The Dirksen Congressional Center commissioned a children’s book focusing on Dirksen’s life in Pekin for younger readers. It’s written by local children’s author Corrie Salmon and illustrated by former Tazewell County resident Peyton Hornberger.

“Everett McKinley Dirksen: A Gardener, a Baker, a National Law Maker” emphasizes themes of community pride and public service, showing how an ordinary upbringing in Pekin set Dirksen on the path to do extraordinary things.

The Center is also re-issuing a new edition of Dirksen’s memoir, first published posthumously after 1996 centennial of the senator’s birth. The Pekin native devoted time in the final weeks before his death in September 1969 to working on the autobiography, which focuses on his years growing up in Pekin and living here as a young man, husband, and father, and then being elected to Congress. “The Education of a Senator” highlights experiences from central Illinois and Dirksen’s 16-year stint in the U.S. House that prepared him to serve in the Senate.

The new edition includes a foreword by Dirksen’s surviving nephew, Tom, that dives into a series of poignant memories about his uncle and the community. A new afterword by U.S. Senate Historian Emeritus Don Ritchie details Dirksen’s historical impact on the Senate and the nation from a view 60 years on.

“Making the stories of Sen. Dirksen’s life accessible across multiple generations helps to keep his memory alive and showcase his achievements across our community and our nation,” Dirksen Center Executive Director Tiffany White says. “He carried a part of Pekin with him in everything he did, and these books are a wonderful opportunity for people in central Illinois to learn more about that.”

Both books will be available for purchase during the Pekin Marigold Festival at the Mineral Springs Pavilion from 10am to 2pm on Saturday, Sept. 12. Dirksen’s love for the marigold inspired the creation of the festival. The memoir costs $30, and the children’s book will be sold for $20.

The Dirksen Center plans to partner with other local organizations and benefactors to donate hundreds of copies of the children’s books to students in the Pekin school district at the beginning of the upcoming school year, with a specific focus on students in grades K-3.

The colorful, lively illustrations by Hornberger are based upon photos preserved in the Dirksen Center archives and range from Dirksen’s childhood in Pekin through his career in the Senate. The original photos are also reproduced at the back of the book so that children and adults alike can learn more about the lawmaker’s career.

“The specially curated set of rarely seen photos used in the children’s book — and the separate set of photos chosen for the memoir — tell lively stories all their own,” White added. “They also help to remind all of us that while Everett Dirksen’s achievements had an enormous impact, they’re grounded in many of the same familiar community backgrounds we still see today.”

The Dirksen memoir can also be preordered for delivery from the publisher, University Press of Kansas, by going to https://tinyurl.com/DIRKSENMEMOIR

Copies of the children’s book can also be reserved for purchase by contacting the Dirksen Center at 309-347-7113 or by emailing [email protected].