Looking Back: 5-21-25

130 Years Ago

May 18, 1895

The board of education on Monday awarded the building of the new school house on the north side to Michael Petrie, of Peoria, at his bid of $12,543. This does not include the heating, plumbing or furnishing.

The old school house on the north side of town was sold at auction last Tuesday. Dr. Brewer bought it for $105.

This vicinity was visited by a heavy frost and freeze last Monday night. The thermometer went down to 25 above zero and next morning there was ice on the water that stood out of doors, thick enough to take a stout blow to break it. The fruit crop, which promised to be so abundant, is ruined and the potatoes were cut down. There is much difference of opinion as to the damage done to corn. Three-fourths of it was up. It was all cut down to the ground but will no doubt come up again.

Cropsey — A destructive storm visited this vicinity last Friday night. The rain fell in torrents and the lightning was one continual flash. Robert Abbey's barn was struck by lightning and burned. The cattle had been locked outside, but one pony in the barn had some of its hair singed off before it was gotten out. About two in the morning another bolt hit the barn of the farm of Aaron Putnam, farmed by his son, Asa. The barn was a large one, with a shed attached. Both burned, together with eight horses, a pony, a mule, four calves, ten tons of hay, farming implements, threshing machine, etc.

120 Years Ago

May 19, 1905

McDowell has been stirred to the depths by the revival services which have been going on there for the past four or five weeks, and are still in progress. The moving spirit in these revivals is C.C. Thayer, who has manifested such eloquence as to almost seem inspired. He is called by those who have heard him, "a second Billy Sunday." Under his leadership the Epworth League has grown almost beyond belief. Unquestionable there is a great future as a revivalist before Mr. Thayer.

Articles of incorporation have been filed for the Toluca, Marquette & Southern Railway with a capital stock of $700,000. One of the branches of the new road will start from the main line in Woodford County and run east through the counties of McLean, Livingston, Ford and Iroquois. According to the plans of the road, if it is built, it will run through Strawn.

Wing — Saturday night about 11:30 o'clock fire was discovered in the building owned by A.W. Fellows and used as a pool hall. The fire was not discovered in time to save the building or any of the contents and it was a total loss. The fire soon spread to the building on the north, owned by Mrs. Brundridge and consumed it. The household goods were most all saved. There was no insurance on the building owned by Mrs. Brundridge and it will be a total loss to her. The building owned by Mr. Fellows was covered by insurance. The fire also burned a corn crib and a salt house containing about 30 barrels of salt owned by Geo. Gibb & Son and the people had very hard work to save Mr. Gibb's store building. The origin of the fire is unknown.

110 Years Ago

May 21, 1915

This section of Illinois was visited by a tornado last Saturday afternoon, which did thousands of dollars worth of damage. The wind was accompanied by rain and hail. In Fairbury the principal damage was to the trees, which were thinned out in great shape. The buildings and trees at the fair grounds suffered badly from the storm. South of town, at the Dr. D. Brewer farm, tenanted by Charles Gravelle, part of the barn was blown away, the top of the brick silo blown away and trees uprooted. On the James Kirby farm the damage to the crops and buildings amounted to over a thousand dollars. "Babe" Williams, who farms the Mrs. Fugate place, had 80 acres of wheat destroyed by hail and wind. On the George Crouch farm, tenanted by Tim C. Smith, a cattle shed and barn were so badly damaged they will have to be torn down. On the Milton Kelley farm, tenanted by Jesse White, a corn crib and barn were blown down. The buggy of Mr. and Mrs. Warbinton was overturned as they were driving into the Chris Zimmerman place to escape the storm. Mrs. Warbinton was thrown under the horse and badly hurt.

The proprietors of the Bon Ton have made arrangements whereby from this date, they will handle the seat sale for all events at the Central Opera House. Wade's drug store formerly had charge of this.

100 Years Ago

May 22, 1925

Adam Barth received a fall Monday afternoon that dislocated his shoulder. Mr. Barth was repairing a chimney at the C.J. Claudon home. A ladder had been placed on the roof of the rear porch leading to the roof of the house, and it was when a cleat that held the ladder in place gave way that Mr. Barth and the ladder fell to the ground. Mr. Barth struck on a cement sidewalk. It was at first thought that his shoulder was broken, but an X-ray picture showed it was only dislocated.

Jesse Oldham, a former resident of this city and better known in this vicinity as "Calico Charley," but who now claims Gilman as his residence, is being detained at the county jail at Pontiac, while Sheriff Shugart and his deputies are making an inquiry as to Oldham's travels recently.

Sunday, Rev. Charles S. Davies will celebrate the 29th anniversary of his pastorate of the Presbyterian Church. Speaking of the anniversary, Rev. Davies said, "Twenty-nine years! It sounds like a long time, but I don't feel much, if any, older than when I first came here." And we might add, neither has he ever shown any lessening of enthusiasm for his work.

90 Years Ago

May 17, 1935

The first of the two wells to be sunk in connection with Fairbury's new waterworks system, was completed the first of the week by Bolliger & Sons, who have the contract. Work on the well was started last Friday and was the first actual step taken in the construction of the new system. The well is located just north of Indian Creek, near the Walton bridge, a quarter of a mile south of Fairbury. The second well will be sunk just south of Indian Creek, the location being about 500 feet south of the present well. A pipe will be run under the bed of the creek to connect with the pump house, which will be located on the north bank of the creek.

The west display window of the Walton Department Store is filled to overflowing with an exhibit of the grade school pupils' handiwork. The girls have made dresses, pajamas and lingerie, and the boys end tables, desks, book racks, candle sticks, footstools and other articles of furniture. Each article is a credit to the pupil, the instructor and the school. Miss Voda Ulfers teaches the classes in Household Arts and Henri Mohar Manual Training.

The Vermilion River, which overflowed from the heavy rains of last week, spreading out over a mile and a half wide in the vicinity of Wing and inundating hundreds of acres of farmland, is slowly subsiding and probably will be confined within its banks by the end of this week unless additional rains occur. The overflow was within a few inches of the high-water mark of May, 1933.

80 Years Ago

May 18, 1945

Fairbury is to have a fair in 1945. This was decided at a meeting of the fair directors held Wednesday evening at the American Legion rooms. The date is July 31, August 1-3. For weeks the directors had been in a quandary as to whether it would be possible to hold a fair, with a number of restrictions affecting it being in force, due to war regulations. Principal among them was the ban on racing. Without a racing program it would be impossible to hold a fair of the kind which the patrons of the Fairbury Fair have been accustomed to. With the lifting of the racing ban a part of their troubles were eliminated.

Vera Leona Friant, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Friant, of Fairbury, enlisted recently in the U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve. She was graduated from the Chatsworth Township High School and has since been employed by the Illinois Commercial Telephone Company, Fairbury. Her two brothers, Cpl. Myrel Friant and Pfc. Edward Friant, are serving with the U.S. Army overseas. At present Pvt. Friant is awaiting call to active duty at Camp Lejeune, N.C., where she will take her "boot" training.

Harry Klopfenstein and Dr. E.M. Gerdes, of this city, were among the 270 candidates who trod the hot sands of the desert and partook of camel milk at the end of their journey, at the spring meeting of the Shrine in Peoria last Friday. G.A. Sutton, D.S. Voorhees, C.A. Beer, Joe Kuenzi and Lloyd Borngasser accompanied the two candidates to Peoria and were present at the ceremony to see that they withstood the trip all right.

70 Years Ago

May 19, 1955

Perfect attendance pins were presented to three Rotarians Tuesday night. C. C. Thompson has not missed a meeting in 21 years. Frank Pratt has a 14-year record and Louis Shulman, a 12-year record.

The Fairbury-Cropsey Unit District School board Monday night took two important steps in its pursuit of a workable building program to ease the present and future crowded conditions within the unit. The board first made official its previously announced intentions to purchase a tract of 10 acres of land from Mrs. Alma Lewis-James, which lies directly east of the present high school site, for a sum of $20,000. Next, it voted to call an election for the purpose of raising the limitation of the building fund tax rate from 25 cents per hundred dollars of valuation to 35 cents. The election will be held Tuesday, May 31.

The Steffen and Son Lumber Co. this week received incorporation papers, and is now the Steffen and Son Lumber Co., Inc.

Miss Darlene Fehr, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Fehr of Fairbury, and Elmer Stork, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stork, of Forrest, were married on May 14.

60 Years Ago

May 20, 1965

Chet McKinley this week sold his D-X Gas Station at the corner of Fourth and Locust in Fairbury to Harold Butler. The change was effective Monday. McKinley opened the station more than two years ago. Twice this winter he has been hospitalized with pneumonia and said today that it had affected his heart. Butler, the new owner, is a long-time employee of the Honegger mill.

Sam Bachtold has won valedictory honors for the class of 1965 at Fairbury-Cropsey High School with a grade-point average of 4.76. A 5.0 figure is perfect. Besides being the top scholar of his class, Bachtold is also president of the National Honor Society, and last year participated in a summer seminar at ISU for outstanding students. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Bachtold and plans to attend Illinois State University at Normal this fall. The salutatorian, Carl Wince, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Wince, plans to attend Eureka College this fall, majoring in chemistry. He won the second ranking class honors with a grade-point average of 4.29. Wince is vice-president of the National Honor Society and is also active in Luther League, of which he is currently vice-president.

John Tredennick of Pontiac has assumed active management of K. & S. Sales, Inc., the Fairbury sales franchise for Mercury and Comet automobiles and International Harvester trucks. Since Nov. 7, 1960, Treddenick has been a member of the mechanical department at K. & S., and he confesses to "being in the garage business since the seventh grade." He plans no change in the firm's personnel.

50 Years Ago

May 22, 1975

Even though time required for remodeling at Westview School is "tight," the Fairbury-Cropsey School Board Monday night voted to close the Cropsey School, effective at the end of the current school term. The board's decision means that the sixth grade and special education classes now housed in the Cropsey attendance center will be moved into Fairbury. To accomplish the move, the board agreed to remodel the bus garage at Westview, changing the facility into four classrooms at an estimated cost of $66,240.

Roller skating days are over for at least six weeks for Rev. Donald Conrod of Fairbury's First Baptist Church. The local BYF hosted an area skating party Monday evening and Rev. Conrod fell, dislocating his right ankle and breaking it in two places. Rev. Conrod is a patient at Fairbury Hospital, where friends may sign their names on his new cast.

Without additional discussion, the Unit 3 Board of Education Monday night agreed to appeal a recent Circuit Court verdict against the school system in the Charles Lane case. The board's attorney, Kenneth Strong, had to file papers to start the appeal process by today (Thursday) in order to stay within the statutory time limit. He said the appeal might take one year before any ruling is handed down by the appellate court. In the original trial, Circuit Judge William Caisley ruled that former Fairbury-Cropsey High School Principal Charles Lane had been entitled to a hearing at the time the school board reassigned him from his principal's duties to classroom teaching for the 1973-74 school year.

40 Years Ago

May 16, 1985

A record 465 reservations have been received for next week's Fairbury-Cropsey Alumni Banquet, meaning that at least 35 to 40 people will dine at tables in the hallway of Westview school on Saturday evening. "But we're making arrangements for those in the hallway to come in the cafeteria when we've finished eating so that they won't miss any of the program," Bob Nussbaum II, Alumni president, said. Following dinner, spokesmen for at least eight of the nine honor classes, will reminisce about their high school years.

The ultimate fish story . . . the same fish caught twice! Sunday night our intrepid reporter was fishing his pond north of Fairbury and hooked a 3½ pound channel cat, put it on the stringer and was very pleased until he attempted to take it off and found the fish gone. Monday night, Dan Meister was working the other side of the 4-acre pond, and upon drawing in his line had what he thought was a strike. When he landed the fish he found he'd hooked the part of the broken stringer sill in the fish's mouth from the night before! When he considered the odds of dragging his line across that stringer he decided this was his week to buy several lottery tickets!

Charles and Rosemary Iler and Lori and Brad Maley, all formerly of Fairbury, attended the CPA awards banquet at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago on May 8. Lori, a recent graduate of Illinois State University was one of 1,000 in Illinois to receive CPA certificates. She is working as a Certified Public Accountant for Robinson, Schoen and Co. in Lexington.

30 Years Ago

May 17, 1995

Residents and friends of Fairbury have been invited to a first annual celebration in Nebraska. The town of Fairbury, Nebraska, whose history ties to Fairbury, Illinois, sent the invitation by the Nebraska Fairbury's Chamber of Commerce to attend the first annual Rock Creek Trail Days, June 9 through 11. "Since our heritage is directly linked with your city through  Woodford G. McDowell, who, along with James B. Mattingly, settled and named this community after his Illinois hometown, it would only seem right that your citizens should be encouraged to share in this celebration. Please pass this invitation to the good people of Fairbury," says Judith Conway Kluge, interim executive secretary for the FCC, in a letter to the Illinois Fairbury's Association of Commerce.

You won't be able to call it Fairbury Hospital anymore, though the habit will probably stick despite the facility's new name. Official word came from Pat Thornton, interim administrator, and Julie Payne, director for community relations for BroMenn Healthcare, that final approval from the Secretary of State to change the name to Tri-County Health Services Inc., had been granted. The new name is part of the final transition of the hospital to an ambulatory health care facility.

The "Donk" War of Livingston County was held a week ago, at Prairie Central High School Gymnasium where two Prairie Central teams and two Pontiac teams collided for the championship. The PC Track Builders hosted the Bob Crosby's Donkey Basketball Game featuring the Hawks vs. the Indians in the first game. The second game featured the Prairie Central coaches and staff vs. personalities from WPOK-WJEZ radio station. In the hard-fought first game, the Hawks defeated the Indians to advance into the Championship Game. In a tight second match, the Prairie Central team edged the Pontiac team to also advance to the Championship game. The Championship game proved to be very physical and was deadlocked at the end of regulation time. In the end, the PC Hawk Athletes defeated the PC Coaches/Staff on a standing-on-the-back-of-the-donkey slam "donk" by Tony Zook.

20 Years Ago

May 18, 2005

Babies are born every day. First-time mothers and first-time grandmas are born every day. But, it's not every day that the first-time grandma delivers her first grandchild. When Caleb Michael Knauer entered the world at 10:14 p.m. April 24 weighing 6 pounds 8 ounces at Gibson Area Hospital, the first child of Jason and Marcy Knauer, was delivered by his maternal grandmother, Kay Sutter, a certified nurse midwife.

On Monday, May 2, Dr. C.E. Branch of Piper City was honored for his membership and service in the Masons for 75 years. Seven members of the Chatsworth Lodge #539 came to his home to present him with a certificate and a 75-year pin. Dr. Branch joined the Masons at age 21, following his father Thomas Anderson Branch. One brother, Paul, also became a mason.

Prairie Central CUSD # 8 will honor several retirees with a formal reception on Tuesday, May 24. Those being honored include Karen Gyllin, 31 years of teaching service; Philip Hilti, 31 years of teaching service; Anita Boomgarden, 31 years of teaching service; Mary Jo Verdun, 29 years of teaching service; Janet Webel, 13 years of teaching service; Sally Schauble 32½ years of cafeteria service; and Carol Bazzell, 21½ years of cafeteria service.

10 Years Ago

May 20, 2015

Seven people will retire from the Prairie Central School District at the end of the 2014-15 school year. Dennis Greear retires as a district bus driver after y12 ears of service; Cynthia Hall will retire as an early childhood special education teacher at Westview after 20 years of service; Marylee Harms will retire as a special education teacher following a 38-year career in education; Brad Maley will retire following 33 years of teaching, 18½ of those at Prairie Central; Joy Mason will end a 36-year teaching career at Fairbury-Cropsey and Prairie Central; Lynn Metz retire after teaching art for 24 years, 5 at Gibson City and 19 at Prairie Central; and Jeannea Shier has taught family & consumer sciences (foods) and sponsored FCCLA at both Chenoa and Prairie Central for a decade, introducing the FCCLA program to Prairie Central High School when she arrived from Chenoa with the 2004 merger.

Nathan and Jill Wenger of Forrest are the parents of a baby girl born Thursday, May 7, 2015 at Gibson Area Hospital. Alison Faith weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 20½ inches long at birth. Paternal grandparents are Eldon and Marge Waibel of Fairbury. Maternal grandparents are Charles and Joanne Steidinger of Fairbury. The new arrival was welcomed home by her older brothers and sisters, Christine, Jonathan, Jeana, Laban, Bryn and Selah.

Alicia Goembel of Normal, daughter of Charlie and Sandra Goembel of Strawn, graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Liberal Arts from Lincoln College at the Lincoln Center in Lincoln on Saturday, May 9.