Henry Mattison lived on an island in the Rock River

Mattison was a caretaker for Wallace Heckman who owned Fuller Island and Lowden State Park land

By OTTO DICK

While researching Margaret Fuller’s visit to Oregon, I learned that in 1920 Henry Mattison and his bride lived in a tent on Fuller Island.

Henry was caretaker for Wallace Heckman, who owned the island and the land where Lowden Park and Northern Illinois Taft Campus are now located.

When it was time for their daughter, Margaret, to be born, he took his wife, Hazel, by boat and then to her parent’s house on North Sixth Street.

Before working for Heckman, Henry fell off a barn while working on the Fossler farm in Rockvale Township. He fell a distance of 14 feet. He received care at the Dixon Hospital and this is where he met his future wife, nurse Hazel Lindsay.

In 1949, Dr. Leslie A. Homes, president of Northern Illinois University, chose the former Eagle’s Camp property located north of Taft’s famous Eternal Indian statue for development of a field campus.

NIU professor Paul Harrison was director of Taft Field Campus. Con - tractor Henry Mattison and NIU students from the Industry and Technology Department worked on the neglected and abandoned buildings, transforming vacation cottages to year-round buildings.

Marilyn’s father, Don Mattison, worked with Henry and Paul Harrison with the NIU students. The Taft Campus expanded from the original 66 acres to 141 acres.

As I noted, he worked as a caretaker while living on Fuller Island in a tent. He finished his work career as a very successful well-known contractor.

Henry and Charlie Mongan were the two main contractors in this area for many years.

Many of the homes in the Zephyr subdivision were designed and built by Henry Mattison. His houses were one story with hip designed roofs with no gables. These homes were built without power tools. Henry dug the basement with a tractor.

The concrete was then wheeled from the mixer in wheelbarrows and dumped into the wood forms. It was not an easy job shoveling the gravel, sand and concrete into the mixer.

Henry lived on North Sixth Street. Later he built a large house with a three-car garage in Daysville.

Henry’s father, J. C. Mattison, a partner in the Becker and Mattison lumber company, built the Frank Lloyd style home located at 600 N. Fourth St. in Oregon. The Mattison family consisting of J.C., Henry and Don, my father-in-law, were in the construction business in Oregon from the late 1800s to 1991.

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

DAVID M. STENGER

Born: October 17, 1949 in Peoria, IL

Died: April 25, 2023 in Rockford, IL

Oregon, IL – David M. Stenger, age 73, died peacefully on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 surrounded by his loving family. He was born October 17, 1949 in Peoria, IL the son of Joseph and Mary (Kelch) Stenger. He graduated from Bergan High School in Peoria, IL in 1967 and from the University of Illinois in 1972 with a degree in Forestry. After moving to Oregon, he married Shirley Schiller on December 28, 1974 in Chicago, IL. Dave and Shirley settled in Oregon where they have

GLORIA (STOUFFER) HARTLE

Born: November 6, 1938

Died: April 30, 2023

On Sunday, April 30, Gloria (Stouffer)

Hartle, loving wife, mother, grandmother & great grandmother suddenly but peacefully passed away.

Gloria was born Nov.

6, 1938 in Polo, IL to Esther & Harold Stouffer. She married Herman Hartle on May 19, 1956 and raised 3 loving daughters.

Gloria was preceded in death by her father Harold, mother Esther, sister ShirleyAnn and brother Wayne.

She is survived by her husband Herman; daughters: Cindy Plac (Reggie), granddaughters Amanda Reed (Ryan), Alyssa Plac, Ashley Shearrow (Caleb) and Allison Plac; Peggy Flerick, granddaughters Nicole Flerick, Andria Corlew (Carl) , great-grandchildren Makena, Addison, Declan and Kenneth-John; Jacqueline Carmody (Kyle), great-grandchildren Colton, Corbin, Charlie & Joelle; Julie Borgmann (Dave), grandchildren, KelliAnn Baker, Nicholas Baker, Alec Anderson, and great-grandchildren Kathryn, Lillian, and Aria Gloria was an active member of the West Branch Church of the Brethren for 60 years lived ever since. Dave spent 37 years as the manager of Sinnissippi Forest Tree Farm, acting as a boss and life mentor for hundreds of local youth over both the summer shearing and winter harvest seasons until his retirement in 2009. During his career, one of Dave’s great honors was to serve on the National Christmas Tree Association Board for 10 years, including 2 years as National President. Through his time serving on the NCTA Board, Dave built lifelong friendships with fellow Christmas tree growers from across the country.

Dave also deeply loved and served his local community. He was an active member of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, the Oregon-Nashua Township Board, and the Oregon Lion’s Club for 34 years where he served in several offices including a recent tenure as President. Throughout his life, Dave was an avid outdoorsman, gardener, hunter, and fisherman. He spent 21 years guiding the annual Sinnissippi Farm Deer Hunts on what is today the Lowden-Miller State Forest, followed by many years with his son on annual deer hunts on their property in Brown County IL. Dave was a passionate fan of the Illini, Cubs, and Bears and organized many memorable tailgates over the years. He loved traveling to see new places, from road trips across the Midwest, to fishing trips in Canada, to cruises across Europe and Alaska. As much as Dave loved to travel, he was right at home spending time with his kids and grandkids “in the country”.

He was preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Mary Stenger, brother Tom Stenger, and sister Karen Baglieri. He is survived by his wife of 48 years Shirley; daughter Melissa (Jonathon) Mudge of Menomonee Falls, WI; and Jeremy (Ashley) Stenger of Wilmette, IL; 5 grandchildren: Ben, Luke, and Molly Mudge, and Tripp and Sienna Stenger. A funeral Mass for Dave will be held 10:30 am Monday, May 1, 2023 at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Oregon, IL with the Rev. Joseph Naill officiating. Visitation will be held from 2-5 PM Sunday, April 30, 2023 at the Farrell-Holland-Gale Funeral Home, 110 S. 7th Street in Oregon, IL. Burial will take place after the Funeral Mass at the Daysville Cemetery near his long-time home outside of Oregon. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a local charity of your choice or to the American Cancer Society in Dave’s name (https://raiseyourway.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive. personalCampaign&participantID=9089). Visit www.farrellhollandgale.com to leave a condolence or memory of Dave. and was a Sunday school teacher. She then transferred to the Mount Morris Church of the Brethren. She was an active member of the Mt Morris Loyal Order of the Moose and the U of I Home Extension of Ogle County. She also worked at Hough Hardware store and Pinecrest, among other local employers

Gloria loved nature and all of the animals God placed on this earth, especially her pet dogs, cats, birds, squirrels, raccoons and 1 owl. She was an avid reader and loved arts & crafts, and in particular making handmade wreaths and freezing butterflies.

She took the most pride and pleasure from being with her daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren – she will always be fondly remembered as “Grandma-Merry-GoRound.”

Funeral services will be held on Saturday May 6, 2023 at 11:30 A.M. in the Mt. Morris Church of the Brethren, with Rev. Rodney Caldwell officiating. A private family burial will be held in Oakwood Cemetery, Mt. Morris, IL. Visitation will be held on Saturday May 6, 2023 from 10:00 A.M. until service time in the Brethren Church.

In lieu of flowers, the Family asks that you make a donation to “Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue” Foundation” at Donkeyrescue.org, and/or the “One Tail at a Time” dog rescue at onetail.org in her name.

She was so loved and will be missed by all.

Kenneth Edward Guentert

Born: October 6, 1948 in South Bend, IN

Died: December 25, 2022 in Portland, ME

Kenneth Guentert passed away on December 25th, 2022 at Falmouth by the Sea. He was born in South Bend, IN, to Frank and Arlene Guentert, the eldest of 6 children. The family moved to Oregon, IL and Ken moved back to South Bend to attend Holy Cross Seminary and then to the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1970. He worked for U.S. Catholic publishing and other related activities until he moved to San Jose, CA in 1987 to work for Resource Publications. He met his wife Carole and married her in San Jose in 1987. They moved to Colorado Springs in 2002 and established The Publishing Pro, a company that would aid others in getting books published. He thoroughly en-

Henry Jerome Huenefeld

Born: January 9, 1959

Died: April 11, 2023

Henry Jerome Huenefeld, 64, of Forreston, passed away, Tuesday April 11, 2023.

Henry was born January 9, 1959, the son of Fredrick and Betty (Gerloff) Huenefeld. He attended Leaf River High School. After graduation, Henry went into the Army, receiving an honorable discharge. Henry was active in the American Legion and various other Legion affiliated programs. He was always offering help to anyone who needed it. He loved joyed Toastmasters, Intl and helped others in the club. In 2021 they moved once again to Portland, ME after seeing a TV program called Cabin Masters and Carole became homesick for her native state. It was at about this time that Ken was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He fought the disease from that point until his death on Christmas morning 2022. Ken discovered during genealogical research that his grandmother had been Jewish. He studied Judaism and Hebrew and he decided to become Jewish himself. He considered himself to be Jewish and attended services at Shaarey Tphiloh Synagogue in Portland. performing at local football games. He will be missed. Henry is surviving by his mother, Betty; daughter, Valerie (Adam Sutton) Huenefeld; stepson, Jason (Kristin) Kauffman; grandson, Miles Huenefeld; granddaughters, Erinna Kauffman, Ericka Kauffman and Lola Sutton; great grandson, Jason Gorell; four brothers, and three sisters. Also surviving are many nieces and nephews.

Ken was predeceased by his parents and his brother Thomas. He is survived by his wife Carole, daughters Amy and Erin, his sister Gloria, brother Tim, sisters Catherine and Donna Jo. Funeral services will be held graveside at Pine Grove Cemetery in Waterville, ME on Monday, May 8th at 11 am. The family requests that you so choose you consider donations to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Arrangements by Portland Jewish Funeral Home.

Henry was preceded in death by his father; brothers, Paul and Fredrick Jr.; and sisters, Sue and Nancy. A memorial service was held at noon Saturday April 29, 2023, at Burke Tubbs Funeral Home, Forreston. Visitation was from 10:00am until the time of service. In lieu of flowers a memorial has been established in Henry’s memory. Please visit www. burketubbs.com to share a memory of Henry.