January 19 I spent four hours researching three projects at Lincoln Library’s Sangamon Valley Collection on the third floor of the main branch. It was out of the wind, warm, and productive time.
As chair of Vinegar Hill Neighborhood Association’s Member Recruitment Committee, my raison de’re there was to work with another MRC member, putting together a census of businesses and residents from the Springfield City Directory. We could have done that from home if we had $816 to pay for Internet accesss to the information, but we were glad to be at the library with no phones, no ticking parking meters and home thermostats cranked down until returning.
Our territory served is bounded by Jefferson on the north, South Grand on the south, up to but not including Second on the east, and the east side of Walnut on the west; a heaping helping of turf whose residents have a lot in common, mostly concern over the proliferation of parking lots and illegal drug retailers. Our goal is to build association membership, but first we wanted to know who we are. The annual City Directory, published for most of a century, groups information together by listing of residents and businesses alphabetically, busineees by type (Automobiles, Dealers, Barbers, Chimney Sweeps) and by street address. So it was a breeze to transcribe informaton from the info arranged by street.
My other two missions, addressed after my associate headed out having successfully achieved our goal of transcribing data for north/south streets, was to get cracking with my Springfield aviation hIstory book and while doing that, record Congers in Springfield. As long as the City Directories were open for one purpose, it was easy to swing by the alphabet’l resident listings.
Surprising was that given how Charles Lindberg had flown air mail in and out of Springfield starting in 1926 and continuing until shortly before his famous flight to Paris, there is no mention of a Springfield airport until 1930. There are also no listings of airplane dealers or air taqxi operators. The only clue of “air anything” was under the US Post Office information in the front of the directories. Starting in 1926 air mail going south for St. Louis and points beyond departed at 8:15 am. Flights north for Chicago connecting to New York departed at 5:05 p.m. Things began to change starting in 1930 with the first official mention of a Springfield airport..
I did not check CIty Directories before 1914, but from that year to 1933, there were no Congers in Springfield. Miss Ellen Conger, a stenographer with the State Auditor of Public Accounts, lived at 1005 S. Sixth. Fascinating information. Wish I could have met her. She was listed only that year.
As I departed the library about 4:45, looking forrward to returning soon, the cold hit me as though it was a benediction for important time, well spent. The crisp air was refresing, and in the air there was a feeling of . . . . .
Across the street at 7th at Capitol, a taped music system at the Lutheran church played a carrilon rendition of “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
Live long . . . . . and proper.
