:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/sandbox.shawmedia/3IZLIRJ7CY3XDL2AGSKVXV65UY.jpg)
1920 – 100 YEARS AGO
Work of experimenting on the various grades of wheat that will make the best flour is now being done by E. B. Root, who has charge of the Soil Improvement flour mill. The mill is in good running order and for the past few days all that has been done by the men is to try out the various grades of flour. As soon as the combination making the best flour is found, the work of producing for the public will be started.
A new idea for this city in the way of painting has been under way by the workmen of the American Steel & Wire Company for the past few days and that is after the repainting of the building the men have started in to stripe the mortar with white paint giving the buildings the appearance of being newly built. The fresh white against the red looks fine and as soon as the “red shop” is refinished, it is said work on the others is to start.
With the opening of the prairie chicken season yesterday, a large number of the hunters from this city were out and most of them report having bagged at least one of the elusive birds. The hunters who are strong for this sport had better keep right at it from now until next Sunday as the season is again closed after this day. Men should also remember that if more than three of the birds are shot in one day they are liable to arrest and fine or both.
Work on the widening of the Glidden Road intersection started yesterday and the workmen have been busy most of today tearing down the concrete work preparatory to widening. It was not expected that the work would be able to start so quickly but due to the fact that men and materials were on hand this was possible.
Work on the DeKalb County Tuberculosis Sanitarium is almost at a standstill at the present time because of delays in the shipment of piping used in the waterlines. This has been on the road for some time and was due to arrive here some days ago. This work is about all that is left to be done on the building outside of very little work on the inside. It is expected that the place will be ready for patients the first of next month.
1945 – 75 YEARS AGO
The Sycamore Police Department might have to increase its territorial range. Police reveal that a call came in a few nights ago from New Lebanon, northeast of the city calling for help from Halloween trouble makers. Sycamore officers referred the complaint to the sheriff. Later it was learned that three small boys and a girl had a grudge against some residents in that area. They proceeded to carry out some revenge work by plastering windows and outside walls with vile phraseology. They used molten wax to do the dirty scribbling. Some of the words used by the youngsters were unprintable and indicated that they had a fair knowledge of filth. The four were turned over to their parents for punishment.
Gene Bastian of Hinckley’s White Rex Rabbit exhibited at the table show of the Kishwaukee Rabbit and Cavy Breeders Association in DeKalb was judged the best of the breed. The show attracted 36 exhibitors with 330 entries and was one of the largest one-day shows held this year. Gene was awarded a trophy.
A group of civic minded citizens, including a number of interested band members, have held a couple of meetings to discuss the possibilities of the construction of a band shell as a war memorial. Both of these meetings have been well attended with the plans being discussed at length. Early in November another session will be held at which time various civic groups and the public in general will be invited to attend. At this time a full discussion will be held on the proposed plan as well as on the various possibilities for developing such a plan. The type of shell, location of the shell and the possibilities of financing such a project will also be discussed at length.
Everyone by this time has seen workmen pouring tar on paving seams. Many people are asking why. It is to protect the paving against the ravages of winter. Sycamore’s chief of public works, Fred Foster, and his crew are doing the job. The idea being to seal the cracks and seams in the paving against moisture. When the weather turns to genuine cold and freezing becomes harder, if moisture gets into cracks or under paving, it causes expansion when zero weather reached down.
1970 – 50 YEARS AGO
While the weather has been holding up well, construction has been progressing fine on Kishwaukee College’s permanent campus.
It’s inevitable. It’s contagious. Pumpkin fever once again will engulf the Sycamore area as it has in the past eight years. First signs of the fever appear each year when the last weekend before Halloween rolls around, large orange dots start to scatter across the Courthouse lawn. They’re pumpkins, of course, and the occasion is the kickoff of the ninth annual Sycamore Pumpkin Festival.
Work on the senior citizens high rise building located near the Sycamore municipal building is almost complete. It will be ready for occupancy next week. The building has five floors of which will be used for housing the elderly. There are 75 apartments.
Investigators in the case concerning the death of 21-year-old NIU coed Donna Doll this morning report no new developments since their statement yesterday that they have an “unnamed prime suspect” but have issued no warrants.
The Sycamore Library Board yesterday afternoon heard a report from Allen, Patton & Associates Architectural Firm of Chicago on the possible remodeling or adding on to the library. Representatives of the firm told board members that the current library space available is not sufficient for a community the size of Sycamore. Regarding the long range view for the library it was noted that the property to the east of the current building is available.
1995 – 25 YEARS AGO
City Attorney Peter Smith of Sycamore seized an opportunity at last night’s school board candidate forum to address an issue likely to be on next April’s ballot, the city’s movement toward home rule. Municipalities with a population of 25,000 or more automatically receive home-rule authority. Smaller municipalities, such as Sycamore, must gain the same powers through referendum.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has approved GTE’s plan to begin the cleanup of its chemical spill in Genoa. GTE’s environmental consultants met with IEPA officials and received approval for the first phase of the effort to clear up the chemical Trichloroethene (TCE) that leaked from an underground, chemical storage facility. The storage facility, now a parking lot, is located at the northwest corner of First and Deval streets. The facility was originally built in 1942 and never had a solid floor, only limestone that does not meet the four concrete walls. Now filled with dirt, the facility once stored TCE, a solvent primarily used by manufacturers to clean metal.
– Compiled by Sue Breese