"Your Voice That Bridges The Area Communities Together."
Folded American Flag
By Edward Oliver
Our American flag stands as a symbol representing the United States of America and it also is a symbol of liberty and freedom. Have you ever wondered why the American flag is folded a certain way at military funerals? [Read more...]
By Ed Oliver
The supreme law in the United States is the U. S. Constitution. Next in each state is the constitution of that state. Therefore the constitution of Illinois is the supreme law in Illinois secondary to the constitution of the United States. There is no provision in either constitution for anyone to “interpret” the words written in these constitutions, not even a Supreme Court Judge on either the Federal or State level. Also, there is no provision for anyone to say “I believe what was written is a mask of what the author or authors really meant, and what they really meant is so and so.” [Read more...]
By Edward Oliver
Our nation and the world are going through another virus, flu, or whatever you want to call this current health epidemic (threat). What is different this time is that both some government officials and some people have gone into a stage of panic instead of using common reasons (sense) or just using “horse sense” as we used to say when I was growing up. [Read more...]
Ed Oliver of Norris City stands with a new historical marker recognizing the War Emergency Pipeline, titled the "Big Inch," which was completed in 1943 at Norris City.
Historical Marker Dedication at Enbridge-Texas Eastern at 316 County Road 700 N (East Main Street and Illinois Route 1), Norris City, IL
A Dedication Ceremony of an Illinois State Historical Society historical marker honoring the completion of the War Emergency Pipeline at Norris City will be held at Enbridge – Texas Eastern in Norris City on November 11, 2019 (Veterans’ Day) at 2 p.m.
WAR EMERGENCY PIPELINE MARKER
By Edward Oliver
On February 19, 1943 a pipeline was completed from Longview, Texas to Norris City, Illinois.
On August 22, 1895, Anthony C. Clippinger and B. B. Miller established the Norris City Record. Graham Black bought Miller’s interest and a short time later, A. C. Clippinger and Sons bought complete interest in the newspaper. His three sons were Ralph, Roy, and Cecil. Roy Clippinger was later active in various newspapers in Carmi. Roy worked with his father in Norris City until 1909, when he moved to Carmi to begin his newspaper career there. Following the death of A. C. Clippinger, Ralph continued to operate the business until the 1930s and the depression era, when it was discontinued. The last issue in the possession of the Illinois State Historical Library in Springfield (the Abraham Lincoln Library) is dated January 3, 1935.
B. & O. Depot at Main and Division Streets, picture taken between 1900 and 1910. Note the current location of Rusty Bucket Laundromat to left of the depot.
The last Big Four Depot, picture taken probably between 1910 and 1925. Note the B. & O. Railroad tracks crossing the Big Four Railroad tracks.
Construction crew at Big Four freight house, across from present Southern Illinois Lumber Co. yard on South Division Street at Third Street, when tracks were being moved. Note part of depot at left of picture. Picture taken about 1906 or 1907.
Original Big Four Depot at South Division and West Third Streets across from the present location of the Southern Illinois Lumber Co. Picture taken between 1900 and 1907.
Norris City came into existence after two railroads crossed at a site where no village or town existed. The Springfield and Southeastern Illinois (later known as the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, and then as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad) was built through the site in 1870. It ran from Beardstown in Cass County (north of Flora) to Old Shawneetown in Gallatin County. The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad (later became the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis or Big Four Division of the New York Central System) was completed through the same area in 1872 It ran from Chicago to Cairo.
In my last article about Flag Day, which was celebrated on June 14, I wrote about how the flag of the United States of America developed into our present flag consisting of 13 red and white stripes representing the original 13 colonies and one white star in a field of blue in the upper left hand [Read more...]
