EDWARDSVILLE – Members of the Illinois Bicentennial Commission were in Edwardsville recently to announce a partnership with the state’s Humanities Commission to announce that together they will bring more than 30 Road Scholars to cities and towns around the state.
The Road Scholars are speakers and storytellers chosen by Illinois Humanities. This year, the focus is on history, especially having to do with the bicentennial. Writers, folklorists, storytellers, musicians, living history actors and others will travel the state presenting their program.
At the press conference announcing the event at the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities, two of the Road Scholars gave brief versions of their presentations. Barb Kay is a historic re-enactor who plays her great-grandmother. She talks about the German-American experience in Illinois. Many people are unaware of the discrimination they faced, especially during World War I, she said. A German-American was lynched in Collinsville.
Dennis Stroghmatt plays the violin and speaks Illinois French. He talks about the French settlers in southern Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. He is one of fewer than 20 speakers of Illinois French. He is from southern Illinois and learned the language while in school in Cape Girardeau. “I wanted to learn more about the fiddle and the songs they were playing, so I started going to house parties with the Illinois French, and they said I should learn the language to really learn the songs. At that time, in 1990, there were about 500 speakers, but the average age of the speakers was 75.”
The language is different than present-day French, Stroghmatt said. It was brought here in the 1600s and 1700s, and several new words were needed to describe local animals and plants.
Kay and Stroghmatt and the other Road Scholars will each give five or six talks, said Paul Durica, Director of Programs at Illinois Humanities Council. Any non-profit organization can apply to have a scholar come, he said. Each organization can have two scholars per year. The Humanities Council takes care of any fees associated with the speaker, including travel and lodging.
“Seven of the performances will be recorded for broadcast and podcast,” Durica said.
Randy Dunn, one of three co-chairs of the Bicentennial Commission, said that the commission had several events planned throughout the year to celebrate, in addition to the Road Scholars. An advantage of the Road Scholars, he said, is that they can go to smaller communities throughout the state, and bring the celebration state-wide.
Illinois became the 21st state on Dec. 3, 1818. The theme of the year-long bicentennial is ‘Born, Built & Grown,’ and the celebration will focus on those items. More information on the bicentennial can be found at the commission’s website, www.illinois200.com