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1925 – 100 Years Ago
Groundhogs have made them selves obnoxious within the past few days especially in two DeKalb cemeteries and after considerable work on the part of members of the police department and others it is believed the trouble has been eliminated. In one of the cemeteries the animal had dug himself into a ravine and did considerable damage, but the matter has been cleaned up and the animal gassed.
According to reports coming in from all over the northern part of the state, the pea crop this year will be below normal. Rochelle reports the crops as poor, while the Inderrieden Canning Company at Hampshire has issued a report stating the crop to be damaged 70 per cent. The Rochelle Canning Company is reported as having received $190,000 in insurance from insurance companies because of poor crops this year. Several other companies in northern Illinois carried insurance on their crops for which they have collected because of the damage by frost early this summer.
From now on tourists camping at the Annies Woods camp ground will be charged at the rate of 25 cents for every 24 hours, following action taken a few days ago by those in charge of the camp. The charge is only fair, they point out, as the service that is given at the camp could not be secured elsewhere at that price.
DeKalb’s streets have been given a scrubbing since last evening and while the majority of them show that something has been done, there are some that will not show the work of the city’s new flusher for a couple of days, due to the large accumulation of dirt that appears to be baked onto the pavement. The flusher bought by the city a short time ago, and promised for use July 1 arrived yesterday afternoon from Oregon. It is a large machine, weights several tons, and is capable of doing many things.
According to reports today every detail is complete for the park dedication that is scheduled to be held here July 16, and it is to be a gib day in the annals of Sycamore history. It is now planned to have the stores close a part of the day, giving everyone an opportunity to attend, and everyone will attend. Sycamore has long needed a municipal park, and it is fitting that it should be dedicated at this time.
1950– 75 Years Ago
Adams Hall, the new dormitory for women on the Northern campus, is constructed of Joliet limestone and stands at the corner of Normal Road and Lucinda Avenue. Large over-hanging trees and the terraced front yards add to the beauty of the west side of the main campus.
The campaign against flies and fly-breeding areas will be renewed in Sycamore Sunday when the city and adjacent areas will be sprayed under the sponsorship of the local Lion Club. The sponsoring club has hired L. H. Quinlan, of DeKalb, to do the actual spraying. He expects to finish the job, originally expected to take two days, this Sunday. Quinlan, whose firm is known as Custom Foggers, will start operations at 2 o’clock Sunday afternoon, weather permitting. He will be assisted by several members of the Lions Club.
The conversion of automatic dial service for the Sycamore exchange of the DeKalb-Ogle Telephone Company will be made tonight at 10:30 o’clock. The conversion to the modern automatic system will include all of Sycamore and surrounding area. No interference with telephone service is expected, since the change-over will take only a short time. Telephone directories listing dial system numbers for Sycamore and areas within this exchange have been delivered to all users of the service this week, along with dialing directions.
Sycamore industry vacation programs will range from virtual shutdown to continued operation with staggered off-time this summer. Two industries, Anaconda Wire and Cable Company and Tuner Brass Works, will again follow plans used in past years which provide for plant shut down except for skeleton crews. The Turner Brass firm will employ a combination staggered vacation-plant shut down next week, July 3 through July 8, which will leave only a skeleton inventory crew on duty.
Sycamore Chief of Police Wess Plapp has issued a warning that anyone possessing or shooting off any type of fireworks in the city will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. A city ordinance expressly forbids possession, selling or shooting off of fireworks, including those of Roman candle and sky rocket types, within the city limits. Several packages of firecrackers have already been confiscated by the police department and future offenders will be dealt with severely.
Due to the railroad strike, the mail from Esmond is now picked up by a truck from Rockford morning and night.
1975 – 50 Years Ago
The names of more than 450 “Flag City, U.S.A.” boosters will appear in Thursday’s edition of the Daily Chronicle. That was the count as of mid-morning today as phone calls continued to be processed through the Daily Chronicle switchboard. Residents and business firms planning to fly the American Flag on Friday to kick off the bicentennial year have been calling the Daily Chronicle since last Friday for inclusion in a special “Flag List” to be forwarded to President Gerald Ford.
A young female deer leaped through a showroom window at Fargo Motors on State Street yesterday, killing itself. The deer apparently came into town from the west, got spooked by traffic and leaped through the window on the east side of the building.
Participants in the Camp Maple Leaf program at Hopkins Park mark “Animal Week” by inspecting a pig and parrot from the Fowler Animal Hospital in Sycamore.
An electric power pole was knocked down by an automobile at N. First Street and Sycamore Road yesterday at 1:33 p.m., resulting in a power blackout for approximately 1,000 homes.
Making its debut in full operation on Sunday will be the working blacksmith shop on the grounds of the Ellwood House Museum.
2000 – 25 Years Ago
In 1999, at least 135 people were injured in Illinois by illegal fireworks, a number the Illinois state fire marshal believes could be erased by simply letting professionals handle firework displays. Consumer fireworks, defined in Illinois as torpedoes, skyrockets, roman candles and bombs, are illegal in the state without a permit.
A handful of volunteers gathered at Cortland Elementary School late Friday afternoon to begin construction of an extension to the school’s playground. The project, which is the result of months of effort by the school’s PTA, will more than quadruple the site of the existing playground, allowing it to better serve Cortland’s growing student population.
The DeKalb County Forest Preserve District, in cooperation with the Kishwaukee Solduc Group of the Sierra Club, will hold an informational walk in the new County Farm Woods Forest Preserve. The forest preserve is located on the old county nursing home property.
It’s good to know the Kishwaukee River just downstream from DeKalb and Sycamore is cleaner than it used to be. Perhaps even better news, in the long run, is that DeKalb County kids are learning how to determine the health of the Kishwaukee River, and in the process, learning to care.
Compiled by Sue Breese