— On Saturday, June 29^th at 10 a.m. the Grundy County Historical Society and the Aoyama Gakuin University Alumni Association will be hosting a ribbon cutting/opening ceremony to commemorate the establishment of the Dora E. Schoonmaker permanent exhibit.

Dora was the first female Methodist missionary to go to Japan in the 1870s. While in Japan she opened the first girls’ school. That school has evolved over time and is currently the Aoyama Gakuin University. In November the school will be celebrating its 150^th anniversary.

Dora was born in 1851 in Olive, Ulster County, New York. Her family moved to Wilmington Township, Illinois in 1856 to take advantage of land being sold along the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Dora and her family eventually moved to Channahon where she attended high school. Upon graduation from high school, she became a teacher, and later assistant principal at the Central School in Morris, IL. Dora’s goal in life was to be a missionary and she was able to obtain that goal from 1874-1879.

Yoshiharu Yamamoto, the President of Aoyama Gakuin University, shared his thoughts: “Now, 150 years later Aoyama Gakuin has become a comprehensive educational institution with 23,000 students enrolled from kindergarten to graduate school. It ranks first in the rankings of universities most desired by high school students. The small light lit by Dora Schoonmaker has shone brightly as a great light…the exhibition of Dora’s achievements in the city where she grew up is a great joy and gratitude.”
 
Grundy County Historical Society Board President Kirk Houchin stated: “We have enjoyed working on this exhibit and learning about Dora and her extraordinary life. Grundy County is proud to have such a trailblazer in our history.
The Grundy County Historical Society/Museum is located at 510 W. Illinois Ave., Morris, IL. Confirmed attendees are:

• Dr. Elizabeth Eder, Johns Hopkins University and the Smithsonian Institute, author “Construction Opportunity: American Women Educators in Early Meiji, Japan”
• Rev. Keika Tanamura, Aoyama Gakuin University, author “The Life of Dora E. Schoonmaker, the Person Who Pioneered the History of Aoyama Gakuin”
• Dr. Makoto Kawami, Aoyama Gakuin University, former president of Aoyama Gakuin Women’s Junior College
• Dr. Yasuhiko Ito, Chairperson, Aoyama Gakuin Alumni Association, Chicago Chapter
• Mayor Chirs Brown, Morris, IL
• Village President Missey Moorman Schumacher, Channahon, IL
• Grundy County Chamber of Commerce

• Consulate General of Japan
• The Japan America Society of Chicago
• Chicago Simpo
• Mayor, Ben Dietz, Wilmington, IL