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1925 – 100 Years Ago
Efforts will be made to again organize the Boy Scout in DeKalb. At a meeting last evening of the men’s club of the Congregational church the plan of organizing a church unit was discussed and as a result of the meeting the preliminary steps were taken. It is understood that all of the churches of the city will take similar steps, and organize troops.
As yet no clue has been found that might lead to the discovery of the Shames Ford sedan stolen Mondy night from the garage of Gus Vonderheide. The sedan was missing Tuesday morning when Robert Vonderheide, who had been driving the machine every day to Sycamore went to the garage to get it. He had left it in the garage about 9:30 o’clock in the evening before. Neighbors yesterday stated that they remember hearing an auto in the alley about three o’clock in the morning but paid little attention to the noise made by the car as they thought it was one of the neighbors coming home.
Even though the cold weather has put a stop to a great amount of the outdoor work in this city, workmen today started laying brick on the Mayo garage, which is being erected to the rear of the home that is now under construction on North First Street, north of the Elk’s home. The basement of the home has been completed and as soon as the weather permits work on the home will be resumed. The home, when completed will be one of the most beautiful in this city.
It is to be hoped that a good Samaritan finds the lady’s pocketbook lost yesterday containing the sum of $75 in bills. The pocketbook was lost by a resident of this city, an elderly woman, and to her the money means a great deal. The woman thinks that she lost the pocketbook between Sixth and Tenth Streets on the Lincoln Highway, while on her way home late yesterday afternoon from a shopping trip down town. Should the money be found by an honest person it may be left at The Chronicle business office or at the police station where a report of the loss was also made.
Every church boasts of its efforts to save its congregation from fire, but to make the efforts more perfect than has been the case in the past, the First Baptist church has started work on the installation of a fire escape. The work of installing the fire escape was started a few days ago. As far as can be ascertained, the First Baptist church, when completed, will be the only church in the city or surrounding community to have a visible means of aiding its congregation in escaping from a fire.
1950– 75 Years Ago
Value of the central train control, installed and operating on the main line of the Chicago and North Western through DeKalb, was proved yesterday. With the south track blocked when three cars left the rails early Friday morning, traffic was routed through on the north track without delay other than a slight slowing as they cleared the spot where workmen were engaged in putting the cars back on the rails. The wreck was fortunate in several ways. A west bound freight started slowing for a routine inspection at the coal chute when a journal on a gondola car broke. The car, carrying a load of pig iron for a foundry in Sterling dropped, dis-railing a car ahead and one behind.
Fire caused damage estimated at several thousand dollars this morning at the Guy Brown turkey farm located about a mile south of Genoa on Route 23. Mr. Brown discovered the blaze about 8:20 o’clock in the 40 by 50-foot building which houses the dressing room, cooling assembly and deep freeze units. The fire, thought to have been started by defective wiring in the building, destroyed the structure and most of the contents although the deep freeze units containing 360 turkeys and valued at $4,000 were saved.
Stage Coach Players, Inc., and various committees working with them have not been idle during the winter months. Early last fall notification was received by The Players, that the Ellwood Barn occupied by them for two summers would have to be vacated by June 1, 1950. Since that time committees and individual members have been working in their spare time preparing plans for the purchasing of a site of land, which would be suitable for the purpose of presenting plays.
Norfolk, VA., – A civilian offered to free the mud-locked battleship Missouri today for $200,000 and said the navy is doing the job backward. The Missouri has resisted all efforts of the army and navy to get her out of her prison in Hampton Roads for three days. Thomas H. Little of the Submarine Engineering Company here said today that the “Big Mo” may become “just a monument” if the job is not done “right.” Little said that instead of removing weight from the battlewagon as the navy has done, more weight should be added. So far, the big ship has disdained help from the army.
1975 – 50 Years Ago
The addition of the Haish Gym could allow the park district to expand its recreational programs. The DeKalb Board of Education approved a resolution authorizing the transfer of the gymnasium to the park district. The cooperative park-school agreement calls for the park district to pay $4,000 of the $24,000 demolition costs of the Haish School. Once the school is removed, the park district plans to pave the rest of the Ninth and Franklin Street site and renovate the gymnasium.
Wave bye-bye to Glidden school. The old S. First Street stomping grounds for school children since 1902 will be torn down sometime later this week. The students now attend “new-fangled” Roberts School at Normal and Ridge. Two other famous name school built the same year as Glidden also will join the brick pile this year – Ellwood and Haish.
Burglars at the Ponderosa Steak House, 907 Dresser Rd., took $480 in a break-in Monday morning. Police detective said the thieves entered the building through the roof above a cooking area on the west side. The burglars forced their way into the manager’s office and removed a safe. The safe was taken inside a meat cooler and opened.
Kishwaukee College is offering classes in beginning bridge, square dancing and introduction to the metric system Monday evenings. The beginning bridge class will be at the Southern Community Center at Shabbona High School. The square-dancing class will be at the Malta Grade School. The metrics class will be held on campus.
A committee of the January Grand Jury has recommended that a new jail be built in DeKalb County. Although the five-member committee said it realized that building a new facility would be “financially prohibitive,” the committee added, “it is highly doubtful that the present structure can ever be renovated to make it an adequate facility for the purpose intended.”
Compiled by Sue Breese