FRIGID*1*® itr til! fitCtiK The younger generation took over in 1973 and Lee & Ray Electric is now owned and operated by Mike Hughes and Paul and Greg Adams. LEE & RAY ELECTRIC 1005 IN. FRONT (S. RTE 31) 385-0882 MAY WE WISH THE iffcHenry Piaindealer BEST WISHES | ON THEIR 100th Anniversary • Mike Hughes • Paul Adams • Greg Adams OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE SERVED OVER 10000 NATIONALLY KNOWN CUSTOMERS The Scam-Am Organization Is In Business To Service The Communication Needs Of Business And Industry & In He left Johnsburg in the fall of 1880 to go to work for the Illinois Watch Co., at Springfield, later moving to St. Louis, and has kept in touch with his friends and relatives here through the columns of the Piaindealer. Among other long time subscribers .ar.^. Mrs. E.A. Srhith and her daughter, Clara, and son and his family, Sayler Smith, and Mr. and Mrs. S.H. Covell, all of Portland, Ore. For more than a quarter of a century they have been away from McHenry, the home of their childhood, and during these years, as in the years previous to their leaving this vicinity, they have followed McHenry affairs thru the Piaindealer. 74 Years On One Farm Having lived 74 years on the same farm, John F. Claxton, who will be 78 years old on Nov. 11 of this year, remembers the Piaindealer since it first en tered his boyhood home about sixty years ago. Born on the prairie south of town, Mr. Claxton moved to the farm he now occupies at the •age of four years, where he has since lived. Mr. Claxton is a genius, having made four violins and a telescope the last few years. Mrs. Theresa Culver, 83 years old, has subscribed for the paper for many years, and is especially glad to get the McHenry news since she has gone to DesMoines to live. William Althoff of Johnsburg subscribed for the Piaindealer in 1879 and has taken it con tinually for fifty-six years. Then there are the Grangers, Owens, Wheelers, Fretts, Saylers, Smiths, Freunds, Whitings, Colbys, Bassetts, A_St'offeIs, Suttons, Walshes, and many others who have sub scribed for the paper for many years. Mr. and Mrs. A.E. Nye have been faithful subscribers since they came to McHenry about twenty-five years ago and during their absence kept in touch with McHenry affairs through the Piaindealer. Old Records Gone "• As our subscribers were backward about sending in the number of years they have been taking the Piaindealer and as old records in our office were destroyed, we have no means of checking up on our long-time subscribers. This we regret, very much and would like to hear from any sub scribers who care to tell us the length of their subscription. "Noisy" Signal Customer: "What do you do when someone forgets his change?" Cashier: "Why, I rap on the window with a dollar bill." AUOUST 4, ins - PLAINPEALER CENTENNIAL EDITION-PAGE 10 Chester Goodman Subscribed To Piaindealer 71 Years Oldest Subscriber Of Piaindealer Sought Chester Goodman is shown in the year 1965, handing his money for another year's subscription for the Piaindealer to Mrs. Marie Yegge. He was the Plaindealer's oldest subscriber, having taken out the family subscription on arrival in McHenry in 1894. Mr. Goodman died June 25,1966 at the age of 81. He formerly resided at 810 N. John street, McHenry. (Taken from Piaindealer file of 1965. Mr. Goodman died June 25,1966) The PlaindealerJ^-tangest time subscriber, CHester Goodman, walked inti the office last Thursday aftdrnoon to renew his paper for another year. It was the seventy\[jrst time he had performed the same Service, starting with his initial visit to the office when he was a small boy of 9 in 1894. On March 31 of this year he will mark his eightieth birthday anniversary. Professor F.M. Goodman moved with his family to McHenry that year after being attracted to the wooded area just south of what is now the McHenry Country club. Mr. Goodman, a druggist and dean of the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy for almost a quarter of a century, was riding down the river in his boat when he detected the lovely wooded spot he decided at once would become the family home. It was only a short time later that he purchased part of the Owen farm and built the first home in that section - a tally two and one-half story structure which has recently been oc cupied by the Leibach family. Chester Goodman was a boy of 9 when he moved here with his parents, one brother and one sister. As he grew older, it was his responsibility to drive his father by horse and buggy the train, where he commuted to Chicago daily. His vivid i;ecollection of the year 1899 was a bit of winter which found the temperatures dipping to 35 and 36 below zero. His first visit to the Plain- dealer office was to pay the founder of the paper, J.Van- Slyke, $1.50 for a year's sub scription. Chester still chuckles as he remembers how Mr. Van Slyke expressed his need for the money as he dashed out the door and down the street to meet an obligation of his own. Memories include other Piaindealer publishers. Charles Schoonemaker, Frank Schreiner and A.H. Mosher. He also admits to subscribing to the opposition newspaper published by Andrew O. Rupp, during the few years it was in operation. It was some sixteen years after the Goodman residence was built that two of.the homes were constructed51 in the surrounding area. The road which still runs from Green street to the Goodman home was opened before the turn of the century and it was the .obligation of the new owners to see that it was gravelled and kept in condition for travel. The Goodman home was sold a number of years ago, after which Chester Goodman moved into the smaller residence nearby. He continued to act as caretaker for many in the area, a service he has provided for almost a half century. Some of the wooded area which first attracted Professor F.M. Goodman to McHenry more than seventy years ago has disappeared to make way for a growing population. Memories remain, however, at least for the one man who has watched more closely than anyone else (Taken from Piaindealer files of 1935) During the first year if its existence the Piaindealer had a small group of subscribers in this vicinity which grew rapidly as the people began to ap preciate more and more the service and advantages of having a weekly newspaper. The record for receiving the Piaindealer for the grestest number of years at one address is difficult to determine. Among the oldest is Mrs. C.S.' Howard, who for the past fifty- eight years has received the paper continuously at the same address, McHenry. Mrs. Howard has been a reader of the paper for sixty years, however, first reading it at the home of a friend and then at school, where it was brought to her by a classmate. Mrs. Howard, as well as her husband, spent their early life at Big Hollow, now known as Grant township and in the days when Volo was called "For- ksville," they began to read the news of McHenry in the Piaindealer. Fifty-eight years ago they came to this city and for fifty- seven years Mrs. Howard has lived in the same house on Waukegan street. ' Mr. Howard died twenty years ago. Mrs. Howard, who is a life subscriber to the paper, has had many dreams unrealized during the passing years, one of them being to travel, but she states that she never got far ther than about ten or twelve miles from home. In addition to receiving the paper herself, Mrs. Howard pays for two other sub scriptions, one to her son, Gilbert, and one to her grand son. Kenneth Howe. Among the oldest subscribers to the Piaindealer is the James B. Perry family who for sixty ye§/s have been interested reader of our columns. Long before the first issue of the local paper was published Mr. Perry was established in McHenry, coming here soon after the Civil war. The paper is still read with interest in old surroundings by a daughter of James B. Perry, Mrs. Agnes Grout of Waterloo, la. the many changes which have taken place. Among the early subscribers of the Piaindealer are J.H. Freund of Seattle, Wash., who states that; his family was among the first subscribers to the paper and continued their subscription even after leaving this locality. Mr. Freund came here from Germany with "his parents in 1850 and lived at Johnsburg until in 1881 he moved toisSpringfield. In 1906 they moved to Seattle, Wash., where he was engaged in^ construction work until he retired six years ago. Then there is N.M. Freund of St. Louis, Mo., who has sub scribed for the Piaindealer for fifty-four years and who states that he will continue to be a -subscriber until his call to eternity. Progress We were the first to introduce an internal communication system utilizing the push-button dial ing concept. The push-button dialing station using a central switching mechanism gives unlim ited expansion possibilities and flexibility to all systems. Scan-Am's service technicians are all fully trained in the installation and servicing of every thing we sell, and our record in this field cannot be surpassed. We are proud of our record in serving all our customers in the best possible way. We believe we have succeeded in developing a personal responsiveness to individual customer's problems. Without customers, our business would cease to exist. May we analyze your operation to suggest opportunities how we at Scan-Am may improve your internal communications. Utilizing our 16 years of experience and your suggestions could be the beginning of a more ef ficient means of internal communications for your organization. "SERVING THE GREATER CHICAGOLAND AREA Printing 29 Years In Business SINCE 1959" Flat bed press used before change to offset printing. SCAN-AM 1705 S. RTE. 31 McHENRY, ILL. FOR INFORMATION CALL 385-3499 _ Ray Hughes and Lee Sawdo, full of ambition and desire for success, started their electrical contracting business from scratch, using their home garage as a base of operations. When their business increased it was decided to rent store space on Main St., then they started to sell appliances, where in 1952 Gene Adams became a partner and took charge of the appliances. As their business increased and they needed more display room, a new building was planned and construction completed on Front Street in 1963. They have enjoyed a very successful trade at this location for the past 12 years. I