Edited by Dan Franklin and Gerry Franklin

This captivating narrative, together with its many photos, maps, and illustrations, celebrates the tricentennial of the village of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois—French in origin, independent in spirit.
  The editors have rummaged beneath the official history to uncover slice-of-life accounts of what it has been like to live in Rocher over three centuries, and the book's 97 authors have responded with compelling stories of their own.
  There's plenty of history, of course ... the fort, the Creole House, the Commons. Yet even for these familiar topics, novel and obscure details are revealed.
  The focus is on the characters of the village (the U.S. senator who was born in the Creole House, the Rocher doctor who had seven automobile patents, and Rocher's first woman voter)
  ... their customs (prenups in the 1700s, the Guiannée, dancing prohibited during Lent, and whiskey not prohibited during Prohibition)
  ... the events that shaped them (their capture by George Rogers Clark, the Mississippi's frequent and persistent flooding, and wartime rationing)
  ... and the spirit and volunteerism that have built their schools, playgrounds, street signs, and holiday decorations—and defended the village against flooding.
  We take you to the limestone quarries north of town and the 1940s airfield to the south; we sneak you into the Brickey House and we put you on the levee during the Flood of '93.
  These stories from the past merge into the story of a resilient community that has loved and laughed and worked and danced its way into the 21st century.