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• -' ." .• ' 'i| -IU: ^'¥ •>.?•<*' • THE CHAiN-O-LAKES REGION t,Ll ' "v '* ,rV.*? Volume 82 -- No. 23 McHENRY. ILLINOIS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1956 10c Per Copy There was reason for double celebration in -the John Grasser home on Broad street early this week. Mr. Grasser observed his eightieth birthday Tuesday, Oct.. 9, and Mrs. Grassier was 74 on Oct. 8. Both are in good health. The couple has seven living children. With approval by the Principals' association of the county, the annual music festival in which more than 1,000 'teen-aged musicians participate each year will be held again in February of '57. Last year, county directors departed from the customary procedure of holding a joint instrumental- vocal program and conducted each on a separate night, ^n addition, a clinic wto held in "onnection with the festival. Directors, hope to again combine the two departments from the eight high schools in the county, in *57, but because of the increased enrollment will need to limit the number of students taking part. . The tentative date is Feb. 18, with 500 in the massed chorus and 250 in the massed band. It will take place 4fn Crystal Lake. Eleven McHenry area dealers are joining in the observance of Oil Progress Week, which is being celebrated throughout the nation from Oct. 14 through Oct: 20. In connection with this special week, it is interesting to note that every- minute of today about 105,000 gallons of gasoline are being used in' the nation's vehicles, planes, tractors, boats and industrial engines; .Certainly tljis is reasdn" enough to Set aside" a week in observance of the great progress of the past half century! . From Northern Illinois State college at DeKalb comes word that Don Henne of McHenry, freshman, is a member of the jiinety-six member band selected ^o play for hbme football games. Capt. G. F. Markeson will observe his fifteenth anniversary with a leading airlines on Oct. 23. A native of LaGrange, he joined the airlines as a first officer and served as- flight instructor, reserve captain and check pilot prior to his appointment as captain in 1945. The driving public should take their hats off to McHenry police officers for the splendid way in which they handled a very difficult problem during the widening and resurfacing of Elm street. Especially the past tvto weeks have conditions been trying to the patience of all concerned. Through it all, officers have Droved courteous and helpful in {piaking the best of a trying situation. The completed road project is , well worth the inconvenience. Consideration for th|-fights of others is the strongest link in the chain of human friendship. Mobile Unit In McHenry Oct. 16-17 McHenry area residents are reminded that the mobile unit for free chest x-rays will visit McHenry next week from the state Department of Health. The program is being sponsored by the county Tuberculosis association and is approved by the McHenry County Medical society and the Illinois State Medical society. The unit will visit McHenry and will be located at-the city hall on Tuesday, Oct. 16, and Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 5 p.m. The service is free of charge and is supported by contributions for the annual purchase of Christmas seals. Everyone is urged to take advantage of these free x-rays, since not only early cases of tuberculosis can be detected but many other chest conditions. Should it be impossible to visit the unit when it is in McHenry, anyone is welcome to take advantage of the service in other county communities. Nearest will be its visit to Wonder Lake on Oct. 15. It will be at Richmond Oct. 12, with the hours remaining the same. TRANSMISSION LINE FAILURE CAUSE OF POWER SHUTrOFF A 34,500 volt transmission line failure on Rt. 31, south of Mc- Hfenry, near the Ludwig Dairy headquarters, interrupted the source oT power for two of the three sub-stations in McHenry early Wednesday, resulting in a power shut-off in this area. it occurred abOut 4 a.m. and for several hours homes in the western and southern sections, including Allen avenue, Edgebrook, Cooney Heights and parts of Lakeland Park were without power. Other parts of the community had no power for a short time while the load was temporarily switched to the third station. Repairs Were being made throughout Wednesday morning. Public Service engineers believe the failure may have occurred due- to a wire having been damaged at some time during an electrical storm. Lights in homes as far away as Greenwood were dimmed during the failure. Mr. and Mrs. William, Vales of Hinsdale and daughters, Louise and Mary Margaret, visited his mother last weekend. PEP RALLY, PARADE AND SANCt M6HU6HT HOMECOMING PROGRAM; WARRIORS PLAY CRYSTAL LAKE Excitement prevails every minute of the -day* ' wei*!t; with students making preparations for annual homecoming festivities tonight (Thursday) and tomorrow, Oct. 12. The Warriors will take on a strong Crystal Lake aggregation as highlight of the fall event. The pep rally will be held at 8 o'clock tonight on the football field, to which the general public is invited. It is planned mostly as an inspirational - program for the players, to show the backing of the student body and townspeople. The rally will open with a community sing. The pep band w^ll be on hand to play a few stirring numbers and the school's very fine cheerleaders will lead the large group in cheers throughout the program. Highlights of the rally will be a gkit pertaining to the game and' players and also the introduction of players and coaches. The Student Council, sponsors of homecoming activities, promise a surprise at the conclusion of the evening. On Friday, school will be dismissed at 1:30 so that final preparations may be made and floats assembled for the parade at 2 o'clock. The line of march will be made up of the school band, king and queen cars, class floats, organizations floats and horses. The parade will form on Coun- (Continued on Page 2) sraom isriND^ - SATURDAY CAUSES WALL TO COLLAPSE A particularly strong gust of wind Saturday afternoon toppled over the west wall in the new McHenry Savings & Lo£n company building now under construction on Elm, street. The incident occurred about 1:30 o'clock as heavy winds swept across the highway. Steel trusses which had n<*$ been fastened, awaiting completion of brick work, fell and caused a hole to be made in the concrete floor but the trusses themselves were not damaged. Five days had been required for workmen to erect the building to the point of construction completed .Saturday. They began immediately to clean up the fallen brick and start building again. Bullet Passes Through Window In Subdivision Last Thursday afternoon, a bullet from a .22 rifle passed through a bedroom window and two walls in a residence in Cooney Heights. It is believed to have been the result of youngsters hunting in the neighborhood. Parents are urged to warn their children that it is against the law to hunt game with a rifle. OTHER STATE OFFICIALS ALSO VISIT McHENRY FRIDAY AS GOV. STRATT0N CUTS RIBBON AT CORNER GREEN-ELM iliiil flillllifitllll „ \ » * ^ s * N "'"'itoiln^hoto 1W0 LARGE STRUCTURES DESTROYS TUESDAY IN fLAMES Of UNKNOWN ORIGIN AT MORTHERN PUMP FARM still stretched skyward on the Northern Pump company farm located on the McCullom Lake blacktop road* 1 three miles northwest of the city. Only charred remains of two attached barns, 300 x 350 tt. in size, and their 5 contents, with value estimated quite accurately at' ; $250,000, are left. The farms, totalling about 3,000 acres, are owned )ay J. B. Hawley, who purchased them from Frank Howard) ' about two and one-half years ago. They are managed ! by Howard Bell and Brad Scott. Mr. Hawley, .in Minneapolis iif'"' the interest of his industrial pumjrCJt* business at the time, was called i -? immediately and arrived by prir?v;M vate plane on a landing strii> close to the burning barns. p v3| Two families .employed by Mr^V "$| Hawley reside on the farm wher£ f| the fire took place, the Jamea^: O'Hallerans and Vernon Green! ^ haws. V' Employees Find Flames Mr. Bell had been inside tMu larger of the two barns about V 10:45 o'clock in the morning and.'/"' in the other, three employees, ;4 Harold Blake, Don Madden and'/' •'> Mr. Greenhaw, were working grinding ajid mixing feed fo£ _• \ the many * hundred cattle thejjp Ijf feed daily. Mr. Bell left to JOS. P. MILLERS WED FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OCT. 14 Hold Open House For Relatives And Friends During Day -That-Jong- ai»t jcipated^daj' *vben;3'!!ih making> jplans fop«.what is-one the completion of the Elm street road widening and resurfacing was realized came on Wednesday of this week -and now McHenry resident's are looking forward to the formal opening of the beautiful street on Friday of this week. It was announced on Monday that Governor William G. Stratton would visit the city some time between 10:45 and noon on Friday, Oct 12, to cut the white satin ribbon on the corner of Green and Elm street, officially opening the road. The governor will be accompanied by Secretary of State Carpentier, Attorney General Latham Castle, State Senator Al. Smith and State Senator Robert McClory. Other state officeholders may alsp be present <° witness the opening. > Governor To Speak Governor Stratton has promised to speak a few words and Mayor George P. Freund and President Donald Johnson of the Chamber of Commerce will also be present to give brief talks. Other guests will include members of the City Council, who have given so much of their time of the biggest improvements in McHenry in many years. GOV. WM. STRATTON City Clerk Earl R. Walsh and Alderman' E. J. Gausden will handle toastmaster duties. . The local road program originated in the office of District Engineer D. S. Magowan of Elgin man^cmontfis ago. when first plans were fottfied. Originally it was on the '57 state construction program but through the efforts of Senator 'McClory it was advanced a year. The program is financed through a combination of state and city funds. The state pays seventy-five per cent and the city the remaining twenty-five per cent through Motor Fuel Tax funds. $76,000 Cost The total cost was undertaken at a cost of $76,000, including widening on -each side by 11% feet and other improvements, and resurfacing over the four and one-half blocks from Richmond Road to Riverside Drive. " The City Council has pasfced a resolution favoring electric stop and go signs at three corners on the new road. One of them has already received state approval and the other two will await the go-ahead signal. The Green and Elm light has both state and city approval. Approval hinges on traffic counts taken by the state to determine the need for such signs, which are to be paid for by the city from MFT funds. Rites Conducted Tuesday For Mrs. Joseph Vogt Friends were sorry to learn of the death of Mrs. Joseph Vogt, 77, at the Villa Rest home on Saturday, Oct. 6. She was a native of Volo and had lived in Pound Lake in recent years. Her husband, one daughter and three spns Survive. STRATTON TALK Governor William G. Stratton will speak over station WMCW (Harvard) to McHenry county residents from 12:05 to 12:30 on Friday. Sunday, Oct. 14, will mark the observance of the fifty-fifth wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Miller, who will begin the day with a Mass at St. Patrick's Catholic church at 9 o'clock. The couple will hold open house at their home at 311 Green street from 3 to 5 o'clock in the afternoon and from 7 to 9 in the evening. Mary Ann Meyer became the bride of Joseph Miller in a ceremony at St. John's, Johnsburg, in 1901, With the late Rev. Fr. Mehring officiating at what was. one of the first weddings to be solemnized in the new church. The bride was a native of the Johnsburg community, one of thirteen children of Mr. and Mrs. Anton Meyer, and always resided in this community. Mr. Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Miller, was also born at Johnsburg, one of eleven children of a mother who came here from Germany and a father who was one of the early settlers at Bull Valley. Eight Children Most of the eight living children of the Millers are expected to be present at Sunday's celebration. They include Mrs. Emma King of McHenry, Anthony of Chicago, Mrs. Rose Corey of Richmond, Mrs. Melanie Thiel of Johnsburg, Mrs. Martha Gorski and Mrs. Margaret Zarnstorff of Woodstock, Lean^er of Great Falls, Mont., and Elmer of McHenry. A lifetime of devotion to their large family has left happy memories to be recalled on the anniversary date. One of their unhappiest times was the day in 1944 when their son, Leo, twin of Leander, was killed in Germany. The Millers are proud of their thirty - three grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. FORTY HOURS DEVOTION Forty Hours Devotion will be observed at St. Mary's church this weekend. look a^ter 'business at another ^ farm in *Lost Valley and haqt: been gone only ahout twenty minutes when he received a call' on his two-way radio, telling of the fire. Th^ other men had le£f; the smaller barn about 11:15 aroi ' !:f found the roof in flames. !ir The large barn contained lumr ' ' ber, fence posts, supplies aiui some grain and. was used mostly;• v'< to house Cattle during the winter.' ! Fortunately, none were insidijM'C'. when the fire broke out. Thif : other contained mill equipmenf r* ^ and some hay. The origin of the flames could,, not be determined Mr. Bell said' the last of the second crop cut*!;--'CA ting of hay had been put in thak barn Aug, 10, which seemed %f, discount the possibility of spont taneous combustion. • Praise Volunteer* McHenry firemen answered ,|| call immediately and are deserv-j ing of much praise for their out* ' standing work in keeping the; fire from spreading to the largs! !§ home, which was only about 10C o? feet distant from the closest pari; of the barn. - r Tanks from Jtichmond, Wond^D Lake and rural Woodstock wer4 ill called to the' scene and supplied J the local volunteers with ample tj| water. Members of the McHenrjj; '§!; department remained at tha| scene until 8 o'clock in the eve* ning, after which three employee#-'.-;^! of the farm took over to watdl ;;;} the smouldering remains. Evei|Yi!j on Wednesday morning, sraokii v ^| was rising from the scene of th® '• '-I fire. • •' "'I Except for the barns, whid^f->| burned to the ground, only somC p furniture on the porch of .-thefv • ;j§ home were destroyed. Two siloijj J were also damaged. I -. I C. G. Nacker of McHenry was on hand to take some very final ' pictures which appear on this page,* ^ il •PICTORIAL STORY OF FIRE'S GRIM • iilf w % ; mm I,--III, III--I I - w.v . ........ .w .- W. • H.S. HOMECOMING FRIDAY, OCT.