130 Years Ago
February 9, 1895
A case that has attracted public attention in this vicinity for several months past is that of the village of Fairbury vs. John L. Marsh et al, involving the title to block 10 in Marsh's addition to Fairbury which last Saturday was decided in favor of the village by Judge Tipton. In 1859 John L. Marsh, Sr., laid out and platted a piece of ground known as Marsh's addition to Fairbury. This plot was duly recorded. One block numbered 10 was not divided into lots and was designated on the plot by the words "public square."
The village board has called an election for Tuesday, March 12, to decide whether or not Fairbury shall be incorporated as a city.
We are without electric lights while the boilers are being repaired.
Thursday night of this week it got down to 22 below zero. The previous low was 20 below Friday night last week.
120 Years Ago
February 10, 1905
Monday evening a number of members of the Baptist Church took a bobsled ride out to the Will Goslin home, taking along a plentiful supper of crackers and oysters.
Ed Zook is carrying the end of his nose in a sling this week. Ed was trying to drive a mule into the barn, using a "blacksnake" as an urger, when he missed the mule, struck a post with the whip, which wrapped around the post and struck Ed on the end of the nose.
General News — Eureka College celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the college Monday. The indictment charging Will J. Davis, of the Iroquois Theatre, Chicago, with manslaughter on account of that terrific fire a year ago, was quashed yesterday on the grounds that the indictment fails to show any omission of duty on the part of Davis. It is now thought that the statehood bill admitting Oklahoma and Indian Territory and New Mexico to the union will not pass the house.
110 Years Ago
February 12, 1915
Miss Hazel Johnson returned Tuesday from Detroit, Mich., where she had been visiting at the home of her sister, Mrs. Rufus Monroe.
The New York Nationals trimmed the Bon Ton Limits last night and trimmed them right, the score being 78 to 22. The Limits never had a chance.
Marion Fugate is taking a six-week course in dairying and ice cream making at the state agricultural college at Urbana.
Thomas D. Karnes, manager of the Farmers Grain Company, had an unexpected visitor yesterday. Jay Claudon and Ernie Mueller were driving a team – a horse and a mule – down the street, when one of the reins broke. You can't do much with a team without reins, so Mr. Claudon and Mr. Mueller unloaded. The team ran east until they came to the elevator, where they ran into the office, the Democratic part of the team sticking its head through the window. The way the people in the office got out was a caution.
Nowlan Babock, a former Fairbury boy, was here last Saturday renewing old acquaintances. Nowlan has been serving Uncle Sam in the U. S. Infantry, and for the past two years, has been stationed at St. Michael's, Alaska, about 100 miles from Nome.
100 Years Ago
February 13, 1925
Perry J. Keck entertained fifty of his friends at dinner last evening at the Illinois Hotel. The decorations were in keeping with the day, large American flags being draped from the ceiling and small flags and flowers forming the table decorations. Following the dinner Mr. Keck took his guests to the Central Theatre to see the screen production, "His Children's Children."
A neat job of tree surgery was performed on a tree at the northeast corner of the C. J. Claudon lot, which was injured during the sleet storm last December. One of the large limbs went down, splitting the trunk where it forked off, down for a distance of several feet, although not entirely splitting it loose form the tree. This week the broken off part was trimmed up and with the use of a block and tackle it was pulled back in place and bolted to the other part of the tree. The crack where the limb was joined together was cemented over to keep out the water and it is believed that the limbs will knit together again.
Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Westervelt, residing seven miles south of Fairbury, in Belle Prairie Township, celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary on Tuesday, February 10. Mr. Westervelt is seventy-eight years old and Mrs. Westervelt is seventy-six. They are both pioneer residents of this vicinity. Mrs. Westervelt is a granddaughter of Major Martin Darnall, who was the first resident of Livingston county, having settled here in 1830. She is the daughter of Benjamin and Elvisa Hieronymous, who came to this county in 1839. She was born and raised and has spent her entire life only a short distance from where she now resides. Mr. Westervelt is a son of James L. and Mary A. Westervelt, who settled in this locality in 1860.
90 Years Ago
February 8, 1935
The Fairbury Ice Company, Conrad Munz, proprietor, began the work of harvesting the 1935 ice crop Tuesday. The ice is approximately 9 inches thick and the quality is fine. The work of filling two of the ice houses was completed yesterday afternoon, and this ends the present harvest, the supply being exhausted. This is the first real first class ice harvest here in six years, Mr. Munz states. A quantity was harvested three years ago but the quality was poor.
M. D. Hanger, former meat dealer in this city, has decided that Fairbury is the best butcher shop town in the state and is re-establishing a meat market here, and will be located at 122 West Main Street, sharing the building with Ben Nussbaum and his dry cleaning plant. Mr. Hanger has most of his fixtures and refrigeration plant installed and will be ready to open for business soon. Mr. Hanger's former location when in business here was in the new Duell building on South Third Street. He left here about five years ago.
Our citizens are very proud of our newly decorated library. And well they should be, for it is one of the most necessary buildings of the town. The running expenses, however, are just as much now as they were before and the means of meeting these expenses are no greater than before. Everyone will be glad to know that they can help the library by contributing to the Library Donation Fund. A canvass of the town will be made, asking each one to give from 10 to 25 cents to this fund.
80 Years Ago
February 9, 1945
T/Sgt. Robert A. Bach, now somewhere in France, has been in the armed forces nearly four years. His wife and children reside in Forrest City, N.C. near her parents. Sgt. Bach is the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Bach, of this city.
The members of the city council are going to have a chance to look over a modern fire truck. At Wednesday night's meeting of the city council Alderman Taylor stated that a firm which had learned that Fairbury was interested in a fire truck, will bring them through this city that those interested may have a chance to see them. Mr. Taylor said that the company making the truck had been allowed to make a limited number, but were now back making trucks for the army. The trucks that will be exhibited here are going to Kankakee.
The Forrest Milk Products Dairy, of Forrest, have put their milk on the Fairbury market, adding this city to the towns of Forrest, Strawn and Sibley where their product is sold. Right now the Forrest Milk Products Dairy is buying milk from 340 farmers in this and the Forrest vicinities, which means that when you purchase Forrest Dairy milk you are creating a market for milk produced by local farmers. The milk will be delivered to you in square bottles, which will give you more space in your refrigerator. In 1944 Forrest Milk Products Dairy purchased 10,000,000 pounds of milk. They also manufacture cheese and last year produced 1,000,000 pounds.
70 Years Ago
February 10, 1955
Jay Morris, Fairbury route man for Forrest Milk Products Co. for the past seven years, has announced that he has taken a position as salesman with the Fairbury Auto Co.
Wanda Keifer entertained five classmates at dinner Wednesday for her 15th birthdate.
Charles Holforty, who for the past five years has tenanted the Mrs. Alma Lewis-James farm just west of Forrest, this week accepted a position with the Forrest hatchery division of Honeggers' & Co., Inc.
Last Sunday evening a group of friends gave a surprise buffet supper party for the Walter Mehrings in honor of their 31st wedding anniversary.
Misses Barbara King and Gloria Crump were in Chicago Saturday to take examinations prior to entering nurses training in the fall.
60 Years Ago
February 11, 1965
The flashers weren't working! That's the indicated cause of lat week's disastrous wreck on the T.P. and W. Railroad when west-bound No. 23 freight train collided corner-to-corner with a south-bound truck on U. S. 66 at the west edge of Chenoa at 11:20 p.m. Killed in the crash was the truck driver, Wallace Halliburton, 54, of Moberly, Mo. His twin-tandem truck, loaded with more than 20 tons of freight, was demolished. Two locomotives and nine freight cars were scrambled into a topsy-turvy pile which tore out nearly 100 yards of rails in the 10-degree-below-zero night. After a 30-hour tie-up, traffic was restored to the line at 5:30 a.m. Thursday.
School buses of Community Unit 3 have been ruled off all township roads until further notice it was announced today by Supt. Lester Miller. A letter to parents said that buses will run only on U. S. 24, the First Street road north from Fairbury, and the Cropsey blacktop running south. The decision was made Wednesday morning as a result of continued rainfall over the weekend and unseasonably warm temperatures which have dropped the bottom out of dirt and gravel roads. The decision was made after township road commissioners contacted Miller, seeking to save their road surfaces from as much heavy traffic as possible.
Areas of agreement . . . of disagreement . . . possible sharing of facilities . . . and even potential merger were discussed frankly but informally when the school bards of Forrest-Strawn-Wing Unit 2 and Fairbury-Cropsey Unit 3 met last week on a conversational basis. Unit 2 Superintendent Leland explored the sharing of staff and facilities. The common conversation then explored the possibility of ultimate merger.
50 Years Ago
February 13, 1975
Only the sixth scout in Fairbury history to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, David Broquard Saturday night had the coveted honor pinned on his chest by his mother, Mrs. Ken Broquard. The Court of Honor was held in Lincoln School auditorium, with Joe U. Slagel of the W. D. Boyce Council Executive Board as master of ceremonies. Slagel said the other five Fairburians who had won advancement to Eagle were Chuck Veatch, Richard Kilgus, Lynn Dameron, Cary Lynn Bruley and Roger Lee Bruley. Broquard is a sophomore at FCHS.
Mr. and Mrs. John Bushman of Fairbury are announcing the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Marlene Sue Bushman, to Dennis Lee Janssen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Burdette Janssen, also of Fairbury. Marlene is a 1972 graduate of Fairbury-Cropsey High School and is employed by Dr. Earl H. Voight, O.D., in Fairbury. Dennis is a 1971 graduate of Fairbury-Cropsey High School and a 1972 graduate of Parkland College in Champaign. He is employed by Paternoster Motor Company, Fairbury. A May 17, 1975 wedding is planned.
40 Years Ago
February 7, 1985
Administrators in the new Prairie Central School District next fall will award 12 passes good for all regularly scheduled high school athletic events to the winners in the "Name the School" contest. There were 180 entries from the three merged unit districts. Two Fairbury residents will receive passes for submitting the winning "Prairie Central" name, Chris Tull and Fern Runyon. Another Fairbury native, Todd Zehr, was the person who suggested the adopted school colors of Dark Blue, Light Blue and White. Nine entries proposed the "Hawks" as the team mascot, including Rick Jones, Dr. John McDonald, Kristy Zehr, Dave Jeffries and Kip McDowell, all of Fairbury; Wes and Peggy Bertram and Heidi and Tony Metz, of Forrest; and Don Gibb and Robert Thomsen, both of Chatsworth.
Deanna Mae was born Jan. 30 at 12:36 p.m. at Carle Hospital to Doug and Cindy Stephens. She weighed 8 lbs. 2½ oz. and was 21½ inches long. She has one brother, Derek, who is 3 years old. Grandparents are Glenn and Lucille Feller of Forrest and Don and Marge Stephens of Fairbury.
David Swaar, the band director at Fairbury-Cropsey High School, has resigned his position effective at the end of the school year. Swaar, who came to FCHS last fall to replace Bruce Hammitt, is moving back to the Mason City area where he will assist in an expanding family farm operation. Under Swaar last fall, the Marching Tartar band won a seventh consecutive Class C state title.
30 Years Ago
February 8, 1995
Two former Fairbury men will appear on the Grand Olde Opry live at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on the Nashville Cable Television station (TNN). Les and John Singer, members of the Bill Anderson band, will appear with the Po Folks Band on the show. Les has played lead guitar for 14 years with the Anderson band, and John has played the drums for four years for the group. They are sons of Joe and Marge Singer of Cropsey.
A dedication service was conducted in the living room of the new home of the Ralph Briggs family last Sunday afternoon. Habitat for Humanity Board President Rev. David Natzke of Fairbury, led the dedication at the new home site in Chatsworth. The new house is the second Habitat for Humanity home erected by volunteers in Livingston County, and a third project is already in the planning stage. The keys were presented to the Briggs' family by Dick Melton of Pontiac, who was general construction supervisor for the project.
Jim and Glenna McGreal of rural Chatsworth, will celebrate their silver wedding anniversary with an open reception on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Saints Peter and Paul Parish Hall. Their children will be hosting the event. They are parents of Tim of Chatsworth, and Jamie McGreal, at home. McGreal and Glenna Dehm were married Feb. 14, 1970 at Saints Peter and Paul Church. Dan Cavanagh and Cheryl Honegger Culkin were their attendants.
20 Years Ago
February 9, 2005
The Duke Harms family of Forrest was named Conservation Farm Family of the Year at the annual meeting of the Livingston County Soil and Water District on Jan. 22. The family farm operation began in 1955 when Duke Harms started farming the Holloway land east of Wing, which is where Rooster Heaven Hunting Lodge is now located. Duke Harms and his son Patrick now farm 1,600 acres in crop production and also have acreage in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
It was about 7:55 p.m. Sunday, midway into the third quarter of the biggest sports telecast of the professional football season. Little did some area fans know that an "electrical malfunction" was about to take place that would effect the remainder of their big day of Super Bowl fun. According to AmerenCIPS spokesman Leigh Morris, a bad insulator located on a power line coming out of Gibson City that feeds into the Fairbury, Strawn, Sibley and Gibson City areas, caused about 3,000 customers in those areas to lose electrical power from 8:55 to approximately 10:06 p.m. Sunday. Some residents in Fairbury used portable radios or listened to the final two quarters of the Super Bowl game from automobile radios.
Emily Metz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Metz of Fairbury, a junior at Prairie Central High School, has been selected by the State of Illinois Odd Fellows lodges as a U. N. delegate, following a tradition begun by her father, Steve Metz, as he was also a U. N. student delegate. The tradition continued as his sisters, Sandy and Barbara were also delegates, and Emily's sister, Kim, and brother, Chris Metz were also delegates.
10 Years Ago
February 11, 2015
The Town of Chatsworth held a zoning meeting on Jan. 26, to discuss the rezoning of tracts one through five of the James Monahan addition from residential to commercial. Ty Eshleman represented the Farnsworth Group and presented the plans for a new Dollar General Store to be erected on the eastern-most tract. It was decided that all five tracts would be zoned commercial at this time to encourage new business growth. These tracts are currently being farmed east of Vermilion Valley Bank. The rezoning was unanimously approved, however construction cannot begin until the Town Board of Trustees approves at the Feb. 12 meeting.
You may do a double take when you see the tractor the Prairie Central FFA chapter is raffling off. This year's restored machine is a 1959 T-35 Massey Ferguson which is painted blue and gold in honor of the Prairie Central FFA 30th anniversary. The money raised from the tractor raffle helps the Prairie Central teams, which perform well at the national convention.
Charles “Chub” and Dolores Haberkorn of Chatsworth will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on Feb. 19. A family celebration is planned at a later date. Haberkorn and the former Dolores Martin were married Feb. 19, 1955 at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Chatsworth. They are the parents of Jill (Robert) Dohman of Gibson City and Judith (Troy) Holmes of Hoopeston. They have four grandsons, two step-grandchildren and one great-grandson. He worked for Livingstons of Chatsworth and she is a retired registered nurse from Livingston Manor in Pontiac.
Kari Kamrath's "Looking Back" is sponsored each week on Fairbury News by Duffy-Pils Memorial Home.
