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Publisher Don T. Bricker General Manager/ Advertising Director Jennifer Heintzelman Page Design Rusty Schrader Published by Sauk Valley Media 113 S. Peoria Ave. | Dixon, IL 61021 815-284-2222 Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of Small Town 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.
cotvoerry s
He’s got all the answers ... and the questions
Village president’s talent for trivia put him in Jeopardy – and he couldn’t have been happier about it.
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More in store for a local land of Lincoln
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The home to a historic highway’s history in Franklin Grove is getting some home improvements, and a new name.
Welcome to Lee County!
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The county’s biggest fan settles into a new home, but its mission remains the same: telling people what a ‘loveLee’ time they’ll have when they visit
Improving her community’s well-being
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A lot 4 young people to do
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Compton’s village president takes matters, and tools, into her own hands and leads a project to fix up a piece of local history.
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in store for Franklin Grove’s
land of
Linco n The home to a historic highway’s history is getting some home improvements, and a new name STORY BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE
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STORY CODY CUTTER | FOR SMALL TOWN LIVING
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hen Henry Issac Lincoln built a dry goods store four score and 80 years ago in Franklin Grove he couldn’t have known that the road in front of his building would someday bear his family name, or that his store would someday become the home of a place that would celebrate that highway. But it wasn’t Henry who the Lincoln Highway was named for, nor was it named for Henry’s son, Abraham. It was named for a certain, more well known Abraham Lincoln, who also happened to be a distant cousin of Henry’s. Today, Henry Lincoln’s store at 136 N. Elm St., with its 1860 date stone still intact above the front door of the limestone building, is the national headquarters of the Lincoln Highway Association – but before that, it housed a post office, newspaper, dance studio, and even an arcade before it sat vacant for 20 years, threatened by neglect and falling into disrepair. That was before it was given a second life when a group of area
residents banded together to save the piece of local history. The building was restored in 1995 and became home to the Lincoln Highway Association, complete with a museum of highway photos and artifacts. Now, nearly 160 years after it was built, the building is undergoing another set of renovations. Some of the remodeling work, done by volunteers, includes installing new windows, cleaning and repainting, as well as constructing a new boardwalk. Completion was scheduled for April, but the COVID-19 pandemic has, like it’s done with so many other things, pushed it to later this year. When all is done, the building will reopen as the Lincoln Highway Interpretive Center under new management later this year, and souvenirs will be upgraded and expanded. Highway Association board member Ron Colson witnessed the transition of a once fragile building into a downtown gem. Photo on page 7, story continued on page 8
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If you’re looking to learn more about a historic highway, all roads lead to Franklin Grove, and the headquarters of the Lincoln Highway Association at 136 N. Elm St. The 1860 building that first housed a dry goods store is getting some work done, and will eventually reopen as the Lincoln Highway Interpretive Center. MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT/MKRABBENHOEFT@SAUKVALLEY.COM
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Continued from page 6
“It was a falling pile of rubble in ’95 when we started on it,” Colson said. “There were falling walls and caved-in roofs and things of that nature, but we felt that it was worth preserving for its history and wanted to reposition it as an asset to the area going forward.” The place also is home to the Third Fridays concert series. The music is varied and includes country, bluegrass, blues, soft rock, folk, and mixes of other genres. Despite renovation work, concerts were planned in February and March, but are on hold until work is complete. Switchback, an Americana and Celtic band led by Marty McCormick and Brian Fitzgerald, is among the concert’s most notable performers; it was honored by the Irish Music Association as a Top Duo in a Pub, Festival or Concert in 2008. The band is scheduled to return if work is complete by June. The Lincoln Highway was the first coast-to-coast highway in the United States. Dedicated in 1913, the 3,000-mile highway runs from New York City to San Francisco. Like the road it was named for, The Lincoln Highway Association was originally created to promote the highway and good roads in general. Today, its mission is to preserve and celebrate the highway that stretches from sea to shining sea. The Honest Abe connections don’t stop with the highway. The year of 1860 is an important one in Lincoln lore: One Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States, while another – Henry’s son – was born. When the route was planned out in 1912, it paralleled the Chicago and North Western railway throughout much of its route west of Chicago. This included a trip through downtown Franklin Grove, in front of Henry Lincoln’s building. The secondgeneration route now runs along state Route 38, a few blocks north of the store (go to lincolnhighwayassoc.org/map to see the routes). The railroad played a pivotal part in the establishment of Franklin Grove. Chaplin, a Lincoln Highway Association, 136 settlement about a mile southwest of present-day downtown, was established in 1849. N. Elm St., P.O. Box 308, Franklin Grove The arrival of the railroad in the mid-1850s, however, dashed hopes for Chaplin’s sucE-mail: hq@lincolnhighwayassoc. org cess as residents and businesses moved further north in front of the railroad. Buildings Online: lincolnhighwayassoc.org or find Lincoln from the former settlement have since been restored and are part of the Chaplin Creek Highway Association on Faceboo k Village historic site. Chaplin’s former crossroads, at present-day State and Lahman streets, eventually MORE TO DO The Lincoln Highway Interpretive became part of the Lincoln Highway. Most of the highway through Lee County from Center is just one of many tourist attractio Prairieville to north of Ashton is complete, save a couple of reroutes due to new bridgns in Lee County, and the Lee County Tourism Cou es and redesigned intersections. ncil is happy to tell you about all of them. See Funding for the route was based primarily on community support, and most of the story on the next page to find out mor e. that was done through the sale of pins to residents along the route. They were $5, quite expensive for the time, Colson said, and they were sold at Lincoln’s store, where meetings were held to round up the support for highway. It is not known whether President Lincoln ever stepped foot in Franklin Grove, but he was at least a few miles from it at one time. Lincoln was a captain in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War of 1832, when federal troops turned back resistance from the Sac Native American Chief Black Hawk, whose tribe once settled in the land. Lincoln’s troops followed Black Hawk along the Rock River from Rock Island to Stillman Valley, where the future president helped bury the dead from the Battle of Stillman’s Run. Information about sites from the Black Hawk War, as well as that of the chief himself, will be among the nuggets of local history also to be shared at the new Lincoln Highway Interpretive Center. n
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STORY RACHEL RODGERS PHOTOS MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT | FOR SMALL TOWN LIVING
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new home, new website and new coronavirus pandemic to contend with – the last several months have been full of changes for the Lee County Tourism Council. In August, the organization moved from its longtime home at 113 S. Peoria Ave. in Dixon to 37 S. East Ave. in Amboy. Lee County Tourism now shares a building with the Lee County Farm Bureau and Country Financial in space formerly used by Grace Fellowship Church Amboy-Sublette. Renovations were completed in less than a month and included repairs from water damage, new paint, window treatments, and carpet. “The transition has been amazingly smooth,” tourism Executive Director Diane Nicholson said. It was also time for the website to get a new look; the council likes to upgrade and change things up every 2 or 3 years. One feature that will be a resource for community members is the meeting and event space search database, which could be a great planning tool for people whose plans have changed because of COVID-19, Nicholson said. Continued on page 11
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Lee County Tourism now shares a building with the Lee County Farm Bureau and Country Financial in space formerly used by Grace Fellowship Church Amboy-Sublette. Renovations were completed in less than a month and included repairs from water damage, new paint, window treatments, and carpet.
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Looking for something fun to do? Follow the paper trail to Lee County From day trip destinations to vacations, there’s a lot to do in the area, and the Lee County Tourism Council can help you find it. The office in Amboy has brochures, magazines and more on life in Lee. Want to plan a night under the stars? The county has plenty of camping options, and the tourism office has plenty of info on them. Lee County’s most famous resident has his own space in the display racks at the office, where people can find out more about the Ronald Reagan Boyhood home in Dixon (and his birthplace in Tampico, over in Whiteside County, too). While in Lee, visitors also can drive along the Ronald Reagan Trail and go to Lowell Park in Dixon, where Reagan was a lifeguard.
Continued from page 10
“There’s going to be so many events that had to change, and this gives people a chance to look at things they might not have thought of before,” she said. It’s difficult to predict the impact coronavirus will have on tourism as most are stuck at home, and everyone is holding their breath, she said. “I think we’re all at a loss, she said. “Everything right now is best-guess.”
In 2018, travel spending in the county totaled about $34.1 million and generated around $670,000 in local tax revenue, according to the latest numbers from the Illinois Office of Tourism and U.S. travel data. Tourism is especially important for smaller towns that see a big revenue boost in the summer from visitors and special events. “It all adds up as a shot in the arm for these small communities,” she said. “The role of tourism is to enhance the economic impact for these towns.” n
MORE INFO Lee County Tourism offers brochures, magazines and more on destinations throughout the county. For more information, go to leecountyfun.com or find Lee County Illinois Tourism on Facebook.
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STORY & PHOTOS ALEX T. PASCHAL | FOR SMALL TOWN LIVING
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f the walls of an inauspicious little building in Compton could talk, they would have a lot of stories to tell – after all, they’ve been standing for more than a century. Now they’ve got another tale to tell, and it’s a story with a happy ending, thanks to the president of this Lee County village, who helped spearhead a project to give the little local landmark a much-needed facelift. The nip and tuck pointing began after Candy Jonsson decided to take matters into her own hands and rescue the building, which had seen better days. It was once home to village hall and jail before it was pressed into municipal service in another role, as the well building for the eastern Lee County village, whose population hovers around 300. Recently, though, the 110-year-old structure had fallen into disrepair.
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Little remains of the well building’s former life as a jail, but there are a few telltale signs of its past, like this jail door.
Volunteer firefighter Joe Maino swapped a firehose for a paint bucket to help spruce up Compton’s well building.
RIGHT: Compton Village President Candy Jonsson stands outside the village’s well building that she and a two-man crew recently overhauled. ABOVE LEFT: Jonsson stands in the newly remodeled lab and chemical storage room.
That’s when Jonsson stepped in, with some mutual aid from a volunteer firefighter and a local contractor. She worked with Willett, Hoffmann and Associates to secure a USDA grant to help pay for repairs. Then she and her two-man crew went to work. “We’re getting everything new inside here as far as electrical, pipes and furnace, so we figured, why not fix the walls while we were at it,” Jonsson said. With the help of local resident and volunteer firefighter Joe Maino, the two got to work painting, pulling down old plaster and cleaning up the place. Local contractor Donavan Merriman did most of the heavy lifting, including rebuilding the stucco walls and tuck pointing the bricks outside. Jonsson, who owns a small business, has had the time to devote to the project due to the coronavirus shutdown. “We’ve been down here 2 or 3 weeks since I’m unemployed now,” she said with a laugh. So, thanks to a some civic-minded folks with a little time on their hands and grease on their elbows, all’s well that ends well for that little brick building in Compton. n
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ou don’t have to own a goat to be in the Lee County 4-H Goat Club. All you need is some free time and an interest in getting to know more about the frisky farm animals. The group is just one of many clubs that young people in the county can join, courtesy of the national youth organization with a lucky clover that took root more than 100 years ago with a mission to engage “youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development.” And when it comes to giving local youth something to do, Lee County has a lot of ways to keep them engaged. “We have 100 different project areas to pick from, including animal classes, welding, growing vegetables, woodworking, sewing, geology and robots,” Lee County’s 4-H Program Coordinator, Kathleen Book, said. 4-H is open to all youth between the ages of 8 and 18 by Sept. 1, and Cloverbuds is open to all youth ages 5 to 7. Members meet once a month and the clubs run year to year. There are also special-interest clubs that meet once a week for 6 weeks; they’re also available throughout the year. Continued on page 16
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ABOVE: Members of the Lee County 4-H AFC Aggies Club work on an aerospace experiment. LEFT: Gavin Sowl and Vincenzo Larson of the Lucky Clovers practice finding items in quadrants like archeologists do.
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The Goat Club started last year with just eight members but has almost doubled in size to a year-round club with 15 members. Members go to a volunteer’s farm to learn about and take care of the goats. “They learn about different breeds, breeding and it goes through different levels,” Book said. “They learn different types like milk and play goats. It’s any topic related to goats. The plan is to have the older kids teach the younger kids in the future.” The goat gang is just one example of how 4-H fulfills its mission of tapping into the power of young people to help make a difference in the world. The local club is part of a national network, a Cooperative Extension in a community of more than 100 public universities across the U.S. Book and the University of Illinois Extension serving Carroll, Lee and Whiteside Counties coordinate the 4-H clubs and programs in Lee County. It’s not just rural America that 4-H reaches. There are nearly 6 million 4-H’ers in all parts of the country: 1.8 million in urban areas, 1.6 million in suburban areas, and 2.6 million rural members. 4-H also serves adults, too, providing an opportunity for parents and others to work with youth. Nationally, 4-H members are served by a half-million volunteers and 3,500 professionals who support and mentor young people. In the Carroll-Lee-Whiteside area, there are 653 members, 213 firstyear members and 348 adult volunteers, according to the Extension’s Lee County website. Among the dozen-plus special-interest clubs in Lee County is one that takes its name from 4-H’s symbol: The Lucky Clovers. It’s one that also lives up to 4-H’s promise to be a voice for all young people. The club helps special needs kids learn about different project areas, such as archaeology and healthy snacks. The next course will be done remotely and will be an amalgamation of different projects. Photos on 17, story continued on page 18
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TOP: From left, Jake Dinges, Emma Dinges, Brysen Full, and Rhayanna Cotter inspect a myotonic goat. BOTTOM: From left, Kayleigh Cotter, Dakota White, and Rhayanna Cotter hold some baby goats while discussing how to care for the animals. SUBMITTED PHOTOS
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Continued from page 16
Another of the Lee County clubs, The Digital Ambassadors Club, is plugged into 4-H’s goal of encouraging young people to help others in their communities. The club was started in December through the cooperation of Microsoft and the national 4-H and teaches kids to teach. Club members help rural adults, some who are still without internet access, learn more about and become more comfortable with technology. MORE 4 YOU ... The classes are free and each sesTurn the page to find out how to consion covers a diftact the Lee County ferent topic. 4-H, and for a list of “When grandclubs it offers. ma wants to know how something works on the computer, who does she call?” Book said. “Her grandchildren.” AFC Aggies is another 4-H club. It’s been in Ashton for a couple years now. Volunteers wanted to bring 4-H back to the community. “They’re doing community service and getting to know each other,” Book said. “They currently have 12 to 15 members.” To join any of the clubs, send an email to kbook@llinois.edu or call and leave a message at 815-632-3611. She’ll speak to parents about kids’ interests and availability. To see a list of programs available, visit extension.illinois.edu/clw.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Christopher Wadsworth and Kelsey Laird of the Digital Ambassadors Team help adults brush up on their computer skills.
Clubs charge a $20 per year membership fee. For special interest programs there’s sometimes a small supply fee. Financial aid is available. Whether they’re a budding young 4-H’er, a
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LEE COUNTY CLUBS AMBOY AREA
Young Seekers 4-H Club Leaders: Lisa Gascoigne & Amy Schwamberger Club meets 7 p.m. the first Thursday of the month Young Seekers Cloverbuds Leader: Katie Pratt Club meets 6:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month
Club meets 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month
DIXON AREA
Leaders: Amber Botts, Annette Cyrocki & Trese McNinch Club meets 6:30 p.m. the third Thursday of the month
Dixon Wonder Workers 4-H Club & Cloverbuds Leaders: Kristine VanQuathem, Abbey Kelly & Nancy Wadsworth Club meets the third ThursONLINE day of the month
ASHTON AREA AFC Aggies 4-H Club Leaders: Ashley Prior & Nikki Freeman Club meets 6 p.m. the second Sunday of the month AFC Cloverbuds Club meets 4:30 p.m. the second Sunday of the month, January through June
FRANKLIN GROVE AREA Grove-Go-Getters 4-H Club & Cloverbuds Leaders: Jennifer Warrenfeltz, Kelly Viall & Carrie Cochrane Club meets 5 p.m. the second Sunday of the month Cloverbuds start in January
Lucky Clovers 4-H Club Leaders: Nancy Wadworth & Katie Leffelman Club meets 6 p.m. Wednesdays
PAW PAW AREA
Wyoming Indians 4-H Club & Cloverbuds Leaders: Mary Lou Gorman & Brenda Dismore Lee County 4-H: https:// Club meets 10 a.m. extension.illinois.edu/clw/4-h-leethe second Saturday county or find Lee County 4-H of the month
on Facebook National 4-H: 4-h.org CONTACT Kathy Book, Lee County 4-H Program Coordinator kbook@illinois.edu Palmyra Hillbil280 W. Wasson Rd. lies 4-H Club Amboy, IL 61310 Leader: Kylie Beaston Phone: 815-857-3525 Club meets 5 p.m. the Fax: 815-857-3527
Soaring Eagles 4-H Club & Cloverbuds Leader: Michelle Snode Club meets 6:30 p.m. the first Monday of the month
third Tuesday of the month
Palmyra Hillbillies Cloverbuds Club meets 5 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month
4-H Goat Club Leaders: Mackenzie & Brian Treadwell
MAYTOWN AREA Maytown Comets 4-H Club & Cloverbuds
STEWARD AREA
SUBLETTE AREA Sub-Let Indians 4-H Club & Cloverbuds Leaders: Shelly Rod & Ann Jeppson Club meets 7 p.m. the third Thursday of every other month (January, March, May, July, September, November)
Robert Maltry, Agent 709 N. Brinton Ave • Dixon, IL 61021 Bus: (815) 288-4206
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Paw Paw Village President Michael Torman
up to the
task
Village president’s talent for trivia put him in Jeopardy – and he couldn’t have been happier about it 20
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STORY CODY CUTTER PHOTOS ALEX T. PASCHAL | FOR SMALL TOWN LIVING
T
he answer: “This village of 870 residents is in eastern Lee County, is home of the Bulldogs, and is another name for a fruit tree.” The question: “What is Paw Paw?” Some people’s trivial pursuits take them for a few laps around a game board, or maybe to a local contest where a meeting of the minds vie for bragging rights and a trophy. Michael Torman’s took him all the way to a national game show. Torman put his trivia skills to the test during his appearance on “Jeopardy” earlier this year. It was a dream come true for the 39-year-old Paw Paw village president. “My dad, myself and my two brothers would sit around the TV and watch ‘Jeopardy’,” Torman said. “I’ve always loved a good trivia game.” It’s been a lifelong dream to get on the show Torman said, and he looked forward to every January when people hoping for a spot on the show could fill out Jeopardy’s 50-question online test for a chance to share the stage with fellow trivia buffs and host Alex Trebek. After answering the first round of questions, he got the call in June to advance further in the selection process, which involved another 50 questions and an audition in Chicago. About a year later, he got a phone call from California.
“They tell you to look for a California number, and recently I had been getting a ton of spam calls out of California, so I almost didn’t answer it,” Torman said. It’s a good thing he did. Otherwise, he might have missed an once-in-a-lifetime experience. Torman and his wife, Kim, flew to Culver City, California, where “Jeopardy” is taped, and were joined by his twin brother and Kim’s sister. The experience was a thrill for them as well, Kim said. “It was so exciting,” said Kim, the principal at Ashton-Franklin Center Junior-Senior High School. “They seat the audience first and then bring in the contestants, but they tell you you’re not allowed to interact with contestants at all, and if you do, the contestant can be disqualified. When they brought out the contestants and Mike, it was really hard not to get excited and wave; we just had to kind of sit there.” The episode aired April 22. Michael racked up $9,800 in the regular and Double Jeopardy rounds, and it felt like being back on the Paw Paw High School scholastic bowl team once again. He would have loved to see sports, history, or even anatomy on the board, but it didn’t turn out that way; still, he got 12 correct out of the 14 times he buzzed in.
cotvoerry s
“It was so exciting. They seat the audience first and then bring in the contestants, but they tell you you’re not allowed to interact with contestants at all, and if you do, the contestant can be disqualified. When they brought out the contestants and Mike, it was really hard not to get excited and wave; we just had to kind of sit there.” Kim Torman, discussing her husband, Michael’s, appearance on ‘Jeopardy’
Continued on page 22
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“I was kind of disappointed with how my board shook out,� Torman said. “I thought they were decent categories, but you always hope for something that’s a little more in your wheelhouse.� Final Jeopardy was a little easier. The answer: “In 2014, this democratic nation broke the record for total turnout in a single election with more than 500 million voters.� The question: “What is India?� The wager: $7,801, for a total of $17,601. However, he didn’t come out on top and settled for a $2,000 consolation prize, which paid for travel expenses. “I always assumed that when I got on that I wanted to win,� Torman said. “I was disappointed, but I’m grateful for the opportunity, especially since they shut down filming [due to the COVID-19 pandemic] and who knows when it’s going to resume.� The Tormans stayed in California for only 3 days and they were glad to be back home to their beloved small-town life with their two young daughters. Life went back to normal for Michael, which meant running the village and the family’s Torman Funeral Home.
“I like the sense of community, [in Paw Paw]. It’s low-key, and like with a lot of small towns, there are people moving in and out. You meet new people, and those that stay are just good people. Everybody always cares about each other, everyone’s always helping each other out. Village President Michael Torman The Illinois Wesleyan alum lived in suburban Batavia for a while before coming back home in 2014, and wouldn’t have it any other way. “I like the sense of community,� he said. “It’s low-key, and like with a lot of small towns, there are people moving in and out. You meet new people, and those that stay are just good
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people. Everybody always cares about each other, everyone’s always helping each other out. “I lived in Batavia for 10 years, and it was wonderful, but I never got that true sense of that small-town community feel there as you would in Paw Paw.� Continued on page 23
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The residents have a lot of trust in Michael. He joined the village board in 2015, and threw his “name in the ring” and was elected president in 2017. One major highlight of his time in office so far is a project to refurbish the village park, working alongside local organizations to spruce things up there. “I really like the day-to-day operation; not the political side of it, but the engagement
side, making sure everything’s running good, making decisions, and helping out the village,” Torman said. “I grew up in this town and pretty much know everyone, so I want to make sure they’re happy and taken care of.” The family business takes up a lot of his time. A graduate of the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago, he is the fourth-generation Torman to run the local funeral home, which started in 1924. His duties are quite an undertaking, but
he also likes to play card games, especially poker, and enjoys spending time with his daughters. “He is the sweetest, most patient, loving man,” Kim said. “He’s such a good dad to our two girls. He’s loving and caring, and does whatever he can for everybody. He takes real good care of everyone he loves.” His next election may not draw 500 million people, but Michael looks forward to staying dedicated to a community he loves. n
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