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Surgeon administers a dose of T(ree)LC to his patients

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Publisher/Ad Director Jennifer Heintzelman Magazine editor & Page design Rusty Schrader Published by Sauk Valley Media 113 S. Peoria Ave. Dixon, IL 61021 815-284-2222 Have a story idea for Small Town Living? Let us know ... Call 815-632-2531 or e-mail news@saukvalley.com Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of Ogle County Living 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.

While working on a park one day

A rural Mount Morris teen isn’t one to lose steam; he just keeps chugging along, and his latest project has transformed a greenspace into a place where people can sit back and watch traffic travel over, and under, Ogle County’s last all-wood bridge.

A porcelain day in the neighborhood Ogle County — and Mount Morris in particular — is home to some rare pieces of Atomic Age architecture.

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By Cody Cutter | Sauk Valley Media

wning a home: It’s the Great American Dream, and after World War II, that dream came true for millions of families as the nation was riding high on the confidence of its victory and an economic boom the likes of which people had never seen. As highways and byways were built and communities began to push past their city limits, the demand for housing grew. Home building was at an all-time high, with returning GI’s and their growing families wanting a place of their own to call home.

LUSTRON cont’d to page 6

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LUSTRON cont’d from page 5

Carl Strandlund, a Swedish-born immigrant from Moline, came up with an idea for a piece movement that he thought turn millions of Americans into homeowners: The Lustron house, a prefab home that could be shipped anywhere and assembled quickly.

Mount Morris was no different than the rest of nation, and today, that post-war pride can still be found in more than a dozen homes there — as well as one in Polo — that stand as a testament to American ingenuity, marketing and mass production. They’re called Lustron homes and they were introduced as houses that could be quickly and easily built and that would withstand the test of time and just about anything else — the porcelain promise of America’s future.

The war’s boom ends, the building boom begins

American pride was at an all-time high in the mid-to late-1940s, and a Swedish-born immigrant from Moline had an idea to help make homeownership a reality for a new generation. He came up with a plan that he thought would revolutionize the homebuilding industry: mass-producing ready-to-build homes on an assembly line — the Model T of housing, if you will. His idea: Prefab homes built on a steel frame, and covered inside and out in porcelain-enameled, square steel panels. The pieces could be put on the back of a specially designed truck, shipped anywhere and pieced together in a fraction of the time it would take to build a conventional home, and they’d be affordable too: a square deal for the masses. The Lustron home was conceived in 1947 by Carl Strandlund, general manager of the Chicago Vitreous Enamel Product Company in Cicero, to meet a growing demand for housing for a generation who wanted an affordable home that required little maintenance.

LUSTRON cont’d to page 7

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LUSTRON cont’d from page 6 Buyers were promised that they’d never have to wallpaper or paint again, and the steel construction was proof-positive that they’d live up to their promise of being “termiteproof, verminproof, ratproof … fireproof, decayproof, stainproof, salt-waterproof,” and, the company said, “almost maintenance-proof.” The homes were pre-manufactured in pieces, designed to go up quickly — 360 man hours — by builders following a manual (think an IKEA house of the 1950s). Predesigned homes were nothing new; Sears, Roebuck and Company offered them in their famous catalogs, but their models were more traditional, both in appearance and construction.

Home delivery ... As Lustro n ramped up production, it also rolled out a fleet of del trucks to ship the homes. The ivery trucks were specially design ed to carry all the pieces of tron home, “down the last bol a Lust and screw.” The Lustron fac tory in Columbus, Ohio, wa lion-square-feet (about the s 1 milsize of 22 football fields) and housed about 8 miles of aut conveyors, 163 presses, 11 fur omated naces and the largest porcel ain enameling set-up in the world.

LUSTRON cont’d to pages 8-9

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Pinecrest Grove Community Center Mt Morris Felker’s Foods Byron Oliver’s Corner Market Dixon Curate Kitchen Oliver’s Corner Dixon Market - Dixon Hazel’s Cafe Oregon and SuperValue SuperValue Oregon Oregon Polo Fresh Food Market Polo The Cypress House Rochelle

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LEFT: Another space-saving feature: the Thor Automagic sink, a combination sink, dishwasher and clothes washer. The washer/dishwasher was under the lid/ counter area next to the sink. The hybrid unit included removable drums: one for clothes and one for dishes. The all-in-one kitchen unit didn’t last long, as people were turned off by the idea of washing clothes and dishes in the same machine.

TOP: A vintage photo of a Lustron living room. ABOVE: The dining area was located just off the kitchen ; in between, a cabinet with a pass-through served as a wall between the two while also providing storage and shelving, as seen in this Ohio home. RIGHT: The bedroom wall featured a built-in vanity surrounded by closets and cabinets.

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LUSTRON cont’d from page 7 Lustron homes, were different: a new kind of home for a new kind of America. The nation’s future was now and Lustron homes were in on the ground floor of the mid-century, modern-living movement. In fact the ground floor was one of their selling points. The slab homes didn’t even come with a basement. Sales brochures said “the old necessary evil” wasn’t needed. No more climbing stairs. The combination dishwasher/clothes washer/sink in the kitchen took care of cleaning, and the furnace was located in the utility room. Ingenuity, marketing and mass production: They’re as American as the red, white and blue, or in the Lustron homes’ case: maize yellow, surf blue, dove gray and desert tan — buyers’ choices for colors. Lustron offered optional garage packages in varying shapes and sizes, also made of Lustron panels on traditional wood framing. Breezeways that connected the home to the garage were optional, but rarely built. Each roof was made with porcelain-enameled steel tiles. More steel made up the interior setup as well, such as walls, doors, counters and closet space. Oil burning furnaces heated the homes, directing hot air into an enclosed space above the metal ceilings.

LUSTRON cont’d to page 10

These vintage ads tout the affordability, benefits and speed at which Lustron houses could be assembled — a “new standard for living.”

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LUSTRON cont’d from page 9

and in some communities, the homes have become sought after by people seeking an authentic retro vibe. In 2018 in Strandlund’s vision grew bigger than his britches, however. McHenry, Illinois, what was believed to be the last Lustron His plant in Columbus, Ohio, couldn’t keep up with home built went up for sale for $125,000. Considdemand, and only about 2,500 Lustrons were ering its original $14,000 price tag, not a built before the plant closed in 1950. bad investment. Strandlund’s close proximity to ChiDocumentation of Lustron cago meant many Lustron homes homes became a mission of were scattered throughout a Thomas Fetters and Vincent growing Chicago metropolitan Kohler, who teamed to write area and northern Illinois. “The Lustron Home: The HisSuburban Lombard has more tory of a Postwar Prefabricated than 40 Lustron homes, many Housing Experiment” in 2002. of which came to be as neighTheir work also led to an online bors delighted at the sight of one, Lustron home locator, where home and wanted one of their own. According to a 1950 fact sheet sites are “pinned” on a map, Each Lustron home had its own 5-digit serial number that distributed to the press, as of with a street view of each house corresponded to its order of production. The number, along Dec. 31, 1949, more homes had for people to see. The locator with the house’s model number, could be found on a small been shipped to Illinois than any also documents sites of homes metal plate affixed to a wall in the utility room. other state. Of the 1,970 shipped that are no longer standing. to 34 states, 307 went to Illinois. Ohio was second, with 275. At The Lustron Corporation declared bankruptcy in 1950, the the bottom of the list: South Carolina, with two. victim of production delays, lack of viable distribution strategy As the number of remaining homes have dwindled since and escalating costs. Strandlund, who used federal loans to their heyday — only about 1,500 of the homes are estimated help pay for his project, was out of the business world when to remain today — preserving their legacy has become a misLustron ceased operations. He died in 1974. sion for home historians and fans of ’50s culture. Websites and Facebook pages dedicated to Lustron living have popped up, LUSTRON cont’d to page 11

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Mount Morris has 16 Lustron homes, the most in any one small town in Illinois, and all four colors of homes are among the collection: desert tan, dove gray, maize yellow and surf blue. All but three houses are in a single neighborhood: The cluster of Lustrons on the town’s northwest side, near Zickhur Park, are lined up on spots along Hannah Avenue, West First Street and Sunset Lane. There’s one Lustron home in Polo. Rockford-based Lobdell Realty Company’s owner-broker, W. W. Lobdell, was an early believer in Lustron homes and acquired land to set them up in the Rock River Valley. Lobdell succeeded in erecting homes in Mount Morris, Rockford, Belvidere and South Beloit; and had hopes of adding more in Oregon and Rochelle, but those plans never panned out. According to the book “Suburban Steel: The Magnificent Failure of the Lustron Corporation, 1949-1951,” by Douglas Knerr, the first Lustron in the region was a two-bedroom surf blue-colored home at 2021 Kilburn Ave. in Rockford, and Lobdell used that as a model to attract prospective homeowners (that house has since been painted gray, but retains the look and feel of a Lustron home).

Most of the Lustrons in Mount Morris were made possible by management at the then-bustling Kable News magazine company, which sought to expand its workforce and used the Lustron homes to

attract prospective workers. South of Mount Morris, on the other end of Lowell Park Road in Dixon, there are seven Lustron homes (Editor’s note: The homes were featured in the Summer 2021 issue of Dixon Living magazine; go to https://issuu.com/shawmedia/ docs/svm–dixon–living–071921 to read it). Other Illinois Lustron homes within a 90-minute drive from Ogle County are in Belvidere, DeKalb, Freeport, La Salle, Leland, Mendota, Rockford, Sandwich, Savanna, Somonauk, the Quad Cities, and Clinton, Iowa. The following pages feature a list of the 17 Lustron homes in Ogle County with additional information provided when available. Each home was built between 1949 and 1950, and all are two-bedroom models. Author’s note: Each of the Lustron homes detailed in this story are privately owned. Please be respectful of people’s property and privacy.

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501 Sunset Lane Surf blue

11 West First St. Surf blue

This house is one of three Lustron homes in Mount Morris that aren’t on the far northwest corner of town, where 13 of the homes were built.

This Lustron, model, No. 1340, served as a model home to showcase the new prefab homes to prospective buyers.

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You’d be hardpressed to recognize this home as a Lustron house. Of Mount Morris’ 16 Lustron homes, only this one at 506 Sunset Lane has been given a facelift; it originally was a desert tan color, but now sports new siding, a steel roof and modified windows.

411 W. First St. Sur f blue

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Story engineered by

Cody Cutter | Shaw Media

he Columbian Road bridge and A.J. Hinrichs have something in common. They’re both one of a kind. The span over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s Aurora Sub line is the only all-wood bridge in Ogle County, and A.J. is a teenager who decided to make a park in his spare time. A.J., 16, has long been fascinated with trains, especially the ones that whistle and rumble under the bridge, not far from his home near White Pines State Park, and he’s become a familiar site in the area where he’s spent the past year-plus digging dirt, trimming trees and carving paths near the bridge and the area around it.

PARK cont’d to page 18 A.J. Hinrichs

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PARK cont’d from page 17 “It gave me something to do,” A.J. said. “I’m not a big waiting guy, and I don’t have a lot of patience.” That lack of patience was a virtue for Hinrichs as his restless energy transformed the area into something special, and he’s hoping others will enjoy his efforts, too. Visitors can stroll down the stone steps to a flat area near the tracks with the bridge in the background, sit at a bench, make a small fire in a pit A.J. made this past spring, and sign a guestbook beneath the bench in a metal box. Spending anywhere from 2 hours on a weekday to several on any given weekend tidying and improving the area, A.J.’s work doesn’t interfere with railroad business.

A.J. Hinrichs, 16, of rural Mount Morris decided to take on a project of beautifying the area around the Columbian Road Bridge near his home. CODY CUTTER/ CCUTTER@ SAUKVALLEY.COM

PARK cont’d to page 18 & 19

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The park area A.J. the percreated provides t for a view fect vantage poin er and under of traffic going ov e lumbian Road. Th the bridge on Co r stringer bridge bridge — a timbe — was built in (detail, above left) d is the last all-woo around 1930 and : ht unty. At rig bridge in Ogle Co features A kiosk A.J. made t the information abou bridge. CO D Y

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PARK cont’d from page 19

t A sign of respec , ... A.J.’s dad, Andy at th n sig holds up a ter rail of hangs on the ou ad Bridge, the Columbian Ro kers for their thanking rail wor g the commitment durin pan9 -1 ongoing COVID demic.

“We’re not harming anything, and we keep our distance from the track,” A.J. said. “We’ve learned that the railroad could care less as long as we’re not messing with it, and we just stay away from anything they’re doing there.” A.J., the son of Andy and Lisa Hinrichs, first got hooked on trains when he was about 3 or 4 years old, his father said. On road trips, they would stop by the Casey’s in Polo, where A.J. spotted a toy engine on a shelf that fascinated him whenever they would visit the store. Then one day, Andy decided to buy it for A.J. and that started a love for toy trains that has grown into a little world of its own: an HO-model layout in his basement. As he grew up and was allowed to ride his bicycle a little farther from home, A.J. often headed to the Columbian Road Bridge and watched for the trains to come by – different types, different engine color schemes. He began making notes of anything CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM unusual or different. Make no mistake, this teen train fan knows his stuff. “Seattle ones usually have more containers than the Portland ones,” A.J. said. “All of the trains going [west] are going to St. Paul and Northtown Yard. The cars that have Norfolk Southern on the side of them, and steel coil cars, those all come from Elkhart, Indiana, and go from Elkhart to Northtown. There are oil trains, and those are always from an oil refinery in Pennsylvania all the way up to North Dakota; they just go back and forth.”

PARK cont’d to page 21

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PARK cont’d from page 20 He can even pull out bits of knowledge about former lines that criss-crossed Ogle County. That includes the Chicago Great Western, which entered the county near Egan and once went through Byron, Stillman Valley, Holcomb and Lindenwood – the line still is partly in use by the Exelon nuclear plant in Byron. Old right-of-ways have fascinated A.J. and his father, including the former Illinois Central in the western part of the county, and the former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy stretch from Mt. Morris to Forreston. More trips to the bridge came and went, until one day he began thinking about the area at its southeast corner: What if

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some of the shrubs were cleared so that more people could enjoy seeing the trains like he did? It wasn’t long before he answered his own question by setting about working on a passion project to turn the area into a park. He was already good at working with his hands, thanks to time spent in the family wood shop, so it was just a matter of marrying his handiwork to his hobby. He’s not one to slow down or slack off, his father said. When he wasn’t working on his park project, he spent a lot of his time this summer working at a nearby farm. He also is involved with the high school FFA club and 4-H. “We’re kind of a family that likes to work,” Andy said. “It’s cool to see A.J. go out and do the work. He’s not one to sit on the couch. If he’s at home, you’re either going to find him in three spots: one is here, two is in the train layout in the basement, and three is working in the shop working on something.” Just as spring sprung last year, A.J. sprung into action working to beautify the area. Small trees were trimmed or cut down, the slope was leveled off at places, and each of the added extras to the sight-seeing experience – a bench, fire pit, signs – were installed. He even made a kiosk containing information about the bridge. There’s a tree that one visitor would make a jackknife claim to as a favorite spot to watch the trains, with dates and initials etched into it since last summer. A.J. thought about pulling it out, but its charms began to grow on him and he saw it as something special.

PARK cont’d to page 22

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PARK cont’d from page 21

been lost to time, but records date it to around 1930. Today, it’s one of the few wooden bridges left on the Seattle-to-Chicago line. “We never did figure out who it was,” Andy said. It’s 150 feet long and the deck is 20 feet wide — and it’s still in The place continues to be a work in progress; A.J. has plans to pretty good shape for its age. The bridge’s most recent inspection make the landscape around the bridge’s southwest corner a mirror — on Oct. 30, 2019, according to Illinois Department of Transportaimage of his first park project. tion records — showed the structure’s deck to be in “very He also wants to get rid of the small trees that good condition,” with new planks installed by the remain in the way to give those looking at the railroad about a decade ago, and both its superbridge from the bench a clearer view of the laststructure and substructure to be “satisfactory.” of-its kind bridge. Vehicles cross the bride about 125 times “It makes for a better backdrop,” A.J. said. Find “The Old Railroad Bridge” on a typical day, it being the quickest route Concrete and iron bridges had been on Facebook for information, from Mt. Morris to all things White Pines more typical, but when the Great Depresrecent pictures and video of activity, — the park, skating rink, cabins, wedding sion first hit some railroad companies and both on and below the Columbian canyon, and motorcycle hill climb. road departments cut costs by building Road Bridge over the Burlington Given its unique place in the county, wood bridges; the Columbian Road Bridge Northern Santa Fe Aurora Sub the bridge is eligible to be given historical was one such example. New Deal-era proline. Contact A.J. Hinrichs on status by the National Register of Historic grams brought back sturdier bridge-building the Facebook page for places. That’s something Hinrichs would defimaterials, but by the end of World War II, more information. nitely like to see happen one day. wood bridges once again started to become “I always thought it was unique, being a wooden common once more as iron and other construction bridge and probably one of the only ones left around,” materials were diverted to the war effort. A.J. said. But as vehicle traffic increased, along with their weight, wood With A.J.’s knowledge of railroads, it should come as no surprise once again fell out of favor. With the rebuilding of the Burlington Road Bridge over the BNSF Aurora Sub line more than 20 years ago, that he wants to work in the railroad industry when he grows up. Who knows: Perhaps by then he could work the Aurora Sub line it left the Columbian Road Bridge the lone wood bridge standing in and take a ride under the bridge and through the area he’s commitOgle County. The exact date when the timber stringer bridge was built has ted so much time to.

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The number of wood bridges over the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe's Aurora Sub railroad line is shrinking. While wood bridges can hold their own, steel and concrete bridges can hold more, and they’ve got more staying power, too. In Carroll County, west of Milledgeville, the wood bridge carrying Ideal Road over the line had its last vehicle run over its planks this summer. The bridge has been replaced with a new girder structure about 100 miles to the west. Falling victim to deterioration, the Ideal Road bridge was the penultimate — secondto-last — bridge in Carroll County made up entirely of wood to carry traffic, and it carried plenty. The bridge was a major thoroughfare in the southern part of the county for farmers to reach places such as Milledgeville, Thomson and shipping hubs in Clinton, Iowa. While other bridges throughout the county have been upgraded or replaced, the Ideal Road bridge withstood the test of time for seven decades. With it now gone, the only all-wood bridge left in Carroll County is on Mill Road, which crosses the BNSF between Argo Fay and Mount Carroll. The Mill Road bridge, built in 1920, is 138.1 feet long, 16.1 feet wide and its largest

span is 24.3 feet. A September 2019 inspection noted that the deck and superstructure are in good condition, but the substructure had significant section loss. Less than 100 cars cross it on an average day. When its day comes, the county will be out of the woods, and there’ll be one less structure to bridge the gap between the past and the present. As for the Ideal Road bridge, it’s actually not that old — at least as bridges go. It was built in 1950. It, and the one on Mill Road, are timber stringer bridges, which are made of a series of parallel wooden beams or logs that carry a plank deck. Several different types of designs were utilized in wood bridges over time, but the stringer concept can hold the most weight, with thicker and stronger logs. Toward its end, about 450 vehicles crossed it on an average day. Some wood bridges have been reinforced with iron; the two oldest of which are still standing are on Big Cut Road over the BNSF, east of Wacker (1924), and Daggert Road over the East Johnson Creek south of Mount Carroll (1916). They were wood bridges whose centers have been reinforced by an iron pony truss frame. Only the Daggert Road bridge remains open to traffic. In Savanna, a kingpost truss bridge on Iris Street over the BNSF had girded supports and triangular bases. That bridge was built in the 1930s, but had deteriorated by the 1980s and was eventually relegated to pedestrian traffic only, and ultimately removed in the past decade. Elsewhere, a wood bridge was built over the railroad in 1953 on the old alignment of the Milledgeville-Polo blacktop on Elkhorn Road, west of Hazelhurst. That bridge, and the right-of-way south of it, were removed in 2011. Going west toward Milledgeville, a wood bridge carrying Sunshine Road over the tracks was built in 1958, but also replaced in 2011.

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Arborist Lant Huntley ALEX T. PASCHAL/ APASCHAL@ SHAWMEDIA.COM

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By Cody Cutter | Sauk Valley Media

ost surgeons want to see their patients out of the woods — but not Lant Huntley. As far as he’s concerned, that’s the best place for them. Something else Huntley doesn’t have in common with other doctors? He makes house calls. He has to. It’d be hard to fit a 30-foot patient in his office. Huntley is a certified arborist — a tree surgeon whose job it is to get the root of the problem, and for more than 40 years, that’s what he’s been doing, whether it’s treating aches in pains in the limbs or even a potentially crippling disease.

HUNTLEY cont’d to page 26

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About 10 years ago, Huntley built a log cabin to serve as a rustic classroom where he can teach people about trees and the many maladies that can afflict them. This past year, though, classes haven’t been in session due to the ongoing pandemic. ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.COM

HUNTLEY cont’d from page 25 He’s the owner of Huntley Horticulture Service and he’s a man who knows his trees. He should: He’s got a lot of experience under his belt and harness, and at 82 years young, he’s as busy as he’s ever been. He’s juggling a workload that sometimes keeps him on the road 7 days a week, traveling throughout northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin— he’s certified in both states — to tend to and diagnose tree issues of all types. Taking care of trees not only involves tools of the trade, but a detailed plan and approach. “I find out what’s wrong with them, and what I can do to help, then I go out and practice that,” Huntley said. “That’s my responsibility, too. I don’t just go places and inject their trees. I better tell them how to take care of them.”

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This year, he’s been doling out a lot of advice as a drought takes its toll on trees. It’s the worst drought he’s seen since 1988, when yards were covered in brown throughout all of July and August. While lawn irrigation techniques have improved over the last 30 years, the same cannot be said for trees, and it’s made Huntley’s work more needed than ever. This year is a “severe drought,” Huntley said, a point he’s been driving home with every client he sees. “What most people need to realize,” Huntley said, “is those fibrous roots collect the manganese and the iron – trace elements – from the rain water, so they’re right up there close to the surface of the soil, 2 to 4 inches, to collect the moisture and the elements. What’s happening with the lack of moisture is that the tree cannot take as much moisture up, and it’s really trouble.

HUNTLEY cont’d to page 27

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HUNTLEY cont’d from page 26

In her poem, “Trees,” Joyce Kilmer wrote that “I think that I shall never see, A poem lovely as a tree,” but do you know what you’re seeing when things don’t look so lovely? Below are a few signs, culled from various sources online, that may point to a sick tree. It’s by no mean complete or comprehensive, so if you think your tree could use a little TLC, call a professional. • Dead leaves clinging to branches of deciduous trees through the winter. On healthy trees, they should fall to the ground. • A tree that is beginning to lean, or has bare branches on one side, may have root damage. • Vertical cracks, or seams, on the trunk. Tree bark should be continuous without deep cracks or holes, which could be a sign of a dying tree. • An abundance of dead wood and branches • Areas of smooth wood where bark has fallen off. In healthy trees, new bark would grow in its place. • Small branches sprouting from the base of a tree. • Typically trees decay from the inside out. If you see mushrooms or fungus growing on trees, that could be a sign of decay. • Leaves should appear healthy when they are in season. Discolored leaves could be a sign of disease. • If a tree is growing uneven, is lopsided or leaning too far, it may be a sign of damage. • Many insects/pests prefer to live in dead, weakened, or dying hosts. If you notice pest activity, it can be a sign your tree is dying, a process that could be hastened by the added pressure of having an insect infestation. • One way to determine whether your tree is on its last limb is a scratch test. Use your finger or a tool to scratch the trunk or one of the tree’s twigs. Right beneath the dry, outer layer of bark is the cambium layer. If the tree is still alive, it will be moist and green. In a dead or dying tree, it is brown and dried out.

“This drought is a crippler. If I walk out to almost any tree on my property, there’s dust, there’s just dry dirt.” Last year saw a lot of moisture in the early months, and it really helped during some of the drier stretches later in the year. There wasn’t much snow at the end of last year and early this year, and thus not enough moisture in the spring. “It’s this year’s leaf that build’s next year’s bud,” Huntley said. “If that leaf is not present, it’s not likely that bud will be present. If the leaf is only performing halfway, or a very limited amount, the bud There’s an eastern cottonwood in will be a very limited amount, and the leaf next year won’t grow as much. the Bald Hill Prairie Preserve thats’s “I’m seeing more problems with trees, earned a spot at the top of the Illinois and you start to look at some of the crowns DNR’s Big Tree Register. The tree has of the leaf trees, they’re wilting particularly a circumference of 28.5 feet and tops on the southwest side, that’s because it’s so out at 122 feet tall – about the height hot on that side.” of a 12-story building. Want to see the Huntley’s passion for the outdoors and trees began when he was young. Born and tree? The preserve is at 5502 N. Silver raised on the family farm in rural Chana, Creek Road in Mount Morris, about Huntley enjoyed life outdoors, tending to 20 miles southeast of Lake Carroll, grain and dairy, and it’s stayed with him to between Leaf River and Mount Morris. this day. As an adult, he turned his attention It’s open for passive recreation. Activifrom the farm life to the forest life and in ties allowed include hiking, running, 1978, began Huntley Horticulture Service bird watching, picnicking, snow shoeto tend to trees. He used “horticulture” in the name because he felt not many people ing, and cross country skiing. Call 815would understand what the word “arboricul234-8535, find it on Facebook or go to ture” meant. byronforestpreserve.com and click on Huntley started his business in an old the “preserves” drop-down menu for Jeep with a large wood chest in the back more information on Bald Hill. for many years; that chest now is in a large work truck that he spends much of his days driving to and from house calls. His former Sunday School teacher built the chest for him, and it contains nearly all of the tools, scopes and chemicals he needs – all carefully labeled – to diagnose problems efficiently. On each call, Huntley goes around each tree with property owners as he consults with them about what needs to be done and how much it will cost. He does whatever work is necessary right there and then, as he’s done for more than 40 years.

HUNTLEY cont’d to page 28

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HUNTLEY cont’d from page 27 “When I go somewhere, people don’t see ‘Huntley Tree Research,’ all they see is a guy in a pickup truck, this arborist’s chest, his credentials, and that’s good enough for them.” With people staying at home more during the pandemic, they’ve tended to notice more things about the trees around their property. “People are home more, and are looking out their windows more,” Huntley said. “For the first time, they’re seeing maladies that are prevailing in not just their trees, but also in others.” When he’s not on the job? He’s still seeing the forest for the trees, but he’s doing it a mile north of Oregon, where he tends ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.COM to his 40-acre spread, Huntley Woods, a tree research facility he’s owned for nearly 20 years. The main house at The woods all around him are on a hill that overlooks much of Oregon; “It’s a Huntley Woods. The beautiful view,” Huntley said. property is located He has several conifers that he works on to help find ways to cure their illness and just north of Oreprolong their lives. Several of them have canker diseases; cankers are present when gon, near where the there’s a discolored area on wood, and fungi enters the tree at those spots and kills the bark. Chief Blackhawk Plenty of Huntley’s yard calls have revolved around canker diseases and moldy leaves that statue overlooks the can’t be watered, photosynthesized or given enough sunlight. river valley.

HUNTLEY cont’d to page 29 & 30

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Huntley keeps his gear in a large wood chest (center) that his Sunday School teacher built for him. It contains al the ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.COM tools, scopes and chemicals he needs to diagnose trees. He often starts his day in a small cabin (center) not far from his main house. LEFT AND TOP: Doctors have their stethoscopes, tree surgeons have their microscopes to help diagnose patients, and a host of other tools to treat them.

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HUNTLEY cont’d from page 27 About 10 years ago, Huntley built a log cabin to serve as a rustic classroom where he can teach people about trees, particularly the many maladies of both needle-based conifer trees and leaf-based deciduous trees. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Huntley held between one and two classes a month, but that’s been on hold for more than a year. It’s there where Huntley can also advise people about how to properly water a tree; basically, by doing that under the whole canopy where the leaves or needles stretch out the furthest from the trunk. “It’s a fun time for them,” Huntley said. “It’s a learning time for them, and it’s a learning time for me, because they bring me a lot of information.” When he’s not on call, Huntley is tending to his own trees — too many to count, he said — of all types, taking bad ones down, splitting wood and using it to heat his buildings with his “Hungry Hansen” furnace.

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An 1940s Jeep was once the workhorse at Huntley Woods. The classic off-roader is still used, but a newer utility vehicle does the brunt of the work these days.

HUNTLEY cont’d to page 31 & 32

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A greenhouse is nestled among the woods of Huntley’s property, a good place for some research and quiet meditation on nature.

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Go to huntleyhorticulture.com or huntleywoods.net, or call Lant Huntley at 815-229-6695 (no texting) to arrange an appointment for tree care or for more information about educational classes and services.

HUNTLEY cont’d from page 30

“Say I were to have an ailment or a physical malady, and I just didn't feel well at all, and someone tells me, ‘Now, run a mile. As fast as you can.’ Now I've got two problems. First, I have the malady, and now, I have a heavy stress load on my system because I ran a mile. That's my own form of thinking about trees. If that tree is in trouble just because of maybe disease or an insect, now we put a drought on top of that — that's like running the 1 mile. Now it has two problems, it has a disease and it also has no water. It's worn out.” “The most important thing is to water a tree underneath the entire canopy of the branches. That's where the 2- to 3-inch fiborus roots are on almost every tree. If you do that, and keep it moist — it doesn't have to be slop and wet, but it has to be moist — then you will help the tree immensely yourself.” “In the fall, I suggest everyone fertilize their trees after Nov. 1. You get a bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer — nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium — and fertilize the trees underneath the canopy, just the way you would your lawn. That way, all winter long, that nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium will go down into the soil with the freezing and thawing of the snow and the rain and the ice, and it will go into the soil and be readily adaptable for the roots to pick it up in the spring. “

“An old friend of mine once said to me, ‘You should heat your place with wood,’” Huntley said. “He said, ‘Try it, you’ll like it, and it’ll be a part of your life.’ I heat the whole place with wood, and it really works out really nice, but it is a lot of work.” Sometimes after several days of calls, Huntley needs to relax every now and again — but even when he’s relaxing, trees are still on his mind. “I’ve always enjoyed this part of the country,” he said. “Even though I went away for school, I just didn’t like being away from the rural area, and I still don’t. When I came back, I said I’d do the only thing I know well, and that’s trees.” Another big project Huntley is working on is getting rid of the invasive species throughout his woods, particularly buckthorn and honeysuckle that are starting to crowd out the native hardwoods such as oaks, hickories and walnuts. “The forest floor needs to have light for those plants to grow,” Huntley said. “In the absence of light, they don’t do anything.” Sometimes its hard to look at trees during off-hours and not notice what ails them — like trying to enjoy a leisurely drive through a park and noticing a majestic oak that’s under the weather, or a weeping willow that looks sadder than usual. Even as the years on the job pile up like logs, his passion remains. “I don’t really know much about retirement, ever,” Huntley said. “I just tell myself I’ll quit when I know it’s right. I think all of us think that.”

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By Cody Cutter | Sauk Valley Media

he parents who were here for the birth of our nation have long since been enshrined in history — the Founding Fathers, the mothers who watched their sons go to war. But their Daughters are alive and well, and they’re committed to preserving, protecting and telling the stories of the people whose family trees were transplanted here from Great Britain — and some of those roots spread all the way to Ogle County.

DAR cont’d to page 34

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DAR cont’d from page 33 The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution is a nonprofit service organization whose mission is to promote historic preservation, education, patriotism and honor the patriots of the Revolutionary War — and members of Rochelle’s chapter have spent more than 120 years serving their cause. They’ve pored over countless pages of research materials and visited people and places to uncover history, heritage and honor, and they’ve shared that information with the public. Their work keeps history alive, and helps share America’s story.

DAR cont’d to page 35

Laurie Perry, regent of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution's Rochelle chapter, leads a service organization of nearly 90 women who are dedicated to the preservation of American history and identifying genealogical links to soldiers and other contributors to the Revolutionary War. "For every one of our members, it's a honor to serve,” Perry said. CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

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DAR cont’d from page 34 The Rochelle chapter’s regent, Laurie Perry, has led the local cause in research, event planning and education. “We are a foundation founded on service,” Perry said. “We have three primary mission tenets: patriotism, historical preservation and promoting education. Then within that umbrella, we do many, many things. Members can serve in wherever among those three aspects they feel passionate.” No matter what their duties, members all have one thing in common: “For every one of our members, it’s a honor to serve,” Perry said. Research done by DAR members over the years has determined that three Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in Ogle County: Rufus Perkins (1763-1848) of Buffalo Grove, Rufus Phelps (1767-1839) of Lindenwood, and Daniel Day (1763-1838), whose surname lends itself to the community of Daysville, though it was Daniel’s son, Jehiel Day, who came to the area a few years before his father. The Day Family was originally from New Hampshire, and Jehiel took advantage of prime opportunity at that time to own land in the early days of Illinois, and came to a place not too far from the Rock River and Kyte Creek. When the elder Day died, he was buried on top of a small hill to the side of a wagon trail to Franklin Grove (now Daysville Road). Other burials would follow and it would become the Daysville Cemetery. As the final living links to Revolutionary War started to fade away, more memorials in their honor started to be built, and

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that included the one in Daysville just before the turn of the 20th century. The 22-foot-tall concrete monument proudly highlights Daniel Day’s service in the American Revolution, as well as others who fought in the major American wars leading up to the statue’s unveiling. This also includes Jehiel Day, who followed his father’s footsteps into the battlefield and fought in the War of 1812. Members of DAR have tasked themselves with keeping the memories and histories of Day, Perkins and Phelps alive and bringing those stories to local residents of all ages. Day’s story, in particular, is one of the most interesting, as he served on the Continental Line, the equivalent of today’s regular Army. “He went where the war was,” Perry said. “The militias would have stayed in their home areas and be called to serve when they were needed. With the Continental Line, you put your name on a blank check and you’d go where the leaders tell you to go. They went anywhere where the fighting was. “He’s an example of the men and women who served and sacrificed. They put it all on the line for us to become America.” The Rochelle chapter is one of the oldest in Illinois; it was established on May 19, 1900, 10 years after the national chapter was founded. Mrs. Waite Talcott of Rockford, who was the state regent at the time, was appointed the local regent for that chapter. When it was founded, it had 22 members who were direct descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers or contributors; that number has grown to 85 more than 120 years later, and each brings their own strengths and skills to the fold.

DAR cont’d to page 36

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DAR cont’d from page 35

DAR members’ research over the years found that three Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in Ogle County; among them, Daniel Day whose family name lends itself to the community of Daysville, where this Revolutionary War monument can be found, in Daysville Cemetery. The 22-foot-tall monument, with this 7-foot soldier atop of it, celebrates the service those who fought in the major American wars leading up to the monument’s unveiling in 1900.

Not all chapters throughout the nation have survived as long as Rochelle’s. Dixon and Leaf River’s chapters have closed, but the Rochelle chapter has expanded to include those territories in its membership and service area. “We are first and foremost a service society,” Perry said. “The two things that our women have in common is that we have a shared heritage from being direct descendants of those who aided in the cause of the Revolution, and also a desire to serve. We come from all walks: I’m a retired federal officer; we have teachers, we have librarians, we have computer people — we have this great bouquet of women, but it’s all about the service, and they get to serve where they like.” The research sometimes “can be mind-numbing,” Perry said, with facts and figures that go far beyond the basic birth, marriage and death records; there are old land records, town directories, and other papers and books, many recorded by hand, some practically illegible and with binding literally hanging by a thread, but DAR’s research team is up to the challenge, carefully navigating through them — like Washington crossing the Delaware River. Perry, an Army veteran, discovered later in life that she was descended from an Army veteran

who served in the Revolution: William Porter. “I’m very proud of him. He enlisted to serve twice, and for me to find that out as a veteran, it was the coolest thing ever.” Having made a career out of similar research techniques, all of the digging is worth it to Perry and her fellow members. “Sometimes people may think that they might have a patriot,” Perry said. “Sometimes I can do some research and be able to tell them that there were not one, not two, but 25 proven patriots that I can say, right now for sure: ‘You are descended from these people.’ That becomes exciting for me, that becomes exciting for them, and they can learn about their family history. “If you have one, you probably have more.” One misconception about DAR is that members have to be descended from an actual fighting veteran. That’s not entirely the case. There are other ways in which membership can be granted. Among them: those who can prove — with DAR verification — that they were descended from individuals who were original signers of the Declaration of Independence, or those who contributed to the war in various capacities, from civil service to documented private contributions (see page 38 for more information).

DAR cont’d to page 37

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DAR cont’d from page 36

and resolve their problems so that they get their life back. The chapter also takes part in historical anniversary celebrations and observations, such as last year’s centennial for women’s suffrage and the 19th Amendment, and this year’s commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The chapter also participates in activities during Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Day every March 29. As America comes closer to its 250th birthday in 2026, planning for that event is already starting to take place, and Perry said she hopes it will be just as big a deal as the 1976 bicentennial was. Another local work-in-progress, and one they hope to have done by the 250th birthday, is a statue somewhere within Ogle County to honor Revolutionary War veterans. The annual Wreaths Across America Day is another chapter project, when they lay wreaths on grave sites of area veterans. Some cemeteries have all of their veterans identified, but some do not, like Daysville Cemetery — but that will change if Perry and her peers in DAR have anything to say about it. Perry is consulting with the cemetery’s sexton, Brent Johnson, on getting all the veterans there documented before the next Wreaths Across America Day in December. “It’s my hope that we can sponsor this cemetery when we can get the research done to identify all of the veterans’ graves,” Perry said — and judging by the dedication and hard work the Rochelle chapter has done on other projects, members will be able to say in no time, and with pride: “Mission accomplished.”

“They didn’t have to be war fighters,” Perry said. “There are many things that we qualify as far as aiding in the Revolution. They may have served in some kind of office, they might have served as a juror, they night have paid certain taxes that have funded the Revolutionary War effort,” or even, she added,”sometimes people might have donated a cow for the soldiers, or to a soldier’s family. “There are a wide variety of things people can do that can qualify them to be patriots other than serving in the military.” The chapter’s educational endeavors include a class visit with first-grade students at Steward Elementary School, and the DAR’s long-standing Good Citizen Program. Each high school can select one senior as their Good Citizen, and they submit a proctored essay on a topic of citizenship to be judged and recognized at the chapter, district, state and national levels. For the first time, the chapter gave a $1,000 veterans grant to Sauk Valley Community College, one made possible by a chapter member who recently died, Anne Milligan. Half the money went toward books and tuition and the other half for emergency needs. The educational help goes beyond the academic setting: The chapter also supports the Veterans Treatment Court in Lee County, which is a specialty treatment court for veterans who have drug and alcohol or mental health issues as a result of their service. It is a treatment track of court that gives veterans a very specialized team to help them recover, regain their resiliency,

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More info Want to learn more about the Daughters of the American Revolution? Go to dar.org for the national website, and ildar.org/chapters/rochelle for the Rochelle chapter. Go to wreathsacrossamerica.org to learn more about the Wreaths Across America program.

Members of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution are descended not only from fighting soldiers from the Revolutionary War, but also those who contributed to the War in various capacities. According to the DAR's website (dar.org), the National Society accepts service as follows: Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Military service Such as participation in the Army and Navy of the Continental Establishment, state navies, state and local militias, were privateers, or through military or naval service performed by French nationals in the American theater of war Civil service Under authority of provisional or new state governments, including state officials, or county or town officials (such as a town clerk, selectman, juror, town treasurer, judge, sheriff, constable, jailer, surveyor of highways or justice of the peace) Patriotic service, which includes: • Members of the Continental Congress, state conventions and assemblies • Membership in committees made necessary by the War, including service on committees which furthered the cause of the Colonies from April 1774, such as committees of correspondence, inspection and safety; and committees to care for soldier's families • Signers of the Oath of Fidelity and Support, or the Oath of Allegiance • Members of the Boston Tea Party • Signers of petitions to acknowledge the right of the new provincial and/ or state government to represent the people. In addition, the content and wording of the petition must clearly demonstrate loyalty to the cause of American independence. Petitions regarding religious issues do not qualify.

• Defenders of forts and stations: Individuals who lived on the frontier, from the Great Northern Lakes to Georgia, who are documented as having actively defended the western frontiers against British forces and their allies, including British-allied Native Americans • Doctors, nurses and others rendering aid to the wounded (other than their immediate families) • Ministers who gave patriotic sermons and encouraged patriotic activity • Furnishing a substitute for military service • Prisoners of war or refugees from occupying forces • Prisoners on the British ship Old Jersey or other prison ships • Service in the Spanish forces under Bernardo de Galvez or the Louisiana Militia after Dec. 24, 1776; and those who rendered material aid in Spanish America by supplying cattle for Galvez's forces after that date • Service performed by French nationals within the colonies or in Europe in support of the American cause • Those who applied in Virginia for Certificates of Rights to land for settlement and those who were entitled to and were granted preemption rights • Those who took the Oath of Fidelity to the Commonwealth of Virginia from Oct. 1779 to Nov. 26, 1783 • Those who rendered material aid and supported the cause of American Independence by furnishing supplies, with or without remuneration, loaning money and/or providing munitions. Some states enacted special tax laws to raise money for supplies. Payment of these “supply” taxes is considered patriotic service. The National Society reserves the right to determine the acceptability of all service and proof thereof. Email darinfo.rochelle@gmail.com to apply to become a member.

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