|
There will be a kickoff party in
Memorial Park -- rain or shine -- from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to celebrate
the new trail. The free event is open to everyone of all ages,
whether or not they are knowledgeable about geocaching.
The party will begin with a 9 a.m.
ribbon-cut. Tom Hankins of the Central Illinois Geocaching
Association will be available to explain more about the sport.
Lincoln resident Marge Ott, who
drew the designs for the cache cards, will be on hand to sign
autographs. Children ages 10 and younger can participate in a free
old-fashioned pumpkin hunt for door prizes. Refreshments will be
served.
Geocaching is a modern-day treasure
hunt that relies on global positioning system units or GPS-empowered
phones to find containers known as "caches." The six caches on the
new trail will contain cards that can be redeemed for souvenir
postcards.
The new Logan County trail has
caches hidden at sites that relate to Abraham Lincoln and his
relationship to communities throughout the county.
Typically, a cache is a waterproof
container with a logbook where the geocacher can enter the date the
cache was found and their established code name. Then the cache must
be replaced exactly as it was found.
Hunters can also register their
finds at an official geocaching website,
www.groundspeak.com.
Groundspeak offers free membership, although users have the option
of purchasing premium memberships.
Groundspeak's website claims
millions of caches and members in more than 200 countries. The
international sport even extends into outer space, with a cache
aboard the International Space Station.
The Abraham Lincoln Geocaching
Trail in Logan County was made possible through funding from the
Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition with support of the Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation, dedicated to perpetuating and
expanding Lincoln's vision for America and completing America's
unfinished work. Matching funds were made available by the Abraham
Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County.
 Roll-making
time for the Harvest of Talents
You know you have arrived at the
Harvest of Talents for World Hunger when you enter the glass doors
of the Lincoln Church's Fellowship Center at 7 a.m. on the fourth
Saturday in October and are greeted by the sweet smell of the
event's "signature" caramel pecan and cinnamon rolls -- fresh from
the oven. The cinnamon and caramel pecan
breakfast rolls go back to the early years of the event, when
sisters Glenda Appel Allison and Gail Appel Clark volunteered, with
their mother's recipe in hand, to make all of the rolls to be served
at the 7 a.m. opening. That year, 300 rolls lined the kitchen
counters through the night to rise so they could be placed into the
ovens for baking very early in the morning.
Spin forward in time some two dozen
years to the 30th Harvest of Talents for World Hunger, and that same
wonderful fragrance will greet those arriving for breakfast and
shopping for hundreds of handmade items on Harvest Day.
Steve Elkins, for many years the
man in charge of Harvest roll-making, is retiring from that
responsibility, and Melanie and Joe Schaler, together with a crew of
roll-making volunteers, some seasoned and others brand-new, are busy
producing this year's bounty of breakfast rolls at the Harvest of
Talents.
Each of the Wednesday nights in
September, a group of roll-makers -- some junior high school age,
others well into retirement and those in between -- have donned
aprons and were found measuring flour, sugar, eggs, butter and other
baking ingredients, including lots of cinnamon, to make this year's
breakfast fare. Rolls have been lovingly rolled and cut and arranged
into baking pans to be frozen in preparation for the Harvest of
Talents morning and the final baking and finishing process.
Between 1,700 and 2,000 caramel
pecan and cinnamon rolls will greet the early morning diners and
shoppers.
But even before that, rolls will be
served to workers assembled at 6 a.m. to make final preparations for
Harvest Day. Together the workers will share a devotion offered by
Rick Jett, chairman of International Disaster Emergency Service, the
organization receiving each year's Harvest proceeds. Those standing
in line outside awaiting admittance will share in this devotion via
the church's public address system.
All of this accomplished, the doors
of the Fellowship Center will swing open at 7 to greet early morning
guests.
The public is encouraged to attend
the 30th annual Harvest of Talents for World Hunger. Hundreds of
handmade items, many one of a kind, will be offered for sale.
Luncheon will include homemade vegetable soup, sandwiches and pies.
In Harvest Fare, the area outside the Fellowship Center, a variety
of snacks will be available, including deep-fried potatoes, hot dogs
and walking tacos. Lincolnberry Café will offer its traditional
scones, brisket sandwiches, flavored coffees, hot spiced cider and
hot chocolate, as well as a variety of snack mixes. Entertainment
will be provided at midmorning by Lincoln vocalist Lesleigh Bennett
and the True Blue quartet from Elkhart.
A 2 p.m. auction will be the
highlight of the day's events.
Proceeds of the 30th annual event
will be presented to Jett, of the International Disaster Emergency
Service, during a service of celebration at 10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 27,
in the Hargrove Chapel at Lincoln Christian University.
For more information, contact the
office of Lincoln Christian Church, 204 N. McLean, phone
217-732-7618.
Development
partnership plans 2nd annual Night Golf Outing
The Lincoln & Logan County
Development Partnership Night Golf Outing, a fall fundraiser, is planned for
Friday, Oct. 11, at North Greens Golf Course in Atlanta.
The rain date will be Saturday, Oct. 12.
This is a golf scramble with shotgun
start at 7 p.m. The course will be lit with glow sticks by tee
boxes, fairway markers, flags and holes. Hazards, such as water,
will also be marked.
Registration fee is $50 per person,
$200 for a team. The cost includes the 9-hole green fee, golf cart,
one glow ball, one glow stick and one glow necklace per participant,
two wristbands per car, and happy hour snacks. Extra glow items as
well as mulligans and alcoholic beverages will be available for
purchase at check-in
Prizes will be awarded for first-
and second-place teams for longest drive, longest putt and closest
to the pin.
Sponsorships are still available
for hole sponsor, $100; first-place team; second-place team; longest
drive; longest putt; closest to pin; and glow light sponsor, $600.
If interested, contact the Lincoln & Logan County
Development Partnership at 217-732-8739 or see the partnership's website at
www.lincolnlogan.com for more details
and a registration form.
New Holland Fire Protection District uses grant to decrease
personnel response time in emergencies
A simple
text message can save a life
Mason
City Monsanto site supports local organization
NEW HOLLAND -- Many people
use text messaging for communicating social information, but they may not
realize that text messaging can help save lives. Thanks to the Mason City
Monsanto, the New Holland Fire Protection District will be able to purchase
a supplemental emergency alert notification and response system. Using a
$3,000 grant from the Monsanto Fund, the dispatch center can now send text
messages to first responders about an emergency in the area.
The New Holland Fire Protection
District, a nonprofit in New Holland, was founded in 1948 and is
staffed by 25 volunteer firefighters. The district will use the
grant to decrease personnel response time to emergencies.
"Our department is very
appreciative of the Monsanto Fund's support," said Todd David,
co-chief of the New Holland Fire Department. "This grant will
directly impact the members of our community."
The fire station sits on the
outside edge of the department's radio range, so some volunteers do
not receive emergency pages. The new emergency alert notification
and response system monitors the radio and sends a text to all
personnel if there is an emergency in the area. Firefighters can
then choose different codes to text back, which will notify the
station about their response status.
"The people in New Holland and the
surrounding area rely on the volunteers to protect their businesses,
homes and families," said John Endsley, Mason City Monsanto site
lead. "We thought the fire department was deserving of this grant
because these volunteers put their lives at risk to make sure our
community is safe."
This year, the Monsanto Fund awarded 127 site
grants to nonprofit organizations in 26 states. In Illinois alone, 18 site
grants were awarded and totaled $201,100. The Monsanto Fund continues to provide
support to organizations such as the New Holland Fire Protection District to
help strengthen communities where farmers and Monsanto employees live and work.
Group salvages architectural materials in
central Illinois
Have you heard the old saying
"Everything old is new again, eventually"? Well, that could be the
motto of the Old House Society of Bloomington. Laura Walden,
president of the group, made that point during her presentation
Monday evening at the monthly meeting of the Logan County
Genealogical & Historical Society.
The Old House Society has been a
Bloomington institution for 34 years. It started as a social group
whose membership got together to discuss restoration of old and
historic houses. They saw old houses being demolished with no
attempt to save valuable parts to be repurposed by people who were
restoring houses. The group decided to start the Old House Society
as a registered nonprofit tasked with saving parts of houses before
they ended up in a landfill.
From that beginning, the Old House Society has grown into a large
undertaking with a 6,000-square-foot warehouse containing everything
the staff and volunteers have been able to save when they are
allowed to access a house scheduled for demolition. The warehouse in
Bloomington is stocked with flooring, doors, headboards and
fireplace tile, just to name a few items. They also have a large
store of hardware from old houses.
But the Old House Society is much
more than a repository of unique and hard-to-find items for
restorers.
People who are demolishing houses
and give parts to the Old House Society become eligible for
significant tax credits, up to $5,000. In addition, the society
gives grants to those restoring old houses, and members receive a 10
percent discount at the store.
The Old House Society also gives
clinics at their warehouse, at 214 E. Douglas in Bloomington. People
seeking to restore can learn the skills necessary to bring their old
house back to its original glory.
Walden also pointed out that they
have a "Second Thursday" event each month. Wine and hors d'oeuvres
are served at a house that is undergoing restoration, including an
on-site tour of a work in progress.
Completed restorations are given a
"Gift to the Street" award in the form of a bronze plaque that can
be placed on the house, noting the original construction year.
The Old House Society also offers a
helping hand to other nonprofits that can benefit from their
expertise.
The society's annual house tour
sells out every year. It has become such a popular event in
Bloomington that tickets are being limited this year to 1,000.
The organization also loans items
from their inventory to schools that want to use them in plays and
class presentations.
The society will also sell
non-architectural items they salvage from houses, and all of the
proceeds are given to the owner.
Walden pointed out that many of the
old house items they sell go into new houses, not just restorations.
There is a growing trend to incorporate old items into new houses to
give a new home the feel of an old one. Pocket doors, doors,
headboards and windows used for wall decoration are especially
popular.
The Old House Society operates in a
large area of central Illinois, not just Bloomington. They will go
to the Peoria area and locations east of Bloomington. They maintain
additional storage space in Lexington.
With all of their activity, Walden
said that getting the word out about the Old House Society is still
a problem. People tearing down old houses may not know about the
society, or they may think that their soon-to-be-demolished house
may not have anything worth salvaging.
Walden begs anyone thinking about
demolishing a house to contact the Old House Society and let them
make the call on items worth saving. When the society hauls off
items worth saving and reusing, they save homeowners the cost of
having these items hauled to the landfill, and also save landfill
space.
"The Old House Society was into
recycling before it became popular," Walden said.
Walden herself lives in a tiny 1859
house that she restored in Lexington. "I have also restored several
old houses in Bloomington," she said. In fact, that is how she
became familiar with the Old House Society. She bought items from
them for her own projects. One thing led to another and now she is
head of the organization.
Her personal doorknob collection
was on display during her presentation in Lincoln. (See
album.)
"I even frequent pawnshops trying
to find vintage doorknobs I can't do without," she said with a
laugh.
Walden wants to get the word out
that no house should be demolished before the owner contacts the Old
House Society. Their experts can spot parts of houses worth saving,
even if an owner may not see an architectural gem. They can see a
door worth saving that is lurking under five coats of paint. A
complete spiral staircase may be their most unusual item in
inventory now. Her story of how that was removed intact from a house
was an adventure in itself.
The Old House Society is
headquartered in Bloomington at 214 E. Douglas. The phone number is
309-820-0548, and the website is
www.oldhousesociety.org.
The Logan County Genealogical &
Historical Society, which hosted Walden's presentation in Lincoln,
meets monthly on the third Monday at 6:30 p.m. at their research
facility on Chicago Street. Volunteer members also provide research
for people from all over the United States who may have had
relatives in the Logan County area. The group is currently working
on a request for research from a person in Salt Lake City. The
nominal fee they charge for this research goes into maintaining
their research facility and a growing collection of Logan County
historic artifacts.
[By
CURT FOX]
[to top of second
column] |
Banned-books display at Lincoln Public Library
The Lincoln Public Library
District's annual display on banned books is available for viewing during
regular business hours. The interactive display encourages users to read a
clue and guess the title of the banned book before revealing its title.
The display will be in the Annex
through Oct. 31.
For more
information, visit the library at 725 Pekin St. or call 732-8878.
(See
related article.)
Blood
drive at Lincoln VFW Sept. 27
To help ensure an adequate
blood supply for the region, there will be a blood drive Friday, Sept. 27,
from noon to 3 p.m. at the Lincoln VFW Freedom Hall Event Center, 915 Fifth
St.
For your convenience, call the blood
center toll-free to sign up at 1-866-GIVE-BLD (1-866-448-3253), or
schedule an appointment online using sponsor code 60505 at
www.bloodcenterimpact.org. Walk-ins are also welcome and truly
appreciated.
Central Illinois Community Blood
Center, a not-for-profit organization, is the provider of lifesaving
blood for 14 hospitals throughout central Illinois, including
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln and Memorial Medical
Center and St. John’s Hospital in Springfield. CICBC is a division
of the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, which collects over
180,000 units of blood annually and serves 87 hospitals in Illinois,
Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin.
Public
invited to 3rd annual Life Banquet
Living Alternatives
Pregnancy Resource Center will present their third annual Life Banquet on
Tuesday, Oct. 1, at the Lincoln Rec Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the
banquet is at 7.
Everyone is invited to join the
evening of celebration as the group shares the victory of hearts
touched and lives transformed through the Living Alternatives
Pregnancy Resource Center.
There is no cost to attend, but there will be an opportunity to make
a financial gift to this ministry.
For more information, call
735-4838.
Elkhart fall dinner lecture Oct. 13:
Experience South Africa and sample its cuisine from the comfort of
your chair
ELKHART -- The Elkhart
Historical Society is again presenting a dinner lecture series. The first
will be on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 4:30 p.m. at the Wild Hare Café, located in Horsefeathers at 104 Gov. Oglesby St. in Elkhart.
To kick off the series, Peter Niehaus,
who lived and worked in South Africa for over 40 years, will talk
about his experiences, the culture and beauty of the Cape Province,
where he lived.The two
dinner choices are a Cape Malay chicken dish and a Cape Malay beef
specialty, both served with the traditional condiments. Dessert will
be a classic trifle. Coffee and ice teas are included. Guests are
welcome to bring a bottle of wine to enjoy with their meal.
The ticket price for the evening is
$25, which includes the lecture, PowerPoint presentation and
complete meal, including sales tax and gratuity.
Registration forms can be obtained
at
www.elkharthistoricalsociety.org or phone Gillette Ransom at
217-947-2238 for a reservation. Space is limited, so interested
parties are encouraged to book quickly. The deadline for
registration is Sunday, Oct. 6.
Illinois
American Water to flush lines
Illinois American Water will conduct
water main flushing in Lincoln beginning Monday, Sept. 23, as part
of regular maintenance. The routine work is being done as part of an
annual water main flushing program that improves customer water
service by flushing or cleaning mineral deposits and sediment from
the water mains. Flushing will be during daytime hours, between 7:30
a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and will continue through
Oct. 3.
The anticipated flushing schedule for
Illinois American Water's Lincoln District is:
-
Monday, Sept. 23 -- East of
railroad tracks to Pulaski Street.
-
Tuesday, Sept. 24 -- East of
railroad tracks from Pulaski Street to Keokuk Street..
-
Wednesday, Sept. 25 -- East of
railroad tracks from Keokuk Street to Lincolnwood, including all
of Mayfair.
-
Thursday, Sept. 26 -- Between
railroad tracks and Union from Decatur Street to Feldman Drive.
-
Friday, Sept. 27 -- Between
Broadwell Drive and Seventh Street.
-
Monday, Sept. 30 -- Between
Seventh Street and 16th Street.
-
Tuesday, Oct. 1 -- Between 16th
Street and Feldman Drive.
-
Wednesday, Oct. 2 -- West of
Lincoln Parkway from Fifth Street to Woodlawn.
-
Thursday,
Oct. 3 -- West of Lincoln Parkway on Woodlawn to Interstate 55.
The water main flushing will be
performed by Illinois American Water crews. They will be working out
of white utility trucks labeled with the company logo. All employees
will also have photo ID badges.
No interruptions in water service
will occur as a result of the work. Illinois American Water advises
that when crews are flushing nearby, customers may experience a
slight drop in water pressure or discoloration of their water.
Illinois American Water does not
foresee incidences of discoloration, but if this does occur, it is
recommended that customers let their cold water run to clear before
using it again, and refrain from doing laundry during that time. If
problems persist, notify Illinois American Water's customer service
center at 1-800-422-2782 (available 24 hours a day).
"The flushing program is designed
not only to maintain a high quality of water in the Lincoln
distribution system, but to inspect and operate fire hydrants to
assure they are in good working order as well," said David Schonauer,
operations superintendent for the Lincoln District.
Atlanta
United Methodist Women will host winter wear giveaway
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta United Methodist Women
will have a winter wear giveaway to help families in need as they get ready
for cold weather. A variety of gently worn or new coats, hats, scarves,
gloves and some boots will be available.
The event will be in the basement of the Atlanta United Methodist
Church from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 5.
The church is at
the corner of Second and Race streets and is handicapped-accessible.
The group says, "Come find the warmth our church has to share."
Herb
Guild to meet Tuesday
The next meeting of the Logan County
Herb Guild will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Faith Lutheran
Church, 2320 N. Kickapoo in Lincoln.
Members are asked to bring their
favorite salsa, store-bought or homemade from their favorite recipe,
to share for "Salsa Night." Bringing a bunch of herbs to swap with
others will be fun too.
DAR
marks beginning of a new year
Saturday, Sept. 14, marked a new year of programs for the Abraham
Lincoln Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution.
The group met for lunch at the Stagecoach Grill in Middletown,
then proceeded to the Middletown Stagecoach Inn for their meeting.
They were greeted by Rick Deters and Ina Dambacher, who gave a tour
of the inn and shared some interesting history on Middletown and the
surrounding area.
The meeting was led by the new regent, Jane DeWitt.
The October meeting will be at the McLean Library, with Susan
Kirby as the guest speaker, talking on the Underground Railroad.
Lunch will be catered by Subway.
All members who will be attending the District V meeting on
Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Jacksonville Country Club are reminded
that the reservation deadline will be Oct. 11. The cost is $20, and
there will be a breakfast bake sale before the meeting. For
reservations, call Linda Churchill, treasurer, at 735-3728 as soon
as possible or email her at
mustardmoon@comcast.net.
Even
if it means kissing a pig... Culver's manager appreciates Logan County
farmers
Friday morning more than
200 Logan County farmers accepted an invitation to have a free breakfast at
Culver's, compliments of the restaurant. Elaine Awe, owner and manager of the
restaurant, said that she and her staff wanted to do this as a means
of thanking all farmers for what they do. As she said, "Without
them, we wouldn't have food."
Awe said the restaurant mailed out
approximately 500 personal invitations to Logan County farmers,
using a mailing list she obtained from Jim Drew at the Logan County
Farm Bureau.
The breakfast began at 6:30 a.m.
and ran through 9:30, with a regular stream of folks coming in
during that time. The breakfast was a "serve yourself," "all you
could eat" meal with eggs, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes and, of
course, plenty of coffee.
Awe said the breakfast was only a
part of the celebration going on right now. In addition, the
restaurant is featuring area farm families on their board behind the
service counter. Thus far they have had the David Opperman family
and the Randy Pech farm on the board, and they are hoping to have
enough to keep the board running and changing every week or two for
quite some time.
In honoring farmers and the farming
industry, the restaurant is also doing some fundraising for the
Lincoln High School Future Farmers of America. From now until
Wednesday, Sept. 25, restaurant patrons can drop their dollars or
change into the "Kiss a Pig" contestant jars, with the funds going
to FFA.
On the 25th, the person whose jar
has the most money collected will literally kiss a pig. With five
locally known people's jars to choose from, you're sure to find one
you want to support. There is one for each: Awe, Mayor Keith Snyder,
Lincoln/Logan Chamber director Andi Hake, LCHS FFA director Dr.
Penny Hasse-Wittler and the last one for local real estate agent
Seth Goodman.
At 7 p.m. on Sept. 25, the pig will be
present, the winner will be announced, and the snout smooching will
occur.
Awe said it looks like right now
her employees are on an all-out campaign to get her to the kissing
booth, so she is hopeful there will be others in the community who
would like to see Snyder, Hake, Hasse-Wittler or Goodman pucker up.
Regardless, she said it would be all in good fun and serving a good
cause.
"We just want to say thanks to our
farming community with these special events," Awe said, "and we also
want to show our support and raise awareness for the FFA, and we
hope others will join us."
[By NILA SMITH]
|
CLOSE
UP Zooming
in on
