Staley Museum In The News
Women’s History Month
Celebrate Women’s History Month in March!
Read stories and see pictures of women who were employed at the A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company from the early 1900s to the 1950s. This temporary exhibit will be on display during the month of March 2023 only.
Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday 1-4pm
Open the last Sunday of the month (March-November only) 1-4pm
Admission:
$3 Adults
$1 Child
Created in partnership with Primient of Decatur, IL.
Preparing your own garden for this year? These were the tips given to Staley employees by J.B. Burrows in 1923.
This is the last week to see our temporary exhibit for Women's History Month!
We're open Tuesday through Saturday, 1PM-4PM
Admission is $3/adult & $1/child
Has the Movie about A.E.Staley & the Staley Company come out yet?
Photograph of Alice White, private secretary to GE Chamberlain (general superintendent) is pictured here after being crowned Decatur's Queen of Mardi Gras in a popularity contest. Alice's history can be seen in our temporary exhibit on women employed at the Staley company for Women's History Month. Alice was indeed well liked at the company, often mentioned in the Staley Journal.
Radio Concerts Held at the Staley Club House
The Staley Fellowship Club held radio concerts at the club house every Tuesday night for its members. At the time of this article, March 1923, Dudley Borne was in charge of the radio operation, and the concert was thoroughly enjoyed due to the lack of interference by static. The article goes on to encourage attendance to the concerts with bus service being provided for free, to and from the pump house.
"Some the best stations heard are the following: Kansas City Star, Davenport, IA; Minneapolis, Minn.; Schenectady, NY.; East Pittsburgh, Pa.; Drake Hotel Chicago; Memphis Tenn.; Atlanta, Ga.; and Dallas, Tex. Havana, Cuba and Denver, Cold., have been heard, also a number of other stations."
The operator, Dudley Borne, planned to get a map of the states and place a tack for the location of places heard by radio.
I couldn't find "William & 7th" on the Decatur map. Have street names changed since 1923?
It's fascinating to look through the Journals of that time period and follow contemporaneous accounts of how radio was developing, along with monthly accounts of employees logging which radio stations from distant cities they were able to receive. Plus the ads for the radio batteries back then. Apparently they did not plug into 110 outlets.
