In the 1960s, Bobby Hankins was a country-western and gospel singer in Iowa.
He also was a radio announcer in Oelwein, Iowa. This small town is about 250 miles northwest of Chicago. In 1975, Bobby Hankins released an LP album titled "Two Sides of Bobby Hankins." The last song on side two of this album is titled Fairbury, Illinois.
The story of how Bobby Hankins recorded this song about Fairbury begins with the birth in 1911 of Carl Herbert Friedrich Amelung in Blue Island, Illinois. Carl Amelung grew up in the Chicago area and then attended the Lutheran School in Hebron, Nebraska, to become a pastor. In 1937, Carl received his bachelor's degree at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
In 1938, Carl was assigned to be an assistant pastor at the Salem Lutheran Church in Detroit, Michigan. Two years later, he was appointed the Lutheran pastor serving the Chenoa and Fairbury congregations. About the same time he became the Chenoa and Fairbury Lutheran pastor, Carl married Esther Caroline Rakow.
During the nine years Pastor Carl Amelung served the Chenoa and Fairbury Lutheran congregations, his family grew to include daughter Carolyn Lillian Amelung and son John Edward Amelung. During his tenure as a Lutheran preacher, Pastor Carl performed many weddings in both Chenoa and Fairbury. Sometimes, daughter Carolyn Amelung served as the flower girl at these weddings.
In 1949, Pastor Carl Amelung was assigned to become the Lutheran Pastor in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Amelung family moved from Fairbury to Fort Wayne. Their son Richard Carl Amelung was born two years after they arrived in Fort Wayne. All three Amelung children attended North Side High School in Fort Wayne. John Amelung was on the high school track and cross-country teams.
After finishing high school, John Amelung became a radio announcer. He worked in several different cities as a radio announcer.
In that era, Bobby Hankins was very active as a radio announcer and band performer. Mr. Hankins started with the Andy Dow show and established his own band. Bobby Hankins's teenage daughter, Dixie Lee Hankins, would often play in her father's bands. In 1967, Bobby Hankins released the LP record "The Country Sounds of Bobby Hankins." In 1968, Bobby Hankins released his second album, "Our Kind of Country," under White Lightning Records.
In 1970, Bobby Hankins moved his family from Oelwein, Iowa, to Coldwater, Michigan. Mr. Hankins began a long career as a radio announcer for WNWN in Coldwater and also ran a record store in the area.
In 1972, John Amelung became a radio announcer in Coldwater with Bobby Hankins. John Amelung likely met Bobby Hankins at Coldwater.
In 1975, Bobby Hankins released his third album titled "Two Sides of Bobby Hankins." The two sides referred to Bobby Hankins performing both country and gospel music. Side one of this album had five country songs, with daughter Dixie Lee being the lead vocalist on one of the songs. Side two of this album had six gospel songs, with the last piece titled "Fairbury, Illinois." On the album cover, the record company noted that Bobby Hankins' friend John Amelung had written the song about Fairbury.
The Fairbury song is just over three minutes long, and the lyrics include 275 words. In the piece, John Amelung recounts that he grew up in Fairbury and liked to listen to Preacher Carl in church. Amelung was referring to his father, Pastor Carl Amelung, preaching at both the Chenoa and Fairbury Lutheran churches.
Amelung recounted that when the Fairbury farmers had a dry year, they relied on their religious faith, which always seemed to pull them through hard times.
John Amelung recounted that as a boy in Fairbury, he stole watermelons and climbed the water tower. In the song, Amelung said he was 500 miles from Fairbury but was going to visit his hometown by train. Amelung also stated he wanted to get married in Fairbury, with his father officiating at the wedding. John Amelung looked forward to raising his children in Fairbury.
In 1994, Bobby Hankins died in Michigan at the age of 64. His obituary noted that his Sunday radio show had been the most popular for the last twenty years.
In 2001, Pastor Carl Amelung died at age 89 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After spending nine years in Fairbury, he spent the rest of his life in Fort Wayne.
As of 2024, Dixie Lee Hankins is still performing in bands in Texas. John Amelung lives in Florida.
The Fairbury, Illinois, song written by John Amelung and sung by Bobby Hankins is the only known song about Fairbury that was professionally released on a record album. The lyrics of the song have been transcribed and are available on the Fairbury Echoes Museum website. Citizens can visit the Fairbury Echoes Museum and listen to the CD recording of the Fairbury song. The Fairbury Echoes Museum is open on Thursdays and Fridays from one to four PM and on Saturdays from nine to eleven AM.
(Dale Maley's local history article is sponsored each week by Dr. Charlene Aaron)
