Otto’s Column

from Oregon_Republican_Reporter-03-04-2022

Oregon Police

LOCAL HISTORY

Ice boxes the norm before the age of ref rigerators

By OTTO DICK

Iremember the refrigerator in my folk’s home around 1940. The refrigerant unit was a globe shaped unit located on top of the refrigerator.

This was given to my parents for being the first customer of electricity on their farm. Electricity was first supplied to cities and communities before it became available to farm areas.

B e f o r e r e f r i g e r a t o r s , c o m m on kitchen appliances were ice boxes. Ice boxes were a compact nonmechanical refrigerator.

They were lined with tin or zinc and insulated with cork, sawdust, straw or seaweed.

Lester Myers owned and operated the Oregon Ice House located on the west side of Rock River. Ice houses w e r e b u i l d i n g s u s e d t o s t o r e i c e throughout the year. Ice was cut from a channel of water starting at the dam up to where Black Hawk Statue is located.

There would be 50 to 75 men and horses out on the ice. The ice would be 15 to 18 inches thick and was cut into pieces 2 feet long and 18 inches wide. A one man saw, 6 feet long, was used to cut the ice. Sleds loaded with ice were pulled by two horses to the ice house.

Homeowners would hang a sign on their screen door so the ice man would know how much ice they needed. If they needed 50 pounds of ice, they hung the sign with the 50 on top.

Later, the Oregon locker plant was where the Super Value parking lot is now located. Each person had their own locker.

Two of the first home refrigerators were General Electric in 1911 and Frigidaire in 1915. These two types of refrigerators were driven by belts attached to motors located in the basement or adjoining room. In the 1950s, advanced technology brought automatic defrost and automatic ice makers.

Come see an ice box and the ice man sign at the Ogle County Historical Society’s museum in Oregon at the corner of Franklin and North Sixth

Photos provided by Otto Dick CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Two women deliver ice during World War II. Lester Myers’ ice house was located on the west side of the Rock River. This ice box is on display at the Ogle County Historical Society.

streets. • Otto Dick is a retired teacher and has researched Ogle County history for several years.

SPECIAL EVENT

Oregon in 1945 to be the topic at Oregon’s “Those Were the Days”

“Those Were the Days” will resume 2022 sessions beginning on March 26 at 10 a.m. at the Oregon Depot Museum.

The program goes back to “Those Days,” so how about 1945 in downtown Oregon?

“Dick Feibel, a lifelong friend of mine, grew up at 208 N. Fifth St., next door to what was then the Farrell Funeral Home,” organizer Chris Martin said. “As a grammar school boy after school and often on the weekends, he would head downtown and just hang out at the retail stores. He knew all of the merchants and most of their employees. In fact, as a young teenager he worked for several of these merchants.

“So, be a part of this downtown experience. We hope that you will join us at the Oregon Depot Museum for “A Walk Through Downtown Oregon in 1945.”

“Dick has a fabulous memory, maybe even in Technicolor!” Martin said.

Most of Feibel’s working years were with Sears, managing several departments at their regional shopping mecca on North Main Street in Rockford.

“Dick later shared his Sears experience with several Sears operations in California. This is a story of its own!” Martin said,

For information on the “Those Were the Days” programs, call Otto Dick 815-440-0639, Roger Cain at 815-757-9715 or Martin at 815-742-8471.

IN THE CLASSROOM

OHS teacher is f inalist for Illinois Teacher of Year

OREGON – Oregon High School Spanish teacher Kimberly Radostits has been nominated as a finalist for this year’s Illinois Teacher of the Year award. The OHS staff planned a surprise announcement in Radostits’ classroom. Several former students came or sent videos congratulating her.

The OHS staff got her balloons, flowers and a cake.

Also present were School Board President Bryan Wills, OHS Superintendent Tom Mahoney, as well as Regional Superintendent Chris Tennyson.

Radostits is one of the 10 Regional Teachers of the Year and will be competing for the Illinois State Teacher of the Year later this spring. The annual Teacher of the Year program honors incredible classroom educators who have made lasting impacts on the students, families and fellow educators in their school communities.

Radostits began impacting students’ lives at OHS as a teacher in 2007. She achieved National Board Certification in 2011. From this, she has had the opportunity to write articles, present at conferences, provide professional development on technology to her colleagues, write curriculum, design courses, take her students abroad and help plan numerous school events.

In addition to teaching, she has been one of the facilitators of Oregon’s award-winning Hawks Take Flight program and New Teacher Academy. Additionally, she is one of the moderators of an online professional network for Spanish Teachers with more than 13,000 members. Her students affectionately call her Ms. Rad out of appreciation.

“Ms. Rad is always asking how she can help with school problems and even issues at home,” said OHS freshman, Christian Selden-Rodriguez, who sent the letter nominating Ms. Radostits. “No matter who you are, Ms. Rad will care for you. She is always looking for ways to improve the lives of her students and her teaching methods.”

Following is Selden-Rodriguez’s letter:

To Whom it May Concern;

My name is Christian Selden-Rodriguez. I am a freshman at Oregon High School in Oregon, IL. I am writing this letter of recommendation for one of the best teachers ever, Ms. Radostits (or Ms. Rad, as we all call her).

You can almost always tell the reason why a teacher is teaching. Some teachers come off as not engaged with their students and do not seem to love their job. Some teachers choose their profession because of their love of the subject they teach. Others love to help kids in need, Ms. Rad teaches for both of those things with the most passion I have ever seen. She steps into the room with an aura of love and fun every single day. I have not felt like I am safe and cared for by a teacher like this ever in my entire school career.

Ms. Rad is always asking how she can help with school problems and even issues at home. No matter who you are, Ms. Rad will care for you. She is always looking for ways to improve the lives of her students and her teaching methods. There is never a dull moment in her classroom. You can tell that she looks forward to coming to school every day. 100% of the time she has her students engaged in the topic at hand. Not only is she good at keeping us paying attention, but she also teaches in a very digestible manner and no kid is left behind in her class.

Ms. Rad shows nothing but love and respect to everyone in her class, no matter what background you have. You always hear her name being brought up when it comes to teachers who are amazing and helpful. School has never been a safe place until she became my teacher.

I know that I can come to her whenever I need help with anything. It is easy to tell that she truly loves teaching; there is really never a moment where she is not up and ready to go. She treats every student as if they were her own. She is also the teacher that is so approachable. This is why I think Ms. Rad is the best teacher.

Kimberly Radostits (right) is a finalist for this year’s Illinois Teacher of the Year award. She was surprised by OHS Principal Heidi Deininger (left) during one of her classes.

Photo provided