The “Kankakee Centennial Edition”

Kankakee artist Joseph Campbell created detailed drawings of a number of historic subjects to serve as section openers for the Centennial Edition. This view of the huge grandstand at the Kankakee Inter-State Fair was the opening page of the section entitled, “The Big Kankakee Fair.” (Kankakee County Museum Photo Archive)

By Jack Klasey

September 20, 2025

The June 21, 1953, edition of the Kankakee Daily Journal was the largest newspaper ever published—before or since—in Kankakee County. Consisting of a hefty 176 pages of news, advertisements, and photos, the Kankakee Centennial Edition commemorated the 100th anniversary of the founding of Kankakee County and the town that would become the city of Kankakee.

“The City and County of Kankakee today commence the week-long celebration of their 100^th birthday anniversary,” noted the newspaper. “In the same year that the city and county were first organized, the first edition of the Gazette, the forerunner of the Journal, was printed under a tree near where the Court Street Bridge [viaduct] now spans the Illinois Central Railroad. At that time, there was no Court St., and the first rails of the Illinois Central were only then being laid….The Kankakee Daily Journal is proud to play a part in the celebration of these first 100 years…We can but wonder what the editors of 2053 will have to report when the community celebrates its 200^th year.”

In a Page 1 editorial, the newspaper declared, “Kankakeeland and the Journal have come a long way, hand in hand. There is much of satisfaction and inspiration in retrospect at the threshold of a second century.” It noted that an important aspect of the Centennial Edition was to “provide a storehouse of homeland lore for our readers….In this edition is told how and why this area has become happy and prosperous. It seeks to demonstrate that in industry, agriculture, business, education, health and happiness, Kankakeeland has been uniquely blessed.”

The first section of the Centennial Edition was the traditional Sunday Journal, filled with local, state and international news, “Social Side” pages of material primarily of interest to women readers, an “Up 'til Now” local history column describing the building of the Illinois Central Railroad, sports reports, advertisements large and small from local businesses, and several pages packed with classified ads.

A fair amount of the news in that section dealt with the Centennial: stories and photo spreads on events such as the lengthy Shriners’ Parade on Saturday that drew thousands of spectators to line the Court Street parade route, and the opening day of the Kankakee Kultivators Garden Club’s “Fair Fantasy” flower show.

Eight special themed sections devoted to particular aspects of local history formed the centerpiece of the Centennial Edition. Illustrating the opening page of a number of those sections were historical sketches drawn by well-known Kankakee artist Joseph Campbell. Among the illustrations were views of the elegant Hotel Riverview, the huge grandstand of the Kankakee Inter-State Fair, and one of the county’s earliest brick buildings, the residence of pioneer settler Noel LeVasseur.

The first of the themed sections was devoted to the 100-year history of the local newspaper, from its beginning as the Weekly Gazette to the Kankakee Daily Journal of 1953. Through that century, a number of weekly, semi-weekly, and daily newspapers emerged for a time; most faded away or merged with others. An example was the Kankakee County Semi-Weekly Democrat, which had been founded in 1856, then was suspended in 1862, when owners Jerome and Gabriel Durham enlisted in the Union Army and went off to war. (Gabriel Durham became the first Union fatality in the Battle of Gettysburg.)

In 1886, the Kankakee Weekly Times became the city’s first daily newspaper; it was later joined by two other daily publications, the Gazette and the Evening Democrat. The Daily Times was renamed in 1903 as the Kankakee Daily Republican; in 1931, the Republican merged with the Kankakee Daily News to form the Kankakee Republican-News. Fourteen years later, in 1945, the Republican-News was renamed the Kankakee Daily Journal. (In October, 2024, the newspaper was sold to the Shaw Media Group, ending 121 years of ownership by the Small family of Kankakee.)

“An Era of Elegance,” the second themed section, was described as “a photographic mingling of the old and the new…a compounding of stories and pictures that may prompt nostalgic memories of ‘the good old days.’”  Among the section’s contents was the story of Kankakee’s elegant Hotel Riverview, and a history of dangerous tornados through the years A number of advertisements, including a full-page from Alden’s Department store, filled out the section.

Other themed sections, such as “Summer, the River, and Fun,” “The Big Kankakee Fair,” and “Bride’s House, 1838 Style,” contained similar montages of stories, photographs, and advertisements. The final two sections, entitled, “Kankakee In Focus” and Chronicle of Living,” presented a gallery of historic photographs. “From dusty attic corners, from the depths of old trunks, and from between the bulging covers of family albums came the hundreds of photographs entered in the Journal’s Old Photo Contest,” noted the newspaper. First-place winners in six different categories were awarded $10.

Copies of the Centennial Edition were destined to become treasured keepsakes for county residents, and for numerous former Kankakeeans who had relocated to other parts of the country and even the world. The thousands of Journal subscribers received their Centennial Edition copies on Sunday, June 21, 1953. Extra copies were available at the newspaper’s office for 50 cents each; copies to be mailed to friends or out-of-town family members were priced at 75 cents apiece.

Jack Klasey is a former Journal reporter and a retired publishing executive. He can be contacted at jwklasey@comcast.net.