BlairAndCernyFamilie..

GIFT C.i. LIFE
liiot much from this great world I ask
Beyond the strength to do mY trisk.
It is enough that I maY be
On }iand to see a blossoming tree
.rtnd hear a songbird, now and then,
S inging hi s hYrnns of i oY t o rnen.
Let fiIe be one whose cuurdge springs
From aII the countless Iittle things
Of joy and beautY vvhj-ch abound
;iherever r[an nay Iook around.
Let nie exult in Pedce or strife
That I have had the gift of ]1fe.

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/ all his blessings, health, physical
igencep and leave me but one gi ft, I
' with faith-- in Him, In His goodness,
belief in everlasting lifee I believe
of my other gi fts and sti I I be content
rving all to His inscrutable providence.
The span of any life is short and all the days and hours are so
precious. I hope I will have the strength to bear the inevitable
difficulties and disappointments and griefs of life and am able to
bear thgn with dignity and without self-pity. t{e all know that
suffering befalls everyone, and that although one may seern to have
been singled out for special sorrows that is not really so; that
worse things have happened many times to otherse and that it is
not tears but determination that makes pain bearable.
It is a strange aspect of human nature -- ot perhaps a saving
grace -- w€ tend to'o

FORE}'ORD
I, Rosemary Anne Blair have always wanted to corpile a book
with knowledgee facts and necrologies of the Blair and Cerny
fenilies and for many years I maintained a scrap book of my
oun and this was nbst beneficial to me for the assemblage of
this book. Also., checking with old ledgers, many articles
from neurspapers, dates in the cerneteries and many trips to
the state archives have helped inmensely and without this
assistance my own efforts r.rould have been fruitless.
The renerred acquaintence of the Cerny family in Anna and
Cobdin, Illinois that I have visited for the past several
years has been most rewarding. I try to visit with then
every year or so and it is such a pleasure to be with thgn.
I had not seen some of these hospi tabl ee corpetentl and
friendly cousins of nry nother for so many years.
I have no knowledge of the ancestry or lineal descent of the
Cerny family other than they inmigrated from Germany. I do
not remgnber our grandfather, Anthony Cerny or our grandrother,
lhry Cerny. The Blair fsnily inmigrated from Ireland
to Anerica. I do not renernber our grandmother, Frances Blair
but I well rernember our grandfather, Patrick Blair who w*ld
come out to the farm in the sunmer and he rrould help our father
with different kinds of carperrter work like reinforcing the corn
crib where ear corn was stored.
I can only conceive the hardships and sacrifices our forefathers
endured when they came to America, settled and made a
home and livelihood for thenrselves r'n a strange land especial ly
when many of them were suffering frorn famine and yel low fever.
The olden days mrst have been a rpnderful age and era to live
in even with its austeritr'es and the many hardships. The people
were somqhat uneducated but cornpn sense was used plus all the
inhibitions learned frqn their childhood and the understandings
of what they had already endured.
It has been a great fulfillment and rnost rewarding on my part
to have written this book. Rerniniscing is present in alI of us
even though many mernbers of our fanily have departed this earth.
we all can be accused of being great procrastinators at one time
or another in our lives and therefore we should consider our
lives and all of our undertakings have been rnost auspicious
only with the help of God.

A great sense of conplacency was derived by me to
have been able to make this book as authentic,
interesting and uniquely informative as possible.
Hany of my friends and relatives were contacted
for the preparation of this book and I am mos"t
grateful for their assistance and to all of thgn
who witlingly cooperated so effectively and so
prompt I y.
The necessary information received by me on the
Blair fgnily and'their descendants and also the
Cerny fsnily would have been impossible for me
to accotplish without the help of the people
listed below.
Thomas Norbert Cerny
Catherine Cerny Gibbs
Margaret Harvey
Agnes McDernott
Honore Hclfurry
Robert ltlcNabb
Joseph l'loss
Herschel Pri tchett
Ri chard ll. Eckhart
Alvena Devlin Reiser
Vincent Shea
Betty Ann Blair Werner
Thomas D. Wi tt
Ursuline Sisters

BLAIR

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PATRICK E FRANCES BLACKBURN BLAIR
Patrick Blair, our grandfather was born in the year 18J0. He
cane as an inmigrant to America at an early age from County
Antrim in Northern Ireland near Belfast with his parents, John
and l{ary Blair along with hfs brothers, Edward and John and his
sisters Catherine, f'laria and Annie. Thei r boat landed in Glen
Cove, New York. Ssne of thenr must have worked on the boat on
their way over to Fmerica to earn what little money they could.
They all lived there for a while and Patrick worked for the railroad
and any other available kind of work he could find and have
the capability and strength to do the uork. Hany of these poor
people were suffering from famine and it must have been an extrerne
hardship on all of thern.
He married Frances Blackburn in 1879. He bought farm land in Hacon
county for $35.00 an acre and they lived and farmed there for many
years. They had six children, Hayne, John Thomasl Kathryn and Ella.
Trro daughters died in infancy.
In l8l8 Patrick Blair served as road cormissioner for many years. He
was a diligent and industrious hard worker and always uould keep busy
at one thing or another. One day he was trinming a row of hedge on the
farm and by accident got a hedge thorn in one of his eyes. The doctor
had to r€rnove the eye and after that he always wore a glass eye.
Our grandfatherr Patrick was a person with keen foresight and he had a
most amiable disposition as well as being kindhearted. He had the
ability to see and understand clearly the inner nature of things. His
fortitude of courage and strength of character could never be surpassed
and most of all his perseverance was unequalled. His trait of kindness
and generosity was due to his qualities of being a man of good nature.

In l!08 the firm idea existed within himself to quit farming
and rellsys himself of the hard and heavy work on the farme
and in 1909 he and his family retired frorn farming and moved
to Springflelde Illlnois and they made their home at 309 f{est
Edwards street. The home farm was rented to l,lr and Hrs Frank H.
l{elch and they farmed the land. He also o*'ned another farm that
consisted of 100 acres. It was located west of Illiopolis and
was rented and farmed by Hr and Hrs Payne.
Hany years after the family nnved to Springfieldl Illinois he
was hit by an automobile at Sixth and Jefferson streets at ten
orclock in the morning. The car that hit him was driven by
Fred Shuster, manager of the Illinois Dairy Conpany. He had a
broken left leg below the knee and suffered a number of other
bruises. This accident happened in 1924.
Fh ouned and drove a Graham Paige automobile. This was a touring
car and many trips were made to Illiopolis to oversee the farms.
In the later years of his life his daughter, Hayme would always
do the driving. These trips were uaually made on the Fourth of
July and in the early fall of the year but never in the winter.
In 1928 he deeded the farm horne place of 140 acres to his son,
John Thomas Blair, the Payne farh as it was called to his
daughterr Hayme Blair and the residence in Springfield to his
daughter, Kathryn Bl ai r l.loss.
Grandfather Blair died Novenber 4, 1935 at his horne in Springfi'eld.
He had been to early Mass at 6:J0 A.H. at St. Agnes church and
walked home and rested for a fen minutes nfiile his daughterl Hayme
prepared his breakfast. He died suddenly of a heart attack.
He surely was a courag@us and fearless person and his thought
mlst have been that genius does wtrat it must and talent does what
it can since he had the hindsight to know nhere he had been, the
foresight to know where he was going and the insight to know when
he had gone far enough.

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PATRICK BLAIR
THE IRISH BLESSING
lhy the road rise up to meet You.
l4ay the wind be always at your back.
l'lay the sun shi ne warm uPon your face.
l4ay the rains fall soft upon your fields.
and until we meet again,
l'lay God hold you in the palm of his hand.
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Only a brief and short synopsis can be written about our grandnrcthere
Frances Blackburn Blair. Infonnation from old relords
show she was born ln Logan county in 186Z and was 17 years old
when she and our grandfather were married. None of hlr grandchildren
really ever knen her.
Grandnother Blar'r suffered fronr asthma for many years. she and
her daughtersl-either Hayme or Kathryn made mairy-trips to Denver,
colorado as well as to the Hunter llineral sprinls in'Kramer,
lndiana nfiere she took Hfneral mrd baths and sait water batirs for
her health as well as for pleasure. she also went to Arizona
many times because of the dry climate.
rn the year ltl0, grandfather and grandnother Blair were not
affluent or well-to-do people but a great amount of money was
spent on these trips. Patrick Blalr atways renained at homel
he never took tr.ips or vacatfons.
0n June lJ, 1905 their youngest daughter, Ella graduated frorn the
ursuline convent in sprlngfield. For a short time she rrcrked in
Chicago at Handel Brothcrs department store which today is Wieboldtrs
store. she becane ill on a wednesday and had surgery on a Thursday
for r'elief frorn appendicitis and died at 10:45 Saluriay evening,
June ll, l9l0 at st, Johnrr tlospital. The family maintained that the
doctor, Dr. Prince was inebriated at the time of the surgery and she
bled to death. She was only 22 years old.
Ella Blair was a glrl with a most lovable dispositfon and her father
rtrhen speaklng of her safd: ItI never made a special favorite out of
any ofnry childrene but Ella was so jovial and full of fun that I
could not help naking her nr| pet.rl
The funeral was held at 8:J0 ln the morning frorn the residence and
at 9 olclock from st. Agnes catholic church. Rev. Father Howard,
pastor of the church and the Rev. Father Daw, pastor of the catholic
church at rlliopolis officiated. A special car on the Illinois
Traction system conveyed the renrains and relatives and friends to
Illiopolis wtrere burlal was made in Calvary cenetery.
Grandnother Blair was not a physically strong person but wlth
astlrna, a chronic disease she always had difficulty r'n breathing
and a feeling of suffocation.
She had three brothers, llatthew J, Richard H and William J.
She
had four sisterse ltargaret Day, llary btitt, Catherine and Ella.
she died April l, 1920 at her residence in Springfield at the age
of 58 years. At the time of her death there was a violent snow
storm with a strong wind and extreirely cold. she died on Thursday
and the next Sunday was Easter sunday. The fanily knew that the

lreather was lntolerable and they asked for permission and sanction
frqn the church to have the funeral llass on Easter Sunday.
Services were held on Easter Sunday at St. Agnes church at the
12 orclock l,lass at roono Father lbnard offfciated. The corpse
was then brought to Illlopolis in a special car over the Illinois
Traction Systein for burial at Calvary cenetery where Rev. Thomas F.
licGrathr the prlest at the Church of the Uisitation had charge of
the burlal rites.
Grandnother 8lairIs eight nephans were the palIbearers.
Charles L. Blair
John F. Blair
Patrick Day
Frank Devlin
Dr. Hugh HcDermott
Arthur llcGee
Andy F. l,lcGee
Anbrose Ui tt

EDWARD BLAIR
Edward Blair was a brother to our grandfather, Patrick Blair.
He was born in Ireland in 1847. He cdne as an inmigrant to
Anerica at the age of 18 years old from County Antrim in
Ireland with his parents, John and Hary Blair and his sisters
and brothers.
The fanily settled in Sanganon county wtrere he received his
final naturalization papers on October 20, 1868. He appeared
before the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Sangamon county,
State of Illinois and declared on oath that it was bona fide
his intention to become a citizen of the Ljnited States and to
renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any Foreign
Princee Potentate, State of Sovereignty whatsoever and
particularly to the Queen of Great Britain and lreland. A
Oepartnrent of State passport was issued to him on October 20,
1868 at t{ashington, D.C.
He was engaged in farming. He sold his 100 acre farm which
was located about four miles northwest of Niantic, Illinois
in 1933 to Dr. William Lahners of Decatur, Illinois.
At this
time the farm was uninrproved as to bui ldings. Dr. Lahners
bought the farm as an investment. Edward retired and moved
to 321 W. Hain street at Decatur, Illinois. He never married.
He faithfully attended Sunday and weekday Masses at St.
Patrickrs Catholic church in Decatur and he greatly adnired
and respected the parish priest, Father Jererniah i'lurphy.
He was fatally injured on his way to an early weekday Hass
at St. Patrickrs church. This particular morning there was
a heavy rain. He was struck down at the corner of Prairie
and Church streets in Decatur by a Polar Ice Company truck.
His chest was crushed, though it was not generally believed
that the truck passed over his body. He had many broken ribs
as well as numerous other abrasions about his face and hands.
It was believed that he was walking with his head lowered to
avoid the pouring rain and failed to see the approaching truck.
He died October ll, 1934 at St. Haryrs hospital in Decatur at
the age of 87 years.

JOHN E ROSIE HcGEE BLAIR
John Blair was a brother to our grandfather, Patrick Blair.
John Blair married Rosie HcGee and they lived on a farm
north of Illiopolis, Illinois for many years and they were
farmers all of their life.
This family had eight children, Edwardl John F, Charles,
fuidrewe l{aryr Kathryn, Margaret and Hannah.
Charl es marri ed Tess Carter.
Hannah married Joseph Henebry.
John F married Anna Agnes Nollen.
The rest of the fanily never married
John F, and Anna had tt^ro chi ldren, Betty Ann Btair I'lerner
and John Joseph. John J. married Oorothy Kane in 1957 and
they had four children. Susan Blair Westfall, John J. (Jay)
Andrew T. and }lary Alison who is deceased.
John Joseph and his wife were passengers in an automobile
driven by George Erdman when their car was hit and it
collided with a truck south of Springfield, Illinois. The
accident happened on June 25, 1982 and John died from his
injuries on June 10, 1982.
Johnny as I always called him was a friendly and a ver?
likeable type of person. He had a good outlook upon life
and a great prospect of the future. Catherine and myself
had a most pleasurable time whenever we were with him and
his fani ly.

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UILLIAI{ E BETTY ANN BLAIR I{ERNER
El i zabeth Ann Bl ai r marri ed !{i | | i am Eugare l{erner i n
October of 1951. They are the parents of four children.
lrilliam H Llernerr Kathleett F. Wernerl Carol Ann llerner and
lhry Beth Herner Carter.
There was little recreation while growing up on the farm
/ears agoo There was always uprk to be done around the home
or in the fields. However, we always looked foruard to goirg
to l0 orclock llass on sunday to the Blessed Virgin ltlary church
in Illiopolis, Illinois. It was nice to see John and Betty Ann
with their parents and we all upuld have a good visit after l'lass.
0f course, this was many years ago but the rernemberance still
rgnains with me.
0n a Sunday afternoon in the sunmer our father upuld say we are
all going for a ride and we would go to see his uncle John and
aunt Rosie r*rich was very enjoyable. Hary and Kathryn would
treat us to cold lernonade and cake and cookies.
Betty Ann has been most giving and afforded me with a lot of
help which enabled me with the compilation of this book.
l{e al I feel very fortunate and happy to have Betty Ann as
our cousin.

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I,IAYME BLAIR
Our aunt, Hayme Blair never married and always lived
at home with her parents. She was the type of person
that never displayed any affection toward us. She had
the quality of being very clandestine and withdrawn
when it came to the Blair nieces and nephews. Howeverl
she was very generous and open-handed when it involved
her sisterrs children, the Hoss nephews. She bought a
lot of expensive gifts for them when they were too
young to appreciate thenr and she continually gave them
nxrney whenever they wanted it and they could buy anything
they desired regardless of the cost.
Her father, Patrick Blair was the exact opposil" e6 his
daughter and was always very supportive and helpful to
both our father and mother.
Shortly after her father died, she suggested to our fatherr
John Thomas Blai r that she might sel I the Payne farm that
she inherited frorn her father as she needed the nnney. Our
father mentioned to her he might be able to buy it but she
told him he could not afford to buy it. However, time went
on and nothing more was said about the farm. One Sunday we
all went to see her when she was living in an apartment on
North Sixth street in Springfield with the l{oss children and
she informed our father that she had sold the farm a few days
before to Doctor John Oonovan. Our father inmediately knew
that she sotd the farm at a low price in order to get the money.
This was in the year of 1936 or 1937 and the tenant farmer as
wel I as other farmers did not have the ready cash to buy a farm.
The farm was sol d for much I ess than i t was lrorth.
Maytne was a person with a very vindictive personality and she
never segned to have enough nrclney to her liking.
She was stricken with a heart attack at Sixth and Honroe
streets in Springfield and died l'larch 18, 1946 at the age of
60 years. Her brother, John Thomas Blair and the county of
Sangamon paid for her burial as she had no funds.

ARTHUR E KATHRYN BLAIR HOSS
Kathryn Blair was a happy and carefree type of pelson.
She was born in the year 18!0 on the family farm at
Illiopolis. l.lhen she was a young woman she went to
Detroit, l{ichigan and worked at many business places.
Later she decided she wanted to own and operate a
business of her own so she purchased a mi llinery shop
in the down town area of Detroit although she had no
training or experience whatsoever to proceed with such
an undertaking. Her father, Patrick Blair sent her
many cheiks and money orders to get her started in the
business. -She operated the business for several years.
Since she had no clear perception or understanding of
the business she realized the expenses were overtaking
the profits and she filed for bankruptcy and went out
of business.
Later she met Arthur l'loss who worked for the Ford |btor
plant and they were married in Detroit in 1921.
Three sons were born to this union.
James Arthur Moss Born February of 1923
Patrick Joseph ldoss Born l4arch of 1926
Joseph John Moss Born February of 1933
In 1934 Arthur |bss separated from l..athryn and the three
children. She became very frightened and petrified by
the prospect of being in Detroit with three small boys
and no funds to support thern and hersel f, Her father,
Patrick Blair ordered a moving van to bring Kathrynrs
belongings back to Springfield and she and the children
came by train. They lived for a while with her father
and her sister, |4ayme Blair at 309 West Edwards Street
in Springfield. At a later date all three children were
at the Alton Childrens Home in Alton, Illinois. They
also were in foster homes.
hlhen James Hoss was 17 years old he enlisted in the Navy
as a seaman first class serving with the fleet in the
Pacific. hltren Patrick |toss was 17 years old he enlisted
with the armed forces as a private in the air corps and
served at the Pocatel lo, Idaho base.
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After Kathryn had sold the fgni ly home that she had
inherited from her father, she then rented an apartment
in Springfield and she lived there with her chi"ldren.
In the middle l940ts Kathryn became ill. She had a lot
of emotional problerns and became very indifferent and
very unconcerned about everything that was happening to
her. She was entered into the Jacksonville State
Hospital for mental patients for a few years. However,
she was discharged frorn there since she was diagnosed
by her doctor not to be mental. She came back to Springfield
and entered the Heritage Hanor Nursing and
Convalescent Home. For many years she had suffered from
low blood pressure, andnia, as well as a chronic heart
condi ti on.
Kathryn Blafr lbss died July l0r 1973 at the age of 8J
and is buried in the family plot in Calvary Cenretery,
Il liopolis, Il linois. l4any years had passed since
Arthur lloss had seen Krthryn but he came to her funeral
in Springfield with his son Patrick who he was living
with in Toledo, Ohio and he was at her burial at
Illiopolis. Arthur. and Kathryn were never divorced and
he always kept in cbntact with his sons. .
After the funeral he went back to Toledo with his son
Patrick and Arthur died Novernber 16, 1973. He had a
sister, Sister Gertrude who is a nun in the Cloistered
Order and lives at the Honastery of the Visitation and
Arthurrs funeral was held there. He was buried in
Calvary-cemetery which is behind the Honastery.
He was 8l years old.

THE BLAIR FAHILY HOME
309 West Edward Street
Springfield, Illinois
A short time after inheriting the family horne, Catheri ne
Blair Hoss sold it to Mrs. May Lamandinof
Carlinville,
Illinois.
In 1988 the house was dernolished and to the north where
it once stood is the new Capitol ConplexVisi
tors Center.

THE BLACKBURN
FAMILY HOHE
820 South Walnut Street
Springfield, Il linois
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THE BLACKBURNS
Thomas Blackburn cane from Tipperary Ireland and
his wife, Hary Glary Blacburn csne from County Clare
Ireland. They had ten children:
Hargaret Blackburn married John Oay and they had
four children. They lived on a farm northwest of
Illiopolis. Sorne years later the family roved to
Chicagos Illinois. She met her untimely death in
1916. She was in a clothes closet in her apartmerrt
looking for some forgotten addresses of friends
when her clothes caught fire from a lighted candle
urhich she was carrying and before help arrived she
sustained severe burns which caused her death.
Thomas L. Day was married but had no children. He
was a policeiran in Chicagor Illinois.
Patrick Day was never married.
Joe Day was married and divorced with no children"
Richard (Dick) Day was married and lived in Oetroit,
l'tichigan. They had three children, Richard H. Day Jr.
Ani ta Jr. and Doctor Frank Oay.
Frances Blackburn married Patrick Blair in 1897 and
they had five chi ldren:
Hayme Blair who was never married.
Anne Blair died in infancy.
El b Bl ai r who was never marri ed.
John Thomas Blair married Theresa Cerny and they
had six children.
Kathryn Blair married Arthur itloss and had three sons.
Thomas Blackburn Jr. died at two years of age.
Elizabeth Blackburn died at two years of age.
lhtthew Blackburn never married. 0ied in Chicago.

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Catherine Clotilda Blackburn was born in 1873 and died
in 1927. She was never married. She died in Springfielde
Illinois and buried at Illiopolis, Illinois.
Hilliam James Blackburn was born in 1875 and died in Septeirber
of 1917. He was never married. He died at 42 years of age as
the result of a fiery autornobile accident on a country road in
Hacon county. He had made a trip to Nianticr Illinois to
purchase some nails needed by carpenters building a corn crib
on the Blackburn farm. About trrro miles north of Niantic he
seen a man riding a bicycle and he turned his car too far to
one side of the road, and his automobfle completely overturned.
His shoulders were caught beneath the back of the front seat.
His death was believed to have been instantan@uso He is
buried in Calvary csnetery in Il liopolisr Il linois.
Itary Hartha Btackburn was born July 5r l87t and in Apri I of 1894
she married Joseph Witt and they had two sons:
Anbrose Joseph l{itt
Thomas Donald }litt
They were divorced in l9l4 at Lincoln, Illinois in Logan county.
Richard Hichael Blackburn was born in 1865 and died 0ctober 24,
1934. He died in Springfield, Illinois and is buried at
Illiopolis, Illinois. He was never married.
Ella Hary Blackburn was born in 1869 and died January 7r 1953.
She was never married. She died in Springfield and is buried
at Illiopolis, Illinois.
Richard (Dick)r Catherine (Kitty) and Ella Blackburn resided
at 820 South llalnut Street in Springfieldr IIIinois. Dick wore
a large nrby ring which was quite old and when he died his sister
Ella put the ring in his coat pocket and it was buried with him.
Their neighbors, Elmer and Elizabeth Baum were very close friends
to the Blackburns. Elmer Bar.un owned and operated the Baun
Honr.unent Company and al I thei r tmnuments were purchased from him.
Dick Bfackburn died in 1934. The early part of 1935 Ambrose Witt
came to $ringfield and visited with his aunt Ella and he asked
her about Dickrs ring and she said she had the ring buried with him"
Ambrose rernarked that he r,vould have liked to have the ring" In a
short time Ella contacted Elmer Baum and had the body exhumed and
gave the ring to Ambrose. Ellars will named Elizabeth Bam as
Lxecutrr'x of the Blackburn estate and on Hay 2e 1953 the 180 acre
farm was sold in Hacon county. John Thornas Blair bought the farm.

THOI'iAS DONALD & HELEN WITT
Thomas l{ittrs parents were Joseph and llary Blackburn l{itt.
l{y fatherrs mother was Frances Btackburn Blair and Tom and
my father were first cousins. Tomrs grandparents were
Thomas and l,lary Clary Blackburn fron Tipperary and County
Clarel Ireland.
Tomrs parents married in April of 1894 and they had tuo sons,
lmbrose Joseph and Thomas Donald. Tqn was born July 19, 1904.
Their parents divorced on llarch 9, l9t4 when the boys were
young 'children. However, their m6thlr always maintiined a
home for thenr in l{ount Pulaski, Illinois where they lived and
attended school.
Tom attended the University of Illinois and at the same time
rrorked as a shoe salesman and night hotel desk clerk to help
pay his expenses wtrile attending school.
He norked for the Mid-Continent 0il Conpany before he was
enployed by Phillips Petroleum Co at Des ltoines, Ioura. In
l93l he was transferred to the newly opened 0ivision of
Phillips in Onaha, Nebraska.
Septenrber 14, 1935 Tonr married
Nebraska where they made thei r
and thoughtful person and very
Helen Anna Tonjes at Pender,
home. Helen is a very likeable
i ntel I ecti ve.
Tonr rrcrked in the Omaha Division in various capacities unti I
Septenrber of 1943 when he purchased a petroleum jobbership in
Pender, Nebraska. He bought a business of Heyne 0il Co. and
in 1946 he added an autorpbile agency selling Pontiacs,
Buicks and GHC trucks. The business was sold in l'lay of 1965.
lf,tile in the oil businesse he was an active menrber of the
Nebraska Petroleum ltlarketers as well as the National Petroleum
ilarketers. He was on the board of directors of the state
association for 6 years and president of it in 1956.
In 1967 he secured his Real Estate Broker and Appraiser
licenses. He was a mernber of the Lewis and Clark Board of
Realtors and served as Treasurer, Secretary, PAC Chairman
and President.

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He graduated from the Nebraska Graduate Realtorrs Institute.
He was named Dean i n 1976 and he served on the Board of
Governors of the institute for 6 years.
He was an accredi ted menrber of the Real tors Land Insti tute
of the National Realtors association and was voted Reartor
of the year in 1980 by the Nebraska Chapter.
He was a very active person and performed many civic duties
at Pender, l'lebraska.
l0 years as vol unteer fi renran
Four terms on town counci I
2 terms as Hayor
Active in Chamber of Conmerce
Four years as chairman of library board
3 years as secretary and 2 years as
chai rman on the Hospi tal Board
Active and diligent member of st. Johnrs cathoric church.
I held a great esteern and felt very honored to have been a
second cousin to Tom. He accomplished and achieved so very
rnrch during his Iifetime. It was always a pleasure trip to
Nebraska when we visited with Tom and his wife, Helen.
Thomas Donal d l.ri tt di ed Jul y 4, 1986.
Tom & Hel en l.ti tt

A}IBROSE E ilARTHA WITT
Anbrose and Tom l{itt were the sons of Joseph Leo and
lfary Blackburn hfitt. Anbrose was born July 281 1899.
Thel r fathere Joe lli tt farmed for a fen years and
lived alone on a farm located between Hount Pulaski
and Illiopolis before he was married. He was born
l{arch ll, l87l in Hacon County in Illinois and was
the son of Robert and Hary Ann Kirby l{itt.
Fmbrose Joseph llitt attended Illinois Teachers College
i n Normal, Il I i noi s. He cornpl eted hi s l0 years asa
school teacher as well as being a land owner and al so
engaged in fanning for many years.
July 10, 1942 he was married to Martha Schaefer at
Clayton, Hissouri. llartha was born Septeirber l, l9O5
and was the daughter of Saruel and Susie Deahl Schaefer
of Piasae Illinois.
Anbrose and H,artha had one daughter, llary Sue who was
born April 10, 1943 in Alton, Illlnois.
Anbrose and Tonrrs parents were divorced l,larch l, l9l4
and their father, Joseph Leo Hitt married a second time.
His second wife was lda Belle Baker and they resided at
Decatur, Illinois. A son, Robert lJitt was born to thgn
on January 22, l9ZZ at Decatur, Illinois.
ifary Blackburn l{ltt died }larch 23r 1941
Joseph Leo Witt died llarch 2J, l95l
Ambrose Joseph t{itt died Decenrber 3t 1969
l|artha lJitt has moved fron her home in l,lount Pulaskil
Illinois and is residing at the Oak Terrace Retirenent
tlome in Springfield, Illinois.
)

THE OIOEA FAI,IILY
The name OrDea was the original spelling of their
ndne as this fenily came to the United States frqn
County Cork, Ireland in the year of 1815. In this
family were three brothers. Thonrase Dennis, John and
one sisterr Hargaret. They cane as inmigrants with
their parents and the children were only eight and
ten years old.
After they becane settled in this country and grew
older they all norked at any job they could find. They
all purchased farm land which cost fronr $15.00 to $Z5.OO
an acre. All of this land was located in the Elkhart and
Lincoln area of Illinois. They cleared the land of hedges,
stumps and trees and built their one and trro room homes.
They began farming with horses and walking plows but as
time went on they bought plows which had seats and this
saved a lot of walking. As their families enlarged they
added more rooms to their original homes and all of the
building was done by thenrselves. Some mernbers of this
family began spelling their nane as Dea, 0rDea and a fevr
used Oay. They were first, second, third and fourth cousins
to the Bl ackburn rs, Bl ai rs and l{i tts
Thomas Day married Hargaret Ryan. They lived on
a farm at Elkhart and had no children. Thomas Dayrs
tombstone in Calvary cernetery in Springfield, Illinois
is the name 0rDea.
Dennis was married at an early age to l,largaret Cullen
ufto also was born in County Cork, Ireland. They were
the parents of four children" Several years after the
death of his first wifee Dennis married l'lary Thornton
uito also was born in County Cork, Ireland. She was 33
years younger than Dennis and to this union seven
children were born. Dennis was a farmer all of his life
and farmed at El khart, Il I i noi S. Hr's chi I dren f rcn the
second family were t{illisn, John, Thonase Patrick.
Catherine, ltlargaret and Agnes never married and they all
lived together at 528 Haple Street in Lincoln, Illinois.
Catherine died in 1970. ltlargaret worked for Armourrs
lleat Packing Canpany as a bookkeeper for many years. She
died in 1973. Agnes taught school for many years in the
city and rural schools in Lincoln. I visited with Agnes
at her home on l'larch p, 1974. She was a great person
and furnished me with a lot of data for this book. She
died in 1976.

tfilliam oea resided and uprked in Anesr.rorthr lowa.
He died on ilarch 6, 1973.
John Dea lives at Elkhart, Illinois and elployed
by the Illinois Central Railroad
Thomas Dea is a large van truck driver and resides
in DavenPortr fowa.
Patrick Dea is a large van truck driver and resides
Uincoln, Illinois. Thornas and Patrick Dea are
"i ttvi ns.
The second family of Dennis Dea always spelled their
name Dea.
frvo Tstes of T.eprerfrnws
htdsd,byMary McGrrlry
t9dB t,€-.td8 t Q-.ss t3e-.t{e r;Q+
fiE fqftil.tautL ts tit. ofisan rf dt f"ry fuilg{otu He a6 as +silor,
sfrn+nnls, stnirtor aacihti[ds to tlwefupoplulot afwtfets sest
sifrng, ,wi$. o tiny haruna h ftis ht d, Frn{ at wor|.'ott sone n&r)

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John E. & Mary Ann Devlin & fanily
The Devlinrs are cousins to the Blairrs. The Devlin and
the Blair families both came from Antrimr a county in NE
Northern Ireland. June 51 1875 John E. Devlin married
Hary Ann Drai n. l'lary Ann was ori gi na I I y f rorn Vi rgi ni a1
Illinois and they settled there and were farmers. They
were the parents of seven chi ldren.
Arthur Devlin (deceased)
John Devl i n marri ed ltlary Fi nn from Vi rgi ni a' I I I i noi s.
They were the parents of five children. Four infants
died and one daughter Alvena survived. Alvenars mother
died in childbirth and Alvena was raised by the nuns at
Sacred Heart Acadenry. Alvena married Leo l'1. Reiser and
they are the parents of three sons and one daughter.
Rosernary married Hichael Stepsner and lives in San Diegot
California, Thomas Edwardr John Robert and ftilliam Leo.
Frank Devlin married Anna Unger Novernber
25r 1925 at
St. Agnes church in Springfieldr Il linois. They were
the parents of ttrc daughters, l'lary Hargaret and Catherine
Ann. Catherine Ann is Sister Jonette in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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|{illian Oevlin married Rose Hade and are the paretrts
of four children. John Hade, l{ary catherinel Rosaleen
and Helen.
Harry Oevlin married Frances Sehy and they are the
p"t*t. of six chi ldren. Vincent, Donald, Mary Louiser
Josephl Jailes and Rita.
Lee Devlin married Frances Plurnner. They are the-parents
of five children. Leo, Sue.Elizabeth, l{ary Annt James
Pstrick and Margaret (PeggY).
Margaret Devlin married Martin l.lahoney_and the are the
p"t-"ntt of fi ve chi I dren. Josephi ne, G I ennon, Ni tar
'Frances
and John Hartin.
Reiser - 50th
- Mr. and Mrs. Leo M. Reiser, 868
.: Roanoke Drive, will celebrate their
i 50th wedding anniversary with an
I J".open house hPld hosted by their chil.
;-:dren from 3 to 9 p.m. July 2 at the
I i'Knights of Columbus Hall in Petersi
i burg. Family and friends are invited.
i i, Reiser and the former Mary Al-
I i.vena Devlin were-married June 14,
r,1938 by the Rev. D.J. Quinn at St.
. Augustine's Church in Ashland.
3 Mr. Reiser, owner of Reiser Grain
r Co. in Greenview, has been-in the
*: feed and grain business in Sangamon,
;Mason and Menard counties. Mrs.
" Reiser taught in rural sthoots in Cass
land Sangamon counties.
!... They are the parents of four chiF
" dren, Rosemary Stepner of San
..Diego, Calif., Thomas and John. both
;) of Petersburg,
:
and William of Walnut
.:Creekt'Calif. They have li grandchil-
I dren. z'
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IRELAND
Area: 32,500 square miles
Population: 4,000,000
The island is divided into thirty-two counties, twenty.
six from the independent Republic of Eire. The remaining
six are part of the United Kingdom.
The country ls dlvlded Into four provlnces, oftan called
lreland's "Four Green Flelds,' In song and legend. Each
provlnce ls made up of several countles:
Louth Fermanagh
Meath Monagha-n
Offaly Tyroni
Westmeath
Wexford
Wlcklow
The lrish Shittetagh
has often been
the last word
in argumenE.

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Orr oother graduated from the Crack Neck grade school which was
located west of the Cerny farm and also graduated frorn the Sacred
Heart Acadeiry when she was 18 years old in the year l!00.
She rorked at the Illinois llatch Factory as a bookkeeper for
several years. Her sisterr Antofnette had several jobs and her
sister, Louise was a very talented sednstress. They lived with
their parents on the farm west of Springfield and usually walked
the three miles to the city limits which was Amos avenue and there
they r+ould ride the street car to rrork. In 1904 our mother and
her two sisters, Antoinette and Louise decided to have a house
built so they could be in torrrn all week and still go hone on the
weekend. The two-story house was built at 1042 Uest Honroe street.
The home cost $11800.00 at that time.
February ll, 1905 our father took a nr'ne month business course at
Brornrs Business College at Decatur, Illinois and graduated fron
there in Septanber. h,hile attending school he had a room in
Decatur and can hone on the weekend on the interurban. He ovned
a horse and buggy and the horse named trFlyrr was his pride and joy.
In 1909 his family roved from the farm to 309 t{est Edwards street.
and he worked for several years at Klaholtrs shoe store and also
at Siebertrs shoe store as a shoe satesman

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Mr E Mrs John Thomas Blair

Or Febnrarf 14, lgll our parents were married. Our motherrs maid
of bnor was her sister, Antoinette Cerny and our fatherrs best
trr Hirlr t{illiam Blackburn, his uncle. Rev. Father L. Hufker
pcrfionaed the wedding ceremony.
Orr mtherts wedding dress *as made by her sister, Louise Cerny.
Slre also made her going away coat wttich was a tan wool coat and
trin€d rith black. They spent their honeymoon for several days
at the l{orrison Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. After returning
fru their wedding trip they made their home at 1042 l{. Honroe
street in Springfield for about a year. 0n January 2, l9l2 their
first child, Frances ilarie was born and died on February !, 1912.
(h t{arch 8, l9l2 our pareits moved to the farm at llliopolis and
set tp housekeeping. This was a big change for the both of thern
since they were used to living in Springfield for a few yearso
Orr father took his horse and buggy with him since this was the
nin way of transportation at the time. Hith the help of some
of the neighbors, he done his first butchering of hogs during
this ronth.
Soe of the holidays and especiatly on sunday afternoon w€s spent
visiting with our fatherfs aunts and uncle, the HcDermott, l,icGee
ttd Elair fanilies. There was always food served at these homes
ild if you went in the afternoon they always treated you with pie,
cake; cookiesl iced tea or lemonade. Agnes l{cDennott was known
fior her divinity and fudge candy. There were no sport clothes
Frn on special occasions. The men r+ore suits.
In the surmertime the big entertainment was the lfoodnan Picnic in
Illiopolis and once in a while there r,rould be a free movie short'n
in the park urhich gave everybody a pf ace to go.

The year of l9l5 or 1916 our father took the interurban and went
to Indianapolis, Indiana and bought a Nathional seven Passenger
touring car. 0f course, the car had no heater but it had curtains
and a big spot light on the drivers side. It was very cold riding
in the car especially in the winter time but we managed and it
always got us to where we were goingr excePt when the roads were
thawed and muddy and i f that were the case we stayed at home. If
we needed groceries the trip was made to Illiopolis or Niantic fn
the storm rig pulled by two horses or in the farm wagon. The storm
rig was glassed in and this made it a lot warmer. It had little
su"ts in-it but it was crowded when all severr of us went to church.
These rerniniscences have teft a great inpression and recolIection
on nry part.
l./e should all enjoy our life, live our life wisely now, for the
past is gone and no one knows the future.

Our parents had six children:
Frances Harie Bfalr Deceased
Rosemary Anne Blair A.rgust 28, l9l3
Angela Blair Flam 0ctober l!, 1914
Jerome Anthony Blair Hay 12, 1916
John Vincent Blair Decenrber 27r 1917
Hel en Bl ai r 0r Bri en February | 0, l9l9
As children we all grer up on the farm in llliopolis. There
were feur conveniences if any at this time. We entertained ourselves
and made our own fun. At this time our father raised and
sold Saint Bernard dogs and each of us had our ovrn puppy unti I
they were sold. Ssne of the registered St. Bernard puppies were
sold to Royal Kennels in Napierville Quebec. The PuPPies were
shipped from Illiopolis, Illinois by express to Rauses Pointt
New York and from there started their long journey to Canada.
These dogs were always so gentle and tame with us children. All
of the dogs had a name and responded to our every conmand.
G.rr father advertised thern in the &nerican Kennel and also in the
Royal Kennel magazines.

orc of our greatest pleasures was at christmas time n*ren the
ticket €entr Andy Zold at the e\press office in Illiopolis
nrld call and say there was a package to be picked up. The
big package was always from the Cerny family, our aunts and
r.rncles *rd the package contained gifts for all of us. Every
hristmas eve each of us children r+ould write our name on a slip
of p4er and place it on, the round oak table in the dining room
ad the next nbrning we nould arise very early and find Santa Claus
had been there and had left gifts for each of us as well as orangesl
hard candy and english walnuts.
After rwiering our gifts for a rt'ttilee our rpther r.rould stuff the
turkey and put it in the coal range stove oven and we all got
dressed to go to church. Ue always went to 5 orclock lJass in the
;prning at Illiopolis even though many times it was zero weather.
After l{ass we could hardly wait to get home to the warm kitchen and
the aroma of the turkey baking in the oven was marvelous.
There was no electricity on the farm at this time. However, we did have
an aladdin larp that hung frorn the ceiling over the dining room table
and several kerosene lenps that had glass chimneys and they had to be
rashed every day. Life on the farm was much different then than it is
todaye farmsteads were usually far apart and only dirt roads. The
roads were fine in the sunmer time unless we had a big rain and that
really settled the dust. During the spring and fall seasons there
rere only buggy and wagon tracks across the prafrie, tracks that were
hub-deep rith ruts and black mrd. The roads were often blocked with
snordrifts in the winter time and often irpassable. Hany times the
only means of travel was on foot, horseback or with wagons. In the
rinter the trips to town were feur and far between. There was a srnoke
trcuse at home and the hams and bacon were cured and srpked there.
As children we looked forward to threshing time of the wheat and oats.
Olr father was with a corrnrnity organization of farmers who all joined
together and helped one another thresh their grain field. One or maybe
rcre than one farmer owned the rig which had a grain separator and an
imrense steam engine. The engine burned either coal or r+ood and when
nter was purped into its large reservoir, it formed a powerful stean
than ran the engine and turned the big belt setting the threshing
rJteels in rption.
fur mther began planning several days ahead of time for the big meal
that had to be prepared to feed all of the men. She rlould purchase
trc beef roasts weighing approximately twelve to fourteen pounds each
fron the Febus meat market in Illiopolis. The butcher always gave two
or three pounds of hot dogs free when you purchased the beef roasts.

There was tlo roasters with the meat in the oven at the ssne time
*rich would take all morning to cook. Piewas usually served at these
reals and she upuld bake four to six pies early ln the nprning so that
the oven r*ould be free for the meat.
The men would come in at noon to eatl the first table consisted of ten
to twelve men. l{hen they finfshed eating the second bunch of men cene
in to eat rvhich was the same anbunt of people. Iced tea was made and
put in a ten or fifteen gallon crockr'a twenty flve or thirty pound
dtunk of ice was broken up and added to the tea. Coffee was also
served at these meals. The neighboring women were most helpful in
assistiqg our rnother with the meal. After the meal was over, the men
rested a few minutes in the yard and then returned to the field again.
Nor it was time for the rromen and children to eat. It rould be far
after tro orclock in the afternoon before all of the dishes were
washed and put iw€/o The surmers were very hot and it was a great
relief to get out of the hot kltchen.
Orr mother was a wonderful cook and I can still rernen$er how llght
and flaky the crusts of her pies were. No one ever left the table
hungry.
The noct day was spent doing the big washing, including the linen
table cloths and napklns. At this time there vrere no paper table
cloths or paper napkins and also no paper plates.
People have said many times that the old-times was a wonderful time
to have lived but I donrt think I uould have found it that gratifying.
There are a myriad of other and easier ways to find the place or the
answer to many things. However, I do realize that today is a much
different era that we are living with all of the modern conveniences
not only in the home but with everything else.

After our parents were married they lived at 1042 West l4onroe
street with our motherrs sisterse Antoinette and Louise for
about a year. Their first daughter, Frances l'larie was born
January 2e lJl? and died on February l, 1912.
0n Harch 5, lJl2 our parents moved frorn Springfield to the
Bl ai r farm located northeast of Il I i opol i s.
Our father had to have help with the farming so he hired a man by
the name of Jack Eaton. He lived with us for a good many years.
At this time there were no combines, corn pickers or tractors.
The plowing, cultivating and the planting of crops was done rvith
horses. The wheat crop was harvested with a large steam engine
and the neighbors always helped each other with their cFopS.
Jack Eaton was a phenanenal personr rost congenial and trustful
and our parents liked him inmensely and he was always good to us
children. He was very conscientious and a hard worker and in some
of our fathers old checkbook stubs shows that he was paid only
515.00 a rpnth. Like the saying goesrrThere is many a good man to
be found under a shabby hatrr and this man was certainly of
exceptional quality and character.

I can rernenber one day a truck drove up to our hsne and the
man was selling all kinds of Raleigh products such as spices,
ointments and salves and my sister Helen was just a small child
and the man picked her up and safd she is sure a cute child and
Jack Eaton said I wouldnrt do that if I were you and about that
tfme our Saint Bernard dog rrTootsrrgrabbed the man by the arm
and would not let go until he put Helen down.
J. T. Blair coming home after planting corn.

..:i {tjrbq'
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ln the early part of 1926 our father John Thomas Blair became very
rll with severe pains in his colon and stornach. He and our mother
r*ent to our fenily doctor, Dr. Robert E Smith in Springfield and
after a thorough examination and X-rays he advised him that he had
found a large tumor on the colon and that it should be removed as
soon as possible and not wait too long to have the surgery. At the
sgne time he advised him that the operation would be serious and
::fy
cotplicated and suggested that he have it done at the Hayo
c'tinic in Rochester, Hinnesota since the doctors there were sL much
Tore experienced with this particular kfnd of surgery.
'1:
',&.

lpproxinately January 7 of 1927 he went to the l{ayo Clinic and after
a reek of many di fferent tests and X-rays the doctors then had a long
cusultation with him and advised they found a very large tumor on
the colon and they suggested that he have inmediate surgery as the
tr.Dr was fast-growing. He called our mother and wanted her to be
vith him. She called her sister, Louise Cerny Bickel urtto Llved at
Peoriae Illinois and asked if she trculd go with her to llinnesota and
she said she rould be glad to go and be with her. Orr raother then
skcd her other sister, Antoinette Cerny if she r,ould go out to the
far at Illiopolis and stay with us five children to care for us and
scc that we went to the country school every day. We were al I young
at this time atd of course she was only too glad to do this for our
rther. There was also a hired man, his name was Alvey
t9z6
Sthin a fs days after our mother and aunt Louise arrived at Rochester
dtc rajor surgery was performed on our father. The doctors renoved a
rinctcen pound tunpr fron his colon and he renrained in a very critical
cndition for many days. The surgeons were Drs trilliam and Charles H.
,frp ild 0octor Judd. However, the trmor was not malignant. l{e were
ell so thankful and God surely heard our prayers. Prayer is such an
igortant part of our lives because it is conversation with God.
Ol llanch l7th. he was dismissed from St. Haryls hospital and he came
h by train on a stretcher, as he was too weak to walk. He stayed
b E€l

'The surgeons, Ooctors tlilliam and Charles H. Hayo and Doctor Judd
aked hinn to return to the clinic sornetime during the month of June
:o be re-exarnined so that they could check on his irprovernent and
rnr he was feeling. He nent back to the clinic in June after he
ttl.ad gained considerable nrrre strength. The doctors scheduled more
$rrgery. He entered St. l{aryrs hospital and they performed
colostoffiy suqlery. This time he went to l{innesota alone. This
surgery was not as serious as the first operation and he made a
f,ast recoveF/r
?re cost for our fatherrs surgery was $71000.00 and this was a lot
of qpney in 1927 especially since the price for the croPs raised
rcre minimal at this time. Our parents paid on this great bill
faithfully for several years. One day they received a letter from
tne clinic and hospitat saying to consider the bill paid even
tnouEh there was still a balance due of several hundred dollars.
fur parents were absolutely overjoyed and our mother inmediately
rmote them a gracious thank you letter.
*en you go through the clinic and entered as a patient at the
.ro.soi tal your i ntegri ty is thoroughly checked. Thi s i s done
=r'otrgh the bank, court house and any references you gave thern.
later checking these places I guess they knew that our parents
*ere honest people but did not have a lot of money. Also, this
xas the beginning of the depression years.
: think our father was a most brave and courageous person to have
erdured all of the surgery he went through and the inconvenience
c; the colostomy. It put him in many an awkward position but he
irved with this for the rest of his lifetime.
ru died June 24, 1956 of a heart attack. He was 74 years old.
Theresa Blair in Rochester, Hinnesota in l9Z7

0n October 29t 1929t ilBLACK TUESDAY|| desceided upon
the stock market. ''The
prices col lapsed amid panic
selling. fhousands of investors were wiped out
and Americars Great Depression began.
Soon after the government had a program going then
cal led IJPA (t{orks Progress Administration) This
supplied many people with r.rork who otherwise could
not find any kind of enploymurt.
The prices for the grain raised on the farm in 1932
were very low.
Corn sofd for 31.5 cents a bushel in 1932
Oats sold for 15.7 cents a bushef in 1932
Soybeans sold for 54 cents a bushel in 1932
hltreat sold for J8 cents a bushel in 1932
Hay sold for $6.20 per ton in 1932
I! lg33 many farmers had been financially strapped
since before the infamous stock market crash of
1929. 0f course, our parents were also in this
unp I easant and di ffi cu I t si tuati on .
Our father strived and r+orked to give our nother
and us children a good and wholesome livelihood
and was always concerned about our well-being.

In 1933 our father decided to go into the business of
breeding and raising of horses and mules as well as
farming. At one time he had four stal lions on the farm.
He sold many of the horses and mules and made a good
profi t.
Horses were valued and sold for $54.00 per head in 1933lfules
were valued and sold for $60"00 per head in 1933.
fur father and some of the neighbors went together and
had many sales on the farm. At these sales they sold
horses and mules as well as cattle, hogs, chickens and
farm inplgnents.
Registered Belgian (Royal Prince)

Percheron Stal I ion
$2rooo,ooFarcer mare

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DEKO 6 OOLL

STALLIONS
White Stocking 2 License No.
I 1619. He is a chestnur sorretl with
Show when shown,
and suck; not responsibtre for accidents
i! any should occur.
'Mammoth Jack, 16 hands high,
black with white poinrs. He has siied
colts that has been sold for $100 this
winter. He gets 80 per cent mare
mules.': Terms: $10.00, colt to stand
and suck.
Money due when mares are parted with -
: . , JOFIN T. BLAIR.
Illiopolis Phon e 2012, / frt-
Hbur-k***,-:l-:.:...--- 1-...
--I
.-.
-

Orr mther, Theresa Cerny Blair was a most congenial type of
persorr and her greatest concern and feeling was for us five
drildren and our nelfare and happiness and she maintained a
good relationship with each and every one of us. If any of
us xere ill or sick she always showed us a lot of endearrent,
attention and care and insisted on us going to the
ftctor so yre bould not endure any pain or hurt. She was a
neat ad der

|tother and myself spent a lot of time praying at the chapel
in St. lhryrs Hospital. After a week of going through the
clinic, the consultation with the doctors was held on a
Saturday rnrning. They informed mother that her condition
was inoperable since the cancer had already spread into the
lymph gland and asked her to submit to a series of radium
treatments, one every day for fifteen days. They told her
that the treatments could help her if she was strong enough
to endure them but at the same time they told her that they
could make her very ill after they once took effect.
We uould have breakfast and our evening meal at the Kahler
l'lotel if ttry mother felt like eating anything *'irich was not
very often as the treatments made her so sick and weak. l{e
would go back to our rooot where we were staying and Hrs Hubbard
would bring mother a cup of hot te-a and that rrould be all she
could keep in her stomach. I had lost my appetite and was never
very hungry. l'lotherrs treatment was given every morning at 8 AH
at the clinic and after the treatment she became conpletely
exhausted and we would go back to our room and she r,rould have to
go to bed and rest and try to regain some of her much needed
strength.

One day wttile we were at the clinic she expressed the idea of me
going through the clinic to be checked to see lf I was in good
health. She was so cnphatic and put so much emphasis on this that
I agreed and said I would do it. I was certain that there was
nothing wrong with me but I knew it nould put her rnind at ease if
I nould do this.
0n Thursday morning Argust J, I went through the clinic and after
many tests and X-rays the doctors informed me that they had found
a tunpr on the right breast and that it should be rgnoved without
further delay. The doctorrs told me to enter the Colonial hospital
since St l'laryrs hospital was filled to capacity with patients as
Argust is one of the busiest months since so many children are
going through the clinic before school starts in Septenber.
I had the surgery August !th. and they renoved the turpr. We then
patientfy waited for the reseults to come back frorn the laboratory.
A fan days later the doctors informed me that the tumor was benign
and that I was neost fortunate to have it rernoved when I did. lly
tttother and nryself were relieved beyond r.rords. f't surgeons were
0r. Harrington and his assistant, Dr. Spear" I was literally
terrified at the thought of surgery wtrile at Hayors especially when
I knevr how sick my mother was at this timer
.
We returned home August 28, 1950. She felt a lot better after we
came home but she still had many painful days during the month of
October and the last trrp weeks of 0ctober she was in so much pain
that we called our family doctor, Dr. Robert E. Smith and he said
she should go to the hospital. Ue took her to St. Johnrs hospital
by ambulance and she was inmediately put on medication and sedated.
This was November 4th. of 1950 and she died Decgnber 4th. on a
lbnday at 6*5 i n the morni ng.
I often rerninisce and think of our trying experience $re both went
through while at the Hayo clinic.
I knew that death was inevitable and I thought I nould be ready
nrhen the time came. Also, being with my mother at the clinic I
had so many moments of total confusion and disillusions as well
as being so incapable of helpr'ng her. We always consider ourselves
capable of solving any problern that might arise, then I
realize how fragile'we human beings really are. The quality of
mind and spirit that lets us face difficulty, danger and pain
without fear is supposed to be courage but this is not easy when
the fatal time comes.

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ROSE}IARY ANNE BLAIR
ln 1936 after graduating from the Illinois Business College
in Springfieldl my teacher at the cotlege ilr. C.N. Stockton
s€nt me to a job opening at lJinchrs Flower Shop. l{r tlinch
gaye me three roses, green foliage, sqne wire and some.ribbon
and told me to put it alt together and put it in a small vase.
I made a great effort to do this but is was far from perfect
as I did not have the ability nor the talent to do this kind
ofwork. I asked him if there was some other kind of work
that I r+ould do better and he asslgned me to the bookkeeping
dcpartment with several other wdnen and I worked there for
less than a year. I knew I wanted to advance further and move
on to something more adaptable for myself and also to better
ttttsel f financial ly.
ln l9J7 I found a job at Stuartts department store in Decaturg
Illinois and worked in the chinaware department selling china
and dishes. lihile working there I purchased my first set of
dishesr a twelve piece setting in the Somerset pattern. Each
payday I upuld buy a fer+ pieces until I had the completed set.
In 1938 and 1939 I was drployed at St. ltaryrs hospital in
Decatur, Illinois which at this time was located on Wood and
l{ebster streets. l,,hile there I was secretary and stenographer
to the Pathologist, Dr. T. S. Raiford n*ro was a person of great
character and had a most agreeable and pleasing personality.
I have always felt it was my duty and obligation to fulfill any
job or task to the very best of my knowl edge.
llhile working at the hospital I met a dear friend, Eleanor Donovan
who lived at Peoria, Illinois, she rrorked as a technician in the
laboratory. Ue both lived at the nurses home just south of the
hospital. Eleanor was dating a friend, Joe Loftus frorn Nlantice
Illinois. I also knew Joe and many times the three of us used
to go to the 0rlando tlotel for dihh€Fo Our other dear friends
were Fred and Stella Loftus Leonard and Joe was Stelfars nephe*r.
Stella and her husband used to invite Eleanor and myself to their
home after work to have dinner with thern wtrich we enjoyed very
rruch. Stella was a wonderful cook and prepared many special
dishes that she knen we liked. I shall never forget the good
times we had wi th the both of thsn.

STELLA AND ROSEI.IARY
In 1t40, l94l and 1942 | was ernployed by the lleadow Gold Ice
Creen company in Springfield, Illinois. This conpany was
managed by 0scar Schulze and Charles and Hulda Fox. I was
erployed as a bookkeeper and one of my assignments was to
check the tickets of the drivers of the trucks after the|
had made their daily deliveries of l'ce cream to many hotels,
restaurants and eating places. Charles and Hulda were both
exceptional people and were very good to me. Hulda and I
becane very good friends and had many good times together.
l*tile I was erployed at the Headow Gold Ice Cream company I
decided to take a Civil Service exanination to see if I
coqld pass the test as I thought I rvould like to work for
the government and also I wanted to better myself financially.
I took the test but months of waiting went by before I was
notified that I had passed the test. I was told there was a
job opening in Washington, D. C. but nry mother said I should
rbt go that far away frqn home so I turned it dovn. The next
offer came and said there wes an opening in Chicago, Illinois
Itt ty mother said to wait and see if there l.rould be an opening
in Sprr'ng.fi eld, Il linois.
Early in Novenber I received a telegran telling me there was
an opening at the Post 0ffice with the Internal Revenue in
Springfield, Illr'nois. I accepted this offer and started to
rcrk Decenber |, 1942. I norked there for twenty gevgt years.
In the l940ts the Civil Service Conmission gave you three
choices for enployment and if you turned thern all down you
xere put at the bottom' of the list and had to start all ov€Fr

One of the most spectacular and thrilling trips I ever
had in my lifetime was in 1947 when I was invr'ted to go
with some of my friends to the Kentucky Derby in
Louisville, Kentucky. Hy friends were Geraldine Rork who
I kne$, when I had worked in Decatur, Illinois, Henry and
l'like Nolan who were brothers and r.prked in Decatur and
Catherine Sheehan of Oalton City, Illinois. The five of
us drove to Louisvflle the first saturday in llay. Nonc of
us were sure of the way there so we left early in the
morning, around 4 n U on saturday.
The first thing was to look for a hotel for all of us to
stay over night. lJe checked every place in Louisville and
there were no rooms to be had. At one of the hotels the
desk clerk told us we might be able to find rooms at
Lexington, Kentucky. l.le drove back to Lexington and found
roofns there.
lle all had lunch together and then went to Churchill Downs.
The place is just beautiful with all the ponds and flowers
inside the center of the race track. It was just beyond
our imagination but we finally found seats in the bleachers
amid the great crowd of people.
None of us had much money to spend in 1947 so none of us
did any betting on the first three or four races. Henry
bet a little money on some of the races and lost. Finally
next to the last race I bet six dollars, two each to win,
place and show. The horse I bet on was a long shot to win
and they all told me I was wastr'ng my money and they all
bet on the favori te. Howeverr the long shot horse I bet on
won and I went to the window to get the noney, The man at
the window gave me a check for 5700.00 and I was overcome
with surprise and bewilderment.
Since I had won so much money I felt obligated to take all
of us out to dinner that evening. We all went to the Brown
hotel and had a mint julep and dinner in the bridle room.
The attendance at the derby every year is over 1001000.

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0n Hay 2e 1953r the Blackburn farm consisting of 180 acres
was sold at the ltlacon county courthouse in Decatur, Illinois.
l{y father and myself as well as my brothers and sisters also
attended the sale. Before the sale nry father had told me many
times he was meditating, ponderr'ng and thinking about buying
the farm if he could afford to do so. I also knew that he was
thinking of the welfare of his children and that it would mean
nnre funds, capital and assets for us when he r,rould no longer
be with us.
The bidding started on the land. Several of our neighbors also
attended the sale. The price reached $r+44.00 an acre and the
bidding slowed. llowever, our father bid $445.00 an acre and
the auctioneer saidtrSold to John Thomas Blairrr. He was happy
and at the same time r+orried about the debt he had incurred.
The attorneys were Graham E Graham of Springfiefdl Illinois.
Our father asked all of us children ff any of us r+ould like
to buy some of the acreage he had just purchased and none were
interested since they were all married except myself and were
starting their families. At this point, my father insisted and
urged me to buy 60 acres. I finally agreed because I knew it
rrrould lessen his debt. I was employed at the Bureau of Internal
Revenue in Springfield and in 1953 my salary was only $4235.00
a year. August 4, 1953, I received a deed frorn nry father for the
land. The day of the salel Walter bltreeler with the lfutual Benefit
Life Insurance Company and a national farm loan office located at
Anesl lowa and later located at Crawfordsville, Indiana asked if
we vrould like to take out a loan with thenr. Hy father and myself
assumed a loan with this company.
0n l'farch J0, 1956 I signed a lease with the Sun Oil Canpany but
no oil was found and this was apparently another unsuccessful
attenpt to tap a paying oil pool in Hacon county. 0rilling was
stopped at 2s740 feet, 140 feet deeper than the minimun planned
depth and 280 feet short of the maximum. ltlany prospectors have
found oil in scores of atteirpts in Hacon county but none have
tapped an oil pool sufficient to produce in cornmercial quantity.
June 24, 1956 our dear father died. The balance due on the
John Thomas Blair estate was paid in full on July 15, 1965 by
Rosenary Blair as the executrix for $141000. I had to take out
a new loan after the balance due on the estate was paid. 0n the
old loan I was paying 4 percent but after July ll, 1965 the
interest increased to 7 percent per annum.
The years between 1953 and 1953 were very meager and skimpy for
me until my indebtedness was paid. I have always been a frugal,
self-denying and thrifty type of person. I shall never be able
to thank God enough for al I the favors and goodness that He has
granted me.

In 1963 while I was working in the district office of Internal
Revenue in Springfield a friend, Berniece lJallner and myself
decided to take the Dale Carnegie Course in order.to gain more
self-confidence in ourselves, make ourselves more promotablel
to speak more effectively to groups of people and mainly to
overcome worry and stress. At the time I thought it might be
a usel ess expendi ture but I took the course.
However, when Catherine Hacker and myself were transferred to
the Internal Revenue Service Center r'n Kansas City, Hissouri
I soon found out how very beneficial this course was to me.
First of all, there were several weeks of orientation and then
we had to give talks on several di fferent occasions to twenty
or thirty efiployees in the department where I would be working
and for me to explain how we processed the Federal returns in
the district office. This included all returns and not only
Form 1040 returns which I had always processed and was very
familiar with. Catherine also had to give these talks also
in the accounting department where she was asst'gned. In both
the department where I r.rorked and in the accounting department
where Catherine'worked all of the work was very diiferent since
the entire Service Center was working with conputers.
After six months or so you had to become very versatile and you
had to make a lot of adjustments to keep up with the great
volume of vrork. However, after you became wel I versed wi th the
work and what you thought at the beginning to be big problems
seened to gradually disappear.
Catherine and myself have always worked to the maximun of our
potential wherever we were enployed.
October l, 1969 I reti red and Catheri ne deci ded to qui t and we
both came back to Springfield, Illinois to live. It was a
great experience as well as advantageous to both of us to have
rorked and lived in Kansas City. Catherine has had several
positions in Springfield since we returned here.

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CATHERINE ANN HACKER
In Harch of 1964, I met Catherine Hacker. She worked in
the accounting section of Internal Revenue and she lived
alone at 920 South Pasfield street in Springfield and I
lived alone at 1427 West Washington street in Springfield
and I worked in the Returns and Receipt section of
Internal Revenue.
The early part of 1965 we were told that the accounting
section and the returns and receipt section was going to be
transferred to the Service Center of Internal Revenue in
Kansas Ci ty, Hissouri . As eirployees we had a choice of
transferring, quitting or retiring. Since we did not
have the right amount of years of working for the government
and also were not the right age and we both needed
the uork, we decided to transfer. In June of 1965 we went
to Kansas City to find the location of the Service Center
and to look for a house. We found where we would be working
and also found a house known as the Hiclqnan Hills area
which is a suburb of Kansas City. Hy ernployment was in
the state of |tissouri and Catherine was later transferred
to the state of Kansas.
Catherine is a very methodical type of person, very neat
and orderly. She has been wi th me through many minor and
major surgeries and is a most cornpassionate and very kind
person as well as being very generous and unselfish. We
have been through some very sad experiencesr I feel very
fortunate to have such a true and devoted friend as catherine.

I 1603 0RCHARD ROAD
KANSAS CITY, l'IISSoURI
catherine and myself rented the house in Kansas City for
a-year. After iiuing there f9t -" yearr the. onner asked
us if we would be inierested in buying the house and we
lotn "!r.ed and bought the house in 1966. l'/e had central
air coiditioning initalled and it was a tnost comfortable
home. There was a nice big back yard and we planted a
lot of flowers and several maple trees.
We had very congenial next door neighbors, Glen and Jean
t{illiams. Glen always helped us if we had any problen.
with the furnace, plumbing'and even the yard r+ork' Their
daughter, Nancy was married in 1984 and we went to Kansas
City for her wedding.

Angela (Ar€ie) worked for the U. S. Government prior to taking
a civit service examination at Decatur, Illinois in the year
1941. At this time lbrld War II was in progress.
For three years she was employed by the Sixth Service Command.
This was located in the civic opera building at 20 North Wacker
Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Later she was sent to Camp Ellis
at Lewistourn, Illinois and she worked there until the war was
alnpst over.
In 1945 she went to Fort Sheridan at Chicago, Illinois and her
assignment there was typlng and processing the discharges of
the many soldiers being discharged frorn the service and anxious
to return horne to their families.
After the war was over in 1945 she transferred to the Railroad
Retireinent Board which was located at 844 North Rush Street in
Chi cago, Il I i noi s.
October 2, l9I8 she married Walter Flam of Chicago. They moved
to Decatur, Illinois in 1950. In 1953 she worked at the
Decatur Signal Depot until it closed in 1963.
Hally and Angie were the parents of three children:
Harie Theresa Flam Stauder
lJalter Joseph Flam
Angela Barbara Flam
Born July 16, 1949
Born Jul y 26, l95O
Born August 3r l95Z Decrd A.rgust 24, t95z

I,IARIE FLAH STAUOER
Harie was born July 16, 1949 at Chicago, Illinois.
She is a registered nurse.
She is a patient education coordinator at Decatur
llenrorial Hospital. She is also an adjunct faculty
instructor at Hi I likin Universl'ty at Decatur, Il linois.
She r+orked as a patient and enployee educator and as
staff nurse and instructor at the Decatur l,lgnorial
tlospi tal School of Nursing.
She is a board mernber and instructor for the Central
Illinois Arthritis Foundatlon, the Anerican Diabetes
Association and the American Heart Association and is
a m€mber of the tmerican Nurse Associationr National
Association of Orthopaedic Nurses and Central Illinois
Society for Health Carer Education and Training.
She has a nursing degree frorn the Decatur Heinorial
Hospital School of Nursing and bachelorrs and masterrs
degrees in nursing from Chicagors Presbyterian St. Lukefs
tlospf tal .
0n Novenrber 26, 1988, Harie and Dr. Hichael Stauder were
married in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church at
Decatur, Illinois.
She is an educator at Decatur Henrorial Hospital and her
husband
is an optometrist. They reside in Decatur.

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WALLY JOSEPH FLA}I
Wally Joseph Flam was born July 26, 1950.
He graduated fron St. James grade school and from
St. Teresa high school in Oecatur, Illinois"
He attended SAt{rS TECHNICA1 School in Indiana to be
instructed in drafting engineering and graduated from
there in 1970.
He was in the 4Rl,lY AIR F0RCE
and was sent to San Angelo,
Texas and East Asia where he was a hospital supply
officer. He was in the service for four years from l97l
through 1975. The past several years he is erployed as
a foreman with the Archer Daniel Hidland Hanufacturing
cdnpany in Decatur, Illinois.
0n 0ctober 71 1978 he married Uicki ilae Lowe at St. James
Catholic church in Decature Illinois. They are the parents
of two chi ldren.
Anthony Hichael Flam
Li sa l'lari e Fl am
Born llarch 30, 1980
Born February lJ, 1982

JEROI{E ANTHONY BLAIR
Jerome was born |hy l2e 1916 at Il liopolis, Il linois.
He rrcrked for the Capital City Paper Conpany in
Springfield, Illinois and was a truck driver for thgn.
January 7r l94l he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as
an army aviation mechanfc and had basic training at
Jefferson Barracks and from there was stationed at the
Victorville Army Flying School in Uictorville, California.
He was rated Private First Class in June of 1942,
Corporal in Novcrnber of 1942 and Sergeant in Septenrber
of 1943.
In f ate January of l9l+5 we found out through the neerspaper
that Jerqne was listed as a passenger aboard the
General C. Russell and due in San Francisco and frorn
there on hi s way hcme.
0n Thanksgiving daye Novenber 28, 19l+6 he married
Barbara Reisch. The wedding was at SS. Peter and Paulrs
church in Springfield, Illinois. He and his wife built
a house at Lake Springfield and lived there for several
years. At this time he trprked for the railroad.
He and his brother, Uincent farmed the home place for
several years and he has been a farmer most of his life.

JOHN VINCENT BLAIR
Vince was born Decsnber 27r l9l7 at Illiopolis, Illinois.
He rrprked for a grain company in Calumet City, Illinois
as a grain tester. He also was employed in the spare parts
divislon of Allis-Chalmers Hanufacturing Cornpany in Springffeld,
Illinois. In addition he and his brother, Jerome
farmed with our father.
He entered the army August 27r l94l as a selectee. He went
to Fort Sheridan and from there was sent to a military post
in San Francisco and a little later he was stationed at a
South Pacific base. He was in the 34th. infantry battalion
and Conpany rrcil of which he was a menber was sent deep behind
enefiry lines to block a route which offered the Japanese access
to our flanks. In 28 days of fighting in steady rain they
defeated a program to blow up our artillery, motor pools and
supply dumps which had been outlined in secret orders by
General Imashita found on the body of a dead Jap officer. The
company flushed 15 suicide squads, all of r*rich they dispersed.
Only one man was killed and ten werewounded. As a foot soldier
many times used bayonets and grenades to protect himsel f.
fhile in the army he served in Leyte and |lanila which are in
the Philippinese Nen Guinea in the East Indies and Okinawap the
largest of the Ryukyu Islands in the l{est Paci fic. }l}rile he
was in New Guinea he had to rest and try to sleep many nights
in foxholes for cover in a war area and they were very damp and
sornetimes had water in thern and he often said the mosquitos
$rere as large as a sparrow bird at home. He participated in the
Hollandia, Dutch Neur Guinea campaigns and saw action on Biake
where he served with the Sixth Army. His division was the first
to land in the Philippins on D-Day and served 78 consecutive
days. His regiment was recormended for a Presidential Unit
Ci tation.
In llay of 1945 he was discharged after serving 4l months ov€Fseas
in the Southwest Pacific area and received an Honorable
discharge. He wore five C*npaign Starse the Infantryman Combat
Badgel the Liberation of the Philippine Islands Ribbon, the
Asiatic Pacific Theatre of Operation Ribbon, the National
Defense Ribbon and the Good Conduct l,ledal.

He had never had a furlough in all of the months that he
was in the service and I met him at the train station in
Springfield and I hardly recognized him since he had lost
so much weight and looked so pale and weak. He devetoped
malaria while he was in New Guinea and he had attacks of
chills, fever and sweating that were beyond belief. Our
mother irmediately took him to the doctor and he gave him
medicine to purify his blood and after many months he got
better and regained his strength.
June 18, 1949 he married ltlary Catherine llurray in the
Bl essed Sacrament church i n Spri ngfi el d, I I I i noi s. They
lived in fliantic as well as Illiopolis.
Three chi ldren were born to this union.
Thomas Edward Blair Born May ll, 1950
Diane Harie Blair Born Oct J0, 1952
Hi chael John Bl ai r Born Feb 20, 1957
Vincent Blair died Septsnber 27r 1958 when his children
were at a very young age.

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THOHAS EDWARD BLAIR
Tom was born i{ay llr 1950. He attended and graduated
from St. Aloysius grade school and Gri ffin high school
in Springfield, Illinois. He was a mgnber of the band
whi le in high school and played the trumpet.
Educati on
A.B. English, St Louis University, 1972
H.A. English, St Louis University, 1978
H.A.
(Thesi s ) Engl i sh-as-a Second Language
University of Hawaiir 1980
(neo) Rhetori c/rotklore/Thai cul ture
Uni versi ty of Cal
i forni a, Berkel ey
Professional Experi ence
San Jose State University, Instructor, Basic Writing,
Engli sh IA/8 arld Criticai Thinking/Intercultural
Conmunication (including course d-evelopment) lg87-present
Educational Testing Service, Re6derl TOEFL Test of Written
English (three times/year)r Intensive Holistic Reading.
I 987-present
UC Extension, English Language Program, Instructorr ESLt
University Writing, University Reading, English through
Print Hedia, Structure. 1986, 1987 A 1988
UC Berkeley, Subject A Department, Graduate Student Instructor/
Teaching Associate, Subject A (Introduction to Corposition.
1987 e 1982-84
Electronic Universi ty Network, TeleLearning Systems,
San Francisco, Technical Writer, contract for revising
instructorrs manual. 1986
University of San Francisco, Intensive English Programt
Instruclorr-structure, Reading, Composi tion (at developmental/esl
level ). 1986

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UC Berkeleyl Asian Anerican Studies Program, Teaching
Associate, Reading and Conposition. I983
UC Berkeleye Engli5[-ss-3-$econd Language Program,
Instructor, Structure, University Writing. 1982
UC Berkeleyl Oepartment of Rhetoric, -Teaching Assistant,
Readi ng and Compos
i ti on (Rhetori c te/rc) . I 980- | 982
UC Berkeley, Professional Oevelopment Program (HARC Summer
?6Elt"tl,
Instructor, l'lri ti ng for mi nori ty sci ence students.
Kansai Gaidai Hawaii College (Honolulu), Instructor, ESL,
Readf
ng, Composition, Conversationr/Pronunciation. 1979 S lgBO
University of Hawaii, Department of English, Cornposi tion,
Lecturer, Introduction to Literature, Introduction to
Literature, Business & Technical Writing at Hawaiian Beit.
t979-109o
Chaminade University of Honolulu, Division of Engtishr/Speech,
Lecturer, Expository Writing, Literaturel Poetry and Novel, '
Iiterature: Short Story and Drama. 1978, 1979 g 1980.
University of Hawai i , Coordi nator for Mi cronesi an l.lri t er
hlorkshops (Paci fi c Area Language Haterials Development
Center). 1979
Hawaii Paci fic Collegu, Instructor, ESL/Develcpmental
Reading, Composi
tion. 1979
St. Louis University (St. Louis, Hissouri ), Insturctor,
Upward Bound Program, 1978
St. Louis University, Department of English, Teaching
Fel low, Corposi tion, Advanced Conposi tion, Introduction
to Li terature. 1976-1978
Si lpakorn Universi ty (Bangkok, Thai land)r Lecturerl Engli sh
Language and Fmeri can Li terature, Speech, Current Events
(Conversation/Reading ). 1975-1976

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DISSERTATION(i
n-p rogress )
Ti tl e:
HONORS
trA performance-Centered Analysis of Se:
Professional Verbal Dueling in North
Thai t andrr (focuses on Composi ti onat
Techniques and rhetorical strategies
wi thi n thi s tradi ti on and explores i ssues
i n cross-cul turalr/corparati ve rhetori c
and corposi tion)
Examination Fields: Rhetorical Theory/Oral
Tradition, Folklore, Thai Culture
Humanities Graduate Research Grant, UCrBerkel
ey 1983 f' 1986
Fulbright Research Fellowship to Thailand 1985
Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship
(rnai- Langulge) I 981
Previous Research, Manuscripts and Presentations
rrAn 0ral-Li terate (vs. Chi ld-Adul t) Second Language
Acquisitionrr Hay 1979 ( a reply to Stephen Krashen
and Robin Scarcellars rr0n Routines and Patterns in
Language Acquisition and Performancerl
rofile of Variation in Reader Par Strat res
cross-cul tura corPos tion and iteracy research)
trEmerging Literacyrr (Presentation given before the TES0L/Hawaii
Counci I of Teachers of English Convention, February 1979 and
before teachers in the Kamehameha Early Education Program in
Honolulu, Hawaii )
LANGUAGES
Thai : Speak, Read and Wri te
German: Read (rudimentary)
Nepali: Speak

PROFESSIOT{AL
ACTIVITIES
S
llernbership in National Council of Teachers of
Fnglish, lbdern Language Association, Rhetoiic
!og!9ty of America, American Folklore Sbciety,
California Folklore Society, Association for
Asi an Studi es.
Tom was married in August of 1988. Hls wife is
from Thai land.

DIANE I{ARIE BLAIR
0iane was born October 30, 1952 in Springfieldr Illinois.
She attended and graduated from St" Aloysius grade school
and the Ursuline Acaderny in Springfieldr Il linois.
She is the kind of person to persist in anything undertaken
and maintains a strong endurance and perseverance
in spite of any difficulty as well as obstacles. She
has had many positions and she adapts herself easily to
any new condition. She has the quality of being very
conscientious with a cheerful attitude and takes the
initiative with ability and readiness.
She has traveled extensively for pleasure as well as
working in different countries.
North America - Canadar Hexico, United States
South Anerica - Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay
Central America - Costa Rica
Europe - l./est Germany, East Germany, Switzerland, Francet
Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkeyl Hollandr Spaint
Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, England, l',|ales
Asia -
China, Koreal Thailandr Malaysia; Hong Konge
Si ngapore
South Pacific - Australia (including Tasmania),
New Zealand

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Diane has been employed by the following:
t/68 - 6/71
u/tt - 6/tt
WPIST,/PAGE
- Lincoln Library, Springfi eld
Illinois
- CLERK TYPIST III - Illinois Institute for
Social Policy
Springfield, Illinois
Secretary to Chief Executive 0fficer of
program. Typed statistical reoorts, expense
vouchers, correspondence, shorthand dictation.
Bookkeeping .duties and controlling
accounts payabl e/accounts recei vabl e.
8/74 - 7/76 spEcrALlsr rv - u.s. ARily, 663rd ordnance
Companyl Vilseck, Gennany
0rderly Room Clerk Typist in Cornpany Headquarters.
Equivalent of Executive Secretary
to Conrnander of unit. Placing and receiving
Conmander|s phone calIs, alI typing on typewriter
with four carbon copies, shorthand
di ctation. Haintai ned personnel fi I es on
JlO personnel. Legal clerk for the unit.
Knowledgeable in the area of military legal
procedures, typing and issuing legal documents
(Articles XV, Chapters X and Chapters III).
Obtained rrSecretrr security clearance. 0rganized
and typed monthly personnel and statistical
reports on stencil. Supervised and trained two
other clerks. fssued ration cards and meal cards
to al I neur personnel .
l/U - l?/77 STEI.IARDESS - Hississippi Queen Steamboat, Delta
e 5/lg - 8/lg Queen Steamboat Conpany.
New 0rl eans, Loui si ana
Stewardess/Hostess aboard ftoating hotel.
Greeted passengers upon ernbarkation. Performed
housekeeping duties in passenger and engineer
cabins. Supervised and trained new porters and
steulardesses. Short order cook on occasion.

6he - t/lg cLERK rYPrsr- Industrial Cormission of
Arizona in Tucson
Typed legal documents (Hearing Notices E
- Subpoenas) for four Hearing Officers/3udges.
Dictaphone transcription of taped hearings
into legal format. Answered inquiries in
regard to lforkrnenrs Compensation and Department
of Labor.
6/81 - 8/84 0EsrcNER/pREssl"rAKER, NurRrrroNrsr, sENroR
CITIZEN SPECIALIST
- Self-erployed, Tucson, Arizona
50% time - 0ffered custon design, dressmaking
and alterations services to the physically
limited population as well as to the ablebodied
population. Hanaged businessl book-
keeping, appointment making, supervised the
seamstresses. Able to r,rork pati errtlyr but
expedi tiously wi th customers.
3o% iim" - Provided personal nutritionist
services to elderly individuals. Planned meals
for specialized diets such as low cholesterol,
low sodiumr diverticulosis and low calorie.
20% time - Practiced reality therapy with seniors
oh o ohe-to-one contractual basis. Planned daily
activities for physical ly limited individuals.
9/94 - 5/87 SECRETARY II - Residency Affairs/Housestaff
office, Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson
Secretary to Program Coordinator maintaining files
for lrl00 past residents and interns. Initiated
personnel records data base on IBM, PFS:Wri te software
progi€rrnS. Honthly bookkeeping and rotation
scheduling, coordinating interns and residents in
vari ous departments. Schedul ed ori entati on appoi ntments.
Verbally described different health and
retirgnent plans, as well as salary ranges to thsn.

S/85 - S/86 ADTIINISTRATrVE ASSTSTANT I Universi ty of
Arizona College of Hedicine in Tucson
6/86 - g/86
e/e6 -
Adninistrative Assistant to Vice Dean,
College of Hedicine. llorked independently
coordinating annual College of Medicine Catalog,
Electives Manual, Class Schedules and Enrr'chment
Electives for medical students. Handted all
course paperworkl adding, deleting and changing
classes for departments through the campus
Curriculum 0ffice. !*crked under pressure with
other Administrative personnel, as well as with
Professors within the College of Hedicine and
throughout UA carnpus. Al I work was typed on
Wang word processor and mernory typewri ter.
Organized curriculum filing system and originated
offi ce desk manual.
_ Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corp EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
{UIC)
Barrow, Alaska
Tenporary Executive Secretary to President,
Chairmen of the Board, Land Consultand and Chief
A&ni ni strati ve Offi cer. Transcri bed shorthand
from dictation at weekly board meetings, Work
was typed on IBH Displaywriter Reportpack and
Textpack 4.
l/87 RECREATIONAL
AIoE- Barrow High School
Barrow, Al aska
Part-time Recreational Aide in Eskirno high school.
Supervision of gym basketball and volleyball courts,
running track, weight room, lockers. Applied first
Aid and contacted police when necessary. lbnitored
halls during school competition games. Operated
store selling clothing, operated press machine for
customized t-shi rts.
I l

g/86 - t/87 secnsrnnv/Rgceprroxrsr - North slope
Borough Health Department, Oental Clinic
Barrowe Alaska
Receptionist for Public Health Service Dental
Clinic in Eskimo conmunity of 31000. Pulled
and filed dental charts for J0 patients on a
dai I y basi s. Supervi sed tenrporary cl erk.
Scheduled all appointments for four dentists.
Typed travel forms and reports. Shorthand
dictation of minutes in weekly staff meetings.
l/87 - to/87 sEcRETARy - NoRTH sLopE BoRoucH scHooL orsrRrcr,
PUBLIC INFORI4ATI0N OFFICE. Barrow, Alaska
Secretary to Public Information Officer; aperated
llacintosh Plus conputer uti lizing Paganaker,
l{acrrrite, Mac0raw and HacPaint programs. Assisted
0istrict Editor in desk top publishing of monthly
School Di stri ct n€lrs I etters, Annual Reports and
other Public Information Office books and reports.
General daily correspondence and conrnunication on
Wang r+ord processor. Shorthand dictation, travel
schedules arranged, reservations and forms for the
School Board and other ernployees throughout Alaska
as well as for continental U.S. Supervised School
0istrict receptionist. Assr'sted Public Information
Officer in trouble-shooting school district problens
stemning from a. bi-cul tural cormuni ty (Eskimo).
Edi ted inupf at/Engli sh reports.
4/88 - 8/e8 EXECUTIVESECRETARY
- K-Temp Terporary Agency and
Pool in Tucsonr Arizona.
Etployed as a temporary Executive Secretary working
for a variety of conpanies; Radisson Hotel, Tucson
General Hospital, Lawn & Garden Supply, Cyprus
Mr'neral Corpany, Uni versi ty of Ari zona. Uti 1 i zed
the following skills: shorthand dictation at many
meetings, dictaphone transcription, set-up personnel
files for 1r000 enployees, receptionist, attended
nens conferences, memory typewriter, originating and
editing correspondence and reports.
Conputer software: l{ord Perfect, Lotus I, 2, 3,
dBase III, Hass II, Hul ti l,l,ate, l{ang word processor,
Lanier word processor.

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as an Adnlnistrative Assistant II in the
Chottistry Department at the University of
Ari zona.
BACKGROINDg Education, Hedi.cal, manuscript, legal statistical
Admi ni striti ve/Exeorti ve Secreiary- exp.ri ence:
3 l/Z years Supervisory experiettces 4 1/2 years
Oata entry o

Michael John Blair was born February 2O, 1957.
Hichael is the type of person blessed with
qual i ti es and ethi cal standards. !-le has a
vivid personali ty dernonstrating integri ty,
and a tremendous strength of character.
He is an excellent teacher and organizer as
knowledgeable
in his work at the hospital.
EDUCATION:
EHPLOYI,IENT:
high moral
pleasing and
resol uti on
wel I as very
ST. ALOYSIUS GRAOE SCHOOL
GRIFFIN HIGH SCHOOL - Hajored in college
PreP Courses
SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE IN ILLINOIS - Susiness
major
LINCOLN LAND COHI'IUNITY C0LLEGE - A.S. degree
in Business
SANGAMON STATE UNIVERSITY - Presently working
on a double major in Business and Accounting.
!ften finished will receive a B.S, degree in
Accounting and a Hasters degree in business,
8/tt+ - lt/lt sr.
Worked part-time
for pati ents and
and ernp I oyees i n
JOHNTS HOSPITAL Di etary
in Dietary setting up trays
helping to serve visiiors
the cafeteri a.

tt/tt - 4/tg ST. JOHNIS HOSPITAL LABORATORY
4/lg - n/81
rt/81 - 3/82
3/82 - Present
Laboratory Assistant I - Collect blood
satples from patients in the hospital
ST. JOHNIS HOSPITAL LAEORATORY
Laboratory Assistant II - Train other
enrployees on how to collect blood specimens
from patients. Also responsible for the
evening shift ernployees.
ST JOHNIS HOSPITAL LABORATORY
Laboratory Assistant lll - set up media
fn the Hfcrobiology area of the laboratory.
Solely responsibl e for the
distribution of media throughout the
enti re I aboratory.
ST" JOHNIS HOSPITAL LABORATORY
Assistant Supervisor Requisition EF€Er
Responsi bl e for the hi ri ng, fi ri nEr trai ni ng
and staffing of the Requisition Section.
Faculty menber of St. Johnts School of
Hedi cal Techno'logy. Responsi bl e for 25-30
ernployees. Intervi ew and evatuate p rc-epecti ve
f'ledi cal Technology students and Medi cal studenis "
Recrui t Hedi ca I Techno I og y s tuden ts f rc"'it
affi I i ated universi ti es. Conduct peri odi c
inservice training for l'led students and other
hosoi tal staff.

ACCOI'IP LISHHENTS:
Responsible for the collection and processing of
approximately 125t000 tests per month.
AHA Certified CPR instructor.
Developed and teach a six week training course
to l4edical Students and other hospital staff.
Train personnet on the use of two di fferent cornputer
systerns including IBH PC HODEL
30.
ORGANIZATI ONS:
- A mernber
- Faculty member
- Certified CPR
of the YMCA for I consecutive years.
of Sanganron State University
affi I iated through St. John ts Hospi tal .
instructor for the Fmerican Heart
As socf ati on .
Michael is a most capable and conscientious person as
wel I as being intel lectuat "
He is interested in all sports, especially raquetball,
tennis and skiing.

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HELEN BI.AIR OIBRIEN
Helen was born February 10, l9l9 at Illiopolis, Illinois.
She graduated from lJest Stringtoun grade school and the
Illlopolis Comunity High School. All of the Blair
children graduated from the same schools. She attended
Springfield Junior College in Springfield, Illinois.
In 1937 she was erployed by St. Johnrs Hospital in Springfield.
At this time she checked the menus for the patietts,
delivered trays at mealtr'me, worked in the diet kitchen and
ran the visitors elevator. She had to be at nork at I A.H.
and r+orked until 12 noon, then off .frorn work all afternoon
and return to work at 5 P.l,l. until 9 P.H.
All of the girls rr'tro urorked at St. Johnrs lbspital lived at
the Rita Club which was operated by the hospital and it was
for girls only and it was free lodging for then. The bell
rvould ring at 5:30 A.M. and all of the girls r+ould attend
Hass at 6:10 A.ltl. then to breakfast at 7 A.H. and go to rrrork
at 8cA.M. Later the Rita Club was discontinued and all of
the girls had to move. lltrile at the hospital Helen transferred
to the adnitting office and liked the work better and
met a lot of nice people.
She later was employed as a secretary to Dr. Irvin Dunasl a
podiatrist and from there she went to rvork for Hontgomery
Ward and company as a switchboard operator. She took all
calls for the service department and three nights a week
she went to Springfield Secretarial School white uorking
at lbntgomery lJard.
In l94l she tuorked for Allf s Chalmers ltlanufacturing Conrpany
in the purchasing department and later in the enployment
offi'ce. lltri le working there she took a night course in
Red Cross Nursing Aid at Henrorial Hospital. She was
erployed there for seven yearso
Sh'e qirit her job in May o? 1949.

furil 24, 1948 she married JamesP.
have three chi ldren:
John Patrick 0rBrien Born
Col I een 0rBrien Atr,rroodBorn
Gregory James 0rBrien Born
OtBrien and they
August l, 1949
June 4, l95z
February 26, 1956
She went back to work at St. Johnrs Hospital when her
chi ldren were in high school and she reti red i n
March of 1978. She had major surgery Decenber 26, 1978.
Her husband died November 2,1983 after being retired
for only two years. Her husband was also retired from
Al lis Chalmers Hanufacturing Company.
She is very animated and has a vivacious manner. She
goes to the Y.M.C.A. for exercises three or four times
a week, volunteers her services for two hours every week
at St. Josephrs Home and every Friday mcrning she stays
with her neighbor lady who has Alzheimerrs disease.

JOHN PATRICK O'BRIEN
John was born August l, 1949 in Springfield, Illinois.
In August of 1950 he was stricken with Polio and the
result was paralysis of both legs. However, he walks
with the aid of braces and crutches. He attended the
Stuart School for therapy unti I the thi rd grade.
He attended Little Flower grade school for grades three
through eight and was the first eighth grade class to
graduate in the ne.r church. 0uring the years at Little Flower
he was active in the Boy Scouts, was a patrol boy, manager of
the baseball teen and participated in piano recitats. He
attended Griffin high school in 1963 and graduated from there
in 1967. hltri le attending Gri f fin high school he was active
in the Glee Club all four years, the History Club for one
year, the Key Club for trvo years and atso was Statistician
for the football and basketball team for tuo years. Upon
graduation from Griffin high school he received a four year
scholarship to attend Illinois State University at Normal,
Illinois.
In the fall of 1967 he began classes at ISU and received a
Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in
January of 1972" His four years at the university were most
enjoyable for him as his knowledge expanded beyond the textbooks
and he met people from various states and countries.
Lfiile at the university he lived in a mens co-op and was in
charge of the cooking and buying of the food. During the
sufimers, he worked at a heatth camp in l,larquette, Hichigan
as a counselor for children with speech and hearing probluns"
From 1972 to 1975 he wo.rked as a claims analyst of Northeastern
and Blue Cross/Blue Shield adjudicating c!aims under
the State of Illinois Brployees Group and Health Insurance
Program. At the present time he is employed by the State
of Illinois in the Department of Insurance.
His career started as an accountant in the financial analysis
unit and his duties included statdnent audits of insurance
colpanies to determine their solvency ratio. Due to his
advancdnent in the accounting field, he then transferred to
the tax unit as the supervisor.

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In lt80 a department reorganization was approved and
John became the Assistant Deputy 0irector of the tax
and Fiscal Section of the Administrative Division.
At the present time he is responsible for the collection
of over $ZOO million annually in insurance tax and fees,
the custodial agent to 5445 million in securities owned
by insurance companies but held on deposit in the
Department of Insurances I name and the Departments I
Annual appropriation process which requires presentation
in the General Assenbly.
John married Linda Rose Halbert on October 25, 1975.
They were married at the Cathedral of the Irmaculate
Conception in Springfield, Il linois.
They are the parents of four children:
Sean Patrick OrBrien Born July 28, 1976
Erin Lynn OtBrien Born A.rgust 27r 1978
I'loreen Jeanette 0rBri en
Kevi n Ha I bert 0
Born March I I, 1980
I Bri en Born Ar.rgus t 7r 1985

Thei r chi ldren attend St. Agnes parochi al grade school.
John is Scout l{aster for the St. Agnes Boy Scouts, an
elected mernber of the Parish Councit, Assistant Coach
on Erinrs Khoury League baseball tearn and a msnber of
the Knights of Colunbus scholarship comnittee. He was
one of the organizers of the Jefferson Park tlomeohrners
Assoclation, the area in which they reside.
At the present time St. Agnes parish is in the process
of building a new church which should be cottpleted in
the fall of 1989 or in the early part of 1990. Hasses
are held in the gymnasium of the school every sunday
and also on saturday evening at the present time.
Linda r.rorked in the St. Agnes school cafeteria. Her
greatest achievgnent is getting the children to all of
their extra curricular activities without leaving any
of thgtt behind. Linda is now enployed by the Horace
Hann Corpanies, an insurance company in Springfieldl
I | | i noi s. Thei r chi I dren Seane Eri n and l'loreen are
participators in many sports such as baseballl basketball,
gyrnnasticsr karate and soccer.
Kevin enjoys ghostbusters 6nd playing armyi
John is a very caring type of person with a distinctive
personal character and has a most winning personality.
He also has a trenendous amount of patience which is a
most precious gift.
It is a great pleasure for Catherine and myself when
we visit with John and his family. It is so interesting
to hear each of the children tell of their activities
and little Kevin is very good at entertaining everyone.

John was a mevnber of the Springfield Spokejockeys which is
a wheelchair basketball team. In wheelchair basketballr only
the referee travels on foot. John was a mgnber and played
wheelchair basketball for thirteen years. Arms purnping
madly, the players rush up and down the court on silkysi
I ent u*reel s .
In the heat of canpetitionr it is not unusual for players to
be knocked over and for wheels to suddenly spin off to the
sideline. John has had to turn over his wheelchair to put
one of his chairrs wheels back on. Guards are placed over
the spokes to protect them from being bent
In wheelchair basketball, walking is measured by a pump of
the arms. Attacking players purp their wheels with furious
grunts, straining to win a shot at goal. Defenders angle
to block their routes, bracing for collisions or sudden
spins and changes of couFS€o
He was named to the al I conference team and numerous al I
tournament teams on several occasions and participated in
several 6K races in the wheelchair division.
He was honored as K of C Knight in 1983.
This is no sport for the timid. Players forfeit the use
of their legs, but not their courage.

COLLEEN OIBRIEN ATTOOO
Colleen was born June 4e 1952.
She graduated frorn the Little Flower grade school
and graduated frsn the Sacred Heart Acaduny in
Springfield, Illinois. She also completed two
years at Lincoln Land Gormtrni ty Col I ege in Spri ngfi
el d.
She has worked as a secretary for many di fferent
places for sixteen yearsi Her last place of enployment
was at the C E I H Railroad.
In July of 1983 sfre married
live in Brighton, Hichigan.
They are the parents of two
Brian Joseph Atr*ood Born
Elizabeth Ann Atwood Born
Rf chard Atr'vood. They
chi I dren.
February 23t lg84
Harch 21, 1986

GREGORY JAI'IES O' BRIEN
Greg OfBrien was born February 26, 1956. He attended Little Flower
grade school. He graduated from Griffin high school in 1974. He
attended Western Illinois University in l{acomb, Illinois and
majored in business administration and a minor in economics in 1978.
He married Hary Pennington on February 28, 1976.
l#ri le attending col lege he was a mernber of Sigma Phi Epsi lon
Fraternity. He began rvorking with l,lodern l.bodmen of Fmerica Life
fnsurance in }larch of 1978. He qualified for National Awards in
insurance sales in 1980-1984 and Hillionaire Club in 1979-1983.
In 1980 while living in l,lacornb, Illinois he was secretary of the
Hacomb Jayceesl executive vice-president in 1979 and on the board
of directors in l98l and 1982.
lihile with the Lamoine Valley Life Underwriter Association he was
secretary in 1979, treasurer in 1980 and president in 1981.
In 1980 he also was named l{acomb Jaycees family of the year and |p
1983 he received the outstanding Young l4en of lmerica Award.
Septenber J, lt8l he accepted a position with the Prudential
fnsurance Corpany in Springfield, Illinois and he npved his famf ly
there. At the present time he resides at 1425 South hhittier in
Springfi eld.
In February of 1985 he was prom,oted to his present position of
Sales Hanager Springfield district of Prudential representing
Pru-Bach securitiese Prudential insurance, Prudential bank and
trust and also Prudential real estate, stock broker, insurance
agentr banking and real estate, recruting, training, sales and
service. He travels and makes speaking engag€fients at various
places around the country.
Greg is also an instructor at Lincoln Land conmunity college
Lifl Underwriter Training Council teaching personal and
busi ness i nsurance cout's€s.

Greg and hi s wi fe ldary are the
Gregory Tobias 0rBrien
Justin Anthony 0rBrien
Kyle Christopher 0rBrien
Hichael James 0rBrien
parents of four sons.
Born
Born
Born
Born
July 14, 1976
tlay 29t 1979
Mar 4, 1982
Apr 30, 1986
Joshua Allen Brennan born August 28, 1984 is a
foster child that lives with theyn.
Greg 0rBrien is a very active and energetic type of
person and performs many civic duties in Springfield.
Active menber of Elessed Sacrsnent Church
Knights of Colurnbus Council 4179
Coach of Little League Baseball Association
Hernber of Springfield Underwriters Association
Sangarnn County Estate Planning Counci I
National Association of Life Underwriters
Hernber of YHCA
Foster Parent Association of Illinois

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FRONT ROW
Anthony Cerny
Theresa Cerny Blair
Hary Ann Cerny
BACK ROW
Louise Cerny Bickel
Carl Cerny
Aloys Cerny
Antoi nette Cerny
l'lary Cerny

THE CERNY FAHILY
Hfstory shows that the Cerny family were not the kind of
people to enumerate or recapitulate on their heritage or
early beginnings, reserved in speech and really not very
inclined to a lot of idte talk. However, they always
were extrernely generous and only too glad to hetp thefr
nieces and nephews in any way that they could.
Searching for the family history and ancestors of the
Cerny family has been rpst perplexing and baffling to try
to cotttpile in a book since very little information and
material from various sources could be obtained. Howevere
much credit rrust be given to Catherine Cerny Gibbs and
her young nephew, Thomas l'lorbert Cerny who at this time
is a student in high school and also to Tomrs mother Betty
Cerny. They spent many hours looking through many files
and ledger books and microfilm in the Union County Court
l-buse in Anna and Cobden Illinois and I have checked with
my old ledgers, books, many nerrspaper clippings and with
the State Archives in Springfield, Illinois to research
any inforrnation that was available.
We learned that some of the Cerny famity came fron Austriat
Bohenriar Germany, and Illinois. Our grandparents 1 Anthony
and llary Ann Hoffner Cerny came to the Uni ted States from
Germany. Information shows they were married Nov, 7; 1864
in Illinois. Seven children were born to this union. They
are listed from the oldest to the youngest.
George P Cerny
Aloysius Cerny
Hary Theresa Cerny
Louise Cerny Bickel
Carl A. Cerny
Antoinette Cerny
Died in infancy
Died Sept 5t 1954
Died Dec lit 1949
Di ed Apr |, l95O
Died Apr 13, lgSt
Died Oec l5r l95Z
Thdresa Cerny | 950

Aloysl Carl and Antoinette Cerny nere born in the state
of l{innesota and the rest of the family were born in
Sangaron and Union counties in Illinois.
In l95l Aloys and Antoinette were the only Cernys left in
thei r fani ly and they decided to move from the farm and
build a house in Springfield. The house was built on a lot
which Aloys owned at 1427 West Washington stieet. They
moved into the house before Christmas in 1951. They both
lived there for about a year and Antoinette died from a
massive stroke on 0ecernber 15, 1952. Shortly afterwards he
asked me to move into the houre with him since he was unable
to prepare his meals and care for himself.
I was working at the tine and he was showing many siEns of
apathy and depression. He was getting weaker each day and
sometimes I was afraid to leave him alone all day by himself
but he insisted I go to r^prk and not worry about him. He
sustained several bad falls during the day while I was at
uork but he would never adnit it unless I asked him how he
broke his glasses and how he received bad cuts on his face.
The neighbors would see him on the street and often bring
him hcrne as he was lost and could not find his way home.
In May of 1954 he was in a very bad state of confusion as
well as having a bad heart condition and our neighbor and
ttryself admitted him to St. Johnts hospital and he remained
there and died Septenber 5r 1954.
In his will he left the 100 acre farm to his nieces and
nepheurse the Blairs. The farm was sold to Abe Gordon but
changed hands many times since. t/e sold the farm in 1955.
Antoinette naned Aloys as executor in her will but he asked
the attorney that he be relieved of the duties as executor
and that nyself, Rosemary Blair be appointed successor
executor. l'le gave i I I health as the reason for the request.
He wi lled the house on l{est }Jashington street to me and I
sofd it in 1972.
The farm was divided into lots and many ne+r and e,xpensive
hornes have been bui I t.
Today it is known as the Harrison Park Subdivision.

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LJ AUNT MARY CERNY
Aunt l'lary always lived on the farm and seemed to be the
main hornemaker. She was a most kind and gentl€ peisone
and done most of the cooking and baking for the fanily.
I can recal I rtfien our school was out for the sunmer some
of us children spent a week or so with the Cernys. Aunt
Hary would prepare any specr'al kind of food for us and
especially cakes and pies that she knew we would like.
She never had her hai r cut and she hrore a bun at the nape
of her neck. She loved music although she played no kind
of instrument and she always loved any kind of poetry.
She had no instructions whatsoever in oil painting but in
ll0l when she was only 16 years old she decided to paint
a picture of lbzart and his violin. Holfgang Fmadeus
Hozart was born in Austria. She painted the picture in
oil n'hich measures 23 inches high by J2 inches wide and
the picture is in a beautiful old gold frame. To me it
is a precious and valuable oil painting even though it is
very old.
Atrnt lilary was an incredibly smart person and surely had a
great sense of creativeness. She entered some of her most
beautiful hand made quilts at the Illinois State Fair and
she always won a prize. She was so kind hearted and such
a pleasure to be with at any time.

AUNT LOUISE E HEI{RY BICKEL
Arnt Louise was a very adept seamstress. She married
Henry Bickel of Peoria, Illinois in 1918. He owned
and operated the Central City Top llanufacturing Co.
in Peoria.
Henry had tno daughters, Ethel and l{ardel I and one son,
Henry Bickel Jr. by his first wlfe who vras deceased.
Louise and Heiry had no children. They made their home
in Peoria at 2718 North l'ladison street.
In the surmer on a sunda! they would come and visit with
us on the farm ln Illiopolis. Our mother prepared a big
dinner for the occasion and they always enjoyed thenselves.
Henry never drove a car very much because he used to get
severe cramps in his legs, They had a very good friendl
Jess Ward who always ceilne with then and done the driving.
They owned a hlttippet autcrnobile.
Hy sister, Angela and myself would sometimes go back with
thern to Peoria and stay for a week or tvro. lJhi le there
Arnt Louise upuld take us to the swinming pool In Glen Oak
park and we upuld go down town for lunch and she would shop
for material to make us dresses for the coming school year.
This was a treat for both of us since we did not have this
luxurious enjoyment at horne by going to so many different
places in the city.
Henry Bickel died Thanksgiving morninlt at the residence in
1939 of a heart attack at the age of 66 years.
In 1940 Louise sold the house in Peoria and moved back to
the family home on the farm with her brothers and sisters.
Louise died in 1950 of a heart attack.

HY FAVORITE AUNT
ANTOINETTE CERNY
Antoinette Cerny was regarded by me with particular admiration and
affection mainly for her personal qualities. She was the type of
Person who was quick to conprehend and understand and her business
acumen could not be surpassed. She did not have a big income or a
lot of tnoney but what she had she used it to great advantage and
was ever so generous. Her integrity was never questioned and she
always spoke with candor as she was such a loyal person.
I invariably knew I could took to her for guidlnce and could expect
clear-cut and unequivocal answers and they were never given in a
critical way since she was such a compassionate, kind and loving
person and wanted nothing other than your happiness.
In her younger years she was enployed at several businesses in
springfield. One of her first jobs was at the western Union
Telegiaph office. She also was employed as a bookkeeper in the
offile of Johnson-Hatcher furniture store and Dirksens Furniture
store. She later worked in the boys department at Hyers Brothers
department store. She bought many sui ts and coats for my brothers
while she was enployed there.
In the year of 1927 and the month of January our father and mother
left for Rochester, Hinnesota where he under went major surgery.
lbtherrs sister, Loulse Bickel went with then to be with our mother
so she would not be alone. Antoinette being the caring, compassionate
and unselfish type of person that was her nature carne out to the farm

and stayed with us five children and a hired hand rvfiose name was Alvey.
She stayed with us until the niddle of Harch when our parents returned
hoT". Dyflng this time she paid for the groceries, managed the home
and us children with exenrplary care and ever so congeniai and wanted
only the best for our welfare.
fn -Septenber of 1935 ny sister Angela and myself wanted to go to a
business col lege. Antoinette paid-our tuition for a nl'ne ,oitr,
business course at the Illinois Business College in Springfield. Not
only did she pay our tuition but arso for our room and boird while
attending school. The school at that time was located above the
winch Floral Shop at Fourth and Monroe streets. l{e both graduated
in l'fay of 1936. }/e both wanted to get enproyment as money at this
time was very scarce and we had a gieat ainUi'tious desire io find work.
We found work at many different places after that.
After she died on Decernber
15, lgSZ, I found the clippfng below in an
old prayer book
Before
Before
Before
Before
Before
Before
Before
Before
Before
you
you
you
you
you
YOu
you
you
you
speak, listen
wri te, think
spend, earn
invest, investigate
criticize, wait
prayr forgive
qui t, try
reti re, Save
die, give

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Aloys and Carl Cerny were our uncl es and were farmers al'l
their life and lived on the farm which was located a few
mi les west of Springfi eld. The farm contained 100 acres
and they made their living off the farm for many years.
0n November 5t 1928, the coal rights on ll.l4 acres of
the farm was sold to the Citizens Coal Hining Conpany for
the price of $3750.00. Our uncles considered this to be
a good price in the year 1t28.
The only make of automobile they ever ob/ned were Dodges.
Carl Cerny was the only one in the family that ever drove
the carl with the exception of our mother Theresa Cerny
Blair and Louise Cerny Bickel. They both learned to
drive after they married.
Since we were the only nieces and nephews of the Cerny
farnily they all were very unselfish and generous with us.
As children we could hardly wait for the big package to
arrive at Christmas time and receive so many uonderful
gifts. One never forgets those wondrous years that seem
to pass so fast wi th time.

JOHN H. E ELIZABETH CERNY
John M. Cerny was a cousin to our mother, Theresa Cerny Blair.
He was born A.rgust ll, 1884 east of Annar Illinois on a farm.
April 26, l9l7 he married Elizabeth Bigler in Cobden, Illinois
and they moved torrSpring Valley Farmtrnear Cobden and had a
family of six childrenc
Lawrence
Norbert
Ri chard
Hugh (deceased)
Oorothy Cerny Zinn
Catherine Cerny Gibbs
January I, l9l9 John Cerny bought the farm from his father and
purchased additional land around it. Elizabeth (tizzie) Cerny
who is now 95 years old and her oldest son, Lawrence still
live on the home place on the farm. Her other two sons,
Norbert and Richard live on adjoining farms and the three sons
carry on the farming operation as well as raising Polled
Hereford cattle.
In the latter part of 1920, John Cerny started raising
Registered Pol led Hereford cattl e. Novernber 1J, 1975 he rvas
recognized posthumously for his accomplishments as a Pioneer
Polled Hereford Breeder by the American Polled Hereford
Association and his picture is in their Hall of Fame in
Kansas Ci ty, lt{r'ssouri .
In llarch or Apri I of I 955 ny father and mysel f spent a weekend
with John and Lizzie on the farm. Early on Sunday morning
a big truck arrived from Canada to pick up a Polled Hereford
bull that John Cerny had sold to a man in Canada. The truck
was all padded inside. Hy father was so happy to see this and
especially that John Cerny had received a good price for the
prized animal.
I received a telegram from Lizzie saying that John Cerny had
died June J0, 1956 and I sent her a telegram saying that ny
father, John Thomas Blair had died June 24, 1956.
Every couple of years my good friend, Catherine Hacker and
myself make a short trip to Southern Illinois and always

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vi si t wi th Li zzi e, Lawrence and Catheri ne. They al I
are so hospitable. Lizzie is a very benevolent kind
of person, so gracious and kind hearted and shows so
much compassion to everyone. Lawrence is so good
and thoughtful to his mother and she is happy to have
him wi th her.
Catherine is onployed by the First National Bank jn
Cobden, Il 1
i noi s.

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Church of the Visitation
Blessed Virgin Mcrry
...1
1966 r 1966
Illiopolis, Illinois

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VISITATION
RECTORY
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In preparing this book it would not be right and just
unless mention was given to our parish dedicated to the
Uisltation of the Blessed Uirgin l'lary at Illiopolfsl
Illinofs. It is also a memorial to the pioneer menbers
of the parish nrtto for so many years struggled to
organize it. It is further dedicated to the present
generation, descendants of the pioneers and also other
meinbers of the parish, who have continued through the
years to maintain the parish church, rectory and the
recently bui lt hal l.
The church celebrated its 100 year anniversary on
A.rgust of 1966. Before the Civil War, fs Catholics
were to be fotrnd in or near Illiopolis. After the close
of the war ard for the next ten or fifteen years, many
families, rost of Irish descent, settled on farms north
of urhere the tosr is now located aloqg the Sangaron and
lagan county lines. Arong these were found such names
as Qginlan, Blairp l{cGeel Graham, Colllnsr Gleasonl Welch,
Oonnors, Scott, Stengel, f'lcCabee Donovanl HcDermott, Hagen
and nany [x)F€o
llass was celebrated for the first time in the village of
Iltiopolis in the hotte of Dr. Bernard Stuve in the spring
of 1866.
In the autumn of 1867, under the direction of Rev. Uogtr
a rector of St. Patrickrs church in Decatur, Illinois the
first church building was colrpleted, a small frame buildingr
forty-t16 feet by twenty-four feet on lots .east of the
present rectory, where Visltation Hall is located. Once a
rilonth the parish was attended by priests cqniing on their
rounds frora Decatur, l{acon, Taylorvi lle and Springfield.
These priestrs names are not to be forgottei--Rev A. Uogt,
Rev. H. Kanel Rev. B. Claus and Rev. R. Grant.
In 1876 while Rev. llonasses Kane was in chargel the little
clrurch was enlarged by addition to meet the needs of the everd
growing congregationr n'trich at that time numbered seventy-five
to eighty families.

A history of the past years of the church of the
Visitation Blessed Virgin |hry at Illiopolis,
Illinois r,{ould not be complete if the services of
Anna l{cDermott were/not mentioned. For sixty years
Anna played the organ and conducted the choir. She
started playing the organ when she was a very young
girl. In those days and years her father urould bring
her to church in a surrey or wagon frorn the fami ly
farm through snow and mud to play for the norning ltlass.
After she rnoved from the farm to Illiopolis she never
missed a morning unless illness prevented her from
doing so.
A few years before her death on April J, l!60 she was
forced to retire because of illness. It will be a
long time before such a dedicated and unique person
as Anna could ever be found or replaced.
The mgnbers of the choir were E. Jo llcDennott, Hrs E. J.
|,lcDermott, Miss Katherine Blair, llrs. Anna Hesser, John
llcGee and Mrs. Wi||ian Schaefer.

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FATIfiR CIIARLES T,{.ANIIEL
In Decem.ber L877, Fat'her Charles l{anue}
was assi-gned to flJ.iopolis and remeined there
for twenty-four years, until his death in
190f. During his pastorate, the congregation
was divided, a ne'w parish was formed and in
1890 a church rvas erected at l{iantic.
Father I',[anue]- also organized parishes and
built churches at iSuffalo and Riverton. He
also built a two story structrrre as a rectory
adjoining the church ln IIliopolis, and
secured additional lots to the 'rvest. ilere in
1895, the present church was begun and
completed and on rihitsunday 1896 it was
dedicated. In the neantim.e, Father Manuel
becane ill, and the nelvly ordained tr'ather
,rl. A. Pachelhoffer was named his assistant.
.r\fter Father }vianuelts death, Father
Pachelhoffer remained one year as the
Admlnistrat or.
Father Charles ilanuel died in l!01.

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FATHER J. C. DAW
In October, 1902 Rev. J. C. Daw took charge
of the Illiopolis and Niantic congr€ations
and rernained unti I he was transferred to
Vandalia, Illinois in 1919. A fw years
after his assignment herel the old rectoryt
while being raised to replace the crumbling
foundation, collapsed and the pastor and the
congregation decided to abandon it and built
a new one on a line with the church. Then a
modern rectory in keeping with the new church
adjoining was the result and the old church
was torn dourn. His death occurred in 1)22.

RT. REV. MSGR. THOMAS F. McGRATH
0n |hy |, 1919, Reverend Thqnas F. l{cGrath succeeded
Father Daw. Several church inproveirents were made
during his pastorate such as neil, modern lights. He is
best plctured with his shy smile and his tousled hair.
As menbers of years ago we all recall his stern eye and
way'in catechism claSS. Th€ Protestant people spoke of
him as a r! gentl€nanrrand as rrone who had time for everyon€.rr
To the priests he was trFather Tormy l,lcGraw.rr His
rectory was a gathering place for priests *rtro sought his
wise counsel tempered by his ready and dlscreet sense of
humor.
l*rile servlng the parishes at Illiopolis and Niantic,
Father llcGrath celebrated his silver, golden and sixtieth
anniversaries of his ordination to the Catholic priesthood
and also elevation to the rank of lbnsignor. He was
born April /, 1872 and ordained July 25r 1895. He died
February J1 1955, and his body lay in state in the church
he had serud for thirty-s""* years. His body is buried
beside that of Father ltlanuel, just south of town in
Calvary cenetery.

RT. REV. MSGR. JOHN J. McGRATH
ln 1945, Reverend John J" llcGrath was named assistant
pastor and r€mained two years. He was replaced by Father
Jeines Sullivan, n'ho remained unti | 195t, vrhen he was replaced
by Father James Collins. In 1954 Father John J.
C4bell came to the church and renained only s short time
rften he was called to the Armed Forces. Father Sullivan
also served in the Armed Forces.
In 1955, Father John llcGrath returned as assistant to help
lbnsignor Thomas F. HcGrath wtro was in ill health.

I wish to mention this coincidence; there were three
persons living in the parish house each bearing the
name HcGrath and none of thern related to the other.
Esther HcGrath, a r'ronderful person and an excel I ent
housekeeper, Honsignor Thanras F. llcGrathr the pastor
and Father John J. HcGrath, the assistant.
After l,'lonsignorrs death, Father John took over the
duties of the parish, and was later named by Bishop
0fConnor, the pastor. A great deal was accomplished
under his guidance. The church was renodeledr redecorated
and slightly rpdernized. The house was also
renodeled to a small extent.
The Uisitation church was always noted for their delicious
chicken dinners usually served during the month of August
under a big tent on the grounds between the church and the
rectory. Father John had a brick hall built and it is
nened Visitation Hall. It is a heated and air-conditioned
and many festivities are held there as well as the chicken
di nners .
0n July 30th. of 1965 Father John was transferred to the
church at Nerv Berlin, Illinois and he was replaced by
Father Robert N. Porter.
bnsignor John J. l{cGrath was made pastor of St. .J\gnes church,
Springfield, Illinois in 1975.
He died January 28, 1979 at the age of 50 years.

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FATHER
JAMES KONDRATH,
J.C.D.
FATHER ROBERT
PORTER
Father James Kondrath was pastor of the Visitation church in
1966. Father Robert Porter came to Il liopolis, Il linois with
his parents in 19l+6. As a young boy he attended both grade
and high school in Illiopolis. He was ordained Hay 2J1 1964
and offered his first l{ass at Visitation. Since the time of
his ordination, he served as assistant pastor of the Church
of the Little Flower in Springfield, Illinois
The Visitation Gtholic church members observed their
centennial year in 1966. Rev. James Kondrath, Rt. Rev. John
l'lcGrath and Rev. Porter celebrated a }lass to close the
liturgical portion of the centennial celebration.

iicnsignor Eagear was ordained on June 2e 1928.
At his first parish in hlood River, Illinois
he was assistant at St. Bernardrs for a period
of six years. He was then transferred to
St. Patrickrs parish in Decatur, Il linois for

a period of eighteen rpnths. His first pastorate was
at Alexander, Illinois in the Vlsitation parlsh wfrere
he renained for sixteen and a half years. From there
he was transferred to the Gthedral of the lrrmaculate
Conception in Springfield, Illinois nfiere he spent
the next six years and from there to SS. Peter and
Paulrs parish in Collinsville, Illinois.
llonsignor Eagear was conmended for his achievernent of
building a new church while at Collinsville. Plans
for a new parish church was approved by Bishop OrConnor
in August of 1964 and on October lSth of the same year
solicitation of funds in support of the new building
project was launched. In June of 1965 ground was
broken and construction began on June lJ, 1965. The
church was occupied on August /, 1966.
l'bnsignor Eagear was transferred to the Visitation of
Blessed Virgin Mary church at Illiopolis, Illinois and
served as pastor there for several years.
l{onsignor Eagear died in 1984.

INV1TATION
TO ALL FRIET\DS & PARISI-IIONERS
ON SUNDAY,.MAY 7, I 989
IMMEDIATLY FOLLOWINGTHE9:3O am MASS
Ashland, the Altar Society
will sponsor a reception'-for
Who will be celebrating
50 YEARS
in the priesthood.
It will be held from 10:30 am to I 2 noon.
I have had the great pleasure of knowing Father Joseph lfurray
since the year;f l94l+. At that time I rented a room from his
aunt, Hary l'lurray who lived at 227 West Capitol Avenue in
Springfield. Father Joe would visit her from time to time when
he was in town. Father Joe was l'larYrs nephew and he was her
pride and joy and she had paid for him to go to the serninary
to become a priest.
He was ordained to the priesthood on Hay 18, 1939 by Bishop
James A. Griffin. He needed an autolttobile in order for him to
carry on his duties. Honey was scarce in those years and his
Aunt Hary could not afford to buy one for him although I knew
she wanted to so I suggested maybe we could go together and
find him a good used car. We found one for $6oO.oo and she
paid her half for it and I paid mine.
Father Joe is a person with great humility and very kind in
every wayr very steadfast in his faith and every one at
St. Augustine parish at Ashland, Illinois is so fortunate to
have him as their priest.

The inflationary spiral and the approaching celebration of
this eountr.lr s bieentennial have put reeord orices on signatures
of the men who signed the Declaration of Tndependenee.
ff by some rare stroke of fortune, Jrou have signatr:res on
various doer:ments of all 56 men who signed the Deelaration,
proelaineo Jrrly l+, t275, they eould be worth anywhere flcm
$25r0Q0 to $75r000, denending on the quality.
Georse llashingtcn did not sign the Declaration, althoush
he wa.s eliqible. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, later to be
the seeond and third presidents, did sign. ft is interestinq
to note that trfndependence foreverrt were the last words of
John Adarns. He and Thomas Jefferson dibd on the sarne
da;r, July l+, 1825.
fn eulogy to the two above men, Daniel ldebster said ItTt is
rny l-ivlng sentiment and by the blessinq of God it shall- be my
enduring sentiment--independence now and independenee forever.rl

EARLY HISTORY OF ITLINOIS
The flass of three nations, trYanee, Spain and
England had flown over this territory, nc\r fllinois
before it was won for a fourth nation by the courage
and daring of Georee Rogers Clark, and held for
that nation by the far-seeing Ben-iamin Flanklin.
Tt was Louis .Toliet and Father Jaeques l4arquette
who on May 17, 1573 first earne into lllinois in the
Fox River eor:ntry as e:cplorers, traders, and
missionaries to the fndians south of the Great Lakes.
flre first perrnanent settlements, however, were rnade
by the Flench under Sieur de la Sa11e in the
Cahokia-Kaskaskia regions to the south, where
tradinE posts and snall garrisons were built.
It was not until after the Revolution that
mueh was done to establish towns and farms in this
area now lcnown as f11inois, the main reason being
the great distance fron the settlements alcng the
eastern seaboard. The first governmet established
here, other than that left over by the French and
Enrlish, was udder the llorthwest Ordinanee of 17E7.
I.,Jhen the Constitution of the tlnited States was
established, one of the fjrst acts was to set up a
sovernnent to rule this area north of the Ohio,
east of the Mississiooi and west of the seaboard
states.
Gradually oeople misrated west and settled in
this territory, first along the rivers because that
was the land nost easily reaehed and fron which
produee eould be shipped to narket. l,lith the
buildi-ns of the Great llation ( or Cunberland) road
whieh ended in fllinoisr nresent town af t/andaliar
peoole began to flock to fllinois whose reputation
fcrr broad and fertile prairie lands had reached
back east. Along with this road eame the Branting
of nilitary traets as pat/ment to veterans of
the Revolution and the War of 1812. These lands
were settled by Americans and large groups of
emiqrants who banded toeether and built up
entire consnuni-ties.
Illinois became our twenti.eth state and a

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msnber of the Union in 1818, bringing again into
balance the north and the south, following the
adnission of llississippi on the southern side in
1817. In order to have the 601000 quota required
for adnissr'on, it is said that the census takers
counted every hunter who had ever set foot within
the staters borders, and all the tombstones in all
the cgneteri es !
llith the coming of the railroads in 1850,
Illinois becsne a great cornrnercial and a great
industrial center and the rich products of its
agriculture became known far beyond its borders.

ILLIOPOLIS ItJ,INOIS
Every town has its story, lcnown perhans to a few
residents, who take the trorrble to aceurately remember,
and who pride thenselves in actins as loea1 historians.
Take the tovm of Il1lopo1is, for instanee, and its
plaee in Sanganon county, I11inois, America and the
world. 'rlhy the name Illiopolis? What possible effect
could this Iittle town of 700 persons, knom to nost
travelers only by the sharp eurve at its western edge,
have upon the other two billion rrersons milling about
on this olanet?
ft all beean in the year 1825. Settlers from the
east disdained the rich prairie land and settled in the
warmer dense timber stand alons the southern border of
the Saneanon river. Eounded in 1855 as the town of
Wilsonr the narne llliopolis was adcpted in March 1859.
The year was then 1831+, and at Vandali-a the
fllinois general assenbly was krrangling over the site
and location of the state eapitol. Abraharn Lincoln,
with the long }trine from Sangamon county, was selline
Snringfield. Other seetional interests were proposing
different sites, anong thern ttllliooo1is, exaet
geographieal eenterrr of T11inois.
Referenee to a map shows that flliopolis is indeed
eloser to the eenter of the state than laiddletor^rn, a
vil.laze about 20 ni"les north of Sprinsfield in Losan
eountv. But Snringfi-e1d was nn:eh represented to win the
losrollins eontest fcr the new capitol buiLdins. Then
ttliopolic had to be eontent with sueh minor cjistineticns
as beins the only watertank stop on the railroad between
Sprinqfield and leeatur.
I^Iilson was ehartered by the state on October 1!, in
the year of 1855. Judge Witliam Wilson, of Carmi: Co1.
Thomas S. Mather, of Sprinsfield and Timothy J. Carter
were the founders. Colonel Mather is said to have laid
out the town and named it for Judee 1llilson, who onned
most of the land. Judse Wilson a native of Vireinia,
eame to fllinois after living for a short tine in
Kentucky. In 1819 he was named an associate justice of
the state Surpreme Court and in 1825 r^ras re-elected ehief
justice of the court. His term of office was 29 years.

Uneoneerned about industrial affairs and unaffected
by the fever of boosterism, flliopolis nevertheless
turned out bunper erops and fine livestock for sueh
pgowing eities as Sprinefield. Enough stores and other
serviee establlshments existed to serve local needs and
l-ife was good along the flliopolis-Lanesville axi-s.
Ialhat is now Lanesville was cllpped from Tlliopolis
in 1875 and beeame the township of l^lheatfield, a very
indisenous and deseriptive name. As such it remained
untl1 18F8 when it beeane Lanesville. During the next
several deeades, through good tines and bad, the o1d
families of I11iopo1i-s remained on the land.
Although the town was Isrown as hlilson, the pcstoffice
was cal1ed flliopolis station. The Great l'Jestern
railroad, which was built thrcugh the area in 1851+, fraa
a water tank at Wilson, as stated before, this was the
only one between Springfield and Deeatur.
When the name Illiopolis was adopted in lularch 1869,
it narked the second tfune for a town with that narae to
be located in the east Sangamon county area. Originarly
the town of Illiopolis r+as platted in 1B3l+ on a tract
of 8000 aeres of land at the geographical center of the
state, about one half rnile south of the present town, and
beeause of its central location some legislators thought
it to be the ideal place for the capitol, soon to be
removed flom Vandalia. A large two story hotel and warehouse
was built at the site and so'me lots sold for
residenees and business plaees. flliopolis was chosen
as a suitable narne for the rrfuture capitolrft f1lini, an
abbreviation of the state narne rrpolisrr frorn the Greek,
rleani.ns rrCity of the Suntr. Ballotine for the seleetion
of a new capital site was held on February 2-8, I?37.
Dn the second t'allot there were 10 votes for Geosraohieal
Oenter, cn the third
last none.
three ballots and on the first and
Soringfield won the coveted role as the state
eaoitol. Further building plans at illiopolis 'rere
abandoned and a prairie fire swept away the cnly landmarks
of a once aspiring town. It was almost 20 years
later that the name Illiopolis was revived.
The first settler recorded, Mrs. Anderson, a widow,
arrived in 1825 and erected the first 1og cabin. Soon

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after her carne John and Janes Hunter, Sanuel and Chesley
Diekerson, Jarnes Hannton, Josiah Kent and many others.
Most of the early settlers eame flon the hill countrT of
Kentuclcy and Tennessee and chose sites near streams for
their homes, instead of the very rich virgin soil of
the prairie. A1so, the Sanganon river offered
transportation to Mechanicsburg, the only settlement
in the area at that ti-me.
The railroad probably did more toward the establishment
of the town than any other activity. Tlains frorn
the east operated as far as Deeatur on lvlay 9, IB{h, and
the following spring the Sansarnon river was bridged at
B.iverton allowing the extension of the line to SprinrfieId.
The Great Northern, opened up a way for livestoek
and grains to reaeh the market and paved the wa1; for the
utilization of the rich orairie farrn 1and. The line
beeame kno'nm as the Wabash i-n 18t9.
I1l-iooolis, loeated on the eastern edge of Sansamon
eounty, about 1lr miles frcm Deeatur and 2lr miles eaut of
Springfield on IT. S. eoute J5, prirnarily has been a
farmine eonrnunity throushcut the years.
Land prants, to eneourage ernisration frorn Treland
and Enrland, attracted mary Dersons frcrn l'lew York anC
Pennsvlvania and alsc sorne southern states.
Few, if any, drearned that foreisn dietatcrs would
i-n 19h2 turn Tlliopolis and nearby Lanesville into the
site of a siant war industry. lfar planners in Washington
put the fineer on I1]-iopolis on February 17 , I9lr2,
desisnatins it for srnaIl arrns and bonb fuse plants to
cost $10r000r000.
During the war years that followed, Illiopolis
knew its share of trouble. Three bandits sluegeC the
assistant eashier of the Farmers State Bank and robbeci
hlm of $201000 in cash intended for payday exchange
with war workers. Then a school merger dr:e to the war
plant eaused much bad feeling. Tax resources of both
flliopolis and Lanesville dwindled sharply as farners
were forced to se1I to the goverDftent,. Then the arns
plant sucked so much r^rater out of the grcund that the
v1lIage we1ls dried up. The sprawling war defense
olant knornm as the Sangamcn Ordnance olant took in

about 201000 acres of land at the west edge of to*rn
and at the height of production durning World t{ar II
enployed about 141000 persons. World VJar II was a
national trauma.
Hcrld War I had caused a major national nroblization
of manpower and resources. Yet it was fought mostly
in the trenches of France, and it ended the next year
after the United States became fully involved.
World tlar II was the ultimate so far in terms of
being a global struggle. America had to fight on two
fronts--a sea and island war in the Pacific, an air
and land war in Europe.
Over 16 million Anericans served in the armed forces
during the five year period fronr l94l to 1946. Hore
Anericans were killed in World lllar II than were killed
on both sides during the bloody Civil War.
It was the total involvement of the country in the war
effort that made those years so mernorable. Gpsoline
and food was rationed. hlhen you went to the grocery
store or the service station you had to take the right
amount of ration stamps with you. They were as essentr'al
as money and harder to come by.
Many consumer goods were in short supply--various type of
clothing (particularly nylon hosiery)r automobi les tires,
shotgun and ri fl e shel I s. Auto factori es turned to bui I ding
tanks, trucks and other vehicles for the armed forces
of our country and our allies, so they turned out no new
passenger cars in 1J4J, 1944 and 1945.
Hany people were forced to work trro jobs. There were wage
and price controls because there was more denand for many
uprkers and goods than there were workers and goods avai l -
able. Rents were also controlled because of shortages of
housing. l,lithout the controls inflation h,ould have been
rdnpant. l{ar bonds were a big item. The government
pfeaded with individuals to buy those bonds to finance the
war effort. Entertainers and returning war heros appeared
at rallies across the nation to encourage bond buying.
For that four years of World l{ar II the people of America
were probably more united than they ever had been before
or have been since.

Dedication of the Illiopolis Public Library was
sunday, April ll of 1965.
In Decernber of ]956, a $5O'OO fire at Illiopolis
destroyed a tuo-story brick building housing the
Itlelvin Smith drug store (formerly operated for many
years as a drug store by A. P. Bickenbach) and the
Leonard Rednon barbershop on the fi rst floor and the
Hasonic Lodge hall upstairs. The law office of
t{illiam P. Roberts east of the drug store received
only very slight water damage. The cause of the fire
was never determined.
A tornado struck Illiopolis in April of 1953.
a laundromat and several mobile homes were completely
destroyed. The funnel cloud fol lowed and continued
dourn U. S. Route 16 toward Decatur, Illinois. Hany
trees were broken, stripped and uprooted and houses
were lifted from their foundations. People were
blown and tossed about by the high velocity of the
wind and several died as a result of the tornado.
One Sunday morning after Hass my father and myself
drove by a farm which was south of where we lived
and many sightseeing people were parked along the
highway and we could see them in the field and yards
looking for anything they could find after the
disaster that belonged to the unfortunate tornado
victims. It was a most sickening sight.

At the end of the war most of the land was returned
to its owners and many industries have located in
former ordnance plant buildings. The population of
Illiopolis is about 1200. Many new residences have
been built in Illiopolis since I'lorld War II. The
DeKalb Hybrid Seed Company bought part of the surplus
war plant and now the Perma-Starch Inc. is there.
For years Illiopolis has been recognized as one of
the rpst progressive towns between Springfield and
Decatur. Students from al I areas of eastern Sangamon
county and western Hacon county attended Illiopolis
High school which was the only four year high school
between Decatur and Springfield for many years.
Illiopolis can also speak with pride of its beautiful
and functional library. The cost of the construction
of the library was 5611000. Furnishings and the
equipnent cost $61500. An anonymous Il liopolis resident
donated S4OTOOO toward the construction cost with the
rernainder contributed by other persons of the town. In
an era when rising costs of library facilities and also
services makes state and-or federal aid nearly a
necessity in most conmunities, Illiopolis residents
built a $611000 facility without any aid from governmental
bodies, visible and handsome proof that no one
can top determined l'lidwesterners at achieving a goal,
once they decide itrs worth achieving. The structure
of red face brick with white trim and the mansard roof
has a standing copper covering. l./ith 3rl!0 square feet
of floor space, it manages to be conveniently modern
and comfortably tradi tional at the same time. The
window sills are marble, the floors are vinyl asbestos
and the interior walls are plastered-- all for very easy
maintenance. It has a combination heating and air
conditioning systan. .
The unusual arrangement of whi te shutters on the tal I
windons, the great - white - gold color scherne, the
antique brass foil wallpaper on the mezzanine walls backdropping
a custom designed chandelier in the lobby. The
library has 51000 volumes with a goal of 71000 to 101000.

NIAilTIC, ILLINoIS
The territory included in the Niantic township
was added to llacon County on ltarch 2, 19.39
by a resolutlon ln the Legislature by J.lJ. Gougep
who then a representative frqn the county named.
His purpose ln doing this was to forestall the
possible renoval of the county seat from Decatur
to a nen totr'n called ilurfreesboro located in
Friendrs Creek township.
By the terms of the act creating Hacon county
in 1829, the seat of Justice for the county was to
be located as conveniently as posslble for fts
popul ation. 0n llarch | 1 1839, the terri tory
included in rrtrat is now DeWitt county was cut off
frorn the original Hacon county. Then llr. Gouge
took irrnediate steps to lncrease the county to the
west by providfng in his legislative resolution
that there should be added to the county on the
western border twenty-gight full sections and two
fractional sections from the congressional townships
numbered sixteen and seventeen.
This land was described in the government
survey as frSwanp Landrr and for that reason was
regarded as worthless. The adjoining counties
did not want this land (for that reason) and so
no objection was made to its transfer. It was
bounded on the south by the Sangamon river, by
Illiopolis tonrnship on the west, by Logan county
on the north and by the third principal meridian
on the east. It hadl at that timee scrne settlers
so a rcrnoval of the county seat farther to the
east would make thern too distant from the seat of
justice. Accordlng to the terms of the act
creating the county, this effectually blocked the
atternpt to rgnove the county seat fron Decatur;
Illinois.

NIANTIC, Cot{ilECTICUT
According to the Journal of the Illinois State
Historical Society the naner Niantic, was first
given to an Algonquin tribe of Indians living
fonnerly in Connecticut. The rord is a contraction
of Naiantuka-ute meaning rrat the point of land on a
river or estuarytt. This definition fits exactly
the toun of Niantic, Connecticut, located on the
Niantic River at the Bay of Niantic, for which the
tonrn was named.
Niantic, Connecticut has a long and interesting
history. It was settled in 1635t and named for the
Nehantic Indiansl an agricultural tribee and the
product of an environment ufiich offered everything
necessary for a happy life. Such is Niantic today.
Scalloping is a chlef industry and the very
famous Niantic River scallops listed on hotel and
restaurant menus throughout Ns England came from
the Niantic River and Bay waters nearby. This is
Niantic, Connecticut, the beautiful and historic
town, vdtich gave us the name of our town in
Nr'antic, Illinois.
The Niantic coal mine was sunk by Hugh lt{ooney,
aided sqnewtrat by the more public spirited people
of the tonnl the kind who foster and determine the
progress of any undertaking. The digging was begun

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on Valentinets day, 1F82, and eoal was strr:ek in
Augrst of the sane year, tc be followed by a mcst
hilarious celebration ef the eomnletion of the
enter-rise so fu1l of noment to the people of
Niantic. l4r. Ittroonev did not live to see the outeome
cf his enterorlse. The mine conti-nn:ed to be
lliantjers rnosi in ortant indr.:str.vr eivj.ng en"olcyment
to many citizens until its elosiLng -in 1q1L.
ft was apain onerated at different
never asain sueeessfullv.
tirnes. br-rt
..1 flour nill was erected in 185F by J. H.
ZtTey, also aided as in the ease of the eoal mine,
by nublic spirrted citizens. It was onerated
successfully until 188h, when it was converted into
a grain elevator by }lessrs. I'fottelmann and
Jaeobson, the cwners at that tine. It passed into
the hands of various other people until the coming
of the interurban, when it was scld to the enterprise
and torn down to avoid a detour of the road.
A tile niIl was operated for years by D. A.
and L. C. Farnam and anoth€r blr f,. Connaghan on
the south edge of lliantic. These entercrises
aided mueh in the development of the township. The
srrarnp lands so characteristic of it in its earlv
history havine been converted by the use of tile
into hrghly crodrietive 1and, no lonper can it be
ealled bv sueh a sliehtins nam.e.
The first store in the tor"rn cf Niantic was
eonriueted bv 'nlilliam ransen in a buildr-nq both
as a residenee and a store on the site of the
nresent resi.denee cf Mr. and llrs.
"Tohn Hinrstedt.
Then earne a rnost cenial and enereetie Gernan bul
a few vears fron his native 1and, Ceorge tnlree,
who seleeted the site fcr his store and clcsed a
trade for it i-n less than five mrnutes. He later
bror:rht his family and for over sixty years led a
rnost exernplary 1ife, both socially and comrnereially.
He was postnaster for some years, school treasurer
almost from his comins to his death and beearne one
of the founders of the State Bank of Niantic.

The first physician who earne to Niantic was
a Dr. Ste'nrart. He came tc the town in the year
18(5. Many nore Doetors eane after him. The one
Doctor that served the lliantic cornr,mnity for fiftythree
eonseeutive years was h. Alonzo I{a11. The
most t::vinE neriod in the besoeetacled oh:rsiciants
eareer eame in the lnfluenza enidemic of 1818 r.rhich
left twenty of the towns people desd in its r.rake.
The Doctor was a nost kind and Eentle Derson br:t he
never made rnueh monelr because patients
'nrere forever
takine advantage of his patienee and senercsity by
nesleetinE p'ayment for the serviees the;r received.
He named a tract of hrs land used for villase
recreaticnal pnrDoses, ttfnelers Parkrrr to pernetuate
the menory of his wife, whose maiden na$e was Tng1e.
WABASH RAIIR,OAD
The ilabash Railroad in 195[ completec its
100th anniversary of its service to Decatur, fllinois.
This road was first kno'rrn as the Northern Cross and
Iater, The Great Northern, and was laid orrt to scan
the state of fllinois fron the Mississinpi to the
Wabash. The first train left Meredosia, on the east
bank of the Illinois River in Novenber of 1838. fn
February, IFl4z, the road had been built as far east
as -snrinsfield and on l"Iay 8, 185L the first train
reached Deeatrlr.
The railroad, then knewn as the G::eat T,iestern,
was sr,rrveyed throus-h the townshi-ps by survelJor s
startins out of Snrj-npfield on feeember 6, 1E62 anci
reaeh',nq Deeatur on lhri-strnan Dav of that year. The
road rvas brrilt through l,liantie in 1853, the year
the town was founded.
Two eonstruetion gangs were engaged in this
wcrk, one eoning from the rnrest and made up of frrsh,
the other workj-ng frorn the east and mainly German
in its nersonnel. lalhen the tvro gangs met a short
distance west of the nresent locati.on of Harristor^m,
the question of suprenacy had tc be settled
b;r a general flght. The Irish are said to have had
the best of the rrarzunenttt.

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All the rails, spikes and joinings for the tracks
had been imported from England. It was not much of a
railroad compared to the railroads of today. It had
been hurriedly and cheaply constructed. Between Niantic
and Harristovrtr the track was laid right on the prairie,
no attempt being made to build a grade. There was no
balIasts not even side ditches. A npdern locomotive
would today drive that railroad track into the earth the
first trip over it....the track followed the line of least
resistance regardless of distance or curves. l\lo more
cutting and filting were done than was necessary. Though
it was atrshabby construction traiDr pulled by a dinky,
rvood burning locomotiverrr its arrival was an event of
real signi fi cance.
The early engine to enter Niantic, Il linois was
rf0l d l{urnber 152"
Niantic has the distinction of havin! had a most
beloved ci ti zen, Mrs. Hary Oel aney born. i n County Carl ow,
Ireland. She was the mother oll nine children who lived
to the ripe old age of one hundred and two.
To those valiant pioneers whose keen eyes first viewed
the broad prairies of Illinois and remarked, rrA settter
woutd not there spend ten years in cutting down and burning
trees vhen on the very day of his arrival he could put his
plow into the ground.rl
0n Septenber tl, 1890, the predecessor of the State
Bank of Niantic was formed. Wree, Jacobsen & Co" was
started by George l.lreel Henning, Jacobsen and Herman
Nottlernann. Each contributed SZOOO to capitalize the bank
at $6000.
In 1893, t{aller Pritchett purchases one-half interest
in the young bank and it was renamed Wreel Pritchett 6 Co,
He bought out Jacobsen and Nottldnann in 1893. l.lhen Wree
died in l!08, Wal ler bought l.lreers interest and named the
bank Ualler Pritchett & Co,
A nen building was erected in l9l0 and on July l, l9l5
the bank was incorporated as the State Bank of Niantic. The
bank was extensively renodeled and enlarged in 1956.

Since being incorporated in l9l5 the bank has had
only five Presidents, all from the Pritchett family:
lJal I er Pri tchett, l9l 5-1936; Effi e Pri tchett , 1936-1939i
Carl W. Pri tchett , 1939-1968t Carl pri tchett Jr. 1968-1980;
Herschel Pritchett, l!80-present time.
The State Bank of Niantic was purchased 0ctober ll, 1985
by Scott Bankshares, Inc. of Bethanyr Illinois.
Offi cers of the bank are;
Herschel Pri tchett presi dent
Richard M. Eckhart Vice president
Alice I. hbodrum Cashier
Craig R. Eckhart Assistant Cashier & Loans
Time is a living thing; it cannot be captured. It
flows on impartially for all of us. lJe can use it or we
can waste it, but we cannot call it back" Each hour is a
new gift, to do with as we will, therefore each dollar of
our money is a trust that determines our true character.
In the nineteen-twenties, the nation as well as
individuals were proving this. The economic affairs of the
country rose to dizzy heights and then crashed to earth,
starting the worst era of depression and unemployment on
record.
Therefore, time and money have much in corrnon. Both
must be wisely managed and spent to yield good returns.
As the years pass, and money changes many hands, the story
becomes a story of men and women. It is irpossible to
supply all human wants.

An Ancient Irish Prayer
€4QSe'"€4Q-+e'o*,,
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Ma,y thc blessing of light n be upon you,
light without and light within. Ma,y tlu blzssed
runlight shiru on W and, warm your luart till it
glous lihe a great peat f,re, so that tlu strangn
mary cutrc and,warm himself by it, and also afrim"d.
And mary tlu light shine out of the two qa of yat^t
lihe a candlz set in two windous of a hause,
bidding tlrc wandnu tn come in out of tlu storrn.
And may the bl"essing of the rain be upon yau, -
th^e soft, nteet rain. May it f"U upon
Wr spirit so tlmt all tlu littlc flouters may
s/ring up, and slud thzir saneetness on tlu air
And may thz blessing 0f the great rairu be on you,
may thq beat upon yrul spirit and wash it
fair and clean, and leaue thne rnartJ a,
shining pool wltne tlu blue of luanm
shines reflectzd, and sometima a star
And may tlw blasing of thz earth be on W -
tlu great an"d, raund, earth.
May you ner hane a kindly greeting for tlum
you pass as you,Te going along th^e roads.
M ay tlu e arth be sofi un"dr you wlwn you lie upon it,
tired at the md of tlu day And may it
rest eaq oaer you, whm at the last yu"t li,e out
undn it. Mry it rat so lightly ouer you thnt
your saul mary be quickly through it.
and on i8 wat to God.

TNELAI'JD
Treland is one of the most beautiful of the
eountries in the world, but it is something more
than beautiful. ft is the best eeuntry in the
world to be poor and unfortr.rnate in, and if you
are 1uc}ry and rieh, your luek stil1 held if one
shoul-d so to freland, and ycu will get your
moneyrs worth there, ncneyrs worth of a kind
that you could not get an5mhere e1se. ff you are
an Enelishrnan, especially if you are a sporting
Fnglishnan, you wi1l, strangely enough, fare even
bet,ter than other peooles. Somethins of the aura
of the centuries will invest you yet. It will
perhaps be a little in the nature of the eminenee
bestowed on Satan in the first tr+o books of
Paradise Lost; but anythlng is better than to be
despised. Ycu wi11, indeed, stil1 enjoy sorne of
the privileges of a doninant race--if you do
not try to dominate.
0n your side you have but one thing to do.
Take a man for a man, and be friendly ruith everybody,
and you will find everyboCy rnore than
willine to be friendly, flankly, genially and
fliendly ivith you.
A busi-ness nan earne from the ltiorth of freland
years aeo to a Southern town in freland. He was
of a different reliqion flom 95 ner eent of the
people: and the parent establishment of his firn
was in Belfast. He lived in that Southern to',m
and dld brrsiness there for tr^renty vears. DurinE
the neriod there r^ras a rebellion, a boycott of
Northern firns and a Civi.l war. ThrouEh all of
these haopenings there wasntt an unfriendly r,'erd
sooken to him. He never waived his or:neioles,
he nerrer itate dirtil or was asked to eat dirt.
Some of the eustomers left durins the boyeott: but
when the boyeott was over they cane back to hirn.
His busi-ness propfessed, and when he quitted the
town the inhabitants with abundant and more than
spontaneous acts of generosity showed that they
liked and respected him.
l,rliren he was asked what he had done for these
people, to be so well treated, he said he had done
nothing.--Yes, he eorrected himself, he had done

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one thins.--Deliberately and as the result of
observation of his fel1ow-Irishmen he had
adnitted no distinction of raee, ereedr means,
sceial oosjtion, or edr-reation between himself
and arnrone in that town or district. After
leavi.nc the town he was eongratulated by a
fri sn6 on the ski1l r^rhich he had trrun with the
hare and hunted vrith the horrnds?r; but, being an
fri.shnan, he knew that his race--and himself-will
now and then say a bitter thinE for the
n] eesrrre of trrrni.ng a nhrase rather than from
i1l-nature and he l^ras not offended.
There is two lrelands. Northern frel-and
whose Capital is Belfast on the North Channel;
the population is approximately hlOr000. Dublin
is the Capital of the Republic of IrelanC. The
seaport is on the lrish .Sea. The population is
approxirnafely 537, 000.

D\:blinrs history is a long and interesting
one, dating baek to the seeond eentury when
Ptolerry narked it down on an an ancient map in the
year A.D. thO as Eblana. fts exeellent harbor rtas
loown to mariners even in the eentur"lr before Christ.
Dublin derlves its nane frorn the frish words Dubb
Li-nn neaninq rrdark Doolrt, so ealled beea.use of the
blaekish eolor of the tiffy waters emptying into
the sea. fn aneient times it was also lcnown as
Baile Atha Cliath, ttthe tor,rn of the ford of the
hurdlesrt' and this is the name by which the
eaoital is known in frish (Gaelic) toda;r. The
name derived fbom the fact that just above the
harbor point there was a ford rn'hieh snanned the
liffy river, leading to one of the five s?eat
roads of old Ireland coming fron Tara, the seat
of the aneient frish kings. Today, Father Mathew
bridge stretches aeross the tiffy on the site of
the old ford.
Curiously enough, Dublin as a town was not
established by the Irish at all, and did not
become an lrish establishnent until centuries
later in history. Viking ralders in their
Seandinavian galleys plundered the coast during
the eighth and ninth eenturies, and the Danes used
Ihblin--or l-yflin as they called it in those
days--as a eentral naval base for their sea raids.
The wooden settlement the Scandinavians founded on
the site of present-day lublin pa'e'nr in i:r:portance
when trade routes onened for the Ncrsema-n in their
maritirne empire. The Danish power renained intact
until the Battl-e cf Clontarf on Good Fridav, 1011+,
when the lrish 1ed by Brian Boru sweot the fielcj.
The frish victory was short-lived, hcwever
and no sooner had the Danes fled to their or^rn
lands in the north than the Anglo-Norrnan invasion
took place in 1159. The Normans took Dublin by
storrn, nakins the city their headquarters for the
eonqrrest of lreland. The rest of Dublinrs long
stclry reads like .oaEes out of a history book, with
battles, eonquests, rnassacres, and tragic and
turbulent turns of events crowding one upon the
other. In II72, Henry If held his court in
Dublin, turning it into a colony of Bristol. The
British had hoped to make Dublin the clerical and

governmentat center of a country they tried to
control for the seven hundred long years unti I
the Irish final ly rron thei r independence in 1921 .
There are many places to see for the tourist
in Oublin. It has many hotels, bars, restaurants,
and rr.rseums as wel I as many gardens and parks.
Dublin is knor.rn for its horse racing including the
Irish Derby and steeplechase races. Greyhound dog
racing is a favorite race. The Abbey Theatre has
a very modern building on Harlborough street.
Company performs mainly Irish plays ( in English);
repertoire includes plays by W. B. Yeats, J. H,
Synge, Sean 0rCasey as well as many neur writers.
In the foyer of the theatre there are some famous
figures who moved on to make movies in Hollywood.
Tea-drinking is an age-old lrish habit. Tea is
drank at all times of the day and the tea is great
if yotr like it hot, sweet and strong. You can get
good tea anywhere. Coffee is a more debatable
proposition; there are many places where you can
get really good coffee, but in places where everybody
else seems to be drinking teal it is wiser to
drink tea too. One form of coffee that calls for
special mention is Irish coffee. It consists of a
glass of black coffee to which is added plenty of
brown sugar and a measure of Irish whiskey, all
topped off with a layer of cream. The cream is
carefully poured (often over the back of a spoon)
so as to float on the top. You donrt stir it.
You drink the hot whiskey-coffee through the cool
cream and the effect i s uni que. However, i t i s
stronger than it tastes and nruch as you enjoy it,
it is not wise to drink many in succession the
first time. You can get almost any drink in Ireland
nowadays, but the two staple drinks are the
distinctive Irish products, hhiskey and Stout.
Jameson and Power are the two big Dublin distillers.
The thing to retngnber about all of the whiskeyl stout
or ligueur is that they are best drank neat, or with
a little water, or perhaps best of all, neat with
water on the side. You will scandalize many decent
Irish people if you spoil the flavor of whiskey with
any kind of soda.

There are nany frelands, the ones you have
heard about and read about and dreaned of--and
they are all there waiting for you to see and
visit. Miles of chest-high stone fences that
enelose tinyrtreeless, 1or,'1and oastures: farmers
with hazel- sticks oatiently herdins cattle down
roads fl-anked by thatched-r:oof eottases; the
moss-grolrn ruins of Blarney Castle and of course
its legendary stone: a broad, rolline eentral
nlatn of rj-ch grasslands producins the worldrs
tenderest lreef and fastest horses and also the
friendly necple.
Prevailing westerly and south-'rresterly
winds blcwins aeross the warm waters of the North
Atlantie Drift, an arm of the Gulf Stream, generate
Irelandrs humid climate--sunshine warm enough to
make lalm trees feel at home, creany white clouds
that so tumbling up into the sky like the
beckoning uplands of another country, winter days
raw and damp enough, as County Sligo farners say
rrto give a wild duck rheumatism.tr freland is
far up the side of the globe--in the latitudes
of Labrador and this is why the smoke-blue Irish
gloaminq lingers forever on sunmer evenings.
Relaxed, is the one-word surnmary of the
average frishnanrs approach to 1ife. Most are
not college educated and lf they are, they only
work for the enjoyment of their own oleasures.
The Irish are not of the naturally neirhborly
type. Thelr would rather drink, fish or just
rest and expect to be waited qpo!1. Irishmen
display little interest in their dress and
elcthes. They are nct tidy or neat and therefor
are slovenly and Cisordered. They have a
tendeney to be eolor-blind which is a very
defeetive eolor perceotron, independent of the
eanaeity for dlstinguishing lieht and shades
of eolor and form. They are not the most trustlverthy
peoole and sometirnes act in a frrrtive or
underhand way in their aetionsr and many having
a disoosttion to avoid exertion of work, slownovinq
and slrrsgish, and are addieted to
arsuments and disputations. They are very good
nrogenltorrs
good sense.
when they show sound .'iudgernent and

Passing o:t of Limerick on the road to Ennis
there is little ehanee in the quality of the
eountry until after Bunratty Castle, one of the
best preserved Norman eastles in freland. You
wi-I1 then observe a quite unexpeeted outeron of
linestone throushout r+hat is in other respeets
an exeellent field of grass. Tt is County
Clarers adrranee notiee of itself. There are
other thj.ngs in Clare, fine bold seenery, eood
farrners, strong noliticians, eonfortable hotels,
exeellent fishine and shooting, friendly and
hosnitable, but the fcundation of a1l is limestone.
The Clare rnan is slow to alter his
politics. He still remembers that he is a
Daleassian, one of the tribe that under Brian
Boru was the agent of the rout of the Danes at
Clontarf in 101h. There is still- a feelins in
Clare that the men of that county have alwalrs
come to the help of the nation in the hour of its
need. The leaders of the Clare revolutionaries
found themselves, after the Treaty, fighting
almost as bitterly against one another as they
had done asainst England; but all fel-t that a
great principle was at stake.
This proud independence of Clare is due to
eeographical conditions. The county is almost
completely segregated from the rest of freland
by natural boundaries of rnilitary importanee,
the sea, the Strannon river flcwing scuth-r*estward
into the dtlantie, and s€\re1sl ranses of mountains.
The Burren district is one of the rnost natural
phenornena in Treland. Tt lies in the north-western
district of Clare and eovers nar\.r square ni1es, a
vast outeron of linestone and rock only partiall;r
eovered v,rith earth, and in hi11y nor+.ions denr:ded
of it. As far as the eye ean see +"here are rnany
stretehes of stony wilderness partiall-rr eovered
with serub bushes of blaekthorn and hazel, and
some patehes of Frass; but treeless.
Because depressions move generally eastwards
aeross Ireland while higher pressure oeeurs to the
south and east, moderate to strong westerly r"rinds

are comnon at all seasons. Marqr forrner light railways
in Donegal, Clare and Kerry would cease to
ooerate when the winds reached F0 M.P.H.
Famine first struek in the autumn in 18)+5 and
reaehed its peak during 18)15 and 18h7 and declined
durins 18L8. Tt was not the first nor the last
di-saster of its kind to befall freland but its
exeeotional dr,rration and severity and eonsequences
had left an indelible irnoression on the eountry and
its neoole, funnediate earrse being the failure of the
notato erop when blisht, in the forn of the funzus
Phytophtora infestans, spread rapidl;r through
freland with the encouraqernent of the nrld wet
weather. The r:ltinate eause was the iniquitous
neslect that allowed a situation to develop wherein
the vast mass of the people rdere condernned to bare
subsistenee on one erop. Had econonie developnent
progressed along mcre rational 1ines, there was little
reason why the population could not have been better
supported.
The temible consequenees need only be surnmarized
in the present ccntext; over a nillion people died
fron starvation and related epidenics of typhus,
relaosing fever and bacillary dysentery drrring the
farnine years; a further nillion enigrated, mostly in
ttCoffin Shipsrt to ltlorth .{merica. freland could never
be allowed to return f,o its nre-famine state, and in
the years following, new avenues of social and
eeonomie development were soughtr the results of
whieh again transforned the landscaoe and 'nrere very
benefieial at least for those who had not died frorn
starvation or ernigrated. The drastic reduction of
r^rheat aereapes after the eorn 1a'rs trere reoealed in
18115 and was eonrirmed by the pcor harvests cf 1t51
and 1852 and by the agrartan denressi,on of the 1870's.
Tillase deelineri senerally, fleur mi1ls and
qrain stores fell dereliet, and mueh of rural freland
reverted to Dasture. fhe snall eompaet family enrased
in nixed tillase, intensive hatrmaking and livestoek
nroduction besan to ernerse as freland I s tpieal farm
unit. fts eash ineome was derived from li-vestock
rather than srain.
Almost no industries had been develooed in

lreIand, so that most of the people !'Iere dependent
on farmine for a living. Yet a large part of the
land came into the hands of absentee landlords who
lived in England. They rarely set foot in the
eountry and took no interest in thejr tenants
beyond the money their agents could extort from
them.
If the tenant could not payr he was promptly
evicted. However, even a tenant who paid 'pas not
seeure. He m.isht be put cut of his home so that
the landlord eould qet a higher rent frorn the next
oecunant. If an evieted tenant had made any
improvements he eould not clairn payrnent for them.
The peasants were often on the verge of being
starved. Tn 18h7, the t'Black Year of Fortlr Sevenrrt
the potato crop failed almost entirely. Thousands
died of starvation in spite of the relief eiven by
the governnent. ft was in the nidst of this
terrible famine that Irish enigrants began to come
to America; Withln half a eentury four millicn
Irish left the shores of their native land. Iviany
carne to New York and to Boston. They carried with
them a bitter hatred of England.
The seraration of ehurch and state occurred
in 1859. Althoueh the Enslish hdd succeeded in
making Illster Protestant, nearly all the lrish
renained Catholic. ltrevertheless the .Anelican
Church had been established as the official church.
The people had to oay for its uokeep out of their
seanty ineornes even though they did not attend.
At the same time, they tried to sunoort their own
Catholic priests as best they could.
The frish parliament consisted only of ioncatholics,
so that four-fifths of the people were
excluded frorn the sovernnent. At this tine harsh
laws diseriminated asainst the Catholics. Their
ehildren had to go to Protestant sehools or else
remai-n at home. Catholies were not nernitted to
attend the university, nor could they hold public
offiee.
ft was not until 1869 ttrat Catholies were able
to break the hold of the established church in
Ireland. With strong support from Gladstone, the

eeorne resident aliens. 0f the freshwater fish,
roach (which probably originated in Ireland frorn
anelers discarding livebait), carp (which may
have escaped fron-rnonastery ponds), teneh, dbce,
ralnbow trout and perhaps pike and others.
Blarney is, of course, a itmustrr for any
tor:rist; but donrt rush the visitr Jrou need to
absorb the atnosphere of Cork for a while before
naking the five nile excursion to Blarney Castle
to kiss the famous Blarney Stone. Queen Elizabeth I
of Ensland is credited with givins the word trblarneyrl
to the languaee when, eonnenting on the unfulfilled
promises of Cormae MacDermott I'IacCarthy, Lord of
Blarne;r at the time, she is reported to have
remarked: ItThis is all Blarney; what he says, he
never m.eans.ft l'flrether you intend to kiss the stone
and aehieve the gift of eloquenee or not, the view
from the battlements of the square tower is most
imoressive. The kissing stone is set in the
battlements, and to kiss it, the visitor rnrst 1ie
on the 'ra1k within the walIsr prasp a grrard rai1,
lean his head back and touch the stone with his lips.
ft sounds dangerous, but it isnrt, and it makes a
first-class picture. There are caves and a stairease
which is srrpposed to Brrant ycur r^rish, if you
walk dor.m it backwards.
The Blarney Stone is in Blarney Castle in the
County of Cork. To those who believe it, lt is
said to lnoart skiIl 1n blarney to those who
kiss it, fhis -i-s not authentic.
BLARNEY STONE
The Blarney Stone is located in the town of Blarney
in the County of Cork. lt is the sill of one of the win_
wheedling
talk."

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COUNTY TIPPINARY
narming is the staple business of lreland. The
Trishman is the best farrner and stoek-raiser in the
world: and sorne of the best land in the world is in
Counties Tiooerary and Cork. Now, there is a 1ot of
stealins' over the rich farnins districts a sreat
depressi-ng chanee. Prj-ees have fal1en heavily,
oartly through rrorld-wj-de eauses and nartllr on
aeeonnt of the drrties imnosed cn eattle bv Great
Brrtain.
"Royal and sainth Cashel," cathedral-crouned stronghold of ancient
hinfs,rises from'the floor of the Golden Vale,in C6unty iipperary
The Roek of Cashel is one of the mcst strikins
si-ghts in Treland. The first vier.r of it, ecmes on
with a shoek of beauty and the sadness of thinss
that have nassed and r^rarn us that al-I sood nust nass.
fts ehurehes are in ruins, like mest of the o-r.der
religious buildinss in freland. The Round Tower is
externally Derfect. The cathedral. thoush larEe ancj

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inpressive, eannot have been of any extraordinary
beauty, only that what it derived fron its
eommandine position on the Rock.
Mount Me1leray, the monastery cf T?aooist
nonks in the Knoclcnealdown Mountains is a srand
plaee to see. In the distanee to the ri-rht 1ay
the Galtee Mountains. The conditions of life in
the Tranpist Order is fairly well knor'm. The
rnonks observe the r':le of complete silencerexcept
a few who must come into contact rsith the wcrld
outside the nonastery orecincts to farrn and teach
and entertain pnrests. The;r 11,t" on the rrery
simplest of vegetarian food, which they raise
thernselvesl and for sueh tasks as 'rheir nurnbers
can coDe with are their or^rn gardeners, farners,
carpenters, and builders. Their day is spent in
prayer, and working on the farrn or in the schcol.
The monastery is aoproaehed with awe and a
sense of discomfort of mind but one leaves it with
a $rarrn sense of common humanity. One is shown
throush the monaster;' 6" a pleasant eourteous
gentleman in a monkrs robe. He shcr"is Irou the
clcisters, the refectory, plain to bareness where
he and hls brethren eat their simple meals in a
silence broken only by the voice of the rnonk who
is appointed to read. The dormltory, also bare
and au.stere, is where the nonks take their few
hours of s1eep. Ii:rinq rneals the Abbct nresides
in a sneeial ehair at the head of the lons table.
Tn the rjcrnitory there is no dj-sti-net'ion cf
nersons. Abbct, oricr, and monkse there i--s a
similar little er:biele for each. Thev sleep in
their robes, and rn'i.ll be buried in thern. fn the
guest-house one is served tea and brornm bread and
socd tasti-ng butter. The rule of the rnonaster3r
forbids arlv charee for food or lodgine: but it is
eustomary for those who ean afford it to qive an
offenng. The nnonks of Mount Melleray and their
vows cf silence is something to witness, To the
comternplative, the self-denyi ng, vrorshipping soul
these thins:s are healing and strengtenine, a
solace and a hope, a chapel in the wilcierness.
Religious belief is matter of faith, and not of
eertainty.

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States on the Atlantic seaboard were not content
to rely solely on higher fares to prevent the entry of
unprofitable persons and betwe$ 1837 and 1840 New Yorkr
Hassachesetts and Pennsylvania passed statutes forbidding
passengers to land until an official had examined theme
to discover if any had been rlaupers in another countryrl
or were | | unati c, agdr i di ot, mai ned or i nfi rm persons | .
For such persons a bond of Sl1000 dollars was required,
against the possibility that they might become a charge
on any townl city or state and ln addition all passengers
were required to pay two dollars rrhead moneyil on landing
and this was rdnitted to the State Treasury and used for
the support of alien paupers. The majority of the
destitute and helpless ufiqn the statutes were designed
to keep out were lrish who arrived with less means than
any other ernigrants.
The poor Irish enrigrant had never been welcomed but
because he was strong and ready to do manual work he had
been important to the development of the country. Ireland
did supply the hands urtrich led Lake Erie down to the sea,
and wedded the strong Chesapeake to the gentle Delaware
and carried the roads of the East out to the farthest outposts
of the West. The canals, the roads, the rai lways of
the Uni ted States, as of Canada were constructed by the
Irish labourers; hardl difficult and very dangerous work,
dogged by accident and diseases and ret*arded its wages of
about a dollar a day. The Irishman before the potato
failed was sturdy; he knew enough English to tell directions
and he was sought after by large-scale anployers of labor.
Before a large enterprise began United States contractors
were accustomed to advertise in the Oublin, Belfast 61d Cork
papers to tempt men over and these labourers became the
rShanty Irishr living in board huts by the side of their
work or in shacks thrown together on the outskirts of towns.
The Irish crowded into cellars but without the
cellars the Irish population pouring into Boston
could not have been housed. Boston cellars were
generally entirely below the surface of the ground,
without a ray of light or a breath of air and without
drainage or priviesr The cellars of houses bui lt
on rmade landr were partially flooded with every
tldal wave while others were flooded from time to

time with ttvo or three feet of watere yet they
sheltered a packed mass of humanity.
Very ferv lrish ernigrant girls contrived, however
to preserve the gaiety and chastity, which had always
characterized Irish women and found a welcoarc in
American hornes. Irish girls were working as domestics
and servants, the forerunners of tBridgetr wtro for
nearly a century was the mainstay of innumerable
Aneri can fami | 1'es.
The largest number of Irish anigrants to the United
States disernbarked and had always disenbarked at Neur
York; half the total of Irish emigration to all ports of
the United States, beforel during and after the famine
went to Nen York. Ne*v York was a rougher, tougher, more
boisterous tour than Boston. In 1847 Ns York was
already a center of inmense wealth, with fine mansions,
fine horses and a display of riches; nevertheless, it
retained sone of the features of a frontier town.
Uagrant pigs acted as scavengers and wandered through
the streets at will. Neu York was not onty still at the
primitive stage but in some ways it was a barbarous
and ferocious city. Numbers of stray dogs wandered
about the streets and in hot weather, mad dogs were
very @0mon.
Fevere however, was only one of the perits which
awaited the poor snigrant in New York. He also was the
predestined victim of swindlers and bullies and at the
port of New York, disreputable and fraudulent practices
flourished at hr's o

tool but a spade. Only an exceptional fewe under ten
percent, it is estimated, becdne farmers, among then
Henry Fordrs grandfather, John Ford who cleared what
was then primeval forest near Dearborn, Michigan and
made a farm.
The lrish were advised, warned, irnplored by newspapers,
offi cials and phi lanthropi sts to I eave tre ci ti es
and go west; but they rernained, or if they did leave one
city they moved to another, to engage in the lowest type
of labor, earn the least wages and live in the very
worst of condi tions. lli thin a short time, alnrost a feur
monthse the Irish had created a world in New York and
for that matter i n every other ci ty i n whi ch they
settled, that was exclusively Irish. tThey love to
clan together in some out of the way placer, wrote the
Ne*v York Association for irnproving the condition of the
poor rare content to live together in filth and all
kinds of disorder with a bare sustenahc€r provided they
can drink, smoke and gossip, and enjoy their ba!ls and
wakes and frolics without molestationr.
The Irish immigrant arriving at New York or going
to cities in the interior of the United States, such as
Albany, Utical Cincinnati or Louisville went straight to
the Irish quarter, called tlrlsh Townr, rPaddy Tovnr or
rThe Irish Ghannelr where he associated exclusively
with his fellor countrymen and had no contact with
Anerican culture or Anerican ideas. rHe is lost in the
crowd of his countrymenl triro encompass him in such
numbers that his glimpses of fonerican manners, morals
and religion are fe*r and faintr wrote an Fmerican
journalist. There was, ilpreover, a bond which held lrish
hatred of England, the burning sense of injustice,
resentment and the feeling of dispossession with rrytrich
nine out of ten inunigrants left their native land. They
felt they had been wronged in their oun country.
It wase however, a hideous world in which the poor
Irish inmigrant found himself. In suffering and death
he paid a terrible price and the way to forgetfulness
was drink. Physical pain, disappointment, bereavsnentr
'were dulled with whiskey. How greatly drunkedness held
back the rise of the Irish in Anerica can never be
estimated, but unhappily it was in the saloon and the
bar that the early political role of the lrish in the
United States was shaped. Through the two national

passions, for whiskey and political argument, the Irish
could be easily swayedr easily inflamed; and once his
political boss had arranged naturalization, the vote of
the Irishman was as good as the vote of any New England
Yankee. So it wasl with a glass of free whiskey in his
hand, subservient to the orders of a bossl a rioter at
electionsl a recipient of jobs and favors handed out at
political headquarters, that the Irishman first played
a part in the government of the United States. The
Irish were the most unfortunate inmigrants and the very
poorest, they took longest to be accepted, longest to
become genuinely assimilated and they waited the longest
before the opportuni ti es the Uni ted States offers were
freely avai lable to then.
The story of the lrish in the New World is not a
rcrnantic story of liberty and success, but the history
of a bitter struggler as bitterl as painful, though not
as long-drawn-outr as the struggle by which the Irish
had won the right to be a nation.
There i s another ki nd of fami I i ari ty, especi al I y
for persons of middle age and more, who grew up before
!*crld Har II. ft is sqnething which can provoke a
disturbing sense of loss. We see a world we once knew
decades ago before everything in our lives became so
big and inpersonal, so frenzied and artificial. We
are rgnindede of a pre-industrial time when people
actual ly sat down for hours and talked to each other,
when they provided their own entertainment instead of
staring at a piece of talking furniture such as the
television; when bread was really bread and berries
cane off a bush instead of out of a freezer. It is
reassuring, somehow, to find that there really is such
an event as the Irish Sweepstakes and such a place as
the Abbey Theatre. Irish gi rls take chasti ty most
seriously and their great desire is marriage, not career.
It is roving and nostalgic to see children going
dou,n the roads to little one or two teacher schoolhouses
and to note that the old folks as well as rnodern
day parents retain great prestige and above all the
authority in the modern day home in lreland. Women shop
at small family establishments which have the names of
the proprietors hand painted across the front. In small
communitiesr it is noted the grocery often doubles as
a pub, where men gossip and talk about greyhounds and
the weather. Young lads leave school at an early age;

they go to work as farm hands, aoprentiees, bellboys
and newsboys. Girls nain desire is for haopiness in
their rnarriage. A funeral is sti11 a naJor eonrunity
event, wlth solenn ranks of dark-suited nen narehing
behind the hearse. The old-styIe drunken Irish wake
is a thlne of the past. It is still unconmon to own
a telephone and there i-s only a single direetory for
the whole of the Irish Republic--and then half the
entries have Dublin numbers.
The average Irishmen is not the most reliable
and efficient of workers, althoush he does well overseas
as long as he has an authority head over hjm and
has responded satisfactorily to the traininE pros?ams
in Irelandts new foreign-cr^nred factories. A laborer
is likely to just disanpear if the job is sornehow
displeasinr. The Irishman lives fron day to day in a
state of some physical and nental disorder and also
untidiness, withort nmch thousht for tornorrow.
Since the year 1900, the Irish are lrrown to be
f amous as drearners, and drearns are easier than aetion.
Color blindness is a trait of some of the frish. It iS
a defective color pereeption. Independent of the
capaeity for distine'r:ishing lieht and shade, and form.
Children uninterruotedly inhertt this characteristia or
trait from either Darent.
The eonventional Irish nother has sueh a strong
influence over her sons that she sometimes delays
thelr mamiases fcrr years. 0n the other hand, she
encourages her dauqhters to mamy at an earJ.y ape.
For most ccuples today in lreland, life is a
eonstant struggle and the wife is forced to work in
order to cope with debts and the rising cost of
living.
Skilled frish workers are turning out everything
from Duteh pianos to South Aflican industrial diamonds.
Canada and the Continent have located over 5C0 new
plants and projects in Ireland since 1960. fndustrial
exports now exceed agricultural exports in value and
emigration which traditionally drained off Irelandrs
youth, has been slowed from hhrOOO in 1950 to 2500 of
last year.

TOG C VIE-WS
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RACE.WAR.
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SANGAMON COUNTY JAIL.
lvlrcr.o thc prtsonars wero ftr't conflned o'd flr't l'ob vrorcnco was rni\nr(astcrl.

EXTEIT,IOR HARIiY' LOPEIi'S OAFE ON SOUTH FIFT}I STIT'IIET.
Where mob vented wrath on Mr. Loper tor asslstlng thelr prey to escnpo thelr vengeance.

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Ilvet')'tltlrlB w&s detrlollshed,
cnrrletl tnto the street and burned.
Inctutllng the honttsom' t'uf(ct tn th€ bnsetuent'
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furnlture nrrrl flxturcs werg
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THE REMAINS Or LO PER.'S $5,000 Auro.
Thls auto was used by Mr. Loper tn flplrltlnei tlre prlsoners away from the Jall'

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fAWI{ SII.U.H AI{I' .'UI1I{tiUIT'S DALUUIT'
I f.i,o*o *cr.e vlsltctl by ilro rnob .dtrecily ofter demollslrttrg Lopcr's rcstourorrt'
destroi'crl onrl the saloon badty damaged'
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pawn shop lvas cotnplctcly

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Complctely wrecl

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Another Scene on East Washington Street.

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SCENE ON EAST MADISON STREET.
fn ths beart ot the "Black BelL"

ANOTITER VIETvV ON EAST MADISON STREET.
Where rrlob's vlolence reaclled lts hlghest pltcb.

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g;CEtr1'E OF L':g11CEII6JG.'r"!'
j':t {l?5i*ir#i:#iF€
- Shows tree at 12th end Madlson, oD whlch Scott Bur-
'ton.s'as bangedl; also colored saloon from Ehich the mob
s'as fired on by negroes.

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SOLDIERS ENCAMPED ON STATE HOUSE GROIINDS.

SoLDIEF,S ENCAMPED AT THE STATE ARSENAL.

TROOPS ENCAMPED ON CAPITOL HILL.

TROOPS AT NINTH AND JEFFERSON.
Strorvllg barber slrop o( scott Burton, wlro was lynclred, tllc orst bulltllrrg to bc llrtttl'

CHAS WERNER.
SlrerllT o( Srut1;irtrrott {'oult}', rvlto sttcccsstttllyclttrftrd
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nrob wlth tlro trvo ncgro prlsouors.
w. H. BowE.
i)eputy Count}' 'l'roilstrrer, \!ho wns sllot rlnd nlrnost
l1'rrt'hr.d lry negr()es.

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YOUNG MAKING
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SPECTACULAR CONFESSION.
Tortnlg stlrrrrls itr the doorryty pirlntirtg. ()n onc slde of hlttt stattds I)ete(tiYe Jotres. on tlre other'
gordus. llo ls lolrrtl[g out a lrouse lro lrelperl to burn.
1

How To Know
You're Growing Older
Everything hurts and what doesn't hurt, doesn't work.
The gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your bifocals.
You feel like the morning atter, and you haven't been anywhere.
Your little black book contains only names ending in M. D.
You get winded playing chess.
'Your children begin to look middle aged.
You finally reach the top of the ladder, and find it leaning against the wrong wall.
You join a health club and don't go.
You begin to outlive enthusiasm.
You decide to procrastinate but then never get around to it.
Your mind makes contracts your body can't meet.
A dripping faucet causes an uncontrollable bladder urge.
You know all the answers, but nobody asks you the questions.
You look forward to a dull evening.
You walk with your head held high trying to get used to your bifocals.
Your favorite part of the newspaper is 25 Years Ago Today.
You turn out the light for economic rather than romantic reasons.
You sit in a rocking chair and can't make it go.
Your knees buckle and your belt won't.
You regret all those mistakes resisting temptation.
You stop looking forward to your next birthday.
After painting the town red, you have to take a long rest before applying a second
coat.
Dialing long distance wears you out.
You're startled the first time you are addressed as old timer.
You remember today that yesterday was your wedding anniversary.
You just can't stand people who are intolerant.
The best part of your day is over when your alarm clock goes off.
You burn the midnight oil after 9 p.m..
Your back goes out more than you do.
A fortune teller offers to read your face.
The little gray haired lady you help across the street is your wife.
You get exercise acting as a pallbearer for your friends who exercise.
You have too much room in the house and not enough in the medicine cabinet.
You sink your teeth into a steak and they stay there.
-Anonymous
MARTAN HELPERS'BULLETIN I1

INSPIRATION ANO CHEER
IN OUR LIFE
God is Unshikabler and the Belief in a life beyord.
flonesty is Unshakable. No injustice can contiriue for-
€v€Fo hflty should not our last day be an inspiration
and not a dread.
Truth is the logic of the uni.verse; it is the reasoning
of destiny; it is the mind of God and nothing that you
can devise or discover can take its place. The truth
will make you free but an untruth always tangles you up
and every wrong rots and falls.
You are born and you will die r,irenever fate and time
decides. Almost any judgm€t'tt can be appealed but from
the decision of time there is no appeal. Time abounds
in unexpected expedients and has a thousand resources.
lle all get pleasure from our ovrn thoughts. hlhen we are
I eft to our own resources we become bored, wretched and
lonesome. Is it not strange that we so dread to be left
alone with our thoughts and a sin conmitted is bad enough
but by openness it is already half cured. A person that
is able to lay bare his inadequacies and insecurities is
a totally honest human beingo Fout and wicked thoughtsl
nursed in the mind can poison your whole character. If
you can only sit and think of kindness, courage and have
good thoughts your are doing much to help yourself.
hlhat a norld of wretchedness it r+ould save us if only all
of us could just understand. The reason God forgives is
because 113 understands.
The pleasure of the soul is self-expression. Self-o

There are s(me rrtto dread lonelinesse and others to
H'trom solitude is a treasui€r There is a certain
fecundity in quiet. There is a poise and surety of
thought that comes only in unhurried spaces.
There are tragic shadows for all of us. Every lifel
however freel has its dreadful skeletons, its lurking
horrors, things that we fear to look at or to think on.
It does make a di fference urhat you thi nk. Your duty i s
not fi rst to get the facts and to see the truth. Your
first duty is to prepare yourself to do this. If your
mfind is full of false ideas, if it is clouded with a lot
of superstition or twisted by false sentimente or all
hard and brittle because of sqne non-fact to which you
have given your rrfai thrr frqn a sense of dutyr you are
entirely incapable of using the truth. It is wise to be
intellectually honest for one thing. Therers an ethics
of the intellect as well as of the heart. Donrt lie to
yourself or cozen yourself. Once you accept a thing as
true, without knowing whether it is true or notr you are
on the road to mental ruin.
If you knew that you had but one nrcre day to liver and
that at the setting of tomorrowrs sun your life would
closel how r.rould we spend that day. It would make you
as finee great, honest and noble as possible for you to
be.
Enjoy your life, live your life wisely nowr for the past
is gone and no one knows the future.
tltrat you get out of your life is what you give and what
you give is your life.
To dare is to do and to fear is to fail.