It was a spring fling 150 years in the making at local farm
The word on the Street in Mount Carroll? Pizza Customers are seeing double at Lanark salon and spa
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4 &12
A salute to service
In Shannon, the community comes together for a celebration of pride and patriotism; and in Savanna, some members of The Greatest — and grandest — Generation are enlisted to lead the town’s Independence Day parade.
20 Mirror images
A Lanark business has an edge over other salons and spas: Identical twins who love being a skin and hair care pair.
26
Word on the Street? Pizza
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie in Mount Carroll, that’s Market Street Pizza, the new downtown dining option where the owners want people to feel amore at first bite.
34 150 years and still growing
A Carroll County family farm recently celebrated a century and a half of service to agriculture with a ‘once-in-a-lifetime event.’
t was a war unlike any other the world had ever seen, so when the soldiers who fought it finally came home, it was only fitting that they be honored with a celebration unlike any other their hometown had ever seen.
The year was 1919 and Americans were dealing with the aftermath of the Great War (later renamed World War I). On the world stage, players in the Paris Peace Conference hoped to make it the war to end all wars. Meanwhile, in Shannon, returning soldiers were feted with a parade that brought the city together in a celebration of victory and valor. The end of the war finally brought their boys back home.
More than 100 years later, the city’s patriotic pride is still strong, and what started as a day of homecoming hoopla has grown into the annual Shannon Homecoming Celebration, held each Labor Day weekend to honor those who’ve served to protect their nation and preserve peace throughout the world. This year’s event runs Saturday, Aug. 31-Monday, Sept. 2
Operated by Shannon’s Lions Club and American Legion, the celebration has become one of Carroll County’s largest annual events, having evolved from a parade to three days of fun, food and entertainment — thanks to the volunteers who work with local businesses and organizations to make the event a success each year, drawing both locals as well as people from throughout the area.
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CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM
Keeping the Shannon Homecoming Celebration going into its second century takes a strong commitment of community volunteers. Helping lead the efforts are (from left) Tim Ruter, Harry Schryver and Brad and Valerie Woessner.
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Brad and Valerie Woessner of Shannon lead a group of volunteers from both clubs, as well as other dedicated helpers throughout the community, tasked with a variety of responsibilities: lining up the parade, arranging special performances, cooking and serving food, and facilitating the fun that’s drawn countless numbers of people through the years, creating memories that have lasted a lifetime and served to inspire new generations of volunteers.
“I’ve grown up with it, having been here my whole life,” Brad said. “I’ve probably been to every one of them within my lifetime. When I was a little kid, it was all about riding the rides and eating yourself sick. Later on, I learned about why it was Homecoming with all of the veterans, and you don’t see that all of the time.”
The highlight of the event is the homecoming parade that honors area veterans past and present. The parade is one of the oldest annual hometown festival parades in Illinois, with the first one held in 1919 to honor soldiers returning from World War I, nearly nine months after the armistice was signed to end the fighting. It will be led by this year’s grand marshals, Alan and Sherry Flack of Shannon.
The parade begins at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 2, and will consist of floats and tributes to veterans, and of course, plenty of candy tossed to the kids.
“When you come to the parade, you bring two bags — there’s that much candy,” Valerie said.
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When Johnny comes marching home again, hurrah, hurrah! The Shannon Homecoming Celebration's “Johhny Races” are a popular event. This year's will take place downtown on the final day of the festivities, Sept. 2.
HOMECOMING
As with any event that’s got more than a 100 years of history behind it, Shannon’s Homecoming hasn’t been without its changes and challenges. Like many big events in small towns, finding enough volunteers can be difficult at times, especially as memberships in both the Lions and Legion has decreased through the years. In addition, some longtime celebration mainstays have had to be mustered out, like the carnival rides.
But those challenges haven’t stopped those who still report for duty from making it an event to remember. The homecoming committee keeps finding ways to keep their event alive and thriving, with an increasing amount of competitive games and live music helping fill the voids.
Even the purpose of homecoming has evolved: While a salute to service is still a big part of it, the event has become a homecoming for those who’ve left town but still return to the area to spend their three-day weekend with friends and family.
“I like seeing all of the people come back,” festival committee member Tim Ruter said. “There’s a lot of people born and raised in Shannon who come back once a year, and it would always be Labor Day weekend, to see family and friends. We have a nice turnout.”
“Once a year, it’s almost like a Shannon reunion,” Woessner added. “There are people you haven’t seen for 20 years who come home.” CODY
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Erected in 2015 by The American Legion, The Shannon Veterans Memorial honors the men and women who’ve served their country. It is located at the northwest corner of state Route 72 and Shannon Route on the west side of town. Illinois is home is home to a number of World War I monuments. Go to landmarks.org/worldwar-one-monuments/ for a searchable list.
The event has also welcomed special guests through the years. Samantha Elliott of Freeport, who was 2023 Miss Illinois, stopped by last year for a meet-and-greet after the parade.
Concession stands serve up both traditional and regional fare, highlighted by two items that Lions and Legion members are particularly proud of: the elephant ears and cheese curds.
The elephant ears were first served in the 1980s. “They’re a big seller,” festival committee member Harry Schryver said. “People line up to get those elephant ears.”
This year’s fun begins Saturday, Aug. 31, with the first event, a craft show, starting at 2:30 p.m. and concluding at 7 at the fire department, 14 S. Hickory St. The show will continue Sunday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday.
The festivities continue at 4 p.m. Saturday with the opening of concession stands, bounce houses for the kids and the first round of Bingo. The first day also will feature the announcements of the year’s Homecoming Queen and Little Miss, and Little Mr. Firefighter and Junior Mr. Firefighter.
The fire department will kick off Sunday’s lineup of fun with a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon., followed by a car and motorcycle show until 6 p.m. at the intersection of Badger and Walnut streets northwest of downtown. P&C Little Rascals of Chadwick will set up its traveling petting zoo from 1 to 5 p.m. downtown at First State Bank. Eastland Feed and Grain on the northeast side of town will be the site of an antique tractor pull.
Sunday’s bingo, concessions and inflatables open at 1 p.m., which is also is the start of the Sidewalk Chalk contest, with prizes are awarded for the best drawings (register at shannonsidewalkchalkart@gmail.com by Friday, Aug. 30, to reserve a spot). The fun continues with remote control car and truck races from 2 to 5 p.m. downtown — bring your own RC systems. A ping pong tournament follows at the firehouse, with registration beginning at 2:15 p.m. and the first matches at 3.
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BANKING
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Live music joins the fun and festivities Sunday. The Alleluia Quartet will perform Christian- and vintage-themed tunes at 4 p.m.; Daniel Ball, former lead singer of the Ball Brothers, will perform along with The Gibson Girls from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Performances will be rain or shine, moving to the fire station in case of rain.
Monday’s bingo, concessions and inflatables open at 9 a.m. After the 10 a.m. parade, a pork chop dinner will be served by Lions and Legion members from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the village park, 306 S. Chestnut St. The Florence Crickets’ 4H critters will stop by First State Bank for a petting zoo starting at 11 a.m.
Missed Sunday’s music? Don’t worry, there’ll be more Monday with No Worries playing country, bluegrass, rock and gospel music from noon to 2:30 p.m. Activities continue at 1 p.m. with the Kiddy Tractor Pull at 1 p.m., followed by water fights for the kids at 2 p.m., both in front of the fire department. The competitive events end with the Johnny Race — in which racers sitting on a toilet atop a cart are pushed by their partner — at 2:30 p.m. downtown. Festivities conclude at 3:30 p.m. with raffle drawings for around 20 different prizes.
Raffle prizes, and additional events and updates will be posted on the Shannon Homecoming Celebration Facebook page.
More info
The Shannon Homecoming festivities are from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, highlighted by a downtown veterans parade on Sept. 2 at 10 a.m. Go to facebook.com/ShannonHomecoming for updates and more information. Want to volunteer? Email shomecoming1919@gmail.com for more information.
Festival organizers are looking forward to a successful celebration this year — and it won’t take much for them to declare victory. All they need to see are plenty of smiling faces.
“When you stand on the street and you see the kids have a blast, it just makes it all worth it,” Woessner said. n
Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
TIMBER LAKE PLAYHOUSE
AUGUST 15 - 25 SEPTEMBER 6 - 15
AUGUST 31 SEPTEMBER 21 SEPTEMBER 28 OCTOBER 5
OCTOBER 12 OCTOBER 12 OCTOBER 19 OCTOBER 26 NOVEMBER 2 NOVEMBER 9 NOVEMBER 16 DECEMBER 21
uring World War II, America’s armed forces took part in the largest war in human history, fighting across oceans and continents to keep peace in the world and defend their beloved country from falling prey to the forces of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
Though the war claimed more than 400,000 Americans, of the millions who served, most were able to return to their lives on the homefront after the war, reunited with friends and family as the echoes of battle faded and the sounds of a baby boom approached.
But as the years passed, time would do what the Axis couldn’t, and the number of veterans would grow smaller and smaller. Today, nearly 80 years after the war, less than 1 percent of the nearly 16 million American who served are still alive — just under 120,000 as of 2023.
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HOWARD NICHOLS
RAY FERRELL
LYLE LAW
Lyle Law, seen above in his 1942 Milledgeville High School yearbook photo, recently celebrated his 100th birthday at the American Legion, where he’s been a member for nearly 70 years.
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On July 5, three of them were celebrated for their service in Savanna.
Lyle Law, 100, of Mount Carroll, of the Army Air Corps (the predecessor to today’s Air Force); Ray Ferrell, 100, of Hanover, a Navy boatswain; and Howard Nichols, 97, of Savanna, a Navy recruiter, shared the honor of being grand marshals of the town’s annual Independence Day parade. The three are among the couple of dozen remaining WWII veterans in Carroll and Jo Daviess counties.
The trio of grand marshals each rode in style, courtesy of Ed Morse Chevrolet of Savanna, which lent the use of some new rides for the vets and their family members who joined them. The three led the parade and waved to the crowd along a looped route from Sullivan’s Foods up Fourth Street, then on Division Street and finally to Main Street through downtown.
It was a far cry from being jostled in Jeeps and grinding GI gears during the war.
Law said he was a little “tuckered out” by the day, but enjoyed the cheers and support from the crowd along the route.
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“It was a nice parade,” Law said. “It was quite an honor. I guess I was one of the oldest ones left.”
Ray’s daughter, Brenda Ferrell, and Howard’s daughter, Robin Nichols Loes, were on hand to share in their fathers’ pride. Through the years, the two have learned bits and pieces about their fathers’ time in the service, but as with other soldiers of that generation, much has been left unsaid. Some stories and memories are too painful or personal to be shared.
“He was surprised and very humbled when asked to be a grand marshal,” Brenda said of her father. “He doesn’t really say too much about his military service, so it was a nice way to recognize him and other World War II veterans from the area.
“He loved seeing all the kids, friends and family lined up on the streets.”
Nichols has seen his share of Fourth of July celebrations in his hometown before, but this was the first time in a long time that he was part of the annual parade.
“He had not been in a parade since he rode in a fire engine many years ago,” Robin said of her father. “It brought back many memories of his younger years and the celebrations in Savanna. He was overwhelmed by the crowd at the parade and was so happy to see people he hadn’t seen in a long time.”
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The event also celebrated Savanna’s sesquicentennial — 150 years since it was incorporated as a city in 1849, 21 years after the Mississippi River town was founded. The parade featured businesses and sports teams, service organizations, politicians and others, bringing up the rear formation behind the guests of honor. The day’s celebration also included a historical site walk conducted by the Savanna Historical Society, music, family-friendly activities at West Carroll High School, fireworks and a flag retirement ceremony coordinated by VFW Post No. 2223 and American Legion Post No. 148, both of Savanna.
The sesquicentennial events committee worked with the Savanna Lions Club to choose the grand marshals, committee member Anita Stott said.
“Our events committee reached out for thoughts from the community and input,” Stott said. “[Veterans] seemed like an excellent idea. Our Lions Club members came up with three names, three local community men. They all were honorable and sincerely appreciated being asked to be grand marshals of this important event. We were so pleased to have them and their families take part in the day.”
After graduating from Milledgeville High School in 1942, Law made his decision to enlist his technical background in order to serve his country. He served from 1942-45, with one of his biggest highlights of service being the time he worked on airplanes during the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and Luxembourg, from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945. The decisive Allied victory en route toward Berlin wound up being the deadliest battles in American history, and Law was determined to help his fellow soldiers get through the chilly and forested Ardennes
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Ray Ferrell and his daughter Brenda Ferrell.
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“I had to get planes ready to go all of the time,” Law said. “[There were] B-17s, B-38s, B-51s. I’d fly in them sometimes.”
Law was discharged as a corporal and spent more time up in the air later in life, with his pilot’s license. His professional resumé includes 51 years on the Mount Carroll Mutual Insurance Company’s board of directors from 1960 to 2011. He and his wife Lois have been married for 77 years and enjoy spending time with their family.
Law also was honored by the local regional chapter of the American Legion on July 20 in Lena for being a member for 67 years.
“It was quite an honor also,” Law said.
Ferrell served in the Pacific Theater from 1943 to 1945 after basic training in San Diego, with service at the Navy Mobile Hospital on the French island of New Caledonia alongside the Seabees, Fleet Hospital No. 108 in the Pacific Ocean, Waipio Amphibious Operation Base at Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Crenshaw transport ship at the time of his discharge.
Ferrell grew up in Missouri and Arkansas and later lived in Rockford before moving to Hanover. His late wife, Shirley, also aided in the war effort, working at the Savanna Army Depot during the war before marrying Ray a few years later.
Brenda often thinks about the strong work ethic that her father instilled in her, a lesson he learned himself growing up.
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“I think the biggest lesson that Dad has passed along to the whole family is that you don’t quit or give up,” Brenda said. “Being a child of the Great Depression and his military service, he has a very strong work ethic that started at a very young age, and he instilled this in all of his kids. You may not like the assignment, job or the work that you are being asked to do that day, but you push through it and at the end of the day, be proud of what you have accomplished.”
Nichols did his part for the war effort stateside, serving as a Navy recruiter in San Francisco where he helped give Uncle Sam the soldiers he needed to silence the drumbeat of war. There was still much fighting going on in the Pacific, and it meant persuading as many young men as possible — some fresh out of high school — to fend off the unrelenting Japanese.
Nichols remains humble about his role in war. Robin said her dad didn’t think his time was as worthy as his fellow soldiers.
It wasn’t until Robin discovered a picture tucked away in a bottom drawer at home in her mid-20s that she fully comprehended that her dad was in the Navy, she said. Up to then, she knew more about one of her uncle Al’s time in the Army Air Corps, and how he turned his plane around in the middle of the Pacific Ocean when he received word that the war had ended, she said.
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Nichols served from June 1944 to August 1945, discharged as a seaman first class. After the war, Nichols, supported his late wife Judie, managed the Ben Franklin store in Savanna for many years, where he was known as “Uncle Ben” to his employees and customers. He would eventually reveal more to his family about his time in the Navy, and Robin recalls hearing for the first time about her father’s military training, which included learning survival skills and parachuting out of an airplane.
One profound experience that still resonates in Nichols after all these years, Robin said, was seeing a Navy officer “who could convince any young kid to sign on the dotted line in minutes.” It seemed like business as usual for the officer, and it took some time for Nichols to process how something like that could seem so simple.
“I think this was such a profound memory for my dad because he was assigned to do a job that he was apprehensive about doing,” Robin said. “He had not seen any combat action, yet he knew the dangers, and this job entailed convincing others to face this danger. I don’t know if he thought what this man had to do was a good thing, but he was definitely impressed that the man did what he needed to do for his country.
“I also think my dad felt he could learn from this man so that he could do his best job. Doing your best job, no matter what, has always been something my dad has done.”
Doing your best job: It’s an apt description for the likes of Nichols, Law and Ferrell, and their millions of brothers in arms who did their best job and won the war, and Stott was honored to have them participate in the parade.
“What was profound for me about these guys: They were the true heroes of my lifetime, serving their country proudly,” Stott said. n
Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
Want to see more photos of Savanna’s sesquicentennial celebration? Find Explore Savanna on Facebook and scroll down to the July 6 posts.
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hen clients come to The Cutting Edge salon in Lanark, they might do a double take.
In one part of the shop, they’ll see Marilyn Ewing styling someone’s hair, while in another, a customer gets some face time with Connie Cassens.
Or is that Ewing freshening up a face and lashes and Cassens working on the hair? They could have sworn that’s what they saw last time they came in. Right?
Nope, but that feeling of deja-two is just part of the charm for customers who come to the salon and spa to find a sister act on the job, but there’s something different about this sister act — or rather, the same.
Ewing and Cassens are identical twin sisters who have more in common than just their looks: They enjoy putting their talents to work helping people look great and feel great.
“Everyone loves twins,” Marilyn said. “They’ll come in and see her and be like, ‘I’m here for my appointment,’ and she’s like, ‘Oh, I’m not Marilyn, I’m Connie.’ They’ll be like, ‘What?’ They have no idea that we’re twins. It’s such an easy conversation starter. Any time they see us, they’re going to mix us up no matter what.”
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Marilyn Ewing works on her sister Connie Cassens’ hair at The Cutting Edge in Lanark.
The identical twins have worked at the salon together since February, when Cassens began as an esthetician there. “Being together makes it special,” Ewing said. “People love our banter here in the salon, it gives them something to talk about and makes them feel comfortable.”
Ewing and Cassens, both 30, rent their spaces from The Cutting Edge owner Ann Strohecker. They have their own Facebook pages, “Hair by Mare” and “Cosmetics by Connie,” as well on Instagram — @mares_hair and @cosmeticsbyconnie — where they showcase their work and the products and tools they use to do it.
Ewing had been at The Cutting Edge for 2 years when Cassens joined her this past February, renting space for her esthetician services. It was quite a switch for Cassens, who had wrapped up a career in the Air Force last year, but she was looking for a new challenge — and a way to work with her sister — so she decided to get some skin in the game and become an esthetician.
“I had just got out of the military and had no idea what I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted to work with Marilyn,” Cassens said. “I was like, ‘What
could I possibly do?’ I thought I wasn’t good at hair, so I didn’t want to do that. I was looking up schools, and came across being an esthetician. I like skin care and taking care of people’s skin. I thought that sounded like a lot of fun. It was so easy to learn. I loved it.”
Ewing and Cassens have learned to take being twins in stride with pride. They shared friends and trends growing up in Shannon, and made sure one another looked good, like a mirror image of what they wanted themselves to be like. As teenagers, Cassens admired her sister’s talent for styling hair and encouraged her to turn that talent into a career. While she didn’t go straight from high school to hair, Ewing finally heeded her sister’s advice.
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... and Connie Cassens
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“I finally, 10 years later, decided to do it,” Ewing said. “I’ve always been a creative person and have always wanted to help people, and I can do this for my friends and family, so it’s really nice.”
Cassens was happy to see her sister take up the brushes and curling irons.
“We both were very creative growing up,” Cassens said. “Marilyn always did our homecoming hair, and for events all throughout high school. I asked her, ‘You’re so good at it, why don’t you do that?’ She would be like, ‘I’m never going to do that.’ All that time passes and she turns 28 and goes to cosmetology school. I kept telling her, ‘This is what you should have been doing the whole time!’”
Ewing does both women’s and mens cuts and styles, from simple trims to perms, highlights and coloring. She can also do manicure and pedicures. Before her sister started to work alongside her, Ewing also did waxes and facials before turning over that work to Cassens to help her establish a clientele.
For Ewing and Cassens, their work is more than just a job.
“It’s about giving someone confidence that they didn’t know they had,” Ewing said. “It’s not about looking like a certain standard that people want you to look like, it’s how you feel based on whatever you want, what makes you feel
good, what makes you feel beautiful.”
In addition to body waxes and facials, Cassens can help get rid of those pesky wrinkles and acne spots, and exfoliate skin with body scrubs. She also tints eyebrows and lashes, and does eyebrow laminations and lash lifts. It’s all work that takes a some commitment from the clients as well, as Cassens teaches them what they need to do to maintain their look when they leave the salon.
“They’re happy when they see the results, because they’ve been putting in the time for it,” Cassens said. “When people come back and they finally get to see the results they’ve been looking for.”
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That payoff is worth the wait for Cassens, too: “There’s that feeling of, ‘Wow, I helped them out!’”
“I feel like we’ve been givers growing up, we just always liked to give to people,” Ewing said. “We’re all about what can we do to make you feel good, make you relaxed and make you look good, make you walk out of the salon smiling. Sometimes they come in and they look totally different when they leave and feel so much better about themselves.”
They’ll also recommend each other to clients, and some customers schedule both of their services one right after the other.
The togetherness that Ewing and Cassens have experienced growing up has come full circle with their work. All of the homecomings, proms and dates they prepped each other for helped strengthened a bond that continues to keep them close. Before work, after work, in between appointments — the two are inseparable.
“We can drive together to work if our schedules match up,” Cassens said. “We share basically everything in life. Whoever she’s friends with, I’m friends with, and now with our clientele. We’re like built-in best friends. We see each other every day. Sometimes we’ll get mad at each other, but we can just brush it off being best friends: No harm no foul.”
It’s a camaraderie that’s infectious — twice the talent and twice the smiles give customers something to smile about too.
“People love our banter here in the salon,” Ewing said. “It gives them something to talk about and makes them feel comfortable.
“Being together makes it special,” she said. “It’s nice to have my best friend here.” n
Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
GROWING GROWING DREAMS. DREAMS.
ome restaurateurs might worry when another place to eat opens up right next door — but not Molly McDonough and Ben Johnson. They’re the ones who opened it.
The husband-and-wife team behind the restaurant that’s been a hit with customers for years, Molly’s, recently added another dining option to Mount Carroll’s menu: Market Street Pizza, serving traditional favorites as well as specialty varieties that you don’t always find in a smaller town like Mount Carroll.
After experiencing a decade of success at Molly’s, the couple launched the new endeavor in January, and while Market Street Pizza and Molly’s share owners — and a kitchen — the pizza place has its own entrance and a vibe distinct from its next door neighbor, but with the same commitment from the couple to bring something different and delicious to downtown. Giving the pizza restaurant its own identity helps spread the word that there is a dedicated pizza place in town, something that had been missing for some time, Johnson said.
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“Especially in a small town as Mount Carroll, the more businesses we can have open downtown, it just gives people an opportunity to come downtown and try out different places,” McDonough said. “I would love it if there were more business or more restaurants.”
Market Street Pizza isn’t the first business the couple has operated at the site. They owned a bakery at the same location for a few years before the coronavirus led to its closure in 2020. After a few years of trying to figure out what to do with the space, they decided this past summer to try and fill it — with customers.
“It’s been a few years, but we finally got to a place where we felt like we could start a new business,” Johnson said. “We thought about it a lot, had a lot of different ideas, and we decided that an evening business would be best, and there was a lack of pizza in the area. It’s something we’ve always been passionate about, and we’ve made lots of pizzas.”
McDonough has utilized her experience working in the culinary business from places large and small, from Los Angeles to Mount Carroll, to come up with a dozen varieties of pizzas that feature fresh ingredients and fresh takes. The pizzas run about 13-14 inches and come with traditional or gluten-free crust, and a substitution of vegan cheese is available.
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One of the specialty pizzas brings together the best of two worlds — Italy and Mexico: the chicken enchilada pizza comes with green chili sauce, cheddar cheese, red onions, pickled jalapeños, and is topped with romaine, ranch and tortilla strips; tofu can be substituted for chicken if desired. There’s also an antipasto pizza with tomato sauce, fontina, Parmesan, olives, artichokes, cherry tomatoes and pickled cauliflower; prosciutto can be added as an option.
The couple works together to come up with the menu, drawing on their own experiences either together or growing up, like the Thai peanut pizza, which has peanut sauce, fontina, mozzarella, green onions, pickled carrots, cilantro and a choice of chicken or tofu. That’s one that she learned as a child growing up in Alberta; it was a favorite of her family’s during summer parties when the sun wouldn’t set until nearly 11 p.m. “It was something that I always thought was really yummy,” she said.
Owners Ben Johnson and Molly McDonough (right) have utilized their experience in the culinary industry to come up with a dozen varieties of pizza for Market Street Pizza’s menu. “We’ve kind of taken things from where we’ve lived, or from restaurants that we’ve enjoyed, for some inspiration,” she said, bringing their own twist to the classics
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When Ben and Molly decided to open a pizzeria, they wanted to give it a a relaxing, warm and welcoming character all its own, distinct from their other business next door, Molly’s, letting customers know that Market Street Pizza would stand on its own two feet.
“There was a lack of pizza in the area, “ Ben said, and the project was “something we’ve always been passionate about.”
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“Over the years we’ve kind of taken things from where we’ve lived, or from restaurants that we’ve enjoyed for some inspiration,” McDonough said. “We can take a twist to a classic, but also try to embrace the ingredients as they are.” Dough and sauces are made from scratch and the pork for the fennel sausage also is ground in its kitchen. Vegetables are sourced from a pair of produce farms in Carroll County and are roasted to help rid excess moisture before they’re topped on each pizza.
In addition to soda, tea, coffee and a Shirley Temple on the drink menu, draft beers and wines are also featured, with a rotating selection from the bar, Italian wine-based spritz cocktails, and amaro, a popular Italian after-dinner drink.
Customers can start things off with a salad or appetizer, including hickory-smoked wings marinated olives and garlic and herb focaccia.
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Market Street Pizza also offers appetizers, including these hickory-smoked wings.
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“We put a lot of time into making sure that every aspect of it tastes really good,” Johnson said. “We really focus on the quality of it, and also the consistency — we think that it’s really important that when you come in and have a pizza that you really like, you’ll come in a month later and like it again just as much.”
McDonough, originally from Jacksonville, Florida, and Johnson, a Mount Carroll native, met in college in New York and got married in California. The two also had a brief foray in the music business: They recorded an album, “Submarines in Space,” in 2014 before deciding to move to Mount Carroll to continue their culinary careers and open Molly’s.
Like music, food also comes in many varieties, with no recipe set-in-stone. The couple is open to hearing feedback and suggestions on what they make or what they can make. Being a good listener is an important ingredient in the recipe for success, McDonough said.
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PIZZA
“Food is always changing,” she said. “It’s amazing that there are still so many restaurants and so many cookbooks and magazines and all of those things, because we’re obsessed with food. It’s like there are 100 different ways to do something, and I think that if someone comes up and says, ‘I think this can be a little different,’ then I’ll be like, ‘Okay, let’s make it a little different.’ I’m not so stuck to being that something has to be like this, I think that any time something can be better, that’s what we want to do.”
“It’s been good,” Johnson said. “We’ve been getting a lot of real good feedback on our food. We think we have a good variety on our menu, something that’s good for everybody. I hope they have a good meal, and an enjoyable and relaxing dining experience.”
Added McDonough: “Our goal here is to kind of create a sense of home in a way, to connect with some people at the bar or sit in solitude and look at your phone or read the newspaper. We want people to say that this is a place where they feel safe and want to come back to. The repeat customers keep us going.” n
Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
arry Smith doesn’t let diminishing eyesight, heart trouble and a bum leg stop him from getting on his ATV early each morning to roam around the longtime family farm where he’s spent nearly all of his 84 years.
After all, there’s nary a nook or crannie Smith doesn’t know throughout the nearly 500acre Coldspring Farms, located 3 miles east of Thomson in Carroll County: He’s trodded its grounds for more than half of its history under family ownership, despite having handed over the reigns to his son Judd 12 years ago.
Larry and his wife Jeanie managed the farm when it achieved centennial status in 1974, and now they have seen it enter into the ranks of sesquicentennials farms, turning 150 years old this summer. The Smith Family celebrated the milestone June 22 with a gathering of family, neighbors and friends on the farm — people who came to wish the farm a happy 150th and the Smith family continued success. There were stories to be swapped, good times to remember, and reminisces that sparked the memory and put a sparkle in Larry and Jeanie’s eyes.
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COLDSPRING
Coldspring Farms celebrated 150 years as a family operation on June 22. Pictured are (from left) Nancy Green, fourth-generation; Judd Smith, fifth-generation and current farm operator; Larry Smith, fourth-generation; and Larry's wife Jeanie Smith. Larry and Jeanie own the farm and have lived there since 1967; Larry was in charge of the farm from 1967 to 2012, having taken over from his father Ernest.
It was a trip down memory lane set against the picturesque backdrop of the farm’s unique sloping topography, not far from a large bluff about a mile away — a celebration of the family farm’s history, and a look ahead to its future. With so many memories, it’s hard to pick just one that stands out, but for Larry, that trip down memory lane began with a sprint up the driveway, recalling the days when he couldn’t wait for the school bell to ring so he could hop on the bus and get home to work with his dad, Ernest. When the doors swung open he’d jump out and fly up the driveway leading to the farm.
“I’ve lived here all my life, 1940 to now,” Larry said. “When I would get off the bus, I would leap off toward the mailbox and I ran to the house. I’d change my clothes, and I wanted to be with my dad.”
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Larry and his sister Nancy Green represent the fourth generation of the family to live on the farm; Larry and Jeanie occupy the main house on the property, and Nancy lives in a smaller one along York Center Road. Judd, 52, part of the fifth generation, lives close by and manages the farm with family both his age and younger, including nephews and cousins helping him. And, of course, there’s Larry’s brain to pick when there’s any quandary. Health problems have sidelined Larry in recent years so he’s not as hands-on as he once was, but he still manages to do some mowing around the spread.
“My favorite memory of Larry on the farm is that he never liked to stay in the house,” Green said, and not much has changed: “I don’t think he still likes to stay in the house.”
Edmund Smith purchased the farm, originally 184 acres, in 1874 for about $19 an acre. He came from New York and brought along his family, including his father, Sardius Smith. Sardius’ father, Ithamer, was a Revolutionary War minuteman from Worcester, Massachusetts. Edmund’s son, Fred, gave Coldspring Farms its name, after the small stream that runs through it. Fred died when Larry was six. Fred’s son, Ernest, took over and ran the farm until his death in 1967.
Larry and Jeanie had been married for seven years when they took over the farm. Together, this farm boy and city girl ran the farm and raised five children: sons Judd and Bart; and daughters Gwen Smith, Julie Skornia and Ileen Goldensoph.
Jeanie lived in Thomson’s village limits during her childhood; it wasn’t until after she got married that she became accustomed to the farm life — and not just doing the hard work of a farm wife, but helping out in the fields too. For about 30 years before Judd took over sole operation of the farm, Jeanie would hop in the cab and run the combine. That came to an end after she needed to tend to Larry’s health issues.
“I grew up in the big town of Thomson, I was a city girl,” Jeanie said. “I wasn’t on the farm that much growing up, but I enjoyed it from the very beginning. It was a different style of life. My parents were used to sitting down at night having supper at the same time, but here it could be any time between five o’clock to nine o’clock.”
A spring on the Smiths’ land has been a part of the family farm for as long as they’ve owned it, and it’s played a part of the farm’s history, too: It gave the farm its name, watered livestock and it feeds the stream that feeds the pond on the property.
Growing up on the farm didn’t come without its perils, which Judd found out the hard way when he was eight. He and Gwen were playing on a full corn wagon when Judd fell through the middle as it opened to empty out the corn. The ordeal stunned the local farming community, and it led to safety lessons for students through the elementary school. Judd even used the incident to demonstrate in a class science project how corn wagons empty, using black kernels to show which ones are the first to empty.
In the 14 years since Judd has managed the farm, it’s strictly been a corn and soybean operation — the family tended to its last livestock in 2012 — and managing the crops has been in Judd’s hands during this time, including a switch to strip tilling, making judgments on when to plant beans, and when to use cover crops (he took a break from planting them last year, but they’re back this year). The farm’s sloping topography lends itself to contour farming, helping keep the soil fresh and conserving rainwater.
But even though Judd’s in the driver’s seat these days, Larry’s still a driving force, riding around the farm each morning to make sure all is well on the property, and he makes up for the loss of hands-on work by keeping up with national and global farming trends, as well as keeping a watchful eye on how the economy has impacted smaller farms such as his. He’s not shy about sharing his opinions, and he continues to be a trusted adviser to Judd.
“It seems like we’re in a lot more competition with the world than how we used to be,” Judd said. “You have to watch what the rest of the world is doing now, compared to probably 20-30
years ago. We know what’s going on more with technology and everything, but it just seems that the rest of the world really affects the markets here in the United States a lot.”
As Coldspring enters its 150th year, Bushel pricing and material costs have recently been on Larry’s mind, as well the farm’s continued independence.
“I think a farmer likes to be independent,” Larry said, “and I think he doesn’t want anybody to tell him what to do.”
That streak of independence runs in the family. When it comes to controlling costs, Judd takes matters into his own hands, using lessons Larry passed on, his own ingenuity — and some oldschool resourcefulness. He once turned an old corn picker into a self-propelled sprayer, something his Aunt Nancy is particularly proud of.
“I look at that and go, ‘I wish my dad was alive because my dad just would have been so proud of him,’” Green said.
It’s just one of countless examples of determination and a drive to survive, a combination of necessity and knowledge that’s helped the family farm reach its sesquicentennial milestone, no easy task in an industry whose fortunes can change on the whims of the weather and world markets.
It’s no wonder the family wanted to celebrate.
The 150th birthday bash featured a hog roast, Bingo, games of corn hole, fishing, paddle boating on the lake, yard games, Euchre, shooting hoops onto a hay baler, and a petting zoo from P&C Little Rascals of Chadwick.
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ATTENTION EXHIBITORS!
“We decided to have a day of fun,” Jeanie said. “Our family wanted to celebrate our farm being in the family for 150 years. It was an idea of wanting to celebrate, so we decided to have a party,” and the kids were more than happy to give Mom and Dad a celebration to remember. “All five of our kids had been working really hard at it,” Jeanie said, “And our fourth generation — Nancy, Larry and I — did the least amount of work.”
Only a handful of farms in Carroll County have made it to the 150-year mark, and Coldspring is the first in York Township, which comprises the area around Thomson, Argo Fay and Ideal Corners.
When their sesquicentennial farm sign comes from the Illinois Department of Agriculture, they’ll swap it with the centennial sign posted near the farm’s windmill, which is one of the first things people see as they travel west on the gravel road toward the farm. Passersby can also get a glimpse of the nearby pond before the hilly road dips down and it disappears from sight.
The pond was built in the mid-1940s, around the same time as Green’s house, fed by water from the stream —and it wasn’t just something for aesthetics; it served a practical purpose too. When a chicken house caught fire, water from the pond was used to battle the blaze.
“There was no rural fire department,” Green said, “so Dad put in the pond and it was a bucket brigade.”
Like the farm itself, the stream that gave it its name has stood the test of time, carrying water since the Smiths have owned the farm, and the pond and stream have become the farm’s signature sights, Jeanie said — and a source of fond memories.
“One of the things that I remember a lot about this farm growing up is thinking of Julie, and her always having friends over and they would love the water here,” Judd said. “Julie thought about it and told me about this idea of her bottling the water.
“[I said,] ‘No one would ever buy bottled water,’” he added with a laugh.
People have, however, bought the sweet corn the Smiths grow. For the past few years in July and August, they load up a trailer at Ray’s Time Out bar and grill in Clinton, Iowa, about 10 miles away, selling bundles for $4 (this season’s sales wrapped up July 29). While there, they’ve shared stories of life on the farm with customers, and gotten to know some well enough to that they joined the family for it milestone celebration.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Julie said. “Many of us will probably never see the next 50-year mark.”
But if the past is any indication of the future, there’ll still be Smiths around to celebrate the farm’s bicentennial. After all, hope isn’t the only thing that springs eternal, Coldpsring has become practically eternal, too. n
Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
