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Sterling Pavilion places focus on rehabilitation Rock Falls barbershop a home away from home Friends hit a high note with latest rock band s t e r l i n g - r o c k
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Sterling-Rock Falls
COVER • STORY
MAGAZINE
Publisher Sam R Fisher Advertising Director Jennifer Heintzelman Editor Jeff Rogers Magazine Editors Lucas Pauley Rusty Schrader Page Design Lucas Pauley Published by
Sauk Valley Media 3200 E. Lincolnway Sterling, IL 61081 815-625-3600 Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of Sterling-Rock Falls Living Magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.
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Contents 5
5 – Main Squeeze Smoothie and juice shop gets a fresh start in Sterling
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11 – Twin City Farmers Market Say cheese! ... And take a look at some photos from a Saturday at the farmers market
13 – Ben’s Phresh Kutz Rock Falls barbershop is a place where all are welcome
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13 31
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18 – Sterling Pavilion Facility switches its main focus to rehabilitation
21 – Unique home of Dr. Ed Miles Site has gone from grain elevator to upscale apartment
25 – Adam Wilcox Construction LLC
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Family has been building its legacy for 30 years
31 – Dys Functional Gents The music has been in motion for years for local band
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Employees take orders at Main Squeeze in Sterling. The natural juice, smoothie, and coffee shop opened Jan. 30.
A health y addition
Main Sq ueeze b rings na smoothi tural jui es and c c es, o f f e e t o B K H & Sterling B M K S -R F L
STORY Y AYLA EIMERMAN PHOTOS Y ICHAEL RABBENHOEFT FOR TERLING OCK ALLS IVING
M
eet your new healthy living soulmate: Main Squeeze is a natural juice, smoothie, and coffee shop on the east end of town. The shop, which opened at 2501 E. Lincolnway on Jan. 30, already is a popular spot. Customers sipping on colorful smoothies or noshing on crumbly muffins filled all eight seats, and several people formed a line at the counter during the late afternoon on a recent Friday. “It adds a place of interest [to our community],” said owner Veronica Machnicki. “The people here were ready for it. It’s become such a well-publicized thing – the benefits of fruits, the benefits of vegetables, the benefits of juicing them.” Veronica, 63, and Paul Machnicki, 56, of Sterling have operated Health and Nutrition Plus, 2252 E. Lincolnway, with their daughters since 1995.
Their daughter, Jennifer Griswold, has owned the shop, which is kitty-corner across the street from the juice bar, since 2012. They are proponents of alternative ways to ward off illness, boost immunity, and be healthy. The couple offered wheatgrass shots at their store, when it was downtown in the late 1990s, but “people weren’t ready for that,” Veronica said. They offered juices and smoothies when their shop, then called the Herb Cellar, came to the east end of town in the late 2000s. “Everyone loved the smoothies, but no one really asked for juices,” she said. The Machnickis downsized – and got rid of the juice and smoothie bar – and moved to their current location in 2008. “The community was ready for a juice and smoothie place again, though,” Veronica said. She credits Rawshu’a, a vegetarian-friendly
eatery, juice bar, and organic market that first opened in Rock Falls in 2013 and then in Dixon in 2015, but ultimately closed a short time later, for paving the way for Main Squeeze. Main Squeeze is spreading the love, from the outside in. Aesthetically, the shop boasts a bright and cheerful green sign out front; a sleek stone accent wall and stainless steel barstools and chairs; and a cheeky slogan – “Sip, sip, hooray!” Nutritionally, the shop offers juices and smoothies made from 100 percent fruits and vegetables – no additives, such as sugar, or preservatives; much of the produce is organic, too. The recipes are unique and geared toward warding off illness or aiding digestion, among other maladies. Continued on page 7
Main Squeeze Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Address: 2501 E. Lincolnway
Phone: 815-716-8283
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Online: facebook.com/themainsqueezeinsterling
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This forum will be presented in The Community Room (ADA accessible) at Sterling Federal Bank, 110 E. 4th St., Sterling. Please call the United Way at 815-625-7973 by March 28 if you plan to attend to reserve your seat. Space is limited. Call the United Way today. Second Session will be added at 1:30 p.m. if needed. United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. LIVE UNITED®
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FORUM SPONSORED BY
Ariel Garcia (right) takes a customer’s order at Main Squeeze in Sterling.
A piña colada smoothie is shown at the shop.
Continued from page 5
The recipes for the juices and smoothies are the result of lots of research and experimentation – not only on the part of the Machnickis, but their staff of 12 to 14 young women. The ingredients for every juice and smoothie is weighed and packaged for consistency, “but there are times, for instance, when a carrot
might not juice as well, so we have to be creative and become ‘juice artists,’” Veronica said. “The girls have also started playing a bit with the combinations on their own,” she added. “They’ve started juicing strawberries, for instance, and juicing strawberries changes the complexity of the juice.” The juices boast concentrated nutrients from about 1½ pounds of fruits and vegetables
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in a 16-ounce juice to almost 2 pounds in a 20-ounce juice. The smoothies provide two servings of fruit in a 12-ounce drink and three servings in a 16-ounce drink; the smoothies also are a slurpable vehicle for superfoods, such as kale, flax, and chia, which are virtually undetectable amidst the fruit. A small 16-ounce juice runs $7, while a large 20-ounce costs $8.50. The Stress Buster, Energize Me, and Alkalize Me juices are among the most popular. Continued on page 9
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Main Squeeze also sells health products. Continued from page 7
A small 12-ounce smoothie costs $5, while a large 16-ounce is $6. The Aloha Greens is the best seller because people want the benefits of kale without the taste. Main Squeeze also offers several coffee and espresso drinks, made with organic coffee from a roaster in Wisconsin and triple-filtered water. The menu includes baked-in-house muffins, including gluten-free varieties, cinnamon rolls, and soup. Machnicki and her staff already have plans to expand the offerings to include a pre-workout and a post-workout smoothie, more juices, and more food, including cookies and scones, as well as breads and cheeses. Machnicki also hopes to create nutrition factsheets for each
Paul Machnicki, owner of Main Squeeze in Sterling, stands in the juice and smoothie shop.
juice and smoothie, so customers know better the benefits of their drinks. Main Squeeze hopes to be a vehicle for change in the Sauk Valley. “We hope we can contribute to a paradigm shift, to open people up to out-of-the-box ways
to heal and be healthy,” Veronica said. “Society has changed a bit that way already.” The community already is receptive. In fact, folks are pushing for a Dixon location – and the Machnickis are seriously considering filling that void in the next year. s
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Timber Lake Playhouse (TLP), the professional summer theatre of northwestern Illinois, has the shows you will love: hot new shows just leaving Broadway, great American plays, everyone’s “old favorite� musicals, and the best in country, pop, and rock-n-roll revues in our “JukeBox Series.� Timber Lake Playhouse hires the best young theatrical talent from all over the United States, and we regularly bring back talented alumni who have gone on to stellar careers on Broadway, TV and Film. Noted past performers are Tony Winning Actress Jayne Houdyshell, Michael Gross (Family Ties), Jennifer Garner and Saundra Santiago (Miami Vice, Guiding Light, The Sopranos, and Broadway’s Evita and more). Santiago last appeared at TLP in 2016 as Rose in Gypsy. Located just south of Mount Carroll, Illinois about 10 miles from the Mississippi River, TLP is a short drive from Sterling, Rock Falls and Dixon Illinois. The current theatre building opened in 1975 with 371 seats. The building is fully air conditioned, and the nine-acre wooded campus is perfect for any other activity you and your guests desire. From picnicking on the deck overlooking beautiful Timber Lake to attending a pre-show activity in our newly acquired rustic barn, TLP is a great destination for a day of fun. Join us for Hot Dog Wednesdays, Tea with Mary Poppins, picnics in our Picnic Grove, or one of our many “deck� activities. Timber Lake Playhouse is truly a great day out with family or friends. Check out our website at www.timberlakeplayhouse.org for more information about our shows and other activities.
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Mardi Gras at Twin City Farmers Market PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT FOR STERLING-ROCK FALLS LIVING
O
n Feb. 25, the Twin City Farmers Market in Sterling celebrated Mardi Gras. The special menu at the Scarecrow Cafe featured egg, cheese and bacon biscuits; red beans and rice; chicken jambalaya (at left); and gluten-free tomato soup. King cupcakes (top left) also were served. The attendee who found the baby won $10 in scarecrow bucks. The market is open weekly from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday in the historical Twin City Produce Building, 106 Ave. A., Sterling.
LEFT: Charlin Nolan (left) of Sterling Gardens helps a customer pick out tomatoes Feb. 25 at the Twin City Farmers Market in Sterling. ABOVE: Knitted pieces and fabric plates for sale are shown at the market. Both are examples of items regularly sold at the market.
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Ben Phillips, 43, is the owner of Ben’s Phresh Kutz in Rock Falls. The business was voted the top barbershop in the Sauk Valley Media Reader’s Choice Awards in 2017.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY ANDREW HEY FOR STERLING-ROCK FALLS LIVING
Here’s the
Kylen Scott is one of six barbers at the business.
BUZZ at Ben’s Meet the men behind the clippers at local barbershop
I
t’s a question almost every child hears: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” For Ben Phillips, owner of Ben’s Phresh Kutz in Rock Falls, that was an easy question to answer. Growing up in Waverly, Tennessee, west of
Nashville, he watched his cousins and uncle cut hair. It wasn’t long before he took clippers in hand and started cutting his friends’ and family’s hair. He moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, in 10th grade where he lived until he was 17, when his mother died. He moved to Clinton, Iowa, to
live with his aunt and uncle and finish out high school at Clinton High, where he graduated in 1993. Then, it was on to Davenport Barber College in Iowa.
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Continued from page 13
From there, he moved to Sterling to attend Educators of Beauty and began working at Wahl Clipper in July 1999. He transferred to Illinois Quad City Barber and Hair Styling College in Moline and graduated in April 2002. The 43-year-old Rock Falls barber has since become the Wahl Master Barber at Wahl Clipper headquarters in Sterling and works at the Wahl Innovation Center with new product development engineers. During this time, Phillips has developed nine United States patents in new product development. Being the Wahl Master Barber has allowed him to travel all over the United States with the Wahl Tour. He is featured on Wahl Clipper packaging and posters around the world. In February 2003, Phillips opened Ben’s Phresh Kutz, which was voted the top barbershop in the Sauk Valley Media Reader’s Choice Awards in 2017. “It was like we were the Cubbies and we knew it was going to come, but just a long time to wait till we got it,” Phillips said. Continued on page 17
Ben’s Phresh Kutz Barber Shop
Address: 207 Second Ave., Rock Falls Phone: 815-625-3153 Online: Find Ben’s Phresh Kutz Barber Shop on Facebook Prices: Haircuts are $8 for seniors (60 and older), $10 for kids 12 and under, and $12 for adults.
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I have Ever had s n o i t ! It’s One of the Best Vaca Immediately following my discharge from CGH for a total hip replacement, I came to Regency Garden Unit for extended skilled care. A patient in my condition is nearly 100% dependent on others for assistance in all areas of life. When I handed over my care to your staff I did so with the belief that they would take care of me and that they cared about me as a person. The entire staff followed through in every way possible with respect to my beliefs, that they would take care of me and would do so in a manner that demonstrated they cared about me as a person. You have much to be grateful for in the staff you have. I extend my deepest gratitude to all staff at Regency Care for the part they had in my healing.
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“We Care For Loved Private Suites Available Ones Like Family” Formerly Coventry Living Center 612 61 2 W. 2 23rd 3rd 3r d St Street Street, et St Sterli Sterling, liling IL 6 61081 1081 10 81 • 81 815-626-9020 8155-62 562662 6-90 69020 90 20 • www.regencycareste www.regencycaresterling.com terl te rlin rl ing.com in Visit medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare to see how we rate.
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Continued from page 15
Phillips is Sauk Valley’s first African American licensed professional barber and his was the first multicultural barber establishment in the area. The shop, now in businesses for 14 years, employs five other barbers: Brian Bishop, Cory Robinson, Rich Jakley, Kylen Scott, and Cody Clapper. Bishop and Robinson, both of Chicago, have been cutting hair for 23 and 30 years, respectively. “My experience allows me to be able to cut many different hair styles,” Robinson said. He said it’s important to know all styles of cutting hair because each person’s hair is different. “We will either know people by name or by the shape of their head,” he said. The shop also gives back to the community by supplying kids with school supplies at the beginning of each school year. Phillips said the shop draws customers of all shapes, sizes, colors, and background. He views his shop as a “sanctuary.” When asked why people are so drawn to his establishment, Phillips said it’s his skills as a barber and ability to listen to and welcome everyone. “My barbershop is a home away from home, a welcoming spot in small-town Rock Falls,” Phillips said. “We are a hidden gem that makes all of our customers leave with a smile.” s
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Road to recovery
Sterling Pavilion shifts its focus to therapy, getting patients home STORY BY KAYLA HEIMERMAN & PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT FOR STERLING-ROCK FALLS LIVING
P
atients who have received a hip or knee replacement or who have suffered a stroke have an ally in Sterling Pavilion. The skilled-care facility at 105 E. 23rd St. in Sterling has shifted its focus from being a nursing home, where people live out their last months or years, to a rehabilitation center, where people receive physical, occupational, or speech therapy to restore them to their prior functionality. “We’re a health care and rehabilitation facility; we’re getting away from the ‘nursing home,’” said Genesis Hey-Krick, director of business development. “More and more people are remaining in their homes. They might come here for short-term rehabilitation or care until they are well enough to go home, and then set up health care in their home.
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Sterling Pavilion
Address: 105 E. 23rd St. Phone: 815-626-4264 Online: sterlingrehab.com or find Sterling Pavilion on Facebook
“We are seeing fewer and fewer people staying long-term and more and more families stepping up into that [caregiver] role. ... Though we still provide that long-term care, we now focus more on the rehabilitation.” Sterling Pavilion’s recently renovated facility features 18 private, one-bed suites; comfortable, well-appointed communal areas; and state-of-the-art therapy departments. It aims to create a personal, individualized experience for its residents, both long- and short-term. The facility offers skilled nursing care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but also offers therapy 7 days a week. “People want to go home. They want to get well, get stronger, get better,” said Tyrone Tejam, director of therapy. “We offer 7 days of therapy, so even during the weekends, they get their therapy. It means a faster recovery.” Rehabilitation patients typically are those recovering from a hip or knee replacement or similar surgery. Many patients also are those recovering from a stroke. The therapy staff – which includes a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, and five therapy assistants – assesses patients and based on their current functionality, prior functionality, and goals, creates a care plan. Many patients receive therapy on the state-of-the-art AlterG anti-gravity treadmill. Sterling Pavilion is the only rehab facility in a 45-mile radius that has the treadmill. KSB Hospital in Dixon has one. The non-weight bearing treadmill allows patients to rehabilitate with less pain while reducing their risk of injury, which enables them to gain strength and heal faster. It helps patients regain mobility, develop strength and cardiopulmonary fitness, and increase range of motion while minimizing stress on the body.
Sterling Pavilion’s recently renovated facility features 18 private, one-bed suites; comfortable, well-appointed communal areas; and state-of-the-art therapy departments.
The AlterG treadmill not only enables therapists to set body-weight parameters, but also allows them to closely examine and monitor patients’ gait and stride via video. “For example, if someone broke a bone, the more weight they put on the bone, the more it will help with recovery,” Tejam explained. “But weight on a fractured bone can cause pain. AlterG allows for ... therapeutic weight bearing without compromising alignment and without causing pain.” The therapists at Sterling Pavilion are certified in a couple of specialties that help them offer more specialized care to patients with different needs. One is a certified lymphedema therapist, which means he treats people with lymphedema, or the swelling of an arm or leg, most often caused by the removal of or damage to the lymph nodes, as a part of cancer treatment. The other is a certified kinesiotherapist, which means he uses rehabilitative exercise, reconditioning, and physical educa-
tion to treat patients with movement issues. “We also have modalities to address pain and decreased circulation and to improve range of motion and flexibility,” Tejam said. The facility recently got a new ultrasound machine and an electrical stimulation machine, both of which will aid the therapists in assessment and treatment. Sterling Pavilion takes admissions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It accepts any type of insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, as well as private pay. The facility wants its patients and their families to feel like they are in their second home. “It’s all about quality of life,” Hey-Krick said. “We’re trying so much to provide the best possible care in an aesthetically pleasing, comfortable environment. We hope that if they have to stay here, that they are in a place they love and really call home.” s
LEFT: Tyrone Tejam, director of therapy at Sterling Pavilion, helps Nancy Davis onto the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill. ON PAGE 18: Tejam adjusts the machine for Davis.
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Settlement by silos
Doctor’s home site of former grain elevator, sheet metal shop STORY BY PHILLIP HARTMAN & PHOTOS BY ALEX T. PASCHAL FOR STERLING-ROCK FALLS LIVING
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oft space, unique architecture, secure neighborhood – what more could you want? Dr. Ed Miles’ home at 201 Third Ave. in Sterling was renovated from a former sheet metal fabrication shop. Before then, it was a grain elevator, and still has three silos attached. The exact date of the elevator’s construction is unknown, but falls somewhere between 1920 and 1927. Terry Buckaloo, curator of the Sterling-Rock Falls Historical Society Museum, said the elevator wasn’t in the 1920 city directory. “It was marked as the Sterling-Rock Falls Cooperative Marketing Association on the 1927 map from Sandborn Insurance,” Buckaloo said. The previous owner, Richard Linville III of Dixon, started remodeling the building in 2006, and lived there from 2011 until 2016. Continued on page 23
Ed Miles’ home at 201 Third Ave. in Sterling was renovated from a former sheet metal fabrication shop by Richard Linville III of Dixon. Before then, it was a grain elevator, and still has three silos attached. The historic property has a modern kitchen and artwork adorns many of the walls.
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Art adorns the walls in the master bedroom. Miles has been collecting mostly surrealist art since 2011.
The kitchen overlooks the rest of the living area in the residence.
Continued from page 21
Miles, 52, uses high-energy photons in his work at Northern Illinois Cancer Treatment Center in Dixon. He retired from the Navy in December after 30 years. “A recruiter drove me around Dixon and Sterling, and I told him I was looking for an urban loft-type setting,” Miles said. The home’s location also appealed to Miles. The Sterling Police Department is right across the street. While trains pass by the brick home, Miles is used to noise. He slept beneath the airplane catapult launcher of the U.S.S. Midway for part of his time in the Navy. “I was a naval flight officer, then spent 5 years in the [Navy Reserve], and went into medical school,” Miles said. “I moved here from the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia.” The home features brown and grey paint, with a beam between the kitchen and stairwell made from recycled beams. The kitchen features granite countertops. Artwork adorns many of the walls of the open living area. Miles
received help decorating from Stephanie Deckro Interiors of Morrison. “I’ve been collecting mostly surrealist art since 2011. I have a lot of [Salvador] Dali lithographs,” Miles said. Miles has two spare bedrooms for times when his children or parents visit. The basement of the brick home contains Miles’ exercise machine and other items, which are in storage. He said he’s working on putting up siding, and a barn door on rails in case he wants to open up a doorway into a silo. The home is a long way from what Linville found when he started on what he described as a hobby project. “I did it over nights and weekends over several years. It was a good 3 years before I moved in. I’ve just always kinda liked projects and tinkering around on different stuff. I do sculpture and woodcarving. I thought it was kind of a neat space – and cheap. It was less than $16,000 when I got it,” Linville said. Linville, a machinist and programmer at Beltway Scales in Rock Falls, found his purchase needed a lot of work. “It was in really, really bad shape,” he said.
“There was moss growing in there. The roof was all missing.” There wasn’t even water or sewer service at the property. So, Linville, with a some help, got to work. “The plumbing and electric is all brand new. ... I hired plumbers and electricians,” he said. “I did as much of the work as I could myself, what I felt comfortable doing. Sterling Commercial Roofing did some work.” Linville said he might have been destined to buy the building. “The guy who owned it before me, Don Shuey, bought the building the exact day I was born. He had a sheet metal fabrication shop there, but I think it was vacant for quite a while by the time I ended up with it,” he said. The growth of his family motivated Linville to sell the home. “I got married, and our wife and I had our first daughter 3 years ago,” he said. “It seemed fine for when we had no kids, but not exactly the best location for raising kids.” The family moved to a 10-acre farmette outside of Dixon, allowing Miles to add his chapter to the story of the historic property. s
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815-626-3830 24
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Lic # 058-157413
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FROM THE GROUND UP
STORY BY PHILLIP HARTMAN & PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT FOR STERLING-ROCK FALLS LIVING Adam Wilcox (left) stabilizes a panel as Aaron Fargher trims it to fit at the site of a new steel building for Foster Coach in Sterling. Sterling-based Adam Wilcox Construction LLC was recently recognized by Star Building Systems for 30 years of excellent service.
Adam Wilcox Construction LLC builds on family legacy
Kurt Anderson lines up a panel the new steel building.
C
onstruction might just be in the Wilcox family’s blood. Sterling-based Adam Wilcox Construction LLC was recognized by Star Building Systems for 30 years of excellent service. Well before Adam received the company from his father, Bob, the Wilcoxes were working with their hands. Adam’s wife, Katie, said in an email, “Bob’s grandfather was, for as long as he can remember, a carpenter. His father did all the carpenter work for the farmer he worked for.” In 1965, Bob’s family moved to Sterling, where his father started working at Bullock Garage and Home Builders. Bob then helped his father when they worked on Saturdays, and then full-time in 1969. “In 1977, he started building mostly homes. Bob started his journey with Cuckler buildings in 1982. Star purchased Cuckler Steel Buildings in 1986,” Katie said. Adam started working with his father at a young age, and the business was passed to him in 2014. Continued on page 27
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Ronny Price of Adam Wilcox Construction guides a panel into place as it is lowered at the site of a new steel building for Foster Coach in Sterling.
Continued from page 25
Wilcox Construction
Address: 22837 Mathew Road, Sterling Phone: 815-564-0263 Online: facebook. com/adamwilcoxconstruction or adamwilcoxconstruction.com
Continued on page 29
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Continued from page 27
Today, Wilcox Construction specializes in general contracting of commercial and residential steel buildings, and concrete flat work. “Our most recent line of work has been in the ag building industry, for storage and office space. We are currently working on a warehouse building, at Foster Coach in Sterling. We have also done many buildings locally, including Don Pedro’s, Peabudy’s, Sears, Martin’s Furniture, Harolds Furniture, and the McCormick Complex in Sterling, and Centennial Plaza in Rock Falls, to name a few,” Katie said. The company’s also made a number of residential steel buildings, one of which Adam and his family live in now, and another is being worked on. Wilcox has three full-time and two part-time employees, with four from Whiteside County and one from Peoria County. Katie wrote that Wilcox works year-round. “We were able to complete a building in the fall, and continue the interior through the cold months by finishing framing, drywall, and a rec area. The personal rec area included a bar area complete with television, gaming, and refrigeration, and was topped off with diamond-plated features,” Katie said. s
Aaron Fargher lines up a panel to be mounted on a new steel building for Foster Coach in Sterling.
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BARN TOUR
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Drummer Ryan Martinez plays at a Dys Functional Gents practice in Rock Falls.
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hey call themselves Dys Functional Gents, but I don’t know, they seem pretty functional to me. The Sterling-Rock Falls band is one of the hardest-working cover bands in the area, consistently playing shows all throughout the Sauk Valley. They play so many shows at Whiskey Barrel Saloon that the band’s bassist Greg Berry, 45, says the Rock Falls bar is like home. “I always look forward to playing at the Whiskey Barrel,” he said. “The crowd we have there is, oh, my God, I love every single one of them. They make us feel good, they make us feel appreciated.” The rest of the band – Chris Blum (vocals), 43, Ryan Martinez (drums), 37, and Kevin Aguilar (vocals), 45 – agreed. Blum said the band also loves playing at Bear’s Showtown USA in Lyndon. “The people come out [at Bear’s],” Blum said. “They love live music. We love the people in Lyndon. They’re the best people to play for.” The other band members said Blum helps keep the band moving – “He keeps us going, keeps me moving,” Martinez said – but it’s the connection between them all that fuels their fire to continue playing. Dys Functional Gents started in 2014, but its members are no strangers. “We’ve been in various bands together,” Blum said. “Me and Chris and Kevin have all been in relative contact for the last 25, 30 years,” Berry said. Martinez and Blum have been in bands together throughout the past 17 years, most recently in Pie Filler before Dys Functional Gents.
Bassist Greg Berry has been playing bass for about 8 years.
“We’ve got a history among us,” Blum said with a smile. Aguilar, Berry and Blum went to Sterling High School, and Martinez went to Rock Falls High School. And, amazingly, the seeds of playing music were planted even before that. Continued on page 34
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Continued from page 33
Guitarist Chris Blum starts the jam session with a track from Poison. ON PAGE 35: Vocalist Kevin Aguilar jams with the band.
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Ryan’s dad, Ray Martinez, has been a drummer in local bands Puppet and Network. “I actually started playing when I was 6,” Martinez said. “[My dad] didn’t teach me a whole lot, but I learned on my own by watching him. He was definitely a positive factor in learning to drum.” It’s a family business for Blum, too. “I’ve been playing for about 31 years,” Blum said. He learned from his father, John Blum, who’s been in a bunch of local bands, he said. “He started [to teach me], like with chords and scales, just kinda the basic stuff, and then said, ‘You’re on your own,’” Blum said. Kevin has also been playing for more than 3 decades. He began as a bassist and singer for about 6 years, and then just went strictly to vocals. Berry has been playing bass for 8 years and acknowledges he started a little later than most. “I started out as a singer in ’09. Didn’t go very well for me,” he said with a laugh. “I changed over to bass in 2010. Chris gave me pointers here and there.” Regardless of how long they’ve been playing individually, the band members have clearly been inspired by music throughout
their entire lives. The band cited classic rock icons such as AC/DC and Black Sabbath, and alternative and grunge bands such as Rage Against The Machine, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains as big inspirations. Megadeth and Van Halen were also mentioned. Blum said Slash from Guns N’ Roses was one of his biggest inspirations on guitar. The band’s debut album had a huge affect on Martinez, too. “I loved ‘Appetite for Destruction,’” he said. “I’d play that over and over and over and over again.” These bands might give those unfamiliar with the band an idea of what to expect from
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Dys Functional Gents, but the band’s catalog is always changing. The band has about 60 songs from classic rock to today’s rock hits that they can pull from at each show, and they continue to learn new songs. In a relatively short amount of time, the band has built a healthy fanbase and that’s something they hope to continue to do this year. “We’re basically just trying to fill every spot we can,” Martinez said. “And hopefully run into new fans.” Even with all of the members being longtime weekend warriors, the band’s passion seems about as strong as it’s even been. “We just loving playing for the people,” Blum said. “If they keep coming, we’re gonna keep playing.” Berry echoed that, saying he has a hard time seeing Dys Functional Gents ending anytime soon. “We have our problems, just like everyone else does. But we work through them, and we’re still together. We can still tolerate each other for more than 5 minutes,” he said, making the entire band laugh. “It just seems like Dys Funtional Gents will never die because we won’t let it die. … If it dies, it wasn’t because we weren’t trying hard enough.” s
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