BlairAndCernyFamilie..

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.