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4. Catharine Blair. daughter of Vachel's sister Joy Lindsay Blair eats a bowl of chilli
for lunch in the refreshments tent where visitors came for cake, cider, mixed nuts and
coffee.
5. Students from Miss Huffman's Lanphier High School English class read Vachel's poems
arranged for group readings.
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14. What appear to be ghostly figures are the backs of the students, reflected in the
window behind them. This photo was slightly retouched.
15. This photo was not retouched.
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17. Catherine Blair moved from Ohio to Northern Illinois to be closer to her family's
house. She is a regular attendee at special occasions hosted here.
18. John Winterbauer has been a guide at the site since it reopened, volunteering many
hours per month.
19. Visitors enjoy John's considerable expertise in the ground floor bedroom where Vachel
was born
November 10, 1879.
20. A frequent attendee at VL Home State Historic Site functions is this well-clad patron,
having her cake and eating it too.
21. Puppet master supreme, Joan Meisner entertained children of all ages with her
"little friends throughout the day.
22. Joan with a friend who bears an uncanny resemblance to another famous Springfield
resident of yesteryear.
23. She explained that this girl mouse often recites Vachel's The Mouse That Gnawed the
Oak Tree Down, a favorite with the kids.
24. Kathy Homa was an assistant to the home director and did wonders cultivating the
flowers that adorned the place in months past.
25. Looking from the front bedroom on the second floor into the room Vachel used as a
bedroom early on and from which many of his most famous poems were crafted and fine-tuned.
26. Chair and desk in Vachel's room which overlooks the back yard of the Illinois
Governor's Mansion.
27. Vachel's bed.
28. Catharine Frazee Lindsay had an "office" upstairs which she used for writing
and sewing.
29. The activity room upstairs displayed many pictures of the Lindsay family and
continuously played an educational video about Vachel and his life.
30. April read many Vachel poems with better than typical attention to detail and
intonation. Here, after changing out of the antique attire, she shares an impromptu
recitation with some visitors who dropped by.
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34. In the background is Vachel's painting that depicts his poem The Potatoes Dance.
35. Another member of Miss. Huffman's class during the group reading.
36. Catharine Blair (left) poses for a picture with earnest webmeister.