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A 1 *W* »--V F : R;FS_*~S^7FP>>. ^T^NTW-: " ^"T, ^ r f v • -ggmm , June 6,1935 THE M'HENRY PLAINDEALEit--SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY '••Wig* of Today Recall Many Interesting Events of Yesterday - REMEMBER WAT BACK WHEH-- There was an airdrome next to the Riverside Hotel? EMPIRE THEATRE - ^ R. J. Miller of the Empire theater extends greetings to the Plaindealer on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary. . * - This i$ one of the few theaters in Nbrthern'Blinois equipped to ran the new type of film whiebw&s just d«mpni;trated with ,the picture of " Roberta. *•/ :This is made possible by the use of the wide rahge, High Fidel ity 'V. * - It's quality that, cotrnts, "be,-it in pictures or ip r„ Inewspaper, hence the Empire and the Plaindealer have & common aim, that of producing quality and satisfactory service for their patrons. REMEMBER WAY BACK WHEN-- The- old Central Opera House had choice seats in <• the front row of the balcony? • - J BARBIAN BROTHERS ' Dealers in QUALITY GROCERIES AND MEATS Riverside Drive y We Deliver McHenry, IJI. A1 Barbian purchased the store from Peter Heimer in 1026, later taking in hWlarother George, as a partner, "'.V. forming the firm of Barbian Brothers. REMEMBER WAY BACK WHEN-- v McHenry had the big Fourth of July celebrations with the greased pole 'n everything? 'LYMOUTH and CHRYSLER SALES AND SERVICE PEARL STREET M'HENRY REMEMBER WAY BACK WHE|(& Hank McLean used to make humorous political speeches?'. VF.. .• R. M. [Dick] FLEMING IMPLEMENT CO. FARM IMPLEMENTS--TRACTORS--WAGONS NEW IDEA LINE PAPEC SILO FILLERS TWIN CITY AND ALUS-CHALMERS TRACTORS MINNEAPOLIS MOLINE THRESHING MACHINES Repairs for all Machinery - i Waukegan Road at C. AN. W. Tracks West McHenry, Illinois v TELLS HOW BOYS TRIED TO OPERATE OLD HAND PRESS " HANK ' McLEAN WAS LANKY SPELLBINDER t There were no school busses in my younger days and we went through mud and snow, some for miles, and the attendance was better than in later years. • __ By the way, I got a gold medal from Prof. S. D. Baldwin for perfect attendance and deportment for -unusual and some of them hair rais By w! H. JViEAD A Sixtieth anniversary just naturally starts one's mind rambling" among people and things of those old times, and a longing for visit and (exchange of recollections, and (fear old Plaindealer you have been in our family all your life, so let's visit a Utile ahd recall old friends $nd happenings. . - Remembars the days of Jay Van- Slyke, Fred Jess<?, and Maude th&t pnetty dainty little girl:. .'yrij'cjV lisped when s he ta lked. J ay V, S . was edi tor <>f• •'The- Plaindealer, FtS?d (was sliiii) helped him, and J.ess, husky and strong, pulled the lever on; the hand press that turned out one page of The Plaindealer at each pull. „ Us school boys-(the Grangers, Owens, Goings, Colbys, McOmbers and others) used to try and pull that lever and failed more often then we succeeded in making the proper impression for a clear print. -,--" I think Jess went to Cuba in the Spanish war with Howard and James Perry, Jr, and others. James never returned. Typhoid got him. Howard went through West Point military school, made good in the Johnstown flood distaster in Pennslyvania, where whole cities were swept away when a dam gave way, and the soldiers took charge. I think Howard was retired with honor on account of age limit or time served in regular army with rank of colonel or something-way up there. Remember S. D.- Baldwin, principal of the three room school in the brick building just south of the cemetery, where we were taught knowledge instead of football. Bishop's flour and .feed mill and wagon factory, and Hanly's miil where farmers took their wheat and carried home flour, less the toll taken out for grinding, that had been-ground with water-power between real rock millstone§. "Dick" Biship was the Democrat:J leader of those days and his speeches were whirlwinds that all went to hear. When he got warmed up the words damn and hell, which by the way are not profane, flowed from his mouth as easily as they used to from Frank Parkers', and meant no more to him than gee whiz, or darn it, to most people. Old "Hank" McLean, tall and lanky wps another spellbinder, always available for a speech, and when he and Bishop both talked from a platform it was worth going miles to hear. Remember the old wooden Fox River bridge, sides four feet hirgh and a foot wide on top, where Joe Lawrence, my father, H. C. Mead, and others would stand, throw fish spears tkirty and forty feet up stream and get eight to twelve -pound red horse as they "ran" up the river every spring. Many people in those days aaJted down one or more barrels of fish for home me *when the red horse xan". Remember Allan Walsh, the nprinter, who outran everything in Illinois and Iowa one hundred yards with a running start, but could not fceat Tony Barbian when starting from . pistol «hot, because Tony, like a little Jap, quick as lightning, waold ba twenty feet before the other fellow got his second foot in motion. These subjects may not interest you bal if you have any more seventy year old subscribers I'll bet they will eat it op. one term, my only competitor beip>» Bert Colby, (soi^ of Ora Colby,) and Jjie .only missed one day, attending hi3 sisters funeral, so the professor gfiva each of us a medal; My first schooling. . was"at the Sherman hill school house. Teachers were Chas. Morey, Rose Wattles and J James Ladd,many- years county supervisor. Will always remember Ale ma Sayler (now Thomas) as the peacemaker of the school, stopping many a scrap among the* boys and , comforting those that got- a black ; eye. wild, and a year or so in Western Kansas, where there were antelope, prairie dogs and sind storms, but this part of the world has everything beat any way I look &t it. I could write some good tales of my e x p e r i e n c e s h e r e , but they are SJ in? that no^ one living a stay at home life would believe them to be .true or possible. • " I have served my community and county here since 1906 in various vays such as school trustee, county' school superintendent, deputy sheriff, justice of the peace and county judgf. I own fttid operate the oldest General Merchandise, groceries and dry goods ' store in the lower R,ib Grande vatlpy in continuous operation undet* original ownership. My apiary turns, out the best honey jn Texas from natural- blooming shrubs and cotton Wrestling, (often ending ill a scrap) j Hoorris with no irrigation. Would [foot racing syid ball games, without be glad to hear from some old time paid instructors to shoW us how, gatve acquaint^ceB»; O^s mor^e ' aNnIAj Jjf bV» Aeft t4emr w ' exercise, thanVV thll ei* present system, at no cost to^th^e dis- ! tritt^ : V-;. • i Johanna Walsh (now Xnox), whos6 father, iMartin WaTsh, was a Totig time road commissioner, is another bright spot in my memory, her folks i being our neighbors and her mothet1 always giving me a big slice of bread with sugar on it when I called. Jo- | hanna's daughter, Dorothy, is now i married to my nephew, Carl Weber, i My grandfather, W. S. Mead, was j born in Vermont in 1809 and father was born in Pittsford, Vt, on July 31. 1839. Both came to Illinois in 1844, bought land from the government a , mile west of McHenry and three mil£s j northwest, where I was born Oct. 6, j 1866. My father, H. C. Mead, enlisted on ! May 24, 1861, in Co. A, 15th Infanto his knee. His education was at Todd's Seminar^', Woodstock, prior to enlistment and after the war he taught......school during the"winter for many .years. My younger brother, 'Carl, though exempt, volunteered ii^. the'"World war to serve in Infantry, but after his examination they decided to'- use his head instead of his trigger finger and the "Higher up»" in France kept him with them so far from the front that he could not smell powder smoke. My son, Le Orr W. Mead, though married and exempt, went at the first call and because of his knowledge of telephone and switch board operation, was put in the 111th Field Signal Corps of 36 the Texas Division, and he came back with a medal on hi-n by General Pershing for being the best enlisted pistol shot in the 36th 'division, and a decoration, Croix de j Guerre with citation and star by i French for bravery under fire. I My war experience has been withl in the borders of the U. S. A. on the last frontier in the southern m6st tip [of the U. S. A. and Texas. Look at your map We have turned a tropical ji^ngle infested with bandits, snakes, six to ten feet long, panthers, wolves, bad|rers. sfcunjks, raccoons possums and wood ticks into a citrus and winter vegetable producing section. As an offset to the pests there -were plenty of deer, -wild turkeys, armadillo, ducks, geese and quail, and fish without limit, as we are only fifteen miles from the coast, and the best climate on earth. We are five hundred miles fartheT south than the southern tip of California an it is farther across Texas, east and went or north and south, than it is from McHenry to New York City or from McHenry to the north line of North Dakota, so when you hear '»f something happening in Texas please don't think you know where it hap-' pened until you look at the map. I had spent some time in Dakota before it was divided into North and South, where I first saw buffalo Ra^mondville SUPERINTENDENT At ? M'HENRY; NOW PEORIA Many of the present generation will remember E. C. Fisher, who was superintendent of the High School in McHenry more than a quarter of a century ago, apd will enjoy reading his letter of greetings which follows. Mir. Fisher is now superintendent of schools at Peoria and is steadily progressing in the educational world. He and his family are beloved by many residents of McHenry. The Plaindealer, McHenry, Illinois. Greetings: Walter Lippmann has said that life begins at 40. According to this while try, a volunteer, and served threes ceiebrate your 60th anniversary years in the Civil war, when hKwaf vouVe twentv years old. honorably discharged^ with *nj^jj|^_whatever your age in terms of the i. +• "* calendar, I'm sure that in terms of the progressive spirit shown by the growth and development of your corporation in the special field it was set up to serve, you are yet young, active end forceful in the program of building for a bigger and better community ' end state. » .] I remember -with a great deal of interest our years of service in Mc- i Henry. As I recall there was never | an issue of the Plaindealer that did | not have something to say of a com- | plimentary nature about the work car- j ried on in the schools. One who can j s^e the good, in others or in organiza- j tiom. or corporations, will always dev-.! elop the best in himself. This has been your policy. " Many little incidents recur to me. I particularly recall a conference with Mr. Perry, who was President of the Board at the time I made application for the McHenry School. This is the way Mr. Perry^ greeted me: "Well I'm glad to see you. Mr. Fisher, but I saw you smoking a cigar in the lobby of the hotel. A man who smokes has no chance of securing the job in McHenry." Of course, it didn't take long to disillusion Mir. Perry. He had seen ."omeone else, and, fortunately for me, I got the job, and as time goes on 1 have been inclined to believe it was not wholly unfortunate for the community. . •.' j -... >-,-1 >,- > McHenry did possess and I m sure still possesses m$jiy rich and whgle> some souls. It was our privilege ta absorb something of their spirit. We had many friends, whose memories we cherish. We have many friends among the younger men and women of McHenry today, who in a sense grew up under our tutelage. In receiving my greetings as a cor>" poration, will you be kind enough to pass them along to the people of McHenry. Mrs. ^Fisher joins me in extending to;you our sincerest congratulations. Cordially, E. C. fisher: ' ; Sept. of Schools, Peoria WAY BACK WHEN-- v They used to have horse racing on the ice on Fox River? A CENTURY OLD TRADITION OF SERVICE International Harvester policy is founded on the belief that the purchase of a maehirfi^fR •fhe.'-'beirinniii'^, not the end of the. transaction. Consequently our obligation to the owners of Meronnick-Deeriiiir nm* chines does,jiot.^n4-4H» niick-IH'eriiiir after-sale service lias been carried to the utmost practical extent. No machine or implement is marketed under the name "Mc- <T\> rm i (.' k -1) eerintf" .until. International Marvester engineers thoroughly satisfied through extensive field trials that the machine -will do what it was designed % do and do it well enou| /•J^BioUgh to pay the }>urchaser a'profit on the investment. After making the machine as nearly perfect as possible, the Com-- pany then fortifies the user with adequate repair service that is close and thoroughly efficient. It is the aim of the Company to keep ev<»r>- uiiit working constantly and accurately. Delays are costly and must be avoided if the unit is to become a paying investment. Tbe best machine will wear out and parts-occasionally break. These accidents are unavoidable, but when they hapjpen the customer expectsimmediate attention. It is here that we co-operate by maintaining .an ; adequate stock of repair parts and give quick and efficient X^elp in "case of need. -. ."^'" '• Visit our place of business and see the MeCormick-Deering line ; of machines and International Trucks. Phone 185 McHenry, I1L REMEMBER WAY BACK WHEN^ Sunday trains consisted of three and four sections of a dozen coaches each to accommodate the weekend crowds in McHenry? ^ John Stilling, from Ms- tire shop" on Elm street, 1 greets the Plaindealer upon its sixtieth ianniversAry. J History is jn th^ making for-.the tire shop which was fetp*t<kl August 7, 191'6, in what was formerly Knox's garage on Bearl streeUr'5 After two years, Mrf. Stilling moved his shop next ^bor, where he remained until May 12, 1928, when he moved Ho Bis modern, new .building on" Elm,street. ; Here lie continues to serve his satisfied 'customers and gives them the best in his line. After all it's satisfaction that counts, be it in a tire shop or a newspaper. REMEMBER WAY BACK WHEN-- : Fred Schnorr regularly gave chase to the boys wtu> carried off his gate on Hallowe'en? •; Claire Beauty Shoppe CIARA NOONAN, Prop. McHenry 10 PERMANENT WAVING Manicuiing, Marcelling facials, Shampooing > Scalp Treatments We use soft water exclusively. fcreen Street near Empire Theatre McHENRY, ILL. REMEMBER WAY BACK WHENThere wa« a roller skati^ rink ^ tbf ,RiYem4«. NOW THE Royal Blue Store Phone 49 Riverside Drive SERVE2S YOU WITH FRESH QUAL^^ ITY MEATS KEPT UNDER MODERN SANITARY RKiTRKiERATION. A FULL LINE OF HIGH GRADE GROCERIES, ALSO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN SEASON. COURTEOUS AKI) PR0M^ ' ATTENTION. . " RALPH JULIAN, Proprietor REMEMBER WAY BACK WHENHorse racing at the driving park was popular.? For many, many years the - VALVOLINE OIL CO. lias served the McHenry .-territory wit h the best of gfiso line, oils, greases, etc. The company still has the'reputation- of quality merchandise and good service. JOHN THENNES, Local Agent SMITH'S GARAGE -•^'VEhere experience counts! We can fix that car or truck and guarantee our work. The trouble may he slight today, but if it is not taken eare of, the expense later on will be much" greater, Drive in today and let us estimate your repair job. c W' wm