Hitch your horse and carriage near our barn, Embark with me upon our Christmas yarn . . . Footfalls crunching through freshly fallen snow, We journey to Christmas cheer of long ago . . . The year is 1845, a modest time to be alive . . . Along the brickened path we walk, Perhaps we pause a moment with friends and we talk . . . Daniel Dove Collins lives here, With lovely bride, Elizabeth, such a dear . . . A porch candle lights our way, The greens outside upon display . . . The

It was on December 3, 1818, that Illinois became the 21st state of the United States of America . . . SAGE WORDS ~ "I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." ~ Abraham Lincoln 1818 A map of what Illinois looked like in 1818.