Looking Back 2-26-25

130 Years Ago

February 23, 1895

The meetings at the M. E. Church continue with good interest. There have been thirteen conversions.

T. S. O. McDowell and J. D. Weaver have made a deal whereby Mr. McDowell comes into possession of the Weaver property on West Elm Street. Mr. Weaver and family will move to Chicago.

Notice to electric light users: The electric light company is now running all night and all users of electric lights, not using a meter, will be charged at the rate of $1 per month for each 16-candlepower operated after 12 o'clock midnight. —Electric Light Company.

The degree staff of the Fairbury Odd Fellows went to Forrest last Saturday evening and conferred the first and second degrees on five candidates.

120 Years Ago

February 24, 1905

L. G. Dunn and C. C. King bought the Payne Bros. stock of clothing this week and have been busy invoicing the stock preparatory to taking possession.

T. S. O. McDowell, E. E. McDowell and J. V. McDowell, of this city, have made arrangements to open a new bank in Forrest. They have leased the Riley building.

The weather has greatly moderated. The snow disappeared very fast Monday, and Tuesday, sleigh riding ceased to be a pleasure.

Cropsey — The Farmers Elevator company has engaged C. D. Morris, of Anchor, as manager. The Cropsey library has a new edition of an Encyclopedia Britannica of thirty volumes.

110 Years Ago

February 26, 1915

At a meeting of the Bon Ton Limits held last Saturday evening Perry J. Keck resigned as a member of the team. Arrangements have been made for "Derby" Wilken to finish the season.

The marriage of Miss Voda Steidinger to Herman Bahler occurred at the German Apostolic Church in this city Sunday afternoon, Rev. Jacob Honegger performing the ceremony.

Miss Hazel Brown, who is attending school at Normal, was home over the weekend.

Weston — Warren Stevens, of Fairbury, is laying oak floors in the home of C. E. Graves. Billie Moore, who has resided on the John Clift farm, loaded his car this week and moved to Sibley, Iowa.

100 Years Ago

February 27, 1925

A truck driven by Wesley Somerville, and a touring car driven by DuBois Scouler, bumped into each other Monday on the south side of town. Mr. Scouler's car received a badly bent fender and a punctured radiator. The truck was not damaged.

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Shultz were pleasantly surprised at their home near Lodemia last Friday night when members of the L. A. C. C. and their families and the Home Bureau and their families, numbering about seventy-five, gathered to give them a farewell party, as they leave in a short time for Saunemin, where they will make their future home. The evening was spent at cards, games and music. A two-course luncheon was served. Mr. Shultz has lived in this vicinity several years and has many friends who wish them happiness in their new home.

James Baird, who has spent most of the winter here with his brother, Robert, will umpire in the Mississippi Valley baseball league the coming season. This will make the twenty-fifth year for "Suds" in baseball, twenty years as a professional player and five years as an umpire. The season opens May 6, and the cities included in the league are Moline and Rock Island, Ill., and Dubuque, Waterloo, Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids, Ottumwa and Burlington, Iowa.

90 Years Ago

February 22, 1935

A change in the management of the local Kroger Grocery is scheduled to take place in the near future, at which time Carl Metz will assume the management of the store. Carl Brown, who has been manager of the store for the past ten months, was notified some two weeks ago that the company had another position for him, but he has not as yet been informed what it is. In the meantime Mr. Metz is assisting in the store and getting acquainted with the Kroger methods. Mr. Metz formerly managed the A. & P. Store here.

The members of the Busy Woman's class of the Methodist Sunday School have been bidden to a Martha Washington tea this afternoon at the home of their teacher, Mrs. G. C. Lewis. The hatchet invitations request that the guests arrange their coiffure in the style of the 17th century and add to their costume a Martha Washington fichu.

The name of George Cottingham of Fairbury, who died last week at the age of 84 years, is connected with the town of Wing, inasmuch as Mr. Cottingham purchased the southeast quarter of section 10 where the town is located, shortly after the original town had been plotted. In conveying any of the lots which were sold by Mr. Cottingham and his wife Belle, a clause prohibiting the sale or manufacture of intoxicating liquor was inserted providing for the voiding of the deed and return of title to the grantor should the grantee or any later owner violate the original deed. Whether his prohibition clause is valid or not has never been tested, inasmuch as the village was not incorporated and no tavern has ever been licensed in Wing. Mr. Cottingham bought the farm about 1890 from Emily J. Filley and husband, who had acquired the land from Betsy Ann Bird, after whom the town of "Wing" was named.

80 Years Ago

February 23, 1945

Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Hish, of north of Fairbury, received a telephone call from their son, Cpl. Wayne Hish, just recently, the call coming from San Diego, Calif., where he arrived from the southwest Pacific on the tenth of this month. He is located in a hospital there taking treatment and on his release from that institution will be here to spend a furlough with his parents. Cpl. Hish was wounded twice in two separate engagements in the Pacific.

The February meeting of Home Domestic Science Club started with a covered dish dinner at the home of Mrs. George Vance, with Mrs. G. D. Cuddeback and Mrs. Dan Neth also serving on the hostess committee. The entertainment included a sketch of the lives of famous men born in February, by Mrs. Gladys Wessels and an exhibit and demonstration of handmade articles by Mrs. Jesse Brickey. A nice lot of mending for the hospital was accomplished and a gift from the club was presented to the bride member, Mrs. John Ziller. There were twenty-three members and four guests present.

The Office of Price Administration has announced that rations of sugar for home canning this year will be smaller and will be harder to get. Under a drastically curtained rationing program, 20 pounds will be the limit of the canning allowance for one person. Any one family will be held to 160 pounds of canning sugar.

70 Years Ago

March 3, 1955

Actual cash sales at the Community Sale amounted to $4,300. The weather was clear and the sun was shining.

T. P. and W. work crews were still at work this morning removing wreckage from the spot a half mile west of town where 21 cars of a fast-moving freight left the rails 10 days ago.

Pvt. Jake C. Ebach, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Ebach of Forrest, recently arrived in Inchon, Korea, where he was assigned with the K Com Z Command.

Edith Frye, IAA insurance salesman, was awarded an orchid in addition to some other prizes at the annual insurance roundup in Chicago this week. She sold over $75,000 in life policies during a two month period.

60 Years Ago

February 25, 1965

Miss Dula Dawson on Saturday, Feb. 20, noted the 90th anniversary of her birth, which occurred in 1875, just five miles from where she now resides in Fairbury. The veteran school teacher, still almost as spry as when she presided over classes in this area as early as 1892, was born on the farm across from where her nephew, Bill Dawson, now resides. The old homestead still stands on the farm, now owned by Harry Pick. Miss Dawson's parents, William and Armina Dawson, came here from Ohio in 1869. Miss Dawson started teaching a country school at 17, as soon as she got out of high school.

The Village of Strawn is one of 10 communities which General Telephone Company of Illinois will convert to dial equipment during the coming year, under terms of a $30 million construction budget they announced this week. In addition to the dial exchange equipment and telephones in Strawn, the company will erect a building in Strawn at a cost of $2,900, the budget indicated. The company's plans for the summer also include work in Fairbury, where all rural customers will be upgraded to four-party lines. They are currently on multi-party lines of as many as 10 or 12 subscribers.

Illinois State University students from the area who have received student teaching assignments for this semester are: Mary Ann Fugate, Fairbury, teaching home economics in the Roanoke-Benson High School; Charles Taylor, Fairbury, teaching business administration in University High School; Ellen Ector, Anchor, teaching English in University High School; and Judy Vittioe, Colfax, teaching English and library science in University High School. Don Wykis, Chicago Heights, is teaching social science in the Fairbury-Cropsey High School.

50 Years Ago

February 27, 1975

Miss Illinois of 1973, Colleen Metternich, one of the 10 finalists for the Miss America crown later that year, has accepted the position as emcee for the Miss Tri-County Pageant sponsored by the Fairbury Jaycees on Saturday, March 15. The local pageant is a prelude to the Miss America 1975 contest. Colleen, a native of Carthage and a cum laude graduate of Knox College at Galesburg, entered the Miss America Pageant system by winning the Miss Heart of Illinois crown in '73, and a few months later captured the Miss Illinois crown.

Fairbury hospital and its adjacent Helen Lewis Smith Pavilion, has been accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) announced Donald Patterson, administrator. This accreditation, is the result of an exhaustive on-site survey made last fall by field representatives of the JCAH.

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Hammitt of Fairbury are parents of a son, John Thomas, born February 8, 1975 at St. Mary's Hospital in Streator. Maternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Ray Pickworth of Streator. Paternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Wm. A. Hammitt of Normal.

40 Years Ago

February 21, 1985

Interviews for production people at the new U.S. Cotronics plant in Fairbury will begin in a couple of weeks. The statement comes as the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs announced a $150,000 block grant to the City of Fairbury, in behalf of the firm, which initially will employ 50 to 75 people, according to Mayor Jim Steidinger. The firm, which will manufacture electronic components, will occupy the former Prairie Industries cabinet factory at 403 East Locust. Principles in USC are Robert Bullard of Odell and Fairbury attorneys Gordon Kinate and Randall Morgan.

A Santa Fe Railroad rotary snowplow, backed by three power units, worked its way through Fairbury and other Cornbelt Press towns on the line Thursday and Friday, enr oute from Peoria to Logansport, Ind. In some rural areas, drifts on the tracks were eight to ten feet deep.

Last July when Virgil Kyburz became Fairbury's street commissioner, he decided that the city's logo needed a facelift. So he drew a detailed sketch of city hall with the words City of Fairbury making an arch over it, and sent it to a cap company, taking orders from his city workers, who bought the caps themselves. Originally, Kyburz says, he designed the caps solely for the city's employees to give them a sense of identity, and so that they would be more easily recognized on the street. But, then others took a liking to the blue caps with gold trim, he says. So far, about 45 Fairburians are sporting the caps.

30 Years Ago

February 22, 1995

A giant oak, that has "been there forever" in the middle of Munz Alley at Fourth Street in Fairbury, became the topic of a mild controversy at last week's Fairbury City Council meeting. Developers/contractors Mark Steidinger of Fairbury and Steve Drake of Bloomington recently purchased the property at the northeast corner of those streets for the purpose of building a new home on the site. The Alley cuts through the property because the roadway forks around the tree. They wanted the council to consider removing the tree, but city fathers nixed the idea.

She was the November Fairbury Hospital Employee of the Month, and now, Janis Potter has been named the 1994 Employee of the Year at the facility. Potter, who works in the dietary area of the hospital, is said by fellow employees, to be "a great worker, fun to work with and a hard worker. She is a very dependable employee and gets along well with people."

While the Forrest Village Board continues to woo the developer for a waste-to-energy incinerator plant, that developer, John Kirby of Springfield, is eyeing site possibilities in Streator, according to a news article in the Feb. 9 Streator Times-Press. Streator – and Forrest – are among about 14 central Illinois cities under consideration for hosting the energy plant that would burn about 1,800 tons of processed waste a day, sell steam energy to a power company, and have enough steam left over to run an ethanol plant.

20 Years Ago

February 23, 2005

Mike and Kellee McGuire of Forrest celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on Feb. 22. The couple was married on Feb. 22, 1980 at the Gibson City Church of Christ. They are the parents off Jason McGuire, Forrest, and Brandi (Kris) Bachtold of rural Strawn. They are expected to be first time grandparents in July. He is manager of Hicksgas in Fairbury and she cleans homes in the area.

At Prairie Central's Board of Education meeting on Monday night in Forrest, the board approved bids for the renovation of the Chenoa High School building into an elementary school for the district. When asked when the project could begin, Al Slagel of Vissering Construction said a permit will have to be sent to the Regional Office of the Board of Education along with a set of the plans for the renovation and then wait for approval. He also said the project could be finished by the start of the next school year.

Recently retired Judge Charles "Chad" Frank will serve as the chairman of the committee to select a location for a new county nursing home, it was announced at the meeting of the Livingston County Board on Thursday night. When the board first announced that they would be replacing Livingston Manor it was assumed that the new nursing home would be built at Pontiac. Since that time several other municipalities in Livingston County have expressed their desire for the new facility. Included in these towns are Flanagan, Fairbury and Dwight.

10 Years Ago

February 25, 2015

Last week the Prairie Central FFA was named National Champions in both the Ag Mechanics and Dairy Products contests. The Poultry and Dairy Cattle Evaluation teams were 3rd overall respectively. The Envirothon team received a silver emblem. The Ag Mechanics team was led by Tyler Edelman who was the High Individual overall. Clayton Teubel placed 6th overall, Seth Miller and Camden Yoder received gold emblems. The Dairy Products team was led by Trenton Edelman who was the High Individual overall. Caitlyn Ifft placed 3rd overall, Laine Honegger placed 6th overall and Harmony Slagel placed 21st overall. The Diary Cattle team members are: Art Moser, 10th; Monte Schaffer, 12th; Sadie Ropp, 15th; and Will Taylor 21st. The Envirothon team members are Jesse Leman, Weston Stork, Logan Slagel and Ryan Steidinger. The Poultry team members are: Kenton Edelman, 10th; Grayson Cottrell, 12th; Ryan Steffen, 22nd; and Brent Edelman, silver emblem.

Longtime Prairie Central bus driver Fred Kilcullen was honored for driving a school bus for 50 years at the regular Prairie Central School Board meeting Thursday night. A resolution recognizing his many years as a driver states Kilcullen “has skillfully and safely driven a school bus for 50 years.”

The sectional tournament is where dreams can be crushed, but making it to the state tournament can be a joyous, exhilarating experience. It was a good day or the Prairie Central High School wrestlers. Wrestlers advancing to the state tournament are Nick Kauffman at 160 pounds, Sam Schuler at 170 pounds, Tyler Bergstralh at 145 pounds, Paul Garcia at 152 pounds and freshman Drew Hoselton who is ranked sixth in the state by Illinois-matmen.com.

(Looking Back from Kari Kamrath is sponsored each week by Duffy-Pils Memorial Home)