Birthday Celebration This Weekend

This coming Sunday, October 5th, from 1pm-4pm the Home will be celebrating Menard's 264th birthday. The Friends of the Menard Home will be helping to celebrate by serving birthday cake, pastries and lemonade. We also will have a wide selection of handmade herbal wreaths for sale, made out of the herbs from the homes herb garden. Get there early for the best selection.

It looks like it will be an absolutely fabulous weekend weather wise so please make it a point to come out and celebrate with us and show your support against the pending closure of one of the premier French Colonial sites in Southern Illinois.

I know we sound like a broken record, but don't forget those who are responsible for this mess when it comes election time and vote accordingly.

A Much Happier House

With the projected closing of the home now over two months away, Andrew, our very diligent Site Person, started to put the artifacts back out for display and in the process we helped him start to move some of the furniture around. If you visit this weekend for the Kaskaskia Music Fest or next weekend for Menard's Birthday Celebration I think you will be pleasantly surprised with what we've done. The house is starting to look like a home once more.

Don't forget next Sunday from 1pm-4pm is Menard's Birthday Celebration. Refreshments will be served and we would appreciate all the citizens of Randolph County and the surrounding counties coming for a visit and to soak in the ambiance of life in the 19th Century.

Great News?????

The Illinois Senate voted today 40-15 first for Senate Bill 790, which “sweeps” more than $220 million out of dedicated state funds to pay for stopping the cuts. Senators then voted 55-0 for Senate Bill 1103, which restores the cut money for two-dozen parks and historic sites, substance abuse centers and workers facing layoffs at the departments of Human Services and Children and Family Services.

This is obviously great news, however our dear old governor says that he might attempt to veto some of the deepest cuts...not sure what that means or what to think of that. I guess we'll have to wait until we can talk to the site workers at the three sites and see if that means we're going to get to stay open or we have to wait a while longer. Don't forget though, all of those wonderful folks who are up for reelection. Make sure they don't get reelected.

Stay tuned! It sort of seems like a really sick soap opera.

Menard's Birthday Celebration

With the Home now scheduled to stay open through October and November the Friends of the Menard Home are planning on having Menard's Birthday Celebration, which is scheduled for Sunday, October 5th, 2008 from 1-4pm. We will be serving cake and a few pastries as well as punch or cider, depending on the weather. Please plan to attend and help us celebrate what we hope are the first of many events to come with the new volunteer group. There will be tours of the home all day as well as the refreshments in the afternoon.

Hours are 9am-5pm Wednesday-Sunday.

More Good News & a Brief Reprieve!

It seems that some of the letter writing we all have been doing is working! All historic sites that were to close on October 15th, 2008 will now be open through November 30th, which is wonderful and means a lot of people who would have been put out of work will keep their jobs a while longer and the sites will be maintained a while longer. It also appears that the Senate is supposed to meet in special session on Monday and could possibly fix the wrongs that have been done, so keep your fingers crossed that we can start digging all the artifacts out of storage and put them out once again for visitors to see.

I will ask this and I want you all to remember one thing in all of the ups and downs we’ve been going through. Please remember when it comes Election Day who caused the problems with the state and make sure that it’s the last time that we ever have to deal with those small minded and petty individuals…don’t re-elect them!!!!

A Bit of Good News!

We received a bit of good news today. Our dear governor has decided to keep the historic sites, including the Menard Home open until October 15th. Seems dear ole' Rod says that all the paperwork to unemploy so many people is taking longer to complete than initially anticipated...duh...you think!!!

So the Menard Home will be open for us to have Menard's Birthday Celebration on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 from 1-4pm. Refreshments will be served.

Now just because historic sites have been given a brief reprieve don't let up on writing those letters and putting pressure on our elected officials, that's the only way we will get this mess resolved, well that and impeaching ole' Rod!

Online Petition

As of this morning there are almost 27,000 signatures on the online petition. If you have time and would like to increase the number please of those voicing thier concern over the current budget crisis go to: http://www.gopetition.com/online/21603.html and signup. Make our Governor aware that we don't like what he's doing to our wonderful state.

The House is Looking Sad

As October 1st approaches the Home is harder to look at each day as artifacts are being packed up and put into storage, furniture is being moved. It's a sad state of affairs. Andrew, the Site Specialist continues to plug away by himself trying to catalog artifacts as they are moved around for storage and still do the daily business of keeping up the cleaning in the Home and still give tours (when the volunteers aren't there to help out). Personally, if I hear one more person ask him if he's losing his job I'm going to scream.

On the bright side the Illinois House met yesterday and restored the budget, which restores funding for IHPA, which restores funding to the Menard Home. On the downside Emil Jones says he refuses to call the Senate back into session until the scheduled November session...what a jerk. On another bright note it's my understanding that all the members of both the House and Senate are starting to feel the heat and they want to get this monkey off their backs. So keep those letters going out to our elected officials to let them know how you feel.

In case you haven't found addresses here are the pertinent people to send a letter to. If you send letters to Luechtefeld or Reitz be nice because they are trying their hardest to help the Home. However if you feel the need to really tell dear ole' Rod, Madigan and Jones how you really feel, well to right ahead. They deserve all the heat we can give them for what they are doing to the state.

Senator David Luechtefeld
700 North Front Street
PO Box 517
Okawville, IL 62271

Representative Dan Reitz
128 A West Main
Sparta, IL 62286

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich
Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706

Representative Michael J. Madigan
300 Capital Building
Springfield, IL 62706

Senator Emil Jones Jr.
327 Capital Building
Springfield, IL 62706

The Friends of the Menard Home are choosing to be optimistic and we hope this will all get sorted out, with your help of course, and that we may be able to pull off a Christmas event. Keep your fingers crossed and keep those letters heading to Springfield.