Small Town Living - Winter 2020/2021

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AMBOY, ASHTON, FRANKLIN GROVE, PAW PAW, SUBLETTE, WEST BROOKLYN

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Sheridan’s Walton Tap owner Jo Sheridan leads by example at her bar: She wants everyone there to have a good time, so she makes sure she has one, too. “It’s just great,” Jo said.

“Everybody just laughs and jokes. We have a very good time.

Everybody is good natured, it’s a lot of fun. Everybody loves everybody around here, really they do. It’s like a home.”

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Who’s that beard ed lady? It’s “Mam a Jo” Sheridan havin g fun on Walton Tap’s Fa cebook page, where her witty words of wisdom and fu nny videos have earned her a fair share of fans.

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he school and railroad left Walton a long time ago, but Jo Sheridan isn’t going anywhere.

The 86-year-old co-owner of Sheridan’s Walton Tap has a daily routine that hasn’t failed her for the more than 30 years she’s operated her bar: Paperwork at 6 a.m., get the lunch kitchen up and running by 11 a.m., break between 2 and 4 p.m. and right back at it again for the dinner crowd until the place is cleaned back up by 10 p.m.

“Mama Jo,” as her customers call her, owns the longtime bar with her son, Jerry, 46, but she’s the face of the place: Her likeness adorns the Walton Tap T-shirts and a graphic of Mama’s mug next to a plate of chicken is at the top of the place’s Facebook page (at Sheridan’s Walton Tap).

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With plenty of room, ample seating, and a rustic and welcoming vibe, Sheridan’s Walton Tap is a perfect spot to have a bite to eat, hoist a beer and hang out with friends in the heart of the country.

Wishing you & your family Happy Holidays!

Speaking of social media, Jo has embraced the online world she finds herself in these days, becoming something of a local celebrity on the bar’s Facebook page, where she promotes the business with her funny videos, messages, and greetings – heck, she’s even lip-synced a love song to fried chicken in one of the videos.

Like many places, the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the tap’s routine, but not even COVID could bring down the bar’s popularity. Many hungry customers have flocked there for curbside pickups of Walton’s chicken strips, fried chicken and other entrees, such as steak, seafood and pasta.

The bar was silent as hunting season opened, but since then its customers have stayed loyal to the bar and grill – the only place between Dixon and Ohio, and Harmon and Amboy, where you can order a meal. “It’s been rather good,� Jo said. “This curb service has not tortured us any, but the drinking has. We have lots and lots of food followers. I can’t complain.�

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Things have been a quieter the last few months. Without the sound of happy customers clinking glasses and having a good time, about all you’ll hear around the tap is humming corn silos, the squeak of the Budweiser sign on a pole in front of the building, and the occasional passing vehicle – except on Saturday night, when the St. Mary church bell rings out, just two buildings down on the north edge of town.

“It’s just great,” Jo said. “Everybody just laughs and jokes.

We have a very good time. Everybody is good natured, it’s a lot of fun. Everybody loves everybody around here, really they do. It’s like a home.”

One of the bartenders, Amanda Lowry, 40, of Amboy, has worked there for 8 years, and said she’s enjoyed every minute of serving drinks and food to her “Walton family.”

“Our clientele is a lot of friends, they’re not just here to drink. It’s more like a family,” Lowry said. “You can set your clock by some of the customers in the afternoon, or the ones who come to lunch daily, and you know what they are going to be having. It’s excellent. Everybody’s great here.”

On a typical Friday, Saturday or Sunday night – pre-pandemic, of course – it wasn’t unusual for the number of people in the bar to outnumber the village’s population (seven).

Walton Tap has a popular seafood special every Friday with cod filets, seared scallops, jumbo shrimp and a choice of potato and salad.

The menu isn’t big, but has “just about anything you want,” Jo said. Along with burgers, tenderloins and chicken, Walton Tap has cuts of ribeye, sirloin and prime rib; and seafood from walleye, cod, catfish and orange roughy – and frog legs, too.

Jo makes her own jam sauce for her chicken and her own spaghetti sauce for the pasta dishes.

“When we’re busy in the kitchen, it can be tough, but we do it. It’s something you gotta do, and you do it. I love every minute of it. The busier I am, the happier I am.”

The Sheridans live a couple of miles away, and the family’s footprints are all over Lee County.

Jo was raised on a farm near Franklin Grove. Her father, Walt, had long wanted to own a tavern of his own, and got that opportunity when he bought Bob Hess’ former tavern on West First Street in Dixon. What became Walt’s Tap was the first in a group of taverns in the area that would be owned by members of Jo’s immediate and extended family, including bars in Ohio, Sublette, Dixon and Compton.

A sister of Jo’s husband, Gerald, owned the longtime bar in Walton until 1984 when Darlene Zimmerly sold it to Jo, and it became an important part of the family for many years. Her children were involved in the operation, sans alcohol serving, as much as Jo was.

“Every morning before they went to school, they’d come in and scrub and clean it, filled coolers and helped me with stuff like that,” Jo said. “They were very good about it.”

As the children got older, and their priorities changed, it put Jo in a position to sell the business – but the tug of owning a tap pulled her back behind the bar and five years after she sold it, she bought it back the first chance she had, taking it over again 15 years ago.

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heridan’s Walton Tap keeps its menu simple, and tasty. “When we’re busy in the kitchen, it can be tough, but we do it. It’s something you gotta do, and you do it,” says Jo Sheridan. “I love every minute of it. The busier I am, the happier I am.”

ABOVE: The chicken strips at Sheridan’s Walton Tap are a customer favorite.

CENTER LEFT: Start your meal off with a salad or bowl of chili.

LEFT: The seafood platter features scallops, shrimp and cod.

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What’s better than a night out with friends? A night outside with friends.

Sheridan’s Walton Tap customers can enjoy the spacious deck out back, complete with seating, a fire pit, and a scenic view of the surrounding countryside.

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“[My kids] went to high school and they got things they want to do,” she said. “They got out, I got out, but then I got very sad. Very sad.

I had been in this all of my life.”

While others her age have long since retired, Jo just can’t imagine not doing what she loves most, and she’s even taken on a new role: the face of the bar’s Facebook page. She helps create ideas for short videos to promotes the business.

With help from her staff of six, Jo has tapped into the power of social media, mixing things up with a dash of humor and lots of laughs.

Each video is under a minute and shows Jo, sometimes with some of her staff, promoting Jo Sheridan shows off a Walton the daily specials and other Tap T-shirt that features her likeness news about the tap. Most videos and one of her bits of homespun huare tongue in cheek, like one from mor: “Cluck off.” Sweatshirts and caps Halloween where she’s howling at the are also available. moon outside, or another where she’s asking viewers what the funniest animal on the farm is (the answer: a comedi-hen!).

“My God, everybody just loves it,” Jo said. “Those things I’ve put up on Facebook have just been crazy. Went simply crazy. They must enjoy an old woman sometimes. I really enjoy it, I really do.”

She’s even had some of her favorite sayings embroidered on the T-shirts she’s sells: “Cluck off ” and “Jesus crackers” are two of them. ”I’m a big mouth. I enjoy talking” – and she’s not quieting down any time soon.

“I just like to work,” Jo said. “I’ve raised my kids and I’m not a home-body. I’ve worked all of my life, and I enjoy it. I enjoy working, and I really do. I really do.” n

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Find Sheridan’s Walton Tap on Facebook for more information and updated business hours, or call 815-857-2381.

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Story & photos CODY CUTTER for Small Town Living

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ee County residents may not have seen the rockets’ red glare or bombs bursting in air during World War II, but they could hear them being made – and many of them even had a hand in making them.

The sounds of clanking metal and heavy-duty trucks once rang out loud and proud across Lee County’s countryside as the workforces of America’s factories did their part for the war effort.

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PHOTOS ON PREVIOUS PAGE ...

BADGE: An ID badge from the Green River Ordnance Plant. This one belonged to K.C. Eastman.

DOORS: Even back in the day when you could smoke on the job, there were places you still couldn’t light up, especially in a bomb factory, as seen here in this set of entry doors. (photo from YouTube video exploring the plant).

BUNKER: Some of the plant’s dozens of ammo bunkers can still be found at the former Green River site, like this one (photo courtesy John Purvis).

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Thousands of men and women – mostly women, in fact – at the Green River Ordnance Plant just outside Amboy kept our soldiers supplied with top-notch rocket-propelled bazooka ammo, grenades and bombs as they fought the Axis powers.

World War II ended 75 years ago this year, and as time passes so too do people who served in the war – and their ranks are thinning at an accelerated rate each year, and with the them go the voices of the Greatest Generation,

silencing those whose battle cries saved a world from tyranny. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, just over 325,00 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are alive in 2020.

Those who worked the assembly lines at Green River are also disappearing, too, taking with them memories of their time at the plant, an 8,340-acre swath of land in Amboy and Marion townships with factories, offices, residences and bunkers, all just a couple of miles northwest of Amboy.

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The water tank is long gone, but its support structure still stands at the site of the Green River Ordinance Plant.

NEWSPAPER: A copy of the plant’s newspaper, the Green River Times, announces the arrival of a new C.O.

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When Gen. Douglas MacArthur signed the official surrender of Japan on Aug. 15, 1945, VJ-Day, the purpose of the plant had been fulfilled, and it officially closed on Aug. 31. Some of the massive buildings remain, having been repurposed in multiple ways; others disappeared and faded away in the thick of overgrown trees and weeds.

Other telltale signs of Lee County’s war service still dot the landscape: smokestacks that quit smoking decades ago, or what’s left of the plant’s main water tower off of U.S. Route 30. Even more prominent is the Lee County Landfill, which, at its apex, gives a panoramic view of the vast swath of land that was needed to

support the war effort.

The Green River Ordnance Plant – GROP, to many – had a short life, but made a huge impact on how the war fared for the American soldiers.

Conceived by the U.S. Department of War, the plant was built in 1942 and completed Dec. 15. The Stewart-Warner Corp. was in charge of the plant. Over time, it became Illinois’ largest industrial and munitions contribution to the war effort, and employed as many as 4,500 men and women who kept the factories buzzing 24 hours a day throughout much of its existence.

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The Green River Ordnance Plant had its own little neighborhood of barracks for supervisors.

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Dozens of bunkers dotted the landscape of the Green River Ordnance Plant, wrapped in an earthen blanket, to help contain any possible explosions, and spaced far enough apart so that if one did explode it wouldn’t set off a deadly chain reaction. Today, many bunkers still remain, and some are even being used.

LEFT: Rows of bunkers can be seen at the top of this vintage photo of the plant. (photo courtesy of Vintage Amboy Facebook page

A close-up of the door on a bunker off Red Brick Road. It now serves as a storage facility for a local farmer.

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Corregidor and Bataan are the two roads most identified with the plant – and two names associated with the war a world away. The names come from sites in the Philippines where American troops fought.

It was at those places where the last American forces were bottled up by the invading Japanese before they fell in 1942, right as construction of the plant was underway.

Eventually, Corregidor became a place where American forces took to as they recaptured the island during a 10-day battle in February of 1945.

Today, Corregidor is the main north-south road through the former plant, and where the row of housing sat near its intersection with Route 30; and Bataan is a loop around the southern part of the area.

A collection of memorabilia, ads and news clippings from the Green River Ordnance plant, including the patch at left.

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Though they quit smoking long ago, some of the smokestacks from the Green River Ordnance plant are still standing. INSET AT RIGHT: Not all the buildings on the Green River Ordnance Plant’s complex have fallen into disuse and disrepair. Some have survived and are still used for light industry, such as this one on the southeast corner of the former plant’s footprint.

The grounds were closer to Amboy than any other community in the county that had a post office – Eldena was closer but lacked a post office – however, the Amboy Post Office was too small to handle the vast amount of mail for the plant, so the larger post office in downtown Dixon was used to process the mail and the plant was given a Dixon mailing address. Mail was delivered from the post office in town to the Illinois Central railroad depot in Dementown, where it was carried to the plant where the track branched off south of Eldena.

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (later to be known as Burlington Northern) also served the plant: a branch track went north into the plant from a perpendicular junction with the line. Both railroads are gone now, but parts of their outlines remain in the form of tree and shrub lines.

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Lonesome roads and rails ...

ABOVE: Trains haven’t pulled in here for decades, but these rails survive and serve as a reminder of the hustle and bustle that was once part of the Green River Ordnance Plant. Both the former Illinois Central and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy lines that crossed through Lee County served the plant. INSET: Trucks once rumbled down this road at the west end of the plant, but today South Bataan Road is wrapped inside a line of trees and shrubs.

While the work they were doing was serious, the plant’s role as a major local employer gave workers an opportunity to socialize through various means. The Green River News and the Green Riverite were publications that informed employees of happenings locally and abroad. Employees also could join the plant’s baseball team as it toured the local circuits, or perform in the plant’s band or orchestra.

With the war heating up by 1944, more men were called into military service. This left many women to take on roles in the war effort at home. Eventually, nearly three times as many women were employed at the plant than men.

Like many soldiers, munitions plants also were given decorations for outstanding production. The plant was recognized with the Army-Navy White Star Production Award and the Army-Navy Excellence Award during its final year of service.

With the end of the war came the end of the plant, and it closed on Aug. 31, 1945.

Today, several of the plant’s former buildings are being utilized by private businesses for either manufacturing or storage. This includes the many ammunition bunkers that dot the western and southern areas of the plant’s former footprint. Many of them, with tops covered in grass, can be seen from the side of Red Brick, O’Malley and Sterling roads. At least one has been repurposed into a tractor barn for a farm on Red Brick Road.

The manufacturing of weapons has been silent for 75 years now, but these visual reminders still proudly stand as a reminder of Lee County’s role in defending freedom during World War II, from the assembly lines to the front lines. n

MORE INFORMATION “Green River Ordnance Plant, 19421945” was written by Lee County historian Duane Paulsen 50 years after the closure of the plant.

The book, published locally in 1995, includes a history of the plant and interviews with those who once worked there.

Copies are available for checkout or reference (non-checkout) at libraries in Dixon and Walnut, or can be arranged at any Lee County library through interlibrary loan programs; contact your local library for more information.

Several websites also feature information on the plant, and you can watch walk-throughs of abandoned sections of the plants on YouTube.

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ooking to get your hair done?

There’s a place in Franklin Grove for that.

How about some new clothes? There’s a place in town for that as well.

A healthy shake? That, too, can be found in town.

In fact, all three are under one roof, and they’re all run by one family.

3rd and Elle Boutique, Roots Salon and Roots Nutrition, 225 E. Lincoln Highway, opened its doors Sept. 12, and behind those doors customers will find sisters Schonnie Gross, 28, Jovanna Delatorre, 21, and their mother, Devona Harms, 47, all of Rochelle.

Gross runs the boutique department, Delatorre runs the salon, and Harms is the one with a healthy interest in nutritious foods and drinks.

Most days it’s like a second home for the family.

“This is a great opportunity to do something with my girls,” Harms said. “They grow up so fast, and have gone and spread their wings and have their own things going on.

This is just an opportunity for us to do something fun together.”

Continued on page 19 STORY CODY CUTTER PHOTOS MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT | FOR SMALL TOWN LIVING

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The trio knows firsthand how nice it is to have a one-stop shop in a smaller town like Franklin Grove.

Like other shoppers in the area, their own hunt for stylish clothes and healthy foods used to involve a family trip out of town, but now people don’t have to make a road trip to do some shopping, thanks to their shop, which brings a bit of the big city to the small town of just over 1,000 people.

Gross isn’t a big fan of the hustle and bustle of big city shopping. By creating a place to shop locally, she hopes people don’t have to spend too much of their time traveling for quality women’s clothing.

“I’ve always told myself I absolutely hate Rockford, and I love being somewhere so local and safe to be able to shop,” Gross said. “I feel like our options are so limited now. Unless you want to go to Rockford or DeKalb, I love being close and being an option where we have jeans for all sizes and shirts for all sizes. It’s just really convenient.”

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FROM LEFT: Jovana Delatorre, Devona Harms, and Schonnie Gross have opened 3rd and Elle Boutique, Roots Nutrition and Roots Salon in Franklin Grove. The shops sell clothing, Herbal Life drinks, and salon services, all under one roof.

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The boutique has womens shirts and sweaters from extra small to 3X, jeans from sizes 0 to 15, and a collection of shoes, sandals, leggings, flannels and stocking caps. The stock is rotated often, and sometimes will include stuff for the kids. Every item at the store also is available online at 3rdandelle.com with pick-up in store, shipping, or delivery within 20 miles of the store for a nominal fee.

And if they want their hair done, or a sip of a healthy shake, they can do that at the same time.

“People come in for the salon, and they’re like, ‘I had no idea you had clothes,’” Delatorre said. “You can wait and look at clothes, or vice-versa where someone says, ‘Hey, can you do my eyebrows?’ It works out so well.”

Gross started 3rd and Elle Boutique from her basement a few years ago and eventually outgrew the space. Meanwhile, Delatorre was starting to cut and style hair along with Harms, who’s been handling hair throughout much of her adult life.

When she started to work on finding a place of her own, the idea of an all-n-one concept with her family started to come together.

“It just grew, and everyone just kept asking if we would have a storefront,” Gross said. “We were like, ‘Let’s do it! Let’s do that whole concept,’ and then we found this place and we could throw it all together.”

Gross came up with the name for her boutique from a family of three and with the names of her children and two dogs starting with the letter L. In the short time they’ve had their own store, they’re already attracting repeat customers.

“We’ve had people show up and shop more than I could ever imagine,” Gross said. “Our opening day was just insane, and we couldn’t have imagined that in a million years! We have a lot of people that love us and give us the support to help us push through everything that’s going on.”

TOP: From left: Schonnie Gross, Jovana Delatorre, and Rylee Jackson show off some of the stocking caps available at 3rd and Elle Boutique. CENTER: Rylee Jackson (left) and Devona Harms hold Herbal Life teas made at Roots Nutrition. The business offers shakes, boosted teas and iced coffees that have a healthy dose of vitamins. BOTTOM: Jovanna Delatorre curls a customer’s hair at Roots Salon. The salon shares space with 3rd and Elle Boutique.

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Delatorre does cuts for women and men, colors, waxings and even the occasional extension. She’s learned a lot from her mother, and enjoys having her and her sister around.

Harms added the Herbal Life business to the store after the salon and boutique. Shakes, boosted teas and iced coffees have a healthy dose of vitamins that can fulfill the recommended daily allowance worth of nutrients. Harms has been working with the drinks for a few years, and her children love them, too.

The building used to be an ice cream parlor, and the walk-up window still can be utilized for the occasional drink.

“All of us love the Herbal Life products,” Harms said. “They give you healthy energy and vitamins in just one small drink. You get your whole vitamins for the day. We have just always loved the drinks.”

The three aspects of the business unite every Wednesday evening for a Facebook Live video, on the 3rd and Elle Facebook page, where each family member shows off their latest products and styles. The Facebook Live sessions are how Rylee Jackson became familiar with the family.

The 15-year-old Rochelle High School student joined the team and helps Gross and Harms with their work at the front counter.

Delatorre also does her hair.

Jackson has even helped get some customers through the doors, attracting several of her classmates to the shop.

“It’s kind of different than your average teenager job,” Jackson said. “Not many people work at a boutique, and it’s different than working at Subway or something. It’s a cool job.”

Even though they’ve just begun their brick-and-mortar adventure, the thought of expansion has already crossed their minds – but if they do grow, they don’t want to outgrow what makes them special: being the place that people think of when they’re in need of something special and don’t want to make a trip to a big city to find it. n

MORE INFORMATION 3rd and Elle Boutique, Roots Nutrition, and Roots Salon 225 E. Lincoln Highway, Franklin Grove Boutique, salon and drink bar open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; other times by appointment.

Find 3rd and Elle on Facebook, @ thirdandelle on Instagram, or go to 3rdandelle.com to shop for products or for more information.

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A house is on fire. A family watches and waits, holding their breath and praying the fire department can get there in time.

Turns out they weren’t the only ones holding their breath and praying. Franklin Grove firefighters were, too – and that was just when they were getting their trucks out of the station.

Now they can breath a sigh of relief, thanks to a community willing to fund Story a nearly $2 million project to build a Cody Cutter new fire station.

Photos Before the department moved into Michael ft oe its new building, firefighters had their nh Krabbe routine down pat, like a carefully choreographed ballet of man and machines: Drop everything on a dime when the call comes in, change into their gear, and fire up the engines, and then maneuvering them ever-so-carefully, squeezing the engines through a tight space with perfect precision to get them out of the garage.

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“In the original structure, the trucks today would not fit in it,” Fire Chief Pat Hilliker said.

“Literally, when we try to go out the doors, we’d have 1 inch in either side of the door. It was so small to do training or getting equipment off of the trucks,” he said. “We couldn’t open a compartment door and get anything out because you were right there against the truck behind you.”

But those days are over, thanks to a community that voted by a 3-to-1 margin in April 2019 to pass a referendum to issue $1.9 million in bonds for a new building to house the department’s seven rescue trucks and ambulances.

The department’s 33 volunteer staff and its longtime chief moved in to the new digs in mid-November.

As fire technology changed through the years and trucks got larger, the department had to grow too. The oldest wing of the former department – which was quickly razed when the newer, bigger facility opened – had been built in 1952. Additions were made in 1969 and 1989. That still wasn’t enough room, though, forcing firefighters to shoehorn their rigs into cramped quarters.

The new building boast more space – 80 feet by 125 feet, all under one roof – giving the crew plenty of room. A storage area on the second floor overlooks the bay area, where the engines have more than enough breathing room between them – about 8 feet.

Longtime firefighter Joe Hilliker, Pat’s brother, also is enjoying all the extra space.

The new fire station offers something that’s been sorely needed for a while: more space. “In the original structure, the trucks today would not fit in it,” Fire Chief Pat Hilliker said. “Literally, when we try to go out the doors, we’d have 1 inch in either side of the door. ... We couldn’t open a compartment door and get anything out because you were right there against the truck behind you.”

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A place to dry the hose and clothes

TOP INSET: Franklin Grove firefighter Joe Hilliker talks about the wooden hose-washing/drying rack that’s been with the department since 1905, and that the crew plans to continue using.

The apparatus will stand upright when it’s installed, helping drain water off the hoses so they can be cleaned and dried. The new station will also allow firefighters to keep the device inside. Before, firefighters would have to wash the house outside, no matter how cold it was BOTTOM INSET: The new Franklin Grove fire station features a larger laundry room.

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“This is just awesome compared to what we had in the past,” he said. “This is just amazing what we’ve got here now. We’ve got great support from the community.

“Getting these trucks out of a 10-foot door [in the old station], you had to kind of hold your breath and pray. If you went out too soon and turned, you’d catch the back end of the door. This is so much better.”

The new building also something the old building didn’t: a fire alarm and sprinkler system. The laundry room is bigger, and so is the room to maintain their air tanks. Showers now are part of the facility, rather than having staff wash and clean up at home after a tough time on the job.

The building also comes with a spacious multi-purpose area for functions and a place for firefighters to relax, a radio room, and the chief’s office is bigger, too. There’s also a conference room, a dedicated kitchen area, and training area.

“It’s something we’ve dreamt about for a long time,” Joe said. “To be able to have this space, it’s so much more usable and efficient than the other one.”

Not everything in the building is new. Like they say: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and that goes for the station’s hose-washing rack. The 50-foot apparatus been part of the department for more than 100 years, dating back to 1905. But there is a dedicated indoor space for the rack now, a big improvement.

“We would have to wash our truck and fire hose in the wintertime out in the street,” Pat said. “It’s no fun when its 20 degrees out.”

The village of Franklin Grove (population 1,100) sits in the middle of the fire protection district the department is responsible for: an 80-square-mile area more long than wide between Nachusa and Ashton. Included are a few miles of Interstate 88 and the Union Pacific

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Not many stones are left in this Lee County cemetery, and only one is still legible, while a couple others have names that are nearly faded away.

The road this cemetery is on is spelled slightly similar to a religious group that would later settle elsewhere in Illinois.

Answer appears on page 27

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railroad, Franklin Creek State Park, Nachusa Grasslands, and a portion of Lost Lake, where the department has an auxiliary station with three more vehicles.

The Hillikers hope the building will serve another purpose, too, acting as a draw for fresh faces in the fire department.

“This is for the future for the young people,” Pat said. “With it, we hope to get some interest and some new members to join. All of the volunteer departments, no matter what part of the county you go to, are short of people. It would be great if out of this we get a few new volunteers.” n

MORE INFORMATION Find the Franklin Grove Fire Department on Facebook, or call 815-456-2350 for more information.

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The new Franklin Grove fire station boasts something the old one didn’t have: a sprinkler system. Its control room is seen here.

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Only a few stones remain at the Mormon Cemetery, on Morman Road south of Amboy.

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or a community named after a fruit-bearing tree, it’s only fitting that plants play a big role in making Paw Paw a place its residents can be proud of.

Whether it’s up or down Chicago Road or at Paw Paw’s parks, the flowers and plants throughout the village are a sight to see, and it’s all thanks to the community’s garden club.

The Paw Paw Garden Club is small – at just eight members – but this group of green thumbs do an impressive job keeping the community they live in and love looking its best.

Michelle Fay is the club’s president and one of the founding members from when it began in 2005. She’s seen plants and projects go through all different kinds of weather, and leads the task in making each year look prettier than the last.

“It gives all of us a huge sense of pride Story and satisfaction,” Fay said of the eight CODY CUT TER women who make up the club.“We’re all Photos gardeners. I don’t have a background in MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT gardening, but I’ve learned throughout the years from several of my colleagues who are in the gardening business.”

For Small Town Living Continued on page 30

Paw Paw Garden Club member Joyce Bettner (left) and club president Michelle Fay work on a holiday arrangement along Chicago Road in Paw Paw. Just because the growing season takes a break for the winter doesn’t mean the club does. Members keep things looking fresh and festive with decor in the dozen concrete containers throughout the village.

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Paw Paw Garden Club members Irene Hanson (left) and Rita Luce work on an arrangement of evergreen branches in a concrete container along Chicago Road in Paw Paw.

The club tends to 12 large concrete pots that dot the downtown strip, six on the north side of Chicago Road and six on the south side; and also take care of displays at both the east and west welcome signs, the bandshell, the gazebo and at Rogers Park.

And just because the growing season takes a break for the winter doesn’t mean that the garden club does. Members snip a few of the plants – such as boxwoods and limelight hydrangeas – and use them, along with branches from fir trees, to make festive displays and place them where flowers typically grow.

On Nov. 20, the club took advantage of the weather to freshen up the 2-foot high concrete pots and decorate them with greens and ornaments. They also spent a day just before Thanksgiving softening the dirt, digging and poking holes to prepare the pots for the spreading firs, plants, holiday decorations and shiny scarlet ball ornaments attached to sticks that they put inside them, along with wooden decor and long metal candy canes.

Fay, Joyce Bettner and Pat Cidlik started the day working on the first pot at the Community Center parking lot. Fay showed Bettner and Cidlik what she wanted the pot to look like, inviting other members to offer their own ideas if they wanted.

“Gardening is very hard work, but it is also very rewarding and it makes me feel good,” said Bettner, a retired computer programmer from Northern Illinois University.

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which ones don’t in the area’s climate. If Like Fay, Bettner also is one of the club’s it’s going to be a hot year, less drier plants original members, and she’s a Master Gar- likely are going to be sought. This year’s choices have panned out. dener through the University of Illinois The coronavirus pandemic shelved this Extension and shares a lot of her knowlyear’s in-person sales, so it was done on edge among the group.

Facebook, which turned out to be a big “I wanted to find a group that I could success, Bettner said. socialize with because my friends were at “We sold more flats than we’ve ever work,” Bettner said. “The Paw Paw Garsold,” she said.

“We had so many perenniden Club was part of my socialization to als that we were out digging our yards up, get to know people.” because we sold the ones that we had and The club began beautifying the area at they wanted more.” the welcome signs at the edge of town, The response was a truly heartwarming and then over the years put in a flower one for the club, with so many people bed at Rogers Park, followed by installacontributing. tions at the bandshell and gazebo.

“We went around to the various Also at Rogers Park is a memomerchants to help the garden rial garden dedicated to the club show hometown life of former member pride and beautify the Eunice Rogers. town,” Bettner said.

MORE INFO Watering the flowers To learn more about the “That gave the whole in the summer can be a Paw Paw Garden Club, or to community a sense of challenging task. Memjoin, call club president Mipride of their hometown bers of the town’s Leo chelle Fay at 815-627-2041. to go by and see the Club – the youth chapter beautiful flowers that we of the Lions Club – tend have in the summer, and to the thirsty flowers the greens in the winter throughout the village, and time. They can come home and see that downtown merchants and businesses do they can be proud of where they live.” their part to help keep concrete planters “It gives me a sense of ownership,” Fay in tip-top shop. said. “Our mission of the group is to conCidlik is one of the newest members, tinue to beautify the community. Each having moved to the community just a one of us takes a lot of pride in what we couple of years ago. She has enjoyed the create, and what we grow.” camaraderie and friendships she’s made The next big project for the club will so far. be to replace the large concrete planters.

“I was new in town, so I didn’t know a They’ve been downtown for nearly 30 lot of people,” Cidlik said. “It was a way years, dating back to when they were to get to know more people. We have a maintained by other entities in town. If lot of fun doing it. It’s rewarding.” the club can keep building on the successThe club raises funds for their plants each year through an annual plant sale on es it’s already had, members will be well on their way to raising enough money for the first Saturday of May – “when they their concrete plans, and making their run the Kentucky Derby,” Fay said. The club meets every February to plan its year, community a place that’ll make other villages positively green with envy. n keeping in mind which plants work and

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The American papaw, pawpaw, paw paw, or paw-paw, is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and Canada that produces a large, yellowish-green to brown fruit (seen at right). It belongs to the genus Asimina in the same plant family (the Annonaceae) as the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, ylang-ylang, and soursop.

The paw paw is a small, understory tree, unlikely to ever grow into the forest canopy. Despite a fruit that has a sweet, custardish flavor somewhat similar to banana, mango, and pineapple, deer tend to avoid its branches and leaves. It’s the only local member of its large, mainly tropical plant

A few examples of the garden club’s work. TOP: One of the Paw Paw Garden Club’s first endeavors was to beautify the welcome sign at the east end of town, off of Chicago Road. Here’s how it looked more than a decade ago, before the sign was redesigned. CENTER: A memorial garden at Rogers Park, dedicated to the life of former club member Eunice Rogers. BOTTOM: Flowers at the bandshell in Community Park. family, and produces the largest edible fruit native to North America.

Its fruits are commonly eaten raw, but are also used to make ice cream and baked desserts. However, the bark, leaves, and fruit have been documented as containing the neurotoxin annonacin, which could cause neurodegeneration.

It’s even had books written about it: “Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit,” available from online retailers.

Sources: Wikipedia and the National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov/articles/pawpaw).htm)

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