A 2016 farewell to lost loved ones
Mount Pulaski Courthouse hosts ceremony Dec. 31 for those who died over the last year

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[December 28, 2016]  MOUNT PULASKI – The Mount Pulaski Courthouse State Historic Site on Dec. 31 will honor and remember every member of the community who passed away in 2016.

The names of the deceased will be read from the courthouse steps at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. After each name, the bell on the historic site’s lawn will toll a single time.

This is the seventh year for the remembrance ceremony.

“Each year, as the names are read, we know that those people were not only moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters, but they were also our friends and neighbors,” said Tom Martin, chairman of the Mount Pulaski Courthouse Foundation. “All of them were integral to our community and part of what makes our hometown special.”

The list of about 90 names which will be read is posted at www.mtpulaskiil.com.


The list includes Wally Kautz, a courthouse volunteer and later the site manager, and Betty Hickey, a longtime supporter of area preservation efforts.

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Built in 1848, the Mount Pulaski Courthouse is one of two remaining sites where Abraham Lincoln practiced as a lawyer traveling the 8th Judicial Circuit.

Mount Pulaski Courthouse Foundation was established in 2011 to care for the building and plan special events. For more information, visit www.mtpulaskihistoriccourthouse.org.

The site is open noon-4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. There is no charge for admission.

The site is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. IHPA protects the state’s historic resources, which contribute to education, culture and the economy. IHPA sites include ancient burial mounds, forts and buildings erected by settlers, and homes connected to famous Illinoisans.

[Shanta Thoele
Executive Secretary
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]

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