Tag: history
-
Video for ESCONI October 2025 General Meeting – “Great Zimbabwe among its peers: Exploring the height of ancient civilizations in southern Africa”
The October 2025 General Meeting was held on Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 8:00 via Zoom. Foreman Bandama with the Field Museum presented on African archaeology and anthropology. His presentation is titled “Great Zimbabwe among its peers: Exploring the height of ancient civilizations in southern Africa” There are over twenty-five great African civilizations, besides Egypt.…
-
Video for ESCONI September 2025 General Meeting – “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site”
ESCONI General Meeting – Dr. Angela Cooper presented “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.” Dr. Angela Cooper is originally from Mascoutah, IL and grew up learning about the great site of Cahokia Mounds. Her educational and professional career has centered around Illinois archaeology. Dr. Cooper received her MA from University of Tulsa studying the relationships of…
-
Throwback Thursday #287: Cafe ESCONI Menu
Unfortunately, we don’t have a year for this story. It was probably in the early 1990s. If anyone remembers when the display first appeared, please send it to esconi.info@gmail.com. Sylvia Josefek and her husband Paul were very active in ESCONI during 1980s and 1990s. Paul was Treasurer from 1985 until 1990, while Sylvia was interested…
-
BeHistoric: The Great Chicago Portage
Brian and Joyce of the Youtube channel BeHistoric have a fascinating episode about the “Great Chicago Portage”. They layout the history from the Ice Age to the Native American peoples through to modern times. In this video documentary (#89), we explore the great Chicago Portage, used for hundreds or even thousands of years by indigenous…
-
Fossil Friday #286: Rhabdoderma exiguum
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #286. Expect this to be a regular feature of the website. We will post fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Bluesky/Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! For this week’s Fossil Friday, we have a Rhabdoderma exiguum.…
-
Throwback Thursday #286: A Rock Is a Rock…
This is Throwback Thursday #286. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. The following piece appeared in the September 1966 edition of the ESCONI newsletter. The attribution is from “Rock…
-
ESCONI October 2025 General Meeting – October 10th, 2025 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – “Great Zimbabwe among its peers: Exploring the height of ancient civilizations in southern Africa”
The October 2025 General Meeting will be held on Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 8:00 via Zoom. Foreman Bandama with the Field Museum will be presenting on African archaeology and anthropology. His presentation is titled “Great Zimbabwe among its peers: Exploring the height of ancient civilizations in southern Africa” There are over twenty-five great African…
-
Throwback Thursday #285: Looking Back at ESCONI For October 2025
A look back at October 1955, 1975, and 2000
-
Fossil Friday #284: Alethopteris lonchitica
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #285. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Bluesky/Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! We have a very special seed fern…
-
Throwback Thursday #284: Isabel Bassett Wasson… Trailblazer in Geology, Education, and Preservation
If you follow our Throwback Thursday “Looking Back At ESCONI” posts, you may have noticed the entry mentioning Isabel Bassett Wasson in the September 2025 post. … It left me wondering who was Isabel Bassett Wasson, what is the Trailside Museum in River Forest, IL., and Lake Chicago? We’ll tackle Lake Chicago in a later…
-
Throwback Thursday #283:Â The Strip Mines
This poem first appeared in the September 1964 edition of the ESCONI newsletter. Written by Gene Falada, it was inspired by a field trip to the spoil piles near South Wilmington, Illinois, on August 8, 1964. His words capture an experience that still feels familiar today. ESCONI field trips continue to bring people together—you meet…
-
ESCONI September 2025 General Meeting via Zoom – “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site”
ESCONI General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom – Dr. Angela Cooper will be presenting “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.” Zoom link Dr. Angela Cooper is originally from Mascoutah, IL and grew up learning about the great site of Cahokia Mounds. Her educational and professional career has centered around Illinois archaeology. Dr. Cooper received her…
-
Throwback Thursday #282: Field Museum Postcard
I found this old Field Museum postcard at the recent ESCONI Rock Swap. It’s a photo of the coal forest in the Evolving Planet exhibit. This exhibit was originally in the Ernest R. Graham Hall in the Field Museum. The postcard is from the middle 20th century.
-
Throwback Thursday #280: Braceville Trip 05/16/2009
Here’s a great report from Andrew Young of the Braceville Field Trip on May 16th, 2009. Notice that the spoil pile is much bigger!
-
Throwback Thursday #279: Vacation Conversation from 1951
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the fall “Brag-Night” turned into the fall auction. The auction was used by folks to sell off extra material collected during summer vacations. Here is a “Brag-Night” drawing from September 1967. The “Brag-Night” for 2025 (renamed to “Show and Tell” is at 7:30 PM on September 20th, 2025 at…
-
Throwback Thursday #275: Field Museum Shark Week!
This is Throwback Thursday #275. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. —————————————————– The Discovery Channel does “Shark Week” every year during the last week of July… that’s this…
-
Throwback Thursday #274: Member Demographics in 1959 – Part 2
This is Throwback Thursday #274. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. —————————————————– Back in Throwback Thursday #254, we looked at a member survey conducted in May 1959. In…
-
Throwback Thursday #273: Remembering Floyd Rogers
This is Throwback Thursday #273. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. —————————————————– Will a heavy heart, we bring news of the passing of Floyd Rogers in South Africa. …
-
Throwback Thursday #272: Looking Back At ESCONI For July 2025
This is Throwback Thursday #272. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. July and August are generally light months for ESCONI news. Get out there and collect for Brag…
-
Throwback Thursday #271: Rare fossil find for Joliet man
This is Throwback Thursday #271. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. I came across this story a few days ago in a Facebook post by Gus Kramer. Back in…
-
Throwback Thursday #270: Believe It Or Not
This is Throwback Thursday #270. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We have a poem about collecting… collecting fossils. artifacts, minerals, and just rocks. It’s easy to over…
-
Throwback Thursday #269: Field Museum Megatherium
This is Throwback Thursday #269. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. If you’ve been to the Field Museum in the last 100 years or so, you’ve invariably ran…
-
Throwback Thursday #268: Looking Back At ESCONI For June 2025
This is Throwback Thursday #268. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. 25 Years Ago – June 2000 50 Years Ago – June 1975 70 Years Ago – June…
-
Throwback Thursday #267: Old Cars
This is Throwback Thursday #267. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We have something a little different today. We post many old photos here and quite a few…
-
Throwback Thursday #266: Braidwood Area Historical Society III
This is Throwback Thursday #266. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We visited the Braidwood Historical Society last weekend to drop of some more chunks of coal. They…
-
Throwback Thursday #265: Old Books at MAPS
This is Throwback Thursday #265. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Paul Gritis Books is a mainstay at the Mid-America Paleontology Society’s EXPO. He was there again in…
-
Throwback Thursday #264: MAPS #5 and #31
MAPS EXPO 2025 starts tomorrow May 8th through 9th in Springfield, IL at the Joe Orr Building in the Illinois State Fairgrounds. MAPS (Mid-American Paleontology Society) was founded in 1978. It claims to be the largest fossil only show in the world.
-
Throwback Thursday #263: Looking Back At ESCONI For May 2025
This is Throwback Thursday #263. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. AMNH Sylvania, Ohio – Trilobites in the Heartland AMNH Eldredgeops milleri 25 Years Ago – May 2000…
-
Throwback Thursday #262: Time for Spring Cleaning at the Field Museum
This is Throwback Thursday #262. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! The Field Museum had a recent post about Spring Cleaning over on LinkedIn. 🪶 Feather dusting Akeley’s Fighting…
-
Mazon Monday #265: Historic Collectors – John and Lucy McLuckie
This is Mazon Monday post #265. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. John McLuckie, a prominent figure in the history of Mazon Creek fossil collecting and an early member of ESCONI, was well known—along with his wife Lucy—for their extraordinary fossil collection. The two are pictured together on the left in…
