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1924 – 100 Years Ago
Mrs. Harriet E. Mayo, former owner of the home at First and Lincoln Highway that is now the property of the Elk’s club, will build another home, as near to the former residence as it is possible. Contracts were let last Saturday evening for the erection of a brick residence on North First Street, on the plot of ground that Mrs. Mayo retained when she sold the old residence to the Elk’s organization. Temporary building operations have already started, and workmen for Skoglund and Wedberg, the contractors, have already started uprooting the trees that are standing on the lawn to the north of Elk’s club. Building preparations will start as soon as the ground is prepared for the preliminary work.
Legion members of Sycamore, who are planning to attend the big reunion in Elgin, September 27 and 28, are informed that a greased pig coated with more grease than any pig ever before let loose, will be one of the entertaining features of the reunion. In order to select the meeting place for next year, representatives of each town will make an effort to catch the pig. From the word go until the pig is caught 5,000 members of the infantry association are expected to enjoy the entertainment. The town whose representative catches the pig will be awarded with the reunion next year.
City workmen have nearly completed the work of removing the old Sycamore-DeKalb street car tracks in the eastern section of the city. The work on 13th street has been completed, much to the satisfaction of the residents and at the present time the gang of men is on Pleasant Street. It is thought that the men will finish on Pleasant Street today, following which Oak and Fourth street will be given attention. These two streets are both in serious condition and in need of attention.
Building activities in DeKalb have not taken a decided slump even with the approach of cold weather and estimates made by the leading contractors and supply men of this city show that there are about 48 new houses being constructed in DeKalb at the present time.
Thirty-two girls, all members of the Elk’s Popularity contest, today started out an extensive search for a mysterious man said to have a sum of money that he will give to the first girl that asks him to buy a ticket. That person will be on the streets tonight and every day until he is stopped by one of the contestants.
1949– 75 Years Ago
Chauncey B. Watson, prominent local cattle feeder, has been appointed a member of the International Committee on Agriculture and Conservation of Kiwanis International. Watson, who has been active in Kiwanis activities for many years, has served as lieutenant governor of district five and has been a member of numerous committees. The annual Kiwanis Farm Tour which is sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club each year has been made possible mostly through his efforts.
At 2 o’clock on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 25, clocks in DeKalb will be rolled back one hour as Central Standard Time becomes the official time of the city for the next seven months. DeKalb and most of the cities in northern Illinois have been on daylight time for the past five months and all will be returning to standard time September 25.
It is not some altar being raised to worship the sun, but rather a tower of progress. The tower, constructed of concrete is one of a chain across the nation. This one is located south and west of Malta, north of Lee, and extends 120 feet in the air. It is sighted to the northeast on another tower between DeKalb and St. Charles, and points towards another tower south and to the west. They are designed to serve as television relay stations carrying the picture impulses in steps across the entire nation.
The cafeteria style chicken and ham supper given Thursday evening by the members of the Hinckley Ladies Aid Society of the Immanuel Lutheran Church was enjoyed by over 300 persons.
Secretary of State Edward J. Barrett again reminds motorists that driver’s licenses in Illinois are now one dollar instead of the former 50 cents.
Traffic was handsomely snarled up in the Sycamore business district last night by football fans. Sycamore high school students and fans held a pop meeting early in the evening and wound up with a snake dance afoot and in automobiles down State Street and back with horns blowing and youngsters yelling. The snake dance was enlivened with a parade of cars from DeKalb all blowing horns and yelling the Barb battle songs at the Sycamore boys and girls.
Aid was provided in August to 46 children in 18 families in DeKalb County under the aid to dependent children program in Illinois.
1974 – 50 Years Ago
Agriculture Department officials Tuesday served notice they plan to file claims against the state of Illinois for issuing too many free “bonus” food stamps to welfare recipients beginning Sept. 1 in defiance of federal instructions.
Civilian pilot Emmett Kay, the last known American prisoner of war in Indochina, emerged tanned, relaxed and smiling from 16 months of captivity today and reported there are no more U. S. POW’s left in Laos.
DeKalb County Exports Inc. helps to feed a hungry world. Situated in DeKalb and surrounded by some of the richest farmland in the world, this export company is one of many in Illinois responsible for getting harvested crops from the midwestern fields to the foreign markets.
DeKalb residents who want to hold a wrestling match in their backyard may not know they have to pay a $5 city fee to hold the event. Or for that matter, the NIU Huskie football team probably isn’t’ aware the city could charge a $5 fee for each home game. These are some of the “dozens and dozens” of charges and fees that City Manager Don Crawford would like to get straightened out.
1999 - 25 Years Ago
The Village of Kirkland will not be the future site of the state’s new women’s prison or juvenile facility.
DeKalb’s North First Street reconstruction is ahead of schedule and should be finished before its Dec. 1 deadline. North First Street, between Buena Vista Drive and Coltonville Road, is being rebuilt and widened as part of a joint project between the City of DeKalb and the county.
Sycamore’s Inaugural Historic Walk will be held Saturday to celebrate the completion of the city’s historical tour program. The Kishwaukee Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau is sponsoring the guided tour of some of the more than 30 stops on the overalls tour. Even though brochures have advertised the walk for months, the first phase of the program is just now being finished.
Micro Solutions Inc., a DeKalb-based manufacturer of computer equipment, has settled its patent infringement lawsuit against industry giant Hewlett-Packard. In the settlement agreement, Hewlett-Packard admits patent infringement and acknowledges the validity of Micro Solutions patents relating to parallel-port-attach mass storage devices, according to Ron Proesel, president of Micro Solutions and the inventor of the technology.
Youth gave a fresh face to Internation Week as students from the DeKalb community provided the show. Children hoisted the colors of the world’s nations Monday afternoon for the Parade of Flags from Northern Illinois University’s West Campus down Lucinda Avenue to Martin Luther King Commons in the heart of the campus.
Compiled by Sue Breese