130 Years Ago
November 17, 1894
John Sorg has bought the Faulkner business room now occupied by C. B. Thompson's music store and will move his lunch business into it.
School closed at District No. 8, Avoca Township, Friday, November 9, for three weeks' vacation. Those not absent during the term were: Reese Veatch, Nellie Armstrong, Pearl Fetzer, Louis Dirks, Lillie Armstrong, Artie Veatch, Roy Armstrong and Harry Armstrong. —Augusta Conerus, Teacher.
Monday a stovepipe fell down in the upstairs room at the north side school house, causing much commotion and getting the fire department called out.
Fayette and Nevada were the only two precincts in the county to go Democratic.
120 Years Ago
November 18, 1904
There are plenty of this year's crop of potatoes, but William Hanks is probably the only man in the state who has successfully raised two crops of potatoes this season. August 20th, a month after the crop of new potatoes had been dug and eaten, Mr. Hanks planted his second seed potatoes and on Nov. 7th, he dug the crop. He brought seven nice ones to the Blade office and they are here as visible proof that old Illinois soil and climate will raise two crops in a single season.
Never before in the history of the grain business in this locality has there been as much new corn purchased as this year. The grain buyers in this city and Weston have closed contracts with the farmers in the surrounding country for over four hundred thousand bushels of new corn. The price paid for almost all of it was forty cents a bushel which is a better price than has been paid in years for new corn.
Weston — Mr. Frantz has a piano in his home and now there are sweet melodies heard from that part of the city. In fact, Weston is becoming quite noted for its musical instruments, and we doubt if any other town can make a better showing according to the population. There was a new barber in town the other day doing work for the customers of our two retired barbers, and we could at least get a shave or a hair cut last week. We trust their retirement will not be of long duration.
110 Years Ago
November 20, 1914
G. M. Duzenbery and G. R. McCabe formed a partnership under the name of Duzenbery & McCabe, with the purpose of dealing in grain and feed.
Miss Jesse Eppstein is ill with diphtheria at the teachers' apartment in Chicago. She is getting along very nicely.
Sheriff-elect J. R. Ives on Saturday, sold his residence property in Forrest to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Headley, who have been residing on a farm near Eylar.
Among the 17,000 people who saw Illinois defeat Chicago Saturday at Champaign, 21 to 7, were the following from Fairbury: Misses Josephine and Olivetta McKee, G. A. Sutton, E. W. Powers, Leslie Gregg, Perry Keck, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Martin, Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Anderson and son Ross, Charles Schnetzler, Scott McDowell, R. I. Reynolds, George Jenkins, Carl Goudy, E. B. Pearson, J. A. Patterson. The trip was made in automobiles. Perry Keck in his Ford with companions made a record run going to Champaign, making the distance in one hour and fifty-seven minutes.
100 Years Ago
November 21, 1924
At the regular meeting of the city council held on Wednesday evening a resolution was adopted creating a zoning commission. This action is the result of a number of small houses being built in the southwest part of town for business purposes and which kind of building the Woman's Club recently asked be put under the supervision of the city. According to the resolution the commission is to consist of five commissioners, whose duty it is to create zone boundaries within the city. The mayor has the power to appoint the members of the zoning commission and will announce his appointments shortly.
An extra train on the Chicago & Alton Saturday evening crashed into the car driven by Cleon Hays at the Kemp elevator crossing, in Lexington, completely demolishing the car and throwing Mr. Hays a considerable distance, breaking his left arm and bruising him severely. The train crew picked him up and rushed him to the Brokaw Hospital, Bloomington, where he is at present. Mr. Hays is a brother of H. H. Hays, of south of Fairbury, and resided here before moving to his farm near Lexington.
A. B. Claudon Jr. and Dr. E. L. Fincham returned Tuesday from the northern part of Wisconsin, where they had spent ten days hunting deer. They were very successful in their quest, and brought back two fine deer. There were nine people in the hunting party and each one succeeded in getting a deer. A hunter is allowed by the Wisconsin laws to kill only one deer during the season and the season on deer is only five days. When you get your hunting license you are also given one tag. When you kill a deer, this tag must be attached to it.
90 Years Ago
November 16, 1934
The fire department was called to the James Gibb home on West Oak Street Tuesday to extinguish a small blaze on the roof, which started from sparks from the chimney. The damage amounted to around $12.
The C. & A. Flyer hit a hayrack loaded with soybean hay last Friday, a mile north of Chenoa, scattering the hay and wrecking the rack. The owner and driver was Earl Durham. Mr. Durham had driven the load of hay up onto the tracks where the mules stopped and refused to budge. He managed to unhitch the team and lead it to safety before the train hit the rack.
An automobile driven by Louis Hauswirth of this city, and an ambulance driven by P. L. McGuire, of Chatsworth, came together last Friday afternoon at the intersection of Oak (Route 24) and First Streets. The Hauswirth car was practically demolished, while the McGuire ambulance has a bent fender, the running board on one side damaged, glass broken out one of the windows and other damage done. In the ambulance at the time was Mrs. John Fisher, of Chatsworth, who had gone to Bloomington that morning with the intention of entering a hospital and undergoing an operation. She was not able to undergo the operation and was being returned to Chatsworth. At the time of the accident Mr. Hauswirth was going south and the ambulance east.
80 Years Ago
November 17, 1944
Sgt. Clarence Newman with the U.S. Army in the Pacific area, is home on a 30-day furlough visit with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Newman. He had been in Indo-China for the past two years and recently stationed at Kunming, China. He came across by plane leaving Kunming last Wednesday afternoon, and landing in Chicago at 9:20 Sunday evening.
The Leman garage is being moved the latter part of this week from the building at the corner of Locust and First streets to their new location at 224-226 East Locust street, and they will be open for business there next Monday morning. The office and parts room will be in the building formerly occupied by the Sanitary bakery, while the shop will be in the building to the east. Two doorways have been cut connecting these two buildings and a cement floor has been put in the shop building. The entire front of this building has been moved out even with the walk.
John Alexander, owner and founder of the lumber company that bears his name, passed away last Friday at the Copley Hospital in Aurora. The Alexander Lumber Company in this city is one of a number he operated in several midwestern states.
Lt. Donald Karnes was appointed and sworn in Monday as lieutenant commander at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, an earned advancement. He has been in the service at Great Lakes nearly three years.
70 Years Ago
November 25, 1954
An entourage of Fairbury people, including 99-year-old W. B. Decker, traveled to Peoria Friday evening, where Mr. Decker was initiated as a noble of the Mohammed Shrine. The honor was one of the many being accorded Mr. Decker. On Nov. 12, he was honored as the world's oldest living mason in a banquet here attended by many high-ranking dignitaries of both state government and the masonic organization. Sunday he will be honored by his family with an open house at his home here in celebration of his 100th birthday, which falls on Saturday. In addition to being made a member of the Shrine Friday, Mr. Decker was given the added honor of being designated an ambassador to the Illustrious Potentate of Mohammed Temple, Dr. John M. DeMoure.
Mrs. Curtis Weeks was awarded the Flying Farmer Mother of the year award at the recent Flying Farmer clinic held at Battle Creek, Mich. The area covers Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Mrs. Weeks was selected from nine contestants on the basis of being a flying farmer's mother, supporting flying farmers, personality, community activities and religious service. She was presented a silver bowl by TWA.
The Route 66 four-lane highway which has been under construction for the past year and more between a point two miles north of Chenoa and Bloomington, has been completed and was opened to traffic Tuesday. With the exception of a two-lane by-pass around Springfield, Route 66 is now four lanes from Chenoa all the way to Mount Olive, a distance of 140 miles. Present plans call for the conversion of this route into a four-lane highway from Chicago to East St. Louis by the fall of 1956.
60 Years Ago
November 19, 1964
Bids totaling $501,893 for construction of a 23 bed convalescent wing at Fairbury Hospital were accepted when directors of the Helen Lewis Smith Foundation met Friday in Fairbury. The acceptance followed a rebidding after the original bids for construction were rejected more than a month ago for being too high. Melvin Zimmerman of Fairbury was low bidder for the general construction, with an offer of $298,900. The heating and air-conditioning bid is more than one-third of the general construction cost, with Ben Kiger of Pontiac getting the job on his offer of $109,700. Kiger also got the plumbing work for $36,693. Oberlander Electric of Peoria got the electrical bid for $56,600. Construction will begin in the spring.
Concrete for the floor of the Indian Creek Bridge on U. S. 24 east of Fairbury was poured Tuesday, and reopening of the new highway was brought much closer than many residents had dared to hope. Since the road was closed last summer for rebuilding a three-mile stretch, many residents had voiced fears that the bridge would not be poured before winter set in. Still to be poured on the bridge are the gutters and walkways, and also a short portion of the bridge approach on the roadway.
Cropsey — Our Cropsey community was certainly reminded of the value of our volunteer fire department when it responded so quickly to a call Saturday noon at the Jake Sutter residence. The fire started in the garage with a spark from a trash burner nearby. The flames also blistered the paint and screens on an adjacent house. With the high winds it all could have been much more serious if we didn't have our own department in town.
50 Years Ago
November 21, 1974
The long-pending lawsuit pitting Charles Lane against the Fairbury-Cropsey School Board will finally be brought to trial the second week of December. The unusual nature of the case, requires that some issues be heard before a jury and others before a judge only. One issue that will be decided by the jury is whether the local board of education acted in good faith in reassigning Lane from his principal's duties to a teaching role. "The jury will decide whether the board acted in good faith or whether this was merely another way of dismissing him," attorney Kenneth Strong, who will represent the board, said. Rather than accept the reassignment, Lane left the school system and later filed his suit against the board.
Robert Murray, foreman of the mechanical department at Cornbelt Press, Inc., in Fairbury, has purchased the Gridley News, and will become its editor and publisher on December 1, it was announced today by Mrs. Gordon Isaac, who is selling the publication. Murray, who started in the printing trade as an apprentice at The Fairbury Blade 16 years ago, will retain his present position, and said he expects to name an editor in Gridley next week. He and his son Mike plan to move to Gridley shortly after the first of the year.
Navy Ensign Dale E. Bittner, son of Mr. and Mrs. Merle W. Bittner of Fairbury, was designated a Naval Aviator and received his "Wings of Gold" during ceremonies at the Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas. He has completed more than a year of intensive ground and inflight instruction and will now be assigned to specialized advanced training. He is a 1973 graduate of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, with a Bachelor of Science degree.
40 Years Ago
November 15, 1984
Less than a week after voters gave a 2 to 1 mandate to a new consolidated school system in the Chatsworth, Fairbury-Cropsey and Forrest-Strawn-Wing communities, officials are paving the way for several key decisions which have to be made. Nomination forms are already available at the three superintendent's offices in the search for the new district's name, logo, mascot and colors. Suggestions are welcomed from any resident of the new consolidated district through Monday, Dec. 15. A committee will then forward three to six nominations to the three joint boards for final consideration.
John H. Munz has been named a partner of Arthur Young/San Francisco, the auditing firm announced this week. Munz, 35, joined Arthur Young's tax department in April after 10 years with another Big 8 accounting firm, Peat, Marwick and Mitchell, where he also attained partner rank. He was valedictorian of the Fairbury-Cropsey High School Class of 1967 a Bronze Table honors graduate of the University of Illinois and received his law degree from Harvard University in 1974. Munz and his wife, Betsy, reside in San Francisco. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Hartzell Munz of Fairbury.
The Fairbury-Cropsey FFA livestock judging team placed first in the beef judging competition at the Georgetown livestock judging event. Team members included Brian Steidinger, Paul Kilgus, Bruce Young and Keith Schieler. Each of the 37 teams participating had to judge three rings of beef, swine and sheep. In the overall scoring, the FCHS team placed 11th out of the 37 schools.
30 Years Ago
November 16, 1994
Dave Steffen, best known as the Dave in Dave's Supermarket, has been chosen by the Fairbury Association of Commerce as Grand Marshal of this year's Christmas parade. Steffen, 74, said the honor "humbled me." This coming spring will mark 45 years that Steffen has owned and operated the grocery store located at the corner of Walnut and Third Streets in Fairbury. The store that began with a carryout boy, a butcher, a checker, along with Dave and wife Emmy, has grown to a total employee roster of 125.
At this point, there may be no definitive answer to whether or not Forrest will host a waste-to-energy (incinerator) plant. Both sides were declaring themselves winners following last Tuesday's "no" decision on the proposal under consideration by the Forrest Village Board. "Citizens for a Healthy Community" opposing the energy plant were pleased with the 466 to 400 vote against the project. The same attitude was being taken by Ron "Bump" Steidinger, president of the Forrest Village Development Corporation, which brought developer John Kirby of Springfield to the Forrest Village Board with the original proposal for the solid waste to energy plant. "It's a win," said Steidinger, of the election outcome on the energy plant. "If you look at the town...it did pass in Forrest and rural Forrest. There possibly is enough interest for it to go forward."
District 6 State Trooper Marvin Rutledge, 47, of Pontiac, will become Livingston County Sheriff in December following his overwhelming defeat in Tuesday's general election of Chatsworth native John Wiles. Rutledge received 8,617 votes compared to Wiles' 3,629, with just under 65 percent of registered voters in the county going to the polls.
20 Years Ago
November 17, 2004
Dixie Steidinger, a 19-year employee of Fairview Haven Nursing Home in Fairbury has been named healthcare worker of the year by the Livingston Area Health Services. Steidinger began working at Fairview Haven in 1985, while still in high school, and became employed full time at the facility after graduation. Steidinger, who is activities director at Fairview Haven, can also fill in in the nursing department as she is a Certified Nurse's Assistant.
Friday, Nov. 12 marked the end of an era for Fairbury Appliance owners Jim and Elizabeth Wharton. The Wharton's closed the door and their business at 3 p.m. Friday, after serving customers for 41 years. Now it's time to move on to a much welcomed retirement for the Whartons, who have sold and serviced appliances and electronics in the Fairbury area since 1963. Jim Wharton, who began his career after attending DeVry Tech, worked for Nate Steidinger Electric Service for 10 years before opening Fairbury Appliance in March of 1963 where he and his wife sold Motorola TVs and stereos and Frigidaire appliances.
Prairie Central Junior High athletes were recently presented awards. Eighth grade baseball awards were presented to Mitchell McDonald, most valuable player; Seth Welch and Mike Herrera, HAWK award; Ben Diller, most improved; and Ryan Friedman, best defensive. Seventh grade awards went to Matt Hewitt, most improved; and Jordan Pilgrim, HAWK award and most valuable player. Eighth grade softball awards went to Kelcey Shafer, most improved; Kirsten Brummitt, HAWK Hustle; Abby Pick, most improved; and Shari Steidinger, defensive. Seventh grade softball awards went to Amber Brining, HAWK hustle; Molly Groce, defensive; and Carly Spence, most improved.
10 Years Ago
November 19, 2014
Prairie Central High School musicians selected to the IMEA District 3 Festivals in November are Delayni Dameron, Emily Prattt, Brianna Koerner, Rebecca Elbert, Shania Roeder and Ben Maier. These students auditioned with over 2,000 other central Illinois students in October. The IMEA Jazz Festival was held Nov. 1 at Illinois Wesleyan University. Roeder and Koerner, trumpets, and Maier, bass, were selected to this festival. The concert festival will be at Illinois State University on Nov. 22. Dameron and Pratt, senior chorus, and Elbert, senior concert band on flute, will participate in this festival.
A card shower is planned for the 90th birthday of Maxine Rieger of Forrest. The family will get together Saturday, Dec. 6, to celebrate her birthday. Maxine (Somers) (Knauer) Rieger was born Dec. 3, 1924, to Peter and Agnes Somers of Strawn. She married Glenn Knauer of Strawn on Feb. 9, 1946. The had nine children: Phil, Neil, Steve, Rick, Garry, Sue, Kathy, Greg and Glennda. Neil and Kathy are deceased. She has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The couple farmed until Glenn's death on Sept. 6, 1966. Maxine and family continued to live on the farm until November 1972 when she moved into Strawn. She then accepted a position as the first female bus driver in the Forrest-Strawn-Wing School District. She did this for 17 years. She was also the first female village trustee for Strawn. She married Harvey Rieger of Forrest on Sept. 3, 1983 and moved to Forrest. Harvey died Jan. 15, 2002. He had five daughters: Linda, June, Jane, Diane and Sylvia.
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