Looking Back: 2-12-26

130 Years Ago

February 8, 1896

W. J. Bethard, one of our enterprising merchants, has established a branch store at Cissna Park.

On Tuesday evening the colored brass band made its first public appearance by playing selections in front of the opera house, where the farmers institute was being held. The band has lately been reorganized and the city can just be proud of the organization.

Last Tuesday, Mrs. Mary Ray celebrated her 104^th birthday.

Beginning next Monday a two weeks revival service will start at the Baptist church. Rev. W. L. Riley will be assisted by his brother, Rev. W. B. Riley, of Chicago.

120 Years Ago

February 9, 1906

Coal may be a scarce article this spring and summer and perhaps in the early fall if the threatened strike goes into effect, and there is every probability that it will. Railroads and factories are laying large stores of coal to tide them over. It would be a wise precaution for people in this vicinity to lay in enough coal to last them for awhile after the strike is due to commence. The mines are running now and there is plenty of coal to be had.

H. L. Barne's elevator at Cropsey was destroyed by fire last Tuesday. It is thought to have started from a hot boxing, as the elevator had been taking grain all forenoon. It contained about 40,000 bushels of oats and 10,000 bushels of corn. All are insured. The wind not being very strong was a great help towards saving other buildings as this was the only building which burned.

John Waykestine, a young man who works on the dredge boat, went out skating Monday, the ice not being very thick, broke thru and if it had not been for the timely assistance of help he would have undoubtedly drowned.

110 Years Ago

February 11, 1916

Walton Bros. Co. were engaged the latter part of last week and the first of this week in removing their stock of furniture from the Odd Fellows building, where they have been located so long, to their own building, where their implements were formerly kept. Their new furniture home makes an ideal place for the keeping of this line of stock. It is a big roomy place, well lighted and in close proximity to their other departments.

Mr. and Mrs. James Kirby are another of Fairbury's old residents who just recently passed the fiftieth milestone of their wedded life, their golden wedding anniversary being Monday, February 7. The day was passed quietly by them at their home on South Fifth Street. On Sunday, the day previous to their anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Kirby' children, Leroy Kirby of Chicago, and Mrs. A. D. Westervelt, south of town, and her family, spent the day in this city at the Kirby home. Mr. and Mrs. Kirby are both natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Kirby came to this vicinity in 1851, and Mrs. Kirby arrived here in 1855. At that time Fairbury was not even started and this country was an unbroken prairie. Kirby is one of the men who helped grade the ground through this section for what is now the T. P. & W. railroad.

The Sanitary Grocery, which has been conducted by Lindelof & Meyers, changed hands last week, or rather Mr. Meyers' part changed hands, Mr. Lindelof now being the sole owner of the store. Mr. Lindelof is well able to look after the business of the store. He is a thorough business man and knows the wants of the public in the grocery line. He is a pleasant gentleman to do business with and will get his share of the trade. Mr. Meyers has made no definite business plans for the future.

100 Years Ago

February 12, 1926

Zirkle Bros, who for the past two years have conducted a restaurant in this city, Tuesday disposed of the Central Cafe to Will Patrinel of this city, who took possession Wednesday morning. Mr. Patrinel is not new to Fairbury people in a business way, having been one of the proprietors of the Empress Confectionery up until a few months ago. He is a gentleman highly respected by all who know him and no doubt will add to the large patronage built up by the Zirkle Bros. The Zirkle Bros have not as yet decided what they will do.

The long looked for gas-electric car that has been coming since last August, made its initial run from Bement to Streator and back yesterday on schedule, and will hereafter make the regular run. Gus Christoff was the conductor in charge, and Tom Casey, who has been an engineer on the Wabash for 46 years, was at the throttle. Yes, they still have throttles on them, although the throttle now controls the gas instead of steam. On reaching Fairbury one of Mr. Casey's friends suggested that as long as there wasn't any coal dust or dirt around he would have to start wearing white collars and white shirts, but Mr. Casey stated that he had been wearing overalls and jackets for 46 years and he guessed he would continue to do so.

The family of David Roth, east of Forrest, is under quarantine on account of scarlet fever. The family of Will Henderson, who have been under quarantine because of scarlet fever, have been released from quarantine.

90 Years Ago

February 7, 1936

A new, up-to-date dress shop, of which Miss Ida Hirstein will be the proprietor, will be opened early this spring in the Ries building in the east block of Locust Street. The rooms are being decorated now and are to be fitted with every equipment to make an attractive setting for the garments Miss Hirstein will handle. Miss Hirstein has resigned her position as supervisor of a department in the Continental Insurance Company office, Chicago, after eleven years of service with this company, and will be here about the middle of the month to supervise the arrangement of the shop.

Last Saturday in the Odd Fellows' building, there was sold at public auction, the remaining assets of the Fairbury Bank, with the Fairbury State Bank the liquidating agent. The auction started at ten o'clock, a recess was taken at noon, got under way again at one o'clock and was completed at 2:30. During that time a number of pieces of city property, part interest in farms, mortgages, second mortgages, notes, etc., were disposed of. The total amount of the sale was $49,962. There was a large crowd in attendance, although the actual bidders and purchasers narrowed down to a comparative few.

Robert Hornickel, of Strawn, who a short time ago moved to the Hummel farm in Germanville Township, was seriously injured last Saturday about noon when his car overturned on the slippery road four miles east of Strawn. His 13-year-old son, Virgil, who was with him, was not injured. Mr. Hornickel received a double fracture of the jaw and lost considerable blood and was subjected to exposure in zero weather for an hour before he was removed from the inside of his overturned car.

80 Years Ago

February 8, 1946

Two men are dead, three were wounded, and four men are being held in the McLean County jail at Bloomington, charged with shooting them, as the result of a violent flare-up at Gridley on Wednesday morning, in the T. P. & W. strike, which has been in effect since October 1 last. What happened to touch off the shooting has not been definitely established. One version was that when the brakeman started to throw the switch the strikers gathered around him and kept him from doing his work and that was the beginning of the violence which ended with the shooting.

The American Legion boys held an interesting meeting Monday evening with a large attendance and several things of special interest coming before them. One of these special items was the proposition of a new home for John Joda Post, and the ball was started rolling in that direction by the appointment of a committee to investigate sites that might be available. This committee which is composed of members from both World War I and World War II is headed by Dean Williams. With the large increase in its membership it has been evident for some time that the post was going to require larger quarters.

There is to be another fox hunt next Sunday morning starting at 11:30 o'clock from the Farm Bureau station at Forrest. Three foxes were killed in last Sunday's hunt. Quite a nice sum of money is being derived from the foxes, the money coming from the county as bounty and also from the sale of the fox pelts. E. E. Virkler, of Forrest, said this week that the men had voted to donate the money so collected to the Fairbury Hospital building fund.

70 Years Ago

February 9, 1956

Just about any way you look at it the Fairbury Meat Festival here Saturday was a huge success. The weather could not have been better had the Chamber of Commerce put through a special order to the weatherman. The beef and pork – 800 pound of it – were done to a delicious turn, and could hardly have been prepared any better. Attendance was estimated at 3,000, with a total of 3,700 sandwiches being consumed. All the activities of the day were held on schedule and all were well received. Local business houses who entered into the spirit of the day with special promotions also reported excellent results.

Whether or not the groundhog saw his shadow last Thursday is a point which could be argued, but if he came out of his hole at all, one thing is certain. He froze his nose. The day on which Mr. Groundhog is supposed to prophesy if we are to have six more weeks of winter was mostly cloudy, but sunshine did break through for a few minutes one or two times. But the temperature dropped to four degrees and never got much above freezing all day. If he did see his shadow, another six weeks of good business for the coal, gas and oil men is in store. If he didn't, then the air conditioning men can start sharpening their sales approaches. Either way, we common people lose, so it really doesn't make much difference if the groundhog did or didn't.

The K & S Farm Supply have announced their procurement of the dealership of Mercury automobiles. The firm name has also been changed to K & S Sales, Inc. Dick Koehl, manager of the store, said he expected to have the first showing of the Mercury in a week or ten days.

60 Years Ago

February 10, 1966

A Cropsey man, Navy Commander Raymond K. McCullough, is being hailed for superior skill and courage in spearheading the rescue of four survivors and recovery of four bodies from the crash of a C-47 cargo plane on the wind-swept peak of Mt. Helmos in Greece on Jan. 14. There were 10 officers aboard the crashed C-47. The search had been conducted throughout all of January 14 until they were spotted late in the day on the mountain peak. When 30 Greek mountain climbers were unable to reach it, helicopters were brought in. A medical officer arrived aboard McCullough's helicopter and entered the wrecked plane.

Fairbury Jaycees are seeking contestants for their 10^th annual Miss Livingston County contest, and will hold a kick-off banquet, with wives as guests, on March 19 at Old Susannah Restaurant. At their meeting Wednesday at McDonald's Restaurant, the club heard Fairbury's AFS student, Abel Ribeiro de Jesus, as he told of his homeland in Brazil.

Thomas Crouch, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Crouch of Forrest, returned this week from New York City where he spent two weeks studying the United Nations during the Illinois Wesleyan University concentrated-study Short Term. A total of 23 IWU students accompanied by Dr. John R. Faust, associate professor of political science at Wesleyan, left Bloomington early in January by train for the U.N. The students are taking a political science course, "International Organizations." During their New York stay, the students lived at the Biblical Seminary just across the street from the U. N. building. Each morning the class participated in a three-hour seminar with speakers from various foreign missions, the United Nations and other universities.

50 Years Ago

February 12, 1976

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey S. Traub of Fairbury will observe their 25^th wedding anniversary on Saturday, Feb. 14, with an open house at their home. The reception will be given by their children. Mr. and Mrs. Traub were married February 18, 1951 in Fairbury. Mrs. Traub is the former Barbara Weeks. Their family includes Mr. and Mrs. Eric Traub and son of Edwardsville. Eric is a junior at SIUE. Also Mary and John, both students at Illinois State University, Normal, and Barbara, a student at the University of Illinois, Urbana.

Robert E. Miller of Chatsworth has been named manager of the Sohigro Service Company plant located near Strawn. Miller graduated from Fairbury-Cropsey High School and received his agricultural associate degree from Parkland College, Champaign. His parents are the Donald Millers of rural Cropsey.

Although February 8 was set aside by the Whately family to observe the 50^th wedding anniversary of Henry and Cecelia Whately, Fairbury, the occasion also offered their friends and relatives an opportunity to extend both birthday and anniversary greetings to other relatives attending the reception. It was indeed a rare event because the Whatelys and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Streff of Loda, both observed their anniversaries this month. The Streffs were wed 70 years ago, on February 7, 1906, while the Whatelys exchanged wedding vow 50 years ago on February 10, 1926. In addition, February 8 was Mrs. Streff's 93^rd birthdate, while her husband will be 99 Nov. 11. Henry Whately, a retired farmer is 73, while his wife, Cecelia, 69, has worked in various business houses on Locust St. the past 18 years.

40 Years Ago

February 6, 1986

Debold Householder's lifetime had three hobbies: the Republican party, the Fairbury Fair, and living for a century. And he was within two months of reaching 103 when he died at 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, 1986 in Fairview Haven Nursing Home, Fairbury, where he had been a resident for the past 14 years. Mr. Householder took special pride in establishing a record of attending every Fairbury Fair over 100 years (a mark likely never to be broken) having first been brought by his parents as a babe in arms in the days when farm families came with picnic lunches in horse-drawn vehicles for a day at the fair.

Fairbury Police Chief Bill Spray will be leaving that post within two weeks to join the Illinois State Police. Spray has been with the Fairbury Police Department since September, 1977, and chief since April, 1981. He submitted his resignation to mayor Maurice Cox, along with 30 days notice, on January 16. His final day as chief will be Sunday, Feb. 15. He begins 16 weeks of training at the State Police academy in Springfield on February 16. After completing State Police training, Spray will be assigned to District 4, headquartered in Crestwood in southern Cook County.

Conservation tillage "works and it pays," says Richard Wiegand who has been ridge-tilling 540 of his acres southeast of Fairbury for three years. Ridge-tilling is one practical option to combat tough times because of the reduction in expenses with the system. And at the same time, it's a way of combating the wind and water erosion. Besides the conservation tillage methods, the Wiegand family has been working in other areas to preserve the natural resources of the land. And because of their efforts, Richard and his wife, Betty, were chosen last year as the Conservation Farm Family of the Year by the Livingston County Soil and Water Conservation District.

30 Years Ago

February 7, 1996

Demolition of the remaining section of the old Honegger building at the corner of Locust and Second Streets, Fairbury, began Monday afternoon. The Fairbury City Council, who had purchased the corner property, will begin construction on a 8,000 square foot 2-floor new city hall for about $483,000. The old building was made well, said Jeff Kilgus, of Indian Creek Materials, as he used a torch to cut apart steel beams as they were brought down by Dan Walter in an end-loader. Demolition is expected to take three or four days, said Kilgus.

Starting Feb. 1, Henry J. Handler, has taken over the dental practice of Joseph N. Costa, Fairbury. Dr. Costa will see patients periodically, but has decided to pursue other interests. Joining the office will be Handler's wife, Mila. The couple has a son, Henry Allen, 11, who is a sixth grade student at Westview. Dr. Handler has been serving in the Navy for 13½ years, serving at Camp Lejuene, NC; Quantico, VA; Okinawa, Japan and at the Naval Dental Center at Great Lakes, IL. He is a 1982 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Since the 1995-96 season began, Illinois State senior forward Melanie Ward has continued a career-long history of scoring the rebounding. And, in the process, she has been passing. Ward began the season No. 16 in career scoring and No. 13 in career rebounding at Illinois State. The two-time team Most Valuable Player has passed four former Redbirds on the scoring list and six on the rebounding list. Through mid-January, the 6-foot graduate of Prairie Central High School ranked No. 12 in scoring (1,179 points) and No. 7 in rebounding (596). In addition, she ranked in the top 10 in field goal percentage (4^th), free throw percentage (7^th) and blocked shots (8^th).

20 Years Ago

February 8, 2006

Plans are in the works for a commemorative cook book to honor the 130^th anniversary of The Fairbury Fair later this summer. "Seventy recipes have been turned in so far," according to Terri Wells, chairperson of the project, "but many more are needed." The company putting the cookbook together will include pictures from the fair and pages with information about the fair, past and present.

A group of 15 people will be going to the Mississippi Gulf Coast from March 26 trough April 2, participating in rebuilding and clean up projects in the area. The group's destination is Moss Point, Miss. Those going will represent the First United Methodist and First Presbyterian Churches of Fairbury and also the First United Methodist Church of Normal.

Margaret Fagot of Fairbury will celebrate her 85^th birthday on Feb. 18 with a family dinner. She was born Feb. 14, 1921 in Aledo, a daughter of Paul and Bernice Warwick. She married LeRoy Fagot on Aug. 17, 1946. He died March 22, 2005. She is the mother of Paul Flint of Aledo and Marcia Scherr and Owen Fagot, both of Fairbury. She also has three grandchildren. Mrs. Fagot retired in 1983 from Fairbury-Cropsey High School, where she taught Home Economics.

10 Years Ago

February 10, 2016

Dave's Supermarket in Fairbury is in the midst of giving the front-end area a face lift. Construction continues as the Customer Service and the operational areas are freshened up, New checkout counters and new shopping carts will be implemented in early March. The shopping carts will have a bigger basket capacity while maintaining Dave's over-the-counter style and continuing to offer checker service in unloading your groceries. Some smaller convenience carts will be offered for customers to utilize in quick shopping trips. The Dave's Supermarket mission statement to “WOW the Customer” has been emphasized by focusing on strong customer service, offering a wide selection of products, providing high quality perishables and offering a low store-wide pricing structure.

Velda J. Huette of Fairbury, and formerly of Forrest, will celebrate her 90^th birthday Feb. 12. A family dinner will be held in her honor. Mrs. Huette was born Feb. 12, 1926 at Strawn, to Andrew and Martha Zimmerman Koehl. She married Arthur Huette June 14, 1945. He died June 7, 2001. She is the mother of Curt (Jane) Huette, Cape Coral, Fla.; Kay (Jay) Davis, Forrest; Vicki (John) Bellis, Racine, Wis., Kevin (Toni) Huette, Lake Bloomington, and Julie (Mark) Shambrook, Roberts. Mrs. Huette also has two siblings, Bernice Cox and Maurice (Carol) Koehl, both of Fairbury. Her deceased siblings are Clarence Koehl, Virgil Koehl, Leroy Koehl, Eidth Meiss and Eldora Hoerr. She retired from the Village of Forrest Water Dept. after 19 years of service.

Marine Sergeant Dustin Parrish, son of Ron and Cindy Parris, was promoted to his present rank on Feb. 1, 2016. Sergeant Parrish joined the Marine Corps in April 203. He is presently deployed to Manama, Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. He has been there since early 2015. Sergeant Parrish is attached to Fleet Antiterrorism security Team – Central Command, FASTCENT Charlie Company 4^th Platoon.

Looking Back from Kari Kamrath is sponsored each week on Fairbury News by Duffy-Pils Memorial Homes.