Looking Back 10-1-25

130 Years Ago

September 28, 1895

The famous Capt. Anson's Colts, of Chicago, will be in Fairbury Wednesday, October 2, and will meet a team selected from the best players in the state on the diamond at the fairgrounds.

Married at the residence of the bride's mother, Thursday afternoon, September 26, at four o'clock, Miss Ellen Lanfear to H. I. Reynolds, Rev. E. S. Wilson officiating.

The M. E. conference at Peoria, which adjourned Monday, resulted in considerable shifting about among the preachers. Rev. J. H. Hobbs goes to Cropsey. Rev. Foreman goes to Saunemin. Rev. Mercer is assigned to Milford. Rev. Wilson is returned to Pontiac and Joe Bell to Pontiac. Rev. Miller, late of Crescent City, goes to the McDowell charge.

Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Chapman and family departed for their new home in Clifton Thursday.

120 Years Ago

September 29, 1905

Frank Carson says it pays to raise clover on land worth $150 per acre. He sowed 20 acres in clover and sold the first crop for $5.00 per acre; the second crop he threshed and got one bushel and three pecks of clover seed per acre. As seed it is worth $6.00 per bushel so he realized $14.25 per acre from the land, besides the benefit derived from the fertilization of the soil.

Mrs. J. W. McDowell entertained her lady friends at a "Butterfly" party Tuesday afternoon. Familiar quotations were written upon colored paper cut in the shape of butterfly wings, half of the quotation on each wing and the lady having half of the quotation hunted up the other half. Another amusement was making butterflies out of gum. A delightful afternoon was spent by the ladies and a dainty luncheon followed.

Two tramps entered a saloon at Ashkum the other day with a gallon jug and ordered it filled with whiskey, and tendered a dollar in payment, which the saloonkeeper refused, saying it was $4.00 whiskey. They refused to pay and he poured it back into the barrel. The tramps then left with the jug, stopped just outside of town and broke it. It contained two sponges, well soaked with whiskey, and furnished thirteen drinks for the hoboes.

110 Years Ago

October 1, 1915

While driving home from Rutledge last Saturday evening, Granville Masterson and Claude Dillon had a narrow escape when the steering apparatus on their car went wrong and the car turned over. Masterson received a badly sprained ankle. Dillon was uninjured. The accident happened near Gridley.

Will Bachtold, of Grand Meadows, Minn., arrived here last Friday for a visit. He reports that a heavy frost struck his farm three weeks ago and ruined his 80-acre corn crop.

Will Somers was burned quite badly Wednesday morning when some tar he was heating in the hallway on the second floor of the Somers building caught fire. In throwing the stove and burning tar out of the building his clothing caught fire and he was burned about the legs and waist but not seriously.

In the best game of baseball ever seen on a local diamond, the Fairbury Stars defeated the Henry Grays Wednesday afternoon by a score of  9 to 1. Eller pitched for Fairbury and Keupper for Henry.

100 Years Ago

October 2, 1925

William Metz sold his farm of 160 acres in Pleasant Ridge Township this week to John A. Ulfers for $215 per acre. It is a fine farm and lies two miles east of the Fugate Bridge. It is considered a good sale, as farm lands are gaining now, but Mr. Metz paid $350 per acre for it a few years ago. J. W. Ulfers purchased the half interest of his brother, J. A., in their Avoca Township farm, the price being $265 per acre. J. A. will move onto the land purchased of Mr. Metz.

Almost thirty friends and neighbors pleasantly surprised Mr. and Mrs. Mike Brown, south of Forrest, Friday evening, as they were leaving Monday for their new home near Charlotte, which Mr. Brown has rented for the coming year. After an enjoyable social evening, a delightful luncheon was served. The guests presented Mr. and Mrs. Brown with a beautiful rocker.

Dreamland Park was dark Sunday night, no dance being held there. Manager B. E. Chattin had made all arrangements to hold the Sunday night dance as usual, having engaged the Harry Ryan Orchestra of Lincoln, to furnish the music. Saturday he was notified by county officials that if he continued to operate on Sunday night his dance hall would be closed by process of law. Mr. Chattin has operated Dreamland without a license following the meeting of the supervisors. He tendered the required license fee to the county clerk, but was refused a license by the clerk when it was learned that he proposed to operate on Sunday nights.

90 Years Ago

September 27, 1935

Twenty-seven farm and village homes in Wing and vicinity are assured of electricity for light and power before Christmas, according to the plans already drawn up by the engineering department of the Public Service Company of Northern Illinois for building an electric extension from Saunemin to Wing, as soon as the required number of subscribers might be secured and the last contract for service was signed last Wednesday. While a number of homes in Wing have had electric lights the past few years from battery plants the high-line service will be a great improvement for the town.

Mention was made in The Blade of last week of Mrs. E. P. Greenough, wife of Supervisor Greenough of Saunemin Township, being badly burned when gasoline from an iron got on her clothing. Mrs. Greenough was at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Earl Perrine, of Wing, at the time. She was badly burned and taken to St. James Hospital, where for a short time her condition seemed to improve. However, the improvement was only temporary and she passed away last Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock.

Elmer Baily, who for the past six years has been in the implement department of the Walton Department Store, has resigned his position, the same to take effect this evening. On October 7 Mr. Baily will take a position with the Fairbury Motor Company. Mr. and Mrs. Baily are leaving tomorrow for Huntley, Minn., for a week's visit at the home of her sister, Mrs. F. E. Sutton.

80 Years Ago

September 28, 1945

People who have ben waiting since February 9, 1941, to get back that hour of sleep they lost when "wartime" went into effect, will have the opportunity next Sunday morning. The time to turn the clocks back an hour to standard time is set for two o'clock, but the probabilities are that most people will attend to that little matter before they go to bed or when they get up.

George McNear Jr., president of the T. P. & W., has announced an embargo on all traffic, effective at 12:01 o'clock next Monday morning. That is the hour when the property is scheduled to return to private management and McNear said he had issued the notice that the line would immediately cease operations because he had been informed it would be tied up anyway by a strike as soon as the government relinquishes control. Fairbury, like all other cities and towns along the railroad will feel it. Probably the one local firm it will effect most is the Honegger Feed Mill. The firm last month averaged four loaded cars out each day.

Mrs. Mary Ellen Westervelt, Fairbury's oldest citizen in point of residence here, passed away at her home on West Elm Street last Friday morning, at the age of 86 years, eight months and 13 days. Mrs. Westervelt had been a continuous resident of Fairbury since July 4, 1866, or more than 79 years. She was married to George W. Westervelt in 1884. He passed away September 18, 1925. All the members of her immediate family have preceded her in death. She is survived by a nephew, Dan V. Thompson.

70 Years Ago

September 29, 1955

A crowd of 1,000 persons saw a lot of football Friday night as the Fairbury High School Tartars played their first game of the season at Lewis Field, but they could have taken away all but three of the plays and still left the 13-0 victory for the Green and Gold over Gridley.

Today, three days of corn harvest days will begin in Pontiac, with television and radio stars, beauty queens, corn pickers and an estimated 45,000 persons converging on the city.

Sharon Bolliger, Ronald Davis, Fred Feldman, Sandra Schlipf, James Smith, Jeanette Smith and Ronald Thomas are students from this community enrolled at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington.

Farmers of the Fairbury vicinity last Wednesday night turned over the sum of $10,710 to the city council as their share of the truck and water carrier.

60 Years Ago

September 30, 1965

For the second consecutive year, Fairbury-area residents have compiled the top blood-donation record of the 56 cities participating in the Peoria Regional Blood Center. A plaque citing the local chapter's significant record was presented to Donna Sands, chairman of the local bloodmobile program, at the annual meeting in the Jefferson Hotel in Peoria Thursday. During the past year, 297 persons responded as prospective donors when the bloodmobile made two visits here, and 265 pints of blood were obtained. This is a donor-record equal to 7 percent of the population, and the highest rate of any community through a wide area of North-Central Illinois between the two state lines served by Peoria.

Major Bernard B. Quedens, son-in-law of the E. F. Dickeys of Fairbury, has recently received appointment to attend the U. S. Army's Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He had originally anticipated the appointment in the fall of 1966, but because one of the 1965 candidates became ill, Major Quedens was tapped a year early to fill the vacancy.

Dan Koehl escaped serious injury during the week when he fell more than 20 feet off one of the two new grain driers being installed at Koehl Brothers' elevator on East Walnut. About six feet from the ground, his fall was partially broken as he passed between two electrical conduits. He is badly bruised and going a little "gimpy" but is otherwise o.k.

50 Years Ago

October 2, 1975

In a display of consistent excellence throughout the ranks, the Fairbury-Cropsey Marching Tartars brought home several major awards Saturday from the prestigious University of Illinois Band Festival. Bruce Hammitt's contingent won blue ribbon honors for best percussion section, added second place awards in show band, drum major and color guard competition and placed third in the parade division. All in all, it was one of the finest showings by the Tartar bandsmen in the annual U. of I. contest, which traditionally draws some of the top high school bands from across the state.

Designation of staff writer Rick Jones as managing editor of The Fairbury Blade was announced today by Jim Roberts, editor and publisher of the 104-year-old newspaper, and president of Cornbelt Press Inc., the central printing plant for the six-newspaper group operation embracing Livingston, Iroquois and McLean Counties. Since joining the firm in January of 1974, Jones has covered county government, Fairbury-Cropsey schools and general assignments a well as authoring a weekly column. A native of Cahokia and a journalism graduate of Southern Illinois University, he taught school for a period and then was on the staff of The Pontiac Daily Leader before joining The Blade last year.

Construction is expected to start within a month on the new quarters for Addis Auto Parts at the northeast corner of First and Walnut Streets in Fairbury. Charles G. "Chuck" Addis, the firm's owner, told The Blade this week that the building will measure 100 x 100 feet, totaling 10,000 square feet. The parts wholesaler employs nearly a dozen people, principally salesmen. The building site for years was formerly the used car lot for Fairbury Auto, now Petersen Chevrolet-Buick. Before that, it was home of the original mill of Honeggers' & Co., Inc.

40 Years Ago

September 26, 1985

Blaise DeMuth, president of the Prairie Central Education Association, said Wednesday the teachers' group "is going to try to get together" with the board of education for further contract talks. On Monday afternoon, PCEA members voted "overwhelmingly" to file an intent to strike, citing a lack of progress to settle both monetary and contract language issues. De Muth said teachers will not have school children stranded on buses by a surprise strike call about the time a school day is to begin. If it gets to that point, DeMuth says the teachers likely will make their intentions known following an evening meeting and strike vote.

Fairbury VFW Post 9789 is the newest Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in the state. The charter has been formed and will remain open for a period of 90 days for those eligible veterans who wish to join. The VFW is made up of men and women who have served their country honorably in overseas engagements and for which a campaign badge or ribbon had been authorized by the U. S. government.

Band director Mike Stalker described his Hawks' first competitive venture "a real shot in the arm for the kids," and that's certainly true as the PCHS band brought home six trophies – including a clean sweep of field show honors – from the Dwight Harvest Days. The PCHS band has served notice right from its opening competition that it intends to carry on the blue ribbon traditions of the Forrest-Strawn-Wing and Fairbury-Cropsey state championship units which preceded consolidation this fall.

30 Years Ago

September 27, 1995

Decorative street lamps and trees surrounded by benches and planters may line Locust Street in the near future, thanks to the efforts of the Fairbury Downtown Revitalization Committee who presented a detailed plan to the Fairbury City Council Wednesday night. The committee, made up of ten Fairbury business owners, gave the council architectural drawings and cost estimates of what the group hopes to start "bringing a little vitality back to the downtown area. Costs for the proposed 36 trees would be approximately $6,000 to $8,000. Fourteen Colonial-style lamp posts would cost about $16,700, and 14 tree planters and benches would cost $7,200.

Rob  and Debbie Duffy, Fairbury, are the parents of a daughter, Jacqueline Rose Duffy, born Aug. 25 at 5:27 a.m. at St. James Hospital in Pontiac. She weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces at birth. Maternal grandparents are Bob and Phyllis Lawrence, Rock Island, and great-grandmother, Rosemary Campagna, Rock Island. Paternal grandparents are Patty and Jim Yoder, Bloomington, and the late Roger Duffy. Great-grandfather is Martin Duffy, Graymont.

The Fairbury Dairy Queen gained national recognition this week after company executives announced the store has earned the Silver Cone award for fiscal 1994. Edward Watson, executive vice president of operations for International Dairy Queen, Inc., said, "We are proud of the hard work and dedication of the owners, managers and staff at the Fairbury store. Their desire to make the store a top performer is a credit to them." The Silver Cone award is given to stores reaching a 500 gallon soft-serve increase over the previous year. This and other awards are presented annually to the top Dairy Queen stores in the country.

20 Years Ago

September 28, 2005

Paulette Marie (Simpson) Bazzell will celebrate her 90^th birthday on her birthdate, Sunday, Oct. 9 with an open house reception at Indian Creek Country Club. Her 15 children and their families will host the event. She was born Oct. 9, 1915, the daughter of Grover and Kittie Knisley Simpson. She married Grover "Tobe" Bazzell on March 25, 1935 in Pontiac. He passed away on May 17, 1987. They had 15 children. She also has 45 grandchildren, 93 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren. She was a homemaker for may years and was employed at Fairview Haven for 18 years, retiring in 1995.

Students at Chenoa Elementary School held a "spare change" drive for a nine-day period in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a few short weeks ago. Amounts of change were brought in, some in small amounts and some in large amounts, as well as cash amounts. The money was collected in a giant bottle in the office for the nine-day period. After the money was sorted and counted, the grand total of $782.95 was announced to the school. The donations were given to the Fairbury Chapter of the American Red Cross, who in turn, brought them to the Bloomington headquarters to be distributed where it is needed in the Katrina affected states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

John and Deborah Slagel, of Pontiac, are parents of a baby boy born at 8:16 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, 2005, at St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria. Jack Andrew weighed 4 pounds, 14 ounces and was 17¾ inches long at birth. Grandparents are Michael and Jean Wilderman of Mt. Vernon and Ron and June Slagel of Fairbury.

10 Years Ago

September 30, 2015

An open house and card shower is planned for Paulette Bazzell of Fairbury in honor of her 100^th birthday. Paulette Marie Bazzell was born, the oldest of eight children, to Grover and Kittie Knisley Simpson on Oct. 9, 1915. She has lived all her life in the Odell, Fairbury, Weston and Cropsey areas. She graduated from Fairbury High School with the Class of 1933 and married Grover “Tobe” Bazzell on March 25, 1935. He died May 17, 1987. Together, they raised 15 children: Gene, Duane (Sharon), Kenneth, Carol Walls, Donald (Carol), Gerald (Carol), Darlene Shaw, Larry, Arlene Woods, Andrea (Ronnie) Simmons, Pauline Bazzell, Barb Taylor, Delores (Bob) Ward, Randy and Debra Ricketts. Along with her children, Paulette has been blessed with 45 grandchildren, 110 great-grandchildren and 35 great-great-grandchildren.

The National FFA Organization has announced Braden Ifft of Piper City was selected as a national finalist for the National FFA Proficiency Award in poultry production. His project includes all natural broiler chicken production. He has an extensive marketing program for his poultry products in the urban market. The son of Tim and Julie Ifft, of rural Piper City, and a member of the Tri-Point FFA Chapter, Ifft became eligible for the national award after winning the Illinois state FFA competition earlier this year.

Matthew and Shannon Mills of Mahomet are the parents of a baby boy born at 8:44 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at Presence Covenant Medical Center, Urbana. Rory Joseph weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces and was 18½ inches long at birth. Maternal grandparents are Thomas Brucker of Chatsworth and Sheilagh Daly of New York. Paternal grandparents are John and Karen Mills of Fairbury. Maternal great-grandmother is Kathleen Fahey of Oak Forest. The new arrival shares his middle name with his father and his paternal grandfather.

"Looking Back" from Kari Kamrath is sponsored by Duffy-Pils Memorial Home.