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1922 – 100 YEARS AGO
After having a sworn jury in the box on Friday ready to try the case of Fisk Motor Company against Owen E. Lucas and Milton Shandelmeier doing business as Lucas Garage, before Judge Irwin the case was settled out of court, the jury was discharged and the action dismissed. The plaintiff sought to recover of the defendants the sum of $500 for a Chevrolet automobile which it claimed was purchased by one R. J. Murphy who acted as agent of defendants. This was denied by the defendants but the jury did not get a chance to pass upon it as the defendants no doubt thought it was easier to settle which they did.
Owing to the unprecedented demand for their product at this time, the Marvel Tire & Rubber Manufacturing Company will be unable to close down on Friday for the big decennial celebration at DeKalb tomorrow, according to officials of the company. It had been previously planned to close down for the pageant and resume operations on the 4th of July, thereby giving the employees an opportunity to elaborate both events properly, but owning to several mishaps in the past two or three weeks, orders have piled up so that it will be necessary not only to work on Friday, but as much of the force as can be held will be asked to work the Fourth.
Charles Putman has been busy the last few days tearing out the front of the old Putman harness shop. Mrs. Putman recently sold his stock to Orville Shaver and J. C. Naber, of Malta, who has been having a sale on the stock. In tearing down the old building and remodeling it, DeKalb loses an old landmark. The building occupied by Mr. Putman was one of the last blacksmith shops in DeKalb and figured in the earlier history of the city. It is rumored that the shop will make place for a cafeteria to be run by Mrs. James Clark, who recently rented part of the building to be used as a woman’s exchange.
Unless the practice ceases, kids that go swimming east of the coal chutes and flip freight trains coming and going, are apt to be arrested. There are many boys who go to the slough twice or three times a day to swim and always make it a practice to catch a ride on the freights pulling away from the chutes. Efforts have been made to warn the kids of the danger, but of no avail. An appeal has been made to the officers of the railroad to send a special man out here for the sole purpose of arresting the boys who persist in endangering their own lives.
1947 – 75 YEARS AGO
Burning insulation around one of the main steam pipes leading from the boiler to the factory caused the fire department to make a fast run to Wurlitzer’s at 5:25 o’clock this morning. Low water in the boiler was believed to have superheated the steam in the pipes. Minor damage was caused to the insulation and boxing.
Firecrackers are beginning to cause the police department a lot of trouble. Despite the fact that firecrackers are now illegal in Illinois, DeKalb’s small fry and some of the bigger ones too have managed to obtain a supply and complaints are beginning to come in almost every night from indignant householders and citizens disturbed by the exploding fireworks. Police Chief Ben Peck emphasized that anyone caught throwing firecrackers around will get a free ride to the station and will stand a good chance of paying a fine for the privilege.
The American Automobile Association said today motorists can make summer vacation trips anywhere in the United States without danger of being stranded because of a gasoline shortage. The gasoline situation is unquestionably tight. But we are definitely assured that there is no likelihood of rationing to consumers. While some stations may run out of gas, the commodity will be available at other stations in the same community.
The job of moving the furnishings of the Burlington depot in Hinckley has been completed and passengers and freight are now handled from the new location about 200 feet east of the original site.
Early doctors in DeKalb County were a hardy and resourceful lot and compared with modern day knowledge and techniques their methods probably were quite crude. History is pretty sketchy when it comes to knowledge of those early purveyors of pills and potions, but the “History of Medical Practice in Illinois” names quite a few of them with the places of practice. According to the best available records, at least two doctors were in DeKalb County as early as 1835. Mr. Henry Madden practiced in Brush Point, northwest of Sycamore, from 1835 to 1856, and then moved to Malta where he remained until 1867.
1972 – 50 YEARS AGO
The Illinois Environment Protection Agency, division of Land Pollution Control, has approved Rochelle city government plans for a landfill site on the Johnson farm west of Creston. The 1,000-acre site, purchased for $1,200 per acre, is south of Route 38 and is presently leased by Leslie Hill. It has not yet been determined when work will begin on the landfill project. Nor has it been determined when the landfill would be available for dumping.
Area residents are being warned about restrictions against following fire trucks. This is an offense and tickets can be issued by a police officer, said Fire Chief Allan Harling of Maple Park Fire Department. Harling said fire in past weeks have brought crowds of people to the scene. This hampers firefighting operations, and traffic backups slow water tankers going to and from fires. The traffic also hampers volunteer firemen on the way to the fire.
Families attending the 50th Plapp reunion Sunday at Shabbona Forest Preserve were given a copy of the history of their ancestor Jacob Plapp. Mr. Plapp settled in Pierce Township in 1848. The copies of the history were furnished with a 50-year gold seal, made by Stella Plapp and her daughter, Faith Jones, Aurora.
1997 – 25 YEARS AGO
A real estate broker calls it the “honeycomb effect.” If so, the land around DeKalb and Sycamore is dripping with honey. In fact, farmland prices in DeKalb County are so sweet some farmers are making candy out of the local real estate market. Cornfields on Bethany, Peace and Keslinger roads and in the Sycamore Prairie Business Park are destined to become the most lucrative of the county’s honeycomb.
DeKalb Police and the FBI are still searching for a man who robbed the First of America Bank branch at 1602 Sycamore Road Friday morning of an undisclosed amount of money. Police describe the suspect as a black male with a medium build, about 5-feet, 9-inches tall. The suspect entered the bank shortly after 10 a.m., wearing a pair of black pantyhose over his head. Brandishing a small club and using foul language, he demanded money.
The University of Illinois Extension Center in DeKalb will be shut down within the next year as part of a plan to save money and increase productivity among the extension system. The County Extension Office in Sycamore will remain open and is not affected by the realignment plan. Five educators and two secretaries at the DeKalb Center, however, will be affected by the extension shake up.
– Compiled by Sue Breese