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Katlyn Sanden
Shannon Serpette
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Katlyn Sanden
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On the cover: Nate Lough gets ready for a curl at X-ercise Science Personal Training and Fitness, located at 830 Harrison St. in Peru, while his workout partner, Tom Makransky, watches. Both of them said they enjoy going to X-ercise Science to take the necessary steps to stay in shape and get stronger.
For several years, Genevieve Cummins was a member of Tiskilwa’s garden group called Garden Friends. One of their responsibilities included keeping the Triangle Garden near Tiskilwa’s West Park looking attractive. SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Golden Years in the Gem of the Valley
Story by Katlyn Sanden
The Gem of the Valley, also known as Tiskilwa, has been home to 17 centenarians, which is a lot for a town with only a population of 750. In addition to the official 17 centenarians, 41 others came close to the title. But what is it about the Gem that is leading people to long lives? Is it truly the environment, or is it something deeper?
For Genevieve Cummins, a 100-yearold Tiskilwa resident, it’s a little bit of both. Although she laughs when she says the real key to a long life is in your genes.
“My aunt lived to be 101, and I had a cousin who lived to 103,” Cummins said.
She was born in a farmhouse on November 24, 1924, and laughs when she recalls her twin sister coming right behind her.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Genevieve Cummins, 100 years old, reminisces about the days when her entire yard was a garden. She also took a lot of pride in these oneof-a-kind rugs she has displayed throughout her home. She remembers making them by hand with her mother when she was a young girl. They’re made out of corduroy and wool materials.
“We were a surprise,” Cummins said. “(Neither) the doctor nor my mom knew we were twins.”
Cummins said she’s led a good life, growing up with her twin sister on the farm. They attended a one-room schoolhouse, and looking back, she can’t believe her teacher would be teaching over 20 children of all different ages at once.
“There’d never been twins in school,” Cummins said. “They were fascinated by us.”
She remembers her high school graduation party at Starved Rock and how that seemed to be the place to go to celebrate big milestones back then. After graduation, she began training to get her cosmetology license and eventually opened her own shop, but when she married Lester Cummins in 1958, she set aside cosmetology to create a family. She remembers discovering her green thumb that first spring she was married.
“I can’t tell you how big it (her garden) was,” Cummins said. “I had 100 tomato plants. I had four rows of potatoes and sweet corn. You name it, I had it in the garden. I did a lot of canning and made my own baby food. My son, Curtis, was born with hydrocephalus.”
Hydrocephalus is a condition where there is an excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain’s fluid-filled spaces. This buildup of fluid causes pressure on the brain.
Cummins remembers hearing the doctors deliver the devastating news that her only son would likely have 3 years at the most. Cummins said there weren’t as many options to help back then as there are today. “He lived much longer than
they (the doctors) ever imagined,” said Cummins. “He lived to be 16. He never talked, but he understood what you’d tell him. He loved songs.”
Cummins believes the fresh garden produce she used for cooking everyday meals helped her son defeat the odds and live much longer than anyone thought possible. She also believes tending a garden for over half her life has kept her in shape and healthy, even at the age of 100.
Cecille Gerber, who ran the Tiskilwa Historical Society for several years, is in awe of Cummins’ ambition to garden, live independently in her own house,
cook her own meals, and do her own house cleaning.
“Just because you work hard doesn’t make you live long, but these people worked into their 90’s,” Gerber said of Cummins and the rest of the Tiskilwa centenarians. “I do think there is a certain amount of people looking out for one another in a small town. History is yesterday, but it’s also 100 years ago. We try to take some inspiration from these people.”
Gerber said she was especially inspired by Cummins’ real-life account of Pearl Harbor. Cummins said the biggest change, in her opinion, over the last 100 years has definitely been in education.
PHOTO BY KATLYN SANDEN
The Tiskilwa Historical Society has a collection of things Genevieve Cummins may have used throughout her life. Growing up on a farm, and then marrying a farmer, Cummins has a fond appreciation of farm life.
There is plenty of room for everyone to accomplish their fitness goals at X-ercise Science Personal Training and Fitness. There are 11 trainers, including X-ercise Science owner John Paul “JP” Ramirez, readily available to help you make the most of the space, the equipment, and the trainer’s experience.
Whether it’s a bar, a chain, a rope, a squat box, a machine, a dumbbell, a bike, a treadmill, or an elliptical, X-ercise Science Personal Training and Fitness has what you need to feel the burn.
Improve Your Life One Workout at a Time
X-ercise Science has the equipment and trainers for a fitness journey
Story & Photos by Brandon LaChance
How often have you gone to an organization or company on a mission to accomplish a goal but turned away because the surroundings weren’t what you expected?
Many different types of establishments can struggle to find the right at-
mosphere to attract and keep clients, including gyms or physical wellness centers.
John Paul “JP” Ramirez and the staff at his gym, X-ercise Science Personal Training and Fitness, pride themselves on their ability to create an environment that helps trainers assist Illinois Valley residents in getting in shape or staying in shape.
“I think people come because we have the combination of the mindset of helping people and the environment.
See X-ERCISE page 8
X-ercise
Both of them have helped with the success we’ve had. We pay attention to detail. It’s also organic in the sense the people we have on staff have been with us for 15 to 20 years. It makes things move fluid and not forced,” Ramirez said.
“Also playing a part is we enjoy what we do and we’re reminded daily of why we’re trainers. It’s part of the reason why we’ve been fortunate up to this point because we have a lot of people like that. We’re in our fourth building now. A lot of it is because of our experience with our clientele. Our members and our trainers have formed a nice environment,” he said. “It’s been great.”
X-ercise Science was formed in 2012 and, after having three locations in the area, the gym is now at 830 Harrison St., Peru. The location holds a staff of approximately 15 and 11 trainers.
Ramirez, who is a 2025 member of the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce’s 40 Under Forty award, had to make a tough decision after
graduating from Putnam County High School and Eureka College, followed by five years of training and managing at Gold’s Gym in Bloomington.
“I was going back and forth of whether I should open in Bloomington, where I was, or back here, where I’m from,” Ramirez said. “We had equipment stored in Bloomington, and we had clients ready to go. Last minute, we decided to move back to the area.”
Now, with clients using his equipment from an hour’s radius of Peru, he knows he made the right decision to bring his physical training experience (now 19 years) and his passion for fitness back home. Having a trainer to assist people in their fitness journey can make all the difference for some clients.
“Having the one-on-one time with a trainer is beneficial. There is the attention to detail. You can look at a magazine and it will tell you to do three sets of 10,” Ramirez said. “What it doesn’t tell you is how your body is moving that day. Range of motion, strengths and weaknesses, energy levels, for that day are all indicators of what you should be doing. Having a trainer helps you optimize all of those factors.”
X-ercise Science offers different supplements to assist your physical fitness goals.
FROM PAGE 7
picks up the bar for an inclined bench press at his gym of choice, X-ercise Science. The gym has a wide selection of machines and free weights to work on all muscles.
Junior “JR” Lemos
Maze Lumber, a Resource for Your Home Projects
To some, Maze Lumber is a secret; to others, it’s a necessity
Story and photos by Brandon LaChance
To some, Maze Lumber is a heavily sought-after resource for many different projects around the house or for outdoor landscaping. Others may not know Maze Lumber, located at 1100 Water St. in Peru, has offered its wide variety of materials for 177 years.
“We definitely take pride in our variety and having something for everyone,” said Maze Lumber Operations Manager Andrew Kreofsky. “We have been here for 177 years, and we’re accidentally a very well-kept secret under the Rt. 251 bridge to the point where there are people who live a few
Maze Lumber has been at 1100 Water Street in Peru for the last 177 years. Founded in 1848 by Samuel Nesbitt Maze, the lumberyard is now owned and operated by the fifth and sixth generations of the family.
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blocks away have no idea we exist. But we have repeat customers on a weekly basis from Somonauk, Pekin, Bloomington, and elsewhere.
“It’s just kind of a funny thing – if you know, you know.”
The variety of Maze’s items can be seen year-round, but spring offers a little something special since the season offers indoor and outdoor options.
“What we love in the spring, we offer a large range of decking, ranging from wood to composite. We can help people redesign their entire deck or simply help by refacing or beautifying it by adding some new stain, putting down new deck boards, or swapping out the railing,” Kreofsky said.
“On top of decking in the spring, we love to offer windows and siding. We have a few different brands of windows to offer in basically any price level people are looking for. It’s the same for our siding. We have vinyl, composite, wood, and stone,” he said. “We do a lot of mixing and matching. We’ll do cedar shake, painted lap siding, and stone all in the same installation to give it a really unique look.”
For your home’s exterior, Maze has what you need to make your yard, walkway, staircase, patio, or gazebo stand out.
“We have a very nice selection of mulch and bulk landscape stone. We have about 10 different decorative rocks,” said Kreofsky. “We have two different types of mulch that we offer. We can deliver anywhere in a 30-mile radius for our landscaping material. We’re surprisingly well known for our mulch and landscaping rock in this area. We have a few semis dropping off more material every week for us. We’re always in very strong supply. We offer delivery for anything
The variety of products offered by Maze Lumber gives you many options to help you find the look you want for your project. Decking could be wood or composite. There are two different types of mulch and 10 different decorative landscaping rocks for the exterior of your home. Plus, there are different selections for bathrooms, kitchens, fireplaces, windows, siding, and more.
and everything we have at Maze.”
Kreofsky, who grew up in Wabasha, Minnesota, and went to college in northern Michigan before relocating near his family in Illinois, is a sixth-generation member of the Maze family that has owned and operated the company after Samuel Nesbitt Maze founded the lumberyard 177 years ago. Since he is in the bloodline, he had to do what each of the other Maze family members had to do –work their way up the ladder.
“I have been in retail since I was a child,” Kreofsky said. “I moved to Peru after college to take a part-time summer job in the lumberyard. It very quickly became an inside sales position, and I just worked my way up the ranks. There is a seventh generation, but they’re currently 7- and 8-year-olds. We’re looking forward to training them and putting them in the right direction to keep the family lumberyard going.”
Steinberg’s Furniture Has Filled Houses Since 1888
Story and photos by Brandon LaChance
When you want to give your home a new look or freshen up a particular room, a quick way to do it is by updating your furniture. And when you’re looking for a piece of furniture, there is always the mission of selecting the “right” piece you’ll be happy with year after year. Steinberg’s Furniture, located at 3025 5th St. in Peru, has helped customers investigate and find their favorite pieces since 1888. The current operators of the store are fourth-generation furniture salesmen and women. Isaac Steinberg, Bruce’s great-grandfather known as I.L., worked in New York and Chicago before finding his way to Spring Valley via the coal mines. In 1888, he opened a furniture store in Spring Valley.
Above: Steinberg’s Furniture originated in Spring Valley in 1888 through the hard work of Isaac “I.L.” Steinberg. Along the way, his sons Maurice and Harry became involved, then their sons, Charlie and Mickey, joined the team, and now the fourth generation of Bruce and Bonnie Steinberg, and Leslie Ruda are working in this family business. The store stayed in Spring Valley until 1976 when a fire forced a move to Peru.
Bruce’s grandfather, Maurice Steinberg, and great uncle, Harry Steinberg, joined their father in the business until the mid-1960s when the store was passed to their sons Charlie and Mickey Steinberg, Bruce’s dad and cousin. Steinberg’s Furniture was located in Spring Valley until a fire destroyed the store in 1976, which forced a relocation to Peru.
Throughout the years, all the Steinberg generations have seemed to have the skill and the passion for matching people with the right piece of furniture for their lifestyle and home.
“That’s our job. Our job is to get them the right furniture with the right look,” said Steinberg’s Furniture owner and manager Bruce Steinberg, who runs and operates the store with his wife Bonnie Steinberg and sister Leslie Ruda. “We need to get them what they want, which is the reason they’re in the store. We’re here for customer service and to get them the right piece.”
The employees at the store do some digging to make sure they’re connecting customers with pieces they’ll love.
“We’re assessing as soon as we meet the customer by asking a lot of questions to get an idea of exactly what they’re looking for. It’s not necessarily quick because we want to get a feel of what they’re looking for by asking them questions. Why are they looking for it? Where are they going to put it? What kind of use is it going to get? Who is in the house? Who is going to use it? From there, we guide them along,” he said.
“It’s a combination of look and price,” said Bruce, who worked in the warehouse and was in the delivery truck in high school before becoming a fixture in 1985, 40 years ago. “Once we get a feel for what they’re looking for, we offer them choices at different price points depending on what their needs are and where they’re at in their lives. Everyone is at a different point. We’re not a high-pressure store. We’re more focused on getting the customer the right piece and making sure it goes together well.” It’s hard to find a piece of furniture that isn’t comfortable at Steinberg’s Furniture. If there is a piece of furniture you want for your house, no matter the room, Steinberg’s Furniture has it. It doesn’t matter the size, the shape, or the color, Steinberg’s offers a lot of variety.
