Commerce is that I get to learn interesting stories and
hear from interesting people from throughout the nation. Letters,
telephone calls and for the past four years a great deal of email,
passes through the chamber each week..."
Incidentally, the Liberty Bell has continued to make news in recent
years. In 2001 a man attacked the bell with a hammer, inflicting minor
damage.
Then on February 21 of this year a "nonspecific" threat of a possible
attack on the bell was reported, prompting tightened security.
The bell is kept at a pavilion near Independence Hall in Philadelphia
and is viewed by some 1.6 million people annually.
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