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BISHOP MCNAMARA CATHOLIC SCHOOL ~ A One Hundred Year History
$60.00View bookThe 100-Year History book of “Bishop McNamara Catholic School - A 100-Year History,” is a “significant contribution to the history of the area,” according to former editor of the Kankakee Daily Journal, Phil Angelo. It is more than the history of one school. It is a history of Catholicism in the Illinois counties of Kankakee and Iroquois which lie 40 miles south of metropolitan Chicago. At one time this highly Catholic area had forty Catholic Schools. Today, there is one – in three locations – covering education for students from Pre-K 3 to 12th Grade. Four years in the making, the story was drawn from over 450 interviews, and information from the archival records of multiple Dioceses, including the Diocese of Joliet, area churches, schools, religious Orders, publications, and Bishop McNamara Catholic School yearbooks. The hardcover book is in two volumes totaling 1,095 pages and over 2,000 photos. The history of every parish that ever existed in Kankakee and Iroquois Counties is contained in the book. Stories of every Catholic school and religious Order that ever graced the two-county area—leading to the present day school—is told. McNamara’s impact on the community and the legacy of its academic, athletic, and performing arts success over the years is also documented. The complete history of the school’s fund-raising initiatives, including its first major fundraiser called “Madcaps,” tells the story of the work of thousands of religious and laity who kept Catholic Education alive in the area. Special sections such as teenage styles and fads in each decade, and a detailed analysis and review of the Shamrock, the school’s yearbook, are included. But the book is more than “a big yearbook.” Author McNulty has woven the school’s story with local and worldly events that shaped and impacted the entire community and the school. Over 10,000 individuals graduated from McNamara, which started in 1922 as St. Patrick High School and blended with the last all-girls high school in the area, St. Joseph Seminary in Kankakee, to form Bishop McNamara Catholic School. The narrative is written as a story rather than a chronicle as an exception to how many institutional histories are done. Author Kevin McNulty is known for his history books that read like novels utilizing the stories of real people who he interviews and quotes from the past. For the McNamara book he interviewed over 500 individuals over a four-year period adding to this informative Multiple diocesan, religious, as well as religious and secular records are also cited. In 2025, the two-volume work was named as one of the top-three books judged at the Midwest Book Festival in the category of historical documentaries.
GOOD SHEPHERD MANOR - A MISSION OF COMPATIONATE CARE
$40.00View bookood Shepherd Manor – A Mission of Compassionate Care by Kevin McNulty, Sr, tells the story of the first fifty years of Good Shepherd Manor in Momence, Illinois. This home for developmentally disabled men opened in 1971, under the direction of the Brothers of the Good Shepherd. The story of the Manor reveals the unique approach the Brothers brought to the care and nurturing of the disabled, playing a significant role in changing how the disabled are viewed and, most significantly, how they should be treated. This official 50th Anniversary History tells the story of how families with developmentally disabled men came together with the Brothers of the Good Shepherd, to provide a lifetime home for their loved ones, how timely circumstances brought them to the small town of Momence, Illinois and how life for the men of Good Shepherd Manor extended well beyond expectations of an earlier time. This dynamic story shows how love, initiative, caring and raised expectations have brought a life of fulfillment for the men of Good Shepherd Manor. The work of The Brothers of the Good Shepherd is a dramatic response to Christ’s call to help those in need. It is a specific response to families and their sons who find joy in the things of life that others overlook. Their ministry is a real-life fulfillment of the mission set by their founder, Brother Mathias Barrett, to respond unconditionally. His is a call for “charity with no limit.” The profound demonstration of how deeply moved people are by the good works of others is realized in the words of families and others who speak about Good Shepherd Manor in Momence, Illinois. In response, they have created, supported, and sustained Good Shepherd Manor for fifty years. The Brothers of the Good Shepherd have been making life wonderful for the special sons and brothers of these families. The love and support of the Brothers, families, and friends is a true testament to Christ’s implicit call to care for others. In preparation for this book, family members shared their stories of their loved ones. Many of these stories appear throughout this book. It was clear, after hearing them speak, what strong love they had for their family member from the start, and through the years at “Good Shepherd,” as they most frequently call it. Their sons call Good Shepherd, “home.” Admiration and love for the Brothers of the Good Shepherd and the amazing staff who care for the residents of the Manor were part of every conversation. Many expressed that Good Shepherd Manor “has been part of our entire family for years.” The love for Good Shepherd Manor extends to others. Friends of the family, neighbors, relatives, and people who have never been to Momence, Illinois, but have helped in the background in many ways, are all part of this remarkable story.
BARNS OF WILL COUNTRY
$30.00View bookThe Story of rural Will County is one of an encroaching suburban sprawl and the fading presence of the family farm. It is not an uncommon thing to see in the Midwest particularly in areas at the fringe of a major American city like Chicago. Will Country has many things that shape its landscape, today. While most of the northern areas of the country such as Bolingbrook and the southern reaches of Naperville, are congested suburban towns, a second area around the country seat of Joliet has its roots in the merger of the waters of the Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers which pour into the Illinois and in turn arrive at the Mississippi at the Quad Cities. The history of the Joliet area is one of commerce and industry, going back to when the rivers were the sole means of transportation. Today, commerce continues at the mouth of the Illinois River where the two feeders merge. But a new modern merging of rail lines and interstate highways make Will County a staging area for “closer in” buildings of distribution that feed the metropolitan area and spread east and west to other Midwestern states. The year 2020 will always be remembered for the COVID-19 virus. It changed the activities of the entire planet. In the United States, millions were kept from jobs, schools, stores, festivals, places of worship, and family gatherings. When it hit, many people worked from home or stayed home to avoid any possibility of catching the air-born disease. Kevin McNulty, Sr. began driving the roads of Will County, Illinois, taking pictures of farms and the rural landscape. Much of this southern region of Chicago, has given way to suburban sprawl. Land developers and the rise of corporate farming have changed Will County from its origins. While Its northern townships are filled in with suburban living and the western edge of Joliet still teams with industrial and logistics activity, the southern region, which begins a few miles south of Interstate 80, still looks like Will County once did. But there are signs. Aside the many fields of corn, wheat, and beans one observes signs put there by land developers, eager to sell acres of land. But family farms can be found. And the pride of the earth-bound inhabitants of rural Will County can be easily found. Take a one-year journey through rural Will County and discover the beauty that still exists just beyond Chicago’s suburban sprawl.
BARNS OF KANKAKEE COUNTY
$0.00View book"Barns of Kankakee County" is a pictorial essay about the barns and structures built by original farmers who settled in Kankakee County, Illinois. The photos were taken over a two year period in 2008 and 2009 by the author. It is the first pictorial book by Kevin McNulty Sr of the agricultural region south of Chicago that continues to transform from family farms to corporate farming. What is left behind are old, dilapidated farm buildings one use by individual family farms. The book is divided into themed sections including red barns (Red Pride), White Barns (Bleached Gray), barns covered with overgrown vegetation (Nature’s Vail), small structures (Limited Duty), and a collection of unique barns discovered during the photographing of remaining old structures in the county. Many of the photographs depict structures over hundred years old, in disrepair or abandoned. The photographs with accompanying reflections are intended to reveal the aesthetic nature of these structures and their link to their original owners. The book is primarily of barns in a dilapidated state as corporate farms began to replace old family farms and dairy farming nearly evaporated. Left were old run down corn cribs, dairy barns, silos, and abandoned equipment buildings. The original idea for the book came after the author’s mother, who grew up on the farm in Kankakee County in the 1930s, asked if her son might take a photo of her grandparents barn in the St. George area. After McNulty took photos of his ancestor’s barn, he found it interesting and continue to fine other barns “on their last legs.” All photographs were taken by the author with a 35mm Canon Camera over the period during 2008 and 2009.