Library News

2 POLO TRI-COUNTY PRESS BE AT POLO TRI-COUNTY PRESS TRI-COUNTY PRESS TRI-COUNTY oglecountynews.com ShawLocal.com OFFICE 113-115 Peoria Ave. Dixon, IL 61021 Tri-County Press / ShawLocal.com • Friday, Aug 26, 2022 815-732-6166, ext. 2592 SUBSCRIPTIONS $39 in Ogle County, and $52 outside Ogle County. Single-copy price is $1 To subscribe, make a payment or discuss your delivery, call 815-732-6166, ext. 2518, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday or send an email to subscriptions@ oglecountynews.com. You also can subscribe online by going to oglecountynews.com and clicking on Subscribe. CLASSIFIED SALES classified@shawlocal.com HELP WANTED employment@shawlocal.com LEGAL NOTICES Children’s Programs Storytime, Saturday Aug. 27, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., come join with Ms. Melanie at the library for a story read and tye dye day. Please register for this event, limited supply of materials will be available. For more information or to register for this program, call 815-946-2713, email melaniew@ pololibrary.org, go to the Polo Library website or Facebook page to look for the Google form link. Adult Programs 2022 Outdoor Concert Series - Join us at the sauklegals@shawlocal.com Polo Library pavilion on Saturday night, Sept. 17, OBITUARIES as we welcome back The Beaux playing your saukobits@shawlocal.com favorite classic rock songs from the 60-90s. Grab Deadline for obituaries is 2 p.m. Tuesday for Friday’s edition a friend and bring your chairs to enjoy the music! The concert will start at 7:00 p.m. and will last SEND NEWS approximately two hours. The 2022 Outdoor news@oglecountynews.com Concert Series is funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.

Coffee & Community Conversations -

Wednesday, Sept. 14 - 10:30 a.m. Head down to the Library for conversations about the things happening in our community. Coffee will be provided, registration is not required.

Craft Night at the Library - Thursday, Sept. 15 - 5:30 p.m. Join join Tiffany, from Weathered & Warren, for a monthly craft night at the Library! Space is limited, call 815-946-2713 or email library@pololibrary.org to register

Yoga with Becka - Monday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. - Call 815-946-2713 or email library@pololibrary. org to register.

Online Catalog - Did you start a series and can’t find the next book? Are you wanting to watch a specific movie? If we don’t have what you’re looking for at Polo Library, visit our online catalog to search other libraries and have it delivered

Exercise with Ronna - Tuesdays at 9 and 10:15 a.m. and Thursdays at 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.

Line Dancing - Sept. 6, 20 at 12:30 p.m.

Birthday Bingo - Sept. 9, 10 a.m.

Sept. 14 - Cooking Demo 11:30 a.m., Italian Bistecca sandwich

Sept. 12 - Breakfast Club meets at Parkway restaurant in Sterling 9:30 a.m.

POLO LIBRARY

right to Polo Library for pick up! Visit pololibrary. org and click on “Books/Media” and “Your Account” to access the online catalog.

Library newsletter - Our newsletter is full of information on library services and programs. Print copies are available at the library, Lifeline Food Pantry, Polo Senior Center, Polo Fresh Food Market, and Polo Laundromat. If you prefer to receive it electronically visit our website and subscribe.

Genealogy Assistance - Are you interested in researching your ancestors but don’t know where to start? Do you have a start and need help with your research? Stop by the first Wednesday 5-7 p.m. or the third Saturday 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and let Donna help with your project. Polo Library is now a FamilySearch Affiliate Library which allows access to more digital records when you’re researching at the library.

Sept. 16 - Lunch Theatre at White Pines Lodge, those who signed up meet at the Pines at 11:20 a.m.

Sept. 16 - Movie Monday 11 a.m. Troop Zero, Jim Gaffigan, Allison Janney, Viola Davis. This is a heartwarming family movie, set in rural Georgia 1977. A misfit girl dreams of life in outer space.

Sept. 21 - 11 a.m. Crafts, The Petal Pushers, Autumn Craft with dried pressed flowers

POLO SENIOR CENTER

Sept. 23 - 11 a.m. PASS Luncheon, Pork Chops, Sweet potatoes with apple, Program TBA

Sept. 26 - 2 p.m. Caregiver Support group for families caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s/ Dementia

The Polo Senior Center is located at 101 E Mason St., in Polo. Call 815-946-3818 for more information.

Publisher Jennifer Heintzelman 815-632-2502 jheintzelman@shawmedia.com

General Manager Earleen Hinton 815-632-2591 ehinton@shawmedia.com

News Alexa Zoellner 815-632-2590 azoellner@shawmedia.com

Advertising Sales Jennifer Heintzelman 815-632-2502 jheintzelman@shawmedia.com

The Tri-County Press, Ogle County News and oglecountynews.com are a division of Shaw Media. Ogle County Newspapers also prints the Mt. Morris Times, Forreston Journal and Oregon Republican Reporter.

The TRI-COUNTY PRESS (USPS No. 638-530) is published weekly by B.F. Shaw Printing Co., Shaw Media. Periodical postage paid at Polo, Illinois. POSTMASTER Send address changes to TRI-COUNTY PRESS, 113 N. Franklin, Polo, IL 61064. Phone 815-732-6166, ext. 2516.

All rights reserved. Copyright 2022

PINE CREEK NEWS

BY KAREN MERLAK

The rains have come and gone once again, leaving the area lush and green. Many of us are glad for the quiet, dry weather to recuperate after the soaking rain. No matter how the day ends, we know each moment belongs to Him. For His continued presence, we are grateful.

This morning in church, I had the honor of greeting our church family. Pastor Suzanne Hall Stout delivered a children’s message for sisters Amelia and Fiona. Their newest cousin was visiting with her parents Brad and Lindsey Ohlwine.

Pastor Suzanne shared her message of stewardship for the morning. Our church has many plans for this fall season. A celebration and open house for the new building is planned for Sunday, Sept. 18. T h er e w i l l b e m a n y s p ec ia l e v e n t s throughout the day.

August is a very special month for our family. Both Matt and Clint celebrate their birthdays during this month just three days apart. They are both in their 20s, but I still remember the first time I saw their beautiful faces.

For now, we celebrate with phone calls across the many states that separate us. It was great to hear about their adventures in Florida, including visiting some alligators. They both had plans to celebrate with their friends. We are looking forward to the next time we can be together.

This has been a very busy week getting ready for the start of our school year. Even though I spent a portion of the summer preparing materials for the new year, it seems there is still so much more to do.

O n M o n d a y a f t e r n o o n , m y f r i e n d, Teresa, traveled from Sterling to see my room and help with the set-up. I have been very lucky to have so many helping hands at this time of year. My students return this Wednesday and I am really looking forward to meeting them.

As I get ready for school, I am looking at my closets and thinking I should be downsizing its contents. I have items that are several years old but still have some life in them. In fact, one particular jacket is over 30 years old.

My grandma made sweatshirt jackets for each of her daughters. After several years of wear, my mom offered me her jacket. Now, the cuffs on the sleeves are stretch ed out, there are holes on the sleeves, and there are small spots of paint from an old project.

I have no intention of getting rid of it. When I wear it, I think of my family that I love and the endurance of that love. It reminds me of my dearest friends. I have friends who have known me since we were kids and who I look up to still today.

The love we share is strengthened by our love of God. His love for each of us is woven into our friendships here on earth. This love helps us continue to love and forgive each other. This love keeps us faithful to each other. This love endures through the biggest storms.

God’s love for us is great to receive and even greater to give to each other. His love not only strengthens us, it provides s t r e n g t h a n d c o m f o r t f o r t h o s e w h o receive it. Even more than the warmth and comfort of a well-worn sweatshirt, His love endures forever.

I hope to see you next Sunday in our church or on our Facebook page. Come and learn about the enduring love of God. Join us for a time of worship and praise. All are welcome to join us. We gladly welcome you and your family to our little church in the country.

“It’s finally here,” said Roger Cain smiling broadly as the sleek stainless-steel touring car was backed into its new location west of the Depot by railroad workers. “We’ve been working on this for three years and now here it is.”

Cain is one of a handful of Oregon Depot Museum Board members who started working on getting the dome car moved to the Oregon Depot three years ago.

“We met with Mike in Sycamore three years ago and started talking about this,” said Cain.

The idea to move the signature Vista Dome of Burlington’s famed Twin Cities Zephyr was spawned when former Oregon resident Peter Medins, now of Woodstock, met Abernethy on a rail tour run by Abernethy. When they started talking about Abernethy’s ongoing restoration work on the sleek rail car Medins suggested the move to Oregon.

Medins remembered taking a trip from Oregon to Minneapolis on the Twin Cities Zephyr as a child and suggested Abernethy move the Silver View closer to St. Charles so restoration work could be monitored and performed more easily.

Abernethy has owned the Silver View for 20 years after purchasing it at an auction from a railway company in New York. He remembered watching the Zephyr – with the Silver View in tow – in the early 1950s when visiting his aunt and uncle near Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin.

“When we would go down to visit them, they would say ‘Oh, let’s take Mike over to see the Zephyr.’ And whenever I saw the Silver View on the back end that was a big deal for me,” Abernethy said.

The car was housed in Iowa and St. Louis before being stored outside in Charles City, Iowa. He decided to explore moving the car to Oregon after the Silver View was damaged by vandals.

“They threw some rocks and broke some of the windows,” he said.

The Oregon Depot Museum Board was offered a $5,000 matching donation from Medins for costs associated with moving the Silver View. The Oregon Depot Board matched his donation with funds given by local donors.

Earlier this year, officials from the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF) agreed to replace and upgrade the “house” track – the track that once served the freighthouse – just west of the Oregon Depot for the Silver View to sit on.

That track, located north of the active BNSF freight line, will be the Silver View’s new home during its next two restoration phases.

Phase 1 of the restoration process will include getting the Silver View back to its original condition, with a few added extras. Phase 2 will include getting the Silver View ready for rail travel.

Cain said having the car in Oregon should help speed up the restoration process.

“We will roll out the whole plan on Oct. 8,” Cain said. “We will have focused priorities. Fundraising is going to be critical. The work will be done by tradespeople.”

For instance, seats from the car are being re-upholstered by an Oregon resident.

“The whole purpose is to give a person the experience of what it was like to ride in a dome car on the Zephyr,” Abernethy said, noting that the car, once restored, could be a stationary venue for fundraising events. “It can seat 24. I see it as a collaborative effort and it also gets Oregon and the Depot more in the public eye.”

Cain said work on the exterior of the Silver View will begin soon.

Abernethy will be speaking about the Silver View this Saturday, Aug. 27, at the Oregon Depot. The program starts at 10 a.m. and is open to the public.

Abernethy is president and tour operator of Zephyr Route, a small privately owned business he launched to fund the restoration of the Silver View. His website is www.zephyrroute.com.

Oregon Depot

The Oregon Depot Museum has been restored by local volunteers and houses a museum that reflects the history of train travel to and from the town of 3,800, located 40 miles west of DeKalb. For more information about the Oregon Depot visit http://oregonil. com/oregon-depot-museum/.

Silver View Facts

The following information was provided by the Oregon Depot.

Silver View was built by the Budd Co. and delivered to the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe on Nov. 29, 1947. It immediately became one of the signature Vista Dome cars for the Burlington’s famed Twin Cities Zephyrs. The Twin Cities Zephyrs operated between Chicago and its namesake cities. It was marketed as “where natures smiles for 300 miles.”

Silver View and its sister car, Silver Vista, both operated as daytime parlor cars with one drawing room.

Their domes were configured with the customary 24 seats. The “main floor” of the cars had 26 parlor seats in the tail/observation end.

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media ABOVE: Oregon Depot Museum Board member RG Hough V of Mt. Morris talks to a railroad employee after the Silver View vintage rail car arrived at the Oregon Depot on Sunday afternoon. BELOW LEFT: Otto Dick, right, talks with Tom Champley, Jeff Hallock and Michal Burnett inside the Oregon Depot as they watch a live feed of the tracks after the Silver View rail car arrived Sunday afternoon. BOTTOM RIGHT: The Silver View was transported to the Oregon Depot as the “caboose” of seven empty cars. Here, the train passes through the crossing at Flagg Center.

By ALEXA ZOELLNER azoellner@shawmedia.com

It took a little misdirection to get John Lindhorst to attend this year’s Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce’s awards dinner.

“It’s called lying to me,” Lindhorst said, smiling even as he playfully chided Lori Peterson and Chamber Executive Director Liz Vos during the Aug. 18 event held at River’s Edge Experience.

“We lied to him, yes,” Peterson and Vos admitted with chuckles. The two had conspired to convince Lindhorst that Peterson was to receive an award.

But, when it came time to name the 2022 Citizen of the Year, Vos called Peterson up not to accept the award, but to announce the winner: John Lindhorst.

“Well-played,” he told them after accepting the award.

It was a very unexpected honor, said Lindhorst, who owns Ukulele Stat i o n A m e r i c a a n d O r e g o n M u s ic Garage, both in Oregon.

“I will tell you, it’s fun to be recognized for something that you don’t think about,” he said. “My mother’s from Italy, and she always said, ‘Do what you love, and do it with passion,’ and my father, being from Germany, said, ‘Follow your guts.’ So between those two, I’m somewhere in the middle, I think.

“This is quite an honor,” Lindhorst continued. “Thank you very much.”

Lindhorst has dedicated countless hours volunteering with local fundraisers, as well as donating financially, Peterson said. He also promotes Oregon as president of Oregon Together.

“The investment he has made in Ukulele Station America and Oregon Music Garage is a testament to his dedication, ability and success,” she said. “For these reasons, and many more, the Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce would like to recognize [Lindhorst] and thank for his many years of contributions.”

Lindhorst has brought much joy to the greater Oregon community and

Alexa Zoellner/Shaw Media Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce 2022 Citizen of the Year John Lindhorst, right, poses with Chamber Executive Director Liz Vos, left, and Lori Peterson, who presented Lindhorst with the award at the Chamber’s annual awards dinner.

Alexa Zoellner/Shaw Media Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce 2022 Volunteer of the Year Sue Heng, right, poses with Chamber Executive Director Liz Vos, left, and Chamber Board of Directors President Donna Mann. Heng was selected for her work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

See OREGON AWARDS, Page 7

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