YouTube link to Eureka Pumpkin Festival film:  
​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0smOAtaW0R0

​In 2015 and 2016, the library digitized over 300 Eureka Pumpkin Festival objects, booklets, and photographs and created an online archive of the festival (http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/p16614coll19/search/). The project was funded by an Illinois State Library Digital Imaging grant. The Eureka Pumpkin Festival was a two-day community event held between 1939 and 1961. It drew tens of thousands of visitors to Eureka. A highpoint was 1947 when Eureka College alumnus and actor Ronald Reagan participated. Approximately 100,000 people attended that year’s festival. Until now, only black-and-white photographs of Reagan at the festival have been shared with the library. 

​The film is so interesting because it is in color and to my knowledge is the only existing film of Reagan’s 1947 visit to Eureka. The film actually contains portions of the 1947 and 1949 festivals, which were spliced together into a 12-minute film. Although the segments are not in chronological order, overall the color film brings the festivals to life more than the black-and-white images which make up most of our online Eureka Pumpkin Festival digital archive. 

​Actor and Eureka College alum Ronald Reagan participating in the 1947 Eureka Pumpkin Festival parade on horseback. This image is from Sherwood’s 1947 film.

The film shows a pumpkin field, the canning factory, the different banners and signs decorating the town, a high pole act by the Aerial Snyders, Illinois Governor Dwight Green and Ronald Reagan at the coronation of Queen Joan Snyder, and the parades featuring Reagan on horseback and many, many colorful floats. With regard to the parade and crowds, Reagan was quoted as saying “This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! The Eureka I knew was never like this!”

​Glenn Sherwood Sr. and his family lived in Eureka until 1953. Sherwood was a representative for the American Sisalcraft Corporation for Illinois and was a correspondent for Illinois Building News. Sherwood and his wife, Evelyn, chaperoned Eureka College fraternity dances during their time in Eureka. Evelyn was a member of the Eureka Woman’s Club. The family moved to Bloomington in 1953.

​Glenn V. and Evelyn Sherwood at a Lambda Chi Alpha event in Eureka, ca. 1945 – 1953.

Eureka Pumpkin Festival signs from 1947 (left) and 1949 (right). Images from Sherwood's film.

The history of canning pumpkins goes back over 100 years in central Illinois. It all began here in Eureka in 1902 when the Dickinson and Company canning factory made a small experimental pack of canned pumpkin. The company, which had been established in 1898, already packed corn, beans, and tomatoes. However, wishing to extend the canning season, they decided to try adding pumpkin to the roster. It was a success. Dickinson and Company continued to expand their business holdings, adding a plant in Washington in 1909 and Morton in 1925. ​

Nineteen thirty-nine was the first of twelve festivals making up Eureka’s Pumpkin Festival past. The festivals were held annually at first, but were temporarily discontinued during World War II. After resuming in 1946, the festival became a biennial event from 1947 to 1961. The festivals were two-day events, with the town bedecked with banners and pumpkins. ​

A Pumpkin Festival Queen competition was held for single Eureka women, aged 17 – 20. People could vote for their choice by buying retail items in town, plus the candidates could get extra points by selling advertising in the souvenir booklet. Once voting was over, the top five candidates were questioned by a panel of out-of-town judges during a pageant event and a queen was selected. The remaining four candidates made up the official court. ​

Legislative bills for equal suffrage were an annual occurrence in the state and regularly reported on in the Woodford County Journal. Although repeatedly voted down, suffrage supporters doggedly worked year after year to keep bringing the issue before the legislature. One article on December 17, 1897, noted there was a bill before the Illinois Senate requesting a waiver of all property taxes owned by women “during such time suffrage denied them.” No taxation without representation! Pretty sure this one was voted down too. ​

Support for equal suffrage was closely tied to the temperance movement. The Eureka chapter of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was formed in 1878. Beginning in July of 1902, the subject of suffrage was frequently on the agenda of the group. Members read papers on the subject, including ‘Woman Needs the Ballot.” ​

The Eureka Woman’s Club also regularly discussed the subject. In November of 1902 Eureka Woman’s Club members held a debate over whether women property holders should have the right to vote on all questions pertaining to taxation. Many community women were members of both the WCTU and the Eureka Woman’s Club. ​

Susan B. Anthony was not the only suffragist to visit Eureka. On May 9, 1907, Dr. “Francis Wood” would be presented a lecture on suffrage. Although the paper misprinted her name, Dr. Frances Jane Woods was an active, well-known suffragist with the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She graduated from Christian College of Columbia, Missouri, in 1882 and from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1894. After serving in the Philippines with the Red Cross during the Spanish-American War, Woods began lecture tours speaking about both her wartime experiences and the need for women’s suffrage (1). ​

One specific friend of Eureka’s club women led to the creation of the Eureka Equal Suffrage Association in 1912. Elivra “Ella” Seass was born in Arthur, Illinois, on February 22, 1871. She attended Eureka College and graduated in 1890 with an A. B. degree. Her senior address was on the women’s movement. One of her fellow graduates was Oliver W. Stewart, who was studying for the ministry. They were married on August 20, 1890. Ella continued her studies and earned an A.B. from the University of Michigan in 1892 and an A.M. from Eureka College in 1893. Her husband became a leader in the temperance movement, speaking throughout the Midwest. He was elected to a term in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1902 on the prohibition platform and was a candidate for mayor of Chicago in 1905. ​

During this period from 1912 to 1913, state activity increased to obtain legislative action on suffrage. In August of 1912 there was a state-wide effort to circulate a petition to put suffrage on the November ballot. The effort to have a minimum of 100,000 signatures failed, however, by 40,000 signatures. In December of 1912, the Woodford County Journal reported that author Charlotte Perkins Gilman spoke in Springfield and predicted Illinois would be the last state to grant suffrage. Thankfully, she was wrong! On June 26, 1913, Illinois Governor Dunne signed a bill granting partial suffrage to women in the state. Women could now vote for president, vice president, and for county and local offices. The state needed a constitutional amendment for women to vote for federal and state senators and representatives. During subsequent elections, women had separate ballots and ballot boxes. ​

The Eureka Equal Suffrage Club did not stop their work, however. Their attention turned to educating newly enfranchised women on voting. ​

Eureka Equal Suffrage members also attended the state convention of the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association held in Peoria at the Woman’s Club Building in November of 1913. Local attendees included Annie Davidson, a member of the Eureka Woman’s Club, WCTU, and the Eureka Equal Suffrage Club. She later willed her family home to be our public library. ​

A little over two years later, in May of 1919, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the federal woman suffrage amendment, and the U.S. Senate passed it on June 4. Illinois was the first state to ratify the amendment on June 10! The Woodford County Journal issued an editorial statement marking the happy occasion. ​

The first library was indeed a community effort with donations of money, time, books, and furniture from local businesses, organizations, community members, and local high school students. The club held a benefit dinner and a plant, seed, and bulb sale to raise funds. Donations were accepted during the months of April, May, and June in preparation for an opening in early July. ​

The library functioned under the jurisdiction of the women’s club for six years. On June 1, 1936, the library was placed under city jurisdiction, became tax supported, and was run by a mayor-appointed board. It moved twice: to the Kellogg building and to the Klaus building. It found a permanent home in 1944 when charter Eureka Woman’s Club member Annie Davidson (1862-1944) passed away. ​

Davidson's stately two-story brick home, which her maternal grandfather (Albert G. Ewing) had built in 1858, at 200 S. Main Street was willed to the city for use as a library provided the citizens could raise a $10,000 endowment for maintenance of the structure. The funds were raised within 10 months, and the library opened in its present-day location on December 9, 1944. ​

An addition to the building was built in 1977, and the library district was expanded to include all of Olio and Cruger townships in 1990. ​

Eureka College had over 60 cases of influenza according to the October 17 edition of the Journal. Unfortunately, one Eureka College student was among the dead reported in October – Tobias Bilyeu. Bilyeu attended Eureka College between 1916 and 1918 for his freshman and sophomore years as a ministry student. In the fall of 1918, he was member of the Students’ Army Training Corps (SATC) and was eager to enlist for service. Bilyeu fell ill on Sunday, October 6. Within a day of falling ill, he developed pneumonia and was removed from the hospital wing of the barracks to the home of President Pritchard. On Wednesday he was moved to the Harris home. The Harris home featured a ground floor room where he could be watched over by two trained nurses. He passed away at the Harris home on Friday, October 11.

Another death in Eureka associated with the college was Mrs. Carrie Merriman. Merriman was from Williamsonville, Illinois, and came to Eureka to take care of her son Robert, a student at Eureka College who was ill from influenza. She became sick within days of her arrival and passed away here on October 16. Her son recovered.

​As churches were unable to hold services, they encouraged families to gather for meditation and prayer in their homes at the normal time for church services. Pastor McCaslin of the Presbyterian Church published the scripture to be read in the October 10 edition of the Journal (Psalms 91 in case you are curious). In the October 24 and 31 editions of the Journal, the ministers of the Eureka Christian Church and the Presbyterian Church together published a proposed schedule for home worship with specific Bible verses and prayers recommended. ​

His last letter home was written on October 27 and received by his family on November 25. In the letter he said he was well and back from the front for a few days rest. Unfortunately, he died of meningitis on November 24. His death occurred just two weeks after the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918. His family was notified of his death on December 9. During the war, death from disease outnumbered battle casualties for American soldiers. Haecker is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Lorraine, France. ​

Frank Harold Richardson was born on August 21, 1894, in Eureka to Charles V. Richardson and Anna Hamilton (later Renz). His  father died prior to 1900, and his mother died in 1910. His boyhood and young adult years were spent in the home of his grandmother, Mrs. Mary Hamilton. He graduated from Eureka High School in 1913. He then enrolled at Eureka College and flourished. His activities included: track team, YMCA, business manager of the yearbook, Edmund Burke Literary Society, Booster Club president, Senior Class president, and a biology instructor his senior year. He graduated in 1917. He registered for the draft on June 5, and his number was in the first group to be called. He passed the physical and was drafted. He first joined the United States Army Signal Corps, but in November of 1917 he transferred to the Aviation Department. He received his commission as Lieutenant in August 1918. ​

Information for this blog post was researched from issues of the Woodford County Journal, which has been digitized and is available through Newspapers.com. Free online access to this incredible resource is available at the library when we are open! Online genealogy resources, Eureka College yearbooks (also located at the library), as well as two additional Eureka history books were also consulted: History of Eureka, Illinois by Burris Dickinson (Burris Dickinson, 1985) and Eureka, Illinois: Celebrating 150 Years by the Woodford County Historical Society (M.T. Publishing company, 2009). ​