By 1915, most of Fairbury's Civil War veterans had died. Their grandsons living in Fairbury had no real idea of how terrible war can really be. These grandsons were very patriotic and were ready to enlist in any new wars. The United States also had no experience with managing a conscription or mandatory draft system. In the last great military conflict, the Civil War, the Union Army received less than 2% of its soldiers through the draft. By definition, a conscientious object

Monday's disaster planning meeting held at the Edelman warehouse in Fairbury, photo provided. A disaster could happen anywhere.  That’s why an emergency planning meeting was held earlier this week in Fairbury with more than 70 in attendance. “Our numbers keep growing,” said Fairbury ESDA Director Deb Moran, referring to the annual meeting. Those attending Monday’s event at the Edelman warehouse include Public Health, SECLAS, Fairbury Fire, the mayor, council members, city sta

130 Years Ago November 16, 1895 John Kuenzi is putting up a large two-story house on his place north of town. C. W. Keck has sold his barber business and shop to Jay Tayler, and will devote his time mostly to the insurance business. Mr. Keck has been in the shop 15 years, 12 years as proprietor. School Notes — Miss Dell Steen, in the absence of the teacher, taught the eighth grade Monday morning. Miss Steen is as able to wield the rod as any of the teachers who have had sever

The Fairbury Comprehensive Plan map which indicates a zoning change for the new school. The Fairbury City Council has approved an amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan for the new elementary building planned in the Prairie Central school district. This changes zoning in the area from R2 to “A” Country Estates for when the new school annexes into the city. They came up with the smoothest transition for annexation, according to City Superintendent Brett Ashburn. The city a

Mary Etta Mullen, 78, Fairbury, died at 10:49 am Friday, November 14, 2025 at her residence, Fairbury. Mary Etta was born March 26, 1947 in Fairbury, IL the daughter of Norval and Wilma (Nussbaum) Knapp.  She married Daniel Mullen on November 25, 1970 in Peoria, IL.  He survives in Fairbury. She is also survived by two daughters, Kate (Jeff) Austman, Forrest, and Martie (Jeff) Reese, Edgerton, WI; two sons, Daniel O. Mullen Jr., Arrowsmith, and Claigh Turpin, Morton; ten gran

A fire southeast of Fairbury Monday afternoon destroyed several vehicles and equipment. The race shop was a total loss, according to Forrest Strawn Wing Fire Chief Bud Honegger, but no injuries were reported. The cause of Monday’s fire is undetermined and multiple departments responded as several onlookers parked on neighboring roads to witness the firefighting efforts. A large smoke plume was visible from several miles away. No further information has been released from the

I have now researched and written over 360 articles about Fairbury area history. I am running out of ideas for new history stories. A few weeks ago, I was driving from Germantown Hills back to Fairbury on Route 24. I was thinking of some new stories to write about while I was driving.   I then got the idea for another story about John Virgin, one of Fairbury's most prominent early citizens. I knew I had already written one story about him, but I figured I could write another

130 Years Ago November 9, 1895 Thomas Langabeer has resigned his position in Keck's barber shop. He has purchased a half interest in Hillyer's shop, and the firm will hereafter be known as Hillyer & Langabeer. Anchor Burns — The village of Anchor was almost destroyed by fire on Monday afternoon. The fire started in Dr. Banks' frame office, which was destroyed together with the following other buildings: E. B. Stewart's three story single brick, occupied by Worley & Hester, ge

Kinley Elliot was announced as the Fairbury Rotary Student of the Month for this past September at Prairie Central High School. Elliot was chosen by Joe Moore in the Physical Education and Health Department. In the nomination, Moore said Elliot has demonstrated tremendous effort and leadership in class this year.

Kyle Miller, Madi Roth, Saydee Fehr, Leah Hartman, Carolyn Schmidgall, Brayden Schrader, Ty Harms & Clayton Meiss shown Tuesday at the Fairbury Rotary meeting. Illinois sends 17 winning state FFA judging teams to nationals and Prairie Central had six of those this year. Prairie Central saw huge success at the recent national convention at Indianapolis and that’s no small feat. There are 1,420,245 FFA members in the U.S. and 9,407 chapters. Some of the winning Prairie Central

State Rep. Jason Bunting shakes hands with local veteran Rick Goembel at PC High School Tuesday. Members of the community and students at Prairie Central High School recognized Veterans Day on Tuesday. The annual ceremony in the PCHS gymnasium followed an ice cream social for veterans and family members in the cafeteria. “To our veterans joining us today, we want you to know how deeply grateful we are,” said PCHS Principal Wade Czerwonka. State Rep. Jason Bunting of the 106 t

Much of Fairbury's history is contained in old copies of the Blade newspaper. Old copies of the Blade can be easily searched by anyone using the Dominy Memorial Library website. The story of how the old Blades became digitized and made available online is an engrossing saga. The Blade newspaper traces its roots back to the combination of two competing newspapers. In 1871, the Dimmicks began publishing the Independent newspaper in Fairbury. In 1876, C. B. Holmes started the B

(Fairbury News file photo from 2024) Prairie Central High School will host its annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11.  Festivities begin at 1:45 pm with a free ice cream social for all veterans, active military and their families located in the school cafeteria.  The ice cream social will be immediately followed by the Veterans Day Ceremony at 2:30 pm located in the school gymnasium. This year’s presenters include members of Fairbury VFW post #9789, Fairbury Americ

(Photo provided by Prairie Central High School) The Fairbury American Legion John Joda Post has generously donated new American and Illinois flags to Prairie Central High School. The post also donated new flag poles and stands. These flags will be displayed daily in front of the Prairie Central Military Wall that honors all military members that have graduated from PCHS or one of its former schools.   Flags will also be used during formal events held at the school including g

130 Years Ago November 2, 1895 Fairbury experienced a real live earthquake at about 5:11 Thursday morning. In regard to the details of the disturbance there is a conflict of testimony. Some declare that dishes rattled and some say the movement was gentle and not strong enough to rattle anything. The earthquake was general all over the central part of the Untied States. George P. Westervelt has returned from his trip to Oklahoma and resumed his duties at the telegraph office.

New street sign posts are coming to Fairbury. The City Council approved a quote from Decker Supply Co. during Wednesday’s regular council meeting. This is a new company the city reached out to. “This is who the state uses,” explained City Superintendent Brett Ashburn. These posts have a special wing which helps them stay in the ground to make the structure more stable. Alderman Bill Schmidgall made the motion to approve the quote. In another matter, the 2025-2026 Tax Levy Ord

Prairie Central FFA members pose during a reception held at Kilgus Farmstead Friday evening. It was another great National FFA Convention for members of the Prairie Central Chapter last week at Indianapolis. The following are the national results provided to Fairbury News:   Marketing Plan-Reserve National Champions, Kamber Kilgus, Kaylee Skaggs, Lily Schaffer   Farm and Agribusiness Management-Reserve National Champions, Micah Lanz-National Winner, Kinzey Bachtold, 5th overa

The Harrington brothers emigrated from County Mayo, Ireland, to the Fairbury area because of the Potato Famine in Ireland. According to Wikipedia, the Irish economy experienced growth between 1760 and 1815, driven by infrastructure expansion and the Napoleonic Wars  (1803–1815), which increased demand for food in Britain. Tillage increased to such an extent that only a small amount of land was available to small farmers to feed themselves. The potato was adopted as a primary

Laura Mae (Knochel) Knapp, Fairbury, 93, born September 19, 1932, in Kawkawlin, Michigan, to the late Fred and Nettie (Wieland) Knochel, passed into the loving arms of her Savior on Tuesday, October 28th at Fairview Haven, Fairbury. Laura married Glenn E. Knapp on November 11, 1956, in Bay City, Michigan.  They farmed in Cissna Park, Illinois, until 1963 when they moved to Forrest, and then shortly thereafter Fairbury, where they transitioned from farming to the insurance ind

William “Bill” E. Cox, 61, of Fairbury, passed away in his home on Monday, October 27, 2025. Cremation rites have been accorded. There are no services scheduled at this time. Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury, is in charge of arrangements.  Bill was born on December 22, 1964 in Fairbury, IL, the son of Robert E. Cox and Betsy Ann (Todd) Cox. Bill graduated from Saunemin High School and worked as a Sales Clerk, including 20 years at Ace Hardware in Fairbury.  Bill is survived