 In the spirit of celebrating community, members of every
community in Logan County were invited to attend and to share
something unknown about their community.New Holland
Suzie Aper, the mayor of New Holland, was the first to speak
about her town. She talked about a tavern in New Holland that had
been a thriving business in years gone by. She recounted the use of
the back room of the tavern for silent films. Unfortunately, the
building had been abandoned and was falling into ruin until it was
taken over by a fellow from Mason City and an employee of Cross
Brothers Implement.
Happily, Aper reported the building has been renovated and a new
eatery called Slackers is now thriving. She noted it was a pleasure
to drive into New Holland at dinnertime and see 40 cars parked on
the main street again, with all of their passengers being patrons of
Slackers.
Middletown
Bill Post was next up, speaking about a special event that took
place quite by accident in Middletown. He was talking about the
landing of the Vin Fiz airplane in 1911. This was the first
transcontinental flight from New York to California.
Vin Fiz was a soda being produced back in the day by a Chicago
meatpacker, J.O. Armour. He sponsored the flight, which was supposed
to have taken 30 days, and the plane was named after his soda.
However, the flight was plagued with numerous breakdowns,
including one right over Middletown. The plane was forced to land in
a field for repairs.
The Vin Fiz did eventually make it to California, but it took 84
days. The actual time in the air totaled only 82 hours.
Lincoln
Chuck Conzo, Lincoln city treasurer, shared trivia about City
Hall in Lincoln. The building was completed in 1896 at a cost of
$20,000.
The building was placed on the National Register of Historic
buildings in 1985.
Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce
Jenye Tribler of the chamber of commerce spoke about 2013 being
the 100th year of the chamber in Lincoln and Logan County. She said
there are no plans for a big celebration, but a variety of
activities will take place throughout the year to commemorate the
event.
San Jose
Joe McCormick, mayor of San Jose, read an excerpt from the San
Jose Centennial History book, written in 1950.
He noted that San Jose was first called Allen's Grove and it
stood in Mason County. The town was later expanded to the east and
crossed the county line into Logan County.
Today, San Jose crosses three county lines: Mason, Logan and
Tazewell.
Atlanta
Bill Martin is a Logan County Board member and former mayor of
Atlanta. He spoke about his town and recalled that it, too, began
with a different name. It was first named Xenia after Xenia, Ohio,
where one of the founders had originally lived.
When the community was going to register for a post office, they
found the name was already taken. The second choice was the favorite
of the town's founder, Richard Gill -- Atlanta, named after Atlanta,
Ga.
Logan County
Bob Farmer, Logan County Board chairman, talked about the Logan
County Poor Farm. The home is located north of Lincoln. It was a
working farm for those who were desolate. Farmer said there was
livestock and grain farming and a home where the people lived. He
also noted there is a poor farm cemetery, and there are no
headstones in the cemetery. He said it is marked only by a large
rock.
Asked if there were any records of who was buried at the
cemetery, he said to the best of his knowledge, there were not.
Mount Pulaski and Scout Troop 122
Phil Bertoni took the floor, representing Mount Pulaski, and said
his town could not be outdone by Middletown, for they, too, had a
famous plane land in their midst. Wilbur Wright was racing a train
from Chicago to Springfield.
The plane landed in Mount Pulaski for fuel and water. Bertoni had
a trivia question for the crowd: How long was Wilbur Wright in Mount
Pulaski? The answer was not what one would expect. Wright had
earlier broken his leg and was unable to fly; therefore, he was
aboard the train, which went through Mount Pulaski. Of course, the
plane won the race.
Bertoni then introduced Mount Pulaski Scout Troop 122 leaders
Greg Maus and Pam Erlenbush. He said the troop has produced over 30
Eagle Scouts, the highest rank in Scouts.
Maus spoke briefly about the Scouts, as did Erlenbush, who also
commented that many Scouts go on to join the military.
Postville Courthouse
Stu Churchill, site director for Postville Courthouse, also spoke
briefly. He said that the courthouse, like Mount Pulaski's, is
suffering from state budget cuts, and it is a concern. He encouraged
everyone to stop in and visit the courthouse this year.
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Lincoln College
Ron Keller of the Lincoln College Heritage Museum spoke about the
two David Harts. The senior David Harts was born in Logan County,
served in the Civil War and returned home to practice law. David
Harts' son David grew up in Lincoln, attended what was then Lincoln
University, studied law and practiced for a time in Chicago. He then
returned to Lincoln. He was the president of Lincoln Mining, Lincoln
China and other important companies in the community.
He loved the college, and when it fell on hard times, he
supported it with his own money, paying the salaries of the
instructors and supporting the operations of the college. He was
noted for his love of the college and now has a building named after
him: the Harts Science Hall.
Emden
Sylvia Klokkenga of Emden spoke about a first-ever event for
Christmas last year, the celebration of St. Nicholas Eve. She talked
about the Emden area being founded by flatland farmers of German
descent. Last year the Emden Historical Society headed up a program
to re-create an old fashioned German Christmas celebration that
included a special German prayer.
She said the program was so well received, it is hoped that it
will become an annual event.
Elkhart
Peggy Lee of Elkhart told the story of how the community got its
library. In the Gillett family, John P. Gillett had a drinking
problem. His mother came to the conclusion that if she could get the
entire town of Elkhart to stop drinking for three years, she would
be able to get her son to stop as well. She proposed that the town
go "dry," and if they did, she would give them a library.
After the three years, she gave the town a room in the Gillette
building. Later, John Gillett died an alcoholic.
The actual library building was build by the Gillett family in
1904. It still has all its original woodwork, fixtures and
furnishings.
Heritage In Flight Museum
The last to speak, Stacy Wachtel spoke about the Young Eagle
flights offered through Heritage In Flight. Last year for the Route
66 tour, the museum hosted an open house, which was well-attended
and is on the tour roster again this year. She invited everyone to
come out and view the museum.
She also noted that when driving in to the museum at the airport;
to the left is the beacon that Charles Lindbergh used to navigate
when he was delivering mail.
Prior to the lunch, Main Street board chairman Seth Goodman
welcomed and thanked all in attendance. Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder
led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Pastor Mark Weber of
the Mount Pulaski Christian Church delivered the opening prayer.
Wanda Lee Rohlfs, Main Street executive director, introduced
county board members, county officials, city officials for Lincoln
and representatives from varying communities. She also noted those
in attendance from the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan
County, the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce, and the
Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership.
Mike Fak facilitated the program, offering comedic entertainment,
as well as local trivia.
The luncheon took place at the Maple Club. Those in attendance
enjoyed salad, baked chicken with green beans and rice, and carrot
cake for dessert, all prepared by Cathy Tiffany and her staff of the
Maple Club.
At the end of the day, there were drawings for several prizes.
Winners were:
-
Bob Cross -- $25 gift
certificate from Fat Boys
-
Susan Gehlbach -- $15
certificate from Buff's in Mount Pulaski
-
Suzie Aper -- $20
certificate from Hallie's on the square
-
Mary Kelley -- $15
gift certificate from Buff's
-
Geoff Ladd -- 14-inch
cookie cake from Peggy's Place
-
Toby Prang -- $15
certificate from Buff's
-
Judy Conzo -- an Isabelle Bloom bunny
In the last event of the day, Rohlfs recognized Theresa Richert
and Jackie Baker as the Illinois Main Street Volunteers of the Year.
Other recognitions went to Mary Kelley, who volunteered to spend
the summer helping LCHS National Honor Society students water
flowering baskets and potted plants on the square.
Nila Smith of Lincoln Daily News received special recognition for
articles and a poem published in LDN, helping to promote downtown
shopping at Christmas.
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