SVM_Dixon Living - Summer 2022

Their cart goes out to a good cause at Oliver’s Market

Brinton Avenue: Learn the story behind the street

A medical milestone: KSB celebrates 125 years

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Publisher/Ad Director Jennifer Heintzelman Magazine editor & Page design Rusty Schrader Published by Sauk Valley Media 113 S. Peoria Ave. | Dixon, IL 61021 815-284-2222 Have a story idea for Dixon Living? Let us know ...

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Drawn together Philip Atilano is drawing on a lifetime of experience in his new role as executive director of the The Next Picture Show, and he’s looking forward to taking the state of the arts in Dixon to the next level.

inside Their cart goes out to a good cause

If someone needs a hand, the owners of Oliver’s Market are happy lend one, whether it’s helping the hungry, nourishing nurses or fundraising for football ... “We have to help each other.”

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Great Brinton

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A medical milestone

Though few may know the story behind the street, the man Brinton Avenue is named for looms large in Dixon’s history — as someone who carved out a career in farm implements, a U.S. Marshal, the city’s leader and an ‘omnipotent’ presence in state politics.

It’s been 125 years since KSB rose from a bluff along Dixon’s riverfront, and today the oldest hospital in northwest Illinois is still going strong.

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If someone needs a hand, the owners of Oliver’s Market are happy lend one, whether it’s helping the hungry, nourishing nurses or fundraising for football —

‘We have to help each other ...’

DIXON — There’s more than one way to help people. You could volunteer your time, donate money, help organize fundraisers …

Or you could sink your teeth into a juicy burger hot off the grill.

If food philanthropy suits your taste, just follow your nose to Oliver’s Corner Market, a neighborhood grocery store where you’ll find people who are more than happy to lend a helping hand, especially if you’re looking for one with a spatula in it.

OLIVER’S cont’d to page 6

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OLIVER’S cont’d from page 5 For 35 years, Tim and Patty Oliver have been putting the emphasis on the “neighbor” in “neighborhood grocery store,” and it’s paid off. Not just for the couple who’ve found customers who appreciate having a small-town grocery store in a big-box world, but for the groups who’ve found a partner in their mission to help the community.

Neighborhood grocery stores are harder to find these days, but Oliver’s has bucked the trend, and it’s done it not just by filling customers’ carts, but by filling a need.

“Working in the grocery business, talking with the public, and seeing the public when they come in, we see a lot of need,” Tim said. “It’s hard times for a lot of people. We want to help. We have to help. That’s why we’re here. We have to help each other in this crazy world we live in today.”

The store has become a go-to place for community fundraisers, and the couple has been a familiar site, both to customers and cookout connoisseurs.

The couple’s commitment to their community was recognized recently by the Dixon Area Chamber of Commerce and Main Street, who bestowed its Business of the Year Award to them during its 2022 Best of Dixon Gala.

Dozens of local clubs and organizations have benefited from the Olivers’ goodwill, among them: Dixon Youth Football, the Al Morrison baseball program, Knights of Columbus (of which Tim is a member), the VFW, churches, youth groups, schools and activities boosters, Granny Rose Animal Shelter and Home of Hope Cancer Wellness Center.

The Olivers’ cookout fundraisers have been a big success for clubs and organizations, and the good word has gotten out; there’s even a waiting list for groups that want to fire up the grill. Most cookouts typically run 3 to 4 hours on weekends in the spring and summer, though some — mostly high school sports fundraisers — are held in the fall.

OLIVER’S cont’d to page 7

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OLIVER’S cont’d from page 6 Those hosting a cookout buy the meat from Oliver’s — “We give them a good deal,” Tim said — and serve up meal deals, with chips, cookies and a drink.

Oliver’s provides wrappers, napkins, condiments and bags if needed.

The Olivers’ reputation for focusing on local fundraisers has helped get more people to open their wallets, knowing that the money stays in the community.

Some people who stop by the cookouts don’t even grab a bite to eat; they’re happy to just dip into their pockets and drop some dough into donation jars the organizations also have set up.

“You’d be surprised how many people put money in those donation jars,” Tim said.

“People really want to support these groups.”

OLIVER’S cont’d to pages 8 & 9

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Tim and Patty Oliver have been offering service with a smile for more than 30 years at Oliver’s Market. “Working in the grocery business, talking with the public, and seeing the public when they come in, we see a lot of need,” Tim said. “It’s hard times for a lot of people. We want to help.”

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SUBMITTED PHOTOS

Helping the community is a family affair for the Olivers of Dixon. ABOVE: Family members (in no particular order) Bobbe Oliver, Toni Williar and Amy Oliver, and their children Molly, Will, Aubin, Eliza and Lydia Oliver, prepare a recent donation of food for the Dixon Community Food Pantry. AT LEFT: Another project with the family touch: bagged lunches for nurses at KSB who, like health care workers around the world, were called to the front lines of the Covid pandemic. Patty Oliver’s sister, Maggie Burke, came up with the idea to deliver lunch — and thanks, courtesy of the messages of support and appreciation written on the bags. Tim and Patty’s granddaughters, Lennon and Presley, even got in on on the action.

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OLIVER’S cont’d from page 7 The fundraisers have also become a favorite for people who like their fundraisers with fresh-cooked food.

It’s not unusual for people to call the store asking when the next fundraiser is going to be.

“We get a lot of older customers that don’t always grill at home because maybe they’re by themselves, so they’ll call us in the middle of week and ask, ‘Are you guys grilling out this weekend?’ They want a grilled burger, they want a grilled chop, because they don’t normally get it at home, so they look forward to the cookouts.”

The cookouts are just one way the Olivers help the community. There’s also a lot going on inside the store too.

For years, the Olivers have run a 24 Days of Giving fundraiser for the Dixon Community Food Pantry. Each day from Dec. 1 to 24, a certain food item — ones that the pantry needs the most — is set aside for customers to buy and have donated to the pantry; the items are announced before the month begins. For example, customers could pay for a package of rice to be donated to the pantry on Dec. 1, a box of spaghetti noodles on Dec. 2, a box of cereal on Dec. 15 or a jar of peanut butter on Dec. 24.

Customers can also buy 24 items for $24.

The fundraiser is a gift that keep on giving.

Between 2020 and 2021, Oliver’s donated than $15,000 worth of food, or around 1,200 pounds. Tim and Patty’s daughter, Toni Williar, and daughters-in-law Bobbe and Amy Oliver came up with the idea.

“It’s amazing how much people look forward to giving something to the food pantry,” Tim said. “Sometimes they can’t always get to the food pantry, but this is a way for them to know that they can feed some families.”

Like everything else, the COVID pandemic turned fundraising on its head. As businesses closed and more people found themselves out of work, the food pantry’s need rose. Holding public events was also a challenge — but that didn’t stop the Olivers. The found a way to continue their commitment to giving back to their community. They donated lunches to nurses at KSB Medical Center at a time when they were feeling the pressure of the pandemic.

Some weeks saw Oliver’s donate nearly 100 lunches, and the paper bags they came in had messages of support and thanks written on them — another idea inspired by family, this time coming from Patty’s sister, Maggie Burke.

“The pandemic just kept going and going, and no one was doing anything for the nurses,” Patty said.

The Olivers also find other ways to support their community, by carrying products made by local busienss, such as Jen’s Artisan Bread from Mount Morris, Hog Wild BBQ Sauce from Oregon, LaRosa’s Handcrafted Pizza from Stillman Valley, El Hijo Chips and Flour Tortillas from Sterling, and Willow Bend Popcorn from Mineral in western Bureau County, just to name a few.

OLIVER’S cont’d to page10

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The Olivers accept the award for Business of the Year on May 6 at the Best of Dixon Gala hosted by the Dixon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street. Go to ad.discoverdixon.com/ bestofdixon for more information about the annual event, and to see past winners.

ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SAUKVALLEY.COM

OLIVER’S cont’d from page 9 Then, of course, there are healthy treats from Olive Nut in Dixon, a business owned by Tim and Patty’s daughter-in-law, Alex, and her business partner Jessica Nutt — nothing fried, no chemicals, artificial colors or unhealthy oils. Alex and Jessica used to rent out space at the store before they opened a place of their own across from Dixon High School on Peoria Avenue in early 2020.

Tim and Patty’s hard work helping others hasn’t gone unnoticed by their business peers.

The Olivers were honored with the Business of the Year Award on May 6 at Heritage Crossing during the Best of Dixon Gala hosted by the Dixon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street and

sponsored by Sauk Valley Media and Value Lab. Nominations are reviewed by Chamber and Main Street staff and a selection committee.

“Tim and Patty Oliver are pillars in the community and deserve to be celebrated,” Chamber and Main Street Executive Director Jeremy Englund said. “The Olivers believe in the strength of community giving and local investment. [They] believe in the strength of a strong business community. Over the years, they have helped small and local producers sell their products,” which, Englund said, “has a compounding effect when you invest locally.”

Said Patty about being “pillars in the community”: “It’s kind of funny to think of yourself like that. You try to do the right thing, and you hope that people notice.”

“Our employees were all excited,” Tim added.

“We’ve been here 35 years, so it was pretty good.”

Supporting the community that’s supported them comes naturally for the Olivers.

“It’s hard not to give when you have so many blessings,” Patty said. “We believe that what you put into the world, you get back tenfold.” n

Oliver's Corner Market, 748 N. Brinton Ave., is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Find it on Facebook, go to oliverscornermarket. com or call 815-288-7480 for more information, or to inquire about having a cookout fundraiser event at the store.

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or Philip Atilano, home is where the art is.

It’s where he grew up, where he discovered a passion for creating that would become a career — and it’s where the new executive director of The Next Picture Show has found a place where he can finally keep both feet on the ground.

But that doesn’t mean he’s standing still. Far from it.

By Cody Cutter Atilano has spent Sauk Valley Media the last few months in his new job asking himself, “What’s next?” — and not wasting any time coming up with an answer.

The 41-year-old Dixon native stepped into the job Jan. 1 and already he’s made several changes at the nonprofit community fine arts center in downtown Dixon: new exhibits, new classes, opening up more space at the gallery.

The changes incorporate much of what Atilano has learned and seen in his travels, and that’s been a lot.

“Being home and being close to my family is what did it for me,” Atilano said. “I was just burned out on traveling, but this opportunity opened up and it was all about timing.”

This isn’t Atilano’s first time in the Picture. He displayed his artwork there early in his career, has been an exhibition judge at times and also helped occasionally with community art projects affiliated with the gallery.

ATILANO cont’d to page 14

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ATILANO cont’d from page 13 He had previously been asked to take over as executive director from Bonnie Kime, but had to decline due to other commitments at the time. Michael Glenn stepped into the role until his retirement. By that time Atilano had been back in the area for about 4 years, having moved back with his wife and two children, buying a home in Sterling and doing much of his traveling on the weekends.

The next time the executive director position opened up, he was ready to close the deal.

“I’m excited about this opportunity and I’m really looking forward to making this place excel,” Atilano said. “I just kind of got burned out on traveling. I was in 40 states in 7 years. I’m married. I wanted to stay married. I have two young boys. It was time to stay on the ground for the while.”

Atilano has long had a passion for art — “since the time I could pick up a pencil,” he said — especially drawing.

“It was kind of my form of escapism,” he said.

“Drawing and my imagination had just been inspired by art. I didn’t really know what opportunities were out there for an artist. In high school, I’d always draw and art was probably my favorite subject.”

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Atilano honed his skills in art class at Dixon High School, where he graduated in 1999, and improved upon them at Sauk Valley Community College, where he earned his associate degree in 2001. He then moved on to The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and graduated there in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with an emphasis on drawing.

It was at Sauk where he became serious about making art his career. There, he found a mentor in associate professor of art Robertus van der Wege, who pushed the young art student to consider several colleges to expand his horizons, such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Savannah College of Art and Design as well as MIAD, the place he would ultimately attend.

While figurative drawing — which focuses on the human form — was his specialty, Atilano enjoyed the challenge of taking other classes to expand his artistic palette, such as sculpting and painting.

“I really liked Milwaukee as a city and the program was really good,” Atilano said. “It was a small college at the time, about 650 people at the entire school, so I got a lot of one-on-one time with professors, which was what persuaded me to go there.”

ATILANO cont’d to page 15

ATILANO cont’d from page 14

ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SAUKVALLEY.COM

Atilano hopes to be able to bring more than just pictures to The Next Picture Show.

“I’m... also exploring writing, poetry and fashion. I’m trying to bring in different types of art to expose the public to things they may not normally see.”

After completing his studies at MIAD — and earning three prestigious scholarships and serving as student body vice president — Atilano worked for 8 years at Spolar Studio in Milwaukee as lead artist and project manager. When his time at Spolar concluded, he then became an exhibit designer with Milwaukee’s Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, where he designed spaces to display exhibits, and created several of his own.

Some of the works he did at the museum have racked up a lot of mileage over the years, having travelled not only throughout the nation, but around the world as well. It wasn’t long before Atilano started putting a lot of miles on himself too, spending 7 years with Conrad Schmitt Studios of New Berlin, Wisconsin, as a foreman and lead artist. While there, he led projects at the University of Notre Dame’s basilica, the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, and state capital buildings in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Pierre, South

ATILANO cont’d to pages 16 & 17

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Nearly a decade before taking over as executive director of The Next Picture Show, Philip Atilano worked with local artists Kris Meyers, Tristian Young, and Douglas Kitto to create this 3-D chalk painting on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Dixon. The work was commissioned in conjunction with the Petunia Festival, and later found itself in the path of the city’s annual 5K Reagan Run. “It was a huge force perspective mural of a giant hole, so you would set a camera up and it would look like people were falling into it,” Atilano said. “We did that over the course of a weekend. It was awesome. It was a lot of fun. The public response was great, and only 2 days later the Reagan Run ran over it all.”

One of the biggest projects Atilano took on was repainting the interior of Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Westphalia, Missouri, when he worked with Conrad Schmitt Studios in New Berlin, Wisconsin. The project took 4 months. At right, he helps install the Holy Spirit mural, which was gilded with 23-karat gold.

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The work on the Three Bridges Park mural in Milwaukee was led by Atilano, who worked for Artworks Milwaukee at the time. He was the lead artist who coordinated efforts with 10 interns consisting of high school and undergrad students — all who were at-risk youth in Milwaukee prone to drugs, violence, and gangs.

Atilano’s “Madonna and Child” was for a group exhibition at the Lemon Gallery in Milwaukee.

All of the artwork in the gallery, including Atilano’s, was later published in a retrospective book of the exhibition named after his drawing.

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ATILANO cont’d from page 15 Architecture and art can often be one and the same, especially in older buildings. Religious buildings can be especially ornate, and quite an undertaking to preserve and restore. Atilano has scaled scaffolding in cathedrals, basilicas and churches throughout the country. Those projects encompassed restoring murals, frescoes, stained glass, ornamental plaster and gilding with 23-karat gold leaf from Italy.

Atilano’s most recent large-scale restoration project wrapped up in December at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Westphalia, Missouri, which underwent 4 months of repainting inside. But the next project he tackled was big — with a capital B: restoration work at the Minnesota State Capital in St. Paul. That project was Atilano’s biggest to date, lasting nearly 2 years and costing nearly half a billion dollars.

ATILANO cont’d to page 17

ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@ SAUKVALLEY.COM

Though Atilano eyes are firmly on The Next Picture Show’s future, he still wants to honor the gallery’s past. One of his first steps was transforming gallery founder Jane Edgar Cress’s upstairs studio space into a viewing room for the public.

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ATILANO cont’d from page 17 For nearly 20 months he led a crew of 25 who tackled work both inside and outside the capital. One of the men he collaborated with there was a stone mason from Europe who specialized in restoring marble.

“My job was to be the first on the scene, do samples and get approvals from the architects and design committees, and I would be there until the project finished. The typical time frame would be about 3 months for a standard project, but the Minnesota State Capital was an exception because it was a full interior/exterior restoration, and it was massive — it was a $490 million project. All of the artwork was pretty exquisite.”

After life on the road, settling down in the Sauk Valley and working in his old hometown for the last 7 months home has been a welcome change for Atilano.

The Next Picture Show opened in 2004 at its present location in an 1854 building that underwent a complete renovation. The spacious main gallery level has a wide variety of exhibits from artists near and far.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the gallery also hosted small live concerts. The lower level of the building is

where most of the classes and workshops take place, with some space reserved for special exhibitions.

Throughout most of its history, there had only been two levels of the building open to the public, but that’s changed under Atilano: The upstairs portion, which had been storage and office space, now is set to host the occasional exhibit and workshop.

Growing up, Atilano didn’t have a place in town where he could exhibit his works, but he wants that to change for the current generation. He aims to broaden the demographic and artistic scope for both classes and exhibits giving more people a platform for their work. The studio recently received a grant from the Lee County United Way to expand the number of classes, which are in the planning process.

He’s also looking at more than just pictures at The Next Picture Show.

“I’m not solely looking at 2D and 3D work, but also exploring writing, poetry and fashion,” Atilano said.

“I’m trying to bring in different types of art to expose the public to things they may not normally see. I really want to encompass everything, and focus on the key words of ‘community fine arts center.’”

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ATILANO cont’d to page 19

ATILANO cont’d from page 18 Currently, the studio has two art classes that run 6 weeks at a time: Oil and acrylic classes led by Sterling’s Stuart Roddy are Tuesday from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Watercolor classes with Betty Predmore of Dixon are held Wednesday, in two competency levels: beginners from 10 a.m. to noon and advanced artists from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. In addition, a 4-week mixed media course for ages 7 to 11 begin July 21 and run from 10 to 11:30 a.m. each Thursday until Aug. 11; courses for each week include, in order, contour drawing, printmaking, watercolors and collages.

Atilano has also brought back the occasional paint parties to the studio, where students learn how to turn a blank canvas into a work of art they can take home.

The first one was April 29 with a “No Place Like ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SAUKVALLEY.COM Home” theme, The Next Picture Show’s lower level is where most and the most of the classes and workshops take place, with some recent once was space reserved for special exhibitions. See the list at June 24 with “The right for upcoming events and classes.

Birds.” In addition, the gallery also serves as the meeting place for the Sauk Creative Writer’s Group on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, where writers work on and share tips in drafting novels, memoirs, poetry, prose and short stories.

After the recent pandemic slowed things down at the studio, Atilano is happy to see things start coming back to life. Dixon, Atilano said, is a perfect place to make that happen. As far as the cost of the classes is concerned, Atilano is making progress on that, too. He is trying to lower the costs and create scholarship-like programs where more children can afford to explore their creative side.

“For being a town of 15,000 [people], there’s a lot of culture here,” Atilano said. “With the theater, Stage Left, us, it’s kind of like a game of chess where we have the right pieces in play, we have the right people leading it. It’s exciting. It’s kind of like a cultural revolution. It’s really cool to see what’s going to happen and the potential that’s there.” n

113 W. First St. Open: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, or by appointment.

Online: On Facebook or go to nextpictureshow.org Contact: email director@nextpictureshow.org or call 815-284-4924.

Events

ONGOING TO SEPT. 30: Black and White exhibit at KSB Commerce Towers, 215 East First St., Dixon JULY 23 THROUGH SEPT. 3: Absolutely Abstract exhibit at TNPS, 113 W. First St., Dixon JULY 29: Absolutely Abstract awards presentation AUG. 6: Art and antique auction, Dixon Elks Lodge, 1279 Franklin Grove Road, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

SEPT. 10 THROUGH OCT. 22: Farms and Barns exhibit at TNPS SEPT. 16: Farms and Barns awards presentation SEPT. 22: Graydon Cafarella memorial and auction, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

OCT. 1 THROUGH DEC. 31: Birds of a Feather exhibit at KSB Commerce Towers OCT. 29 THROUGH DEC. 10: Water Street Studios Exhibit from Batavia DEC. 13 THROUGH JAN. 7, 2023: Sydni Reuban and Heather Shore exhibition

Classes

TUESDAYS: Acrylic and Oil, 5:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAYS: Beginning watercolor, 10 a.m.; advanced watercolor, 1:30 p.m.

JULY 21, JULY 28, AUG. 4 AND AUG. 11: Mixed media for children ages 7 to 11, 10 a.m. *Subject schedule to change. Go to nextpictureshow.org, email director@nextpictureshow.org or call 815-284-4924 for updates or to register for a class.

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The background illustration shows First Street in downtown Dixon, during the early 1900s, around the time when William Bradford Brinton moved to town.

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Br ad f

d or

on int Br

Editor’s note: This article was written

by Dixon resident Tom Wadsworth, a writer, speaker, and a sixth-generation Dixonite.

His background includes careers in ministry, broadcasting, corporate communications, and 20 years as the editor of a national trade magazine.

He holds a PhD in New Testament.

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e spent only 15 years in Dixon, but he left an impact that has endured for more than a century.

He is William Bradford Brinton, who came to Dixon in 1905 at age 55. Only six years later, Dixonites elected him as mayor, and he served with great distinction. On the strength of his political prowess in Illinois, he ran for governor in 1916 and was considered for the U.S. Senate in 1920.

Few would recognize his name today.

People only know Brinton Avenue, which the city council named for him in 1922, 100 years ago. But there is so much more to his remarkable story.

Brinton’s Beginnings

What brought Brinton to Dixon was the Grand Detour Plow Company, which started in Grand Detour long before Brinton was born. John Deere and Leonard Andrus founded the company in 1837; Brinton wasn’t born until 1850, on a farm in Greencastle, Ind., 50 miles west of Indianapolis.

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BRINTON cont’d from page 23 By the time Brinton was born, John Deere had already withdrawn from the firm (in 1848), choosing to start his own plow company in Moline. In 1869 the Grand Detour Plow Company moved to Dement Town to get closer to the railroad. The plow company and John Deere play a role in our story, but we’ll return to them later.

The Brinton family moved to Illinois in 1860 and soon settled in the Tuscola area, about 30 miles south of Champaign. In school, the young Brinton exhibited an inventive and strategic mind, as he would deliberately get himself suspended in April or May, thus giving him an extra month of summer vacation. (Schooling reveals various kinds of intelligence.)

In 1867, the 17-year-old Brinton became a hotel clerk and soon added a second job at a retail implement store, both in Tuscola. Six years later, he married Rhoda Wyeth there in 1873.

visited the Tuscola hotel.

For some reason, the young Brinton greatly impressed the successful executive from Moline. Deere, who was known for his “judgment of men,” his “selection of men of large caliber,” and his Republican politics, offered Brinton a job as a traveling salesman for Deere’s Moline Wagon Company.

Brinton jumped at the opportunity. In the next 17 years with Deere, his inspiring personality and direct communication skills would vault him into substantial wealth and status, not only in business but in politics as well.

Unlike Charles Deere, Brinton was a Democrat. But like Deere, he developed close relationships with party leaders in Illinois and nationally.

Political Prowess

For Brinton, business and politics went together. In his sales job, he travelled by train “to almost every city and town” in Illinois, which also allowed him to become politically connected throughout the state.

By the late 1880s, Brinton was serving a powerful A Star is Born Col. Brinton, circa. 1900. role on the Democratic State Central Committee, By 1876, William Brinton had established himorchestrating the moves of the Democratic party self as an enterprising and hard-working young throughout the state. But ever the sales professional, he also man of keen intellect in this small town of 1,500. Fate smiled on became friends with leading Republicans wherever he went. the 26-year-old one day, when Charles H. Deere, the son of John Deere and the VP and general manager of Deere & Company, BRINTON cont’d to page 25

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BRINTON cont’d from page 24 By 1889, at age 39, he began to be known as “Colonel Brinton.” Since there is no evidence that he served with the military, his “Colonel” title was probably an honorary title granted to him by the Illinois governor, who was a Republican. Even though Brinton was devoted to the Democratic party, he was also highly regarded by high-ranking Illinois Republicans.

In the early 1890s, Brinton was frequently quoted in Illinois newspapers as a dominant mover and shaker in state politics. In 1890, the Mattoon Gazette described Col. Brinton as “omnipotent, all-prevailing, everywhere” in his political dealings and influence.

The paper also said, “There are some big men in Illinois, but Brinton has overshadowed all and stands alone.”

A Presidential Appointment

By 1893, Brinton was ready to leave the Moline Wagon Company and cash in on his political connections. When Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, became president for the second time, he appointed Brinton as U.S. Marshal for southern Illinois, a federal law enforcement position.

BRINTON cont’d to page 26

A rare photo of the Brinton family, probably taken on the front lawn of the Brinton mansion or next door. The occasion was son Bradford’s leave from the military.

Bradford served under General Pershing in Mexico in 1916 and in France during World War I in 1918-19. From left: Rhoda, William, Bradford, and Helen (“Nellie”).

Nellie never married and died in 1960 at age 85. Her $2 million estate created the William B. and Rhoda Wyeth Brinton Memorial Foundation, which funded medical research and created The Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, between Devil’s Tower and Yellowstone National Park. Read more about the museum on page 30.

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Though the paper didn’t always see eye to eye with Brinton, The Telegraph still gave great acclaim to the mayor at the height of his term, April 9, 1914.

March 29, 1922: North Crawford becomes Brinton Avenue.

The Telegraph announced the sale of the plow factory on June 11, 1919.

BRINTON cont’d from page 25 In 1896, state Democrats considered him to be their first choice to run for State Auditor. But he declined the nomination, choosing instead to complete his 4-year obligation to President Cleveland as U.S. Marshal.

Cleveland declined to run in 1896, and the Democrats lost the White House to McKinley. So, with the change of U.S. president, Brinton left the U.S. Marshal’s office in 1897 and purchased an interest in the Peru Plow and Wheel Company in LaSalle-Peru, becoming its president. The Peru company was no small concern; it had around 400 employees and was considered one of the largest of its kind in the U.S.

Back to the Plow

He and Rhoda moved to LaSalle that year with their two children, Helen (Nellie), 22, and Bradford, 17.

Since Brinton was a self-confident decision-maker, he was well suited to lead a business, and the company prospered. By 1902, he was said to have a worth of $100,000 (about $3 million in today’s dollars) and command a “princely salary.”

With his re-entry to the business world, he became involved in organizations of a non-political kind, being elected vice president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association and president of the National Association of Manufacturers of Implements and Vehicles.

Still, Brinton continued his influential role on the Democratic State Central Committee, retaining his post as treasurer, a position he had held since 1887.

He also accepted political appointments — from Republican governors — to short-term commissions.

When Brinton donated his home, it was front page news on Dec. 29, 1927.

BRINTON cont’d to page 27

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BRINTON cont’d from page 26 In 1903, he floated the idea that the Democrats could not win the governor’s seat unless they nominated a businessman. He added, “If the business of the state of Illinois was run as a plow factory is, things would be better.”

It was an obvious reference to himself. The idea of his candidacy initially gained some traction in the state, but he would not be the gubernatorial nominee in 1904, which was won handily by the Republicans.

Coming to Dixon In 1905, Brinton’s fame and fate finally merged with the city of Dixon. On Aug. 1, 55-year-old William Bradford Brinton expanded his plow empire by purchasing a controlling interest in the Grand Detour Plow Company and the Grand Detour Wagon Company of Dixon, which then employed “several hundred men” at its sprawling 5-acre site in Dement Town, just north of the railroad station.

At the time, the venerable O. B. Dodge had been a principal owner of the plow and wagon firm for 30 years. Dodge retired, and Col. Brinton became company president. William’s son, 25-year-old Bradford, who had just graduated from Yale in 1904, became corporation secretary.

When the Dixon Evening Telegraph reported the news of a new executive in the city, the newspaper described the elder Brinton as “full of pluck, energy, and push.”

Leading Citizen

civic and political circles. In less than a year, he was elected chairman of the Lee County Democratic Central Committee, and he would later become a delegate to Democratic national conventions. He was also soon elected president of Dixon’s Citizen’s Association, which sought to promote the business of the city.

In 1906, he bought the majestic Greek Revival mansion of Leonard Andrus Jr. at 217 E. Everett St. (later known as the Masonic Temple).

The impressive residence, one of the finest in northwestern Illinois, had been built in 1860 by Andrus’s father-in-law, Phillip M. Alexander.

In addition to its signature huge Greek columns on the exterior, the home’s interior featured wide hallways of terrazzo flooring, marble stairs, marble drinking fountains, a mahogany room, a club room, a ladies’ parlor, and a huge dining hall with a copper-backed music shell, a sprung floor for dancing, and an organ loft.

At that time, Dixon’s most renowned resident may have been State Sen. Charles H. Hughes, a Republican who had served as Dixon mayor, Lee County treasurer, state representative, and state senator.

In 1907, when Hughes died, at his bedside was the ardent Democrat, Col. Brinton, who took charge of the funeral proceedings, ensuring that his Republican friend was given a proper send-off.

Finally, on a Ballot

In 1911, after 30 years of intense political involvement, William Brinton finally allowed his name to be placed on a ballot in a public election. It was the election for mayor of Dixon — and it was no cakewalk. Brinton ran against Hiram Brooks, a well-liked and well-connected Lee County native and long-time successful Dixon attorney.

Brinton quickly became one of Dixon’s leading residents in

BRINTON cont’d to page 28

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BRINTON cont’d from page 27 In what the Ashton Gazette described as “one of the biggest city fights ever” in Dixon’s history, Brinton emerged victorious with 54% of the vote. He became Dixon’s first mayor in the commission form of government.

At the time, Dixon featured the Interurban railway that connected the railroad station in Dement Town with downtown Dixon, the north side, Assembly Park on the east end, and the city of Sterling to the west. Electricity was expanding, and the number of automobiles was increasing, replacing horse and buggy traffic.

In addition to the popular Opera House on South Galena Avenue (later replaced by the Dixon Theatre), the dome at Assembly Park was a major attraction, which regularly featured nationally known speakers and entertainers that delighted massive crowds.

In 1905, Brinton bought a controlling interest in the Grand Detour Plow Company and the Grand Detour Wagon Company of Dixon. Above: An illustration of the Grand Detour Plow Company in Dement Town, ca. 1900. Left: A company brochure, ca. 1900-1920.

BRINTON cont’d to page 29

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BRINTON cont’d from page 28

Major Accomplishments

His accomplishments in office were many. Some old-timers remarked that Brinton accomplished more in those 4 years than in Dixon’s previous 50 years.

His administration enacted a flurry of projects that upgraded the city’s infrastructure. Seven miles of brick streets were built, along with one mile of concrete streets, two miles of sewers, and an extension of the Interurban streetcar line.

In his years, Dixon also changed from a dry town to a wet town, which attracted more visitors. Throughout it all, the city budget stayed in the black with no increase in taxes. Under Brinton, Dixon was hailed as “one of the most hustling up-todate little cities in the Mississippi valley.”

The crowning achievement of his leadership was his adept use of political connections to bring the State Epileptic Colony to Dixon (aka the “State School”) in 1914. The move brought $1.5 million in immediate state funds to build the facilities and infrastructure on more than 1,000 acres, with much more funding and economic activity for many years to come.

The Fire Truck Squabble

Even though Mayor Brinton was widely praised for his strong leadership, there were a few cases where he found himself on the wrong side of history. In 1914, the city council was faced with a decision on whether to purchase the city’s first fire truck, a red one, to replace horse-drawn fire wagons, a proposal that had been openly supported by the Telegraph.

Brinton staunchly opposed the fire truck, saying that the Telegraph was “as crazy for that red wagon as ever a boy was for a pair of red-topped boots.” The Telegraph responded that “if Brinton’s house in North Dixon was a-fire,” and Brinton had to choose the response of a fire truck or the old horse-drawn wagon, he would’ve chosen the red wagon that he so ridiculed.

Ignoring Brinton’s opposition, the council approved the fire truck anyway.

The Drinking Fountain Controversy

Also in 1914, when the famous nationwide Lincoln Highway was proposed to go through Dixon, the route was to go north on Galena Avenue and turn west at Fellows Street. If the city would rename West Fellows as “Lincoln Way,” the Lincoln Highway Association offered to give the city a blue drinking fountain on the new Lincoln Way. This proposal was also supported by the Telegraph.

Mayor Brinton opposed the offer, saying he was “not in favor of rubbing out early history for the price of a drinking fountain.” He even offered to pay for the fountain himself, but his respect for the city’s history prevented him from changing “Fellows” to “Lincoln Way.” Fellows Street had been named for Michael Fellows, one of the earliest pioneers who had come to the area in 1834. Fellows served as the first Lee County Recorder in 1839, and he had worked with other notables such as Father John Dixon, John Eustace, Col. John Dement, and Dr. Oliver Everett to develop the city’s dam and bridge.

BRINTON cont’d to page 30

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BRINTON cont’d from page 29

Brinton’s Gubernatorial Bid

However, his business commitments didn’t dissuade Brinton from seeking another office the very next year. On July 25, 1916, Brinton announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Illinois governor. Brinton’s candidacy made sense.

Few were as politically connected in Illinois as the colonel, and as Mayor of Dixon, he now had demonstrated his competence as the elected leader of a municipality.

His announcement, carried exclusively by the Dixon Evening Telegraph and the Peoria Journal, noted his background as a successful businessman. (Nearly every Illinois governor since the Civil War had been a lawyer.)

BRINTON cont’d to page 31

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The drinking fountain controversy lingered for five months.

Finally, at a meeting when Brinton was absent, the city council approved changing the street name. But its history wasn’t entirely “rubbed out,” since East Fellows Street retained its name. (Note that the major route to Sterling from Galena Avenue in 1914 was not Everett, but West Fellows or Lincoln Way, which was also the route of the Interurban railway.)

These incidents were small aberrations when compared to the major advances that Brinton brought to the city. Nonetheless, when his 4-year term concluded in 1915, the Colonel, now 65, chose not to seek reelection, citing growing business commitments.

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Like his father, Brinton’s son, Bradford, made a name for himself, one that lives on today at a Wyoming museum named in his honor. Bradford went to Yale University and later graduated from the Sheffield School of Engineering. He joined his father in the farm implement business and later became a director and manager of the J.I. Case Threshing Machine Company. He served under Gen. Pershing in Mexico and in World War I in France. He would later move to Wyoming, where he became known as an avid supporter of the arts. He died in 1936, but today his legacy lives on at The Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, where he lived.

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“The Brinton Museum, located on the 620-acre historic Quarter Circle A Ranch in Big Horn, offers an authentic view into the life and lifestyle of a Western gentleman and art collector, Bradford Brinton, who was a patron and friend of many of the most celebrated 19th- and 20th-century Western artists and avid collector of American Indian art and artifacts.

Opened to the public in 1961, the museum today includes the historic Brinton Ranch House, built in 1892 and expanded by Bradford Brinton in 1927-28 to accommodate his extensive collections, the well-kept grounds, gardens and outbuildings such as a carriage barn, saddle barn, milk house, Little Goose Creek Lodge, and a traditional leather workshop. The Brinton Museum’s 24,000-square-foot, eco-conscious building houses one of the most significant and extensive Western and American Indian Art collections in the Rocky Mountain West. The Forrest E. Mars Jr. Building includes three floors featuring four galleries, a museum store, and the Brinton Bistro, which offers indoor and outdoor dining with picturesque, 180-degree views of the Bighorn Mountains.”

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decide the contest.” On Sept. 9, just before the Sept. 13 primary election, he received the positive news that the Chicago DemoThe Telegraph, which was “on the other side of the fence politcratic machine was endorsing Brinton and opposing Gov. Dunne. ically,” wholeheartedly supported Brinton’s candidacy, citing his However, when all the ballots were finally “great ability” and being “one of the best mayors William B. Brinton, counted, Brinton commanded only 28% of the the city ever had.” in his later years. statewide vote, losing to the incumbent Chicago Brinton’s announcement touted his support for Democrat. The loss was attributed to Dunne’s better wages and working conditions as well as his strong support among labor unions, as the support for Woodrow Wilson’s “progressive, sane president of the Illinois Federation of Labor had legislation.” He supported “the budget system” to launched a “bitter attack” on Brinton. eliminate waste, keep taxes down, and operate the Some pundits also cited Brinton’s late entry into state on a businesslike basis. the contest (only 7 weeks before the election) and An Uphill Battle his lack of name recognition among voters. While Brinton’s candidacy faced the uphill battle of party officials knew Brinton, voters didn’t. opposing the incumbent Democrat, Gov. Edward For Democrats, it was all for naught. In NoDunne of Chicago. Yet, the Chicago Tribune vember, Dunne was ousted as governor, losing thought that Brinton was a substantial opponent to Republican Frank Lowden by 53% to Dunne’s who could successfully attract Chicago Democrats 42%. (Yes, Lowden is the same as in “Lowden State away from Dunne.

Park” and the Boy Scouts’ “Camp Lowden” near Avoiding vicious slanderous politics, Brinton Oregon.) kindly introduced Gov. Dunne at a gathering at Back to the Plow, Again Dixon’s Assembly Park in August. The entire park Col. Brinton returned to his Dixon estate, the home that was abuzz with compliments for Brinton’s graciousness. The Chiwould have been “the governor’s mansion” had he won. Back cago Tribune later quoted Brinton as graciously wanting to give at the helm of the Grand Detour Plow factory, his company Dunne “a fair chance.” continued to grow and prosper.

By September, Col. Brinton said he expected to carry 85 of the state’s 102 counties, adding that “Cook County will probably BRINTON cont’d to page 32

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William B. Brinton’s home as seen today. | PHOTO: CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

BRINTON cont’d from page 31

spending much time traveling, eventually moving to Arizona.

In 1919, it was time for another mayoral contest in Dixon.

The Telegraph published a front-page story urging Col. Brinton to run again for mayor. The paper had surveyed many residents from all walks of life and found “virtually unanimous demand” for Brinton to return as mayor.

The paper cited his “fearless championship of the city’s interests regardless of his personal interests … his wide acquaintanceship among men of statewide and nationwide prominence … his ability to get what he goes after … and his splendid business and executive ability.” Brinton graciously declined, but he did serve as president of the Dixon Chamber of Commerce.

A couple of months later, Brinton sold the Grand Detour Plow Company to the J. I. Case Company of Racine, Wis., which had been buying Grand Detour Plows for use with Case tractors. At the time, Brinton’s company was said to sell “more tractor plows than any other organization in the world.”

Remembering Dixon

Retirement Brinton, 69, soon retired, while his son, Bradford, stayed on as vice president and general manager of the firm. In retirement, Col. Brinton said that he planned to spend 4 to 6 months every year in a warmer climate, but spend his summers fishing on the Rock River.

In 1920, he was considered as a possible Democratic nominee for U.S. senator in Illinois. But at age 70, he did not run.

After 1920, the esteemed executive was rarely seen in Dixon,

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But Dixon did not forget Brinton. In 1922, the Dixon City Council voted to change the name of North Crawford Avenue to “Brinton Avenue” in his honor. Ironically, only 8 years earlier, Brinton had opposed “rubbing out” history by changing the name of West Fellows Street. Now, the city embraced the idea of rubbing out the historic “Crawford” name to replace it with “Brinton.”

Appropriately, the new Brinton Avenue extended from the Rock River, past his stately home on Everett, all the way to the State Colony for Epileptics, which he brought to Dixon. The petition, approved 100 years ago, was signed by a large number of people and “practically every resident on the street.”

And Brinton did not forget Dixon. In 1927, the Brintons graciously donated their impressive Dixon mansion to the Dixon Masonic Lodge where he was one of its 650 members. The home then became known as the “Brinton Memorial Masonic Temple.” That December, more than a thousand people attended the dedication ceremony, which included a dance in the home’s spacious ballroom.

At the event the 77-year-old icon explained his donation, saying, “There comes a time in the life of any man who has been reasonably successful when he should do something to show his appreciation for the things which that community has done for him.”

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Dies at 87 The Brintons lived to a good old age. In 1932 Rhoda died in Arizona at age 81. Five years later, her husband died on Dec. 19, 1937, at age 87. Even though he had lived in Tucson for more than a decade, in Tuscola for 30 years, and only 15 years in Dixon, he never lost his fondness for his beloved hometown on the Rock River.

Funeral services were conducted in Dixon at the Brinton Masonic Temple, as former employees of the Grand Detour Plow factory carried his casket. His body was then entombed at the private Brinton mausoleum, the only one of its kind at Oakwood Cemetery in Dixon.

His burial was 85 years ago. The donation of his mansion was 95 years ago. The naming of Brinton Avenue was 100 years ago, and he served as Dixon’s mayor 110 years ago.

While no one in Dixon today remembers William Brinton, we would all do well to remember that, at one time, “There were some big men in Illinois, but Brinton overshadowed them all and stood alone.” n

The Brinton family mausoleum, the only private mausoleum at Oakwood Cemetery.

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ou’ll run across a lot of words at a hospital that are more than a mouthful.

But there’s one making the rounds at KSB Hospital this year that doesn’t have anything to do with medical jargon — but it is a prescription for a celebration: quasquicentennial.

For those who may have Cody become a little lax in your LatCutter in, those six syllables add up Sauk to a 125-year celebration, and Valley proof that KSB’s mission — “to Media restore, maintain and enhance health by providing superior care now and in the future” — can withstand the test of time.

The healthcare provider that’s been part of Dixon for more than a century has grown along with the city it calls home. Today, it boasts ten locations across two counties and five cities — an acute care hospital, a regional network of primary care clinics, and a multi-specialty physician group.

But it all started with a man’s love for his late wife and his determination to honor her memory.

While most people refer to it as simply KSB, there’s a story behind those three letters that stretches back to the years just before the dawn of the 20th century, when the woman who would become the hospital’s namesake was entering the sunset of her life.

Katherine Shaw Bethea was born in 1855 in Palmyra Township, west of town, one of eight children of Samuel and Mary Campbell Shaw. She would go on to marry prominent Dixon judge and former mayor Solomon Bethea. She would also become keenly interested in seeing a hospital built in Dixon. Katherine, who battled tuberculosis for several years, wouldn’t live long enough to see that wish come true, but her husband saw that her wish — and her name — would live on long after she was gone.

The Shaw name is known in Lee County for two reasons: one, as the family who founded what would become Shaw Media (which prints this magazine, as well as The Telegraph and several other publications); and two, it’s the name of a small community in the central part of the county. However, Katherine’s family was related to neither.

Little is known about her parents, but her brother, James Shaw, became a judge in Carroll County.

KSB cont’d to page 36

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strong supporter of the arts, including the Phidian Art Club and the Dixon Opera House. Solomon James wouldn’t be the only judge in Katherine’s lived until 1909, by then having become a U.S. dislife: In 1878, she married Solomon Bethea, at that time a young lawyer. It wasn’t long after the two trict court judge, but before he died he would make married that Katherine began her struggle with it his life’s work to do whatever he could to help tuberculosis, which was enough for Solomon to put keep others from suffering the way his wife died. his law career on In 1895, he hold at times to care bought a parcel for her. His care for of property atop a her involved plenty bluff along the Rock of travel to sanatoRiver on Dixon’s riums throughout southeast side for the country, but $3,500 — about she eventually $122,000 in today’s succumbed to her dollars — and doillness on March 22, nated it to the city 1893. for use as a hospiHer obituary in tal. The city gave its the Dixon Telegraph support, a board of described her Katherine and Solomon Bethea nine women direcfinal struggle as a tors was established “relentless, envious to accept donations, death,” which also became the title of a biography and on Jan. 1, 1897, the building was ready for its of the couple written in 2013 by local author Erin first patients. In 1909 he would leave his farmland “A.K.” Thompson. According to the biography, in Palmyra to the hospital as an endowment.

Katherine was active in the Dixon community as a member of the local Farmer’s Institute, as well as a KSB cont’d to page 37

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KSB cont’d from page 36

the time.

With a woman being the namesake of the The hospital’s original name was simply Dixon Public Hospital. It wasn’t until the 1910s hospital, it seemed fitting that the charter group of its board of directors was all womwhen its name would become Katherine Shaw en. According Bethea, though to a 2021 50references to 50 Women on Dixon Public Boards study, Hospital continonly 25 perued to appear in cent of hospital local media until board members at least the 1980s. throughout the The hospital’s nation are womnursing school en. That wasn’t opened in 1899 the case for much and didn’t adopt of KSB’s history. the KSB name unIts first board til 50 years later, consisted of Mary in 1949.

KSB Hospital | 1898 Noble (who was At the beginFROM THE BOOK, “A CENTURY OF SERVICE: 100 YEARS elected as its first ning, 15 doctors AT KATHERINE SHAW BETHEA HOSPITAL” president), Anna were affiliated Geisenheimer, Sarah Brubaker, Elizabeth with the hospital, including nonresident phy“Lizzie” Shaw, Delia Watson, Susan Smith, sicians (they were eventually banned in 1901).

Kittie Findley, Nellie McMartin and Louise One of its early doctors, Dr. E.S. Murphy, had Cummins. The first male, Don Lovett, wasn’t an entire floor dedicated to just his patients, appointed until 1972. with his own pharmacy and telephone line — advantages that other doctors did not have at KSB cont’d to page 38

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KSB Hospital | 1942 FROM THE BOOK, “A CENTURY OF SERVICE: 100 YEARS AT KATHERINE SHAW BETHEA HOSPITAL”

KSB cont’d from page 39

MORE INFO ONLINE

ksbhospital.com, or find it on Facebook, Twitter (@KSBHospital) or Instagram (@ksb_hospital)

KSB LOCATIONS Amboy

305 E. Joe Drive | 815-857-3044

Ashton 320 N. First St. | 815-453-1212

Dixon Commerce Towers 215 E. First St. | 815-288-5531 KSB Hospital 403 E. First St. | 815-288-5531 Lawless Vision & Eye Center 511 Palmyra St. | 815-284-2020 Pediatric center at Edwards Clinic 144 N. Court St. | 815-285-KIDS (5437) Physical Therapy 1672 S. Galena Ave. | 815-285-5591 Physicians Immediate Care 1672 S. Galena Ave. | 815-564-2663 Town Square Center 102 S Hennepin Ave. | 815-288-7711

Oregon 1307 W Washington St., Suite 145 815-732-3151 Specialty Center 1307 W. Washington St. | 815-285-7840

Polo

Many of the hospital’s first chief overseers, then called the superintendent, were also women. The position saw a revolving door of people in the role, especially in its first 25 years, who had disagreements with board members. Agnes Florence would finally bring some stability to the position. An alumna of KSB’s nursing school, she served from 1936 to 1972, when she retired.

Early on, superintendents were hands-on: They reviewed each patient’s condition, coordinated prescriptions and had more contact with physicians. With advances in medical care, expansions and an increasing number of people to oversee, the leadership structure evolved through the years.

Today KSB is overseen by a CEO, David Schreiner.

During Florence’s 36 years in charge, the hospital changed both its interior and exterior looks drastically. She also oversaw a move to embrace the latest in medical research and practices. She helped guide the hospital through tough times: nursing shortages, economic struggles, even a pandemic. When she graduated from nursing school in 1922, America was recovering from a nursing shortage brought on by World War I. The Great Depression and New Deal reforms came and went before another stateside nursing shortage occurred during World War II and the Korean War. The 1957 Asian Flu pandemic — considered to have been the most serious one before COVID — was another challenge Florence guided her staff through.

It didn’t take long for the hospital to start growing and a bequest in 1913 from Katherine’s sister, Elizabeth, helped lay the groundwork. Expansions to the hospital complex occurred first in 1915, and it nearly doubled in size when the Louella Parsons Children’s Wing opened in 1941. The addition was named after the Dixon native and famous newspaper entertainment critic, who was on hand for the dedication ceremony as part of the city’s Louella Parsons Day celebration from Sept. 15-16. The wing is the oldest part of the complex; its northern exterior clearly contrasts with the additions to the west when seen from River Drive.

In 1925, the Nurses Home, providing housing for 25 nurses, was built at a cost of $38,000. Another addition was built in 1926 at a cost of $47,000, enlarging the hospital to a 60-bed capacity and adding two solaria for the comfort and enjoyment of patients.

Another expansion was done in 1960, and over the next 40 years the complex continued to grow, expanding further west and south to its current edges of Crawford Avenue, Third Street, Brinton Avenue and River Drive. Notable additions included a round-the-clock emergency room in 1971, the Medical Arts Clinic and an intensive care unit in 1972, a psychiatric unit in 1978 and a new and updated emergency room in 1988.

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1107 S. Division Ave. | 815-946-3453

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KSB cont’d from page 38 The nursing school became one of KSB’s rare casualties in the 1960s. Despite being one of the state’s last hospital-affiliated schools in a city of its size, enrollment dwindled to a point where it couldn’t maintain itself. When Sauk Valley Community College opened in 1965, and established its own nursing program the following year, KSB referred all new applicants to the college and graduated its last students in March 1967.

In addition to doctors, administrators and support staff, KSB also has numerous volunteers who give their time to assuring it is viable in the community through an auxiliary program, the Hospital Service Club. The auxiliary began in 1939 and has more than 100 active volunteers who assist patients, staff and visitors to the hospital either a couple of times a week or a couple of times a month, living up to a KSB motto: “It’s the people.”

Today, KSB is the oldest hospital in northwest Illinois, older than those in Rockford (OSF St. Anthony, 1899), Freeport (1902), Princeton and Spring Valley (both 1903), Sterling (1909), Sycamore (1912) and Rochelle (1913). It also is among the oldest ones in all of Illinois outside the state’s major cities. In addition, the hospital complex has remained at the same spot for its entirety, despite proposals to move it to the edge of town in the 1950s.

That longevity and commitment to quality care has helped the health care hub remain a part of the city’s landscape for more than a century, and it should continue to serve KSB well — now, and in the future. n

KSB Hospital | Today CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

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