SVM_Sterling Rock Falls Living_Summer 2023

Knock knock. Who’s there? Pet care in your own home

A Sterling man is a big fan of the ‘world’s greatest lawn game’

Self Help celebrates people working to the best of their abilities

Former Mill workers are steel friends after all these years

Willie Nelson and his guitar, “Trigger,” by Matt Jagitsh

4 Knock

A Rock Falls vet tech knows that when it comes to caring for animals, sometimes there’s no place like home.

C’mon

A Sterling man wants more people to have as much fun as he has playing “the world’s greatest lawn game.”

The best of their abilities

People in search of a sense of self-worth and purpose have had help finding it, thanks to an enterprising agency in Sterling.

Steel friends after all these years

Friendships forged in a factory were rekindled during an ice cream social that brought together former Northwestern Steel and Wire workers.

ByCodyCutter|SaukValley Media

our pet needs a vet, but you’d rather not leash ’em up and hang out in a waiting room. But how about a living room instead?

That’s where Chelsey McLaughlin comes in — right through your front door.

McLaughlin is taking her show of affection for animals on the road with her mobile pet care business, Unleashed Care, based out of Rock Falls. The certified veterinary technician will make house calls for basic pet health care and maintenance: nail trims, small wound care, anal gland expressions, and other services. Her service area is the Twin Cities and beyond — within 25 miles — and her patients come in all different sizes: from dogs and cats to rabbits and rats to ferrets or a feathered friend or two. She also offers virtual care, to answer questions and provide advice. Not only does she help pet owners whose furever friends may get a little fussy and fidgety in a waiting room, she’s helping her peers in pet care.

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When Chelsey McLaughlin was looking for the best way to put her decades of experience taking care of animals to good use, she came up with a plan where she would be in the driver’s seat: opening up her at-home veterinary service: Unleashed Care. “I wanted to give back to the community a little bit more with something we don’t really have around here.”

“I wanted to give back to the community a little bit more with something we don’t really have around here,” McLaughlin said. “I like being an extension of the vet clinics and helping them take a little bit off their plate, too, when they don’t have time for those nail trims or anal glands, things like that.”

As a certified veterinary technician — sort of like a nurse for animals — there are things she can and can’t do: the can’ts include administering vaccines or diagnosing illnesses, which only a doctor can do, nor does she groom or bathe pets. However, when the nails get too long, the ears get clogged, or there’s a small wound or burn that needs a little TLPC, McLaughlin can provide that Tender Loving Pet Care at home, where it can be more convenient for the pet owner and less stressful for the pet.

Unleashed Care, McLaughlin said, is not meant to replace established animal clinics, but to assist them: If she can lend her time and expertise — 23

years of veterinary experience — to take some of the simpler tasks off vets’ plates, that can free up the clinics for more urgent or serious matters, she said.

“Things you would talk to a technician in a clinic for, I can do that,” McLaughlin said. “My main thing is that I don’t want the vet clinics to feel like I’m trying to take from them. I want them to feel like I am an extension of them. I know there are a lot of clinics that are booked up right now; they may not have the time, or it takes 2 or 3 weeks to get booked for an anal gland or nail trim. I want them to think of me as an extension so that if they can’t do it, maybe I can come do it.”

McLaughlin, 37, only started her business in April, but it’s something she’s been thinking about for a while.

“That’s something that I always thought was needed in this profession,” she said. “It’s revolutionary, out-of-the-box, and something that people need.”

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A longtime animal lover herself, McLaughlin makes room at home for some furry and fuzzy friends of her own — two cats, Videl and Rias; a dog, Alita; and a rabbit, Graham. She also has children to tend to, so she’s set up Unleashed Care’s schedule to accommodate them: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. However, if there’s a need for an appointment during evening hours, that may be arranged as well.

She’s instilling her love and respect of animals in her children, teaching them to treat them as she has. Growing up during the ’90s, animals were a big part of her life. While her peers were into pop culture, McLaughlin’s passion was watching animal programs on TV and learning about animals.

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“My mom said that ever since I could talk I’ve wanted to be a vet,” McLaughlin said. “For sure, when I was 3 years old, I said that I wanted to be a veterinarian, and [becoming a vet tech] is where it went.”

If a TV show featured an animal, McLaughlin was all over it. Long after Lassie had helped Timmy out of a tight spot on the classic ’50s TV show “Lassie,” she’d watch early morning reruns on Nickelodeon: When 4:30 came, the opening credit cries of “Lassie! Lassie!” would fill the house. The famous collie, she said, was “her dream dog” that she hoped to have one day, something she’s still hoping for.

Call 815-627-0029 or email unleashedcare@ yahoo.com to schedule an appointment with Unleashed Care. Go to unleashedcare. com or find it on Facebook for a list of available services or for more information.

“Most kids would read fantasy books, or go outside and play. I had dog encyclopedias, and I would literally study every dog breed and all of their specs. When I was a kid watching TV, ‘Emergency Pets’ on Animal Planet was what I watched and studied, and I would watch the reruns. That’s all I did.”

McLaughlin volunteered at the Advanced Animal Health Clinic in Rock Falls when she was 15, and that turned into a job for her the following year. After graduating from high school in 2003, she continued her education at Parkland College in Champaign, where she earned an associate degree in veterinary technology; her

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college experience also included study at the University of Illinois’ veterinary program across town. From there, she worked at the Veterinary Centers of America hospital in Aurora, working in diagnostics and imaging while learning about ultrasounds, Xrays and MRIs — “a very fun experience,” she said.

After subsequent stints at clinics in Sycamore, Morrison and Reno, Nevada, McLaughlin hung up her stethoscope five years ago to spend more time with her children — but her passion for pets never went away, and she looked for a way to balance kids and a career.

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“I was working on things that I could do to get back into helping animals again,” McLaughlin said. “It’s hard for a clinic to hire someone from 9 to 2 when the kids are at school. So I realized that we didn’t have any mobile vets around here, or anything that could to someone’s house. I know that clinics are pretty busy right now and it can be hard [for a pet] to get in for the basic things.”

Another pet project of hers has been graphic design, which she’s used to create a logo for her business, a website (unleashedcare.com), and her own “certificate of bravery” cards for each pet she cares for. She picked up the idea when she worked at the animal hospital in Aurora.

“Everyone loved it, so I made sure that I wanted to do that with this,” McLaughlin said. “Now they’ll put it on the fridge before I walk out the door.”

Her logo also adorns her work shirt, which is also part of her treatment approach.

“I know there are a lot of dogs that are anxious of ‘white coat syndrome,’” McLaughlin said. “There are a lot of dogs that aren’t used to seeing people in scrubs or in the white medical jackets that the doctors wear, and a lot of times they will get very nervous when they see those things because it’s something they are not used to. So I went with some basic scrub pants and T-shirts so that way they wouldn’t feel anxious with somebody strange coming into their house. They take to it pretty well.”

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Dogs and cats make up most of her patients, but she’s helped others, too: she can trim a bird’s nails (as long as someone else can hold them), or identify whether a pet’s teeth need worked on. Part of the licensing that allows her to have her business involves continuing education on animal care; she’ll take on the study of an animal she doesn’t usually encounter.

As with anyone who cares for people’s pets which can be such an important part of people’s lives — McLaughlin knows how important her role is, but she hopes as word gets out about her business, more doors will open.

“It’s kind of what I wanted it to be,” McLaughlin said. “There’s still a lot of trying to get people to trust, with a lot of older people set in their ways that a clinic must do everything. Some people don’t trust technicians because they don’t understand what we do, or that we’re literally like registered nurses. It takes a lot of schooling, a lot of learning and a lot of heart for us to be able to do what we do: take care of their pets and treat them like our own” — but, she said, “We’re fully trustworthy.” n

When Unleashed Care owner Chelsey McLaughlin isn’t busy tending to other folks’ furry friends, she’s got her hands full at home, where she tends to her own little animal kingdom, from top: her cats, Rias and Videl; her rabbit, Graham; and on the facing page, her dog, Alita. “My mom said that ever since I could talk I’ve wanted to be a vet,” she said.

Willie Nelson and his guitar, “Trigger” by Matt Jagitsch

emember cracking open a box of colored pencils in school and finding inspiration in its rainbow of colors? Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet … there was nothing you and Roy G. Biv couldn’t create.

Then there was the white one. Sometimes, that one didn’t even see the inside of a pencil sharpener. But for a Sterling artist, working with a white pencil is the highlight of his day.

Matt Jagitsch brings his subjects to life with the strokes of nothing more than a white pencil against a backdrop of black, and though his pieces live in a world of shadows and light, they’re no less compelling than pieces found at the end of the rainbow. They may be a little more challenging to create, but rising to that challenge is part of what appeals to the artist.

By Cody Cutter Sauk Valley Media JAGITSCH cont’d to page 14

Artist Matt Jagitsch, seen here at his home studio in Sterling, said he enjoys the challenge of creating pieces with depth and feeling, using only a white pencil and a black piece of paper.

“It’s a primitive form of medium,” Jagitsch said. “The challenge of creating something that’s got depth and feeling to it, just having a couple of tools makes it a fun challenge.”

A look around his home studio shows just how much fun he’s had. Willie Nelson, Leonardo da Vinci, 1930s-era farmers, and even a few four-legged felines keep him company from behind the glass of framed pieces that line the walls of Black Sheep Studio.

Creating pieces with a white pencil on black paper takes a different approach than using a broader palette, or even pieces using a black pencil on white paper. With white-on-black

works, the spots on an animal, a person’s eyes, the openings of a mouth aren’t drawn onto the paper — the paper itself takes care of that, with the black areas revealing details after Jagitsch draws the outlines in white that make the darker spaces stand out. It’s like a drawing in reverse.

“It’s fun to plan out because it’s a reverse way of drawing,” Jagitsch said. “In conventional drawing, you’re drawing the shadow and shading, but with these, you’re drawing highlights and letting the paper be the shadow and shading. They’re fun to plan out, and as soon as you start going, especially with animal fur and all of those strokes, it goes pretty quick.”

SVM PHOTO ILLUSTRATION JAGITSCH cont’d from page

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It’s a talent that he rediscovered only a few years ago after a one-time middle school art class assignment, and he’s reaping plenty of praise for it at local art shows.

The first time Jagitsch, 53, wielded the white pencil was nearly 40 years ago, as a teen growing up in Jacksonville, Illinois, 30 miles west of Springfield. It was just a one-off school assignment then, and he would later try out other mediums — watercolors, oils, sculpting — as a college student at Eastern Illinois University, but that white pencil had left an indelible mark in his mind.

He would go on to work in yet another medium when he was planning a career: house paint. He started a house painting business when he moved to Dixon 25 years ago. Today, he and his family — wife Michelle and sons Nathan, Brandon and Connor — live in Sterling, where they’ve been for the past eight years.

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On his Black Sheep Studio Facebook page, Jagitsch said that he’s “back in the saddle” after a 25-plus year hiatus from art. Once he got the saddle, he needed something to put it on — a horse, maybe? But not one of a different color, just a white steed brought to life by Jagitsch.

CODY CUTTER/ CCUTTER@ SHAWMEDIA. COM

“THE GUARDIAN”

This drawing of a silverback gorilla won Best of Show at the 2021 Grand Detour Arts Festival.

Purple haze in black and white ... Jagitch’s portrait of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix

JAGITSCH

Jagitsch continued painting houses, but when COVID hit, he found himself with more time on his hands than paint. He needed something to do in his spare time, and that’s when he thought about that middle school assignment. His interest rekindled, he started drawing again.

“When COVID hit, everybody had a little more time on their hands,” Jagitsch said. “My wife is an elementary teacher in Sterling, so she was working remotely from home and I was a little more at home than normal. That was all it really took for her to go, ‘We need to find something for you to do.’ So I just started drawing again.”

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Jagitsch said he enjoys showing his work at events and exhibitions, like this one, “One White Pencil,” at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington, Ill., earlier this year. “One of my favorite things is to be able to talk to people,” he said. “You’re seeing their face, listening to their comments, and that’s really where it’s at.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Jagitsch draws on smooth, jet black Strathmore Artagain paper, which is a little thicker than the standard construction paper. He uses Faber-Castell Polychromos artist pencils, one that’s vegetable oil based and another that’s wax based, depending on which one he feels will produce the best results

Among the people he’s drawn are a series of blues artists including B.B. King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Leadbelly. His drawing of Willie Nelson features the famous country singer embracing his iconic guitar, “Trigger.” For the black signatures that are on the real Trigger, Jagitsch used an electric eraser to remove the white pencil strokes, leaving the black paper to replicate the autographs.

Jagitsch said older people tend to make for better drawings, with the lines and character in their face: “Their face tells a story, and people can make a connection with them better,” he said.

Pencils and erasers aren’t the only tools in the artist’s arsenal: Jagitsch also keeps Q-tips on hand for blending his pencil strokes. While some artists spray fixatives on their pieces to preserve them, Jagitsch prefers to leave them un-sprayed for a better look.

In nearly three years of drawing in his spare time, he’s created more than 200 different pieces. The first drawings stayed close to home, but as he got better, pieces made their way to local art galleries such as The Next Picture Show in Dixon, and others in Bloomington, Highland Park, Marengo, Peru

and Rock Island.

Even with all the pieces he’s created in white and black, there are some splashes of color in his studio — the ribbons his pieces have won in the art shows that he’s entered.

Jagitsch’s first local Best of Show award came at the 72nd Annual Grand Detour Art Fair in September 2021 with his drawing of a silverback gorilla. He’s also taken top honors back-to-back at the 73rd and 74th Phidian Art Shows the past two Aprils; with his drawing of Leonardo da Vinci in 2022 and with “Don’t Breathe,” a closeup of a leopard, most recently.

Jagitsch has come to enjoy being at the art shows and receptions; he not only gets to meet the people who appreciate his art, but also fellow artists.

“To put your expressions on a piece of paper, and to see people appreciate it and like to see it, one of my favorite things is to be able to talk to people,” Jagitsch said. “You’re seeing their face, listening to their comments, and that’s really where it’s at.”

Jagitsch’s latest exhibit is at The Next Picture Show’s Human Form Art Exhibition, which runs until July 15, where he has a series of drawings of elderly people from rural America of decades past. The same series also will be exhibited in September at the “From Harm to Hope” show at NCIArtworks in Peru. Other upcoming solo shows are in St. Charles and Pontiac, and also in September, he will exhibit some of his works back home in Jacksonville at the David Strawn Art Gallery.

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Can’t make it to a gallery or show? Jagitsch’s works are also on Facebook and Instagram at Black Sheep Studio.

“If you would have told me two years ago that I would be doing what I’m doing now, and showing around the state, I would have thought you were crazy,” Jagitsch said. “It’s funny: Once you do one, then you find some other stuff and you have another gallery that contacts you to see if you’re interested in showing there. It was just kind of an unexpected snowball of events, which is great. I love it.”

The accolades and recognition are great, Jagitsch said, but that’s not why he continues to create drawings.

“In my head, I’m still a kid that loves to draw,” Jagitsch said. “Now I can put these drawings in frames and show them in studios and art galleries all around the place. It’s been fun.” n

ooking for a new yard game to play?

All you need are some kubbars and kastpinnars. Konfused? Don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of it.

The game is called Kubb, (pronounced “coob”), and while it dates back nearly 100 years, it’s been picking up steam only recently in the Twin Cities.

In a nutshell, the object of Kubb is to throw sticks at small blocks in order to knock them over — but there’s more to it than that. It’s like a little bit of billiards, bocce ball, and horseshoes all rolled into one, with some geometry, physics and strategy thrown in for good measure.

By Cody Cutter Sauk Valley Media

Andy Terveer of Sterling has been playing Kubb for a while, and he’s become something of a local guru of the game. He’s hosted annual tournaments in town and competes in others throughout the Midwest, all while spreading the word about Kubb throughout the Twin Cities for nearly a decade now. It’s taken some time to catch on locally, but he’s passionate about getting more people to enjoy the game.

“In my own words, it’s the world’s greatest lawn game,” Terveer said. “It’s a lot of games kind of combined into one with its own unique twist.”

KUBB cont’d to pages 24 & 25

At left: Dan Bushman of Rock Falls winds up his baton toss during a game of Kubb at Andy Terveer’s Sterling residence. Bushman has played in tournaments Terveer has organized in town in recent years.

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

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As far as Andy Terveer (left) is concerned, Kubb is and he’s spreading the word around town ever since he picked up his first kastspinnar. Terveer, shown here playing a game in his yard in Sterling, has been enjoying the game for nearly a decade. He’s taken part in tournaments throughout the Midwest and hosted his own competitions locally.

Darrell Wallace’s first name was incorrect in the story, “Thinking outside the Fox,” in the Spring 2023 Sterling-Rock Falls Living. Wallace (left), co-owner of The Rusty Fox Alehouse and Wine Bar, 1 E. Third St. in downtown Sterling, recently expanded the bar’s inventory craft beers, whiskey, and wines.

Kubb is played on a rectangular, 8-meter-long court on grass, ice or even sand, with five rectangular blocks (called kubbars), about 12 centimeters tall and 5 wide, spread out along each baseline. The object is to hit them with batons (called kastpinnars) that are about 25 to 30 centimeters long and about 3 centimeters thick. Once all of the opponent’s blocks are knocked over, the center, or “king,” block is the next one to fall — just don’t knock it over too soon. It’s like sinking an 8-ball playing pool: knocking it down too early immediately ends the game.

It’ll take more than one try to knock them all down: the first tosses involve just a couple of batons before the opponent throws, but eventually one will use up to six batons during a turn. If all the blocks aren’t knocked over during a turn, the opponent gets to take those knocked blocks near them and chuck them on their opponent’s forecourt — those become defensive blocks when stood up, and the thrower must hit each of those

blocks first before trying for a baseline block. The website Kubbunited.com has a guide for the most common rules of the game, and if you’re still not clear, Terveer is more than happy to break it down with a training demonstration. You can buy sets online for around $80-$100; or if you’ve got the design specs, you can make your own. Foam sets are also available for inside play.

Chad Hammer of Sterling prepares to chuck a defensive Kubb block during a recent game on Andy Terveer’s front lawn in Sterling. Terveer will sometimes host Kubb demonstrations in the yard, where he spray paints white lines and sets up the court for anyone who see his signs near the street and wants to learn about the game.

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

When it comes to Kubb, Andy Terveer has been around the blocks a few times. He’s competed at Kubb tournaments throughout the Midwest for nearly a decade, and has taken home four championships in that time. The first was at the 2019 Kubbtoberfest in Amana, Iowa, (right) with teammate Evan Fitzgerald. At left: Terveer shows off a signed Kubb court marker from a recent tournament.

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Most recently, Terveer competed at the Tiki Beach Resort sand games during Kubbapalooza in Campbellsport, Wisc., with Lars Arneson.

Terveer headed up to Clinton, Wisc., in 2020 to compete in a scrambler with Ronnie Keller.

Need an ice Kubb with that drink?

Terveer competed in the Kubb on the Pond ice games in February 2020 at Kettle Moraine State Forest in Hartford, Wisc., with Cody Glorioso.

Learning Kubb’s rules may seem daunting to newcomers, but once they see it played, it helps them overcome those stumbling blocks. Here, Denny Owens (center) picks up some pointers from Andy Terveer (right) and Dan Bushman during one of Terveer’s demonstration games in his front yard.

“When you compare it to cornhole, or darts, pool, or just about any other game, there’s not nearly as many different things that you have to be able to do in order to have a well-rounded game,” Terveer said. “It’s a great team sport because you can have someone who can throw the short ones great, or one person that throws the [blocks] great, or one person that can knock down those from 8 meters. It’s knowing that maybe I’m not on the same playing level as some of those guys, but I have a chance to beat them because if I have a great game, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Terveer started playing in Kubb tournaments in 2015, and has won four of them so far. He competed in 13 tournaments last year, and plans to be in just as many this year. He prefers to play as part of a duo, which is how each of his wins have come. His first was at the 2019 Kubbtoberfest in Amana, Iowa, with teammate Evan Fitzgerald; followed by the Kubb on the Pond ice games event in February 2020 at Kettle Moraine State Forest in Hartford, Wisconsin, with Cody Glorioso; then later in 2020 at a scrambler in Clinton, Wisconsin, with Ronnie Keller; and most recently at the Tiki Beach Resort sand games in Campbellsport, Wisconsin, with Lars Arneson.

KUBB cont’d to pages 29 & 30 Sterling-Rock Falls

KUBB cont’d from page 25

Editor’s note: The following information was compiled and written by Andy Terveer: The fourth edition of the Spring Fling Kubb scrambler tournament in Sterling drew 16 competitors June 3 — five of whom were first-time players. After seven qualifying rounds, each competitor was seeded before bracketed championship play. Cody Glorioso and Nick Keller teamed up to take the championship, having won all six matches they played. Bryce Pecore and Jill Poff took second place, George Sloan and Tricia Ebersole placed third, and Brian Beling and Pilar Terveer were fourth. Nick Keller and Shea McDonnell were winners of the consolation bracket of competitors who dropped first-round matches. Glorioso and Keller had their names added to the event’s traveling trophy, named in honor of national Kubb great Phil Dickinson.

While competing with events such as vacations, fishing derbies, graduation parties, the Maryland Kubb Championship, SxS trail ride weekends, competitive cheerleading camps, and the St Louis Cardinals vs. Texas Rangers baseball series, our once-growing tournament arrived back at its roots of 16 players, the same as 2020 when a few people were thrilled to have a kubb tournament to play in (due to so many others being cancelled). Six of those original sixteen have been here every year since, and one of those “original 6” managed to secure his place on the trophy. More on that in a bit, as if I was going to tell you who won now so you wouldn’t feel the need to read on. We did 7 qualifying rounds, with the seeds looking like this ...

In the quarterfinals, Cody and Ronnie started off with a 2-0 win against Shelby and Jenny. George and Tricia also took a 2-0 win from Kathy and Chad. Brian and Pilar needed a rubber game to knock out Brad and Everett 2-1, while Bryce and Jill overcame an 0-1 deficit to advance to the semifinals over Nick and Shea 2-1.

The four losing teams were mixed up for a random drawing to determine teammates for the “Kings of T5”

1. Cody Glorioso, WI (1st time)

2. Brad Vock, Sterling (All 4)

3. Bryce Pecore, WI (All 4)

4. Kathy Wellnitz, WI (All 4)

5. George Sloan, Batavia (All 4)

6. Nick Keller, WI (All 4)

7. Brian Beling, Batavia (3 times)

8. Shelby Bashford, Fairbury (2 times)

9. Jenny Terveer, Sterling (1st time)

round robin bracket. Brad and Kathy bowed out. The team drawings then saw Jenny and Everett grabbing a first-round bye, while Nick and Shea faced off with Chad and Shelby in round 1. Nick and Shea took the win, and after defeating Jenny and Everett in the second round, laid their claim to the inaugural “Kings of T5” cups. Then Chad and Shelby took the Silver Bracket Championship with a win over Jenny and Everett.

In the championship bracket; Cody and Ronnie

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

10. Pilar Terveer, Fairbury (2 times)

11. Nick Keller, Shea McDonnell, Sterling (2 times)

12. Tricia Ebersole, Sterling (2 times)

13. Chad Hammer, Sterling (1st time)

14. Jill Poff, Polo (1st time)

15. Everett Pecore, WI (1st time)

16. Ronnie Keller, WI (All 4).

grabbed the 2-0 win against George and Tricia, while Bryce and Jill needed all three games to knock off Brian and Pilar. The third-place match was a hardfought battle with George and Tricia defeating Brian and Pilar for the hardware.

The Championship match ended with yet another 2-0 victory for Cody and Ronnie, although it was not without its dramatic turns. The Dickinson Trophy will soon have a brand new plaque with two new names.

Engaging with fellow competitors is a big part of what keeps him logging the miles to and from events.

“It’s the people, and knowing that I’m going to see those people. You develop friendships as good as the ones I have with people around here,” Terveer said. “It’s the community that comes together. Every Kubb tournament is like a family reunion because all of the players who are driving hours to get there all know each other. Every game you play is going to be a little different from the last game.”

Even if Terveer isn’t on his A-game, it’s all A-okay with him.

“I’ll stick by this: When somebody asks me, ‘How are you doing today?’ I’ll say, ‘Well, if having fun counts as a win, I’m 5-and-0,’” Terveer said. “That’s even though I might be 1-4 or something like that.”

When Terveer isn’t driving a semi truck for Dohrn Transfer or coordinating events at the American Legion in Rock Falls, he keeps engaged in the Kubb community of friends and competitors he’s met during tournaments.

Before Kubb, cornhole (also known as “bags”) was his yard game of choice. He used to assemble bag boards and once made a set as a graduation gift for one of his son’s friends. Terveer also learned about another game they often played, Kubb, and that sparked his interest. From there, he started learning more.

“I looked up a video on YouTube and I thought, ‘That was

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really fun,’” Terveer said. “I had played cornhole and was never really good at it, and if you have someone who can put the bag in the hole every time, you can’t compete with that. Kubb has a lot more different things you can do.”

Terveer and his father, Mark, made a Kubb set to play with at home, and next thing he knew, some of his neighbors became curious. He gathered enough interest a few years ago to start a scrambler tournament in town, and he’s kept it going annually. The fourth edition of the Spring Fling Kubb scrambler tournament was June 3, with 16 competitors – five of whom were first-time players.

After seven qualifying rounds, each competitor was seeded before bracketed championship play. Glorioso and Keller teamed up to take the championship, having won all six matches they played. Bryce Pecore and Jill Poff took second place, George Sloan and Tricia Ebersole placed third, and Brian Beling and Pilar Terveer were fourth. Nick Keller and Shea McDonnell were winners of the consolation bracket of competitors who dropped first-round matches.

Glorioso and Keller had their names added to the event’s traveling trophy, named in honor of national Kubb great Phil Dickinson.

Kent Bushman of Rock Falls has competed in a couple of the Sterling scramblers. He learned about the game at a party with Terveer’s family and has been hooked ever since.

$12,950/acre

$11,500/acre

Asking $11,400/acre

Whiteside Co., 203�5 acres, CRP & tillable, over $42,000 income for 2023

$4,995/acre

Field, HID

Sitter, Au.D Carolyn Awender, Au.D

KUBB cont’d to page 31

“It’s a fun yard game,” Bushman said. “The people are always great. They root you on. Even if they’re your opponent they’ll cheer when you throw a good baton. It’s just a lot of fun.”

Terveer also brought the game to the attention of Sterling’s Moose Lodge, where he and its vice president, Chad Hammer, hosted the Kubbin’ For Kids charity event on Nov. 5 to benefit the Mooseheart children’s home and community near Aurora. The event raised about $1,500 for the home’s children in need.

“It’s something great to do outside,” Hammer said. “There’s competition, and it’s a lot of fun. You got to be on your game. You don’t have to have any skill to start; you can just pick it up and you can improve yourself immediately.”

Terveer will occasionally host Kubb demonstrations in his front yard, where he spray paints white lines and sets up the court for anyone who see his signs near the street and is curious to learn about the game. After driving by a few times, a neighbor of Terveer’s, Denny Owens, became intrigued and walked over to see what the fun was all about. After a few throws, he came away liking it.

“It’s intriguing,” Owens said. “I had watched them play and had no idea why they were throwing these wood things around.”

Terveer and Hammer are bringing Kubb back to the Sterling Moose Lodge during its annual Mooseapalooza event this fall (additional information will be announced at a later date). What would make Terveer happy would be to see a good turnout tossing batons, chucking blocks, having fun and learning something new that they can share with others.

“What I hope is that people will be able to see this game and its potential, and jump in and say, ‘Why don’t we do something like that at my place,’ or a restaurant or bar or another big yard?’” Terveer said. “I’d like to spread the word of this game to everyone we can.” n

Wire you just sitting there? Why not get up and play a game of Kubb? Join the “Wire City Kubb of Sterling, IL” Facebook group to learn more about Kubb as well as and local and regional events. Go to kubbunited.com to learn the rules of the game or for more information.

Whitney assembles parts during her shift at Self Help Enterprises

PHOTOS: CODY

CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

Arianne checks the flowers grown at Self Help Enterprises' greenhouse.

By Cody Cutter | Sauk Valley Media

ow do you show people that they can turn a challenge into an opportunity? You offer them a helping hand, find a community that supports them, and remind yourself of a simple spelling lesson: You can’t spell “disabilities” without “abilities.”

It’s people’s abilities that Self Help Enterprises in Sterling focuses on, and has been focusing on for nearly 60 years: finding what its clients are able to do and giving them a place where they can do it, and in the process, helping them find a sense of self-worth and purpose — and its new executive director can’t wait to help some more.

Established in 1964 in the basement of the Rock Falls Presbyterian Church, Self Help (whose full name is Rock River Valley Self Help Enterprises), provides individuals with disabilities a sheltered workshop where they can learn trade skills, either in preparation for traditional jobs or for work in a setting that fits their skill levels. The agency also provides community day services for its clients to help them with life skills such as self-care and financial preparedness.

SELF HELP cont’d to page 34

From left: Marcus, Andrew, and Jimmy work on chains at Self Help Enterprises for a job contracted by Allied-Locke of Dixon.

David inspects flowers being grown at Self Help Enterprises’ greenhouse, which was recently reopened.

Pam Fluck became Self Help Enterprises’ executive director in October 2022 after more than a decade serving on its board of directors. “I just loved being here, and decided that this was where I was meant to be,” she said.

Pam Fluck, who’se been executive director since October 2022 and a member of the agency’s board of directors since 2010, is constantly finding more ways to improve the skills, minds and overall happiness of the people who benefit from Self Help’s services. She recently established partnerships with the Sterling Park District and Sterling Public Library to extend recreational and literacy opportunities to its individuals. Fluck also has created programs that promote healthier diets and exercise, reopened the on-site greenhouse to grow produce and flowers, developed a walking program throughout Self Help’s 110,00 square feet of grounds, and opened a small fitness area with step and chair exercises and a pickleball court.

SELF HELP cont’d to page 35

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

“I just loved being here, and decided that this was where I was meant to be,” Fluck said. “I love to take my staff’s input. I’ve only been in the role for a few months, but they’ve been here many years, and if they see something they can come and tell me and we’ll bring it to fruition.”

Other ideas on the horizon are a produce and flower stand, stocked with goods grown by Self Help clients who can sell them and earn a little extra pocket cash; as well as a cleaning service that’s currently undergoing a trial run at Self Help.

Recycling is another arm of Self Help’s work: It accepts residential electronics, office paper and aluminum cans from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the recycling building in the west parking lot. Cardboard also is accepted for recycling, and it can be dropped off around the clock on site. Money raised from recycling and any donation fees help benefit Self Help’s programs. Document shredding services are also available during general recycling hours.

Since work is catered toward training individuals for jobs outside of Self Help, it has a certification allowance from the U.S. Department of Labor through the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to pay its clients under the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

The certification requires Self Help to determine a fair wage for its workers by periodically comparing the quality and quantity of their work to that of experienced workers doing similar work in the community, and to provide training to improve skills when needed. About half of Self Help’s roughly 160 clients are paid below the federal minimum.

“That was created to allow people of this category to be able to work,” Fluck said. “A lot of times they aren’t allowed into a facility because an employer may not feel that they are qualified. We give them work here. Sometimes they come in the morning and don’t feel like working, and two hours later they’ll want to work, for 15 minutes. A normal employer is not going to allow that.”

“We don’t force anybody to work, so if you want to work, you can work,” she said. “If all of a sudden you feel like you’re done, you can sit back down.”

Though Self Help’s clients are allowed to work within their comfort zone, there’s still plenty of dedication among its crew.

SELF HELP cont’d to page 36

David, Jennifer and Ashley look over flowers being grown at Self Help Enterprises’ greenhouse. The greenhouse recently reopened after a long period of inactivity.

Self Help also partners with local manufacturers to have work sent to its facility. Partners include Dana Incorporated, Micron Industries, P and P Industries and Wahl Clipper, all in Sterling; Allied-Locke Industries and Sewer Equipment Company of America, both in Dixon; Hill Fastener in Rock Falls; Addison Automatics in Harmon and IMH Products in Prophetstown. Most of the jobs are assembly-line type of work, which earns its workers a higher wage.

Marcus, who’s worked at Self Help since 2019, spends as much time as he wants assembling parts and swinging hammers on the heavy-duty crew. He also helps clean up around the outside of the building.

“It’s a pretty good place to work,” he said. “You’re able to communicate with people, and they’ll understand where you’re coming from. The links is what I like the most, I get to pound the hammer.”

or call 815-626-7323 for up-to-date donation information.

Moving on, moving forward

Self Help is looking to move on from internal matters which caused it to be stripped of the 14(c) certification in July 2019, under the executive directorship of the late Carla Haubrich. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found that it failed to pay its disabled employees correctly in accordance to the Fair Labor Standards Act, and it had attempted to mislead and obstruct the investigation by concealing information and hiding work that had not been properly time-studied.

The removal of certification caused all of its thensubwaged employees to be paid at the federal minimum wage, as well as giving necessary back pay to certain individuals as determined by the Department of Labor. That created an added payroll expense that reorganized budgets and caused cutbacks.

Self Help has since paid out the necessary wages, regained its 14(c) certification, and is focused on making sure something like that doesn’t happen again.

“That is behind us now,” Fluck said.

Community day services classes are offered to clients at Self Help Enterprises, with lessons that include finance exercises, identifying money, planning a budget, table etiquette, hygiene, social skills and rights as individuals.

Everyone at Self Help eventually gets to know Virginia: She’s its longest serving client, having started there in 1971 when the agency was located in downtown Sterling. She likes to spend time working with the shredding crew, and is excited to contribute content for a new newsletter that’s scheduled to be relaunched this summer; she used to contribute columns and poems to the newsletter before it was cancelled.

“I love doing everything, but shredding is a very good job,” Virginia said. “When I first started, I did a number of things, but there was only one job that I did not like and that was probably the second thing I did.”

As with any nonprofit, Self Help depends on the generosity of the community it calls home, and people can help in many different ways: They can drop materials to recycle, bring in documents to shred, volunteer to help, or make a donation (see the “Want to help Self Help” info on page 37).

They can also do some shopping. Self Help owns the Stage Two Resale Shop in Sterling, which it took over from the former Sauk Valley Christian Academy in 2013. Stop by the store at 205 St. Mary’s St. between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday

“We don’t take it lightly. We don’t want to be back in that position again. That brought so much negative publicity to us, and I just don’t want us to ever face that again. I want the community to know that we’re beyond that, and it’s all positive.”

But that doesn’t mean the challenges are over for Self Help: the State of Illinois is looking at eliminating 14(c) certifications and making organizations that are already certified pay its individuals at the federal minimum wage. If that happens, it could force cutbacks at facilities like Self Help, causing workers to seek jobs elsewhere. Fluck opposes its elimination, saying that some people wouldn’t feel comfortable about moving on to an outside job.

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

“Legislatures and advocacy groups are trying to force people to pay minimum wage,” Fluck said. “We have a lot of individuals who are very nervous about going out into the workforce. By giving them this ability, they feel valued, they have a purpose in life; and even if it’s not the workshop portion of it, with the community day services they get to get out of the house, come here and get to be with their friends.

“We have a mental health crisis in our nation, and our world, and I’m afraid that by forcing them out into getting a job — I’m not sure if that’s the best for them.”

The coronavirus pandemic was another tough period for the agency and the people it helped, with the suspension of work and limited interaction due to stay-at-home orders.

Whatever the future holds, Self Help is committed to remaining a resource for its clients. With the changes Fluck has already made, and more in the works, she feels good about Self Help’s future and remains committed to its core values.

“We want them to feel valued and have a purpose,” Fluck said.

As for Fluck and her staff, they’ve found their purpose: Like the people they serve, they’re finding ways for Self Help to look beyond the challenges and find the opportunities. n

More info

Self Help Enterprises is at 2300 W. LeFevre Road in Sterling. Find it online at self-help.agency and on Facebook, or call 815-626-3115 for information about its work programs, recycling and document shredding services, how to donate or for more information.

Want to help Self Help?

Go to self-help.agency/endowment/ to learn more about Self Help’s Endowment Fund. Go to self-help.agency/volunteer/ to volunteer. Go to self-help.agency/donation/ to donate money.

By Cody Cutter Sauk

o book on Sterling’s story would be complete without a chapter on Northwestern Steel and Wire.

Thousands of people came from near and far to work there. Its furnaces helped power the local economy and its reach became global. The mill churned out untold tons of products that could be found everywhere from farms at home to battlefields around the world.

Sterling’s history is welded to steel — and even though the book on the mill has closed, its stories are still being told by the people who helped write them.

During a sunny Saturday in May, some of those people gathered at the home of the man who was at the helm of NWS&W: Paul “P.W.” Dillon. The occasion: an ice cream social where former members of a workforce that numbered in the thousands gathered to reunite with old friends, swap stories, and celebrate the legacy they were part of.

The Dillon Home Museum hosted an ice cream social May 20 that attracted around 100 former employees and their family members to gather in the back yard of P.W.’s longtime home. Some employees reunited after many years apart, and many more recalled the men and women at the plants and offices who kept Northwestern Steel and Wire going from 1879 to 2001.

It’s been 22 years since the city’s all-time largest employer (nearly 4,700 during its peak in the late ’70s) saw its humongous furnaces power off for good, and nearly all of its former workers are more than 40 years old today. Those who remember Dillon, its longtime president and chairman, aren’t any younger than 60.

Lowell Lench, 88, of Tampico was one of the oldest attendees there. He worked in the nail room and drove a truck during his 28 years at the mill, from 1964 to 1992, and like many others who came to the social, he brought along anniversary memorabilia and mementos of his service.

NWS&W cont’d to page 40

Valley Media

Dillon Home curator Candance Near hands out Culvers frozen custard to guests at the Northwestern Steel and Wire ice cream social at the Dillon Home. Near, whose father worked at the mill, said “We must preserve and share our history with others.”

“I was glad to get the job there,” Lench said. One of his most notable memories: “We made the battle steel wires for Vietnam and there were spikes on that wire. They wound it on a reel so that you could pull it out, and they put boards through them and had them about 14 feet long. Then they would drop it out of airplanes wherever they wanted it.”

Lench and other attendees got to climb aboard the No. 73 Baldwin Steam Engine that sits at the back yard, a mighty machine that once chugged along on the mill’s rails until 1981 — the last of its kind to operate at a steel mill.

The home itself is an exhibit of what life was like for P.W. Dillon and his family in the 20th century, and includes a collection of items dedicated to the mill. Recently, the back porch was converted into a display area for mill memorabilia, with items such as old wire, badges, and a 1930 Bausch and Lomb telescope. Also on display are P.W.’s collection of eyeglasses and his favorite Optimo Panama hat that many mill workers remember him wearing. While tours of the home were closed during the social, the porch was open for visitors at the event.

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

as

NWS&W cont’d from page 40

The event was the brainchild of Dillon Home curator and Sterling native Candance Near, who has been with the museum since October 2021. As she gathered the many artifacts together during her first year as curator, Near learned much more about the mill than she previously had from members of her own family who worked there. Some items drew questions, and that gave her the idea of having an event where former workers could come over, take a look, and maybe even answer some of those questions.

That idea was just the beginning of what would become the ice cream social, where people could enjoy a treat, catch up with old friends and flip through photo albums. Such a function was long overdue, Near said, and making it memorable was important to her.

“I was born and raised in Sterling and had several family members who worked at Northwestern,” she said. “However, It wasn’t until I became curator for the museum that I learned so many interesting things about the mill. Motivated to learn more and bring life to the collections I dust on a regular basis, I decided I would need to interact with members of the community, and who better to ask than the employees themselves? So I decided to seek out those who are left to tell their tales and invite them for a soiree.”

Near had hoped to draw as many former mill workers as possible, but there was one in particular that she made an effort to personally invite: the webmaster of the unofficial Northwestern Steel and Wire website and Facebook page, Dana Fellows. During the 1990s, Fellows worked with the mill’s engineering department and was one of the few employees who dealt with every nook and cranny of the mill’s vast real estate.

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

Old ID badges and name tags were dusted off and brought to the ice cream social, like this one worn by Mary Ramos during her days

nursing director at the mill's Family Health Center in the 1990s.

Dana Fellows (left) of Sterling and Jimmy Eller of Milledgeville worked together at Northwestern Steel and Wire during the 1990s, and reminisced about the many jobs and interesting stories during the ice cream social at the Dillon Home on May 20.

Warren Tervelt, left, of Sterling chats with Michael Burgess of Dixon about their days at the mill. Tervelt, who put in 29 1/2 years , said, “It was probably the best money around for a lot of years. If you ever got laid off somehow, there was still another job there at the mill. There was a lot of good job security,” he said. Burgess, who wore his old work jacket to the ice cream social, echoed Tervelt’s sentiment: “It was a good company to work for. They always treated me good.”

Lowell Lench, 88, of Tampico brought his 25-year anniversary belt buckle to the ice cream social. Lench worked at the mill from 1964 to 1992 in the nail department and on the truck fleet, where he logged 3 million miles on the road.

Jack Roberts (right) of Rochelle picks up his door prize. Roberts worked at the mill for 36 years before retiring in 2000, one year before NWSW closed. “I did maintenance most of the time, working with my hands,” he said. “It was a good living. It was dangerous, but it had good wages. I had good foremen, good help, and I was lucky to get a pension in the end, too, and I’m thankful for that.”

Deb Conklen of Sterling takes a picture of a photo with her father, Paul Seidel (inset at left), in it. Seidel worked as a pipe fitter in the east plant. Next to Deb is her husband, Ron, who worked at the mill for 23 years.

Ron Haahr of Sterling reminisces about the No. 73 Baldwin Steam Engine (seen in background). Growing up in the 1970s, Haahr often rode his bicycle near the scrapyard by Wallace Street to get a glimpse of the steam engines in action. “I liked the noise and the way they ran,” he said. “I always liked how they were carrying around all of the equipment.”

Dana Fellows former NWS&W employee

Fellows took an interest in helping workers deal with the aftermath of the 2001 closure — insurance, benefits, pensions, etc. — first through an online message board, and beginning in 2010, with a website and on social media. Fellows was at the mill when it closed, and later taught computer programming for 10 years at the Whiteside Area Career Center; he later moved to Utah but recently moved back to town.

Not only was Fellows eager to meet fellow co-workers, he also wanted to meet those who worked alongside his father, Walter, who put in 32 years at the mill.

“If my dad was alive, he’d be shooting the breeze with a lot of these old-timers,” Fellows said. “Many of them are getting old and not a lot of them are around anymore, so this was something that they could maybe bump into someone they haven’t seen in 20 years.”

“Deadwood,” “Snafu,” “Flippy,” and “I,” who, Eller said, often made reference to himself. Some were aware of their nicknames, and some weren’t.

“Everybody had a nickname,” said Eller, who now works at Titan Tire in Freeport. “At first I hated ‘Dirtbag,’ but then I learned to fit into it, because I would get dirty.” But despite all the dirt, and the nickname, Eller still has fond memories of his time at the mill. “It was one of the few great jobs that I had in Sterling and Rock Falls.”

For employees like Jesus Rascon of Sterling, his memory of the mill is of the place that put food on his family’s plate and clothes on their back, a sentiment shared by others at the social.

Dillon Home Museum and Sterling-Rock Falls Historical Society

— Tours of the Dillon Home, 1005 E. Third St. in Sterling, are available at 10 and 11 a.m., and 1 and 2 p.m. every Thursday and Friday as well as the second Saturday and Sunday of the month. On tour days, additional tours are available from 3 and 5 p.m. by appointment only. Find it on Facebook, go to sterlingparks.org/location/dillon-home-museum, or email curator Candance Near at cnear@sterlingparks. org or call 815-622-6202.

Sterling-Rock Falls Historical Society, located on the Dillon Home grounds, is open by appointment. Call 815-622-6215 to schedule a tour.

While chatting about mill memories, Jimmy Eller of Milledgeville snuck up behind Fellows and surprised him; the two hadn’t seen each other in several years. Fellows and Eller, like others at the event, had stories to tell from their mill days.

Northwestern Steel and Wire — Go to nwsw.info or find Northwestern Steel & Wire Co. on Facebook for historical information on the former mill including pictures and up-to-date information for former employees.

“They had good benefits and lots of overtime, and I needed it, said Rascon, who worked at the mill from 1972 until its closure in 2001. “I was able to accumulate enough money to put a down payment on our house right away, and any time they asked for overtime, I wanted to do it right away.”

P.W.’s Panama ... Among the items on display at the Dillon Home is P.W.

One of the stories Eller exchanged with Fellows was about a certain lunchtime: “I sat down one day and a guy undid his lunch — he washed his hands, had a Wonder Bread sandwich and was eating it, and by the time he got to the end of the sandwich, it was black with dirt.”

Eller, who spent 12 years at the mill before it closed, knows a thing or two about getting dirty at the mill: He was given the nickname “Dirtbag” by a supervisor who noticed all the telltale signs of soot and soil that had accumulated on his maintenance department uniform.

“He would look at me and ask, ‘Why are you always dirty, Jimmy, and Park’s clean?’ He said, ‘You’re a dirtbag, ain’t you?’”

With a couple of thousand people wandering around like clockwork at any given time, sometimes it was difficult to remember people’s names, which lead to many of them getting a nickname: “Blue” was another supervisor, and some of the others Eller recalled were “Mr. Clean,” “Rosey,” “Bluto,”

He said he was glad to see the ice cream social come together. “I wanted to get back together with my buddies here,” Rascon said. “We’re like family, even though we don’t know everybody.”

Dillon’s favorite Optimo Panama hat that many mill workers remember him wearing.

Near said she plans to have the event again next year, and hopes it will bring even more people, and more memories.

Helping Near out with the event were her sons, Mason and Preston, and her husband, Jimmy, each wearing black shirts with the familiar Northwestern Steel and Wire and Sterling Nails logos on the back. Both Candance and Jimmy’s fathers worked at the mill, but neither were around to tell their grandchildren any stories about their time there. It was that realization that helped drive home the importance of preserving those stories, and having an event like the ice cream social.

“The fact that they will never hear any stories from them really hit home with me, as I myself did not take the time to ask them many questions. Therefore, not only am I on a mission to enhance my own knowledge, I am also looking to engage our youth through our tours and activates such as the ice cream social. We must preserve and share our history with others, and by all means encourage conversations with our elders and loved ones while we still have the chance.” n