Six graders go Greek
[APRIL 8, 2000] 
It’s been said that fashion trends are a like a revolving door. Well, what’s old is new again at Washington-Monroe Elementary School. Friday Debbie Pettit’s sixth grade class took their latest lesson seriously and donned togas to celebrate Greek Day.


The students have been working hard studying Greek mythology. To reward them for their efforts, Mrs. Pettit – with the help of several parents and staff, including student teacher Darla Hamilton – decided to surprise them with a day devoted to the Greek culture.

So, when the students walked into the classroom in the morning, they discovered scrolls sitting on their desks describing the Greek Day activities. Classes such as art and math centered on the Greek culture.  For example, instead of the typical fraction lesson followed by a list of problems to solve, the students worked on a Pandora’s fraction box.  

 


[A father volunteers his time to celebrate
 Greek Day with his daughter.]

 

In addition to their class activities, the students participated in a Greek Olympics. They modified events from the early days of the Olympics, such as the discus and javelin. For example, instead of throwing an actual discus, they used paper plates. Ready to be refueled from their games, the students had a Greek banquet during which they ate Greek-style food such as baklava and pita bread. And to top it off, what Greek celebration would be complete without watching the latest rendition of “Hercules”?

Mrs. Pettit explains that not only was this an opportunity to reward the students for their hard work, it was also a chance to reinforce what they’ve learned. “We wanted a culmination activity for the lessons we’ve studied,” she says. She adds that this type of reinforcement works, because throughout the day students would refer to mythological characters they studied. “When it thundered, they said, ‘It must be Zeus!’”

She says the many hours spent working on this project were worth it. “They’ve worked so hard, we wanted to surprise them,” explained Mrs. Pettit. “It’s been really fun.”

 


[Mrs. Pettit presents Jimmy Stone with a 
wreath following the Greek Olympics.]


             

[Katherine Heller]


Building projects expand
Lincoln College campus

[APRIL 7, 2000]  Lincoln College has begun a three-step building project that will bring the campus a new dormitory, a new classroom and office building, and an addition to the present Johnston Center, headquarters for the performing arts.  Construction has started at all three sites.

 

The current project, according to Dr. Jack Nutt, college president, will almost complete the Lincoln College campus.  He envisions one more building program that will bring the only two-year residential college in the state of Illinois to what he considers its final phase.

“The mission of Lincoln College is the concept of personal education,” Nutt said.  “We have a full-time faculty member for every 13 students.  I see a residential population of 525 as best to serve our students.”  Currently the college has a residential population of approximately 475 students. The number of non-residential students – those who commute and those who live in the community – may vary, but the number of residential students should stay at about 525, he said.

 


[Construction workers put up the frame for the first floor of the new three-story Lincoln College dormitory which will house 160 students.]

 

Construction of the new dormitory, as yet unnamed, is underway behind Spatz Hall and Forsythe dormitory, on the northwest side of Ottawa Street.  When completed, the dormitory will have a total of 160 beds, as well as offices for the school nurse, the dean of students and the director of housing.  The dormitory will be in the shape of a U.  Phase one, the current project, is the “long spine” of the building, which will house 120 of the 160 rooms. 

When the spring semester ends, Spatz Hall will be taken down and construction can begin on the south wing of the new dormitory, which Nutt said would be completed by January.  Forsythe Hall, a dormitory 30 years old and “not very efficient,” according to Nutt, will probably be taken down during the second semester of next year, depending on the need for housing.  When Forsythe comes down, construction will begin on the north wing, to be completed by the fall of 2001. The other older dormitories, Olin-Sang, Carroll Hall and Hoyle, are in good shape and, with minor renovations, will stay as they are.

All rooms in the new dormitory will be single rooms, with sinks in each room and a stool and shower serving every two rooms.  This will give the college a total of 280 single dormitory rooms.   The other 120 single rooms are in the Heritage dormitories, built in 1998 and 1999.

The new single rooms are a response to the many students who want more privacy than the old-style dormitory rooms offer, Nutt said.  The new dormitories also offer more privacy because there are fewer students to a floor, he pointed out.  Students will now have a choice of three types of living styles at different prices.  Along with the single rooms in the new dorms, they may choose double or single rooms without private baths in the old dormitories.

 

    The new classroom and office building will be located directly behind University Hall, the only original building on campus and the college landmark. According to plans,  the new building will have offices for 12 faculty members, including the five coaches, as well as classrooms.

"The new building will replace classrooms lost from Spatz Hall and also allow us to take some of the pressure off University Hall,” Nutt said. The landmark three-story building, constructed in 1865, still has classrooms on the second floor but is not easily accessible for the handicapped.

The Johnston Center needs more space because of the growing number of students in the fine arts programs, Nutt explained.  “When I first came here in 1982, we had eight or 10 kids majoring in fine arts.  Now there are 50 or 60.”

The two-story addition will add 5,000 square feet to the fine arts building.  The lower floor will have two classrooms, a computer laboratory and offices.  The first floor will provide a large practice room, two offices and storage, as well as public restrooms.  The new practice area will allow vocal and dance students to rehearse at the same time as instrumental students, Nutt said.

The Johnston Center addition, the new classroom and office building, and phase one of the new dormitory are scheduled for completion by August 15.  Roger Webster of Lincoln is the contractor for the Johnston Center addition; Diversified Buildings of Morton is putting up the new classroom-office building; and Illinois Construction of Bloomington, which also built the Heritage North and West dormitories in 1998 and 1999, is putting up the new dormitory.

 


[Excavation has begun for the two-story addition to the Johnston Center, home of the performing arts on the Lincoln College campus.  The addition will add 5,000 square feet to the existing building.]

 

Recent building programs on the campus in addition to the Heritage dormitories include Dooley Hall, a new admissions building, a 10,000-square-foot maintenance building, and new soccer and baseball fields.

 [Editor’s note:  A story about Dr. Nutt’s vision for the completion of the campus and its importance to the city of Lincoln will appear on Tuesday, April 11.]

 

[Joan Crabb]

 


Philosophy lays foundation for
funeral home renovation

[APRIL 6, 2000]  The Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Homes, owned by Charles Fricke, Dennis Schrader and Larry Calvert, celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony today at 9 a.m. to open its newly remodeled facility at 127 S. Logan St. in Lincoln.

An open house is planned for Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. for the public. The Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors will assist with the ceremony. There will be a private dedication at noon on Sunday, during which the owners will dedicate the remodeled building to their deceased parents.

The funeral home has added 3000 square feet to its existing facility, tripling its size and increasing its seating capacity to 230 while accommodating 350 people for visitations.

The funeral parlor can hold one large service or be divided into two smaller areas for  more intimate services. "Grief shared is grief diminished" is Fricke’s philosophy and a phrase he commonly uses. He feels that sharing is the beginning of the healing process, and visitations and funerals allow people to come together to begin this process.

 

 

Additional space has allowed for a music and clergy room that houses the public address systems and the musicians. The clergy will also have use of this room for private meditation or as a place to do paperwork, according to Fricke. The office space has been rearranged to allow for the clerical staff to work undisturbed while a consultation is in progress. The facility is also compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

Fricke says that one-third of their services are performed for people who have made pre-arrangements for themselves. "People want to make sure that they get the kind of services that they want," he adds. Cremations make up seven to eight percent of their business. Fricke continues, "County residents have the luxury of knowing that they have three or four generations buried in the county, so they usually opt for burials."

 

The funeral home has applied to the State Historical Society for recognition as a business that has been in continuous service for at least 100 years. Documents show that the funeral home has been in business since 1890, when it began as the John Boyden Funeral Home.

 


[Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home 
celebrates the facility's renovations.]

 

Fricke-Calvert-Schrader will provide the historical society with documentation this summer and will receive a plaque documenting this achievement once their application is accepted. A memorabilia wall has been erected for public viewing to display the funeral home’s history. If anyone is interested in sharing any of the funeral home’s history that they may have, such as old funeral contracts or advertisements, they can contact the funeral home.

 

 

 

[Kym Ammons-Scott]

 


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