Merry Christmas to all

We, The Friends of the Menard Home, would like to extend our sincere wishes to you and your family for a Merry Christmas and a VERY happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. While the Christmas celebration at that the Menard's looked nothing like the Christmases of the late Victorian period, the Menard's did celebrate Christmas with their own unique style and did it with flare. Certainly the season would have found the Home full of visitors, well wishers an a place of bustling activity. As you prepare for the coming holiday, please remember to keep the spirit of Christmas in your heart and share it with those whom you encounter and try to carry that spirit with you always.

Merry Christmas!

And We Wait...And We Wait!

Our governor still has not listened to his constituency and resigned, though he did tell reporters this morning that he is "dying" to tell the people of Illinois his side of the story and he will reveal everything, "There’s a time and place for everything," he said. "That day will soon be here." Supposedly that day will be no later than Thursday night. We'll see!

Please keep in contact with your senators and representatives and keep pressure on them to make sure the matter of our governor's fate is handled swiftly and with minimal disruption to the state so we can get back to the matter at hand which is getting our historic sites reopened and funding restored to all the programs that wouldn't pad our governor's coffers.

Impeachment Petition

Representative Raymond Poe from Springfield is circulating a petition asking Rep. Madigan for proceedings for impeachment start immediately. If you would like to add your name to petition please go to: http://www.poe.ilhousegop.org/wp-content/poe_impeach_petition.pdf

Please be patient, our sites will be back and better than ever, it just might take some time.

We're Still Waiting

As of this morning our dear governor hasn't gotten any common sense and resigned even though everyone of any note has sent him a letter telling him to resign and leave with some grace and dignity. Our best hope is that he will leave, or AG Lisa Madigan will ask the Illinois Supreme Court to declare him incompetent, thus removing his powers and putting Lt. Governor Quinn in charge. These are the two quickest options, but of course there is the messy impeachment proceedings, which will start on Monday in the House, but we'll take what we can get at this point. Then hopefully Quinn will be able restore the funding to state parks and historic sites. Stay tuned and we'll update as we learn any information.

No matter how this plays out it's going to be a very long and costly road to restore the State of Illinois to a working state and an even longer time before we gain any respect in the political arena at a state or national level.

It's a Great Day in Illinois!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our dear governor has been indited, arrested and led out of his home in handcuffs. He's facing a packed, 78 page federal indictment. We've all known that there was a lot of wrongdoing going on, but now we have the proof we all knew was out there.

At this point we aren't sure what this means for our historic sites or when they will reopen, but it is a very bright spot with the holidays coming up. Stay turned and we'll update you with more information as it becomes available to us.

Event Cancelled!

Apparently the local newspapers aren't reading their own papers and some of them think we are still open and are still putting on the Christmas Open House scheduled for Sunday, December 7th. We are however sorry to say that because the home is closed until further notice this event and every other event is most definitely cancelled.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause our visitors, but might we suggest that you contact our dear governor and tell him how you feel about this issue. His address can be found in the left hand column of this Blog.

WSIL TV • VIDEO

WSIL TV • VIDEO

This link will take you to a video shot by WSIL reporter Andy Waterman. It's the final closing of the Menard Home and Fort Kaskaskia.

Closed!!!!

Last night has to have been one of the saddest and most heart wrenching nights of our lives. One can only compare it to the loss of a loved one. To see the "CLOSED" and

"NO TRESPASSING" signs go up, furniture and artifacts that have been on display for over three-quarters of a century removed; it is an indescribable pain. How can this be allowed to happen? At this point we are all pretty numb and are trying to overcome the grief that wells up at the thought of this beautiful home setting idle and no one enjoying it's beauty or learning from the history it holds.

We were told "Closed is closed!", and closed it will remain until the citizens of Illinois rise up and demand that it's historic treasures be returned to them.