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Columnist Dean Karau recalls when Kewanee High School stepped up to the plate DEAN KARAU I’ve written before about aspects of Kewanee’s rich baseball history, which began soon after our hometown was founded in 1854. But curiously, it wasn’t until 1940 that Kewanee High School fielded a team. Why did it take so long for the National Pastime to reach the high school? It’s possible that, because other youth baseball leagues were typically starting in the spring, it was hard to field a team – American Legion ball was hugely popular. Or perhaps because it was a spring sport which required fair weather, and the school didn’t think it was practical. ....
In early Kewanee, coal was king Star Courier When the purchasing committee for the Wethersfield colonists arrived in 1836 to buy land in Henry County, they found coal in Section 19 of what became Wethersfield Township. After the settlers arrived the next year, they opened what likely was the first coal mining operation in Henry County to power their saw and grist mills. By the time the railroad began surveying for its route in 1851, the colonists were already aware of coal in Section 29 of what would become Kewanee Township. Not long after the village which would become Kewanee was platted and the first train arrived in 1854, coal mining operations began in the township. ....