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1 • mm? spurgeons McHenry Market Place 385-4100 LAST DAYS 10 SAVE! Sale ends Sunday, April 17th N PAGE 11 - PLAINDEALER - FRIDAY, APRIL 15,1983 A Classic At Redesigning £"/man T-Shirts, V-Neck Shirts, Collar Shirts, Shorts and Leisure Pants Daily 9 »o 9, Sat. 9 to 6, Sun. 10 to 5 Three years after moving to Wonder Lake, Stelter began work as a pipe line welder for Northern Illinois Gas Co. • "Welding is an art," he said. "You need a steady hand and a heart set on that type of work." Outside of three weeks of classes in welding, Stelter never has had any drafting or engineering training. "There's only one way to learn everything," Stelter said, "with a book and by taking it apart and put­ ting it back together again." His workbench is covered with tools. A huge, metal toolbox rests on a homemade cart, wheels taken from a lawnmower. A half-finished chess board lies against a bench leg, blue squares already painted. Each must be trimmed with a razor blade and carefully masked prior to painting the white counterparts. Stelter does his own design work. Like the man, much of it is spon­ taneous. Chopping wood with an ax took too long, so Stelter built his own hydraulic log-splitter. It is capable of cutting a cord-and-a-half of wood an hour. (A cord is a stack 8 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet). He then needed a trailer to haul his 700-pound creation to his parents' home in Michigan. Built on the frame of an old boat trailer, he constucted a 5- by 9-foot flatbed variation capable of hauling 1,900 pounds. "Just take a chunk of metal and when you get done with it, you have something to use," Stelter said nonchalantly. He makes it sound easy: air com­ pressors, cabinets, remodeling his basement. Stelter does electrical wiring and woodworking, too. He makes shelving and cabinets, and carves ornate signs. He uses metal bought from auctions and junk yards, or scrap given to him free at construction sites. "You use a little muriatic acid to clean it up and it's like new," Stelter said. He spends one or two hours a night out under the fluorescent lights in his garage, German shepherd at his side. During the winter he works in the basement. "His favorite thing in life is playing in the garage," said Marian, his wife of 25 years. "You never know what he's going to be building in there. It's always a surprise." He likes working with children, too. If someone breaks the handlebars on their bike, over to Mr. Stelter's house they come to have them welded back together, free of charge. Stelter has a special relationship with his neighbors. "If somebody needs something done, we all get together and do it," said Ray Lange. "Money never changes hands," Stelter said, "except for material." "He'll help you any way he can," Cavins added. Stelter has been inventing and reconstructing for about 15 years and has no plans to stop. "It's interesting," he said. "It keeps me out of trouble." Lamb Giveaway Program Slated The McHenry County Lamb and Wool Producers' association will be sponsoring a lamb giveaway program this year. It is designed to provide a young person in McHenry county the opportunity to receive a lamb, at no obligation, other than to properly raise and care for the animal and exhibit it at the McHenry County Fair. Individuals interested in applying for a lamb will be required to com­ plete an application form indicating how and where they would care for the The McHenry Township Road district has announced the appointment of Kevin M. Shay, of 4004 Grand avenue, McHenry, to the position of foreman of road maintenance. Shay was appointed to his new job by John C. Regner, township highway commissioner, effective April 11. He joins Bob Dixon, the Road district's shop foreman. As the road maintenance foreman, Shay will be^fesponsible for planning and scheduling day-to-day road maintenance work, coordinating and supervising actual work, and checking finished work. Regner said Shay is well qualified for his new duties, having been employed with the Road district for the past six years as a road maintenance specialist. In this position he has performed duties in every aspect of the district's road maintenance activities. animal and why they would like to receive it. Applications are available from the McHenry County Extension Service, P.O. Box 431, Woodstock, 111., 60098. They must be completed and returned to the extension office by Tuesday, April 19. The association's board of directors will review the applications at the April meeting and select the in­ dividual who will receive the lamb. Transfer of ownership will take place prior to May 1 to conform with fair exhibit requirements. Divorces Judgments for dissolution of marriage were recently granted in 19th Judicial Circuit court, Wood­ stock, to: Ronald D. Richardson and Diana L. Richardson; Margaret Wegner and Steven Wegner; Glen V. Wayman and Barbara A. Wayman. ©fiCTtCC In recognition of Arbor , Day, April 29th The Mchenry Plaindealer is offering a FREE Rose Bush with every new Subscription. For only $16.50, start a 1 year subscription to the McHenry Plaindealer and receive an everblooming hybrid Tea-Rose bush, Free! Choose from an assor- ment of potted varieties... a $4.87 value. Offer good now thru April 30th. For Men, Women & Kids! Shoes for tennis, jogging, soccer, baseball, basketball and all-purpose 20% OFF Our Entire Stock off Adidas Apparel for Men! , THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER 3812 W. Elm Street Mchenry 385-0170 25% OFF Our off Adidas Shoes adidas 4" Stock Offer applies to new subscribers in McHenry County only. Remittance must accompany order. by Kurt Begalka Donald Merkel, a second grader at Edgebrook school, holds Balloon Race message card sent to him by Mary Burnett of Newark, Ohio, a distance of 375 miles. Of the 17 cards returned, this travelled the farthest. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Balloon Travels 375 Miles "All of us at Edgebrook school have high hopes that we'll win this year's Great Balloon Race", says Jim LaShelle, principal of Edgebrook school in McHenry. "This week the youngsters began receiving messages from all across the country" The message cards were attached to helium-filled balloons launched at the school March 25, as part of an annual Great Balloon Race. The race is part of the Writing Pals program sponsored by a children's newspaper. LaShelle said Edgebrook school is eligible to receive a first prize award of $500 awarded by the sponsor to the Organist Ends Concert Series As the final performance of the 1982- 83 concert season, the Community Concerts association of Crystal Lake presents American concert organist Carlo Curley Sunday evening, April 17, at 8 p.m. at Crystal Lake South high school auditorium. As a special courtesy, area residents who have become members of Community Concerts for the first time in the recently completed membership campaign have been invited to attend this concert free of charge, as guests of the group's executive board. This will limit the available seating, so current mem­ bers are asked not to bring guests to this concert. Memberships for the 1988-84 season will be available at this concert for those who have not as yet purchased them. After this time, no mem­ berships will be sold for next season's concert series. Memberships will not be available in the fall for next season. Next season's programs will include the Nashville Music Express, Con- stantine Orbelian, pianist; the Nevada Dance Theatre, and Linda Maxey, marimba soloist. school that submits the message that has traveled the farthest distance. One hundred runner-up prizes will be awarded too. To date, the farthest traveled message card sent back to Edgebrook was found by Mary Burnett, Newark, Ohio, according to LaShelle. The distance from McHenry to Newark is 375 miles. The card and balloon that was found in Newark was sent by Donald Merkel, a second grader in Mrs. Jones' class. An estimated half million balloons were released all across the country during the first week of spring as the climax of the Writing Pals program. The program is designed to motivate children to write to, and to become familiar with, students in other parts of the country. "All the kids at Edgebrook school - and teachers too - are keeping their fingers crossed that one of their balloons will fly the farthest," said LaShelle. Publish Art Fair Directory The 1983 Art Fair directory published by the Illinois Arts council is now available. The directory logs art fairs and festivals held in Illinois throughout the year. Included in the directory is in­ formation on show dates, artists' deadlines, contact persons, eligibility media, entry fees, number of exhibitors, and estimated audiences. There is also an indication as to which activities are juried. Copies of the directory are available free of charge. Send a self-addressed, stamped (88 cents) 9x12 envelope to the Illinois Arts Council, 111 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60602. For additional information contact Mary Lee O'Brien , Artists division associate. Julius "Jay" Stelter's occupation is welding, but his preoccupation is building and redesigning things. Granted, he didn't have a hand in developing hits like the internal combustion engine or automatic dish­ washer. But like the 1950 "Chevy" he rebuilt, Stelter is a classic. "If you've got an idea, he'll do it," friend Jim Shannon said, "or he'll come up with his own idea and make it work." Stelter, 48, of Wonder Lake, has an insatiable curiosity to discover how and why things work. He is forever tinkering away in the garage of his home along Coral Road. "There's nothing I enjoy more than coming out here and building stuff," Stelter said. He studies objects to see how they work, then tries to improve on the design. "Once he gets it in his mind, he doesn't have to put it on paper," said Bob Cavins, a friend of seven years. Cavins met Stelter after he helped create a village in 1975, and served as its first president. Stelter relishes challenges. "I am, in a way, a perfectionist. I like to see things done right," he said. He redesigned a 5-horsepower push lawn vacuum to attach to the rear of his tractor. Stelter's ingenuity only cost him $50, saving about $600. Now when he mows the lawn, the vacuum instantly sucks up the clip­ pings and dumps them -- via some stove pipe -- into an enclosed trailer. It even has a corrugated pipe to suck up leaves beneath bushes. Stelter always has loved to work with his hands. They are large, the fingernails black from grease and grime. He was raised on a farm in Engadine, Mich., where repairing machinery was a fact of life. But it was not until 1962 that Stelter discovered his true love -- welding.