Complementary Programs Offered For Isle A La Cache Exhibit

ROMEOVILLE, IL — The new exhibit, "The Way We Worked," has opened at Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville, and 14 programs are offered to further enhance the viewing experience of the exhibit, according to a release from the Forest Preserve District of Will County.

The traveling exhibition, from the Smithsonian Institution, opened Feb. 12 and will run through May 8 at Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville, the preserve said. The supplementary programs will explore local industries, from river work, past and present, to the steel industry once located at the Joliet Iron Works Historic Site.

Will County's agriculture, corrections and railroad histories also will be featured, as will programs about women and Irish immigrants in the workforce, the preserve said.

For program registration information and deadlines, visit the preserve's Event Calendar.

Planned programs include:

• Will County Works – On the River (Zoom webinar): 6:30-7:30 p.m., Feb. 24. The webinar takes a look at the barge industry and maritime operations along Illinois waterways.
• Joliet Iron Works Tour: noon-1:30 p.m., March 6, Joliet Iron Works Historic Site. Explore the stone foundations of Joliet’s once-thriving industrial plant, which once rivaled Pittsburgh’s steel power.
• Will County Works – In Agriculture (Zoom Webinar): 6:30-7:30 p.m., March 10. Take a look at the history of agriculture in Will County.
• Living History Encounter – Women’s Work: noon-3 p.m., March 13, Isle a la Cache Museum. Explore 18th-century life and see how Frenchwomen in Illinois Country labored at home and established businesses.
• Lunch and Learn – Irish in Will County’s Industries (Zoom webinar): noon-1 p.m., March 16. Learn about the hardworking Irish that drove local industries.
• Will County Works – In Corrections: 2-3:30 p.m., March 19, Isle a la Cache Museum. This in-person lecture will feature a discussion about the infamous Old Joliet Prison, which housed some of the state’s worst criminals from 1858 until it closed in 2002.
• Vocation – Voyageur: 3-4:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, Isle a la Cache Museum. Learn about the paddling skills, savvy trading abilities and physical endurance that were needed to become a voyageur in the 18th century and try your skill at being a voyageur for the day.
• Lunch and Learn: Steel and Stone (Zoom webinar): noon-12:45 p.m., April 10. Hear the stories of the work to build the I&M Canal, the blistering heat of the Joliet Iron Works and the genius of the masonry at Riverview Farmstead Preserve. Two related hikes will be offered: April 24 at Keepataw Preserve and May 8 at Joliet Iron Works
• Riverview Farmstead Tour: 10-11:30 a.m., April 16, Riverview Farmstead Preserve. Discover how the Clow family grew their land into a 200-acre commercial farm in the 19th century.
• Will County Works – On the Rails (Zoom webinar): 6:30-7:30 p.m., April 21. This webinar takes a look at the history of the railroad in Will County.
• Happy Hour Fire and Isle: 5-8 p.m., April 28, Isle a la Cache Museum. Take a break from work and hang out by the fire for a happy hour. Don’t forget to bring an adult beverage or two (beer and wine only) and a camp chair to relax. Take a walk around the island and explore “The Way We Worked” exhibit at the museum.
• Flowers for Mom: 10 a.m.-noon, May 7, Isle a la Cache Museum. Celebrate Mother’s Day and the last weekend to see the Smithsonian exhibit, “The Way We Worked” with a program all about mom.

“The Way We Worked” was created by the National Archives and is adapted for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services and made possible with the generous support of the U.S. Congress, the preserve said.

The exhibit is brought to the Forest Preserve through funding by The Nature Foundation of Will County.