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1921 – 100 YEARS AGO
An old building erected as a barn in the rear of Mrs. Quinnin’s home on Elm Street, adjoining C. L. Adee’s garage, caught fire on Sunday morning at about 10:15 o’clock and fortunately somebody saw the blaze early and the firemen were promptly notified. The flames got a good start and three tanks of chemicals were used before they were extinguished. The fire is supposed to have started from sparks from the City Hotel kitchen chimney. A lot of old buildings in Sycamore of little or no use could be torn down without loss and the fire hazard thus largely lessened.
Third street crossing was torn up Tuesday when a dragging brake beam on a freight train caught it. The planks were ripped for a distance of about 30 feet. A section gang soon repaired the damage.
Residents of the Ellwood addition were indignant last night about nine o’clock when four horses paraded through the back yards. The horses probably escaped from some barn and wandered through yards sampling several gardens.
Police received a call to South Ninth Street this morning to kill a sick cat. Officer Rowe went down and soon put it out of its misery. The cat was a family pet and the children were sorry to lose “kitty.” After killing the cat, the lady of the house was skeptical of the police department’s ability to give it a good burial. The police would have disposed of it by cremation, but the lady kept the cat and buried it herself.
DeKalb post office has obtained a regulation parcel post truck. Lee Munger has been using his Ford touring car for the work, but a new truck has been obtained. It is a Ford with a delivery body and has ”U.S. Mail Parcel Post” on it.
Mr. and Mrs. David Schriver of Kirkland are the parents of a 3-pound baby boy, born at Rockford hospital on Friday. A Cesarean operation was performed.
Farmers in the southern part of DeKalb County are not faring as well as those living in the immediate vicinity of DeKalb, unless there is some information we have not unearthed. There has not been much moisture in the south end of the county in many weeks and the lawns are burned up, and any number of cornfields are fired. Other crops are damaged on account of the dry, hot weather according to some, while in DeKalb’s farming vicinity there is very little of this heard.
1946 – 75 YEARS AGO
Youngsters of DeKalb who like to parade (and there are few who pass up the opportunity) will be in their glory on Friday evening, Aug. 2, when the DeKalb Recreation organization and the Merchants Division of the Chamber of Commerce cooperate in the sponsoring of a pet parade. It will be far more than just a pet parade, because not only will small and large pets have their place in the line of march, but there will be special sections for decorated doll carriages and wagons, decorated bikes and costumes.
One-way traffic on the highway over the Fourth Street crossing was necessary today as repairs were being made to the crossing by section crew workers of the Chicagoand North Western. For the past several weeks work crews have been busy along the right-of-way of the railroad through DeKalb and some crossing repairs have also been accomplished. All crossing improvements are appreciated by the motorists and a little inconvenience while repairs are being made is overlooked.
Doris Jean Anderson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Anderson of DeKalb, received a fractured arm, just above the elbow, during a baseball game this week. Doris plays for the DeKalb Ag Women’s team and suffered this fracture when she threw a ball to third base. Doris is employed as a secretary to the sheriff at the DeKalb County Court House in Sycamore. During her absence, Eleanor Chandler is taking over her duties.
Chief William Brennan stated today that the police department had received many complaints of youngsters shooting air guns inside the city limits. This is a violation of a city ordinance. Anyone found to be firing an air gun inside the city limits will be taken into custody. Parents should take heed of this warning not only on account of the law, but for the protection of their children as it was only recently that a child was hit in the eye with such a gun and is suffering serious injury.
Work is underway at this time on the construction of two new buildings being erected by the California Packing Corporation at its north plant in Rochelle. Total cost of the new buildings is estimated at $100,000. One building, which is to be of brick construction, is 119 by 42 feet, and will have a basement. It will be used as office quarters and attached to this building will be two greenhouse sections.
1971 – 50 YEARS AGO
The DeKalb City Council authorized Mayor Jesse Chamberlain to begin negotiations with the Illinois Tollway Authority to supply a maintenance area and oasis with city water. If the easement is granted, the city would start engineering plans for supplying the water. In return, the toll road would pay the city $65,000 for water for a 54-acre oasis site and a 1- or 2-acre maintenance area.
Sycamore City Council voted last night to provide water to aid in the pumping out of a manure pit on property formerly managed by Oink Inc. Most of the manure that was lying in the 9-foot holding tank has been removed. Water is needed, however, to loosen the remainder so that the manure can be pumped out. The city had completely shut off the water supply to the yards. Earlier this spring the city re-routed a water main serving the hog-farrowing operations after it was revealed that a city water pipe was located through the center of the manure pit.
1996 – 25 YEARS AGO
The scope of last week’s flooding overwhelmed more than just the people of Kirkland in the water’s path, it also took its toll on those trying to provide disaster services. Residents of Kirkland’s Congress Lakes Estates trailer park, in particular, found the services of the American Red Cross in the early days of the disaster did not meet their needs.
Construction workers nail shingles onto the roof of the new section of the Sycamore PublicLibrary. With more than $2 million contributed from the community and grants from the state, the library expansion was able to take place. Library officials estimate it will be finished by the end of the year.
Kerri Strug’s gutsy vault into history proved again that, pound for pound, women gymnasts are the toughest athletes in the Olympics, able to tolerate so much pain under pressure they make the rest of the sports world look like wimps. Two torn ligaments in her left ankle didn’t stop Strug from clinching the first American women’s team gold in the Olympics, and the huge cast she wore to the medal ceremony minutes later didn’t cancel her plans for Thursday’s all-around final.
– Compiled by Sue Breese