Freeport

My Mother knows I have a love of old things, and a love of books. When she and a friend went to Freeport for lunch last week, they stopped at a little grill that was attached to an antique store. She told me they had such a wonderful selection of school texts from the 1800's. We decided to take the kids and go have a look. I knew I had already spent my book money until close to Christmas, but there is no harm in looking and it would be a nice drive. Freeport is about 45 minutes west of here. We arrived at The Swan's Nest about lunch time. We ordered our lunch and my mom kept the kids while I went and looked at the books. She was right. There were McGuffey Readers, Union Readers, and just about every other kind of reader you could imagine. They also had a "Physical Geography" book from about 1880 that had the most wonderful ink drawn maps. But my favorites were a 1921 edition of The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan and right next to it was a 1930 copy of John Bunyan: The Man and His Work. Oh they were wonderful. They were so reasonably priced too. I set them back on the shelf and prayed they would still be there in November.

Lunch was very good and the kids really enjoyed it. I promised them we would come back in November and get the Bunyan books along with some other treasures we would certainly find.

Zach and I went outside while Mom and Charlotte used the ladies room. Zach posed for a couple of pictures while we waited....it sure took them a long time. Out they finally came with a bag in hand. Inside were the Bunyan books. I could have cried!!!
There is an inscription in the front of this one...
Gertrude Carlson

"Petty"

Swedish Free Church

Sunday School 1921
The illustrations are incredible!! The book on John Bunyan's life is going to be so interesting. I can hardly wait to read it aloud to my kids.
It is dated 1932 in pencil on the inside binding. The bindings on both of these books are well intact. It is also wonderfully illustrated.Tucked in the pages of this book, I found a photograph of a woman circa 1930 and a postcard with a coffee advertisement on the back.
I look forward to passing these books on to my Grandchildren someday.

On the way home, we stopped at the Stephenson County Tourist Center. It is the 150th Anniversary of the Lincoln Douglas Debate which took place in Freeport, IL

The area residents put on display, carriages, furniture and clothing from this time.This wedding dress was made by a local man for his Bride-to-be.It is beautiful.

We also visited a Glacial Water Display, but I will save those pictures for another time.

Hope you have a blessed day!