Centralia Now May 2014 by Mt Vernon Register-News

May 2014

Fireside Employee Grateful for Family Haley Eye Infirmary Rec Center Offers Expanded Services

Andy Kindleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Legacy Locust Street Historical Fair Annual Coin Show

Centralia

contents Features

Fireside Employee 8

Eye Clinic

12 Rec Center

Services Expand

16 TV Sports

Producer

20 Coin Show

from the cover Andy Kindleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Emmy

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May 2014

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Employee

grateful Fireside family for

Story by Nancy Jordan Picard

In 1981, Karen Webb’s father was diagnosed with spine cancer. He was 48-years-old and had seven children. At the time of his diagnosis, the cancer had already spread to his lungs and bones. He told his daughter Karen, “You are going to have to help your mother out.” Then he died three weeks later. Karen was still in high school. Karen began working at Fireside Nursing Home through the school work program at 15-years-old. At 16 she quit school and began working there full time in order to help her family out. The administrator placed her in the laundry department. 4

May 2014

Through the years she has worked in laundry, housekeeping, dietary, social services and marketing. She remains in social services and marketing today. When Dave Eiffert was administrator and learned that Karen had quit school at a very young age to help her mom out he wanted to help. He made her go back to school. He knew she needed to get her driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s license. He taught her how to drive. She obtained her G.E.D. She still calls him dad and is grateful for the influence he had in her life. Though she left once to work at Little Fuse for nine months, she soon realized that Fireside was her home. She missed it dearly and will be forever grateful that she was able to return. Karen states that she has been at Fireside so long that some of her one time co-workers are now residents of the facility. No doubt, much of the success of this 98 bed facility has been due to her hard work. She states they provide excellent care and everyone from staff to residents are treated like family. They have a low turnover rate due to their skilled management. They are truly people caring about people. Their Homeward Bound Program helps people to recover from injury or illness. They state that this program helps rebuild hope, confidence, selfrespect and gives people a desire to achieve their highest level of independence. They work together to enhance the quality of life so that patients can return home sooner. May 2014

They provide pain management and therapy programs that teach techniques of adaptation. Karen is very proud of the difference this program can make in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. She understands the concept of what it means to a family to have their loved one returned to them with

the ability to cope with whatever their circumstances may be. Fireside was built in 1965. It has provided services to families in need for many years. It has provided steady jobs in the community. Karenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own mother, Frances Webb, worked there for some time in housekeeping. Her sister Kim has worked there also. Karen says she feels so blessed that the current administrator, Kathy Burke, is also her friend. She feels it has been a great privilege to meet so many elderly people. They do many things to give back to the community. They facilitate Bingo for Plaza Verde and provide gifts for the winners. They do health fairs and help educate the community in their area of expertise. Karen is an inspiration for all of us. She sets a great example in hard work and dedication to her job and her family. She has a grateful spirit. Most of all she shows us that we can survive even the most tragic circumstances. Perhaps this, more than anything else, is why she lives her life in service to the healing of people and families.

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May 2014

formula for

healing

Story by Nancy Jordan Picard

The word, Trachoma, use to instill fear and panic into people. If it is left untreated it will cause blindness. Rucleff D. Haley was a pharmacist who invented a “secret formula” which he dispensed and proclaimed as a cure for the then rampant eye disease known as trachoma. In 1857 he established The Haley Eye Infirmary in St. Louis, Mo. He shared this secret formula with one other man. His name was Charles W. Laybourn who had been a co-partner in St. Louis. Trachoma had become endemic in Southern Illinois. Before Rucleff Haley died he gave Charles Laybourn exclusive rights to his product. He had been issued a patent for the “secret formula” which became called the Haley eye remedies. Mr. Haley May 2014

had been dead for two years when Charles Laybourn established the Haley eye infirmary in Centralia. He wanted to help the people in Southern Illinois and the railroad provided easy transportation to Centralia. He considered Centralia as a prime location to treat many 9

people who were suffering with trachoma. So in 1912 hope arrived and miracles were performed using Haley’s remedy and many people proclaimed, “I was blind but now I see.” The place chosen for the infirmary was a mansion built in 1869 as the residence of the Kohl family. Mr. Kohl was the town’s leading banker.

The address is 408 West Second Street and today is called The Eye Clinic. The history of the clinic is a remarkable story that the people who work there today are still proud of. In time Charles Laybourn was joined by the first real doctor to work in the clinic. His name was Dr. Harry O. Williams. The two of

them became known nationwide as running an infirmary that was curing people who had suffered many years with trachoma. Then in 1940 Dr. Max Hirschfelder joined the practice and worked with Dr. Williams until Dr. Williams retired in 1954. Dr. Williams was still using the secret formula when Dr. Hirshfelder entered the practice. Because he was a partner, Dr. Hirschfelder was given the formula which patients called the powder. In the early days, patients were treated with this powder three times a day and then told to put black strap molasses in their eyes before going to bed. By the time Dr.Hirschfelder arrived, other agents were being used to treat trachoma so he never used the secret formula himself. Dr. Hirschfelder worked at the clinic for forty three years and witnessed great changes in the treatment of eye diseases. He May 2014

led the Haley Eye Infirmary into one of the leading ophthalmological practices in Southern Illinois. Dr. Hirschfelder was a native of Germany. He was also a Jew who was a victim of racism during the Hitler Regime. His family escaped before the Holocaust. The sounds and sights that he loved as a child in his homeland were deeply entrenched into his heart and he never forgot them. Though America gave him great opportunities, in his mind he often revisited the precious memories he cherished as a boy in Munich. Dr. Hirschfelder often thought of the family he left behind. His uncle, Dr. Isidor Hirschfelder, took his own life due to Nazi persecution. Dr. Max Hirschfelder and his two sons put forth great effort to make sure that the world never forgets what was done to them and tried to ensure that nothing like the horror of those days ever happens again. Dr. Hirschfelder died at 93 years of age. He was remembered as one of the best known members of Centralia’s medical community. Dr. Hirschfelder always felt close to Centralia and was involved in many of Centralia’s organizations. He made great strides in helping advance the treatment for eye disease. Although he suffered greatly because of his religion, he used his life to heal others. He was probably one of the last men to see the “secret formula” used. The railroad has brought so many opportunities and so much success to Centralia as a town. It is the reason Centralia was chosen as the location to open the Haley Eye infirmary. The infirmary is the reason that a great man such as Dr. Hirschfelder graced our community and called Centralia home. Maybe the next time we are sitting at the railroad tracks waiting for the train to pass and looking at the clock, we should remember this. Take these opportunities that allow us these few precious moments to reflect on the past and how far we have come since the days of blindness before the “secret formula” came to town. May 2014

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Rec Center

expands services Story by Rick Hayes

May 2014

Expansion of its current program offerings is in the works at the Centralia Recreation Complex following an agreement reached between the City of Centralia and the Centralia Foundation. May 2014

According to Sonya Germann, facility director at the Rec Center, programs previously offered by the City of Centralia are now being administered by the Rec Center, its 11-member board and the Foundation. The Centralia Recreation Complex opened in October 1995 and the Foundation helped raise the money to build the facility. “We had a big change in January. We went into an agreement with the City of Centralia. They have hired us to staff all of their programs,” Germann said. The agreement includes activities softball, baseball, T-ball, flag football, men’s slowpitch softball, girls high school softball and summer camps, which include baseball, tennis, disc golf and T-ball. “Something new we’re going to start this summer is a horseshoe league, volleyball league and we’re in the process right now of having some Bocce ball courts built,” Germann said. “We’re hoping to get them 13

built this summer and start next fall.” She added, “We’re starting a lot of new programs in conjunction with the city and also continuing the ones we have here.” Those activities include basketball, indoor soccer, summer swim team, etc. “We believe this agreement with the city is a real positive move. Its’ going to do away with any duplication of services. We’re pretty excited about that and so is the city,” Germann said. Under the same type of agreement, the Rec Center has provided staffing needs at the municipal swimming pool the past two years at Fairview Park. That arrangement will continue this summer, Germann said. “We’ve done so well there that is one of the reasons the city decided to let us do all of their programming,” she said, adding, “The first year we’re going to operate everything under status quo but if we, for example, see that one of the camps doesn’t have the numbers that is should, then we’re not going to offer it. You have to look at every program that’s out there. If it’s going to be feasible to run it, we’re going to keep doing it.” One of the programs that has been dumped by the Rec Center previously under the city’s umbrella is the outdoor soccer program. Germann said that program has been turned over to the local soccer club. The expansion includes programs for seniors, such as the horseshoe and 14

volleyball leagues as well as Bocce ball. “There’s not much out there in the way of programming for adults. We’ve always done good with the kids, but the adults have kind of been shafted. That’s why we’re going to do a sand volleyball league, horseshoes and Bocce ball to give them a different kind of recreation,” Germann said, adding that will go hand in hand with improvements made at Fairview Park. She estimated the sand volleyball league may start by the end of May and the horseshoe league in early June, weather permitting. “It’s been a win-win so far,” Germann

analyzed. “It’s increased our workload. The collaboration between the city and the complex has been great. The more programs we can collaborate with the better off we are, whether it be the hospital, the city or whomever. We have to do that to survive.” Germann said when the Foundation was organized, it was their goal to erect the building with the city rec department and the YMCA providing programming. “Shortly after we opened our doors, the YMCA folded. We started slowly taking over and offering more programs,” Germann said.

May 2014

The Foundation remains the owners of the complex. “We still go to them for approval of budget items or any capital improvements. The Rec Center Board does the month-to-month things like hours of operation and monthly expenses,” Germann said. The Rec Center offers basketball, a walking/jogging track, fitness room, competitive swimming pool with a 130-foot water slide and leisure pool, whirlpool/spa, youth room with video games and a big-screen television, locker rooms and a conference center for meetings, receptions and parties. The center also serves as the host for the CRCY Barracudas swim team. Swim lessons and water exercise programs are also offered. The annual budget of $500,000 helps funds the programs, maintenance and staffing needs. Germann said the complex averages between 37 to 47 employees — most of them in the high school to college age range, with a peak of about 60 employees during the summer months. Hours of operation are typically 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Citizens wishing to participate in any of the programs offered by the Rec Center are encouraged to call 532-3214 to register.

May 2014

Hometown Legend

Story by Rick Hayes

Beloved by his hometown of Central City and admired by his colleagues, television producer Andy Kindle died before many of his ideas came to fruition.

May 2014

Kindle spent 14 years with CBS Sports and 10 years at Fox Sports as a sports producer, earning 18 Emmy awards. He died in March 2007, just days shy of his 61st birthday, at his home in Tampa. Kindle was a 1964 graduate of Centralia High School and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1995. He was born in St,. Louis and his family moved to Central City when he was 10. Following graduating, he served in the U.S. Navy, including a tour in Vietnam. After his military service ended he attended Kaskaskia College and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where he graduated in 1972. After graduation, Kindle moved to Tampa, Fla., to produce sports programming for a local television station. In 1980 he went to work for CBS Sports where he produced and May 2014

directed sporting events including World Cup skiing, World Speed Skating Championship, the Pan American Games, the Tour de France, the Olympics, NCAA basketball, the NBA playoffs and the Super Bowl XXVI halftime segment. One of the Emmy’s he earned — for the 1992 NCAA basketball tournament — was donated to CHS. In 1994, Kindle went to Fox Sports and continued directing NFL games. He also had his own company, IAG Entertainment, that developed children’s programs 17

and programs for the Discovery Channel and the Travel Channel. Locally, Kindle was instrumental in the planning of a National High School Basketball Hall of Fame, in saving Trout Gym and locating the Hall of Fame in the historic gymnasium. “He orchestrated the 100-year celebration of the history of Centralia Orphans basketball at Trout Gym in 1996,” said CHS booster and Hall of Famer Butch Border. “It was an impressive ceremony, as he had them turn out the lights and had everyone turn on flashlights, as if it were a closing ceremony for the Olympics,” Border added. “He was in the process of reestablishing the journalism class at Centralia High School. It was too expensive for the small number of students who were going to take it. He was going to put the money up to get that started again,” Border said. “He was also wanting to restart the school newspaper to give the kids a background in journalism. He was trying to get that re-established, but when he went, those ideas went with him.” He added, “He was really, really proud of his hometown of Central City. I went with him to a school assembly at the school. He spoke to the kids and showed them his Emmy. After his talk, everyone of them came up to shake his hand and looked at that Emmy. That was really nice.” The townspeople have erected several signs at the city’s entrances, honoring one of their favorite sons. One of Kindle’s major accomplishments was directing the famous Fog Bowl playoff game in Chicago between the Bears and Eagles on Dec. 31, 1988. “He was so good at his job, something like that out of the ordinary, didn’t bother him a bit,” said Butch Border of Centralia. “It must have been a nightmare, but Andy held that game together, shooting it ground level and making him a part of football history,” said Bob Fishman, a longtime CBS Sports senior director, quoted in a Tampa (Fla.) Tribune article, shortly after Kindle’s death. In a 1989 interview with the Tribune, Kindle recalled the challenge of the Fog Bowl and a blizzard that May 2014

dropped 18 inches of flakes on a Packers-Tampa Bay Bucs game. “Now that I’ve directed a historymaking fog bowl and a historymaking snow bowl, what’s next? The earthquake bowl?” he said. “He was always upbeat and happy and always had a smile,” Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports said in the same article. He added, “(Andy) was always looking to get better at his craft, and he never was satisfied with the ordinary. He wanted to make the visual experience better for the viewers.” In a letter to Kindle’s son, Ryan, a colleague of CBS paid tribute to Andy shortly after his death. “Newcomers were showered with ridicule and contempt. Andy was never that way. He treated us all with respect and showed appreciation for whatever we had to offer. You cannot teach that to someone; it was part of the very fabric by which Andy lived his life,” wrote David Blatt. “I’ll always remember your father as a serene man, a polite man, a gifted man, and as the unassuming owner of a sneaky sense of humor.” Border said he witnessed Kindle’s presence around others firsthand. “In 2006 when the Cardinals won the World Series. I picked him up at the airport and we went to the game. Before the game, he took me through all the Fox trailers. Here came Tim McCarver and Joe Buck. They both stopped and shook his hand. I was able to present Sandy Grossman (longtime Fox director) with a T-shirt and hat of 100 years of Orphans’ basketball. I was just in awe,” Border said. He added, “Two or three times he took me to St. Louis Rams football games. It was probably one of the best moments in my life. Here he is, sitting at the end of the trailer, and there are 12 or 13 TV’s in front of him. While you’re watching an NFL program at home, he’s making the choice of what you see. It was like nothing. I don’t know how he did it,” Border said, adding that Fox employees would surround Kindle at Mike Shannon’s restaurant, expressing their gratitude for his work. “I guess he’s one of the best they ever had, according to them. They all loved to work for him. He was a nononsense type of guy,” Border said. May 2014

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Annual

COIN SHOW

Story by Nancy Jordan Picard

Sunday, May 18, 2014 9 a.m.-4 p.m. It is almost time for the fourth annual coin show in Centralia. The show brings in about thirty dealers from Ill., Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky. It is the largest coin show South of Springfield and is free to the public. Dealers will be buying, selling and trading!

Roy Kuester is the chairman of the coin show. He is also the owner of Roy’s Coins shop in Centralia. His father was the president of the Centralia Coin Club in the late 1950’s to early 60’s. Roy teamed up with Blake and Dan Griffin, owners of Centralia Coin, Stamps, etc. 20

Together they formed the Centralia Coin Cooperative. Their sole purpose was to enhance the coin collecting hobby and to bring people to Centralia through the annual coin show. Some of the featured items will be U.S. and Foreign Coins, Proof Sets and Mint Sets, Gold and Silver Bullion, Ancient and Modern Coins, May 2014

U.S. and World Paper Money and many other items. Hopefully this year the event will bring even more people to our hometown. Come out and support the event and expand your knowledge of coin collecting! May 2014

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The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood™ .

CENTRALIA COMMUNITY MEMORIAL BLOOD DRIVE Thursday, May 22nd, 2014 • 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Held At: American Legion Post #446 • 117 South Poplar Street • Centralia, Illinois