Harvard library seeks info about people in historic Starline Factory photo

HARVARD – A picture may be worth a thousand words, but this one isn't saying much.

The Harvard Diggins Library has been searching for people to identify workers in a photo from the 1920s, which shows several dozen people standing outside the iconic Starline Factory, then known as Hunt, Helm and Ferris Co. So far, there has been little luck in the quest to name the people who worked at the factory, which local historians say played a big part of the town's history.

Hunt, Helm and Ferris Co. has been in Harvard since the late 1800s and once manufactured more than 50 different products. It was well-known for its farm equipment. In the 1930s, the business incorporated, and the name was changed to Starline, according to Harvard Historical Society documents.

For more than 100 years, it was one of the area's biggest employers, said Ed O'Brien, Harvard resident, history teacher and member of the McHenry County Historical Society.

O’Brien brought the photo to the library after a good friend, Robert Paulson of Rockford, found it while going through some of his sister’s things. His sister had been a former employee at the company.

“It’s kind of neat,” O’Brien said. “It was taken in front of the building that still exists, and it looks like all the people that worked there were out there, from office staff to the foundry workers. … It’s quite an interesting picture.”

But it's always a challenge to figure out who's who in old photos, particularly when interest in local history has somewhat declined, said Holly Haupt, volunteer with the Harvard Historical Society.

“There was more (interest) in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s,” she said. “It’s too bad the more of the older folks in Harvard can’t see that picture. ... A lot of them are in nursing homes or homebound, so you’d have to go around and bring this huge picture to them. I don’t see that being logistically done.”

Elzora Stoxen has lived in Harvard for 83 years and lived close to the factory when it was in service. She said remembered hearing the factory whistle blow most days at noon, emitting a puff of black smoke, signaling lunch hour. A relative of hers worked there, but she hasn’t had a chance to identify anyone in the photo yet, she said.

The historical society plans to present a plaque to Starline’s owners, Orrin and Karen Kinney, at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 17 at the factory, 300 W. Front St., Harvard. The building has been repurposed as an events venue, with an art gallery, pub and ceremony spaces.

The photo is on display at the Harvard Diggins Library, 900 E. McKinley St., Harvard. A copy also can be found at Starline or at the historical society, 308 N. Hart St. Anyone with information about the people in the photograph can call the Harvard Diggins Library at 815-943-4671.