Gene Paleno, author and illustrator living in Witter Springs, entertained museum visitors on January 23rd from noon till 2 p.m. Paleno’s focus was 
the Civil War years between 1860 and 1870 when Lake County was trying to resolve conflicts over designation of its county seat. Paleno’s soon to be published History of Lake County includes a chapter on the subject, “Voting with a Pistol”, based on diaries kept by Lucas Willey which are a part of the collection Lucas Willey papers, [ca. 1849-1873]. It seems guns were used to decide elections in those days.
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