Yesteryear: Looking back at stories that captured headlines in the Ledger for September 2022

Compiled by Roger Matile and John Etheredge from articles published in the Ledger-Sentinel; Fox Valley Sentinel, Oswego Ledger; Kendall County Record; and historical information provided by the village of Montgomery.

September 2002

Oswego School District Board members voted to purchase a 100 acre site at the northwest corner of Wolf and Harvey roads east of Oswego as the location for the district’s second high school. The district agreed to pay $49,900 per acre for the property, or a total of $4.99 million.

September 1997

Oswego Village President Budd Bieber and Montgomery Village President Ellis Van Meter participated in dedication ceremonies at the newly expanded Oswego Public Library building on Jefferson Street in downtown Oswego.

September 1992

Construction started on the second phase of the Orchard Road extension project into Kendall County. The county project involved building a new section of the road extending south of Galena Road in Montgomery to Route 34.

Ground was broken for the new Copley Memorial Hospital off Route 34 in Aurora, just north of the Kane-Kendall County line.

The Oswego Village Board was divided over a proposal by the Illinois Department of Transportation to widen Route 34 to four lanes through the village’s downtown business district. Village president Richard Saletri backed the project, noting the rising traffic volume on the highway and the resulting need to provide room for vehicles to turn on and off the highway. Board member Don Dahm, however, disagreed, suggesting the village seek to have Route 71 and the proposed Orchard Road bridge designated as a bypass for Route 34 traffic.

September 1987

Kendall County’s long-range plan to construct a bridge over the Fox River as part of its proposed Orchard Road extension project sparked some opposition from homeowners near the bridge site. During a county board committee meeting, a spokesman for the homeowners charged bridge construction would serve to lower property values on both sides of the river.

Total enrollment in Oswego School District schools was 4,002, an increase of 106 students over the district’s enrollment at the end of the previous school year in June. Enrollment at Oswego High School was reported at 1,218.

September 1982

The Boulder Hill Civic Association sponsored Hillfest ‘82 near the Boulder Hill Market in the unincorporated subdivision. The celebration featured a pet parade, fashion show, diaper derby and exotic dancers.

The Kaneland Knights football team led by halfback and future NFL star Don Beebe routed the host Oswego High School Panthers, 30-7. Terry Coley, Ledger-Sentinel sports editor, noted the Knights effectively used the “lighting quick” Beebe to decoy the Panther defenders. While the Panthers keyed on Beebe, Knights fullback Nick Dunaham “would skirt through the line for gain after gain,” Coley reported.

September 1977

A Boulder Hill resident reported to the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department that someone had broken into his vehicle and stole 33 eight track tapes valued at $264.

September 1972

Dan Walker’s grassroots campaign for Illinois governor brought him to the United Auto Workers Hall in Montgomery. Joining Walker at the campaign pizza party were other Democratic Party candidates for state office, including Tim Hall and Jack Hill.

Oswego’s downtown merchants held a four day sale to mark the completion of a downtown renovation project that involved the installation of mansard-style roofs on several downtown building fronts. The Ledger reported the project was intended to tie “together the entire look of the town with a flowing continuity.”

September 1967

Mick’s Service at Route 25 and Mill Street in Montgomery was sponsoring a “Super Pro NFL” picture stamp contest, according to an ad in the Ledger. Lucky customers could win a 1968 Ford Mustang or cash prizes.

Leon McNair, club pro at Oswego’s new Fox Bend Golf Course announced the course would hold its first major tournament. The “Fall Classic” was set for Oct. 14 and 15 and open to all male amateurs in the area. A guaranteed purse of $1,000 was to be divided up among the winners in each of four flights.

Oswegoland Park District officials and supporters were waging a campaign for passage of a referendum to finance the construction of a proposed community center and swimming pool on Ashlawn Avenue between Oswego and Boulder Hill. Voting was set for Oct. 7. In a letter to the editor of the Oswego Ledger, Mr. and Mrs. Warren A. Hull wrote they were “very concerned and disappointed to hear of all the opposition to the new community center.”

September 1962

The Oswegoland Park District Board President Ralph Wheeler announced the agency had purchased two adjoining parcels at the north end of Main Street at Jefferson Street in downtown Oswego for a future park and library site. The cost for the properties was $10,000. “It is here that the new Oswego Library will be built overlooking the rocky ledges and the Waubonsie Creek,” the Ledger reported.

September 1952

Oswego Village President A.M. Pierce signed a proclamation officially designating Sept. 28 through Oct. 5 as the 22nd Annual Christian Education Week in the village. As part of the week’s events a community service was held at the Oswego Presbyterian Church “for thanksgiving and dedication of the revised standard version of the Bible.”

Ledger editor and publisher Ford Lippold cautioned his readers in his weekly column that “letters or telephone calls made anonymously in an attempt to influence the editorial policy of the Ledger are a waste of time.”

Overcrowding was a problem in Oswego schools and a topic of debate in the community. In a letter to the editor of the Ledger, Hazel Weis wrote that crowded classrooms were “a situation that has reached the point where one can not possibly afford not to support a building program.”

September 1947

The Ledger reported: “The new school building being constructed on Franklin Street should be finished in another month if the weather permits. All the materials are now on hand. Thus far, the contractor has been able to stay within his original bid on the project.”

In an effort to reduce the toll of death and injuries caused by dangerous war souvenirs, President Truman issued a statement establishing war trophies safety committees throughout the United States. The Record reported: “…These (war) souvenirs include shells, mines, grenades, booby traps, machine guns, sub-machine guns, rifles and pistols of all descriptions. Hardly a day passes that newspapers do not report accidental killings by guns whose owners report that they ‘didn’t know it was loaded.’”

September 1942

“Bomb ‘Em With Junk” was the theme for Kendall County’s war salvage drive, according to the Record. The paper reported: “The story under Kendall county’s junk campaign, which is being held now and will continue to Sept. 5, promises to be one of the most successful drives conducted by community leaders in their efforts to aid the national defense. Kendall County has always courageously responded to every national plea for assistance and every evidence indicates that this community will again be on the front lines and near the top of the list when final tabulations are made.”

September 1912

The Record’s Oswego correspondent reported: “A contest in attendance between the men and ladies of the Presbyterian church choir was won by the ladies, leaving the men to entertain. The occasion was celebrated Friday evening when the men treated the ladies to an automobile ride to Electric Park [in Plainfield].”

September 1902

“A game of base ball was played here between the Oswego Pirates and the Plainfield Rivals Friday and turned out to be one of those successful games…it was none of your 2 to 3 or other low score games but of 27 to 9 in favor of the Rivals,” the Record’s Oswego correspondent reported on Sept. 24, 1902.

September 1882

Crime was in the Oswego news on Sept. 21, 1882: “Burglarizing has been somewhat actively carried on here of late; one night Myron Wormley’s house was gone through, his pants removed from near his head, from which was taken a new stem winder watch, about $14 in money and a pocket knife.”

September 1872

On Sept. 12 the Record reported from Oswego that “Vice President Schuyler Colfax arrived here last week Tuesday on the 1:00 o’clock train for a visit and immediately repaired to the house of Mr. Sutherland.”

On Sept. 26, the Record reported that Duke West fatally shot Mark Newberry in the back with a shotgun while Newberry was playing euchre with West’s wife and eldest son at the Wests’ Oswego apartment. West had previously warned Newberry to stay away from his wife. Noted the Record: “West, the murderer, is an old offender; has served one or more terms in the Joliet Penitentiary and rumor says at one time he was a convict at Botany Bay.” West gave himself up to the Oswego Justice of the Peace. He was tried for murder and was sentenced to life in prison at Joliet.