The true spirit of the holiday season remains largely unchanged.
By Jeff Ruetsche
Every town has its own Christmas story…or, rather, countless Christmas stories.
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Life at a One-Room Schoolhouse |
One-room schoolhouses were once scattered across the McHenry County landscape. Few remain today, silent now for decades, yet they evoke memories of simpler times and a certain nostalgia for our county's rural past.
By Jeff Ruetsche
Neither Tardy nor Absent
Nellie Doherty was a star pupil at Holcombville School. She earned a certificate of commendation at the end of the 1910 school year for her outstanding record of being "neither tardy nor absent" for six straight months. In 1919, Nellie returned as Miss Doherty to teach at this same one-room schoolhouse.
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McHenry County's Boys (and Girls) of Summer |

By Jeff Ruetsche
Did you know that local farm boys from McHenry County once squared off against the Chicago Cubs and White Sox? That a hurler from Marengo pitched for the last Cubs team to win a World Series? Or that a second baseman from Johnsburg became the first National Leaguer ever to hit a grand slam in World Series play?
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Kings of the Hill - Algonquin Hill Climbs (1906-1912)
By Jeff Ruetsche
Did you know that McHenry County’s southernmost village was once a national center of attention for auto racing? From 1906 through 1912, the Algonquin Hill Climbs drew 137 drivers, 83 automakers and more than 50,000 spectators to the “Gem of the Fox River Valley.”
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The postwar 1940s and ‘50s was a magical time for Christmas in McHenry County.
By Jeff Ruetsche
Three Marengo residents, who experienced that magic together as children, shared with McHenry County Living their cherished memories of the holiday season. From goodie bags full of sweets, to stockings hanging from the fireplace mantle and those all important visits from Santa, Norman Rockwell himself could not have painted a more vivid picture of Yuletide cheer.
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