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w •S ' • v ;- w^wm "V.-A. ^ * "SERVING THE CHAIN-FLAKES REGION SINCE 1875" cr Volume 81 -- No. 40 McHENRY. ILLINOIS. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9. 1956 lOcParCajpf SUSPECT ARSON IN McCULLOM LAKE FIRE Musih' and Meanderin' ^••a.aaBnc«aaaaBaa».> " The Lenten Season begins next Wednesday, Feb. 15, and local churches are making plans for special .services throughout the penitential period. A schedule of these weekly rites will appear in next week's issue , of the paper. Two of the Plaindealer employees, Marie Yegge and Jack TJuckie, are observing their birthday anniversaries during February. They were not alone in celebrating a few days early when Marie Schaettgen, our cooking expert, brought in one of the most delicious cakes we have ever tasted. The party was enjoyed Tuesday, and Wednesday found our dieters admittedly avoiding the ^cales. . Statistics released this past week revealed that traffic accidents killed 38,300 Americans in 1955, one of the heaviest tolls in history. The motor vehicle remains the No. 1 killer in accidents, which should -- but usually doiesn't -- instill at least a little fear in ^those of us behind the wheel. Approximately . $3,000 of a $3,200 quota has been collected to date in the annual March of Dimes drive. Those who were not contacted in the house to house campaign are asked to send their contributions to Polio, care of R. A. Stueben, chairman, 532 Main street, McHenry. ^ Local folks have always been •generous in these annual drives and it i» felt- that. again--'this year the quota will be surpassed when final figures are in. FATHER-SON SCOUT BANQUET FEB. II CUBS, SCOUTS AM)EXPLORERS OBSERVE BOY SCOUT WEB( HERE; PREPARE SEVERAL WINDOW MSIW Word has come from Grinnell college, Iowa, telling that Jacqueline Moss of Mineral Springs, a freshman at the school, is a member of the cast of "Dark of the Moon," to be presented Feb. |24 and 25. Relatives and friends proudly watched last Sunday night as singer Stanley Grover (he was Stanley Nienstedt of Woodstock) defeated the previous champion on the Chance of a Lifetime TV show. He is a brother of Mrs. Elmer Freund. The sun came through long ^enough last Thursday so that the groundhog could emerge and see his shadow. The more practical folks say they were convinced that either way there would be another- six weeks of winter. The appearance of numerous robins on Tuesday has made a few of them change their mnids: AWARDED DEGREE II® Preparations go forward as enthusiastic Cubs, Scouts and Explorers in McHenry look forward to the annual father and son banquet next Saturday evening, Feb. 11, one of the major observances of Boy Sjcout Week. The program will start at 7 o'clock in the high school cafeteria, with Eagle Scout Eugene Dietle acting as master of ceremonies. The program will be opened by Explorer Post 662, followed by a welcome by Louis Swedo, new neighborhood commissioner. The invocation will be given by" Rev. Carl Lobitz of the local Lutheran church, after which Scouting Executive Phil LaValle will be introduced. The dinner will be followed by patrol and den yells, songs by Harry Stinespring, chairman of the Kishwaukee district, and songs led by Walter Aufrecht and Pat» Ullrich. One of the highlights of the evening will be the presentation of the citizenship award by Roy Morrison, comander of the Veterahs of Foreign Wars. A movie, "Come To Philmont," will also-be shown. At present there are three Scout troops, one Explorer post and two Cub packs. Scout Troop 164, sponsored by the Moose lodge, has Maynard Meyer as leader; Troop 161, appnsor.ed-by. J&e ..P^T^^has .Walter Aufrecht as leader; and Troop 162, sponsored by tha American Legion, has Hugh Kirk in charge. The Explorer post is sponsored by the Legion and has Joe Moffett as leader. A1 Meyers is cubmaster of Pack 362, sponsored by the Legion, and Ed Mars in cubmaster of Pack 361, sponsored by the Men's club of the Methodist church. The den mothers have contributed much time to the activities of the Cub Scouts. They include Mrs. Ruth Mars, Mrs. Ruth Vycital, Margaret Hatch, Phyllis Zahn and Vivian Kramer for. Pack 361 and Naomi Meyers, June Allen, Betty Christensten, Pearl Cooper, Gertrude Gladstone and Lois Biesvzcad for Pack 362. Some of the window displays in observance of Boy Scout Week are well worth taking the time to stop and see. SPRING IS HERE Spring has really arrived. Mrs. Burton French reported at least a dozen robins in her yard at West Shore Beach during the beautiful weather Tuesday afternoon. School Bus Driver Killed In Crash Alvernon Henrys 30, of Ridgefield, who made his home in McHenry . more than twenty years ago, was killed ^bout 5:30 o'clock Monday when 'his bus and a semi-trailer truck collided at Rtes. 176 and 63, near Mundelein. Henrys, a Crystal Lake high school bus driver, was dead when removed from the wreckage of the bus. He had resided in Ridgefield since leaving McHenry about twenty years ago and in addition to his bus driver duties was also a rural mail carrier. The bus contained more than a dozen junior varsity players and others and was enroute back to Crystal Lake from Libertyville, where the youths had played a game that afternoon. Henrys was reported to have been driving west on Rt. 176 when the bus and a truck driven by Roland McBride, 41, of Decatur, northbound on Rt. 63, collided. McBride was making a right turn onto Rt. 176. Injured in the crash but none of them seriously, were a coach and three 'teen-agers. Surviving Henrys are the,widow, Lyndal; a daughter, Julie, 4, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Henrys; a brother, Alfred, and. a - sifter,. . Henrietta^, all of Ridgefield. Services are being held this (Thursday) afternoon at 2 o'clock from the Merwin funeral home in Woodstock, with burial in McHenry County Memorial Park cemetery. Child flushed To Doctor After Swallowing Pills McHenry police rushed to McHenry Shores subdivision early Monday morning to take Maynard Meyers, a youngster about 3 years old, to the family physician at Crystal Lrfke. They had just noticed that the child had swallowed several pills, after which he became ill. He was given immediate medical aid and his condition was reported to be quite good when he was removed to Memorial hospital. The little fellow has returned home completely recovered, apparently having1 forgotten the incident entirely. »- FIRST AID INSTRUCTORS Accredited first aid instructors rn the county for the Red Gross include Kenneth K. Hamsher, Joanne Rulien, John J. Shay and Daniel M. Schmitt. Special Census In City Will Be Completed By End Of Week KATHLEEN HENN Miss Kathleen Henn, eldest of the three daughters of Mr. and Mrs. A1 Henn of Johnsburg, received her master's degree in speech education Sunday, Feb. 5, from DePaul university. She graduated a few years ago with BA degree from Rosary college. Miss Henn, now a teacher in North school at Crystal Lake, formerly taught in the high schools of Marengo and McHenry and also the local grade school. The special census in McHenry is now under way and should be completed by the end of this week, according to John W. Camit, special census supervisor from the Chicago regional office of the Bureau of the Census. Officials of -the city of McHenry decided some time ago to ask for a special census after estimates showed the population had grown enough since the decennial census of 1950 to warrant a new certified count. The city will receive additional funds from the motor fuel tax refunds from the state of Illinois for maintenance of arterial streets and -roads. Five local residents were selected to enumerate the residents of McHenry. They were trained for the work on Tuesday morning, Feb. 7, and got started on the actual enumeration that , afternoon. They are Dolores C. Bolger, 604 Allen avenue, Elizabeth Gende, 107 S. Riverside Drive, Helen M. Wegener, 103 Pearl street, Rose Ann Walsh 714 Center street, and Hermenia F. Kinsala, -- 'I 204 Anne street. Although the official certified population figure will be released by the Washington office of the Census Bureau a number of weeks after the field count is completed, Camit will release a preliminax*y figure to the city "fathers" before he leaves McHenry. Anyone who has reason to believe that he or she was not counted by Saturday of this week may secure proper forms from City Clerk Earl R. Walsh. He will mail such forms, received after Camit leaves McHenry, directly to the Census Bureau's Washington office, where they will be checked against the records and added to the count if it is found that the persons were actually missed. In most cases where a census enumerator is unable to contact a responsible member of a househod on several calls, adequate information is usually obtained from neighbors, so the household can be included in the count. Scout Sunday To Feature Guest Dr. Lloyd E. Watt, youth leader and minister of a 1000-member church in Lincoln, Nebr., will be the speaker at both services next Sunday morning at the Community Methodist church. Boy scout •Sunday and Youth Sunday will both be observed in morning worship with Dr. Watt speaking on a youth theme. -•-•--i----- Cubs and Scouts will attend : worship in a body and some of the boys will take part in the service. High school young people of ,the church will attend the second service at 10:45 a.m. in a group as part of their weekend Christian Witness Mission. Assisting with this conference-wide mission wilt be three ^roung- people* frorr^ other fyletliodist churches: Carl Vansant of Clinton, Mo., Ruth Eaton of Monroe City, Mo., and Helen Meyn of Glenview, 111. The purpose of the mission is to reach as many unchurched youth in the community as possible. Dr. Watt, the fecial speaker, has had a great deal of experience in working with youth in churches and in the summer camping program. He has received his A.B. degree from Nebraska U.; S.T.B. from Boston U., School of Theology,.and ThD. from Iliff School of Theology in Denver. TWE A UR ii in List Five Seniors With Top Honors; M*ny Have "B" Plus NAME THREE JUDGES FOR HEART FUND VALENTINE CONTEST; JUDGING FEB. 12. FOLLOWED BY OPEN HOUSE AWARD CONTRACT FOR ADDITION TO SEWAGE PLANT At the regular meeting of the pity Council on Monday night of this week, the contract for the addition to the sewage disposal plant was awarded to Tonyan Construction company at the bid price of $277,990. The action of the board of aldermen followed a week of study of bids submitted by five different contractors as listed in last •week's issue of the Plaindealer. The low bid was submitted by Great Lakes Plumbing and Heating company in the amount of (266,000, while the high bid of $293,500 was turned in by George Scheflow of Elgin, the contractor who constructed the present plant. Council members report their decision to award the contract to a; local contractor was made after serious consideration to the question. They have stated that the award was considered to be to the best interests of the community. Much of the progress of the city depends on completion of Uie improvement at the earliest possible time. Several sections within the city limits do not have city sewer service at the present fime. Property owners have indicted that the city will be pe- StfdftechtS e'Jttferifl' m'&liVs '&s soon as approval from the state department can be secured. Steps were taken on Tuesday of this week toward drawing up a revenue bond ordinance. It will take some time to complete all details and secure final approval. Elderly Local Residents Die The community was saddened this week by the deaths of two long time residents, Helena Hay, 91, and William Oeffling, 87. William (Oeffling A marriage of sixty-five years ended last Thursday night, Feb. 2, with the death of William Oeffling, 87, of Johnsburg. The body rested at the George Justen & Son funeral home until 9:30 o'clock Monday morning, when last rites were conducted from St. John's church, Johnsburg. Mr. Oeffling, one of the community's best liked residents, was Names of twenty-four students i at the local high school are listed j on the honor roll as straight "A" students for the semester Just ended. A number of others are named for "B" plus and "B" averages. "A" Students Seniors: Jean Blake, Jane Blake, Paul Jessup, Ann Lundborg and Jean Selsdorf. Juniors: Ronald Miller and Karl Tomm. | Sophomores: Zelinda Bennett, j Roger Benson, Vincent Cina, i Dave Fantus, Gordon Johnson, I Telia Nardi, Gerard Towssaint | and Mary Lou Watkins. j Freshmen: Richard Antonson, Terry Brady, Al Cajthaml, Sharon Curulewski, Charlene Freund, Janice Hettermann, Rosemary Mercure, Ronald Smith and Mark Vycital. "B" Plus Averages WILLIAM OEFFLING a native of the Johnsburg community, where he was born Feb. Seniors; Kathleen Anglese, Lois I 13, 1868. He farmed until his re- Brefeld, Bob Cormier, Winn Da- | tirement and lived in this vicinividson, Judy DeCicco, Kathleen ty his entire lifetime. Freund, Barbara Hanson, Donald; Many were his memories of Johnson, Babette Jordan, Kay i the early days in the Johnsburg Kirk, Jewel May, Phyllis Smith, area, when only a few families The Heart Fund Valentine contest being conducted locally closes Saturday, Feb. 11, at 6 o'clock, with judging taking place Sunday, Feb. 12. It will be followed by distribution of awards at open house from 3 to 5 p.m. at 312 East Elm street, McHenry. The public is invited. Thomas E. Byrnes of national fame, who recently wrote the heartwarming„ and merry book, "All My Darlings," puts a pause into his busy schedule to come to McHenry and help judge the Heart Fund Valentines made by our young people. To be better acquainted with our .distinguished guest, a resident of Dorr county, we should know that he wrote Wilding Motion Picture Productions in Chicago numerous articles for national magazines, a one-act play, and spent seven years on the Chicago Daily News as a reporter and feature writer: The story of "All My Darlings" is thought of as probably the most entertaining one about family life since "Cheaper by the Dozen." Other Judges Sibyl Sears, another judge, is 4-H advisor and shares the benefit of her well-rounded education with young people in McHenry county": Margaret Dorman, artist and librarian, a third judge, is new to McHenry but is making a significant place for herself in the community- through her large art class which meets every Tuesday. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when the judges reach their decision, the Valdhtines will be displayed at 312 East Elm street. Presentation of awards will take place and refreshments will be served through the courtesy of 4-H Eager Beavers under direction of their leader, Mrs. Earl Krukow. The public is invited. The purpose of the Heart Fund Valentine contest is to encourage interest in creative art and to bring the five hopeful facts in the heart story closer to home. Merchants who wish to donate awards are welcome to do so. HONESTY OF TWO McHENRY YOUTHS WELL REWARDED The honesty of two young McHenry boys was rewarded this week when they returned a wallet containing over fifty dollars to its owner. Ronald Schmitt and Larry Freund found the wallet on Green street Sunday night and notified local police authorities. Identification within revealed that the owner was Kenneth Fiecho of Chicago, who, when notified, came to McHenry to claim fthe billfold and rewarded the boys. FOUR APPREHENDED FOR SPEED TWENTY MILES OVER LIMIT There were four apprehended for speeding twenty miles or more beyond the limit this past week. They were R. Tolson of Westmont, 111., Donald E. Tibbetts of Woodstock, Willis F. Reed of Fox Lake and Thomas A. McAuliffe of McHenry. Two other violations were also reported by local police and four were arrested for possession of open liquor in their car. MCHS HOMEMAKER BLMILLIA Iflilllli BARBARA HANSON This young lady is Miss Barbara Hanson, 17-year-old MCHS "Senior, who won the McHenry high school's homemaker of tomorrow contest, which is being conducted nationally. Miss Hanson, daughter of Mrs. Agnes Fox Hanson, was very active in 4-H work for five years. Upon graduation from school next June, she will continue her education in the field of occupational therapy. THOMAS ALLEN. 18, PLEADS GUILTY TO RECKLESS HOMICIDE Thomas Allen, 18, of Shalimar was reported to have pleaded guilty in Lake county circuit court in Waukegan the last of the week to reckless homicide counts in three indictments growing' out of an automobile collision in which three were fatally injured. His attorney nolle pressed involuntary manslaughter _ counts on each; of which the penalty could have been one to fourteen years in prison. The statutory penalty for manslaughter is one to five years. Action on a motioji for probation was deferred by Judge Bernard M. Decker to Feb. 23. The case resulted from an auto accident last May l when Leo Gerasch, 23, and Mary Jane Gerasch, 20, were killed and Louise Barbier, 20, was fatally injured. KOEHLER SERVICES Mrs. Josephine Koehler, 49, of Country Club subdivision, died at her home Tuesday, Feb. 7, following a lingering illness. The family had resided here for the past twelve years. The husband, Jacob, and nine children survive. The body rests at the George Justen & Son funeral home until 2 o'clock Friday, when services will be held at the Zion Lutheran church. Burial will be in Woodland cemetery. YITO L0VERDE HOME GUTTED BY FUMESMONDAY Papers Saturated In Gasoline Found In Every Room The home of Vito LoVerde at West Shore Beach, McCullom Lake, was partially destroyed by fire shortly after midnight Sun* day in what has almost definitely been determined as arson. The LoVerdes, who live fa Niles, occupy the home only off weekends and in the summer. A neighbor, Joseph DiMaggio, turned in the alarm and so quick was the response of local firemen that they arrived in time to find very real evidence that the firjj was of an incendiary nature. All of the rooms were filled with paper, most of them saturated with gasofirie. One match book was found, with the matches bent in such a manner that a lighted cigarette was able to be wedged between. Evidently the one book found was among several, the others having ignited the papers. Starts on Porch The flames started on the front porch and spread rapidly. The DiMaggios arrived at their home next door about midnight and failed to notice the fire at that time. A short while later they looked out the window and saw the house in flames. Although the entire house was gutted, the frame was saved. When the owner arrived after being called and told of the incident, volunteers went into the building to see if anything of value might be saved. They found" the television' set, linens, furniture and many other items gone, evidently having been stolen. Investigation of the incident is expected to be carried out. None Injured In Only Local Weekend Accident One weekend accident in the area was reported by police this week. It occurred Sunday at Johnsburg about 1:50 p.m. when cars driven by Irvin May, 15, and David Kent, 18, both of this area, collided. There were no injuries to either driver. ' First reports that Kent was driving without an operator's license were erroneous. GRANTED EXTENSION Judge William M. Carroll this past week granted an extension of one week for Robert Phillips to plead to an indictment charging him with murder. He is charged with killing Lyle Larson. Harvard grocer, on the -night of Dec. 23. IHTY MEMBER OTHEIS M m sen 1 HANI; §6 TIC5PANT5 Betty Schaefer, John ' Sternickle, Bob Trendler, Gloria Wilkie and Richard Wissell. made up the entire population. He and his wife the former Anna Kehr, celebrated their six- Juniors: i^Donna Barger, Ed j ty-fifth wedding anniversary last Cepulis, Judi Dahl, Dave Davis, Nov. 6. Sarakay Douglas, Jeanette Dres- Besides his widow, ^he is surdow, Norman Eggert, Josephine I vived by three sohs, Peter, Freund, David Knox, Barbara j George and Alfred of Johnsburg; Continued on Page 8 (Continued on Page 8) Batavia Pastor Will Speak To Legionnaires An outstanding speaker in Legion circles, Rev. Gilbert Johnstone, pastor of the First Baptist church of Batavia, will be guest of the local Legionnaires at their meeting Monday evening, Feb. 13. Anyone interested is invited to attend and hear him. Rev. Johnstone's talk will be based on the national theme of the Legion, "Back To God," February being "Back to God" month. His talk will open the meeting at 8:30 Next Monday evening, Feb. 13, several hundred young instrumentalists from the eight high schools in McHenry county will gather in the Woodstock high school auditorium to present the band portion of the annual music festival. The program will begin at 8 o'clock before what is expected to be a capacity audience. Directing the select and massed band in this outstanding musical event will be Russell H. Platz, band director of the musical education department at Wheaton college, and Lt. Col. S. E. Mear, U.S.A., retired, at present director of bands in the Whitewater, Wis., high school. The two mm will not only direct the bands in the public evening performance but also will have charge of a clinic held the morning of the same day in two Woodstock schools. County Directors The following county band directors are preparing members of their individual organizations for the festival: Clay IJarvey, Crystal Lake; Dale Folsom, Woodstock; Joe Riggi, Huntley; Theodore Wang, Hebron; Paul Stone, Richmond; Anton Cerveny, Harvard; Joseph Topolewski, Marengo; and Paul R. Yanda, Mcllp^ PAUL R. YANDA Henry. The select band will play these numbers: March, "Colonel Bogey,** .(Continued on Pag» 8) SEVERAL HUNDRED IN Feb. 13 FESTIVAL M