“Wow! I remember that. I never knew that.” Any one of those are reactions Barry Cleveland wants from you the reader with every Looking Backward anecdote he researches and puts out. And generally speaking, from the consumer’s perspective, he regularly nails it. Cleveland is quick to humble himself and will precociously say it’s just work he’s doing. His fortress face belies a fort of lace however. He’s gifted when it comes to providing information in a fashion that often both intrigues and beguiles the recipient, though he’ll not admit it. Such was the case once again when Cleveland took to the podium at Thursday’s Carmi Kiwanis meeting.
“My goal is to make that connection and to share that enthusiasm and love for local history of this type with you.”
A snippet of the kind of fun and interesting bits and baubles Cleveland routinely unearths follows.
“This is in 1899. An amusing incident occurred Monday in the Circuit Clerk’s office. A man who had been granted a divorce from his wife was paying the costs when another man entered the office and cordially shook hands with the first man. No sooner had number 1, the recently liberated man, paid the costs than number 2 asked the clerk to issue him a license to marry remarking that the bride elect was the same lady from whom the first man had just been set free. He was directed to the County Clerk where he was armed with the necessary documents and the lady in the case was soon supplied with another partner.”
That one was free. There are hundreds upon hundreds more though if you’re interested in not just history, but local history. Cleveland has collected and assembled them all into multiple books and booklets, some organized by period of time, some include diary entries from historic figures, columns by important people in Carmi and White County history, and some also cover specific topics like historic ferries of White County.
Cleveland is in the process of printing more of the specific booklets, all of which sold out at the conclusion of his presentation Thursday. If you’d like to order or learn more about the offerings, reach Cleveland by email at [email protected] or call 618-599-8497. In the meantime, you can also whet your appetite for more interesting historical intricacies by searching for the facebook group You Grew Up in Carmi (or Crossville), IL if you remember… The private group, assembled by local Billie Smith, is a frequent outlet for Cleveland’s quips and “on this day’s”.
