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PUBLICATION • FALL/WINTER 2019

k n i h T Some artists push the boundaries; others push right through them, and when they do, a Rochelle art gallery gives them a place where their meanings aren’t lost

ALSO INSIDE Byron business owner rolls out the barrels, and the welcome mat, at his brew pub Sauk Valley group is making rainbow connections Couple helps customers feel right at home at their shop Former dairy farm finds new life – as a 300-acre classroom

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Think pieces

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Publisher Don T. Bricker General Manager/Advertising Director Jennifer Heintzelman

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Some artists push the boundaries; others push right through them, and when they do, a Rochelle art gallery gives them a place where their meanings aren’t lost

Magazine editors Rusty Schrader & Kathleen Schultz Page design Rusty Schrader Published by Sauk Valley Media 3200 E. Lincolnway – Sterling, IL 61081 815-625-3600 Do you have story ideas for Ogle County Living? Let us know.

Call 815-625-3600, ext. 5535, or e-mail us at news@saukvalley.com

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Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media.

No portion of Ogle County Living Magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

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More inside

Cream of the crop

Rainbow connections

Former dairy farm finds new life teaching local history and helping students brush up on the future of farming, all in a 300-acre classroom

Pride doesn’t always go before a fall, sometimes it comes when a person stands up to be counted – just ask a Sauk Valley group that’s taking its own stand to keep the PFLAG flying loud and proud

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Happy Home owners The couple behind an Oregon business feel right at home in their shop, and they aim to make sure their customers do, too

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Moo brew A Byron man is doing more than just rolling out the barrels, he’s rolling out the welcome mat at his brew pub.

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Diana Weber had long dreamed of owning a store where she could put her talents to use.

Today, that dream has come true, at Simply Home in Oregon.

ou could say that Diana Weber’s shop is also her dream Home.

Before opening Simply Home, it had been a dream of Diana’s to own a store since she first began creating stenciled signs as a stay-at-home mom when her oldest daughter was just a baby.

Today, that baby is in college and Diana is in business, selling decor and more. She and her husband, Chris, will celebrate 2 years in their own store on Nov. 25. Before opening the downtown location at 300 W. Washington St., Diana had been tapping into her talent in the back of the Cork and Tap bar, just across the street, after a friend and Oregon business owner, Merlin Hagemann of Merlin’s Greenhouse and Flowers, suggested she set up shop there.

When she found out about the room at the Cork and Tap she said, “I called my husband and I said ‘Please don’t say no.’” He didn’t, and Diana moved into her first Home away from home.

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STORY KELSEY HEAD PHOTOS ALEX T. PASCHAL | FOR OGLE COUNTY LIVING

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The rustic shelves at Simply Home are stocked with new Americana-style items, farmhouse and primitive decor, signs – including some made

by Diana – and more.

In addition to the work Diana puts in, her husband, Chris, and his father build furniture.

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It wasn’t long before another opportunity came knocking. A few months later a storefront became available and the Webers decided to see if their Home’s foundation was strong enough to support its own store. It was, and today SVM FILE PHOTO the business is still going, and growing.

Opening up a shop where Chris and Diana recently expanded she can share her talents their home workshop to double their has long been a dream workspace. They typically use the for Diana Weber (left), beginning of the week to create prodand one that finally came ucts for the store, then open the rest of true.

She’s shown here in the week, Thursday through Saturday.

2018 with her daughters The shop specializes in farmhouse Katelyn and Allison, and and primitive decor, including stenciled husband Chris in front of signs, antiques, and furniture. It also some of her handiwork. stocks Black Crow brand candles and other giftware items. Diana said they’ll be adding some kitchenware items soon. The store also carries items with a local flavor, includMORE INFO ing throw pillows that feature the names of Sauk Simply Home Valley cities.

300 W. Washington St. The Webers own the store, but Diana is the Contact: simplyhome oregon@gmail.com and artist. She studied interior design in college and 815-990-0669 has more than 17 years experience making signs.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

And it wouldn’t be a home without family. In Thursday and Friday, 10 addition to the work Diana puts in, Chris and a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday his father build furniture, and daughters KateOnline: Find Simply lyn and Allison – one in college and the other in Home on Facebook, and simply_home_oregon on high school – help out when they can, making Instagram signs. Two other employees also make signs.

Those signs have pointed to success not only at the Webers’ store, but a second store opened by the Webers’ friends, who, inspired by Simply Home’s success after visiting the store, decided to open a shop of their own. Simply Home Again in Frankfort – about 5 miles east of Joliet – opened its doors earlier this year, on April 20. Like its sister store, it carries home decor, including signs made by Diana.

Many of the events and sales at the Oregon store coincide with events other local businesses take part in, such as open houses and special discounts. Preparations are already underway for Simple Home’s fall open house and for Oregon’s citywide festival, Autumn on Parade.

Diana’s a firm believer that small businesses can make a big difference in their communities, and she’s doing her part to make a difference in hers. Shortly after the store opened, she sold signs that read “Choose Joy” as a tribute to Christa M. (Schmadeke) Heitter of Mount Morris, who died after a 5-plus-year battle with metastatic breast cancer. Part of the proceeds from the signs went to Heitter’s family.

She also uses the store’s Facebook page to thank her customers and promote the benefits of shopping locally, including a recent post talking about the hard work and dedication, and the “heart and soul,” that small business owners put into their shops. It’s no wonder then that Home is where the heart is for Diana, and as far she’s concerned, her customers are simply the best. n

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EVERYTHING BEGINS WITH AN IDEA. Earl Nightengale

k n i Th heme: 2019 T the o Salute t wk a H k Blac Statue

Some artists push the boundaries; others push right through them, and when they do, a Rochelle art gallery gives them a place where their meanings won’t be lost

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Castle tours, madrigal singers, storytellers, and more!

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Plus...Antique Tractor Show, Auto Show, 5K, 60/40 Raffle, Food Court, Kids’ Fun Zone... and more!

www.autumnonparade.org •815-732-3465 • Also on Facebook

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Oct. 5-6, 2019 Oregon, IL

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ART, FREEDOM AND CREATIVITY WILL CHANGE SOCIETY FASTER THAN POLITICS. Victor Pinchuk STORY SHELBY KUEPKER PHOTOS ALEX T. PASCHAL | FOR OGLE COUNTY LIVING

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aux Pas is a lot of things: an art gallery, a hipster haven, an opinion sanctuary, and a judgementfree zone What it’s not is a place where artists take the edge off their work.

“We don’t have just pretty landscapes,” Jeremy Lampkin said, “We have art with messages, sometimes even disturbing ones.”

Lampkin, 43, runs the Rochelle gallery with his brother, Matt Thompson, along with Guillermo and Juan Martinez, who also are brothers.

Their goal is to “give artists that have a little bit weirder stuff a place to display it,” Lampkin said.

Faux Pas is “sort of a place for misfits.”

According to its Facebook page, Faux Pas hopes to “foster awareness of social issues through exploration of sensitive topics” by providing “a sanctuary where artists are free to express themselves to the fullest without fear of judgement or censors.”

The men are interested in pushing the boundaries of what people typically think of as art with pieces, Lampkin said, that are “a little edgier for the area.”

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Artist Jeremy Lampkin, who helps run Faux Pas Galley, has a style influenced by many artists, including Van Gogh, Picasso and Francis Bacon.

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Continued from page 11

The men not only know what’s edgy for the area – they all grew up in Rochelle – but they know a thing or two about art, too.

They all dabble in art themselves and sometimes display their own pieces. Lampkin enjoys painting and has brought in his own acrylics on canvas.

Guillermo, 43, is the resident director and enjoys videography and creating short films.

Juan, 43, recently tried his hand at sculpting, with a new Easter Island piece the group worked on that will soon be displayed at the gallery’s entrance.

Thompson is “the agent” and does a lot of the customer relations for the operation, including explaining the art to visitors and giving background on the artists and their styles.

Before Faux Pas became a place for cutting edge art, it was cutting something else: hair The space, owned by Guillermo and Juan’s father, was originally a hair salon. The downtown building had been empty for a while when, in 2017, their father told them that if they could come up with something to do with it, they were welcome to try.

“We had a lot of encouragement along the way,” Lampkin said.

Guillermo Martinez (below) runs Faux Pas with his brother, Juan Martinez, and Matt Thompson and Jeremy Lampkin.

Photos on pages 13 & 14. Story continued on page 15

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ART IS NOT WHAT YOU SEE, BUT WHAT YOU MAKE OTHERS SEE. Edgar Degas

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FREEDOM IS THE SOUL OF ART. Abhijit Naskar

to view the art for free.

Faux Pas first opened its doors during The men say they maintain Faux Pas the 2017 Rochelle Christmas Walk, and simply because it’s what they love to do. a couple hundred people came through Lampkin said he values “giving the artduring the show. ists the chance to get started showing “For a long time, Rochelle has been their art. It can be kind of difficult in this trying to revitalize the downtown area region with this style.” and improve foot trafHe wants Faux Pas to MORE INFORMATION “be a haven for opinions fic,” Guillermo said.

“We’re trying to do and artists who are strugour little part to keep gling.” that going.”

308 Lincoln Highway, Rochelle Guillermo said, “What 708-885-9991 Faux Pas found I like is seeing people’s Online: fauxpasgallery.com its first artists online reactions when they see or find Faux Pas Gallery on through a site called the art. One piece will Facebook Chicago Artist elicit various reactions, Hours of operation vary Resource. While the depending on the exhibitions. and that’s cool to see.” site was recently taken Contact the gallery or check its Added Lampkin: “Some Facebook page and website. down, the quartet people in this small town behind Faux Pas said might not be prepared for they’ve formed many great relationships the kinds of things we have,” but the men with artists from it and they want to are proud to provide many people’s “first continue their commitment to displayand only opportunity to see an art gallery.” ing their work.

“We do it for the community and for the Art is rotated every 2 to 3 months, local artists that are just entering the field and starting to show their art.” he said. “It’s and after an initial art show to celebrate a nerve-racking and troubling time, but it’s Among the pieces at Faux Pas is this work by Rockford a new exhibit, Faux Pas is open a few also so great to be a part of.” n evenings every week for the community graffiti artist Lardo, one of several he has at the gallery.

Continued from page 14

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STORY KELSEY HEAD PHOTOS ALEX T. PASCHAL | FOR SMALL TOWN LIVING

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veryone knows you can lead a horse to water, but did you know you can lead a cow to a watering hole?

Todd McLester of Byron does. He took the cow by the hair and brought it to his hometown, where his bar and grill is serving up home brew, home cooking, and more.

Hairy Cow Brewing Company, on the banks of the Rock River, opened in December with a focus on keeping the Cow’s offerings as close to home as possible, from its menu to its music. The business – the first brew pub in Byron – offers 22 different beers brewed on site and liquor from Illinois distilleries, it serves food made with as many local ingredients as possible, and it’s a place where local musical talent can take the stage.

Continued on page 18

A Byron man is doing more than just rolling out the barrels, he’s rolling out the welcome mat at a bar and grill that he hopes will become a place where the whole community can come together

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“We do as much local as we can,” McLester said.

His goal, according to the business’ Facebook page, is to make Hairy Cow Brewing Company a community gathering place and hub of activity in Byron.

Even his distinctive logo is a hairy nod to his hometown. At first glance, the logo looks like a hairy cow – with follicles designed to look like hops, a flowering plant used in the brewing process – but look closer and the cow’s nose resembles one of the cooling towers from Byron’s nuclear plant.

The unusual name comes from McLester’s other business: raising Scottish Highland cattle, which just happen to be hairy cows.

The bar’s brewing area has an 8½-barrel system, which can hold about 263½ gallons.

Among Hairy Cow’s nearly two dozen brews are a few seasonal varieties – such as a pumpkin ale in the fall – and other special occasion beers. The bar typically has four or five of their varieties on tap. Plans also are in the works for canning their beer. They’ll fire up their canning machine and sell 16 oz. cans.

Jon Lambert, the company’s head brewer, has been brewing for about 15 years, and he can thank his wife for that.

Photo on page 19. Story continued on page 20

Hairy Cow Brewing Company owner Todd McLester hopes his business will become a community gathering place and hub of activity in Byron.

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“His wife bought him a home brew kit, and it just kind of took off from there,” McLester said.

In addition to the homemade suds, the bar also serves liquor from Illinois distilleries, Whiskey Acres in DeKalb and Koval in Chicago, to name a few. Hairy Cow also serves up seasonal mixed drinks.

On the food side, the business uses as many local, fresh ingredients as possible in its menu offerings, which includes appetizers, salad, burgers, wings and its signature dish: pizza, nearly two dozen varieties in all. The pizza dough is made fresh daily with a special ingredient – Hairy Cow Beer – and aged for at least 24 hours, giving the beer and yeast plenty of time to work together to give the dough its distinctive texture. And if you’ve still got room after a slice, you can try another slice, of fresh-made cheesecake from more than 20 recipes, a different one served each week.

If you prefer a cup of java to a glass of beer, Hairy Cow recently added gourmet coffee, espresso and lattes, featuring brands from throughout the state, including Intelligentsia Coffee out of Chicago.

Continued on page 21

Pub patrons can enjoy a view of the Rock River while they sip some suds. Owner Todd McLester is working on a landscaping project that will include a beer garden and access to the back of the business via boat docks.

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Hairy Cow uses as many local, fresh ingredients as possible in its menu offerings, which includes its signature dish: pizza, nearly two dozen varieties in all. The pizza dough is made fresh daily with a special ingredient – Hairy Cow Beer – and aged for at least 24 hours, giving the beer and yeast plenty of time to work together to give the dough its distinctive texture.

The bar also offers its own line of merchandise: shirts, hats, jackets, glassware, and growlers.

McLester has lived in Byron since 2004. He grew up in Rockford, where he was on the city’s police force for 25 years. Before he had a Cow, his life had gone to the dogs.

“I had a dog boarding and grooming kennel at my home, but I closed that when I decided to do this,” he said.“I was sitting in the kitchen looking out the window one day and thought, ‘We should put a brew pub in Byron.’”

Now that he’s found customers who are wild about Hairy, McLester has other plans brewing for his business. He’s working on a landscaping project that will include a beer garden and access to the back of the business via boat docks. And in keeping with his emphasis all things local, look for Hairy Cow to be involved in community events, including the Frontline OCR obstacle course, which the business helps sponsor; Beer Fest; and the Tiger 10-miler trail run in the fall.

It’s all part of the plan for a man who traded mug shots for mugs and found a new calling, going from serving and protecting to serving up suds and good times and making his pub a hub of activity for the town he calls home. n

MORE INFORMATION

450 E. Blackhawk Drive, Byron Contact: 815-4068198 or drink@ hairycowbrewing. com Online: hairycowbrewing.com; search for Hairy Cow Brewing Company on Facebook and @hairycowbrewing on Twitter Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. TuesdayThursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday

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ith apologies to the Queen of Soul, there’s more than one way to spell “respect.”

Sure, you could spell it r-e-s-p-e-c-t. But if you’re a member of the Sauk Valley chapter of a national organization, you spell it P-F-L-A-G. PFLAG Sauk Valley is an organization that, according to chapter President Sarah Schlegel, seeks to “support one another, to educate ourselves and our community, and to advocate so that all hearts and minds respect, value, and affirm LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) people.”

The chapter has been seeking to support the LGBTQI community of the Sauk Valley for more than 13 years, fulfilling its mission through frequent meetings, informal support sessions, informative community outreach events, and social gatherings.

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While the group is geared toward a relatively small portion of the population, its mission is to reach as many people as it can.

“Slightly less than 5% of the U.S. population identifies as gay or lesbian. Less than half a percent identifies as transgender, and about one in every 1,700 babies are born intersex (people with sex characteristics that do not fit typical notions of male or female bodies). I think these numbers are really important to keep in mind because, like any minority group, people who identify as LGBTQI rely on strong ally support to maintain a healthy and positive balance within their communities,” Schlegel said.

PFLAG Sauk Valley has 40 members consisting of family or friends of LGBTQI people and those who identify as LGBTQI, Schlegel said. Additionally, she said, “another 50 allies support the organization, either through volunteerism, financial support, or social-emotional support.”

The majority of the group’s members are from Sterling, Rock Falls, Dixon, and Polo, “because most of our events are held in Sterling or Dixon,” Schlegel said. However, “We do have participants from Fulton, Morrison, Oregon, and other area communities periodically.”

“What ties the groups together is the need for greater understanding and acceptance by the larger population. That’s why organizations like [us] exist,” she said.

“PFLAG meetings and social gatherings provide an opportunity to learn about relevant services in the area, discuss local and national trends, and share personal experiences. All are welcome.”

The group holds many informative events in the area for both

members and the community. “In June, PFLAG partnered with the YWCA to provide a movie and discussion revolving around the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, which marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States 50 years ago,” Schlegel said.

“Upcoming events include a picnic, a fundraiser dinner, an ask-a-minister event, and an LGBTQI-friendly business workshop.”

PFLAG’s second ask-a-minister event of the year, set for Nov. 17 at St. Paul Lutheran in Dixon, will feature “a panel of Christian ministers from several Protestant denominations who will answer questions and about the church and sexuality and gender.

While PFLAG is a non-religiously affiliated organization, Schlegel said, local minister deserve a special “shout-out of thanks [for] … participating in PFLAG events and working with their congregations to provide open and affirming spaces for people of faith.”

“Such inclusivity has been, literally, life-altering,” she said.

The Whiteside and Lee county health departments have also been particularly helpful, she said. “They have provided speakers at PFLAG events, and have worked to revise paperwork and programs to be LGBTQI inclusive, showing genuine concern for both the physical and emotional welfare of others.”

Natalie Andrews is from Ogle County and has been a member of PFLAG for around 10 years, convinced to join by founder Barb Schwamberger. During that time, she’s served on the PFLAG board.

Photo on page 25. Stoery continued on page 27

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PFLAG Sauk Valley is an organization that, according to chapter President Sarah Schlegel (second from right), seeks to “support one another, to educate ourselves and our community, and to advocate so that all hearts and minds respect, value, and affirm LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) people.”

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Call 815-408-0604 to learn more about the group.

Online: pflagsaukvalley.org or find PFLAG Sauk Valley on Facebook From 5 to 6:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of every month, PFLAG offers informal support for individuals or families. Call 815-408-0604 for location and additional information or questions.

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Continued from page 25

Now in her mid-60s, Andrews said, “I was raised in the ‘50s, and I came out late in life. What PFLAG offered for me was finding people like me, being accepted, and having open and honest conversations with people that were non-judgmental.”

“It really provides a safe place and allowed me to grow within the organization,” she said, adding that PFLAG is “a support system and education tool for those who are a part of this population.”

PFLAG National is a non-profit of more than 400 chapters across the country. According to its website, “The idea for PFLAG began in 1972 when Jeanne Manford marched with her son, Morty, in New York’s Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the precursor to today’s Pride parade. After many gay and lesbian people ran up to Jeanne during the parade and begged her to talk to their parents, she decided to begin a support group.”

PFLAG originally stood for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, and was later broadened to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, but today, it’s simply PFLAG, sans the acronym, after members voted to officially change the name to reflect a more inclusive mission.

The group had “outgrown the acronym as society accepted scientific research that shed new light on gender, including new awareness of what it means to be transgender and intersex,”

Schlegel said.

Sauk Valley’s chapter was founded in 2006 by Barb and George Schwamberger and Jane Biddle. “They wanted to provide a source of support and advocacy for the Schwamberger’s lesbian daughter and the gay and lesbian community as a whole,” Schlegel said.

Schlegel, a Polo Middle School English/language arts teacher, quickly became attached to the organization after her eldest son came out as gay in eighth grade. She first served as a general board member, then secretary, and now president. As she and her husband, Tim, “helped [their] son navigate adolescence as a gay teen,” they were looking for support in regards to “addressing family members’ inquiries and comments.”

Despite her own son’s “positive comingout experience,” Schlegel is struck by “how many people are still living marginalized lives, or even in outright fear from their own family members.”

While Schlegel continues to help those people feel less like they’re in the margins, she also hopes the rest of society will get on the same page, accepting people for who they are. For her, and other members of PFLAG, that hope is a treasure at the end of a rainbow. n

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century ago, Indian Hill Manor and Farm took root as a rural retreat and gentleman’s farm; today the sprawling estate has grown into a living history lesson and training ground for a new generation of farmers, billed as a “jewel at the crossroads” of nature and history.

Continued on page 29

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Rockford architect Charles W. Bradley designed this Colonial Revival manor house on Indian Hill Manor and Farm, seen above today, and at left circa 1918. able to the rural area during its construction.

Consequently the mansion was built with not only electric lights, but also a central vacuum system, an electric intercom system, and a large electric stove in the kitchen.

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The farm, on Kishwaukee Road a few miles northwest of Stillman Valley near the OgleWinnebago County line, recently began offering tours and lectures to introduce the public to the history of not just the manor, but also the surrounding area.

The 300-acre property is owned by the Smeja Family Foundation, which is working to preserve and restore it. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 as the Indian Hill Manor and Farm Historic District.

Jerry Paulsen, the foundation’s interim executive director, said the district includes three parts, the manor house with its carriage house and grounds, the farm, and a forest preserve across Kishwaukee Road.

All three parcels were once part of the 400acre estate of Charles C. and Esta Barrett, who purchased the property in 1915 as a rural retreat and gentleman’s farm.

Charles, a Chicago businessman, and Esta, an actress who had performed on Broadway, purchased the property from Herbert Lewis.

The Barretts hired Rockford architect Charles W. Bradley to design the Colonial Revival mansion with its seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, seven fireplaces, and two stairways.

Paulsen said the original plan was to have gas lights in the house, but electricity became avail-

Lewis had begun the development of the farm, building a Jamesway dairy barn and other buildings. A house for the farm manager was built at the farmstead sometime prior to 1900.

Continued on page 30

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Paulsen said the Jamesway barn was part of the “sanitary milk movement” of the early 1900s, when concern arose over the conditions in some dairy barns.

The barns, designed by the James Manufacturing Company, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, were mail-ordered from a hardbound catalog and all components, along with blueprints and assembly instructions, were shipped by train.

The barns featured concrete and steel in the milking area, cork floors in the calf pens,and ventilation and manure handling systems.

“Everything was designed to be as sanitary as possible,” Paulsen said.

The Barretts were contemporaries of Frank and Florence Lowden, who owned Sinnissippi Farms southeast of Oregon, and Medill and Ruth McCormick, who owned Rock River Farms north of Byron.

Paulsen said the Lowdens also had a Jamesway dairy barn, and Esta Barrett and Ruth McCormick were friendly rivals over the milk production of their Holstein cows.

Charles Barrett died in 1918 during the flu epidemic, and Esta continued the operation until her death in 1947.

Paulsen said World War I, from 1914-18, was considered the “golden age” of farming because American farmers were feeding the U.S. troops fighting in the war, as well as the citizens of some European countries devastated by the war.

BELOW: This Jamesway dairy barn at Indian Hill Farm was built in 1914 and is undergoing restoration. LEFT: Jerry Paulsen, interim executive director of the Smeja Family Foundation, which owns Indian Hill Manor and Farm, holds a hardbound catalog published the early 1900s by the James Manufacturing Co. to market its Jamesway barns and other farm buildings.

Continued on page 31

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That changed, he said, in the 1920s when the farm economy collapsed due to over-production and poor land management practices.

Farming continued to change drastically in the 1920s and 1930s, mostly due to mechanization, he said.

“Between World War I and World War II, there was a major change in agriculture,” Paulsen said. “Tractors, trucks, and electricity came in, barbed wire became available.

All that was going on on this farm. That era is what we’re trying to showcase here.”

Gentlemen’s farms often teamed up with universities to serve as testing places for both land and livestock development.

Crop rotation was promoted to build fertility and control pests and weeds, and animal genetics was studied to develop healthier, higher producing livestock.

“These gentlemen’s farms became the model farms,” Paulsen said.

After Esta Barrett’s death, her son from a previous marriage, Harry Reed, and his wife Lillian took over management of Indian Hill.

Their son, Charles Reed, inherited the

estate in 1969.

He wanted the farm to become a model for soil and wildlife conservation so hedonated 50 acres to the Natural Land Institute, which later gave the land to the Winnebago County Forest Preserve District to become the Indian Hill Forest Preserve in 1989.

Reed sold just the manor and its grounds to William and Lucile Smeja in 1971.

Their five living children formed the Smeja Family Trust in 2001 to restore the property and promote historic preservation.

The foundation purchased the farm portion of the estate in 2010 from Tim Ferrell, Reed’s adopted son, and began restoration of the farm buildings with the help of the Stillman Valley High School FFA. Twenty-six acres of the cropland is leased to the FFA Alumni Association for teaching students about modern farming techniques, with profits going to support the program.

FFA students help with landscaping at the manor and also keep some livestock projects at the farm.

The remainder of the cropland is rented to a local farmer who plants corn and soybeans. n

MORE INFORMATION Indian Hill Manor and Farm 6901 Kishwaukee Road Contact: 815-964-6464 or smejafdn@gmail.com Online: IndianHillManor.net or find Indian Hill Manor and Farm on Facebook

ABOUT THE NAME Indian Hill Manor and Farm, along with Indian Hill Forest Preserve, have a rich Native American history which led to the name.

Jerry Paulsen, interim executive director of the Smeja Family Foundation, said numerous artifacts have been uncovered over the years on the site, which is situated on a limestone ridge near where the Kishwaukee and Rock rivers meet, indicating it was a hunting and fishing ground frequented by Native Americans for centuries.

In addition, the first battle of the Black Hawk War was fought just a few miles away in Stillman Valley on May 14, 1832.

According to the Bicentennial History of Ogle County, at the time of the battle, Black Hawk and his band were trying to convince Potawatomi chiefs Shabbona and Waubonsie to support them in their effort to regain their hunting ground from European settlers.

They were camped, the history book reads, at the confluence of the Rock and Kishwaukee Rivers, where Black Hawk was serving a feast.

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