ALTON - Saturday, May 20th, is a big day for the communities of Alton and Godfrey, as they celebrate a huge milestone in building the Benjamin Godfrey Legacy Trail. From 2-4pm the public is invited to purchase signed copies of Seymour Bluffs and Benjamin Godfrey, a children's book, written specifically for this initiative. The book signing event will be held at the Hayner Genealogy and History Library in downtown Alton.
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The students pictured, currently enrolled in Alton High School’s Graphic Communication and Digital Photography program, created characters for the newest Seymour Bluffs book, written by local author Phyllis Bechtold and Hayner Library historian, Lacy McDonald.
“I wrote the book with Lacy McDonald, the historian. We want to make sure everything is correct,” Bechtold said. “The students at Alton High are illustrating it. When it’s complete, it will be for sale as a fundraiser for the Benjamin Godfrey Legacy Trail Project.”
The students are the official illustrators of Seymour Bluffs and Benjamin Godfrey. Their work will come to life for local children and adults who want to learn more about Benjamin Godfrey, his accomplishments, and his life as a prominent influence in the development of Alton and Godfrey, Illinois.
“It’s important to me, with this being our legacy, because I know that my nieces and nephews are going to grow up here, and they’re going to be in third grade someday and read this book, and it’s going to have my name in it,” explained student illustrator, Julianna Fair.
The book is part of a larger community project, spearheaded by the North Alton-Godfrey Business Council, in collaboration with the East End Improvement Association in Alton and Alton Community School District #11. Seymour Bluffs and Benjamin Godfrey is a companion piece to augment the historical education being introduced into the 3rd grade curriculum in Alton Public Schools.
“The school district and the community are interdependent,” commented Elaine Kane, Alton Public School Curriculum Coordinator. “We are always looking for opportunities to connect and collaborate with the community.”
The larger goal is to create the Benjamin Godfrey Legacy Trail, identifying historical landmarks tying Alton and Godfrey together. In addition to the book, Captain Benjamin Godfrey’s efforts in the 1800’s are being documented and highlighted through multiple platforms: 9 landmarks with historical markers, an informational brochure, a video documentary, and a self-guided auto-tour with accompanying smartphone access to an Audio/Video historical background.
Two other Seymour Bluffs books are currently being used in the local history curriculum, Seymour Bluffs and the Piasa Bird and Seymour Bluffs and Robert Wadlow published in 2006 and 2007.
This book signing event will be held at the Hayner Genealogy and Local History Library at 4th and State Streets, in downtown Alton, Illinois from 2-4pm, on Saturday, May 20th. For more information about event details, contact Zeke Jabusch @ 618-779-9735 or the Genealogy & Local History Library, 401 State Street, Alton, IL, 618-462-0677. For information about the BGLT project, go to http://www.northaltongodfreybc.com/b.-godfrey-trail.html.
