Looking Back

130 Years Ago

September 24, 1892

Thursday evening the Cropsey Cornet band visited the Excelsior band of this place. The two bands joined forces and rendered some very good music on our streets.

Taylor and Bartlett have discarded the old style of sulky wheels for their racing sulkies and have received the latest improved pneumatic tires.

Mr. Meeker, of Cropsey, is at work in the First National Bank of this city for a short time. He is becoming familiarized with the routine of banking business, as he goes to work in the new bank which will shortly be opened in Cropsey.

The board of supervisors in session last week reduced the salary of the circuit clerk from $1,500 to $1,400.

120 Years Ago

September 26, 1902

Henry Renger was struck by the east bound Wabash passenger train Tuesday morning just east of the old east coal shaft and killed instantly. He had been in the habit of carrying milk from neighbors across the railroad track. Tuesday morning he was a little late in making the rounds with his milk, which accounts to a great extent for the accident. He came upon the track just as the train came around the curve and it was impossible for the engineer to see him until almost upon him. Engineer Halstead jerked the whistle and applied the air brake as soon as he saw him. Mr. Renger could have gotten out of the way had he seen the train, but he was deaf and evidently never knew what struck him.

Notice is hereby given to the party who has been helping himself to my corn without my consent that any such further acts on his part will bring speedy prosecution upon him. Hunting and trespassing is also forbidden on the A. P. LaClair farm located in the village of Strawn. —John Aellig, tenant.

Wing — Lewis Holloway and John Halihan were in Pontiac Friday, transacting business. Mr. and Mrs. Kamrath have been visiting relatives in and near Minonk for several days.

110 Years Ago

September 27, 1912

The Wabash will run another popular excursion to Chicago, $1.25 for the round trip from Forrest. Trains leave Forrest Saturday, Oct. 5 at 4:00, 5:10 and 6 a.m., and 1:55 and 6:58 p.m. Good returning on all regular trains Saturday and Sunday.

James Hornback finished his threshing run Monday and puts this year in as the biggest in his threshing history, and Jim has been at it just 42 years. This season he threshed out 1050 acres and the total yield was 60,597 bushels, almost 58 bushels on an average. There are very few threshermen in Illinois who have followed that occupation for 42 years. And in addition to this Mr. Hornback has kept track of the yield of every job of oats he has threshed out.

Dr. and Mrs. C. S. Brewer and son were driving in their machine yesterday afternoon and met with a bad accident. They were going around Horseshoe end between McDowell and Pontiac, when something happened to the steering gear and the car run off the grade and struck a tree. The car remained upright but the hood broke and pinned them in. They were uninjured and managed to extricate themselves and telephone for help. Dr. Langstaff went out with a mechanician and the car was brought in. It was somewhat smashed up.

100 Years Ago

September 22, 1922

Robert Mack in the company with Mrs. Mack and their son, Willard, Mrs. John Hoker and John, Jr., returning from Bloomington on Sunday evening, drove into a ditch, overturning the car. Mrs. Mack's left arm and hand were badly cut, seven stitches being required to close the wound in her arm. Mrs. Hoker's hand was badly crushed. The other occupants of the car escaped without injury. The lights on the car went out shortly after they passed Cooksville and Mr. Mack was trying to follow the lights of a car some distance in front of him into Colfax. The accident happened about three miles out of Colfax. The top of the car and the windshield were badly smashed.

The Livingston County Tuberculosis Sanitarium, located at the four corners just to the southeast of Pontiac, will be dedicated with an appropriate program on Sunday, September 24 at 2 p.m., to which exercises the public is cordially invited. The sanitarium is composed of a central two-story brick administration building with pavilions for patients, built of brick and stucco, extending from either side. It will accommodate thirty to forty patients, and is perhaps the most complete structure of its kind and size in the state. It was begun in 1920, and together with the grounds, cost approximately $130,000.

Whether Fairbury will receive a branch factory of the Stein-Spiesberger-Erman company depends a great deal on the ability to find at least 150 girls and women who would be willing to work in such a factory. The association believes that this can be done.

90 Years Ago

September 23, 1932

The Churchill Gravel company, whose gravel pit is located five miles north of this city, has been awarded the contract for the graveling of certain roads in Pleasant Ridge, Eppards Point, Pike and Nebraska townships. The contract totals $20,731.66, and was let at a meeting of the state aid road and bridge committee of the county held last Saturday.

The Blade of last Friday told of the accident which befell George Nimmo at the Dr. Brewer farm, south of Fairbury, on Thursday, September 14, when a piece of tile fell from the top of a silo he was preparing to fill, striking him on the head. From the first his condition was considered critical, he passing away last Friday evening at the Fairbury hospital.

The members and families of the Fairbury unit of the Home Bureau and the Farm Bureau will hold a picnic and wiener roast at Oakwood, north of Fairbury, next Tuesday afternoon, starting at one o'clock. There will be a ball game and a general good time, followed by the wiener roast at five o'clock. Bring your wieners and buns. If you like coffee bring your cup.

80 Years Ago

September 25, 1942

A fire that started in the west end of the Alexander Lumber company's store house on Wednesday afternoon shortly before one o'clock, did an undetermined amount of damage. However, the loss will be several thousand dollars, which is covered by insurance. The fire started when a barrel of tar workmen were heating near the west end of the store room caught fire as it slid from some rocks on which it was resting and fell over. A rather stiff wind was blowing from the west and the flames from the burning tar were whipped against the side of the building. By the time it was discovered the west end of the building was in flames and by the time the fire department arrived the entire west part of the building was in flames.

G. A. Sutton will be the guest of honor at a chicken dinner to be served in the dining room of the masonic temple next Friday evening at 6:30 o'clock. The occasion for honoring Mr. Sutton is due to the fact that he has been a member of Fairbury Chapter, No. 99, Royal Arch Masons, for fifty years. James A. Waggoner, district inspector, will be present to present Mr. Sutton with the 50-year certificate.

Women, of course, in large numbers, many accompanied by their husbands, accepted the invitation of Walton Department Store for last Friday evening to view the newest in feminine attire for autumn and winter. The dresses, coats, hats for women, school girls and very little girls were from the stock carried by Walton's. It was not only a style show, but a very pleasant social event, with dancing after the show, roses were given as favors and punch was served.

70 Years Ago

September 25, 1952

While searching for two escapees from the Pontiac Prison, state police caught two others. A road block had been set up near the Route 17 overpass near Dwight. A car passed with an Iowa state license, containing two men. Having failed to stop, the police, including Francis Mowery of this city, chased the two about two miles on Route 47, when the men abandoned the car and fled into a corn field. A police plane located the men and they were later captured. Both had police records and were turned over to the FBI.

Loss caused by the fire which gutted the "Big Dipper" confectionery in Chatsworth last Thursday morning has been set at $17,000. The "Big Dip," as it is known, caught fire about 8:15 a.m. in the ceiling over the kitchen and was believed to have been caused when a suction fan either shorted or became overheated. Contents of the building were a complete loss. Only a tin roof prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings in the block, firemen stated. The "Dipper" is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Leo Kerrins (Josephine Hanley), who took possession December 1, 1950.

Fairbury's coolest weather since spring was recorded over the past seven days, when the downtown temperature readings struck a mean average for the week of only 60.5 degrees. This was a full seven and a half degrees lower than the previous low recorded since The Blade's recording thermometer went into operation in July. Low for the week was 41 degrees, recorded on Monday.

60 Years Ago

September 27, 1962

While combining beans on the Guy Slater farm last week, several bunches of shredded aluminum foil were found in various parts of the field. Guy, who was mystified about what was found, took some of the material to Pontiac and contacted a Navy man who explained the aluminum to him. During Labor Day, Sept. 3, a mock battle was held in the sky by the U. S. Air Force and the aluminum was dropped by "enemy aircraft" to produce false radar reports. Guy commented, "Very interesting."

Two Fairbury fire trucks sped to the Fred Downs farm two miles south and one mile west of town about 3:15 p.m. Monday to extinguish a roof fire on the farm home. Jack Sparks, Fairbury mail carrier who lives in the rural home, said that apparently a spark from the chimney ignited the wooden shingles on the north side of the house. Mrs. Sparks noted that she could not smell smoke in the house, but Mrs. Dan Meiss, who lives about one-half mile north, saw smoke and notified the fire department.

Milton Kinate and Virgil Farney were among 17 men in agriculture and related fields who left O'Hare Airport in Chicago on Tuesday for a privately sponsored tour of Europe. Farney, a farmer, and Kinate, a manufacturer of dairy products were among a group headed by Ralph S. Bradley, Illinois director of Agriculture whose itinerary includes the Common Market countries of Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, as well as Hungary, Poland and the Soviet Union.

50 Years Ago

September 28, 1972

The Fairbury area has had three times as much rain so far this year than it did in the corresponding period of 1971, according to Dave Schlipf, manager of the Fairbury waterworks and the official custodian of local weather records. Since January 1, up through Monday, Sept. 16 of 1972, Schlipf's rain gauge at the waterworks has recorded 36.76 inches, with 2.04" recorded last week. In the same period of 1971, the precipitation measurement was only 12.87 inches!

First United Presbyterian couples will meet for a "Hobo Convention" at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the church. From there, they will travel by wagon to a very old bridge, where couples will gather for supper and fellowship. Those attending should wear appropriate Hobo clothes.

Nearly a half-century of service to postal patrons, more than four decades of it in the Fairbury post office, has ended for Clarence A. Beer, whose current retirement is in the process of being completed. Beer told The Blade Tuesday that while his application for retirement had been acknowledged by the service, he had not yet received any formal notification that he was officially retired. It was in 1924 that Beer began with the postal department in Roanoke, and eight years later transferred to Fairbury, starting as a city carrier on Nov. 16, 1931. In 1958, he was appointed to fill a vacancy on rural route two from the Fairbury office, a post he had held until applying for retirement.

40 Years Ago

September 23, 1982

Livingston County State's Attorney Don Bernardi says he's ready to declare war against those he calls "silent murders," drinking drivers who, in 1980, killed 26,300 people on American highways. Bernardi indicates he is willing to institute a "get tough" policy with persons arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The policy to date has been that all first-time offenders are referred to a self-help program at the Institute for Human Resources (IHR) in Pontiac.

With area farmers about to harvest the largest corn crop in history, the question becomes "Where are they going to put it?" Further complicating the storage problem is the fact that there is a large carry-over of old corn in both on-farm and commercial storage. That traces to the 1980 embargo imposed by President Jimmy Carter on sales of corn and soybeans to Russia because of their invasion of Afghanistan.

Jill Marie McCulloh of Fairbury and Matthew Thomas Doran of Melvin were married at 7 p.m. on Aug. 27, 1982 at the United Methodist Church of Fairbury in the presence of 280 guests. Rev. David Deal and Father George Hiland officiated the double-ring ceremony. Parents of the couple are Stan McCulloh of Fairbury and the late Carolyn McCulloh and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Lloyd Doran, also of Fairbury. A reception immediately followed the ceremony at Indian Creek Country Club. The couple took a wedding trip to southern Illinois and they now live in Melvin.

30 Years Ago

September 24, 1992

Fairbury's city council voted unanimously last Wednesday to take a straw poll of its citizens on the hospital issue by using a postage paid card enclosed with water bills. "We can get a feeling for what the people want," said alderman Jim Steidinger, who made the proposal. "We'll just ask them 'Should the city of Fairbury assume the responsibilities of a municipal hospital and would you assume the responsibility of paying for it?'"

Sarah Evelyn Ricketts of Forrest and Aaron Herbert Steffen of Hammond were married July 12, 1992. The 12:30 p.m. ceremony took place at Forrest Apostolic Christian Church. Parents of the bride are Nick and Jean Ricketts, Forrest. Parents of the bridegroom are Herb and Georgia Steffen, Cropsey.

"It's amazing all the stuff that's suddenly getting done around here," says the wife of a Fairbury farmer who "has a 75% chance" of being visited in the next two weeks by President George Bush on his re-election campaign. Ray and Ellen Hankes of Thrushwood Farms, east of Fairbury, were told late last week in Washington that the presidential visit probably had moved into the 75% range. "We'll probably have only about five days advance notice that we're on the schedule," Hankes said.

20 Years Ago

September 25, 2002

The Prairie Central Marching Hawks performed strongly at Dwight Harvest Days on Sunday. The 93-member marching band, under the direction of Lesa Starbuck and Greg Zalapi, competed in Class C competition, receiving second place in parade and third place in field show. The drumline received first place in field show competition. This year's fall show is entitled, "Henry V," based on the 1989 Shakespeare movie "Henry V" and was arranged exclusively for Prairie Central by Craig Fitzpatrick.

Grinding apples, and shredding cabbage with a kraut board, old fashioned games and horse and carriage rides were some of the activities going on during the celebration of Fairview Haven Nursing Home's 40th anniversary last Friday. Tours of the facility were given during the afternoon and a special inspirational program was held Friday evening.

Along with at least 20 presentations to clubs and civic organizations in the six communities that comprise Prairie Central #8, the annexation campaign committee has scheduled a public meeting. All citizens are encouraged to attend and hear information about the annexation of the Chenoa school system. The evening will begin with a brief presentation, followed by a question and answer session.

10 Years Ago

September 26, 2012

Mrs. and Mrs. Donald Barnes will celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary on Sept. 30. They were married Sept. 30, 1939 by the Rev. C. S. Davies of the First Presbyterian Church in Fairbury. Their children are Bonnie (Jack) Hacker of Chebanse and Kathy (Bob) Coats of Peoria. They also have six grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. The couple resides at Evenglow Lodge in Pontiac.

Fairbury Chief of Police, Jack Wiser, said that money received by his department from drug busts is placed into a fund to be used for the purpose of purchasing police vehicles as well as for drug-related education and enforcement, including a canine unit to replace the one that was retired. The department will be purchasing a new vehicle this year and hopes to also replace the canine unit this year. The fund has realized $19,979 during the past year. Broken down, the balance is $1,429 in the Police Vehicle Fund, $184 in the Drug Equipment Fund, $2,594 in the DUI Fund and $15,772 in the City Fund.

Willis R. Harms of Pontiac will celebrate his 90^th birthday Wednesday, Oct. 3, with an open house for friends and family from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Pontiac Family Kitchen. Harms was born Oct. 2, 1922 in Wing. He and his wife Mickey were married July 20, 1947 and they recently celebrated their 65^th wedding anniversary. They have four children, Gregory (Roberta) Harms and Kathy (Bill) Ellis, all of Pontiac, Susan Cashmer, Dyer, Ind., and Ann (Kevin) Keller, St. Charles, Mo. They also have nine grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild and one great-great-grandchild on the way.

Kari Kamrath

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