Organizations,  Events,  Milestones,

Good Neighbors,  Fund-raisers,  A Day in the Life...,

Diaspora,  Family and Friends in the Armed Forces,  

Reunions,  Reminiscence

February 2002

Wednesday, Feb. 20
SPONSOR: A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.
WHO: Public
WHAT: American Red Cross blood drive
WHERE: Lincoln Sports Complex
WHEN: Noon to 6 pm

Friday, Feb. 22
SPONSOR: Lincoln Church of God
WHO: Teens; call the church, 732-8989, if you plan to attend
WHAT: Teen Taco Bash; free food, fun, games, activities, prizes
WHERE: Lincoln Church of God, 1415 Fourth St.

Saturday, Feb. 23
SPONSOR: Lincoln Public Library
WHO: Public, high school age through adult
WHAT: Board Games Rodeo
WHERE: Lincoln Public Library, Pegram Community Room
WHEN: 11:30 am to 2:30 pm

Tuesday, Feb. 26
SPONSOR: American Red Cross
WHO: By preregistration; call 732-2134 noon-4 pm weekdays or (217) 522-3357 at other times
WHAT: Class covering adult CPR, infant and child CPR, and first aid (first of two sessions required)
WHERE: 125 S. Kickapoo St.
WHEN: 6-10 pm

Thursday, Feb. 28
SPONSOR: American Red Cross
WHO: By preregistration; call 732-2134 noon-4 pm weekdays or (217) 522-3357 at other times
WHAT: Class covering adult CPR, infant and child CPR, and first aid (second of two sessions)
WHERE: 125 S. Kickapoo St.
WHEN: 5-10 pm

March 2002

Saturday, March 9
SPONSOR: St. John United Church of Christ
WHO: Public
WHAT: Craft show
WHERE: 204 Seventh St.
WHEN: 8 am - 3 pm; lunch available 11 am - 1:30 pm

SPONSOR: Beta Sigma Phi
WHO: Public
WHAT: Dance to raise funds for school supply project for area children
WHERE: Moose Lodge, 521 N. Kickapoo
WHEN: 8-11 pm

Sunday, March 10
SPONSOR: Atlanta Fire Department
WHO: Public
WHAT: Pancake and sausage breakfast
WHERE: Atlanta firehouse
WHEN: Beginning at 7 am

Tuesday, March 12
SPONSOR: U of I Extension
WHO: Public
WHAT: “Salads,” presented by Jananne Finck, nutrition and wellness educator, Springfield
WHERE: Extension office, 980 N. Postville Drive
WHEN: Noon - 1 pm

Thursday, March 14
SPONSOR: Logan County Arts Association
WHO: Public
WHAT: Classic Film Night showing of "On the Waterfront"
WHERE: Lincoln Cinemas
WHEN: 7 pm

Saturday, March 23
WHAT: Children's Community Health Fair
WHERE: Lincoln Park District ballroom, 1400 Primm Road

Saturday, March 30
WHO: Public
WHAT: Annual Lake Fork Community Sale
WHERE: Lake Fork
WHEN: Breakfast starts at 7 am

SPONSOR: Lincoln Park District
WHO: Public
WHAT: Easter egg hunt
WHERE: Lincoln Park District, 1400 Primm Road
WHEN: 10 am

SPECIAL EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:  HOI scholarship program seeks applicants,  Mostaccioli, spaghetti olio e aglio, spaghetti Feb. 15,  YMCA art program reaches out to youth,  Havana to host their first Civil War ball,  Remote control racing meeting,  YMCA has Fun Days when school is out,  Rotary gains new members,  Voter registration for disabled,  Time to register to vote

REGULAR POSTINGS FOR ORGANIZATIONS:  Girl Scouts,  Oasis,  U of I Extension,  YMCA

The 2002 Miss HOI Scholarship Pageant is set for the evening of Saturday, April 6, at the Bertha Frank Performing Arts Center of Morton. The program is sponsored by the Morton Area Players, the Morton Park District and Bearce Automall of Washington.

Entries are now being accepted from young ladies ages 17 to 24. Applicants have a chance to be the next winner of thousands of dollars in scholarships and to represent our area at the Miss Illinois Pageant in June.

Bethany Von Behren of Peoria, Miss HOI 2000, won more than $6,000 in scholarships through her competition at Miss HOI and Miss Illinois. Von Behren is a 2001 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington and was a top ten finalist at Miss Illinois. She was also a preliminary talent winner.

This year’s show, "Celebrate America," will feature award-winning twirler Alyssa Gunderson, the current Miss Heart of Illinois. Gunderson is a special education teacher in suburban Chicago and has been volunteering for mentoring programs for the past five years. She has worked closely with the Bloomington Housing Authority and has started mentoring programs in four states. Gunderson is a 2001 graduate of Illinois State University.

The Miss Heart of Illinois program was honored at the state level for the quality of its show on pageant night, winning the Best Production Award in 2001. In 1999 and 2001, it won the inaugural Outstanding Program Award from Miss Illinois. Since 1998, it has awarded approximately $26,000 in cash scholarships to central Illinois women, thanks to area sponsors. Scholarship funds are sent directly to the contestant’ s university to pay for tuition only.

For more information on entering, sponsoring or volunteering for Miss HOI, e-mail misshoi@hotmail.com or visit the official Miss Heart of Illinois website: misshoi.homestead.com.

[News release]

[Alyssa Gunderson, Miss HOI 2001,
is crowned by Bethany Von Behren, Miss HOI 2000,
and Jennifer Powers, Miss Illinois.]

Church to host teen party

On Friday, Feb. 22, Lincoln Church of God will host their Teen Taco Bash, with free food, fun, games, activities and prizes. All teens are welcome to attend the event at 1415 Fourth St. Please call the church, 732-8989, if you plan to attend.

Remote control racing meeting

From Mike Geriets

An informational meeting on Feb. 7 at the Lincoln Park District was set up to explore the possibilities of having a remote control race league. This is how it came about...

I received a remote control truck for Christmas and was totally surprised to see how many kids and adults in this community have remote control vehicles. Not only that, but it was one of the hot Christmas items bought this past year. I know I have really enjoyed toying around with mine. I then bought my fianceé one as well. It seems a lot of my friends have them, and some have been tucked away in storage for many years. I have seen them get out the old dusty boxes, charge their batteries and get back to the sport.

What surprised me is that there is no structure to racing with friends, and it ends up being a free-for-all wherever you are racing. I then started seeing and hearing about actual competitive racing all over the nation. I did find out that the closest racetrack to Lincoln is in Jacksonville, Ill. With that in mind I approached friends of mine, Marcia Greenslate, director of the Lincoln Park District, and Roy Logan, program director. I expressed interest in possibly starting a league. Roy stated that Steve Klemm of Picture This Photography is also a fan of R/C vehicles and bought one for himself and his son. Steve, Roy and I met and scheduled the public interest meeting.

Remote control racing would help get youth involved in some type of a structured activity. It is a good way of promoting something positive in this community, along with having something that could be great for the entire family. It doesn’t take a lot of money. You can purchase vehicles for less than $50 and still have fun This is a great way to teach our youth and adults some fundamentals of racing while having structure, along with providing a certain level of competition as well.

If there is a strong show of support, the Lincoln Park District may assist in forming a league and provide a track for racing as well.

[Submitted by Mike Geriets]

On Jan. 30 the Lincoln Rotary club made its biggest stride in membership history by inducting 10 new members. The ceremony was handled by longtime Rotarian Bob Albert. Sponsors of the new Rotarians were also recognized for their efforts.

President Marty Ahrends has made a commitment to Rotary International to increase the size of the Lincoln club by 24 members during her year in office. She has challenged all members to bring one new member into the club before April 1.

The Lincoln Rotary club meets at noon on Wednesday at the Lincoln Depot Restaurant.

New Rotarians, from left to right:  Jim Coop, Mary Bruns, Jim Ash, Cynthia Kelly, Guy Burke, Dayle Eldredge, Frank Adubato, Georgina Tisdale and Darren Humphries. Also inducted into membership was Bill Gossett.

Citizens who are not registered to vote and cannot leave their home, hospital, nursing home or other institution because of a permanent physical disability can arrange for voter registration by contacting a deputy registrar or the county clerk’s office.

Voter registration will close on Feb. 19 for the March 19 general primary election.

If you are physically able, you may register to vote by going to the county clerk’s office, Room 20 in the Logan County Courthouse, 601 Broadway in Lincoln. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. You will need to show two forms of identification, one with your current address on it.

For people with physical disabilities and the elderly, election judges will be available at the polling place on election day to assist voters when a friend or relative is unable to help. Handicapped-voter booths will be available for your convenience. Physically impaired or elderly persons may be eligible to vote absentee. Please contact the Logan County clerk’s office for information.

For any information concerning voter registration or voting for the elderly or disabled, please call the Logan County clerk’s office at (217) 732-4148.

[Sally J. Litterly, Logan County clerk]

Are you registered to vote?

The March 19 primary is rapidly approaching. The close of registration is Feb. 19. If you have moved, or if you have married and changed your name, it is necessary that you change your voter registration with our office in order to cast your vote in the election.

If you have questions about your voting eligibility, please contact our office at (217) 732-4148.

{Sally J. Litterly, Logan County Clerk]

The Oasis, Logan County’s senior citizen center, at 501 Pulaski St. in Lincoln, is open weekdays (except holidays) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center also is open on Friday and Sunday nights for table games. Dominic Dalpoas is the executive director. Activities are open to all Logan County senior citizens, regardless of membership.

Oasis closed for holiday

The senior center will be closed Feb. 18 for Washington’s Birthday.

Tuesday, Feb. 19, a representative from Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital will be at The Oasis from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. to provide and discuss information from the American Heart Association for "Healthy Heart Eating."

Lincoln appointment times are available March 4 for people who need help completing their Circuit Breaker forms.

The following trips scheduled for March still have several seats available. Call for a reservation.

•  Shopping in Springfield, March 14. Cost: $7.

•  Nashville North in Taylorville to see Billy Gilman, March 16. Cost: $30

•  Barn II in Goodfield to see "Forever Plaid," March 17. Cost $32.

Second annual auction

Mark this date on your calendars: Saturday, March 16. Join us at The Oasis at 10 a.m. for the auction featuring merchant donations and gently used items. Mike Maske will be the auctioneer. Lunch will be available for a nominal donation.

The committee is now accepting those "gently used items" to be auctioned. Thank you in advance for your support.

The weekday pinochle winner for Feb. 1 was Easter Behrends. Grace McCrae won on Feb. 4. Weekend games winners for Feb. 1 were Esther Will for pinochle and Henry Warnisher and Jan Van Bibber for 5 in 1.

Friends of The Oasis members receive bimonthly newsletters by mail. For more information, people can call the Oasis at 732-6132 or 732-5844.

The local office of the University of Illinois Extension is hosting a series of educational presentations. Anyone and everyone is welcome. Programs will be at the Extension office at the northwest corner of the fairgrounds, 980 N. Postville Drive.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new survey finds that unsupervised teens are four times more likely to be D students than teens supervised every day. The survey, "After School for America’s Teens," released by the YMCA of the USA, finds that 59 percent of teens are left unsupervised after school at least one day in a typical week. And those teens are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and engage in sexual activity, and are nearly three times as likely to skip classes at school. In fact, compared to teens who are supervised, they are also three times more likely to use marijuana or other drugs

YMCA Teen Action Agenda programs already are proven solutions to the clear need for structured supervision after school. Ten percent of America’s teens currently are involved in YMCA programs, and the YMCA is committed to doubling the number of teens it serves to one in five teens by 2005. YMCAs help teens develop character and build confidence through programs focusing on education, career and life skills; health, safety and well-being; and leadership and service learning,

"The survey’s findings reinforce our belief that teens who are supervised are more successful — they get better grades in school and participating in after-school programs helps protect them from at-risk behaviors. That’s why we’ve made the commitment to double the number of teens we involve in YMCA programs to nearly five million," said Brock Leach, chair of the YMCA Teen Action Agenda and president and CEO of Tropicana Products, Inc,

The survey of 500 teens 14 to 17 years of age reveals a strong interest in community and neighborhood-based after-school programs. Even though many teenagers participate in after-school programs through their school, over half of all teens (52 percent) wish there were more community or neighborhood-based activities available. And, while more than 62 percent of teens left alone during the week say they would likely participate in after-school programs, the survey also found that two in three teens (67 percent) would be interested in programs after school that would help them get better grades, develop leadership skills and be more involved in the community.

Cornelius Abraham is a teen who says he’s the perfect example of how the YMCA programs can keep good kids from going bad. At a news conference on Capitol Hill, Abraham described how he came from a family broken apart by the violent death of his brother at the hands of his parents. "The YMCA was a haven for me in my childhood and teen years. Without the structure and support I found through the Y’s after-school programs, I would never have had the success I did in school and confidence to overcome the obstacles in my path." said Cornelius, a former Chicago YMCA teen and now a 20-year-old sophomore at Northern Illinois University.

Jessica Stone is another good example of how YMCA programs work. The 14-year-old from Seattle, Wash., comes from a strong, two-parent family. "Being involved in the girls’ leadership program has been a great experience. The mentors I’ve worked with have really helped me learn and think about my future, and now I’m able to help other kids as a mentor for them," said Stone.

Unsupervised teens are in the "danger zone" — the hours of 3 to 6 p.m. after school, when being unsupervised can lead to problems with alcohol, drugs, sexual activity and even crime. This danger cuts across race, income and family structure, as was found in the University of Minnesota’s National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the largest-ever survey conducted with adolescents in the United States. Teens who are failing school and "hanging out" with friends are more likely than other teens to engage in at-risk behaviors.

"If we choose not to invest in addressing the unstructured, unsupervised time of teens, it does not mean that we are saving money. We can pay at the front end or we can pay at the back... but we will pay," said Dr. Robert Blum, co-principal investigator of the University of Minnesota study.

The YMCA’s "After School" survey also revealed that teens who participate in after-school activities do better in school and are less likely to engage in activities that place them at risk. Teens who do not engage in activities after school are five times more likely to be D students than those who do. Furthermore, nearly eight in 10 teens (79 percent) who participate in after-school programs are A or B students, but only half (52 percent) of teens who do not participate earn such high marks.

To date, more than 1,000 YMCAs have signed on to support the YMCA Teen Action Agenda, In addition to doubling the number of teens they involve in programs, these local YMCAs pledge to offer more programs and support for teens. Meeting the campaign’s goals — building teens’ skills and values, developing assets in teens, providing teens with meaningful roles in their communities, and placing teens with adult role models — is crucial to teens’ success.

"YMCA teen programs provide teens the safe, structured after-school activities that help them avoid risky behaviors while preparing them academically and socially and building the character and skills teens need to succeed and thrive as young adults," said Kenneth Gladish, Ph.D., National Executive Director of YMCA of the USA.

In 2001, America’s YMCAs celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the first Y, in Boston, Mass. One out of three Americans reports being a YMCA member at some point in life. Together the 2,372 YMCAs are the nation’s largest not-for-profit community service organization.

Today, America’s YMCAs serve 17.5 million people, including nearly nine million children each year, through a broad range of programs, including mentoring, youth leadership and volunteerism. Collectively, YMCAs are also the nation’s largest provider of child care. YMCAs are for people of ail faiths, races, ages and incomes. Financial assistance is available for all YMCA programs and membership.

To learn more about the YMCA, visit the website at www.ymca.net.

The YMCA Teen Action Agenda is sponsored nationally by JCPenney Afterschool and PepsiCo, Inc.

Note: The survey results are based on telephone interviews with a national sample of 500 teenagers, 14 to 17 years of age, conducted in January 2001 by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates of Washington, D.C. The statistical significance of the results is plus or minus 4.4 percent at the 95th confidence interval level.

Milestones

[Click here to see and print the wedding announcement form]

[Click here to see and print the anniversary announcement form]

[Click here to see and print the engagement announcement form]

Marilyn Derrickson Taylor

and Donald Weindorf

Marilyn Derrickson Taylor and Donald Weindorf have planned their wedding for Feb. 14 at Weeping Water, Neb.

Lincoln is their hometown. Marilyn is the daughter of Floyd and Gertrude Derrickson. Donald is the son of Desmond and Mary Weindorf.

Marilyn has an associate of arts degree and is employed by the Illinois State Patrol.

Donald Weindorf, who holds Ph.D. and D.D. degrees, is owner of Nebraska Boys Home in Weeping Water, Neb.

 The Rev. Andrea Castrolane will officiate at the wedding ceremony. Attendants will be Jennifer and Megann Zierott and Donald Winkler.

The couple will go on a Caribbean cruise for their honeymoon.

[JAN. 31, 2002]  In the first ceremony of its kind in the state, Lincoln area resident Iona Boyd received the Purple Heart medal awarded to her first husband, Pvt. Paul W. Kodatt, a medic who was killed in the Philippines during World War II.

[Click here to view picture page.]

Illinois State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka presented the medal in a ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday at The Oasis. She also gave Boyd other contents of the abandoned safe deposit box where the medal was found: a Pacific campaign service medal, a small three-blade pocketknife, a rifle bayonet with scabbard and a pocket Bible.
 

[llinois State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka
presents medal to Iona Boyd.]

Boyd said the items brought back memories. "I know he served his country well," she said of Kodatt, a medical corps medic. "I was left with three small sons," Boyd recalled, expressing pride in her sons. Colleen Cavit, Boyd’s daughter by her second husband, also attended the ceremony.

"We’re here to preserve the honor of the veterans of the past (who) made the world free for democracy," Topinka said, adding that the presentation was especially appropriate in a time of renewed patriotism. The more than 50 people present for the ceremony included representatives of city and county government, the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce and the Oasis board.

The medal presentation was part of the Illinois Treasurer’s Operation Search and Restore, which locates owners of medals found in abandoned safe deposit boxes. "Our goal is to reunite these medals with veterans and their families," Topinka said. "It would be unpatriotic to auction them off, as we do when we can’t find the owners of items left abandoned in safe deposit boxes. If we can’t find the owners, we’ll look into donating the medals to a military museum, but our preference is to get the medals back to the rightful owners."

Boyd received a check for $399.50, the value of other contents of the safe deposit box that were auctioned before she was located. Topinka also presented her with a certificate signed by Gen. John Johnston, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.

Two other rightful medal owners have been located, according to Sam Collins, administrator of safe deposit box compliance in Topinka’s office.

[to top of second column in this article]

A display of about 40 of the medals, many with recipient’s names, is available for use by organizations in the hope of finding more owners. Shown at the 2001 Illinois State Fair in August, it includes a National Defense Service Medal and ribbon, Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, a Silver Star, an Army Distinguished Service Medal and a Navy Cross. To have the display brought to your organization, call Jason Winnett at (217) 558-6999 or visit the website www.cashdash.net/searchandrestore.htm.

Oasis Executive Director Dom Dalpoas said the senior center was selected as the presentation site because of its partnership with the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. Mark Patterson of the department outlined the history of the Purple Heart. The medal, then called the Badge of Military Merit, was designed by George Washington to reward meritorious action by enlisted soldiers. Washington said, "The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all." Only three badges were presented during the Revolution, and the recipients were permitted to pass sentries and guards without challenge.

[Oasis Executive Director Dom Dalpoas
introduces Judy Baar Topinka.]

In 1932 the Purple Heart was revived at the instigation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In 1941 it was extended to members of the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. President John F. Kennedy further extended it to civilians wounded while working with the armed forces, and President Ronald Reagan to those wounded in terrorist attacks.

[Lynn Shearer Spellman]

Lincoln Area YMCA’s mentor-HERO program

[JAN. 31, 2002]  The Lincoln Area YMCA’s mentor/HERO program is one that provides a volunteer mentor to a youngster in need of quality one-on-one time with a positive adult role model. Mentors serve as a guide and in many instances as a tutor.

Each mentor and youngster meet for at least 30 minutes per week. In addition, monthly social events are planned for all mentors and children to spend time doing something fun and maybe new together.

Young people from kindergarten through eighth grade are eligible to be in the program. Teachers, parents, principals, anyone can refer a child to the mentor/HERO program. Mentors and children meet in a variety of places, but primarily they meet at the child’s school after school or at the Lincoln Public Library.

Mentors are trained on how to be the best mentor they can be and also in the YMCA’s child abuse and prevention program, the Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System. Background check is performed on each volunteer mentor. Additionally, mentors complete an application stating why they would like to become a mentor and are required to list three people as character references.

[to top of second column in this article]

The Lincoln Area YMCA has been offering this program to families for the past four years. Several of the mentors have been with the program for two to three years. These mentors have developed very close relationships with the children they mentor — relationships that will likely last for years after they leave the program. There are children waiting and mentors are needed right now.

If you have a child who is in need of a mentor or if you would like to become a mentor, please contact Sarah at 735-3915.

[YMCA news release]

Fund-raisers

People all across this country and, in fact, around the world, claim roots in Logan County. They have very interesting stories to tell, and some of them like to connect with those of us who stayed at home. Logan County Diaspora publishes the stories of former Logan County residents. With their permission, we also include their e-mail addresses so that old friends might be reunited.  If you wish to be part of the Logan County Diaspora, e-mail ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com.  

Diaspora correspondents

Click on names to see letters and stories.

v Indicates LDN sponsors

• Wanda Whitson Aue

• Brad Boss

• Charles Brainard

• James 'Doc' Chandler

• Brad Dye

• Wayne and Nancy (Hatfield) Eichelberger

• Wayne Franz

• Philip Gehlbach

• Leigh Henson  v

• Bill Horn  v

• Dale A. Lowe

• George A. McKinney

• Len and Rita Remmert

• Tom Renner

• Tom Rippon

• Traycee Ritchhart-Pirkle

• Greg Schriber

• Stan Stringer

• Donald Weindorf  v

• Denise Radcliffe Wood

• Tom and Kristy (Smith) Yarcho

Letter from Donald Weindorf

Dear Folks,

I thought it was time to update my last entry into the realm of Diaspora.

Since I left Lincoln 50 years ago, like most of us, many things have happened. I received my Ph.D. in social work from Northwestern and my D.D. from the Eastern Catholic Church. I have six children and have been alone for 10 years. I own and operate a home in Weeping Water, Neb. (19 miles south of Omaha) for "at risk" boys.

The biggest news is that on Valentine’s Day this month, Marilyn (Derrickson) Taylor and I will be married. Marilyn was my first sweetheart in Lincoln when she was 15 and I was 17. When I went into the Marine Corps we lost touch for 50 years. Last year, thanks to my old friend Jerry "Loop" Alberts, we were reunited.

We can remember dancing until we dropped at the old Rec Center, of meeting after school at Marcucci’s or the Arcade or Tibbs’ and on weekends at Lincoln Lakes.  Guzzardo’s was a pizza parlor on the first floor. You could get Wiener schnitzels at the Old Mill and maple pralines a block from the courthouse. Those were the days.

I miss Lincoln, even though I get back now every couple of months. It will always be close to my heart and always MY HOME TOWN!

Sincerely,

Don Weindorf

Every day at 1 p.m. I read my daily paper, the Lincoln Daily News.

(2-7-02)

Family and Friends in the Armed Forces

Friends and relatives serving in the armed forces are listed here so we might all hold them in our thoughts, prayers and well wishes. If you know of other friends and relatives serving (they need not be from Logan County), please send the information to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com. Along with the name, you are invited to include the branch of service, current location of service, postal address, e-mail address and relationship to the person providing the information (optional).

U.S. Air Force

At Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

Postal address: 5805 Mountain Home St.

Unit J-13

Nellis AFB, NV 89191

E-mail: ja_af_82@hotmail.com

Class of '00

U.S. Army-1AD-HHC

Weisbaden, Germany

E-mail: spot2sweetpea@yahoo.com or susan12652000@yahoo.com

West Point, N.Y.

Lackland Air Force Base, Texas

Korea

U.S. Navy

Will be deployed in mid-January

(Address not available yet)

E-mail: imjustin@hotmail.com

CDR Jim Cravens

(Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Lincoln)

U.S. Navy

At Atlantic Fleet Headquarters, Norfolk, Va.

Postal address: CDR James O. Cravens, N02GR

1562 Mitscher Ave. Suite 250

Norfolk, VA, 23551-2487-2487

E-mail: cravensjo@clf.navy.mil  or

chcusnr@ccaonline.com 

Staff Sgt. Evan Jay Downey, Karen and Ethan

U.S. Air Force

Mildenhall Air Force Base, England

1988 graduate of LCHS

Son of Lucky Eichner

[to top of second column in this section]

U.S. Air Force

At Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana

Postal address: 8525 Chalmette Drive

Shreveport, LA 71115

E-mail: charles.lindstrom@barksdale.af.mil

Class of ’81 LCHS

Airman Chad M. Maxheimer
U.S. Air Force

Postal address: 9AEW JSOAC-S

Unit 10

APO AE 09351

E-mail: spring_loaded@yahoo.com

Son of Mike and Suzie Maxheimer of Chestnut and Michelle Lowe of Mount Pulaski

2000 graduate of Mount Pulaski High School

Kevin McGinnis

Egypt

Michelle K. Ramlow

Navy

At Pentagon

Postal address: 5409-B Steeplechase Drive

Fredericksburg, VA 22407

E-mail: ramlow.michelle@hq.navy.mil 

Maj. James E. Reineke,
Deborah, Nathan, Emily

Air Force

Misawa Air Base, Japan

E-mail: REIN4RUN@aol.com 

Pvt. Christian B. Skelton

U.S. Army

Scheduled to graduate from AIT in late March.

He and his wife will go to Germany in April.

Postal address: A CO 1-19th INF ITB

4th Platoon

Fort Benning, GA 31905-5630

E-mail: skelton820@hotmail.com

2001 graduate of LCHS

Husband of Nahani Lynn Skelton

Robby, Ami-Jo and Angela Spickard

National Guard medical support

Tech. Sgt. Thomas Yarcho

U.S. Air Force

At Ramstein Air Base, Germany

E-mail: thomas.yarcho@ramstein.af.mil

Class of ’82

Reunions

Ongoing class reunion in cyberspace for 1960 graduates of LCHS

http://www.geocities.com/lincolnhigh1960/

Reminiscence

• The Postville Courthouse revisited, by Stan Stringer, posted Feb. 12, 2002, in LDN

• Lincoln Lakes beach, by Stan Stringer, posted July 10, 2001

• Stan Stringer tells story of Mark Holland’s buzzing of Lincoln, posted May 11, 2001

• Leigh Henson, now a college teacher in Missouri, remembers Miss Jones, Jefferson School principal, posted March 29, 2001

• Foreign Service officer recalls infamous Valentine's Day '79 in Tehran, by George McKinney, posted Feb. 15, 2001

[FEB. 12, 2002]  Preceding the millennium year 2000, the Springfield State Journal-Register published a series of stories on events in Illinois during the preceding century. The stories were good, and the Jan. 9, 1999, story revisited Lincoln’s loss of the Postville Courthouse to Henry Ford’s Dearborn Village. Regrettably, the headline seemed a bit pejorative — "Ford wanted Lincoln landmark more than Lincoln’s people did" — and I felt there was some injustice in this.

While the story makes clear that Lincoln had an opportunity to preserve the building and Logan County Judge Lawrence Stringer (no relation to the writer) sought to create interest in this, no one came forward. In 1929 Henry Ford purchased the courthouse for inclusion in Dearborn Village. His conservationist hired my father, Charles M. Stringer, to photograph the disassembly of the courthouse.

As my father told me, when Ford bought the courthouse, it was rented to a poor family. Ford generously brought the family to Detroit, and Ford Motor Company hired the father at the wage of $5 a day. While this now seems pitifully small, in 1929 and during the Depression it was top dollar for factory workers.

As the courthouse was disassembled, each board and timber was marked with a number so that each piece would be in its same place when reassembled at Dearborn Village. The conservation effort went so far as to save the original plaster, which was ground and heat-treated for reuse in plastering the interior. In short, the courthouse was an almost prefect representation of itself when erected in Dearborn Village, and this is where the problem began.

The courthouse was not just a courtroom. The single entrance on the first floor opened on a tavern where lawyers and clients could talk, buy a drink and food while waiting for the proceedings to begin. There was a narrow stairway to the second floor. The second floor included a room for use of the clerk and lawyers as well as the courtroom.

In October 1961 my father and his second wife visited my wife, daughter and me in Detroit, and I took this photograph of the Postville Courthouse. When we entered the courthouse, we found the courtroom on the first floor and a doorway cut through the center of the rear wall.

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The docent (a college girl in her second or third year of college) approached us, and she explained the construction changes. The courthouse’s original layout was not meant for visiting crowds. Consequently, the first floor became the courtroom and clerk’s office, and the rear door became an egress for visitors. At this point she started to explain how the courthouse was disassembled, but Dad, to her surprise, interrupted to tell his role in the courthouse’s disassembly.

Perhaps Ford’s alteration of the Postville courthouse should not surprise us. The May 25, 1916, Chicago Tribune quoted Henry Ford as saying, "History is more or less bunk." It is said that he was referring to history as traditionally taught by academics as being fairly useless. The Tribune further quoted Ford as saying, "We want to live in the present, and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today."

Notwithstanding Ford’s dim view of academic history, the docent at Greenfield Village was truthful about the alterations to the Postville Courthouse.

As a postscript, Dad later told me the family that Ford moved to Detroit returned to Lincoln a few years later. They missed the rest of their extended family in Lincoln, and $5 a day was just not reason enough for continuing the separation.

[Stan Stringer]

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