Looking Back for Dec. 23, 2020

1920 – 100 YEARS AGO

The foundation for the ex-service men’s memorial clock was finished yesterday afternoon and the hole, after being filled with concrete, was covered up so that it will harden properly. The foundation is a heavy one and will be able to stay in place despite many a bump. The clock itself will be here very soon and when it arrives the work of putting it up will be started.

Supervisor and Overseer of the poor of this city, Jarboe, reports that the number of families needing aid for Christmas is about the same as last year. The number of cases here is not very large but still there are some who have had a great deal of trouble and sickness and greatly deserve the aid that can be given to them. All of these will be taken care of in the same manner that has always prevailed in the past.

Somebody has started a false rumor, that I have discontinued my well and windmill business. The truth is, I am in a better position to take care of such work than I have been in the past forty years. I can always supply you with best grades to give you good prompt service as in the past 40 years of experience. Robert Ferguson, DeKalb, Ill.

There seems to be a misplaced idea among ex-service men that the war risk insurance which some of them dropped some time ago cannot be taken up again. This is not so and the men can be reinstated by paying two back premiums. Lately a large number of men have found this out and have taken steps to take up their insurance again. The insurance is protected by the government and it is given to the men at a great deal less than they would be able to get it from a regular insurance company.

The Wormley Bros. of Shabbona have sold out their garage business.

Whooping cough has broken out in Malta in several of the homes with the result that the victims, who are young folks, have had to stay home for the past few days. There is also some pneumonia but none of the cases of either of the illnesses are of a serious nature and the sick one will be able to be out again soon.

1945 – 75 YEARS AGO

Bill Bend of Paw Paw car was parked in Mendota last week and stolen. The car was located by state police at Lexington and it had been driven without oil, ruining the motor.

Santa Claus, who has been greeting his many friends at his headquarters on North Third Street, each afternoon and evening since last Saturday, is about ready to leave for his return to the North Pole. Youngsters who have not visited him as yet will have to hurry as Monday afternoon will be the last chance to contact Santa before he leaves.

Thursday was just like Christmas day at the Ideal Commutator Dresser Company this week when the management distributed checks representing a portion of the employee’s estimated share of the 1945 profits. All employees are eligible for participation under the Ideal Company’s profitsharing plan, for the amount of each individual share depends upon length of service.

Mrs. Jennie Marr and her son Edgar Marr, freshman student at the Kingston High School, miraculously escaped death yesterday afternoon when the pick-up truck driven by Mrs. Marr was struck by the westbound Hiawatha passenger train of the Milwaukee railroad. The impact crushed the engine of the truck but Mrs. Marr and her son escaped serious injury although Mrs. Marr was bruised considerably and Edgar was cut about the face.

Good news travels fast in Sycamore and when the code work is “Nylon” the transmission is electric. D-day for the first large shipment of the converted hose in Sycamore was yesterday; h-hour was 4:30 o’clock when 150 pairs were released for sale. How the good word was broadcast is not known but the fem-to-fem hookup soon had a waiting line of cold but patient ladies in front of the suddenly popular store.

Among the many changes which have been made recently at the Fargo Hotel are the ones in the Tap Room. The room has taken over the space formerly occupied by the Western Union office which moved into the hotel lobby. The main feature of the redecorations at the present time is the sign requesting patrons to be patient until the redecorating can be done.

Roy Van Artsdale of Esmond is still in a serious condition at the Rochelle hospital from a strep infection. Since he has been ill, friends and neighbors have husked a large part of this 80 acres of corn. His brother, Glenn is recovering from the mumps.

1970 – 50 YEARS AGO

Members of a Northern Illinois University residence hall group recently decided to hold a Christmas party for 32 children of migrant workers living in the area.

A kitchen fork can be used to untangle a fringed garment after washing. Place the fringe flat on the ironing board, steam lightly within an iron and then draw the fork tines down, through the fringe to smooth it. Press lightly again and the tangles are gone without too much trouble.

City engineer Everett Scheflow was present at last night’s Genoa City Council meeting to bring council members up to date on the new water well which is being dug. He said he hopes the entire system will be done in a week to 10 days and be ready for council review at the next session. The new well is capable of pumping over 830 gallons per minute, giving the town a total water pumping capacity of over 2,400 gallons per minute.

Every year around Christmas time the DeKalb County Courthouse takes on a new dressy look as it is decorated for the holiday season. Gay lighted wreaths adorn each of the 54 windows on the front and sides of the three-story building.

1995 – 25 YEARS AGO

Joe Novak will celebrate the holidays with a new title and a new outlook. Northern Illinois University athletic director Cary Groth officially announced Novak as the school’s 19th head football coach.

If the DeKalb County Board decides to keep the county nursing home, it could cost as much as $13 million to build a new facility. John Klare, a member of the consulting team that looked at the nursing home, said existing conditions at the 98,000-square-foot facility are adequate, but hinder operations and quality of care.

Members of the DeKalb United Pentecostal Church will have to look elsewhere to build their church. On a 10-10 vote Wednesday night, the DeKalb County Board rejected a request by the church to rezone two acres of residential property, west of Sycamore and grant a special use permit for the construction of a church.

The DeKalb Park District will soon issue $930,000 in bonds to fund the development of five new parks and several other building projects over the next year or more. The park projects include completing two downtown parks, DeKalb Square and Memorial Park, as well as Mason Park, Williams Park in the Eden’s Garden townhouse development, and League of Women Voters Park in the Dodge subdivision on the city’s east side.

– Compiled by Sue Breese