130 Years Ago
February 16, 1895
A petition is being circulated praying the school board to call an election to vote on the question of issuing bonds to obtain money to build a new school house. The idea seems to be to have a new building on the site of the old wooden one on the north side and probably move the high school into it.
The railroad boys are rejoicing in the placing of electric lights in the depot.
Mr. and Mrs. G. D. Cuddeback have moved from west of town to a farm they have purchased near Campus.
120 Years Ago
February 17, 1905
The Lodemia Methodist Church was discovered to be on fire Wednesday afternoon, and as there was no one around to fight the fire it was soon in ashes. The building was erected in 1876 and was called the Centennial Methodist Church.
Walter Kessler has purchased a lot of Henry Schnetzler on West Hickory Street, between Second and Third, and will soon commence the erection of a residence thereon.
At the meeting of the board of supervisors a resolution was adopted calling upon the senator and three representatives from this district to work and vote against any hard road measures.
John Somers, Arthur Straesser and John Dietiker, Jr., attended a masquerade ball in Streator Tuesday evening. They drove over and back with a team and buggy, "and maybe you think it wasn't cold."
110 Years Ago
February 19, 1915
The mausoleum which has been in course of construction at the Fairbury Cemetery for a number of months past, is practically completed. The only part that has not been put in place is the door, and it will be hung in the near future.
Joseph Goins, living south of Fairbury, received a broken leg last Saturday afternoon when his team ran away.
C. J. Claudon left Sunday for the south, where he will spend a month or so in Florida and Cuba. C. J. has been on the verge of starting a landscape on his upper lip and believes the warm sunny climate of the south would be conducive to good results. He left his razor at home.
Wing — Born to Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Holloway, Monday, February 15, a girl.
Cropsey — Harvey Meeker left Monday for Gridley to take charge of a store he has purchased there.
100 Years Ago
February 20, 1925
Dr. William O'Brien, a former Fairbury boy, but now of the University of Minnesota Medical School, is one of the speakers who will take part on the program of the annual congress on medical education and public health, which will be held in Chicago at the Congress Hotel, March 9, 10, 11 and 12. To appear on a program of this kind with other leaders on medical education, speaks much for Dr. O'Brien's ability and standing in the medical world.
Frank Cox, who has been farming his father's farm, south of town, is moving onto a farm he purchased some time ago near Cropsey. Ray Cox is moving onto the farm vacated by Frank Cox, and Bert Gibb is moving onto the place vacated by Ray Cox, two miles southeast of town.
The children of Mrs. George Gibb and their families very pleasantly surprised her Saturday in celebration of her birthday. Those present were Mr. and Mrs. James Ross, Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe Combes and daughters, of this city; J. E. Gibb, of Columbus, Ohio; Mr. and Mrs. Bert Gibb, of Forrest; Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Williams, of Remington, Ind.
Edward Skinner, who has been ill for several weeks past, is much improved.
90 Years Ago
February 15, 1935
Evidently a dog poisoner, one of the lowest forms of humanity, is at work. Following the death of "Old Jack" last Thursday, M. A. Anderson's dog, "Buffy," died Monday and a dog belonging to G. B. Spence also cashed in. The writer is not wishing the dog poisoner very much hard luck, but if he by chance got hold of some of the same poison he gave the dogs, we would gladly print his funeral notices free of any cost.
At a bridge party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Rose last Saturday evening, Dale Roberts, teacher of manual and physical training at the township high school, was dealt "the perfect bridge hand" – thirteen spades. No local bridge player can recall when this ever happened before, either locally or universally. Mr. Roberts did not drop dead, however, as one is supposed to do on an occasion like this.
A large company of friends and relatives celebrated with Mr. and Mrs. Ide Harris, Sunday, their 50th wedding anniversary, with a dinner and visit. Mr. and Mrs. Harris were called over to the home of their son Clark and found the visitors awaiting them there.
80 Years Ago
February 16, 1945
State Officer Clarence Newman, of this city, arrested two youths, 15 and 16 years old, at Chenoa last Saturday with a stolen automobile. They were taken to the city jail at Bloomington, where the FBI was to investigate them. One youth gave his home address as Madison and the other said he was from Kentucky. Search of the stolen machine and the youths uncovered nine guns with ammunition, several flashlights, together with numerous other articles believed taken in recent robberies in the St. Louis, Mo. area. The car had been stolen in St. Louis early Saturday morning, and Illinois and Missouri authorities had been warned to watch for them.
Mrs. Maurice Herzog, chairman of Fairbury Chapter Red Cross Production Committee, reports 144 filled army kit bags to be shipped this week to headquarters. The shipment brings the total number of bags sent by the Fairbury Chapter up to 1,300.
John T. Gill has had a pretty sore left hand since Wednesday, when he caught that member in a clothes wringer. The hand was drawn into the rollers almost up to the wrist, and it required 14 stitches to close the wound.
70 Years Ago
February 17, 1955
Fairbury became the home of an additional physician Friday when Dr. and Mrs. Lucjan Moscicki moved to town. Dr. Moscicki will be associated with Dr. Jim Langstaff.
Ernest Shult, junior at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, has been termed a mathematical genius by Dr. Carl C. Lindegren, well-known scientist on the SIU faculty. Now 21, Ernie, who taught himself calculus while attending Fairbury High School, has invented a new system of algebra to equate the finding of geneticists studying chromosome relationships in yeast.
John Joda Post, American Legion, will renew an old custom February 23, when the organization will sponsor a Legion-Dad banquet.
Mrs. Clarence Baker of Forrest and Mrs. Bernard Convis of Cropsey were named winners in the Fairbury Junior Chamber of Commerce Polio contest. Each received a complete spring ensemble.
60 Years Ago
February 18, 1965
Harry Pick, well-known aviation and racing enthusiast who resides between Fairbury and Chenoa, was featured in an eight-column picture spread in the Sunday Daytona News-Journal as he spun across the track while competing in the second annual 250 mile race produced by Automobile Racing Club of America. Racing at Daytona on Sunday, Feb. 7, Harry and his 1964 Mercury were twice listed on the board as the leader in the grueling event, where speeds of 140 to 160 miles per hour were recorded. At the finish Pick was second, 1½ laps behind the leader.
This is the one that "got away" as Ray Stephens, manager of Oh Susannah bowling lanes in Fairbury, last Wednesday night rolled a near-perfect 299 game. After hitting 11 strikes in a row, Ray missed the head-pin of his 12th and last ball, but they dominoed until all but the No. 3 pin had dropped. By that margin he missed becoming only the second man in Livingston County history to score a perfect 300 game, but he'll still go on the ABC honor roll.
It pays to be courteous, Fairbury-Cropsey School Board members learned Monday night as they examined current bills. Among them was one from a charter bus company in Morris for $10, which covered calling the firm at 10 p.m. to come 10 miles south of Morris, load up a stranded cargo of students and bring them to Fairbury, where they arrived about 12:30 a.m., and dead-head back. Supt. Les Miller said he verified the small amount of the bill and was told by the firm's owner that two years ago he had a bus break down in Fairbury after a game, and the local system loaned his driver a Fairbury bus to return his team to Morris. So he was happy to respond in kind.
50 Years Ago
February 20, 1975
Dick's Supermarket in Chatsworth had scheduled a Grand Opening observance for this week, but burglars beat store owners to the punch early Wednesday morning. An undetermined amount of meat and frozen products were taken by burglars, who apparently gained entry to the store's storage area by simply kicking in a plywood make-shift door that had been nailed up for the night. Sheriff's authorities said that no prints were found on the meat cooler. The padlock on the unit had been broken and meat was strewn on the floor. Authorities found no indication that the grocery store itself had been burglarized.
Second Lieutenant Ross A. Ziegenhorn, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford B. Ziegenhorn of Fairbury, has been awarded silver wings upon graduation from U. S. Air Force navigator training at Mather AFB, Calif. Lieutenant Ziegenhorn is remaining at Mather for advanced training. He graduated in 1969 from Fairbury-Cropsey High School and received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana. The lieutenant was commissioned last year upon graduation from Officer Training School at Lackland AFB, Texas.
Twenty-five years ago, February 27, 1950, Joyce Huber of Fairbury went to work for Honeggers & Co. Inc. at Fairbury. When Miss Huber joined the Honegger staff, Ben Roth was president, Mrs. James Tipton switchboard operator, and E. F. Dickey, Valerie Wade, Erwin Wascher, the late C.R. Voris and Don Steidinger made up the entire office staff. The Honegger office was located on the second floor of the retail store, which at that time was located on the corner of First and Locust Streets.
40 Years Ago
February 14, 1985
The winter's heaviest snowfall, about six inches, arrived Sunday night and early Monday, and then, whipped by winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour, gradually brought McLean and Livingston Counties and most of north-eastern Illinois to a crunching halt. By Monday afternoon, visibility was down to zero in many places and roads were treacherous with a thin layer of ice on main routes and snow-packed on others. During Monday night, practically all east-west roads drifted shut as plows were unable to keep up with the fierce wind out of the north. State police and sheriff's radio dispatchers recited a litany of jack-knifed semi-trucks and blocked roads throughout the night.
"Never carry coal to Newcastle" goes the old saying because that ancient English coal capital had plenty of its own. Conversely, Fairburian Ron Walker carries coal to such distant points as Bloomington-Normal, Champaign, Kankakee and Danville, all of which are major metropolitan centers of 50,000 population or more, plus other communities such as Paxton, Farmer City and Gibson City. But then Walker is the only surviving coal dealer in that entire area. Since 1956 Walker and his wife Jane have owned and operated Walker Coal and Oil on South Webster Street. And with each passing year, Ron says his customers have spread farther and farther since most homeowners have converted to gas.
Harold and Jan Metz of rural Fairbury announce the engagement of their daughter, Robin Janell, to Leroy C. McPherson, son of the late Bertha and Leroy McPherson. Robin is employed at Bellot's Drug Store and Leroy is the Director of Public Works for the City of Fairbury. A May 18, 1985 wedding is planned.
30 Years Ago
February 15, 1995
The 7th grade boys' basketball team bounced back off a semi-final loss to Springfield Grant, and took on host Midwest Central to take a third place win in the finals of the 7th grade boys' IESA State Basketball Tournament last Thursday night. The 7th grade Hawks, behind the coaching of Chad Cluver, finished their season with a 23-3 record.
Betty Beal was serving breakfast to Bill Butcher at a restaurant that no longer exists around Fairbury, when he asked her to come see him at his office. That office was at Walton's Department Store, where he was manager. The date was Feb. 10, 1955. And that was the end of Betty's waitressing days and the start of her long employment – with no retirement plans in sight – at the downtown Fairbury store. Standing among balloons and banners honoring her on her 40th anniversary, she recalls that the large staircase was, at that time, double-sided, but can't remember for sure when the east stairway was removed and an elevator installed.
Senior Michael Vaughan went 3 and 0 in the Mahomet Seymour Sectional over the weekend, carving a path straight to Champaign for the championship at 152 pounds. Vaughan defeated Ben Harrison of Mahomet-Seymour 11-4 Friday night and came back to clinch a berth at state by pinning Jeremy Kenney of Coal City in 4:35 in the semi-finals. In Saturday night's sectional final, Vaughan pinned Cord Schroeder of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley in 5:32.
20 Years Ago
February 16, 2005
The Prairie Central High School Lady Hawks captured their sixth consecutive regional title with wins over El Paso-Gridley in the semi finals and Flanagan in the championship game. The Hawks never trailed while putting El Paso's post-season dreams to rest 41 to 29 on Wednesday. Feb. 9. Championship night pitted the #2 seeded Flanagan Falcons against the #3 seeded Lady Hawks. The game was close throughout with the Hawks fighting off major surges by the explosive, "run and gun" style of the Falcons.
Charles "Chub" and Dolores Haberkorn of Chatsworth will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with an open reception on Sunday, Feb. 20. Haberkorn and the former Dolores Martin were married at SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Chatsworth on Feb. 19, 1955. They are parents of Jill (Robert) Dohman of Chatsworth and Judy (Lance) Lawrence of Fairbury. There are four grandsons and one great-grandson. He is retired and Mrs. Haberkorn is employed as a registered nurse at Livingston Manor, Pontiac.
Megan Shier, daughter of Marion and Jeannea Shier of Chenoa took top honors at the 2005 Make It Yourself With Wool Finals and Awards Program, held Jan. 29 in Reno, Nev. Shier won the title with her red wool pea coat, lightweight wool gauze wrap-top, navy and red pinstripe pants and knitted wool hat and scarf. A Junior Wool Ambassador, Shier will represent the wool industry at several events throughout the next year and will assist with the national event next January.
10 Years Ago
February 18, 2015
Despite over 1,000 closures of the Radio Shack franchise nationwide, the operation in Fairbury will remain open. The news comes as a bright spot amidst the dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over niche electronics boutiques. The news of Radio Shack's bankruptcy threatened to spell the end for a number of the independent franchised businesses bearing the corporation's name. However, the owner and manager of the Fairbury store, Roger and Debbie Bachtold, repectively, offered a press release hoping to clarify their situation.
Local eye care professionals are announcing the merger of Pontiac Family Eye Care and Fairbury Vision Center. Established in 1980 by Dr. Reid Pettit, Family Eye Care added Dr. Bryan Stoller as an associate in 1998 and as a partner in 2004. Fairbury Vision Center was established in 1991 when Dr. Robin Coady purchased the practice of the late Dr. Earl Voigt. Facilitating the merger process, Dr. Sasha Radford joined both practices as an associate in June 2012. On January 1, 2015, she became a partner, along with Coady and Stoller, in the newly formed Horizon Vision Group, which now encompasses both Pontiac Family Eye Care and Fairbury Vision Center. Dr. Pettit plans to retire later this year.
Forrest St. Paul's Lutheran Church announced that the 12th Forrest Growing project, as part of the Foods Resource Bank, has raised $35,023. This money was raised by local farmers and landowners donating crop and by individual and corporate donations. This year, 29½ acres of crop was donated by 28 farmers. The Foods Resource Bank is a Christian-based program that promotes self-sufficiency by providing seeds, tools, training and other essentials to poorly equipped persons in underdeveloped countries. In addition to the $35,023 raised for the FRB program, $7,000 was donated to local charities. This money came from several of the farmers donating their “input checks” to the local charity of their choice.
"Looking Back" from Kari Kamrath is sponsored each week on Fairbury News by Duffy-Pils Memorial Home.
