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Reveal Wealth Of Material At Fall Historical Meeting Each general meeting of the McHenry County Historical so­ ciety is held in a different part of the county. The fall meeting held recently in the firehouse in Cary was well-planned and well done. Ed Ocenasek ofCary was general chairman of the meeting, and Mrs. George (Alberta Dorn) England acted as mistress of ceremonies, presenting an interesting way the highlights of the history of the Cary-Fox River Grove area of the county, and introducing other members of the commun­ ity who supplemented her nar­ rative by showing historical collections and recollections at appropriate places in the story. Mrs. England told that exac­ tly 135 years and 1 day before t the day of the Historical society meeting, the Samuel Gillian family had come from West Virginia and settled in a spot midway between Algonquin and Cary, in the place now called , « Camp Algonquin, fbey were the i first white settlers in the area, and since the Blackhawk Wars were over and 1834 was a time of peace, the tribes of Chip­ pewa, Ottawa and Pottawatomis Indians which made up the Win­ nebago Nation, helped them and settlers who arrived during the next few years, by making fence posts and trapping animals for them to trade and sell. William Rader showed a col­ lection of arrowheads which he and his sons had found in and near Cary. It included copper spears, stone scrapers, utility blades, bone fishhooks, a two- piece Indian pipe and other In­ dian relics. Mrs. England continued by telling the names of some of the early settlers, many of which are still familiar ones in Cary. The town was named for Wil­ liam D. Cary, who was given title to . land under the Home­ stead Act, which he had set­ tled prior to 1844. The brick house that he built still stands in the village, although in a location different from its or­ iginal one. The population was at first mostly New York Yan­ kees, Germans and Irish, and other nationalities followed. Many Bohemian families set­ tled in the Fox River Grove ar­ ea, and about 1867, eighteen families of Czech ancestry built St. John's Nepomucene Cath­ olic church on an acre of land on the highest hill overlooking tne entire area, and named it after the patron saint of Bo­ hemia. The church was aban­ doned in 1914, but it still stands with its original paintings and hand-carved pews. Mrs. Anna Roop Mcllrath of Fox River Grove showed a book of the his­ tory of Fox River Grove which she had written, and displayed a collection of newspaper clip­ pings and photographs of the area. She told some amusing an­ ecdotes about the later develop­ ment of the area. One reason for the rapid and continuous growth of the com­ munity was the railroad. After being owned by several other companies, it became the Chi- cage and Northwestern rail­ road, serving the region west and northwest of Chicago under that name. After the Northwest Highway was built, the region became a summer resort area for city dwellers, and the rail­ road added eight to ten ex­ tra "picnic trains" to its Sun­ day schedule, to bring Chicago people to the Fox River Pic­ nic Grove. Gravel pit operations flour­ ished before the turn of the cen­ tury, and eight to fourteen train loads of gravel were taken daily from the pits. It was used to elevate the tracks of the North­ western railroad from Chicago to Evanston on the Milwaukee division and from Chicago to Mayfair on the Wisconsin di­ vision. Victor Boron showed spec­ imens of rock which he had found in and near the gravel pits. He and his sons have spent five years on. their pro­ ject, and 80 per cent of their material was found within a few blocks of the firehouse. He showed a trilobite, the oldest living animal fossil, and chain coral, the oldest living plant fossil. A fossil turtle which he showed had been found in Jan- dus Gardens in Cary by Merle Nelson, the oldest living res­ ident of Cary, was tested by the Field Museum and found to be over 10,000 years old. Oth­ er specimens included iron ore, a hematite axe and paleo points. All the specimens of rock and arrowheads shown by Mr. Boron and Mr. Rader had been found within six miles of Cary. Mrs. England told of the many businesses which were started on Cary, and Ed Ocenasek show­ ed items which he had salvaged when he wprked summer va­ cations from high school in the hardware store and wagon shop owned by William Serres. Most of the things had been in the store and shop 'when it was run by Miner Weaver, who own­ ed much of the land around C ary. There was a cabbage cutter, a bee smoker, an anvil, tongs for lifting hot irons from the bellows in the blacksmith shop, a hand drill and hooks for lift­ ing logs. John Petriak showed antique items from his collection, which included toy replicas of the Chi­ cago Transfer, dated 1885, a phaeton, a wood-burning en­ gine, and an 1885 pumper. Oth­ er interesting items were a cigar cutter, a corn sheller, a home coffee mill, scales, barn lantern and antique lamps. Mrs. England told of the var­ ious industries in which people of the area worked. Dairying was the chief occupation of the farmers, and milk was bottled and shipped to Chicago daily by the Richmond Smith plant and Bowman's. Other industries were the Burton Cheese fac­ tory, developed in 1883, and which had an output of 240 pounds of cheese per day and 140 pounds of butter; the Min- erVa Spring Water plant and Mr, Lumm's grist mill. The Washington Ice company owned land on the west bank of the Fox river, and when ice was cut from the river it was stored in a large ice house to be shipped to Chicago the next summer. Carl Rund told of the ice- cutting operations, andpictures were passed through the au­ dience which showed the one- horse plows which scored the ice to a depth of 8 to 10 inches. The ice was then cut by hand to a depth of about 20 inches, pulled loose with hooks, to be floated through a channel to the ice house. Santa Says, One you ei "Give the Love something Extra Special this Christmas, A DAY OF BEAUTY." Exclusively At Rif/twl Call 385-71^2 for Complete Details* owerwcc F I O R I S T N U R S E R Y G A R D F N C F N T I R Pine and Balsam Flocked <1 Artificial Special Offer 7 Ft. Scotch Pine Reg. *27.95 Si|# §• Qgg SAVE *1.00 Pdce Th Ft. Green Cypress *48.05 Sal* $QQ95 SAVE *0.00 Price 0 # There's More at Flowerwood Come Browse and See What's New owerw oca FLOB1BTS - NT7R8HIY - GARDEN CENTER Shop Till 9 p.m. Won. thru Fri. Open Saturday 8 to 5 Sunday 9 to 5 RT. 14 at 176, 815-459-6200 Choose From Northern Illinois' Most Complete Selection Of "life Like" Cbristmos Trees 'Scotch Pine •Oolsom 'Cypress • Bine Spruce • Holly end others SeaeUt̂ ui 7re<* Ate a, *7ladUioK at 'pt&uienuMMct CRYSTAL LAKE Shuji Kimura of Crystal Lake told how he had first come that area on a geological expedition sponsored by the State Geological society, about twenty years ago. He moved here seventeen years ago, and has made a study of the geo­ logical aspects of the area, as well aS the architectural fea­ tures of buildings. He said that we were very fortunate to have good records of our history, in­ cluding photographs and draw­ ings; that in his native Japan, much history was dependent on word of mouth recollections, and that photography and rec­ ord keeping was not done there until a later date. He showed colored slides of drawings of original buildhgs taken from plat books, and then pictures that he had taken of the same buildings in recent years. Even though renovations had been made, the architectural lines had remained unchanged and coiild be recognized as the or­ iginal buildings in the draw­ ings. Colored slides that he showed of the Alvan Collins home showed the original house and grounds, and then the im­ provements and restorations that had been made, so that the home had modern conven­ iences, but retained the flavor of its history. At the end of a delightful pro­ gram, refreshments were served by Mrs. Ed Ocenasek and Mrs. Victor Boron of Cary and Mrs. Ronald Steward of Crystal Lake. Donations for the refreshments were made by the Alvan Collins, the Robert Hastings, the Victor Borons and the Elburn Mentches. WED. DEC. 10, I9» - PLAINDEA4ER - PG- 3; Faculty Women Of College - Plan Second Christmas Party| American Legion Auxiliary . UNIT 491 By Kay Luing COUNTY MEETING The County meeting was held Dec. 5 at Fox River Grove. Those who attended were pres­ ident, Mrs. Jack (Pearl) Coo­ per, Doris Walker, Marge Mi- kota, Ruth Mrachek and Laur­ etta Homo. A citation was a- warded to the American Legion auxiliary for gifts to hospital­ ized vets, presented by De­ partment of Illinois American Legion. Next county meeting will be Feb. 6 in McHenry. The following ladies went to Downey recently: Doris Walk­ er, Reba Owens, Marilyn Mil­ ler, Pat Tomassello, Maria Tomassello and two friends. The ladies entertained the vets with records, music and bowled with the vets. Francis Pickett also went along. Mrs. Roy (Lauretta) Homo and Mrs. George (Ruth) Mra­ chek went to Elgin for the Christmas Gift shop. Dec. 19 will be the Christmas party at Elgin at 8 p.m. All members are asked to attend at the O.T. building. Ladies, we need your help and cooperation for the needy families for Christmas. Canned goods, toys or cash donations. There is a box at the Ameri­ can Legion, also at the VFW. Please bring your items no la­ ter than Dec. 20 as the ladies will start to p&ck the baskets on Dec. 21 at the American Le­ gion hall, at 9 a.m. We need workers to help pack these baskets, so\ladies and Legion­ naires come Vut and give a help­ ing hand. There are so many who are in need, and who are less fortunate than we. Let's get busy and help to make their Christmas a little happier by filling up these baskets. Next meeting of the American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 491, will be held Dec. 15. It will be pot-luck at 6:30 p.m. Ladies, bring a dish to pass, also don't forget the Christmas exchange gift. DISPLAY ART WORKS Stephen Clark of 1015 Ches­ terfield Court, McHenry, is one of sixteen students at Knox col­ lege whose work has been se­ lected for exhibition in the Cen­ ter for the Fine Arts during the month of December. Life seems to be a lot like a party--it was going on long before you came, you leave long before it's over, and it would have gone along just as well without you. The happiest marriages still take place early in a long court­ ship. The faculty women of McHen­ ry (Aunty college are making final preparations for their sec­ ond annual Christmas party for faculty husbands and wives. The Christmas party will be held Girl Foresters Hold Christmas Party Monday The Johnsburg Juvenile Girl Foresters of St. Agatha Court, No. 777, will have a Christmas party Monday, Dec. 15, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Commun­ ity club hall. Pre-school mem­ bers are invited if accompanied by an adult. j Each family is asked to bring a dish to pass and each girl must bring a gift to exchange: Pre-school through second grade, .25; third through fourth grade, .50; fifth through sev­ enth grade, .75; and eighth through high school, $1. After eating, Christmas car­ ols will be sung and hopefully Santa will make his grand en­ trance. Following this, games will be played. Home-School Hears Holiday Program Deed 2 St. Patrick's Home and School association will hold its meet­ ing on Friday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. in St. Mary's School gym. There will be a very short meet­ ing as there will be a Christ­ mas program presented by the primary grades of the school. Both parents are urged to attend if at all possible as the children and their teachers have been working hard in planning this program. Refreshemtns will be served by Mrs. Cecelia Oakford, fifth grade room mother, and Mrs. Lois Waller, second grade room mother, and their committees. this year in the home of and Mrs. John Konitzer. The faculty women e> invitation to all full-thne part-time instructors and ministrators to attend *he Christmas party, which is the first of two planned activities to bring the entire faculty of 3fhe college together. The party." is scheduled for Saturday, Dec* at 8 p.m. at 406 Scott, Algon­ quin. For further information and reservations, call Mrs. Betty Popovich, 385-2387. Singers In Area : Join *Christmas; Around World" Choirs and glee clubs frbm forty public and private schools amd churches located all over the Chicago metropolitan area will give special programs of yuletwle choral and religious music as part of the; famous "Christmas Around the Worlil" celebration at Chicago's Mu­ seum of Science and Industry. Beginning Monday, Dec. 1, and continuing through Tuesday, Dec. 23, the choral programs will be heard in the south court of the Museum's rotunda, which is now circled with a brilliant forest of Christmas trees,each giant evergreen uniquely decor­ ated to reflect the history and traditions of the national or ethnic group it represents. Another feature of the fes­ tival, now in its twenty-eighth year, is the theater presenta­ tions showing the costumed pag­ eantry, religious customs, and holiday festivities which dis­ tinguish each of th*> more than twenty participat * groups. These shows are t .en in the Museum's 1,000-seat auditor­ ium from Nov. 29 through Sun­ day, Dec. 14. Admission to the Museum, the theater presenta­ tions, and the choral programs is free. Did You Know ? SOME PEOPLE RECEIVE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT AT THE McHENRY STATE BANK. Yes, those who maintain a satisfactory checking account with the McHenry State Bank are not usually required to wait for approval of normal credit requests. Time is required to check out loan applications of non-depositors such as contacting references, -etc.. Sixty-three years of service has proven beyond a doubt that the best credit reference in the whole wide world is a satisfactory checking account at the McHenry State Bank. Then too, the ex­ perienced officers at the McHenry State Bank know banking and know their customers and are in a position to give immediate approval to normal credit requests. There is much more to a checking account than as a means of paying bills. It builds a-banking relationship that can mean ? preferential treatment for you on so many occasions - When an unexpected need arises for a personal loan - consideration of a home mortgage - a student loan for college • a new car loan at preferential bank rates - these are only a few of the conven­ iences of a Full Service Bank. * . ; Yes, you see there is much more to a checking account than checks and deposits and even service charge. It is a basic step toward building a convenient, profitable banking relationship. Get in line for PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT with a checking account at the McHeniy State Bank serving the Community since 1906. AFULLA McHenry State Bank SERVICE BANK/ 3510 West Elm Street McHenry, Illinois * •i $