Looking Back 7-31-25

130 Years Ago

July 27, 1895

The ball game Tuesday afternoon between the printers and the clerks resulted in a 20 to 10 victory for the clerks. Frank Karnes and Will J. Braun were the battery for the winners. The printers did not have a catcher that could hold Harry Patton's pitching and brought Bob Baird into the game.

A barn on the farm of S. J. Freeman, seven miles south of Fairbury, and occupied by Martin Barnes, was struck by lightning during Thursday night and burned.

There has been considerable change going on among the draymen. T. Bollier sold out his half in the dray teams of the firm of Compton & Bollier to Ben Harrison. Ben Harrison and Bert Mahannah have formed a partnership. Uncle John Compton will go it alone.

Forrest — C. C. McDonald, of Fairbury, desires to obtain a franchise allowing him to put up poles and wires in Forrest for an electric light plant.

120 Years Ago

July 28, 1905

While driving home from Pontiac Sunday evening, Miss Nellie Twoomey of Chenoa was thrown out of the buggy and broke her ankle. The accident occurred about three miles north of Chenoa and was caused by being run into while passing another vehicle.

A railroad engine passing E. T. Holloway's place outside of Wing, set his meadow on fire, burning about five acres of grass.

The annual meeting of the Cropsey Elevator Company will be held in Cropsey on Tuesday, August 1, 1905, at 1 o'clock p.m. All stockholders are requested to be present at this meeting. A proposition to increase the capital stock will be proposed, and other important business will be transacted. Do not fail to attend.

Miss Jesse Kelso entertained the Lozang Club at a very delightful party last Friday afternoon. The ladies played cards and afterwards enjoyed a dainty luncheon. Prizes were awarded Miss Lenore McDowell and Miss Anna Weber.

110 Years Ago

July 30, 1915

Postmaster Geo. H. Franzen was among those who were on the scene last Saturday when the steamship Eastland capsized in the Chicago River, bringing death to over 1,000 men, women and children. Roy Kirby, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Kirby, of this city, was among those who helped in getting people out of the wreckage. He is in the employ of the Westinghouse Electric Company, and helped cut holes in the side of the ship with electric drills, to get the people out. There were 2,000 picnickers on the boat, which was just starting out when it rolled over on its side.

The Presbyterians are in a good way to be out of a good catcher in next Tuesday's game, as Will Morris suffered a badly sprained ankle when a car bumped into him on Thursday morning at the west shaft.

Charley Smith, Don Dixon, C. A. and Bloice Hill, Francis Hazel, Earl Shover and George Jenkins, of this city, all of whom are members of Company F., of Pontiac, are at Camp Dunne, near Dixon, where they are enjoying camp life.

Frank "Dad" Haner is nursing a hand infected with blood poisoning.

100 Years Ago

July 31, 1925

One day last week when City Clerk Andrew Bennett went out to the high school to read the water meter he found the meter singing merrily in spite of the fact that school was not in session. He also discovered that the amount of water used since the last reading was over a million gallons. He at once notified Engineer Bastion of the high school who started to find out where the leak was. His efforts were finally rewarded when he located an open faucet of an underground pipe out near the tennis court. The water had been running into a drain tile and consequently the leak was not noticed. The bill for water this quarter at the high school will amount to $389.

At a meeting of the fair directors held last Saturday the report showed that a profit of around $4,000 had been made on the Fourth of July celebration staged at the fair grounds. The board of directors has selected Wesley Hanson to manage the auto races to be held on Saturday of the fair. The selection of Mr. Hanson to take charge of the racing insures the fair and its patrons that the best dirt track racers in this section of the country will be here.

Miss Laura Fry, who for several years has been music supervisor in the township high and city schools, and who was employed again for the coming year, has resigned. Miss Fry has for some time been with her father, Joseph Fry, of Warsaw, at Denver, Colo., for the benefit of Mr. Fry's health. Because of her father's illness, which possibly might keep her away from her school work, and also because of the fact that she did not get to complete some school work, she intended doing this summer, Miss Fry handed in her resignation.

90 Years Ago

July 26, 1935

Tuesday evening about 5:30 o'clock, a heavy black cloud came up from the northwest that looked bad, and while it was not as bad as it looked, there was enough wind and rain in it to blow down parts of trees and flatten the oats that had not been cut. Corn also suffered from the effects of the wind. The damage over the county will run up into thousands of dollars. Following the storm, a most beautiful sunset presented itself, the sun casting its bright rays on the upper parts of the trees, while the whole earth was enwrapped in a bright glow. A full rainbow was in the east for a period of 15 minutes, while one of less brilliant hue was also to be seen.

The building just east of the Beckley store is in the hands of the decorators and carpenters and when completed will be occupied by Dr. H. C. Sauer with his offices. It is expected that the work will be completed some time next week, and Dr. Sauer will move in immediately.

R. J. Haymond had to have the first joint of his right thumb amputated Tuesday following an accident in which the end of his thumb was torn nearly off. Mr. Haymond was helping C. M. Colburn harvest oats, driving the tractor which was hooked up to the binder. He reached down to remove some straw from the twine and caught the thumb of his glove in a sprocket wheel.

80 Years Ago

July 27, 1945

Street Commissioner Charles Runyon is taking an enforced vacation from his duties because of a broken ankle which he sustained Wednesday morning. Mr. Runyon was on a load of rubbish and was standing closer to the rear end of the truck than he thought. He stepped back and slipped off the truck to the ground. Two bones in one of his ankles were dislocated and another one was broken.

An airman in a single motored plane must have been enjoying himself yesterday afternoon between 4:15 and 4:30 o'clock, and while he was enjoying himself he was giving the local natives who gathered on the walks in the downtown district a few thrills. A single cloud 'way up in the south-east sky, which looked to be about as big as a good sized garden patch, formed his base of operations. He played hide and seek in it, coming out of the cloud to go into nose dives, loop the loops, banks, rolls and the like. Judging from the manner in which he handled the plane, it was not his first time in the air.

Joe H. Kuntz, who lives on a farm near Cropsey, has good reason for thinking he lives in a fine neighborhood. He was hospitalized many weeks, too ill to know what was going on at home. When he was discharged from the hospital and came home he found the crops all in and coming along fine, looked after by neighbors.

70 Years Ago

July 28, 1955

Everything was lush with the wheat crop except the price. Tuesday's market was down to 52 cents a bushel, ten cents under last year's price. Wheat crop yields are averaging 45 bushels to the acre.

Fairbury Hospital Births — to Mr. and Mrs. Otis Murray, Chatsworth, Saturday, July 16, a girl; to Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Haab, Forrest, Sunday, July 17, a girl; to Mr. and Mrs. Jack Tomlison  of Fairbury, Monday, July 18, a boy.

Sgt. Francis Mowery again had high score in district six state police pistol shooting competition Wednesday with 378 points out of a possible 400.

Rotarians will sponsor a benefit game for the children's ward at Fairbury Hospital, August 17, according to plans made Tuesday.

60 Years Ago

July 29, 1965

Over 800 spectators were held spellbound as they watched a raging fire engulf the Joe Yoder warehouse on East Krack Street Monday, July 26, in Forrest. Cause of the fire is not known. The Forrest Fire Department was notified at approximately 11 a.m. by Phil Rieger that a fire had erupted at the site of the large warehouse. Firefighters immediately went to work in an effort to bring the fire under control. In an effort to save the new Legion building, men were quickly placed on its roof and water was poured onto the roof and the side of the warehouse adjacent to it. At the height of the fire 650 gallons per minute were being pumped onto the building in an effort to halt the consuming flames. At noon the rear of the building collapsed in a ball of flame. At 3 p.m. the fire was declared under control.

Mr. and Mrs. Marion Rieger of rural Forrest are announcing the engagement of their daughter, Karen Jane, to Albert D. Steffen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Steffen of Cropsey. Miss Rieger is a graduate of FSW High School and is presently attending Bloomington School of Practical Nursing, from which she will graduate in October. Steffen recently completed training with the Armed Forces in Germany and is now employed by Honegger Farms, Inc. at Forrest. A December wedding is being planned.

Stan McCulloh of Fairbury, announced today that he has established a new business in his home known as McCulloh Assorted Cabinet Supply. He has a complete line consisting of several factory built kitchen cabinets, vanities, tops, as well as miscellaneous items. Since his business is established in his home, he will be available by evening appointment only. A complete estimate and planning service will be available. Stan and his wife Carolyn and daughters, Janis and Jill, were transferred by Honeggers & Co., Inc., from Taylorville to Fairbury in September, 1961. He will continue his employment with Honeggers.

50 Years Ago

July 31, 1975

A near top figure for area farm land was posted Tuesday morning in Forrest when the 191.46 acres in the Sam Broquard trust was sold at public auction for $2,500 per acre, or a total of $478,650. It came within $25 of the $2525 paid by Mrs. Fern Ummel of Colfax for the Baxter land south of Cropsey earlier this summer. Successful bidder was Pete Walter, acting as agent for Ivan Steidinger, both of Forrest, and who outlasted the final contender, Joe Broquard of Fairbury. Broquard's last bid was $2,497.50 per acre.

For the first time locally, Fairbury-Cropsey's AFS host family for next year met their 1975-76 French student at her home in rural France, near Chateaugiron, about a month before her arrival in the States. On July 3, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Curtiss, Bill, Betty, Vicky and Cathy, boarded a jet at O'Hare and departed for Europe. Shortly after their arrival in Brussels, Belgium, they motored to France to meet Catherine Gatel, who will arrive in Fairbury next week to reside with the Curtisses during the 1975-76 year. Bob said the Gatel family welcomed them with open arms July 6 and served a five-course dinner.

Marshall L. Kaisner, son of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Kaisner of Fairbury, has been assigned as an animal products district sales manager for Elanco Products Company, the agricultural marketing division of Eli Lilly and Company. He will be located in the Peoria area according to J. L. Leith, manager of the company's Central Sales Region. Kaisner has been serving as an animal products manager in marketing communications at Elanco's corporate headquarters in Indianapolis since February, 1974. Kaisner graduated from Fairbury-Cropsey High School in 1959. He received a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Blackburn College in 1963.

40 Years Ago

July 25, 1985

Captain Charles G. McCarthy, Commander, Illinois State Police, District 6, Pontiac, announces the recent assignment of Trooper Paul A. Steidinger to District 6. Trooper Steidinger is a graduate of Fairbury-Cropsey High School. He attended Illinois State University, Normal, for four years where he studied Law Enforcement, graduating with a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice Sciences. Steidinger was appointed to the Illinois State Police on Feb. 17, 1985 and was assigned to District 6 upon graduation from the Department of Law Enforcement Training Academy in Springfield. Steidinger is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Dick Steidinger of Fairbury.

At the quarterly Fairbury Hospital Auxiliary meeting five tuition scholarships totaling $4,000 were awarded to area students. Awards were based on character, scholastic achievement, professional promise and financial need. Scholarship winners were Debbie Edwards, rural Fairbury, a freshman attending the Rockford Memorial School of Nursing; Maureen Mogged, Piper City, a senior at St. Francis School of Nursing; Tess Broquard, Fairbury, who will be attending the University of Illinois in the field of Dietics; Lisa Luttrell, Fairbury, a junior at the Illinois Wesleyan School of Nursing and Cheri Kietzman, Chatsworth, who will be attending Parkland College in the field of Radiology.

Monical's Pizza has signed a contract to purchase property on Route 24 at the west edge of Fairbury to construct the company's 26^th pizza operation in central Illinois. According to realtor Joe Keeley, the Fairbury pizza parlor will be "an experiment" for Monical's in that the company usually leases its buildings. The company has said it will spend in the neighborhood of $250,000 to buy the land and construct the building. Monical's intends to break ground on the site, located directly across the highway from the Indian Trail Motel, within 30 days. A fall opening is anticipated.

30 Years Ago

July 26, 1995

"Help-A-Vet", a not-for-profit outreach program for veterans, has been formed with Rhonda McDonald of Chatsworth as Midwest Regional Director. The program provides assistance to homeless veterans and their families. The program also helps find jobs for unemployed vets, shelter, medical care and emotional support. McDonald says her interest in the program came after her brother was killed in action in Vietnam. She has resided in Chatsworth about three months and has been involved with the outreach program about one and one-half months.

Lighting up the country side with yellow is a 82-acre sunflower field, located 6 miles southwest of Fairbury. Roger Abrahamson planted the 3-foot high foundation seed for Cargill Seed of Pontiac on his rural Fairbury farm. Abrahamson says he has enjoyed the experience of this different product, and another advantage is the short growing season of sunflowers. The field was planted the fist Sunday in May with regular surf meters in his corn planter. Six female rows are planted next to two male rows. Harvest will be done in early September.

Dr. Robin S. Coady will celebrate the grand opening of The Fairbury Vision Center with an open house on Saturday, July 29. After being located on Locust Street in downtown Fairbury for over three years, Dr. Coady has moved her optometric practice to a new building, which is located at 2 Aspen Court on the west side of Fairbury, just off U. S. 24. The new office features a much larger optical shop, additional patient exam rooms and more parking. Ground breaking for the facility took place in October of last year, and on May 8, 1995, Dr. Coady and her staff began seeing patients at the new location.

20 Years Ago

July 27, 2005

Chatsworth residents on the southeast side of town were busy cleaning up Friday morning following wind, rain and hail that hit the area about 7 p.m. Thursday. Trees were uprooted and branches covered many lawns. One tree fell on top of a swing set in the next door neighbor's back yard. Damage was also done to a large marker stone at the Chatsworth Cemetery east of town. The wind knocked the stone off its foundation, and also damaged a nearby corn field.

For 20 years, Cathy Smith of Fairbury has been coaching Stafford swim teams, and three times, including the 2005 season just completed, she has guided those teams to undefeated seasons. A 141-51 record in 192 meets over the years is anything but shabby. After completing her 20^th year as swim team mentor, Smith has decided to step down as coach and also as pool manager. Although she has mixed emotions about her retirement, she looks forward to being able to watch the swim teams as a spectator. Smith also plans to continue to train life guards that work at the pool.

Roxie Gregory of Fairbury has been selected to play the lead role of Miss Tweed in the Vermillion Players' upcoming production of Something's Afoot, the troupe's August show for the 2005 summer season. The show is a musical parody of almost every Agatha Christie novel ever written. Miss Tweed must solve a series of bizarre murders before she becomes the next victim.

10 Years Ago

July 29, 2015

Dreams really do come true at the Livingston County Fair. Just ask Ashley Fox and Victor Johns. The two were named king and queen during a ceremony Monday night. Fox said being crowned was a fun experience but busy at the same time since candidates must fill out an application before moving on to interviewing and voting. 4-H has been in the Johns family for a long time so it comes as no surprise that Johns enjoys hanging out withh is friends at the fair.

Jordi Meints and Adam Cavanagh are announcing their engagement and approaching marriage. The bride-to-be is the daughter of Kevin Meints of Champaign and Geri Reis-Garcia of Fairbury. She is employed at Fairbury Vision Center. The future bridegroom is the son of Dan Cavanagh and Katie Cavanagh, both of Chatsworth. He is employed at Crop Production Services in Strawn. The couple is planning a Sept. 12 wedding at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church of Chatsworth followed by a reception in Melvin.

Things heated up at Fairbury American Legion Speedway as the season winds down. Drivers leading three of the four classes, however, tried to cool the competition as they won their respective feature races. Kevin Weaver had to fend off a late charge after a caution to prevail in the late model finale. Jay Ledford moved a step closer to repeating his 2014 title with a win in the modified feature. Lukes Gash triumphed in the street stock to increase his point standings. Richard Craven looked like the driver to beat in the sportsman race but it was his son, Anthony, taking home his first FALS checkered flag.

(Looking Back is sponsored each week on Fairbury News by Duffy-Pils Memorial Home)