Looking Back: 1-8-26

130 Years Ago

January 4, 1896

Mrs. Hester Lough has opened a restaurant in the west end block.

A New Year's Eve party to watch the old year out and the new one in, was given by Miss Alice Richardson. About 25 were present and the evening passed very pleasantly with refreshments and games.

Perlee Bros. have put up a telephone line between their cold storage to their chicken house in the west end. Their store is also connected on the line. Perlee Bros. run a big thing and are always up to date.

The furnace in the south side school building was out of order this week and they had to send to Peoria for a chimney sweep to clean it out.

120 Years Ago

January 5, 1906

Last Sunday, Dec. 31, Mrs. Harriet Coomer celebrated the 48^th anniversary of her arrival in Fairbury. On December 31, 1857, Mr. and Mrs. John Coomer and son, Ibert, arrived in what is now Fairbury. It was then called South Avoca. Mr. Coomer had been here previous to that time and built a house, but it had not been weather boarded, nor plastered, neither had it any doors of windows. The family lived in the house for three weeks before the doors and windows arrived from Chicago, the openings being stopped up with boards and curtains. The original house is still standing and occupies the lot just across the street east of the Thomas House, and this was the first house built in Fairbury.

One of the prettiest weddings of the season occurred at the palatial residence of Mr. and Mrs. James Besgrove, when their youngest daughter, Annie, became the wife of Mr. Edwin H. Brown, in the presence of about one hundred invited guests and relatives. This is the fourth New Years wedding that has occurred in the family of Mr. Besgrove. He and Mrs. Besgrove were married just thirty-three years ago, and two other of their children have been married on New Year's Day.

The Gamma Gamma Gamma Fraternity of the Fairbury High School celebrated its fourth anniversary at Mapel's Hall Monday evening. Sixty guests were present and games of all kind were indulged. Mrs. Jenkins, Mrs. J. W. Walton, Jr., and Miss India Wade presided at the refreshment booth. Dancing and cards furnished amusements until a late hour. Everyone voted the fraternity boys jolly entertainers and departed, wishing them many more "Happy New Years."

110 Years Ago

January 7, 1916

The people of this community were shocked and their hearts saddened Tuesday morning when the word was received here that William Goudy had met death in a motorcycle accident at Bakersfield, Cal., Monday afternoon. He died Monday evening as the result of brain concussion received when three motorcycle racers bunched on a turn at the track in Bakersfield. Will was unconscious and a bad scalp wound extended across the top and back of his head. For a time it was thought that he had a chance to live, but he died three hours later as a result of brain concussion and internal injuries.

J. E. Masterson received a carload of Jeffery cars this week from the factory. One is a seven passenger, one a five-passenger and the other a three-passenger roadster. This makes a fine display of Jeffery cars and can be seen at the Leis garage.

Miss Isabelle M. Ward arrived Monday and is being entertained at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Ward, the visitor being a sister of Mr. Ward. Miss Ward has been in Japan for the past fourteen years as a missionary, being sent out by the Presbyterian Missionary Board. Miss Ward has been situated near Tokyo, for some time past. Her work is only in girls' schools, where she teaches the English language, music and Christian religion.

100 Years Ago

January 8, 1926

After debating the matter several months, plans have been formulated to employ a community nurse for the coming year. The estimated salary of $1,800 has been guaranteed by four organizations, the Red Cross, Woman's Club, High School and Elementary School. The work of the nurse will be the daily inspection of the school children, keeping health records, yearly physical inspection, follow-up calls to the homes of pupils absent on account of illness, baby and pre-school age inspection. The work of the nurse will include the community of Fairbury, provision being made for visits to rural homes.

Ernest Bess has purchased of Miss Frances Patterson the four lots located at the southeast corner of Seventh and Oak Streets and just as soon as the weather will permit will start the erection of an oil station thereon. The house now on the corner will be moved onto the lots east of where it now stands, and Mr. Bess and family will occupy it. The oil station will be one of the best, both as to appearance and in point of giving service. Mr. Bess will handle Shell gasoline. The price paid by Mr. Bess was $3,800.

Conrad Munz, Jr., has practically completed his ice harvest, with the storing away of 2,200 tons of ice of exceptionally fine quality. He has room for 400 tons more at his ice house on East Walnut Street, and will fill it when it freezes again. Dust blowing on the ice from the fields caused Mr. Munz some extra work, as he had to cut the top off to the depth of a half inch or more.

90 Years Ago

January 3, 1936

Starting yesterday the Santa Fe Trail System took over the Yellow Bus Line and will make two round trips daily between Chenoa and Watseka. At Chenoa they make connections with their trans-continental schedule. Their local depot will be at Van's Service Station. The Santa Fe Trail System is one of the country's largest bus lines, their busses covering some 60,000 miles daily. The bus in use between Chenoa and Watseka carries 21 passengers.

One of the large water mains on Main Street, which has been carrying water from the old wells through it for more than 40 years, could not stand the water from the new wells and vented its disgust by cracking wide open. The break occurred between Third and Fourth Streets and several basements in the business houses along there were flooded from a depth of a couple of inches to a couple of feet. The broken pipe was replaced with a new one and the water is again turned on in the business houses in that block.

Roy Dickson and Phil Goslin have leased the Mapel building in the west business block, formerly occupied by the Home Cafe, and tomorrow will open a tavern there. The new tavern will be known as the "Casino."

80 Years Ago

January 4, 1946

R. B. James and Cloyd Wilson, Jr., who recently purchased the Farmers Locker plant, took possession Wednesday. The new firm name will be the Fairbury Locker Company. Both of the new proprietors are men well acquainted with the meat business. For 14 years Mr. James conducted a meat market here, disposing of the same six years ago. More recently he successfully operated a locker plant at Chenoa. Mr. Wilson, before entering the service worked at the locker plant, and since his discharge had worked at Frank's market.

Mrs. Flossie Kuntz, of Strawn, has been a patient at the Fairbury Hospital since New Year's Day, suffering with severe burns on her hands, arms and chest. It had been said that Mrs. Kuntz had used kerosene while building a fire in the kitchen stove, but Mrs. Kuntz stated yesterday that such was not so. The fire had been built for some time, and as the morning was quite cold, she was standing by the stove to get warm. She got too close to the stove and her apron caught on fire. She tried at first to put it out with some water that was in a tub in the house. Not succeeding, she ran outdoors and then lay down and rolled in the snow.

Frank Leach, a former Fairbury Township High School instructor, is again on the high school faculty, following a stretch with Uncle Sam in the service. He will also coach the grade school basketball team.

70 Years Ago

January 5, 1956

A former Fairbury girl is the mother of the first baby of 1956 born at Fairbury Hospital. Pamela Darlene Roth entered the world at 6:16 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 1, tipping the scales at just a half-ounce under six pounds. The parents are Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Roth, of Forrest. She is the former Dorothy Cooper, of Fairbury. With the distinction of first baby came prizes worth almost $100 from local merchants. The Roths live on the Roth home place located two miles south and a mile west of Forrest. They have one other youngster, Terry Wayne, who'll be a year old Jan. 12.

Fairbury High School begins a new year of basketball playing Friday night as they play host to the Forrest Eskimos, and everyone in the land of the green and the gold are hoping that 1956 will be the year. The Big Ten's dominance over the west coast teams in the Rose Bowl game is nothing compared to the mastery Forrest has displayed over Fairbury on the basketball court for the past six seasons. The cold facts are that the Eskimos have beaten the Tartars in 21 straight basketball games. The last time a Fairbury basketball team won over Forrest was back in February 1947, when Mack Follmer missed the game because of a cold and the Tartars took unfair advantage to whittle out a 29-27 triumph.

Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Bolliger, of Silverton, Ore., are announcing the engagement of their daughter, Mary, to Gilbert Ifft, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Ifft, of Fairbury. The wedding is planned for Saturday, Jan. 14.

60 Years Ago

January 6, 1966

The first baby of 1966 at Fairbury Hospital was Karen Yvonne, the 10 lb., 3½ oz. daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Smock of Fairbury at 7:05 a.m., Tuesday, January 4. The infant was also greeted by two other Smock children, Richard and Sarah. Karen's timely arrival earned for her and her parents, a number of gifts from Fairbury merchants.

Nearly 39 years to the day after he first became a Locust (Main Street) businessman in Fairbury, Hi Steidinger closed out his career last Friday morning. He had been in the jewelry business since Sept. 18, 1946. If you're questioning our arithmetic, hold on...for Hi came to "Main Street" in January, 1927, when he joined Bert Monroe in the barber business. He then was associated with Jay Tyler for one and a half years, and then "was a partner with Dutch Waite for a while." Hi next was associated as a barber with Al Kilgus and that was a rather lasting affair, 16 years in fact. During that time, he became interested in watch repair as a hobby, and took a correspondence course. But he didn't get into it professionally until during the war, "when every jeweler around was drafted; some people knew I could fix watches, and they started calling."

As a member of the United States Mission to Berlin, Miss Betty Nussbaum of Fairbury has been appointed to serve as a vice-consul to West Berlin. On Monday morning she began an intensive German language course which will require four months' training to complete. Following language school she will attend a consular course for several weeks and plans to assume her new duties as vice-consul to West Berlin on or about July 1. Betty has been employed by the state department of the United States government since 1947.

50 Years Ago

January 8, 1976

The first baby born in 1976 at Fairbury Hospital was Jeffrey Lloyd Stehle, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Stehle of Forrest. He weighed 9 lbs. 5¼  ounces at 10:45 p.m. January 4. His mother is the former Donna Gae Babbs, who at one time resided in Fairbury. Grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Stehle of Forrest, Mrs. Alta Wenger of Fairbury and Leslie Babbs of Pontiac. Great-grandparents are Mrs. Emma Babbs of Pekin, Henry Stehle of Chatsworth and Mrs. Thelma Blackmore of Cullom.

Fairbury-Cropsey and Forrest-Strawn-Wing School Board members looked at an "on paper" merger of the two school systems Monday night, but took no substantial steps toward joining the districts. The two school boards held their second joint session in Forrest and reviewed data prepared at their request by superintendents Lester Miller and Harold Slater.

Two Fairbury residents have been found guilty of disorderly conduct and fined $25 plus court costs because of excessive barking by their respective dogs. Judge Darrell Reno handed down the verdict and the fines Dec. 30 in a case brought to court by State's Attorney John Satter's office despite the fact that the City of Fairbury has a dog ordinance, which should have meant the city would clamp down on the owners of the barking dogs. "Normally, we would not have been handling a case like this since Fairbury has a dog ordinance," a spokesman in Satter's office said. "However, in this case, we had to step in because the Fairbury police wouldn't stop it."

40 Years Ago

January 2, 1986

Christmas shoppers found what they wanted in downtown Fairbury, and at competitive or lower prices than could be had at area shopping malls, according to an informal Blade survey of retailers. Fairbury merchants contacted this week almost universally reported that the 1985 Christmas shopping season had easily surpassed the amount of business done locally one year ago.

Doris Teubel, a Fairbury native, lost everything she owned except the robe she was wearing when she discovered the fire in the wall of the Bloomington apartment building that was gutted last Thursday. After calling the Fire Department, she was unable to save any of her belongings and had to borrow a coat. Doris is presently staying with her sister, Ruth Teubel, in Fairbury. She has a second sister, Mary Beth Slagel, who also lives in Fairbury.

According to The Daily Telegraph of Sidney, Neb., ex-Fairburians Bob and Joy Spence have won the Christmas home lighting contest for the second year in a row. The Dec. 20 issue carries a five-column photo of their home and writes, in part, "The Spence home decorations range from cutouts of a Christmas card to a fence that has been lighted, lights in large trees, and a cutout of Santa being hoisted to the top of the house by reindeer. Bob is with Natural Gas Pipeline, which has an installation in Fairbury.

30 Years Ago

January 3, 1996

Walton's of Fairbury closed their doors Saturday evening for the last time. The 126-year-old establishment, which was bought by Szold's of Peoria, was sold to Specialty Retailers, Inc. of Houston, TX, and will reopen in early spring under the new name, The Stage. They are a family apparel store, and sell many of the same brands that Szold's sells. As the store reopens in early spring, items like furniture, appliances, housewares and carpet will no longer be available there.

"Students win more than awards and scholarships when they participate in the VFW Voice of Democracy Scholarship program," said Commander Stephen Drach of the VFW Post 9789 of Fairbury in discussing the essay program conducted annually by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Ladies Auxiliary. Nathan Kelson was selected the recipient of the scholarship, and will have the opportunity to compete at District, State and Federal levels of the competition. Other students receiving awards were Kent Blunier, Emily Bachtold and Lucas Roach.

Doug Stephens of rural Forrest has been named to the "Winner's Circle" for the fourth time as one of the top dealers for DEKALB Genetics Corporation. Doug and Cindy were guests of DEKALB at a Winner's Circle weekend in Branson, MO recently. Doug has been a DEKALB dealer for 15 years and is among 1,200 Winner's Circle members to be recognized nationwide this year. The award is based on service to customers, sales volume and increases in seed orders.

20 Years Ago

January 4, 2006

Maury Cox of Fairbury has spent many years (20-plus) in the doorways at Prairie Central High School, working as a volunteer, taking tickets at athletic events. This year will be his final year as a volunteer, as he has decided to retire at the end of the school year. Cox, a former mayor for the City of Fairbury, and a longtime basketball floor official, will still follow the Hawk teams, but he just won't be sitting in the doorway next year, he'll be in the stands.

Moderate temperatures shortened the life span of any standing snowmen in the area, and nearly all traces of snow have been diminished following a week of temperatures in the lower to mid-40s.

SP4 Jarad Mack, son of Bob and Linda Mack of Fairbury has been deployed to Baghdad, Iraq for a year. He is with the 101^st Airborne Division out of Ft. Campbell, Ky. His unit will help provide security for the region.

10 Years Ago

January 6, 2016

Sophomore Drew Hoselton won his second Pontiac Invitational championship this season at 152 pounds. Last season he won as a freshman at 138 pounds.  Hoselton recorded four pins on his path to the championship where he defeated Khandon Howse of Thornwood in 2:48. Prairie Central, finishing sixth, had seven wrestlers place overall. Along with Hoselton's championship, Simon Schuler at 138, Jake Woodrey at 160 pounds, Cade Kerns, Chase Collins at 182 and Grant Rickets at 285 each placed 4^th. Alex Steidinger lost his opening match but then won four matches to take fifth place at 285. Chandler Ifft placed 6^th overall.

Members of the Prairie Central FFA Chapter were one of 43 teams participating in the National FFA Agricultural Tech and Mech. Systems Career Development Event (CDE). The team, led by advisor Kyle Miller, was awarded a Gold emblem. Members also competed for individual awards with 160 other participants. Kenton Edelman and Cole Yoder each received a Gold emblem, Kyle Livengood and Jesse Leman received Silver emblems. Members of the Prairie Central FFA Chapter were one of 36 teams participating in the National FFA Agricultural CDE. The team, led by advisor Becky Freed, was awarded a Gold emblem. Earning individual awards with 140 other participants were team members Laine Honegger, Hannah Miller and Kylie Miller each receiving a Gold emblem. Monte Schaffer received a Silver emblem. Members of the Prairie Central FFA Chapter were one of 43 teams participating in the National FFA Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management CDE. The team, led by advisor Darren Ropp, was awarded a Gold emblem. Members also competed for individual awards. Milan Leman, Jake Leman, Grayson Cottrell and Milan Teubel all received a Gold emblem.

(Looking Back is sponsored each week on Fairbury News by Duffy-Pils Memorial Home)