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WGLT's McHistory series turns its focus to Richard Blue from Bloomington, whose remarkable life really speaks to the travails and the triumphs of black Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries. The series McHistory is a co-production of WGLT and the McLean County Museum of History.

WGLT's McHistory series turns its focus to Richard Blue from Bloomington, whose remarkable life really speaks to the travails and the triumphs of black Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries. The series McHistory is a co-production of WGLT and the McLean County Museum of History.

McHistory goes back in time to explore big moments and small stories from McLean County history. McHistory episodes can be heard periodically on WGLT's Sound Ideas. The series is produced in partnership with the McLean County Museum of History.

McHistory

First African American Bloomington council candidate blazed the trail in 1879

Baseball is happening and all is right with the world. Today, though, let's hear about another bat and ball game — softball. It was big in Central Illinois for many decades with lots of semi-pro teams and even industrial leagues for men and women, and offered an outlet for young women before they had opportunities to play other organized sports.

Baseball is happening and all is right with the world. Today, though, let's hear about another bat and ball game — softball. It was big in Central Illinois for many decades with lots of semi-pro teams and even industrial leagues for men and women, and offered an outlet for young women before they had opportunities to play other organized sports.

Softball integral to developing women's sport in Central Illinois

The story of the Henney Kilowatt, the mid-20th century experimental electric battery-powered car made in Bloomington-Normal by the Eureka-Williams Corporation, is a colorful one, according to McLean County Museum of History Librarian Bill Kemp.

The story of the Henney Kilowatt, the mid-20th century experimental electric battery-powered car made in Bloomington-Normal by the Eureka-Williams Corporation, is a colorful one, according to McLean County Museum of History Librarian Bill Kemp.

Rivian is not the first electric automaker in Bloomington-Normal

A teenaged boy-soldier from Normal survived one of the most brutal prison camps in history. Decades after the Civil War, Alpheus Pike wrote a memoir. He detailed horrific sanitary conditions, the murderous behavior of guards and prisoners alike, and amid the privation, the grace notes of human caring that emerged from these trials. Pike was born in Maine in 1846 and came to Bloomington as a young boy.

A teenaged boy-soldier from Normal survived one of the most brutal prison camps in history. Decades after the Civil War, Alpheus Pike wrote a memoir. He detailed horrific sanitary conditions, the murderous behavior of guards and prisoners alike, and amid the privation, the grace notes of human caring that emerged from these trials. Pike was born in Maine in 1846 and came to Bloomington as a young boy.

First African American Bloomington council candidate blazed the trail in 1879

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