07/09/2025
130 Years Ago
July 13, 1895
Gertrude Shook, daughter of James Shook, living in the northwest part of town, met with a painful accident Thursday evening. Two other little girls were pushing her in a tricycle. They went too fast and overturned the vehicle, dislocating her arm at the elbow.
C. C. Hollenback and Alex Skein made a "century" run on their bikes Sunday. They went from Fairbury to El Paso, thence to Minonk, Flanagan, Pontiac and then Fairbury. The run was made in a little over nine hours.
A party of young people accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Hahn enjoyed an outing this week on the banks of the Kankakee at Custer Park. They were Edna Ross, Esther Sharpless, Lillie Hahn, Hattie Westervelt, Gertie McDowell, Nettie Baker, Melvin Anderson, Will Braun, Thomas Payne, Pearl Hawk and Lucian Hawk.
H. I. Reynolds' laundry has been shut down this week on account of the boiler giving out. A new boiler will be put in and the laundry moved into the building vacated by Walton Bros. furniture store.
120 Years Ago
July 7, 1905
The glorious Fourth of 1905 has faded into a memory. It was one of the noisiest Fourths that ever happened. All kinds of implements were used from the deadly toy pistol to the innocent 32 calibre revolver loaded with blank shells. The crowd in town in the afternoon was vast. The streets were packed from one end to the other and the people seemed to be enjoying themselves. The afternoon amusements were good and the crowd enjoyed them fully. The fireworks in the evening were witnessed by a large number, and they were fine.
Harvey Guiltner was run over by an Illinois Central passenger train a mile and a half north of Chatsworth Wednesday evening about 9:30. He was lying on the track when the fireman of the train saw him, but it was too late to stop, and the entire train passed over him. He was conscious when picked up altho both of his legs were cut off close to his hips and told those who lifted him up that whiskey was the direct cause of his condition. The train took him to Chatsworth and he was given medical aid, but his injuries were such that he lived but a short time.
Frank Young and family, Charles Watts and Mrs. John Rusterholtz, six in all, were badly poisoned by ice cream July Fourth. They made the ice cream themselves, and it is not known just what the trouble was. Dr. Otis, who attended the sick people, says that it was probably the milk. They were all taken violently ill a short time after they ate the ice cream and commenced to vomit, and that is probably what saved their lives. Dr. Otis soon had them on their feet all right.
110 Years Ago
July 9, 1915
The Fourth of July celebration, which was held Monday, July 5, was a big success. The weather was neither too hot or too cold, but just right. The motorcycle races were held at the fairgrounds and were attended by over 2,700 people.
R. C. Vance slipped over to North Vernon, Ind., on Monday, June 21, where he was married that day to Miss Clara B. Tribbett, of that place.
The certificate of incorporation of the Phi Chi Psi Corporation of this city arrived here this week and was later filed with Circuit Clerk J. G. Whitson, of Pontiac.
Prof. F. M. Burch’s band of Pontiac has been engaged to furnish the music for the fair this year.
100 Years Ago
July 10, 1925
E. W. Powers this week disposed of his residence property at the corner of Third and Ash Streets to Carl B. Moore, who has accepted the superintendency of the grade schools for next year. The price was something over $6,000.
Wallace Ramseyer's car, which was stolen off South Third Street, where it was parked, two weeks ago last Saturday night, was found last week at Hannibal, Mo. Mr. Ramseyer went to Hannibal and drove the car back, arriving here last Saturday morning. The car had been left on the streets of Hannibal. The spare tire and parts of the engine had been taken off and disposed of. It is thought that the parties who stole Mr. Ramseyer's car here, left the car at Hannibal, where they stole the chief of police's car and went on with it. The Ramseyer car was found the same night the chief of police's car disappeared.
John Carter and George Hornsby hadn't stopped celebrating the glorious Fourth yet on Sunday night and were arrested on a drunk and disorderly charge by Officer Harley, who locked them up in the city jail. They had a hearing Monday morning before Justice Bennett. They entered a plea of guilty to the charge and were assessed the sum of $6.40 each, which covered the fine and costs.
90 Years Ago
July 5, 1935
Excavating for the city's new waterworks plant, to be located south of the fair grounds, got under way Wednesday morning, but was stopped by the heavy rain that afternoon. Weather permitting the work will be pushed rapidly along.
George Decker, secretary of the Fairbury Fair, and James Hagen, superintendent of speed, were in Danville yesterday attending the fair and are loud in their praise of the fair in that city in all its departments. They say that the free acts are, without exception, the best they have ever seen, while the horse show, the horse races and the cattle show are of the very best and in a class by themselves. The same people who are conducting the fair at Danville will have charge of Fairbury's fair next week and are bringing all the free acts, etc. that are at Danville to Fairbury.
Scott Hilligoss, of Paxton, line foreman for the CIPS Company and a frequent visitor in Fairbury, received quite a jolt Monday evening at Gibson City. Mr. Hilligoss was assisting in straightening out some wires that had gone down on account of the wind and rain storm there. He was pulling a secondary wire through some trees when it came in contact with a guy wire that had come in touch with a high voltage wire. The shock threw Mr. Hilligoss several feet and with considerable force, and while he was not seriously hurt, he was quite badly bruised.
80 Years Ago
July 6, 1945
Peoria papers contained detailed articles giving accounts of an affair held Sunday for R. A. (Del) Kring, a former Fairburian, who last Saturday, completed 50 years service with the T. P. & W. Railroad. Del is a brother of W. Logan Kring, of this city. At Sunday's gathering Mr. Kring was presented a wallet and a fountain pen. We don't know how he can use a wallet, but how he can use a fountain pen! This writer, during the time Mr. Kring was clerk in the local T. P. & W. office, had the opportunity of looking over a set of books that Mr. Kring kept in connection with his work. The penmanship was a thing of beauty and the books a model of neatness.
Hobert Weeks and son Roger were at Columbia, Mo. last Thursday, where they attended the Midwest Stud Ram Show and Sale, and where they purchased an exceptionally fine ram. The ram purchased by Mr. Weeks and son is out of Bullett, an internationally famous Hampshire. His grand dam is an imported English ewe. He was the champion yearling ram and the grand champion Hampshire at the show, and was the highest selling ram in America for 1945.
On July 1, Ike Weaver, who recently received his discharge after long service with the army in the Pacific theatre, will take over the operation of the Pike Hotel in Chenoa, which has been conducted by his father, J. W. Weaver, who will retire from active business. Ike states that the dining room will continue to be operated in connection with the hotel, and increased accommodations will be available as soon as he gets permanently established in his new venture.
70 Years Ago
July 7, 1955
Mrs. Ann Wagner of Cabery has been chosen Queen of the Illinois Flying Farmers, and will compete for national honors. Mrs. Wagner is a niece of Miss Effie Mundell and Mrs. Marguerite Nussbaum, and is well known in Fairbury.
More than a century in the same family was ended Tuesday, when the 10 acres Mrs. Alma Lewis James recently sold the school was officially transferred.
Crowds estimated at totaling over 4,000 persons watched the Independence Day programs held here July 2 and 3.
The Fairbury city council voted unanimously to sandblast and tuck-point the entire exterior of the city hall. Cost of the project will be $2,730.
Rev. W. C. Jones is the new pastor of the Methodist Church.
60 Years Ago
July 8, 1965
Jack Mitchell, for six years a coach and physical education instructor at Fairbury-Cropsey High School, has been named guidance counselor at the school. He succeeds Jim Agner, who has filled the guidance post since 1960 and who resigned Monday night when the Board of Community Unit 3 schools met in their office in the Lincoln building. Agner is joining the staff of Ray Page, state superintendent of public instruction, and will be a guidance supervisor in the territory running the width of the state and bounded on the north by Kankakee and on the south by McLean.
Fireworks weren't scheduled until Sunday night at the fairgrounds, but some of the bombs arrived 24 hours early. Two stock division cars caught on fire, one of them speeding into the pit area through the southeast exit as the driver attempted to bring it under control. Bob Garland was the driver listed on the car which caught fire in one of the stock heats and went speeding into the pit area. It was learned later that it was actually Les Snow, former USAC racing star who got his start on short tracks driving stocks, who was at the wheel.
A group of about fifty friends of Miss Sally Dowlen and Miss Janet Ferguson were present last Tuesday evening, June 29, for a farewell party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Holforty. Both girls left Fairbury on Wednesday morning, Sally for Texas, where she will be making her home, and Janet, for a tour of the United States before departing for her homeland, England. Janet was the AFS student at Fairbury-Cropsey High School this past year. The evening was spent singing, dancing and reminiscing.
50 Years Ago
July 10, 1975
A "gathering" and potluck dinner were held at the Fairbury Community Room on July 4, in honor of John Koehl Sr, who will celebrate his 90th birthdate on July 18.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis A. (Toby) Van Alstyne are observing their fiftieth wedding anniversary, with an open house, in the Cullom United Methodist Church on Sunday, July 13, 1975. Mr. Van Alstyne and Miss Edna E. Braucht were married in the home of her parents, near Aledo, on July 18, 1925, by the Rev. Roy W. Stocking. They have since lived in the same home in Cullom. Mr. Van Alstyne has been editor of the Chronicle-Headlight-Enquirer since 1919.
Lisa Harms, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Harms, rural Chenoa, was among eight students at North Central College at Naperville, receiving the Senior Year Honor, a monetary award given to the full-time senior with the highest grade average for the past academic year.
40 Years Ago
July 4, 1985
Staff reductions are in the offing at Fairbury Hospital because of the current low patient census, a problem affecting hospitals across the country. Faced with a net operating loss of $174,629 for the first five months of this year, the hospital board at its June 25 meeting acted to stem that financial bleeding. The contemplated action would be the fist staff reduction that the hospital has taken since the nationwide decline in hospital usage began about two years ago. The Fairbury hospital board has attempted to deal with the declining census by asking employees to work fewer hours rather than to reduce staff positions.
Footings were poured Monday in Forrest for the Turkey cooking plant being erected by Fosdick Poultry Processing Co., Inc., of Fairbury. The work is being done by G. and M. Home Sales and Ron Freed Construction, both of Fairbury. Fosdick hopes to have the building completed by mid-September or Oct. 1. The exterior walls will have the same light green color as his Fairbury plant, and the roof will be white metal. Fosdick announced purchase of the Forrest site after he failed in a bid to have the Fairbury City Council relinquish a lease on Sunken Park across from his processing plant so he could negotiate the purchase from the Santa Fe railroad.
Janet M. Hoffman of Fairbury, has been awarded a Jonathon Baldwin Turner Agricultural Merit Scholarship to the University of Illinois College of Agriculture. The merit award, which includes a $2,500 stipend and other honors and recognition was presented on the basis of scholarly achievement, demonstrated leadership and good citizenship. Recipients were chosen in a statewide competition involving regional interviews and final selection by the college's scholarship committee. Hoffman, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hoffman, plans to major in agricultural communications at the University of Illinois. She is a 1985 graduate of Fairbury-Cropsey High School.
30 Years Ago
July 5, 1995
Russell A. Houberg, of Chatsworth and a 1992 Prairie Central graduate, is in the center of the latest in space-based technology. As an Airman First Class with the U. S. Air Force, Houberg is a member of a crew working around the clock to support the full-time operation of the control and space segments of Global Position Systems. Houberg is stationed at the GPS master control station in Colorado, which operates and maintains one of the most successful and widely used military and civilian systems in the world, using the most sophisticated command, control and analysis computer hardware and software available.
Prairie Central High School social studies teacher Phil Morrison, 30, has been hired to head the Hawks' varsity football squad. The head coaching position will be Morrison's first. He was assistant football coach for the first time last year at PCHS, and assisted previously at the college level for four years at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he helped create a program that participated in the NCAA Division III National Championship playoffs in 1992.
Doug and Cindy Barch of Bloomington opened their seventh Subway chain in Fairbury next to Super Pantry on U. S. 24 almost six weeks ago. There are currently 13 workers including the general manager Jerry Geisler, manager Becky Freehill and assistant manager Bobby Jo Rodrick. Subway offers its customers subs, salads, cookies, chips, pop and for special party occasions, platters and 6 foot subs.
20 Years Ago
July 6, 2005
Kayla Power, daughter of Chuck Power and Jeanne Munz of Fairbury, and an agribusiness economics and political science major at Southern Illinois University, is a participant in this year's Growmark summer intern program. She is currently spending 12 weeks working at Evergreen FS, Inc., located in Bloomington. She will complete a special project that will be coordinated through the company. Power and 23 other interns will meet in August at Growmark headquarters in Bloomington to discuss their experiences and will be awarded certificates of completion.
The Fairbury United Methodist Women have received the "Spirited Servant" award from Cunningham Children's Home for their outstanding service and support to children and young people in need. Cunningham of Urbana provides residential treatment services, special education and supportive independent living programs to more than 250 troubled children and youth each year.
Sharnell Knapp, the daughter of Kirby and Gwen Knapp of Fairbury, is all smiles after having 10 inches of her hair cut off last week. She intends to send the pony tail to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 18, suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Sharnell will be a seventh grader at Prairie Central Junior High this fall.
10 Years Ago
July 8, 2015
The 63rd annual Harms Reunion was held Sunday, June 14 at North Park in Fairbury. The meeting was conducted by President Rebecca Casson following a delicious potluck meal. The oldest member present was Bev Harms, 90. The youngest was Kenadee Casson, 8½ months, daughter of Kent and Rebecca Harms Casson. Traveling the farthest for the reunion was a tie between Lisa Hartzler of Springfield and Bob and Jan White of Palos Heights. Eunice Rich, Bev Harms and Ed and Thelma Harms all won for attending the most reunions (all 63 of them!). The longest married couple in attendance was Ed and Thelma Harms who celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary on June 28.
The first annual Prairie Central Sportsman's Club Youth NRA 3-Gun Experience was held at the PCSC Range in Chatsworth on June 26 and June 27 with 13 young shooters attending. The 3-Gun Experience utilized modern sporting rifles, shotguns and pistols. With fi****ms supplied by the Illinois State Rifle Association, the young shooters were trained how to shoot the Re*****on 20 gauge Semi-automatic shotgun, Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 rifle and R***r Mark II pistol. Competitors were split into groups and given training by NRA Firearm Instructors on Firearm Safety, Marksmanship and Basic Fundamentals. First prize went to Garret Platz, second to Halen Eshleman and third prize to Brianna Koerner.
Mitch Bazzell, a 10th grade student at Prairie Central High School has earned a position on the Illinois state/provincial National High School rodeo team and will travel with fellow teammates to Rock Springs, Wyo, July 12-18 to compete at the 67th annual National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) in the Team Roping and Trap Shooting competitions. He is the son of Greg and Julie Bazzell of Fairbury. Featuring more than 1,500 contestants from 42 states, five Canadian Provinces and Australia, the NHSFR is the world's largest rodeo. In addition to competing for more than $200,000 in prizes, NHSFR contestants will also be competing for more than $350,000 in college scholarships and the chance to be named an NHSFR National Champion.
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