Take a trip back in time with the annual Belleville Historical Society calendar
My new yearly Thanksgiving tradition is writing about the annual Belleville Historical Society calendar.
The calendars are always a delight with old photos and history that entertain throughout the coming year. The 2022 edition addresses Belleville history in a couple of ways.
It not only features historic area landmarks, it also celebrates 10 years of Paint Historic Belleville, a plein air art event in which artists paint on location in the open air. Twenty-two artists have participated in the event through 10 years and the results are astounding.
The calendar is a fundraiser for the society as well as great publicity. This years calendar is dedicated to local artists William M. Evans and David Cornell, two of the original artists in the plein air art event who died while this calendar edition was being prepared.
The calendar cover features a painting of the St. Clair County Courthouse by Gary Karasek with the old courthouse superimposed. In 1972 the county demolished the 111 year old building to make room for a new and bigger courthouse and county building.
The calendar explains, “The replacement courthouse dates to 1975. Its architectural style is known as Brutalism, which is not an editorial comment but based on the French word meaning concrete, the primary construction material of this courthouse.”
Past calendars have featured schools, churches, businesses and fashions but local historian Bob Brunkow said he thinks this year may be the best yet. He supplied the histories of the featured landmarks in the paintings that includes tidbits that often surprise casual historians like me.
Below the Dan Krause painting of the Belleville Public Library, Brunkow notes it is the oldest continually operating library in the state. It was established as a subscription library in Shiloh in 1837 by the Latin Farmers, a group of mostly German immigrants — so called because they were highly educated and progressive. The library moved to Belleville in 1853 and the owners donated the book collection to the city in 1883.
The Carnegie Corporation donated money for a new building but at first turned down Belleville architect Otto Rubach’s design before approving a modified design. The building was dedicated in 1916.
Other paintings include the Stone Lodge at Bellevue Park by Evans, the Lincoln Theater by Marilynne Bradley, Kastel Electric, now Eckert Florist, by George Gasparich and Fischer’s Restaurant by Joyce Blanquart Nuetzling.
The calendars are $10 and can be purchased online at the society’s website or at local stores, Circa Boutique, Eckert’s Country Store, Eckert Florist, Local Lucy’s and Peace by Piece Boutique and Muttley and Me.
