SVM_Sterling Rock Falls Living_Summer 2025 by Shaw Media

Kelly’s menu offers the best of both worlds, and more

Couple enjoys shaking things up at their Rock Falls bar

Local couple steps up to help local families and youth

Sterling church has stood United for nearly 200 years

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Jennifer Heintzelman

Magazine editor & Page design

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6 Hey, kids, need a lift?

For young people, there’s a lot to be said for finding their Center: And the one they’ve found in Sterling gives them a safe place to hang out and have fun, make new friends, watch how a garden grows, and learn a thing or two.

16 Shaking things up

The owners of a Rock Falls business like to think of their establishment as a bar — but with a ’tini difference.

24 Stepping up

A local couple’s mission to help their community started in the kitchen, and now they’re putting their best foot forward again — this time on a new path: Helping students.

32 United they’ve stood

Sterling’s oldest church is still spreading the gospel to a faithful flock who believe religion is food for the soul, and the community.

40 Combi-nations platter

For some, a taste of Mexico and a bit o’ the Irish may not seem a likely culinary combination, but at Kelly’s, it’s a natural fit.

F20 Predator Falcon

Crest Carribbean

The Elevate Youth Center is located in Sterling Township’s headquarters, on West Lynn Boulevard.

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@ SHAWMEDIA.COM

chool’s almost out. You watch those last few minutes on the clock that seem to take forever. Then the dismissal bell rings and you charge for the door. Finally!

It’s the end of a long day and now it’s time for some fun — and there’s a place in Sterling that’s making the time.

If you’re a middle or high school student, Sterling Township’s Elevate Youth Center is a place where you can gather to have fun with friends, play a game, or engage in a little more enrichment.

Located in the township’s headquarters on West Lynn Boulevard, behind Krogers, the Center has a large, wide open room where students can be competitive or creative: enjoying recreational activities, playing video games, doing some arts and crafts, or learning more about life through guest speakers who talk about teen topics.

When Sterling Township supervisor Angela Schneider was elected in 2021, she saw a need in the community for a safe, nurturing and fun environment where kids could gather after school.

ELEVATE cont’d to page 8

“One thing townships can do is have youth services, and we decided that was an area that not a lot was being offered, and we can have something to benefit youth,” Schneider said.

Schneider looked at examples of existing places, recruited help from community members and sought input from local students to find out what makes a successful youth center.

“I talked with a friend of mine in Rotary, Allen Przysucha, and told him about my idea to have a youth center. Together, we put together a committee of 10 people and worked on it for about a year with planning. We found out about Second Story, a youth center in Princeton, and we contacted them and they helped us out in the process of what they do.”

A place to hang out

The center opened in May 2024, funded with money from replacement taxes provided to townships by the State of Illinois. It is open from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday for all middle and high school students, and the high-schoolers have it to themselves from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays.

To participate, students must have their parents or guardians set up a free KidCheck account at sterlingtownship.com, and complete enrollment and code of conduct forms. Through KidCheck, parents are notified when their child has checked in and out at the center. As of late

May, about 25 students have been using the center on a consistent basis, most from Sterling Public Schools, with a few coming from the local parochial schools and nearby school districts.

The township bought the building, formerly home to the Fun Jump indoor inflatable playground business, in 2022 and moved its offices there from its previous building near downtown Sterling. Where bounce houses and obstacle courses used to be are now occupied by craft tables, couches, a ping pong table, an open area for tossing bags, and a place to watch movies. There are also video games, a place to shoot hoops and and air hockey table. There’s also a snack bar for students, and dinner is served each Tuesday and Thursday.

One of the committee’s goals was to get feedback and suggestions ahead of time, so that when the center opened it was ready to go, rather than starting out small and expanding.

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A Fresh Start for Your Home...

“There were a lot of ideas,” Schneider said. “We were finding the right timing, figuring out whether we wanted to do high school and middle school together, what can we provide – those were all conversations that we had among the youth committee and that group of 10 people that first were a part of it. With the timing, do we do it after school? How long do we stay open? What nights of the week are we available? There was some trial and error, and waiting for the building to be renovated and really have the things in the space to be prepared for the students. We didn’t want to open it up and not be fully prepared.”

A place to learn

pathway navigator with the ROE, helps coordinate the program, which offers team building and learning activities such as gardening and robotics, both with help from the University of Illinois Extension. Through gardening projects, students are learning how to care for vegetables grown on a plot outside the township building for toppings on pizzas they will enjoy at a party later in the year. During the school year, the after-school program also utilizes the nearby Sterling-Rock Falls Family YMCA for workout classes on Monday and swimming on Wednesday.

The center also is home to a separate after-school program for Challand Middle School students, done in a cooperation with the township and the Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Office of Education. The program runs from 3 to 5:30 p.m. from Monday through Thursday during the school year, and 9 a.m. to noon on Monday and Tuesday during the summer. The program had about 10 students enrolled as of late May, and they are bused to the center from Challand during the school year.

Heather Waninger, the township’s youth coordinator and a career

“With the middle school, there are clubs and sports, but a lot of students are just going home by themselves,” Waninger said. “This is an opportunity to provide a space for them to come, have some structure, and also be able to use the Youth Center as well.”

thousands of tests at

Left: Juliana Martinez tries her hand at air hockey at Elevate Youth Center. Middle: Sophia Gallegos (left) and Kaidin Ranz pick out beads to make bracelets at one of the center’s arts and crafts tables. Below: Brothers Chad and Jeremy Bennett play a video game.

ELEVATE cont’d from page 11

There’s a another side to what the afterschool program offers, too. About a half-hour of homework time is set aside each day, and Waninger makes sure they use that time. “They always swear they don’t have homework, but I know that they do, so we provide that quiet time for them to do their homework,” she said. Counselors and other mental health professionals are occasionally brought in to give talks that offer advice, education and some words of inspiration.

“They’ll teach the children something that’s going to be beneficial to them,” Waninger said. “We’ve had counselors come in and talk about mental health, conflict resolution, and basic things that everyone needs

PHOTOS: CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

to learn that is helpful to them. We had someone come in and talk about 3D printing, so it’s any topic that we feel that can be interesting and beneficial to them.”

A place for hope

Having been open for a little more than a year, Waninger and Schneider have found out that by the center simply existing, they’re able to make a difference in students’ lives. They and the center’s volunteers find the time to get to know each student and help point them in positive directions if need be. Sometimes they’ll join them in playing games.

Getting to know students can also help lead to better outcomes, such as uncovering a personal issue or a problem like food insecurity. Waninger recalls one student who was struggling and was able to get the help and support he needed.

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Students at Elevate Youth Center can watch how their garden grows, with help from the University of Illinois Extension. The facility has a community garden that grows vegetables, and Challand Middle School students who take part in an after-school program at the center will use the veggies to make toppings for pizzas they'll cook later this year for a party.

ELEVATE cont’d from page 12

“We had a young man when we first opened that had food insecurities and was an unaccompanied minor, so we were able to make connections for him,” Waninger said. “We got him connected with the ROE’s Nexus support program, and he’s since been able to find a job. We’ve provided food from boxing up our leftovers at the end of the night and sending them home with some students, so we’re able to provide that kind of support and help support kids with shampoo, conditioner and soap and all of those things for him until we were able to connect him with other resources in the community.

Though that student doesn’t come by anymore, Waninger said she wonders how his life is now, but she at least knows that the center was able to make a difference in his life: “It was because we were able to support that next step and next thing for him.”

Schneider knows another student who struggled with social skills and making new friends, and having a place to hang out at helped him come out of his shell a little more.

“There was one student who started coming here who really didn’t have any friends at school, and he’s got a good set of friends now,” Schneider said. “It was a way to build friendships and connect with other kids that he wouldn’t have had if we weren’t open.”

Schneider and Waninger are looking at expanding the number of days the center can be open, and they are always looking for more volunteers to help make each student’s day a little better.

THURSDAY

Celebrate with Elevate!

Middle and high school students and their friends and families are invited to join Elevate Youth Center as it celebrates a year of offering fun and friendship for the student community. The celebration will be 4-8 p.m. Thursday, July 17, at the Center, 505 W. Lynn Blvd. in Sterling, and will feature grilled hot dogs, an ice cream bar, and a giant inflatable. Go to the Center’s Facebook page for more information.

What does it take to be a good volunteer? A willingness to build relationships with students, Waninger said. “Sometimes it’s just about being available, being able to have conversation. Each of us kind of have our own strengths and weaknesses, and students that we can connect with. If you’re just willing to have a conversation with a kid and build a relationship, that’s usually what they’re looking for.”

While most teens see the facility as a place to have fun, the adults see it as a place where memories can be made, issues can be overcome and lives can be changed, Schneider said.

“We envisioned this as a place to go where it’s safe, and they’re building healthy relationships with adults and other students,” Schneider said. “They’re having fun and learning things, and that’s basically our vision in a nutshell.” n

Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

Join in on the fun

The Elevate Youth Center at Sterling Township, 505 W. Lynn Blvd. in Sterling, is open 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday for middle and high school students, and 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday for high school students only. The center also hosts an afterschool program for Challand Middle School students from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Find “Elevate Youth Center Sterling IL” on Facebook, go to sterlingtownship.com/youth-center, email supervisor@sterlingtownship.com or call 815-625-3990 to register a child or for more information.

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he name of Kim and Mike Kilday’s business says something about the couple who runs it: They like to mix things up.

You take a bar, you take martinis and what do you get? Bartini’s.

The couple have been pouring their time and talents into the downtown bar since 2017, where they offer martinis, cocktails, and beer from behind the bar. It’s the kind of menu that offers specialty drinks that’ll have you trying one, and then another.

It’ll also have you asking: How can you get birthday cakes, caramel apples, cucumbers, pink Starbursts and “Salty Balls” into a glass?

The Kildays have put together a menu that’s not only helped make a name for the bar, but made it a downtown destination where people can whet their whistle and enjoy a night out. It’s also given Kim a place where she can have fun tapping into her creativity for curious-sounding concoctions that have become customer favorites. For her, the more the merrier: The more creative she can get, and the more people who can enjoy what she’s mixing up, the better.

BARTINI’S cont’d to page 18

Show it who’s boss

Toss,

BARTINI’S cont’d from page 17

It’s the creativity and customers that make being behind the bar fun for Kim, who served her first glasses of alcohol at Candlelight Inn in Sterling a couple of decades ago.

“When I was a bartender, I was the one who always liked to make the difficult drinks,” Kim said. “When people ordered martinis or Long Island iced teas, a lot of the time when it’s busy and bartenders are like, ‘Oh, gosh,’ I was the one who was like, ‘I’ll make it, I’ll make it!’”

Martinis became Kim’s favorite drink to make, and when she and Mike decided to open a bar of their own, they knew they wanted to make them a big part of their menu, and the business name — but don’t let the name fool you: James Bond’s favorite drink isn’t all they serve.

While some people may think Bartini’s is just a martini bar, it’s far from it. Beer, cocktails, signature shots, wine — there are plenty of drinks that put the “bar” in Bartini’s.

“We specialize in martinis — and we can make a good, high quality martini — but a lot of people think that is all we do,” Mike said. “We’re a full service bar. We want it to be something more than just your standard beer-and-shot kind of bar.”

One example is a mini beer shot that’s not actually beer, but rather a drink made with Spanish vanilla liqueur with notes of cinnamon and orange.

Around 25 different clear or creamy, and fruity or sour, martinis make up Bartini’s everyday menu, as well as ten each of various cocktails (on a seasonal rotation) and signature shots. Holiday-themed drinks make the rounds when their times come.

BARTINI’S cont’d to page 19

BARTINI’S cont’d from page 18

The Kildays invite you to grab a stool or pull up a chair — inside or out — and enjoy a drink at their downtown Rock Falls bar. “We’re both very proud of what we’ve built here,” Kim said. Adds Mike: “We want it to be something more than just your standard beer-and-shot kind of bar.”

Cosmopolitans and dirty martinis are old favorites and they’re part of the menu as well, but there also are signature specials such as the creamy Bartini Martini, a peanut butter and chocolate-flavored creation with a rim of Butterfinger bits; an espresso-flavored one with vodka and Frangelico; and the birthday cake drink of Godiva cake-flavored vodka topped with whipped cream and sprinkles.

One of the best selling martinis is the cucumber: It’s made with cucumber vodka and lemon juice, with Tajín — a Mexican spice mix consisting predominantly of lime, chili peppers and salt — rimmed around the glass. The idea for that came from friends of the Kildays from Puerto Rico who own a bar there and serve a cucumber margarita in the same way.

“My friend said, ‘When you go back to your bar, you should make a cucumber martini and rub it in Tajín,’” Kim said. “When people come in and see that on the menu, they’re like, ‘A cucumber martini?’ People ask me what my favorite is, and I’ll tell them that. I’ll tell them that if they like cucumbers, you will enjoy it because it’s very refreshing.”

Whether it’s close to home or south of the border, the Kildays enjoy welcoming different drinks into their mix. Drinks have come from their own ideas, tweaks of recipes they find online and even the occasional customer suggestion.

cont’d to page 22

BARTINI’S

A mixing maestro herself, Kim Kilday likes to give customers drinks that look as good as they taste: “The prettier we can make it, I’m all about it,” she said — and every single time, too. Consistency is a key to keeping customers coming through the door, she said. “I don’t want someone to come in on a Tuesday and order a martini, and come back on Thursday and someone new is behind the bar and go, ‘This isn’t like what I had on Tuesday.’”

DRINK PHOTOS: BARTINI’S FACEBOOK PAGE

This summer’s cocktail selection includes flavors such as Peach Beach, made of Malibu, peach Schnapps, orange and pineapple juice with a dash of grenadine; and a “very cherry” Moscow Mule with cherry vodka, grenadine, lime juice, ginger beer and plenty of cherries. Among the signature shot selection is one called Salty Balls, which is served in a split shot glass with butter-flavored shots, RumChata and salt; a pink Starburstflavored shot, and a Dilly Bar shot in cherry, chocolate or butterscotch flavors.

Having so many drinks to keep track of is no easy task for the Kildays’ staff of five bartenders, but they have a good book to help them. Kim has put together a “bar bible” that ensures that customers can expect the same drink no matter who makes it.

Consistency is “so important,” Kim said. “We stress that to our bartenders about being consistent because I don’t want someone to come in on a Tuesday and order a martini, and come back on Thursday and someone new is behind the bar and go, ‘This isn’t like what I had on Tuesday.’ That’s why we stress the importance of following the recipes.”

Another important part of the mix is presentation, and the Kildays know the importance of social media in today’s business world, where a picture can be worth a thousand likes.

“We like our drinks to look as good as they taste,” Kim said. “I’m all about presentation. … The prettier we can make it, I’m all about it. We’ll put all kinds of swirls and sugars on the rim, and when you’re pouring it – when the customer starts to see it and you put it on the napkin and push it toward them, they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s so pretty,’ and there’ll be people who will take pictures. They’re always taking pictures, and we’ll tell them to put it online.”

Bartini’s doesn’t have a kitchen, but customers can buy a bags of chip or other light snacks — and in a show of support for their fellow businesses, the Kildays have menus from nearby food establishments so that customers can order food to be delivered there. “We have plates, napkins, silverware, anything that you would need to enjoy your meal,” Kim said. “That way you can stay and drink some of our martinis while you’re eating.”

BARTINI’S cont’d to page 23

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Bartini’s, 205 W. Second St. in Rock Falls, is open 4-10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m.midnight Friday, and 5 p.m.-midnight on Saturday. Find it on Facebook or call 815-625-8078 for more information.

The bar also has a deck where customers can enjoy their drinks and conversations outside, dart boards, gambling machines and a digital jukebox. Customers can also enjoy a game of Boss Toss, a sort of bags and skee-ball combination: The goal is to toss bags into holes in a pyramidshaped box on the wall (go to bosstoss. com/how-to-play to learn how to play).

With so much in the mix, it may be hard for patrons to pick a favorite, but that’s OK. Variety is the spice of life — and libations — and the Kildays invite folks to stop by and see all they have to offer.

“We’re both very proud of what we’ve built here,” Kim said. “I wanted it to be more than just martinis, and that’s how we came up with Bartini’s, a fun play on words. That’s, I think, our biggest misconception: people think we’re only a martini bar, and we’re not just martinis.” n

Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

Devon Nicklaus and Emily Juist of Rock Falls have served around 150 meals for local families in need during the past two Thanksgivings and Christmases, using the Greater Sterling Development Corp.’s Kitchen Incubator of Northwest Illinois to make the meals. CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

evon Nicklaus and Emily Juist have a lot on their plates, but they know not everyone is lucky enough to say the same.

That’s why the Rock Falls couple decided to fill other people’s plates, helping put holiday dinners on dozens of families’ tables — that is, when they weren’t raising a family, Devon wasn’t running his construction business, and Emily wasn’t busy doling out dough, both at her job and from her business on the side.

Even with so many tasks tugging at their time, they managed to get pretty good at keeping all those plates spinning, but they still felt like they could do more so they did. Now they’re getting ready to put even more on their plates and help even more people.

It can a be lot of work lending a hand to those in need, but for Devon and Emily, it’s a labor of love.

A couple years ago, the couple were looking for a way to give back to their community, and that’s when they decided on the idea of providing a holiday meal for local families. In 2023, they prepared Thanksgiving dinners for 15 families, with help from the Sauk Valley Food Pantry, students in Sauk Valley Community College’s Impact program and other local businesses and organizations.

It was a gift that kept on giving.

A month later they did the same thing, this time for Christmas. They repeated their effort last year and plan to do the same this year, and that got them thinking about the next step they would take in their mission to give back, and that led them down another path. They set up the Path to the Future, a 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation earlier this year and they’re working on programs through that foundation to help give children school supplies and find career avenues in trade jobs.

STEPPING UP cont’d to page 27

People giving back to their community

Hablo Español

Giving back to their community is a point of pride for Rock Falls couple Devon Nicklaus and Emily Juist (pictured here with their daughter Jessi and his son Jakob), and they’re passing that spirit of giving to the next generation. Jakob has helped with meal deliveries — “He was able to witness first-hand the families, delivering the meals with me and seeing their reaction,” Juist said — and Jessi is doing her part too: inspiration. “Her laughter and her smile ... it just makes you feel good. It just makes me want to do this more,” Nicklaus said.

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

STEPPING UP cont’d from page 25

It’s fitting their first steps began with a Thanksgiving meal, because the thanks they got spurred them to keep giving.

“After Thanksgiving, which was just our initial start, we realized how big of an impact that had on the community and how good it was,” Nicklaus said. “After we were delivering the meals, we were getting responses back like, ‘Thank you so much,’ ‘It means so much,’ and things like that. The gratitude that was there made me realize that this was a need, and this is what we need to do. This is our calling, and we’re going to do it. Right away, we knew we had to do more and we did that for Christmas.”

When the couple delivered their first Thanksgiving meals to homes — which consisted of a choice of ham or turkey, green bean casserole, rolls, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and stuffing — some of the most cherished reactions came from the families’ children. Lasagna has been the main course for the Christmas dinners, which have helped around 45 families each year.

“Some of the kids made us bracelets and sent cards,” Juist said. “We had kids jumping up and down saying, ‘Our food is here!’ It hit home that it was making an impact, and we had to continue to do that.”

Nicklaus grew up in Dixon and has owned Nicklaus Construction since 2021, working on home remodeling projects and air duct cleaning. Juist is from Clinton, Iowa, and works as a commercial loan officer for Sterling Federal Bank in Dixon, and also owns a home-based business, Tastefully Baked, making cakes, cookies and other sweet treats, as well as the pumpkin pies they serve on Thanksgiving.

The couple, who’s been dating for four years, also raise Devon’s son Jakob and their daughter Jessi, both of who’ve helped inspire them to keep giving back.

STEPPING UP cont’d to page 29

“From

PHOTO:

Students involved with Sauk Valley Community College's Impact program have helped Devon Nicklaus and Emily Juist cook and prepare holiday meals for families in need at the Kitchen Incubator of Northwest Illinois. The Impact program gives students an opportunity for discounted tuition at the college in exchange for community service. SUBMITTED PHOTOS

Go to

html for more information on Sauk’s Impact program

“We have a 3-year-old daughter, and her laughter and her smile — it doesn’t matter what kind of day you’re having — just lights up your day,” Nicklaus said. “A child’s laughter is very heartwarming, and any time you see a child laughing, smiling, anything, it just makes you feel good. It just makes me want to do this more.”

Jakob, 16, has helped the couple with deliveries, and Juist enjoys seeing him experience first-hand the impact helping others can make.

“He was able to witness first-hand the families, delivering the meals with me and seeing their reaction,” Juist said. “It was like a learning curve for him, as a teenager, saying that this is why we’re doing it.”

Nicklaus said he “thought it would be cool” to make a meal for someone struggling during the holidays, and Juist was all in favor of it. Since they started doing it, they’ve prepared around 150 meals to help families for the holidays — and they get some help themselves, too. They utilize the Greater Sterling Development Corp.’s Kitchen Incubator of Northwest Illinois to make the meals, find out which families are in need with help from the Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Office of Education and YMCA, and recruit high school students to help prepare the meals for delivery — those students are

enrolled in SVCC’s Impact Program, which is a community service endeavor that helps them earn tuition credit there.

As their efforts to address food insecurity in their community continued, Nicklaus has learned a few things along the way. When the first Thanksgiving idea was hatched, he had hoped to order more turkeys than the 15 he eventually ended up with, but it was so close to the holiday that that posed a problem. When this past Thanksgiving rolled around, he lined up enough whole turkeys in advance to feed nearly 40 families.

Not only has the couple provided opportunities for high-schoolers to pay for college through their giving, but they’re also working on more ways to help teens build career paths, including The Path to the Future foundation. The couple is planning a kickoff event for August to promote it, with a collection of school supplies for those in need as part of it. More information on the event was being planned as of late May.

“We still want to keep giving back with the meals, and our mission will be more geared toward ensuring children find the right path that they want to go in order to be successful in life with the resources or whatever else they need,” Nicklaus said.

STEPPING

When Devon and Emily cooked their first batch of holiday meals in 2023, Devon said then that they were “just a nice traditional meal, nothing extravagant. Just something that will fill their tummies.” Since then, they’ve filled quite a few tummies, preparing Thanksgiving and Christmas meals again in 2024, and they’re planning to do the same this year.

If students don’t see traditional school studies as being right for them, avenues toward getting into the trades is something the foundation can help with. Nicklaus can relate. As a teen, he enjoyed building trades and metals classes more than classroom learning, he said.

“We want to open the door to that a little bit,” he added. “The whole cookie-cutter mindset of, ‘This is the way you need to learn and this is how you’re going to do it’ doesn’t fit for every kid. So we want to make sure that every kid has all of the opportunities available to them. We want to help them be successful, and help them reach their goals as much as we can.”

Giving back to the community is a tradition in the Nicklaus family. Devon’s father Brett, owner of Trinity Insurance and Financial Services in Dixon, and his wife Julie have a nonprofit foundation of their own, Trinity Cares, that raises money for the Lee County Honor Flight and lunch money for students in Dixon Public Schools. Juist has also donated proceeds from the sales of her baked goods toward support for breast cancer awareness and suicide prevention.

Nicklaus and Juist plan to launch a Facebook page for the Path to the Future foundation soon with more information on how it plans to help the community.

“This year is going to be the most impactful,” Devon said, and as long as the smiles and excitement of people continue to resonate in the couple’s minds, they’ll be reminded of how important it is to give back to the community they love.

“We do what we do because we want to be heavily involved in the community, whether it’s helping people improve their homes or helping with people’s parties desserts, and my career side with helping small businesses grow,” Juist said. “We like being out there in the community and helping them, whatever it takes.” n

Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

Find Nicklaus Construction and Tastefully Baked on Facebook to learn more about Nicklaus and Juist’s businesses, and updates on their efforts to give back to their community through holiday meals and their new foundation, Path to the Future. A Facebook page for the foundation will be announced at a later date.

Regardless of insurance coverage, all out-of-pocket costs are covered by the CGH Health Foundation. If other testing or treatments are needed, additional financial assistance may be available.

CODYCUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

ou won’t find Brad Wilson riding a horse throughout northwest Illinois preaching the gospel under the candlelight inside log cabins. That’s how Methodist pastors like Wilson spread the gospel nearly 200 years ago. However, he’s more comfortable delivering his messages to his congregation from his pulpit in a church filled with history that reaches back to close to Sterling’s founding, and into the home of the man who helped put the city on the map.

First United Methodist Church, on the corner of Broadway and East Fifth Street, is the oldest church in town, and in Whiteside County, with origins dating back to 1838: That’s when the circuit-riding Rev. Barton H. Cartwright of Oregon waxed poetic inside Sterling founder Hezekiah Brink’s cabin, not far from where the present church building has stood since 1856.

“It’s the oldest church in Whiteside County, let alone Sterling,” Wilson said. “1838 was a long, long time ago. We have 13 years before the church’s bicentennial, and that’s something else. Here in the Midwest, that’s amazing.”

Though he’s been with First United for 10 years — a second-generation minister who came to the church 10 years ago after stops in Tampico and Fenton — he’s still discovering stories about the church, whether it’s about the contributions it’s made to the community, its impact on its congregations through the years, or the building’s history.

Some of those stories have come from the man who helps tend to the Lord’s house.

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Ken Heerdt keeps giving Wilson something new to appreciate about the church through his experience as its janitor and stories that Ken’s wife Lois has told him about her family’s long association with it. The Heerdts were married at the church in December 1972 and he’s not only been part of its congregation ever since, but also stepped foot in places at the church that aren’t normally visited, like the bell tower and utility room.

That large black streak on the brick wall inside the bell tower? Just ask Heerdt: “That’s when lightning struck it,” he said.

“I love the history,” Heerdt said. “I love the antiquity of the church, and the different things we have here. You really feel the spirit when you come to church on Sunday morning.”

Like most churches throughout the nation in the past 60 years, attendance has declined: Today, only around 30 people take their familiar places in the pews during the church’s single Sunday morning service, far removed from the couple of hundred just a few generations ago when there were two morning services. The balcony seats are empty, save for services close to holidays when people visiting their family stop by, Wilson said.

But though there ranks are small their faith is mighty. Members volunteer in programs established by the church, such as the F.I.S.H. Food Pantry, founded in 1970, and the Loaves and Fishes breakfast program, which was started in 2011 and serves breakfasts four days a week at the church’s former classroom next door. Both programs get help from volunteers from other local churches.

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Foad,

First United Methodist Church pastor Brad Wilson (left) and longtime member Ken Heerdt stand in front of one of the church's stained glass windows — this one was delivered to the church on a rail car, which stopped three blocks south of the church to drop it off.

“This church has a long, long glorious history of serving this community, way back to the beginning of this community,” Wilson said. “The hearts of the people in this church are in the right place. They really are. Their hearts are there for reaching out to those in need. If that doesn’t sound like a good thing to you, you probably won’t be happy here.”

The origin of local Methodist services date back to four years after Hezekiah Brink founded Harrisburg, at the east end of present-day Sterling. Harrisburg merged with Chatham, in Sterling’s west end, in 1839. Broadway was the midpoint between the two merged communities.

After being held in Brink’s home, services later moved to a nearby school house, and then to the Whiteside County Courthouse on Broadway (Sterling was the county seat from 1846-57) before a church was built in 1856 two blocks north of where the courthouse sat. The new church, then called Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church, opened to about 40 churchgoers, with the Rev. S.F. Denning as pastor — and it’s been there ever since, though services were interrupted for a short time.

CHURCH cont’d to page 37

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From its stained glass windows to the rich hardwoods throughout, First United Methodist Church is a study in the diligence and design work of the craftsmen who built it nearly 200 years ago. The original building has stood since 1856, and was renovated and added onto during the early 1900s.

The debt incurred from the building’s construction was eventually too much to handle by 1862, and the church was on the losing end of a lawsuit that led to its sale that year. But it didn’t take long for the community collection plate to come to the rescue. A year later, enough donations had been collected — with local rallies playing a part — to buy back the church.

With nearly 200 years of history, there were bound to be changes through the years, some of which people wouldn’t stand for — or sit down.

For a time, the church raised money by selling pew space to members who wanted a reserved spot, but a dispute regarding the sales led to the withdrawal of about 30 members not long after the building became a church once again. These days, there’s plenty of space for people to pull up a pew.

One of the biggest changes came as more people decided to call Sterling their home. The city nearly doubled in population from 1870 to 1910, growing by about 3,500 residents, and the original building could no

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

First United Methodist Church added a Sunday School building in 1966. It is used today for the church's charitable programs: the F.I.S.H. Food Pantry and Fishes and Loaves.

longer suit the needs of the community. Instead of razing the church, it was substantially renovated and added onto between 1914 and 1915. One of the most notable changes during the process involved moving the front entrance, then facing Fifth Street, to Broadway.

“The church has a lot of character,” Heerdt said. “The differences and everything that they went through over the years is amazing, and it had to be genius to figure out putting the doors [toward Broadway].”

One of Heerdt’s fondest memories of playing a role in the church’s history happened this past September. The original church’s large, 350-pound stone marker bearing its name and opening date, was relocated and had been stored in the bell tower, which had been reconstructed after a 1902 fire. For years it sat unnoticed, even during the church’s aforementioned renovation, until the mid-1990s when Heerdt rediscovered it.

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For 20 years he sought to find a safe way to have the stone restored and relocated to a more desirable place. With the help of a local moving company, the marker now sits underneath the church’s wood outdoor sign on the street corner.

“I would always look at that and go, ‘Why is that up here?’” Heerdt said. “They took it up and put it in the bell tower. It’s just something that shows that the church has been here for a while. Bringing that stone down was something I felt good about.”

As the church grew, so too did enrollment in Sunday school, which had taken place in the church, but outgrew its space by the 1960s. In 1966, a new two-story educational building opened next to the church at the corner of Ninth Avenue. By that time, the church had 850 members, with around 400 in Sunday school.

Trying to get more people to preach to has been a challenge for several years, but, ironically, a potential solution was found during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when public and church gatherings temporarily ceased. Wilson began to offer services through the Zoom online video application, reaching out to those who were shut in during the pandemic. He’s kept it going and has found it a good way to reach those who can’t make it to church for one reason or another: they may live in a nursing home, or they’re on vacation. The Heerdts took advantage of the online outreach during a recent trip to Europe.

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Above: First United Methodist Church’s original 1856 date stone sits beneath the church’s sign. Left:

The June 26, 1914, Sterling Daily Standard reported on the church’s remodeling plans, including the addition of a Sunday school in the basement. According to the article, the existing building was inspected by “competent men” and determined to be in “first class condition and very well preserved.”

The work was estimated to cost about $7,000 (about $225, 000 today).

“We managed,” Wilson said. “Our bishop closed all Methodist churches for almost three months, but in the middle of it we started doing church on Zoom, and we are still doing it for shut-ins for those who are in nursing homes that were with us almost every Sunday morning. It’s great because, before Covid, who would have thought about doing ‘Zoom church?’”

As Sterling grew during its fledgling years, other churches were formed, some of them with roots reaching back to First United.

One of Sterling’s most prominent early residents, John Galt, was part of First United’s congregation in the early 1840s, but he grew dissatisfied with Methodist services in 1844 and established First Presbyterian Church in town later that year.

Another split at First Methodist oc-

curred in 1867, when about 30 members who lived close to or west of downtown Sterling formed Fourth Street Methodist Church at West Fourth Street and Avenue A. There church remained there until 1975, when it moved to Sterling’s north side and became Wesley United Methodist.

More info

Services at First United Methodist Church, 501 Broadway in Sterling, are at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Call 815-625-0244 for more information.

(The original Fourth Street building later became Full Gospel Assembly until it relocated in 1992 when the building was razed.)

Rock Falls’ United Methodist Church was founded months after Fourth Street Methodist in 1867; the Rev. J.H. Alling preached at both churches, making the Rock Falls church a second-degree part of the original Sterling church’s historical lineage, now in its 187th year.

Only 13 years remain until the church’s bicentennial benchmark, and Wilson and Heerdt would like to see the church reach that milestone, and as long as there’s a committed congregation, whether in the chapel or preparing food for those in need, that may happen.

“For a small congregation, they are very active,” Wilson said. “They’re very active. It’s incredible so many people we feed. Their outreach to the community is phenomenal. If you’re hungry, they’re going to feed you. That’s pretty remarkable in a town of this size.” n

Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

AN EXQUISITE JEWELRY SELECTION

For some, a taste of Mexico and a bit o’ the Irish may not seem a likely culinary combination, but for the family who owns Kelly’s, the forging of the two cultures in a steel mill community’s melting pot is a natural fit — and their customers agree

n a map, Mexico and Ireland are a world apart, but at a longtime family restaurant and bar in downtown Sterling, they’re next-door neighbors.

For Kelly’s, with origins going back to the early 1950s, the connection between the two countries is not only part of the owners’ heritage, but their community’s, so having dishes from both on the same menu was a natural fit — they go together like, well, corned beef and tacos.

When second-generation co-owner Nancy KellyMcDonnell sought to simply compliment what once was strictly a pub by adding a taste of Mexico in the early 1980s, she ended up helping create a unique destination where generations have enjoyed raising a glass and having a bite to eat — and while Kelly’s IrishMexican combination makes it unlike traditional Irish pubs, for her it wasn’t unusual at all.

Growing up here, Kelly-McDonnell was inspired to expand and perfect her culinary skills by the Mexican families she and her family were friends with as she was growing up, many of whom came to town in the 1950s in search of manufacturing jobs and a better life.

“I’ll get asked, ‘What’s an Irish bar doing serving Mexican food?’” she said. “I’ll be like, ‘You’re not from here, right?’ They’ll say that’s weird, but I’ll tell them: “No it’s not — not if you’re from Sterling.” I’ll tell them about the migration of the Mexicans when they came to town, and Silver City and all of that.

KELLY’S cont’d to page 42

“It was just a natural fit.”

Nancy co-owns Kelly’s with sister-in-law Sally Kelly, whose husband Dan Kelly was a co-owner for 20 years before he died in 2004. Nancy and Dan’s father, Ed Kelly, started the business in 1952 as Ed and John’s Flamingo Tap, named for Ed and his business partner John Flock, who retired in 1979, after which the bar was renamed Kelly’s. Ed retired in 1984 and his children assumed ownership.

Since then, Kelly’s has grown into a local favorite among pub patrons and food fans, outlasting the industries that once helped sustain it with a steady stream of factory workers, some of whom even had a hand in helping its menu evolve.

While Kelly’s is known as much for its Mexican menu as it Emerald Isle imports, not every day is the best of both worlds. When St. Patrick’s Day rolls around, don’t expect to head south of the border for food. That day is set aside for Irish favorites such as a variety of corned beef dishes and Reuben sandwiches — a tribute to the Kellys’ Irish heritage.

Back when Kelly’s started serving its first corned beef sandwiches in 1982, two years before the restaurant was established, it took only 35 pounds of the salty meat to fill the orders. That’s a far cry from how much they sell today, Nancy said. In recent years, anywhere between 800 and 1,000 pounds of corned beef are set aside for a packed house every March 17, and the taste of Ireland has spread to other days before and after the holiday, with special menu items.

“The last couple of years, we’ve started it early,” Sally said. “The week before, we’ll have specials like corned beef tacos, or hash, things like that. You don’t hear about corned beef tacos. They’re good.”

Nancy KellyMcDonnell (left) and Sally Kelly have owned their family bar and restaurant, Kelly’s, since 1984.

The sisters-inlaw and Sally’s late husband Dan Kelly took over the downtown Sterling business from Nancy and Dan’s father, Ed Kelly, who owned its previous incarnation, Ed and John’s Flamingo Tap, with business partner John Flock when it opened elsewhere downtown in 1952.

When the menu does head back south, it leads to quesadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, nachos, flautas, and the restaurant’s signature Mexi-Kelly pizza, topped with a choice of taco meat or chicken and complimented with two cheeses, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and ripe olives, all on a large crisp flour tortilla. Another favorite is its carne guisada, made of tender pork pieces, spiced gravy, beans, rice and tortillas.

Elsewhere on the menu is more traditional bar food, including burgers, buffalo wings, chicken sandwiches, pork tenderloins, soups, and — of course — a Reuben. Looking for something on the healthier side? Salads with fajitas, buffalo chicken, shrimp and steak and bleu cheese also are available. KELLY’S cont’d to page 44

KELLY’S cont’d from page 43

Much of the American fare came to the menu gradually over time as customers — many of them blue-collar workers from nearby factories and railroad companies — kept suggesting it, Nancy said. The Kellys were happy to oblige.

“A lot of things that were added were added because of our customers,” Nancy said. “We had a bunch of railroad guys back in the day who would come in, and they’d ask, ‘Why don’t you make a hamburger?’ I don’t have a grill. ‘You got a frying pan, don’t you?’ They’d ask for soup, clam chowder, and ask for more things … One thing that they had buffalo wings, but not in Sterling. They had them in bigger cities and would tell me about them.”

Gradually, their persistence paid off and Kelly’s menu evolved into what it is today: and eclectic blend of flavor favorites from near and far.

Owning a food and drink establishment for 73 years as the Kelly Family has done is no small accomplishment. For 41 of those, Nancy has been at the center of it and has seen her share of changes and challenges, both in her town and in her business, from the decline of manufacturing stalwarts such as Northwestern Steel and Wire, National and Lawrence Brothers, to current challenges such as the rising cost of products. But the one thing that’s carried them through it all has been customers, and today, she and Sally — like Dan and Ed before them — have come to know the people who come through their doors, who share the stories of their hometown.

KELLY’S cont’d to page 45

Nancy has an interest in local history, helping to keep her family’s story part of the local landscape for future generations. She became interested in sharing her business and building’s history and has researched and written about it for local historical publications; one of which is an account for “Whiteside County, Illinois History and Families,” published in 2013 by a group of county genealogists.

Kelly’s location has a long history with food and drink. In 1903, the site was home to a tiered bar a business contractually tied to a particular supplier, often a brewery or liquor company — run by the Rock Island Brewing Co. The current building was built in 1916. From 1920-42 under three different owners and names, its proprietors also served food.

When John McDonnell and Frank Beien operated B&M Tap there in the mid1940s, they installed a 40-foot, Art Deco inspired mahogany Brunswick back bar and counter (photo above) that remains there today. Nancy once saw a similar arrangement at an Amboy tavern, and that one was relocated to a Rockford bar, she said.

B&M became Buck and Anne’s Tap in 1954, and it lasted until 1962. Two blocks to the west, Kelly and Flock operated the Flamingo at the southwest corner of West Third Street and Avenue A in a building owned by furniture store owner Lyman Prescott. When Buck and Anne’s closed, Kelly and Flock relocated their bar there, and the Kelly family has been in business at the same location ever since.

KELLY’S cont’d to page 46

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Kelly’s is known for it’s Irish and Mexican menu, but there’s plenty of other options available, too, including burgers, wings, chicken sandwiches, pork tenderloins, soups, and salads

KELLY’S cont’d from page 45

By the time Flock had retired, the bar was struggling to stay open, Nancy said. That’s when she hatched the idea to serve some of the food she enjoyed cooking.

“I started cooking food at home and bringing it down to help his business,” Nancy said. “We started very slow, but we got a little following. It was pretty amazing, and we were shocked. There was no place in town at the time that you could get a beer and have a taco. I think it’s good together.”

When Nancy, Ed and Sally took over, getting a kitchen in place was initially a challenge, Sally said.

“When we decided to expand, it didn’t have a kitchen,” Sally said. “We got a used stove and restaurant equipment from what used to be Dondero’s, anything that we could use.”

More than 40 years later, the Kellys have continued to make their place a unique destination — the Irish pub with Mexican food.

“We have great customers,” Nancy said. “The people up front make good money because the customers are appreciative and generous.”

And Kelly’s appreciates them, too, happy to welcome countless customers through the years — or as the Irish (and Kelly’s website) would say: Cead mile failte: “A hundred thousand welcomes.” n Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@ shawmedia.com.

Kelly’s, 218 Locust St., is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Cash or check only. Find “Kellys” on Facebook or call 815-625-7969 to place carryout orders or for more information.

Reuben sandwich

Ribeye sandwich & fries