As Shaw Media celebrates its 175th anniversary, we looked back at four front pages from February 7. These archives serve as a time capsule, capturing everything from prohibition-era crime and local tragedies to the evolving infrastructure of our communities.
1927: Streator Daily Times-Press
On February 7, 1927, the Streator Daily Times-Press was dominated by a chilling mystery: “Murdered Cop’s Wife Still Missing.” The front page painted a picture of a volatile era, reporting on a “Stick-Up Peoria Gaming Resort” where bandits made off with $10,000, and a “Blue Goose” robbery involving seven masked men. Amidst the crime, the paper also looked toward the future, predicting that Illinois was “destined for most phenomenal growth in next 25 years.”
1972: Dixon Evening Telegraph
The February 7, 1972, edition of the Dixon Evening Telegraph led with a devastating local loss: “Grain elevator at Walton with 10,000 bushels of corn destroyed by blaze.” The front page featured a dramatic photo of firefighters battling the inferno in sub-zero temperatures. In other news, the paper tracked the legal system with a report on 33 counties picking candidates by caucus and the arrest of two local men in Arizona following a rural farmhouse robbery.
1980: Crystal Lake Herald
By 1980, the Crystal Lake Herald focused on the rising costs of living and local safety. The lead headline announced a “ComEd rate hike OKd,” the largest in the utility’s history at the time. The page also shared the harrowing story of a local worker who “narrowly escapes death twice” after a stadium bleacher collapse. Meanwhile, environmental concerns took center stage as the pollution board set hearings regarding fluoride levels in local water.
2004: The Daily Chronicle (DeKalb)
The February 7, 2004, edition of DeKalb’s Daily Chronicle highlighted modern shifts in the justice system, with the headline “County mulls creation of ‘drug court’” to address substance abuse outside of traditional jail time. The front page also featured local technology updates, showing how “Squad car cameras protect police, criminals.” On the national front, the paper reported on President Bush naming a panel to investigate “mistakes in Iraq intelligence.”
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