The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 25

I A3 MONDAY, June 14,2010 FIRST EDITION 1 Julie Gerke, managing editor, 309-829-9000, ext. 256, e-mail: newsroompantagraph.com i I I Old House Tour IWU's best in Old House Tour What: Annual Old House Society Home Tour When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Where: Illinois Wesleyan University campus, Bloomington Tickets: $10 to $15 for GOI 4 buildings on campus will be open Saturday hpS 4 ft 7 -t ATA fit Hi E2 adults, free for children under 12 Advance tickets Available at Schnucks supermarkets, Bloomington and Normal; Coffee Hound, Bloomington and Normal; The Garlic Press, Normal; Casey's Garden Shop; and the Old House Society's warehouse, both in Bloomington. Day-of-event tickets Available at Old House Society booths at the Alpha Gamma Delta house, 1409 N.

Main Bloomington, and the parking lot at Park and Empire streets. 'ft ii sawn oak pillars in the entry-way, and a grand staircase. The house has some really neat, ornate woodwork," he said. The society worked with Mi-nois Wesleyan archivist Meg Miner and IWU students to learn each home 's history. Big fan of tours Damschroder said he's a big fan of the society home tours.

and tries to take part each year. "I like that they pick a neigh- borhood or a theme each year. That way it tells a story," he said. An extra feature of this year's home tour will be the display of several vehicles from the McLean County Antique Auto Club. Ryburn said cars should I be parked in front of the fea- tured homes.

Ryburn called the annual tour the group's largest fundraiser. In 2009, more than 600 people toured homes in the-'" area of the David Davis Man-, ii sion State Historic Site in.r Bloomington. The society is a 30-year-old nonprofit focused on the: preservation of older area buildings, landscapes To learn more, visit www.oldhousesociety.org. Campus digs The PantagraphLORI ANN COOK-NEISLER Illinois Wesleyan University is opening some of its older buildings for the Old House Society Tour this year. The Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority house at 1409 N.

Main Bloomington, which was built in the 1850s, is part of the tour. By Michele Steinbacher msteinbacherpantagraph.com BLOOMINGTON The Old House Society is going old school this week, tying its annual home tour to historic residences that sit on the 160 -year-old Illinois Wesleyan University campus. "I've always loved those old buildings on the campus, and I thought it would be fun to open those up for everyone to see," said Mike Ryburn, Old House Society operations coordinator. "These are homes, mostly at the periphery of campus, which Illinois Wesleyan has acquired over the years and transformed into either student housing or faculty offices," said Matthew Damschroder, residential life di -rector. Included on the self-guided tour are four large, distinctive buildings along the western edge of the campus.

The tour's official starting point is Alpha Gamma Delta The focus of this year's Old House Society Home Tour is a set of older homes owned by Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. The self-guided walking tour provides each tourist with a map of locations and a guide book with facts about each structure. The tour includes four Main Street properties and two other IWU buildings. English Hall, 1101 N. Main St.

Kemp Hall, 1207 N. Main St. I Adams House, 1401 N. Main St. I Alpha Gamma Delta sorority house, 1409 N.

Main St. Blackstock Hall 1102 N. East St. I DeMotte Hall, corner of Beecher and Park streets Also open for tours will be Blackstock Hall, 1102 N. East and DeMotte Hall, 1409 N.

Park St. Each stands on its own as a historic piece of architecture, said Ryburn. The Queen Anne-style DeMotte Hall was popular in the late 1800s, he added. Ryburn's favorite of Saturday's tour is Kemp Hall. "There are these quarter- sorority, 1409 N.

Main St. Built circa 1 850, the striking two story, white-painted brick building stands out among other buildings on the Main and Emerson intersection: a grocery store, pharmacy and small strip mall. Turn -of-the -century buildings Adams Hall, 1401 N. Main; Kemp Hall, 1207 N. Main; and English House, 1101 N.

Main also will be open for the tour. McllAN COUNTY mum OF HISTORY -i i Ranger with B-N ties up to challenge i 4 By S.L. Standifird HOMETOWN NEWS SERVICE FORT BENNING, Ga. Part of being a Ranger in the U.S. Army is accepting the.

challenge to be the When the opportunity of be--ing the best of the best came i til 1 ft '111 in the form of a competition, the challenge was too good to 'i fj I jfj I Till 1 I I I I 1 ftsi ll i pass up. a Eric J. Schmitz, son of Keith and Ellen Schmitz, competed in the 27th annual David E. Eric J. Schmitz r'- Paragraph file photoDAVID PROEBER Susan Hartzold, curator of collections and exhibits at the McLean County Museum of History assembles a "hootch" or living quarters for a U.S.

soldier who would have served in the war in Vietnam. Because of the popularity of the Vietnam War exhibit, it will run through Aug. 6, 2011. Vietnam exhibit given honor Award of Merit recognizes support of community leaders, regular citizens $15,000, includes a bunker with replicated sights and sounds of the war; bits of news broadcasts and war ads played in the background; a timeline superimposed with the number of people killed during the war; and a panel with reactions on the home front. Because of its popularity, the exhibit run has been extended another year to Aug.

6, 2011, at the museum, 200 N. Main Bloomington. Koos said the Award of Merit certificate will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for State and Local History in September in Oklahoma City. ing those who supported the war and those who opposed it, soldiers who were drafted and those who volunteered, community leaders and regular citizens. "They tapped into the community in a beautiful way," said Downey.

Tina Nelson Thomas, the regional chairwoman of the awards process, agreed. "They really tried to bring people in with different feelings," Nelson Thomas said. "It's a hands-on, brains -on and emotions -on interactive exhibit." The exhibit, which was three years in the making and cost By Mary Ann Ford mfordi9pantagraph.com BLOOMINGTON The Vietnam War exhibit at the McLean County Museum of History has received an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History. "It's the highest award that a history exhibit can get," said Greg Koos, executive director of the museum. "We're really pleased." Koos credited museum curator Susan Hartzold and guest curator Illinois State University assistant professor of history Ross Kennedy for the exhibit titled, "A Turbulent Time: Perspectives of the Vietnam War." "It's is an incredible exhibit," said Martha Jane Downey, Illinois chairman for the awards process.

"Something I noted was the community support throughout." Hartzold and Kennedy interviewed 31 McLean County citizens from both sides of the issue includ Grange Jr. Best Ranger Com- petition. "The competition is a unique opportunity that I may never have again," said Schmitz, a 1999 graduate of J.D. Darnall High School, Geneseo. "I am looking for- ward to the events as an op portunity to test my abilities against the most challenging the competition has to offer." The competition covers more than 60 miles in 60 hours with events in a marathon-style "Ranger Olympics" that includes running, marching, swim- ming, obstacle courses, marksmanship, orienteering and basic skills like parachute jumps, rappelling aid.

For Schmitz, the prepara- tion was almost as rough as the competition. "My partner and I trained" for three months by focusing heavily on road marching and physical fitness," said Schmitz, who represented a 199th Infantry Brigade team. 7 Hour after hour, mile after mile and event after event, i Schmitz gave everything he had to be one of the final, teams. The competition is one of the most difficult the;" Army has to offer. I I hope to take away an ex -perience that I can use as a company commander to help future competitors," -said Schmitz, a 2005 graduate of Iowa State University, Ames.

"An ideal conclusion would be a successful com-' pletion of the competition with nothing left to give." Schmitz is already making -plans to return for another; go. "Future entries will de- pend on our performance," he said. Slide show set on 2009 trip to Southeast Asia A seller on Halong Bay is one of a series of photographs taken by Dennis French from a 2009 trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. PANTAGRAPH STAFF BLOOMINGTON Dennis French, a Twin City artist and photographer, will present a slide show of his 2009 trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand on July 10 at the McLean County Museum of History in downtown Bloomington, The event is free and begins at 11 a.m. in the museum courtroom.

The presentation will include photos from the far north Sa Pa region, Hanoi, Hue, Ha Long Bay, Hoian, the Mekong Delta, Cao Dai Temple, Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Lumphaya Floating Market in Thailand. French served in the U.S. Army's 79th Engineer group during the Vietnam War. He has a master of fine arts degree in metals and jewelry design from the University of Illinois and taught the jewelry and metals design program at Illinois State University from 1983 until his retirement in May 2009, For The PantagraphDENNIS FRENCH.