John visits a one room school house.

John left Wham with Minta on April 2 and travelled 51 miles to Tilden, IL. He spent the week hanging out with Minta's puppy Scout, and the two became good friends.

Minta finally had a spare moment on April 8 to take John to one of her favorite local historical spots, Charter Oak School. They travelled 14 miles from Minta's house in Tilden to a little area known as Schuline. Schuline once was a small township west of Sparta, Illinois. In Schuline there is a eight sided one room school house known as Charter Oak. The school was built in 1873 and was a function school until 1947. The locals raised funds to preserve the school for future generations and every August a festival known as Cornfest is held to raise money for upkeep. The  latitude and longitude coordinates for Charter Oak are 38 degrees 5'21"N 89 degrees 47'38"W.

Minta and John then travelled back to Minta's home, where John said his goodbyes to Scout while Minta went to work. The next morning they made the 51 miles journey back to Wham Educational Building. John total miles travelled while visiting with Minta was 130 miles. John's total travel mileage is 2224.4.

McKenzie White & King John's Travel to Knoxville, TN

The next stop on King John’s adventure was the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. He travelled there with McKenzie and her fellow track mates. McKenzie, SIUC athletes, and of course King John left early in the morning on a Thursday, and headed 378 miles southeast. It took around six hours to get there. We could all see the wonderful Appalachian Mountains when we were headed into town. The first stop was the track meet! The annual SeaRay Relays were going on and the SIU Track and Field team was competing in them. The track stadium was named after Tom Black who generously paved the way for the development. The stadium is called LaPorte Stadium after the LaPorte family, who made lots of contributions in building the facility. 

After McKenzie was done competing, her and King John went around the campus on a fun-filled adventure. They first stopped at Neyland Stadium where they both climbed up many flights of stairs to reach the top. King John loved the view, but was a tad bit scared being that high. Heights are not his strong point.  Neyland Staduim is where the UT plays all their football games. The stadium is the third-largest non-racing stadium in the US and was completed in 1921. The stadium was named after UT’s most winning coach, General Robert Neyland.

Continuing on, the two then walked up the street and ran into UT’s official symbol, the Torchbearer. The statue holds up the torch of enlightenment in his right hand. He wears a sword as a symbol of security and holds his left hand a globe with Winged Victory, a symbol of success and the individual’s ability to make the most of his opportunities despite the world’s challenges. The final design modifications were finally cast and unveiled in Circle Park on April 19, 1968.

It was getting late out, so the two walked back to the hotel and had a good nights rest. The next day, McKenzie and King John went back to the track meet and spotted the infamous Smokey the Hound! Smokey is UT’s school mascot. Smokey is a coonhound and a native breed to the state. The Pep Club held a contest in 1953 to select the a coonhound mascot and at half time at the Mississippi State game, multiple hounds lined up, and the crowd roared for Brooks’ Blue Smokey to win and that is how UT got their mascot’s name.  Smokey is famous for leading the Volunteers on the run through the T before each home football game. He is known to sport a tuxedo, overalls, or a Big Orange jersey. He is a top collegiate mascot and a star on a off the field. 

Our adventures were finally coming to an end and we all got on the bus to head back home to Carbondale. It took another 378 miles to get back, which brings a total of travelling 756 miles all together.

Latitude/Longitude: 35 degrees 57’3.3480 N, 83 degrees 55’55.6860 W.

King John's total miles = 2,094.4 miles 

Louie (Sub for King John) and Kaitlyn Travel to John A. Logan's Statue and Barnes Jewish Hospital

Louie and Kaitlyn's Adventures to

John A. Logan in Murphysboro, Illinois,

Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri &

my house in Marion, Illinois

March 20, 2015

Round Trip:  299.4 miles
King John's Total Miles:  1208.4 miles
Louie's Total Miles: 335.4 miles

Longitude and Latitude Coordinates:
John A. Logan Statue:  37.4546 degrees N, 89.2058 degrees W
Barnes Jewish Hospital:  38.6359 degrees N, 90.2643 degrees W

Order of traveling:  Wham to Murphysboro to Wham to my house to Barnes Jewish Hospital to my house to Wham

General John A. Logan

Louie, who was substitution for King John, traveled with me to the General John A. Logan statue that is located in front of Murphysboro Middle School. This statue is of one of the most iconic images for General John A. Logan.  General John A. Logan was born in what is now Murphysboro, Illinois.  He one of General Grant's officers, an Illinois Senator, and the Founder of Memorial Day as a national holiday. General John A. Logan was a supporter of the South and slavery, but had a change of heart and became one of the Union's Civil War heroes.

The author, Gary Ecelbarger, of Black Jack Logan:  An Extraordinary Life in Peace and War, stated that John A. Logan "may be the most noteworthy nineteenth-century American to go unnoticed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries."

Source:  http://www.loganmuseum.org

Louie's next stop is Barnes Jewish Hospital with a detour to my house so that I could ride with my parents to St. Louis, Missouri.

Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis

The pictures below depict my time I spent at Barnes Jewish Hospital while my uncle had surgery. Robert Barnes (the man pictured in the statue) came to St. Louis in 1830 as a "penniless orphan." He had died a wealthy man because he worked his way up from a store clerk to a bank president.  He was known as a visionary.  Because he had none to give his fortune to when he passed away in 1892, he left $850,000 to build "a modern general hospital for sick and injured persons, without distinction of creed." Barnes had trustees that were businessmen, and left the proposal hospital under the care of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, which made wise donations to aid the poor. Before Barnes hospital was opened on December 7, 1914.  It had affiliation with Washington University and would be a place to train medical students from the university.  Barnes is known for its excellent patient care and innovative treatments. 

In 1918, Barnes Hospital had more than 700 patients admitted during the Spanish influenza epidemic, but had a very low death rate of less than four percent. Barnes Hospital is home to the development of using x-ray to image the gallbladder in 1925, the first surgeon to successfully remove an entire lung, being one of the first hospitals to treat diabetic patients with insulin, the research that the Culex mosquito caused encephalitis, being one of the first hospitals to install a complete electronic data processing system, the first hospital to paint the wall green, the third hospital in the country to use the heart-lung bypass machine during open-heart surgery, the first kidney transplant in the Midwest, innovative burn treatments, one of five hospitals in 1975 in the U.S. that performed bone marrow transplants, be the fourth largest private hospital in the country in 1979, the development of the PET (positron emission tomography) scanner, first heart and liver transplants in 1985, the nation's first laparoscopic nephrectomy (removal of a kidney through minimally invasive technique) in 1990, the first nerve transplant in 1993, and the first adult liver transplant using a living donor unrelated to the recipient in 1996.

The Jewish Hospital had many impressive innovations and activities, such as the first surgeon to use rubber gloves while operating, the Modern Hospital of the Year award from the American Hospital Association in 1927, the use of audible nurse call systems with speakers in each patient room, being one of the first in the country to treat patients with penicillin in 1944, the first city to have a radioisotope laboratory in 1950, being the first to treat tumors at or near the skin surface with a combination of hypothermia and radiation treatments, being the region's first multidisciplinary center for treatment of breast, colorectal, lymphoma, thoracic, and head-and-neck cancers, the first successful vitro fertilization in Missouri in 1983, St. Louis's first Multiple Birth Center, being the first hospital in the city to have a 40-hour work week and offer Social Security to its employees, and renowned orthopedic surgeons for St. Louis's athletes on professional sports teams such as the Cardinals (baseball and football) and St. Louis Blues hockey team.

Barnes Hospital and Jewish Hospital merged in January of 1996.

Source:  http://www.barnesjewish.org/about/history







In the lobby of Barnes Jewish Hospital is the wall that explains some of the amazing history of both Barnes Hospital and Jewish Hospital (now Barnes Jewish Hospital).

Above:  Pictures of Louie and me next to Robert Barnes and the wall of information.

Below:  The wall of information.

Neurology and Neurosurgery Intensive Care Unit waiting room.  Louie is doing homework with me while we wait.








Left:  Louie next to the cafeteria sign.  If you ever have to go to Barnes, definitely stop by the cafeteria...the food is delicious.

Right:  Louie on my new stress squeezy ball.

Pictured to the Left and Right:  My father keeping Louie entertained.

Below:  The bridge that you must cross in order to get from the parking lot into the building (which is much safer than trying to cross the busy road that the bridge is over).  It was always this pretty!

John's St. Louis Adventure with Nikki

John left Wham 308 with Nikki On April 16 and travelled 0.7 miles to Neely Hall. He was excited to spend the weekend in a residence Hall. John even was able to experience Nikki's RA job Friday night! John spent Saturday resting in Neely Hall for his big St. Louis adventure on Sunday.

On Sunday, April 19, John accompanied Nikki and her two friends Sam and Kendall to St. Louis. They had a BIG day ahead of them! John and friends drove 110.9 miles to the St. Louis Zoo. Unfortunately, John had to stay in Sam's car because of potential rain. After about an hour and a half at the zoo, Nikki, Sam, and Kendall came back to the car soaking wet! John was very thankful he stayed in Sam's car, though he desperately wanted to see the penguins! Because of the rain, John's trip to Forrest Park was cut short! John had made plans to see the World's Fair Pavilion, but he decided against that because he didn't want to smell like a wet dog! 

John, Nikki, Kendall, and Sam then drove 6.0 miles to Busch Stadium. John had been waiting for this ALL DAY! His first St. Louis Cardinals baseball game! Curious to find out his exact location, John had Nikki look up the coordinates of Busch Stadium. He was excited to learn that the Busch Stadium coordinates were  38.6225° N, 90.1931° W. Before entering the stadium, John took a picture with the Stan the Man statue that had been at the old Busch Stadium! 

John was very excited about for the game! He really enjoyed the atmosphere of Busch Stadium! John and friends got to the stadium so early, that they were able to hang out very close to the field! 

John didn't know that Nikki had one more surprise for him! Nikki's dad was at the baseball game too! Nikki introduced John to her dad and they even took a picture! 

Nikki, John, Sam, and Kendall then went up to their seats and enjoyed a 2-1 Cardinals victory!! The friends then travelled 96.6 miles back to Neely hall after a long day! The total miles travelled for the day was 214.2 miles! John went right to bed after such a long day! John's total miles this semester is 909 miles! He is one tired pup! 

Rebecca and Richard Go to Giant City State Park

On Saturday, March 28th Rebecca and Richard decided to go on an adventure to Giant City State Park. Rebecca thought that Richard would like to spend the day enjoying nature since it was such a beautiful day out! There are a lot of things to do at Giant City including hiking, climbing the rocks, and visiting the lodge. The lodge has a restaurant, visitor center, and gift shop. 

Rebecca also though that Richard would like Giant City State Park because it is a historical site! In 1933 Franklin D Roosevelt started Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to create jobs during the Great Depression. The CCC were assigned to work on Giant City State Park where they stayed for 9 years. The men did many tasks around Giant City including road construction, landscaping, foot trails, guard rails, construction of the lodge and cabins, and general forestry improvements. 

While visiting, Rebecca and Richard were able to admire the work that the men of the CCC did to help make Giant City as beautiful as it is now. In the picture above you can see part of a cabin that the CCC built. 

Rebecca and Richard left Mrs. Stearn's class in Wham and walked home to Rebecca's house where Richard stayed for a few days relaxing. Then, Rebecca and Richard traveled by car to Giant City where they enjoyed their day and drove back to Rebecca's house. After another few days of Ricard relaxing at Rebecca's home, Rebecca and Richard walked back to Mrs. Stearn's class in Wham. Richard's total distance traveled with Rebecca was 23 miles. His total miles traveling with his other friends is 6,105.8 miles!

The address of Giant City Lodge is 460 Giant City Lodge Road Makanda, IL 62958. The latitude of the location is 37.597850 N and the longitude is 89.196353 W. 

Richard and Chelsea visit Murphysboro Middle School

On April 8th, 2015 Chelsea asked Richard to accompany her to her clinical placement site, Murphysboro Middle School. Chelsea thought Richard might enjoy the rich history of the area, and might like to see the site of one of the most devastating tornadoes in history. Murphysboro was flattened in this tragic storm, but the middle school that stands today was built on the remaining foundation left behind of the building after the storm (which at the time had been the high school). 

Richard and Chelsea spent quiet time reflecting and thinking about the tragic loss from this event, but then admired the growth and rebuilding that occurred after the storm.

Richard and Chelsea traveled by car, from SIU, to Chelsea's apartment, to Murphysboro Middle School, back to Chelsea's Apartment, and back to SIU for a total of 19 miles added to Richard's travels. His total traveled miles to date are: 6,082.8 miles. Latitude/Longitude of Murphysboro Middle School: 37-45-46.7 N, 089-20-56.8 W

King John's Adventure to Downtown Marion with Caitlyn

John and Caitlyn visit her Mother in Historic Downtown Marion, IL

April 6, 2015

Because of the Easter Holiday, Caitlyn and John had long weekend, since there was no school in Murphysboro. So, they took a little visit by car to see Caitlyn's mom at Hurst-Rosche Engineers and Design Architects, located at 37°43'55.5"N 88°55'38.5"W.  We left my house at 108 N. Chamberlain Drive, which was 14.6 miles from my apartment in Carbondale, and made our way to downtown Marion to check out the local history. 

The office of Hurst-Rosche Engineers and Design Architects is located in the historic Duty Building, on 200 N. Market Street in Marion, and was renovated in 2011/2012 to become the new home to the Architect and Engineering Firm.  The original building was the home to the Duty Drug Company in 1910, and later would be the home to the Law Office of Delos Duty in the upper floors, and later became home to the Anderson Furniture Store before being abandoned until 2011. 

Caitlyn and John had a fun time exploring the history of this building, and visiting Caitlyn's mom at work, but had to cut the visit short so Caitlyn's mom could get back to work.  They packed up all of their things from the long weekend, and headed back to Carbondale, traveling a total of 35.8 miles total, round trip, only to return to school and Mrs. Stearns for the rest of the week. This was a rather short trip for King John, so his total miles travelled are now 694.8 miles.

For more information regarding the original owner of the building, visit: 
http://www.mihp.org/2013/04/duty-delos-l-1882-1965/#/

California Gold Rush Adventures - Kristi and Richard

On Thursday March 26, my Gold Rush adventure with Richard officially began.  We left SIU campus and journeyed to Harrisburg to finish packing then traveled to Eldorado for a total of 46.8 miles.  Bright and early Friday morning we traveled from Eldorado to the Williamson County Airport in Marion a distance of 35.2 miles.   From there we took a plane to St. Louis Airport, then another to Dallas/Fort Worth airport and a final plane to Sacramento, California a distance of 2,096.4 miles.  Once we reached Sacramento we drove another 58 miles to the small historic town of Coloma, California (38 degrees, 48 minutes, 1 second North - 120 degrees, 53 minutes, 31 seconds West) on Highway 49 in the Sierra foothills.  (To get from SIU to Coloma we traveled a distance of 2,236.4 miles)

~John Sutter, founder of what is now the city of Sacramento, partnered with James W. Marshall to start a lumber business.  A spot was chosen in the foothills approximately 50 miles east of Sutter's Fort because it had a river to supply power and a large amount of ponderosa pine trees for lumber.
Construction of the mill began in the fall of 1847.  This construction included the building of a small dam across the river to guide the water through a channel that would provide power to the mill.  In January of 1848 the mill was ready to be tested.  Things didn't go quite as planned when if was found that the tailrace was too shallow and prevented the wheel from properly turning.  Work began again to loosen and the rock so water could wash away the dirt and debris could be washed away by the current.
In January of 1849, Marshall noticed shiny flecks in the bed of the tailrace.  After some inspection he realized that these small shiny flecks were pure gold.  Even though he and Sutter decided to keep the find a secret, it was not long before Sutter began bragging about the discovery.  Once the rumor of gold was confirmed by President James K. Polk thousands of people began one of the largest human migrations in history to 'Gold Country'.
The area, including most of the town of Coloma, is now known as the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.  This park includes many historic buildings, a full size replica of the of Sutter's sawmill, a museum, hiking, picnicking and other exhibits.

After exploring the area and attending a wedding at a nearby resort it was time to begin our travels back to SIU.  For the trip home we took the same route, just in reverse.  Coloma to Sacramento to Dallas/Fort Worth to St. Louis, to Marion, to Eldorado then finally back to SIU.   Over the course of the entire trip we traveled a distance of 4,472.8 miles.  Richard has now completed a total of 6,063.8

John and Christie Travel to a National Cemetery

On Thursday, March 26, John and I traveled to my home at 400 S. Broadway, Goreville, IL. This was 24.2 miles. On Saturday, March 28, we went to Mound City National Cemetery. It is located in Mound City, IL. It is 33.8 miles from my home. It is a total of 58 miles to the cemetery. The cemetery is located at 37.120243 degrees latitude and -89.151184 degrees longitude. While we were there, we learned that the cemetery was a large naval shipyard that provided warships to the Union's Mississippi squadron. Mound City was the site of a large Civil War hospital. In 1854, the federal government designated a piece of land to serve as the cemetery. Today, there are 2,300 known soldiers and 2,400 unknown soldiers. The original 1, 644 buried there died at there. We traveled through the cemetery and looked at the grave markers. It was sad to see all of the unknown soldiers buried there. John and I both shed a tear when we left the cemetery. After leaving the cemetery, we came back home. The next Thursday, we came back to the Wham Education building on the SIU campus. The total mileage from the trip was 116 miles. Added to his previous travels, his total number of miles is 659.