Hiking Through History: Carle Park (Urbana, IL)

So I took another long history walk over my lunch hour to Carle Park in Urbana.  It's located in a quiet residential area of Urbana, across from Urbana High School.  I'd never been there before, and I found quite an unexpected surprise in this beautiful eight-acre park that was established in 1909--a famous bronze of Abraham Lincoln sculpted by famed artist Lorado Taft.

Lincoln the Lawyer
by Lorado Taft

Lincoln the Lawyer is a remarkable statue--Lincoln seems relaxed wearing a bow tie and long coat.  He's leaning against the ends of a large slab, and one knee is bent as he gazes over to his right.  It's a stunning statue, and recently underwent restoration.

The artist, Lorado Taft became interested in art at the University of Illinois.  His father was a professor of Geology, and as a fourteen year old boy, he help unpack, repair, and arrange the first sculpture collection at the University.  He earned his bachelor's degree and his master's degree at the University of Illinois before going to study in Paris.  He later became an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago.  He became very famous in his lifetime, and when the World's Fair came to Chicago in 1893, he became the superintendent of all the the sculpture for the exposition.

Sculptor Lorado Taft

Taft's Lincoln the Lawyer bronze has an interesting history as well.  It was originally displayed near the Urbana Lincoln Hotel, which was the original location of Kerr's Tavern (very near the courthouse where Lincoln practiced)--the tavern was place Lincoln was known to frequent while he was riding the circuit.  The statue was dedicated in 1927, but later, there were some squabbles over the ownership of the land the statue was on, and it was moved to Carle Park.  At the statue's original dedication, Lincoln scholar William E. Barton described it best.  He said, "Abraham Lincoln comes to Urbana again, where for years he was not a stranger, where lawyers and tavern keepers knew him.  Back he comes to permanently abide in the community.  Here where his fame increased and his reputation grew with each visit, he comes again and comes to remain."

Now I'd tell you more about Lorado Taft, the sculptor, but Lincoln the Lawyer isn't the only mark that Lorado Taft made here . . . in fact, there were several more.  Great places for a fat guy to walk and describe to you in future installments of the series.

~TEC
 

Famous Freemason: Charles "Chic" Sale

Earlier in the week I posted an entry called Hiking Through History: Urbana Lodge No. 157, and in it, I mentioned a famous Freemason from Urbana Lodge No. 157 (IL)--Charles "Chic" Sale.  I thought I'd expand on that a bit, in fact, there's a very good chance I'll tell the rest of Chic Sale's story in Famous American Freemasons: Volume III.

Bro. Charles "Chic" Sale (1885 - 1936)
Urbana Lodge, No 157 (IL)

Charles "Chic" Sale was a vaudeville comedian, and beginning in the 1920s a film actor--he made more than twenty films.  He also appeared occasionally in the Ziegfield Follies and the Shubert Winter Garden shows.  He was best known for his comedic "folksy" backwater characters, which often included heavy makeup, and he took that talent onto the silver screen when he began working in films.  In his best known picture His Nibs, Chic Sale played several different characters in the film--kind of a one man show. 

But it wasn't until 1929 that he became well-known.  Inspired by a carpenter named "Lem Putt" from his hometown of Urbana, Illinois, he wrote The Specialist, a play about an outhouse builder.  He knew he had something unique in that play, and knowing that Vaudeville performers were notorious for stealing each others work, he hired a couple newspapermen to adapt the play into a book.  The book became a big hit, but was considered very risque at the time--in fact, if it weren't for Chic's careful wording, it would most likely have been banned.  The book sold 200,000 copies the first three months after release, and sold over a million copies in total--no small accomplishment at the time.  The book made him famous.

Chic Sale as Abraham Lincoln

Although Chic Sale did mostly comic work both as a Vaudeville performer and in film, he did do one serious piece.  He portrayed Abraham Lincoln in a short film The Perfect Tribute.  The film tells a story about how Lincoln was disappointed by the lackluster response to his address at Gettysburg, and shortly afterward, is walking in Washington, D. C. when a young man meets up with him--his brother, a Southern soldier is dying in a local hospital and needs an attorney to take down his will.  Lincoln accompanies the young man to the hospital to act as the attorney for the dying soldier, who has been blinded at Gettysburg.  Not realizing he's talking to President Lincoln, he tells the President about the speech, and the reason why everyone was so quiet afterwards . . . they were too awed by the President's words to react.

Soupy Sales

Chic Sale was very well known by the 1930s--often his book was the subject of jokes by the likes of Groucho Marx.  In fact, he was so revered in his time, that a young comedian by the name of Milton Supman changed his stage name from Soupy Hines, to Soupy Sales in his honor.

Charles "Chic" Sale was a member of Urbana Lodge No. 147 (IL)

~TEC

Hiking Through History: Urbana Lodge No. 157

Tiernan Building (Urbana, IL)

As I mentioned in my post Hiking Through History (Or Fat Man Walking) I've decided to spend my lunch hours getting a little more exercise, and learning a few things I don't know about the community where I live and work.
  

Detail of Square and Compass
over Tiernan Building entrance

One of the first destinations I chose for my daily lunch hour walk was one of the old homes of Urbana Lodge No. 157 in the Tiernan Building in downtown Urbana (IL).  And I learned a few things about this beautiful old building, and the history of Urbana Lodge. 

Urbana Lodge is the oldest lodge in Champaign County, chartered in 1854, and the Tiernan Building was actually their fourth home.  Urbana Lodge's first home was on the second floor of the Champaign County Courthouse (in Urbana, IL).  In 1859, the Masons moved to a permanent home a block away, but in 1871, their lodge was destroyed by fire, along with most of the downtown Urbana area--a fire so severe it has often been compared to the Chicago fire. They took up lodgings in the Odd Fellows Hall at 201 E. Main, Urbana (where Busey Bank is now) until they found a permanent home in the Tiernan Building where they met between 1889 - 1979. 

Champaign County Courthouse
Urbana Lodge's first home

The Tiernan Building was originally a brick building, but in 1914, the Masonic Lodge had the building extensively remodeled, which included the white-glazed terra cotta front designed by Joseph Royer that makes the building to stunning even to this day.  In 2001, the building was given the distinction of being recognized as a local landmark.

Bro. Chic Sale
Urbana Lodge No. 157

Another interesting fact about Urbana Lodge, was it was home to a famous Freemason.  Charles"Chic" Sale was an actor and humorist in vaudeville as well as a character actor in movies.  He never achieved a great amount of fame until he authored a risque book on the subject of outhouses entitled "The Specialist."  The book sold 200,000 copies in three months and went on to be a million-seller.  The book was very nearly banned, but Bro. Sale chose his words very carefully to prevent it from being censored.

And, by the way, there is no need to talk about Urbana Lodge in the past tense--the lodge is thriving to this day. These days, Urbana Lodge No. 157 meets at the Champaign Masonic Center at 14 Bel Air Court, Champaign, on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30. 

~TEC

Hiking Through History (Or Fat Man Walking)



University of Illinois Campus Quad

As I've traveled around over the last few years talking about my books, I've often told people that history is everywhere--if you only take the time to look for it.  I'm particularly lucky, because I work at the University of Illinois, and I'm within walking distance of a lot of history both on the campus, and in Urbana/Champaign. It's given me an idea for a series of upcoming posts.  
 

You see, over the holidays I came to accept a certain reality--I've put on a few pounds over the last few years.  The bad thing about writing, is that it just about doubles the amount of time I spend behind a computer each day, and over time, it's caught up with me.



Carle Park, Urbana (IL)

So I've decided, that I'm going to lose this weight once and for all, and part of this plan is that each day, rain or shine, I'm going to walk over my lunch hour--and not down to Dairy Queen for a Peanut Buster Parfait like I used to either. 

I started last week, and each day, armed with my camera, I found another destination to hike to, and I learned a little something about the place where I live and work.  So I thought, at the end of each week, I'd tell you a little something about some of the places I've visited, and some of the things I've learned about them.

~TEC