We were all very fortunate to have had exciting and learning-filled days in Chicago, including two amazing Naturalization Ceremonies, visits to the City, beautiful cycling and walking and dinners hosted by very generous Chicagoans.   We had the opportunity to visit the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, which is an outstanding resource for the community, state and region.  Please use these links to learn about  how the museum tells about the past and urges all of us to do what we can to create a safer future  for people throughout the world.  

http://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/

http://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/pages/youth_education_space/19.php

http://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/pages/legacy_of_absence_gallery/20.php

Chicago’s long and rich history  is available on the Chicago History Museum website.  We won’t even try to select specifics but encourage you to visit the website and select areas that interest you from the thousands of documents and other resources that are available.  We think you will be impressed!  http://www.chicagohs.org/

One more thing about Chicago:  Freight train congestion has become a major headache.  A New York Times article on May 7, 2012, begins, “When it comes to rail traffic, Chicago is America’s speed bump.  Shippers complain that a load of freight can make its way from Los Angeles to Chicago in 48 hours, then take 30 hours to travel across the city. A recent trainload of sulfur took some 27 hours to pass through Chicago — an average speed of 1.13 miles per hour, or about a quarter the pace of many electric wheelchairs.”  To read the rest of the fascinating story about this problem and steps being taken to solve it, go to:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/us/chicago-train-congestion-slows-whole-country.html?emc=eta1&pagewanted=all

Now some facts about Illinois:  

Illinois became the 21st state  on December 3rd, 1818.  One President was born in Illinois, and Illinois is the home state for three Presidents.  

Born in Tampico, Illinois, Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States.  Long before his election, he had moved to California, which became his home state.   http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan  The Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library is located in Simi Valley, California. http://www.reaganfoundation.org/

Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln, became the 16th President of the United States.  In 1830, he moved with his family to Illinois, which became his home state. http://sc94.ameslab.gov/tour/alincoln.html  The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in Springfield, Illinois. http://www.alplm.org/

Born in Pleasant, Ohio, Ulysses S. Grant moved with his family to Galena, Illinois in 1860.  After serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, he returned to Galena in 1865 as a hero and was presented his new home on Bouthillier Street.  Grant was elected as the 18th President of the United States.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ulyssessgrant  Presidents Grant’s papers are now housed at Mississippi State University:  http://library.msstate.edu/USGrant/

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Barack Obama moved to Chicago in 1985, making Illinois his home state.  He was elected the 44th President in 2008.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama

For more history about the evolution of the Illinois state flag, you can go to the Illinois State Museum website:  http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/symbols/flag.html

The name “Indiana”  means land of the Indians, which refers to the large number of Indians/ Native Americans who lived throughout the state when the first European settlers arrived.  In researching Indiana’s history we found the website for Conner Prairie, which is the Smithsonian Museum Institution’s only Indiana affiliate.  To learn more, you can use this link to the Conner Prairie website, which, along with visiting the park in person, will offer you a wide swath of Indiana and American history.  http://www.connerprairie.org/About-Us/Who-We-Are.aspx

For a taste of the depth of learning offered by Conner Prairie, here is a link to a page called “Native Americans in Indiana: Resistance and Removal.”  http://www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/Indiana-History/America-1800-1860/Native-Americans-In-America.aspx  We hope you will read this important story.  

In 1816 Indiana became the 19th state, the second state in the Northwest Territory to do so.  It was the home state of President Benjamin Harrison, who was elected to the presidency in 1888.  Although he lost the popular vote, Harrison gained a majority in the Electoral College and served one term. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/benjaminharrison

Indiana is a very flat state with the lowest elevation being 320 feet above sea level and the highest elevation being 1,257 feet above sea level.

The state bird is the cardinal, the state tree the tulip and the state flower the peony.     

“Agriculture plays a vital role in the economic stability of Indiana… The flat areas of Miami soils are used mainly for corn, soybeans, or winter wheat… The steeper areas are used as pasture, hayland, or woodland…Indiana is the second largest producer of popcorn in the nation.”  Please use this link to learn more: http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats/indiana.pdf      

We were struck by the number of wind farms we saw as we drove from south to north through windy Indiana!  ”Indiana wind turbines are giant monsters of steel. How big are Indiana wind turbines? Those you see around I-65 in Northwest Indiana are around 300 feet tall. Each blade of an Indiana wind turbine is 120+ feet and weighs 7 tons. Yes, that’s for  each blade.”  Here is a link to read a story and watch a video about wind farms in West Central Indiana.    http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/living_green/Indiana-wind-farms-nationally-recognized   As with everything, we know you will find much more to learn about this energy resource.

As with each state, there is unique history and unique current life in Indiana.  We believe that learning about the life in each state will enrich yours!  We know it has enriched ours.  

From our perspectives, having visited two Presidential Libraries and Museums, we believe that they are an excellent addition to our opportunities as citizens for learning American history.  

While in College Station,Texas, we visited the George Bush Presidential Library, which is the library of the first President Bush. If you read about the Ceremony in College Station, you will know that President George H.W. and Barbara Bush were instrumental in the collaboration between Citizenship Counts and the Bush School of Government and Public Service.  This collaboration made it possible for the Naturalization Ceremony on March 22nd to be held in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center auditorium.  The Bush Presidential Library is located on the campus of Texas A&M University along with the Bush School of Government and Public Service and the Bush Foundation.  http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/

While in Little Rock, Arkansas, we stayed in the city-owned RV park that is across the Arkansas River from the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.  The Library and Museum are located within the Clinton Presidential Center and Park. The Center includes the Clinton Foundation (Little Rock office) and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.   http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/ 

 Photos of our visits to both libraries are in our next blog.