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Hughea Davenport was not a resident of our county, but his descendents were. It is through the late Berle Mattes that I received a copy of a memoir, written in May 1876 by his great-grandfather Davenport.
Hughea was 12 years old when he came to Illinois from Kentucky in 1824, settling with his family six miles west of the hamlet of Springfield, which Hughea told consisted of eight to 10 houses, several stores –  including one with a whiskey barrel owned by Herndon – and the Capps brothers’ hardware and shoe shop.

15 Years Ago

1995 – Springfield Calvary upset Shelbyville, the team rated No. 1 in Class A basketball, to win the Vandalia Holiday Tournament. Mario Brown of Calvary was named the tournament MVP.
State Sen. Frank Watson (R-Greenville), along with several representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, held a meeting at Days Inn in Vandalia to hear concerns about the future of Carlyle Lake. About 70 local residents attended the meeting.

The Christmases of my childhood revolved around family.
We would always visit Grandma Gum, my mother’s mom, on Christmas Day. On Thanksgiving Day, cousins would draw names for a gift exchange to be held at Christmas, and her house would be filled with aunts, uncles and cousins.  
On Christmas Eve day, we were allowed to open one gift before we left for church.  Generally, it was a package that contained an outfit to wear to the Christmas program that evening. Most times, the outfit was made by mom.

This week’s Mystery Banks Photo: This young man, pictured as a Christmas gift 24 years ago, went to school in Vandalia. He is now married and lives in Brownstown. He loves to hunt and fish.
Do you know him? If so, call The Leader-Union, 283-3374.
In last week’s Mystery Banks Photo were: No picture last week.
This week’s Scrambler: i veern idd tagnyhin horwt gindo yb tidnecac, ron idd nya fo ym stinovnine moec yb nidtacec; hyte meca yb rowk.