Looking Back

130 Years Ago

October 15, 1892

Last Saturday the teachers of our public schools had a picnic out on the banks of the Vermilion. Kent's hack was secured and gaily decorated with flags of all nations, and the trip was made in it.

Lew Henderson and George Westervelt went to Lexington Sunday on their "safeties," but concluded it would not be "safety" to come back the same way. They can tell you why they came home on the cars.

The opening of St. Matthias Church, corner of Ash and Fifth streets, will be held next Wednesday evening at 7:30 o'clock. The building will be lighted with electric lights and heated with a furnace.

An effort is being made by the high school pupils to establish a gymnasium in connection with the school. The undertaking is a laudable one and should be encouraged. Better results will grow out of a gymnasium than a course in Latin.

120 Years Ago

October 17, 1902

The coal strike has been settled, both sides agreeing to arbitration, and it is expected that the agreement will be ratified by the miners in convention Monday and that they will return to work on Wednesday. The greater part of the credit for settling the strike is due President Roosevelt. It is probable that coal will not be plentiful in this city for a couple of months.

The Slayton Jubilee singers will appear at the opera house next Wednesday evening, Oct. 22. Seat sale opens at Wade's drug store Monday. This is the first number of the Fairbury Lecture Course and those who have not secured season tickets should do so of C. W. Neitz before that date. Adult season ticket, $1.50; Children's tickets, $1; Single admission tickets, 50c.

James Bornbeck, finished the last job of threshing on his run Wednesday, threshing out Fred Craig's oats. Jim had an extra long run of threshing which is said by the farmers to be brought about by his doing such good work, and this combined with the wet season has made him a little late.

110 Years Ago

October 18, 1912

The members of Fairbury Chapter, O.E.S., are requested to be present at the Masonic Hall Tuesday evening, Oct. 22, and participate in a Halloween party. A good time is assured, and all members are requested to attend. The ladies are requested to wear aprons and sun bonnets and the men overalls and straw hats.

Henry Nussbaum of the Perlee Produce Co., went to Michigan the first of the week to buy apples for the firm. If the apples don't suit him there he will go on to New York and get a supply. Mr. Nussbaum knows good apples and may be depended upon to get the very best.

I have the following cars on hand for sale: Case 30, demonstrator, $1,400; Reagle Roadster, 25 horse, new, $800; Studebaker 40, new motor, $500; Winton, $150; Chalmers Detroit 30, $800; Mitchell 40, $500; Rambler 30, $275. Will guarantee all of these cars. Come and see them. —N. J. Foster.

The Wabash will run a popular cheap excursion to Chicago, $1.25 for the round trip from Forrest, Saturday, Oct. 19, 1912.

100 Years Ago

October 13, 1922

News was received this week of the passing of Mrs. L. F. Straight on September 9th at her late home in St. Paul, Minn. Before their removal to St. Paul the Straight family had been residents of Fairbury, coming here from Chautauqua County, N. Y. in 1856, about the time the village was laid out. Mrs. Straight had been a reader of The Blade since its first publication sixty-five years ago.

Jack Magolio, a resident of Forrest, was released from the county jail on Tuesday morning, having completed a 60-day sentence. Magolio was one of those taken by Sheriff R. T. Gorman, and his deputies in a dry raid several months ago. He was arraigned on a charge of violation of the prohibition act and received a 60-day sentence.

N. P. Lindberg, of Rugby, N. D., the man who originated the phrase "say it with flowers," was instantly killed at Penna, N. D., last Wednesday when his automobile jumped a grade, pinning him beneath and seriously injuring his wife. It was when he attended a national florists' convention in Chicago ten years ago and was asked: "What do you raise up in that barren Dakota prairie country?" Lindberg answered: "Up there we say it with flowers." A year later, at another convention, a motion was adopted to use the phrase "say it with flowers," as the national florists' slogan.

90 Years Ago

October 14, 1932

So Near, So Far! The Minonk News-Dispatch tells of the hard luck of a former Fairbury boy: Raymond Sauer, handsome drug clerk at the E. M. Hodgson store, will be 21 years old on November 9, but the national election is on November 8. No, folks, he can't vote without going to jail.

An automobile driven by Mont Fendrick ran up over the curbing and into the yard of Dr. E. F. Law last Friday evening, following a collision at the intersection of First and Elm streets with another car. The Fendrick car almost went into the Law house, getting as far as the steps before stopping.

Corn husking ,which was begun last week and held up on account of rain Monday, is again getting under way and most farmers have opened their fields and begun to husk. Not enough fields have been husked to determine the exact yield, but the crop is well matured and should produce a good yield per acre.

80 Years Ago

October 16, 1942

Alvin Far, a farmer living near Piper City, was seriously injured yesterday evening when his left leg became caught in the tumbling rod of a grain elevator. He was brought to the Fairbury Hospital, where it was found that the leg was so badly mangled that amputation was necessary, it being taken off above the knee.

Miss Ione Brandt, who has been employed at the Grey Goose in this city for the past five years, resigns her place there at noon today, to take a position as head waitress in charge of service at the Hicks cafe at Watseka. Miss Brandt has furnished a cheery note at the Grey Goose and has been highly popular with its patrons, being very well suited to this kind of work. Miss Dorothy Runyon will accompany Miss Brandt and will also be employed at the Hicks Cafe.

A young man who works for Clarence Martin, of near Strawn, has been minus three packages of clothing since last Saturday evening. He came to Fairbury, purchased the clothing, but by mistake put the packages in the wrong car. The packages fell into good hands, however, the car in which he put them by mistake belonging to the Harry Waters, Jr. family. They have been returned to The Blade office where their owner may get them.

70 Years Ago

October 16, 1952

The Blade last week was awarded first and fourth place in the Illinois Press Convention at Danville Friday night. A record 507 entries was made in the contest. The Blade, in competition with weeklies and dailies in cities up to 10,000 population, won first prize with the best news story, with the story reporting the record 7.3 inch rainfall in the July 12, 1951 issue. Fourth place in the sports photograph contest was awarded for a photograph taken by Tom Carter at the Fairbury-Minonk basketball game in the January 17, 1952 issue of The Blade.

Serious damage was narrowly averted Saturday when a tarpaulin caught fire at the Koehl Bros. Garage on West Walnut Street Saturday. Raymond Koehl had been welding a truck, and had left before some overheated insulation material ignited a tarpaulin which could have easily ignited the truck. Mrs. Sonnie Smith noticed the blaze, and after efforts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, the fire department was called. The damage was estimated at $25.

Elmer Bolliger, of Fairbury, finished second in the Illinois State Mechanical Corn Picking Contest held in Bloomington Saturday. He finished behind Chester Long, of Minonk. The contest, the first of its kind in Illinois, was under the co-sponsorship of Chicago radio station WGN and the Bloomington-Normal Junior Chamber of Commerce. Progress of the competition was broadcast throughout Saturday on WGN.

60 Years Ago

October 17, 1962

Directors of Fairview Haven, a new 16,000 square foot home for the aged on North Fourth Street, expect to hold an open house Friday, October 26. Fairview Haven is sponsored by the people from the Apostolic Christian Churches of Cissna Park, Fairbury, Forrest and Gridley. A total of eight to ten people are expected to be hired to operate the home. Eli Leman was named administrator some time ago. During the past week, volunteer help has been assembling beds, waxing floors and arranging furniture.

Miss Lynn Dolgin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Dolgin, Fairbury, has been honored for her high performance on the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) given last spring. She received a formal letter of commendation signed by her principal and the president of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. It signifies a noteworthy accomplishment, one which places Lynn in the upper two percent of all high school seniors across the nation.

Iola Yoder and Robert Aberle were in Arlington Heights on Sunday when they visited her sister and family, Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Leister. They also visited Randhurst, the world's largest shopping center under one roof, which is located in Mount Prospect.

50 Years Ago

October 19, 1972

Establishment of a voluntary ambulance service for the area served by Fairbury Community Hospital was recommended by the executive committee representing local governments, fire departments and the hospital, following a meeting last Wednesday night in Fairbury Hospital. They recommended purchase of the present upgraded ambulance units from the four local funeral homes which have said they are going out of the ambulance business effective January 1. Also set was a quota of $30,000 as the financial need for the system.

Livingston County residents in the Fairbury area were surprised Wednesday morning when about 7 a.m. they found their cars (and shrubs and yards) covered with snow that continued to fall for more than an hour, and which still hung on to many places, even though streets and walks were bare. it brought the soybean harvest to a standstill and glum frowns to farmers' faces.

"Trail Boss In Pigtails," an historical novel which tells about the settling of Wing, has just been published by Atheneum 1972 New York. The book was written by Marjorie Filley Stover, a distant relative of the Burd family, that reportedly were first settlers in the Wing area. Mrs. Stover traveled through several states meeting people, checking out references and verifying historical dates prior to writing the novel, but she did not use real names in her book.

40 Years Ago

October 14, 1982

It was 20 years ago this week when Reuben Huber bought a men's clothing store at the corner of Fourth and Locust in Fairbury from Marv Huette. "But it seems like it was just a few weeks ago that we ran our grand opening ad" Rube said this week. In the ensuing years, he has enlarged his sales space more than 500% from the original area. First, he expanded into the adjacent building to the west, which had housed a barber shop and photo studio. In the process, he added women's clothing to the inventory. Then he built an addition to that building and ultimately even opened a "College Inn" shop in the new basement. Today the store is the county's largest devoted to men's and women's clothing.

Sharing the spotlight this weekend at FCHS Homecoming activities will be King candidates Jeff Kafer, Dan Honegger, Mike Ward, Greg Bazzell and Roger Bachtold. Queen candidates are Kaylene Knapp, Tammy Shannon, Lisa Brown, Leanne Kafer and Wendy Zehr. The class attendants are, freshmen Nelson Zehr and Paula VanWinkle; sophomores Randy Stephens and Leslie Abbey; and juniors Randy McCulloh and Kendra Mutchler. The king and queen will be revealed at a pep rally Friday afternoon just before the annual parade.

Drs. Lucjan and Krystyna Moscicki and Dr. and Mrs. Nik Kothari of Fairbury attended the annual scientific assembly of the American Academy of Family Physicians at San Francisco last week. The meetings were Oct. 4-7 at Moscone Center, with more then 4,000 family physicians enrolled for this continuing medical education series of seminars.

30 Years Ago

October 15, 1992

Winners in the recent Bike-a-thon held in Forrest were Mark Schneider, 10, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Schneider of Forrest, first; Casey Vaughan, 10, son of Mr. and Mrs. Denny Vaughan of Forrest, second; Chris Hutchcraft, 11, son of Jeannie Wetzel of Forrest, third; and Alex Hodges, 8, son of Mr. and Mrs. Rod Hodges of Forrest, fourth. Eighteen riders rode a total of 286 miles and collected $1,165.70, according to St. Jude "Wheels for Life" chairman Denny Vaughan. Vaughan wished to express "special thanks to the Forrest Chamber of Commerce and Lions for funds to purchase prizes."

Airman Justin J. Bundy recently graduated from Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. During the six weeks of training, the airman studied Air Force mission, organization and customs and received special training in human relations. In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force. Bundy is the son of Jerry Fairley of Chenoa and Barb Bundy of Chatsworth and a 1992 graduate of Prairie Central High School.

Michael D. Lorch, District Manager in Fairbury for The Franklin, Springfield, has earned one of the company's top sales honors. Lorch has been named an "Honorable Mention" qualifier for Franklin's Centurion Club, a national honor organization of the Company's most successful sales associates. Lorch's qualification was based upon outstanding personal sales totals for the month of April.

20 Years Ago

October 16, 2002

"If you eat, you qualify." There are no income guidelines for anyone to participate in the Fairbury Community SHARE program. Fairbury Community SHARE has been actively distributing food since October of 1992 at Trinity Lutheran Church. SHARE participants pay $14 plus two hours of volunteer community service of any kind for a unit of food containing 5 to 7 pounds of frozen meats, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables.

Fourth grade winners in the poster contest for Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 8 to Oct. 11 were Stephanie Wessels first place and best over all choice; Michelle Rathbun with second place. Both are in the fourth grade. In the third grade, Kent Fehr won first place and Kyle Sullans won second. Second grade winners were Skyler Sieving with first place and Tara McDonald with second. First grade winners were Philip Hartman with first place and Susan Hish with second.

Paulette Bazzell, Barbara Taylor, Larry Bazzell and Delores Ward, all of Fairbury, Andrea Simmons, Dewey and Pauline Bazzell, Paxton, returned from Glendale, Ariz. last week. Paulette and her children had attended the wedding of her granddaughter, Sherrel Ricketts and Jeremy Bollgras on Oct. 3. They also visited with Sherrel's mother, Debra Ricketts and took in some sightseeing of the area.

10 Years Ago

October 17, 2012

The Fairbury American Legion John Joda Post #54 held its October meeting on Monday, Oct. 1. An awards dinner and ceremony was held as part of the meeting to honor members of the post who have been Legion members for 50 or more continuous years. Seven members received 50-year awards, 10 members received 60-year awards and one member received a 70-year award. Those members honored were John Reis with 70 years; celebrating 60 years were Jim Claudon, Ray Householder, Raymond Koehl, Duane Morris, Wayne Moser, Harry Pick, Wayne Sanders, Art Walter, Robert Wharton and John Ziegenhorn; and celebrating 50 years were Richard Atteberry, Hugh Henning, Wayne Petersen, Charles Schahrer (recently deceased), Richard Steidinger, John Tollensdorf and Wayne Ziller.

Kelly Jones, Chatsworth Early Childhood Teacher, requested a donation from Quanex, located in Chatsworth, and received a check for $375 for the construction of a new Early Childhood playground at Chatsworth Grade School. Paul Fogal, manager at Quanex, presented the check for $375 at an all school assembly on Oct. 5.

Kyle and Jenna Schladenhauffen Daniels are the parents of a baby boy born at 11:04 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012 at Gibson Area Hospital. Kyson Phillip weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and was 19½ inches long at birth. Maternal grandparents are Dave and Kim McWilliams and Keith and Gail Schladenhaufen, all of Fairbury. Paternal grandparents are Phil and Linda Daniels of Fairbury.

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Looking Back at Fairbury history through the pages of The Blade