McHenry County Blog

The bar where scenes for the movie "Groundhog Day," starring Bill Murray is saying, "Lights Out!" after New Year Eve's celebration. The freezer must have known what was coming, because it broke down earlier this week.

That bar is located in the basement where my Address-o-Graph machine room was when I was McHenry County Treasurer from 1966-70.

Just to the south were two old cells with dirt floors from the original 1857 McHenry County Courthouse. We used them for dead storage. Today, they contain tables.

Before it closed, I wanted to show my 8-year old the jail cells in the "new" 1887 addition, where people have been eating since the 1970's when Cliff & Bev Ganschow saved the City of Woodstock from itself by buying the old courthouse.

City officials wanted to tear it down and put up a parking lot. (Sounds like a good line for a song.)

If you are nostalgic, you can read the official history of the building, page 2 ("Pre-Trial Starters"), page 3 ("Jury Selections"), page 4 ("From Miss Demeanor's Garden"), page 5 ("Maximum Sentences"), page 6 ("Speciality Jailhouse Pizzas"), and page 7 ("Closing Arguments"). Click on the images until they become large enough to read.