Editor's Page, The

Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Summer 2009

This summer issue of the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society includes diverse topics on Illinois history ranging from the interplay of language in the French and Indian period, to the evolution of higher education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and finally to the mining disaster in Centralia in the late 1940s.

Michael McCafferty's essay "The Illinois Place Name 'Pimit�oui,'" is a linguist's delight as well as of interest to novices of language who are interested in the cultural syncretism between Native Americans and French explorers into the Illinois Country. Ann Marie Ryan's, "Leaving No 'Unbridged Chasm': The Office of the High School Visitor at the University of Illinois, 1896-1948,"explains how high schools and colleges became separate entities in order to distinguish higher education in Illinois. Besides being a response to the Progressive Era's search for order and standardization of reform, the High School Visitor's job also became politicized as reformers and local and state politicians vied for control over standards. Anthony Fleege's, "The 1947 Centralia Mine Disaster," recounts the sad story of how the neglect of mine safety led to the death of 111 miners. The surviving family members never received justice for their own loss, only the satisfaction that new rules might prevent future disasters. The Book Review section covers a range of new books on Illinois history that speak to the diverse landscape, people, and places of the state.