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1921 – 100 YEARS AGO
The ownership of the Ward Hotel at Sycamore has again changed and the building is now the property of H. Hanus of Chicago. The new owner was here over Sunday. Extensive plans for repairs and improvements are underway. A new roof will be first, and improvements will continue on down to the basement. Several new bathrooms with the new tubs and equipment will be installed. The entire interior will be refinished and redecorated. The new dining room will be a feature with new furniture. Meals will again be served and the traveling public is assured of an attractive comfortable home.
A police officer was called to the east end park last evening to quiet the exuberant spirits of the players who got to making so much noise that they became a nuisance.
W. N. Pickston while laying bricks for the retaining wall around the post office yesterday, dropped a piece of the old wall on his hand, cutting it quite badly through the palm. A physician’s services were necessary and seven stitches were taken in the wound.
Passengers traveling to Rockford these days can profit by the experience of Charles Broughton who made the trip yesterday by a new route, which he reports gives a good road all of the way. He says that the rough spots on the usual road can be avoided by taking the following route. At Rochelle, go north on the Meridian Highway to the red schoolhouse, turn east a mile and a half, turn left at first crossing going through Lindenwood, then east over bridge half a mile, then left to end of road, then turn left coming in on 11th Street cement road about a mile south of New Milford. Coming out of Rockford on 11th Street following the cement to where the road curves through the woods and then retrace route indicated.
The enrollment for the fall term at the Northern Illinois Teacher’s College had reached 320 at noon today and it was expected that several score more of students would arrive before the day was over. The length of term has been changed slightly, each term being of 12 weeks duration. The addition of collegiate work will undoubtedly make the college more popular with out-of-town students.
Warren G. Willey, living on south Malta Road, west of DeKalb was injured fearfully, a few days ago by a 140-pound colt which kicked him squarely in the face. The nose was broken; the cheekbone was crushed; the forehead was cut badly and nine stitches were required. Mr. Willey has a beautiful farm with up-to-the-minute buildings and all stocked up with the very best cattle and horses to be found in DeKalb County. He is a splendidly preserved man and although wounded so badly, his recovery soon is looked for.
1946 – 75 YEARS AGO
From the state of Illinois comes a report of the aid that has been given by the Public Aid Commission for dependent children during the month of August. The report is based on a county tabulation, showing 21,450 families receiving aid in the state, with 52,607 individual children being benefitted by the amount of $1,563,282. In DeKalb County, there were 105 children in 43 families that received assistance to the extent of $3,311.
Robert Browning, 25, a Sandwich youth who is a student pilot, has every reason to be thankful that he is alive today. Thursday afternoon the plane he was flying crashed on a field between Yorkville and Plano while the flyer was trying to take off. The plane, a Piper Cruiser, belongs to Roger Vincent who operates the Sandwich airport. Browning started the ship down the field but his speed was cut by the dampness and some hay lying there. The pilot saw that he was in danger of hitting a wire at the end of the field and tried to bank his plane to avoid it but the ship rolled over and cracked up.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee L. Smith, who have been operating a grocery store in Genoa for several years, have sold the business to Herbert Guse of Marengo, who has been in the grocery business for the past 17 years.
Students of the DeKalb Township High School, who ordered their copy of the school annual ”The Kalibre” many month ago, finally received the book during the past week. The publication met every deadline, even under wartime conditions, the various departments completing their work and turning all work over to the printers at the stipulated time. The printer and engravers worked on schedule and the book was completed and sent to the binders for the final step on April 15. A shortage of material was encountered and despite every effort, the cover was not available until only a few days ago. As soon as the cover was obtained, the work was rushed to completion and the Kalibres shipped directly to the high school for distribution.
1971 – 50 YEARS AGO
A low bid of $286,842 by Kennedy Construction Company for the construction of DeKalb’s new fire station was accepted last night by the DeKalb City Council. Fourth Ward alderman Francis Cliffe, who served as DeKalb Fire chief for over a decade, made the motion to accept the low bid for the new fire station. The new station will be located at Seventh and Pine and demolition crews are expected to begin demolition of three buildings at the site once the property becomes completely owned by the city.
The Illinois Tollway Authority has entered into a joint venture with the DeKalb Sanitary District to provide $350,000 of the cost of a new proposed sewage treatment plant to be built just south of DeKalb. The total cost of the facility, which will be located on a 26-acre plot at the DeKalb West Interchange of the East-West Tollway, will be $550,000.
The ”big city” smell of diesel fumes spewed from buses will become part of campus life at Northern Illinois University next week, although it’s doubtful many students will complain. Long accustomed to walking great distances in every kind of weather, NIU students this fall for the first time will have a full-scale campus bus service to whisk them around the 417-acre campus and into downtown DeKalb five days a week.
1996 – 25 YEARS AGO
Lost and found. The City of Sycamore has ”found” 1,161 residents over the last five months, apparently people new to the area or simply overlooked in the last U. S. Census. The sudden population increase, actually the result of several months of effort to coordinate a special census count, could result in between $93,000 and $104,000 a year in new revenue to the city.
Heavy equipment breaks up pavement Wednesday and removes remnants of demolished buildings at the site of the new Walgreen’s Drug Store on the corner of First Street and Lincoln Highway.
In an effort to decrease the cost of keeping juvenile offenders in detention centers, county officials hope to start a home confinement program. DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott is seeking a federal grant to begin home-bound detention, an electronic monitoring system which would allow sheriff’s police to track juvenile and adult criminals in their homes.
– Compiled by Sue Breese