Looking Back 10.18.23

By Editor | October 17, 2023 |

100 years ago

Oct. 18, 1923

Arrangements are being made by the hard road boosters in Calhoun county to have Governor Small of this state, to visit our county and explain to our people the $100,000,000 road bond issue that comes up for consideration at the voting polls in Novembers 1924. Gov. Small has promised to visit Calhoun in about four weeks. Watch the county papers for date and place. The News is heartily in favor of the Governor’s $100,000,000 road bond issue and we realize that this issue is hopeless unless Len Small is re-elected Governor of the state: therefore we are for Small’s re-election. Through the efforts of Governor Small, Calhoun county is now having built a hard road between Hardin and Kampsville that otherwise would not have been built, as it was not in the $60,000,000 bond issue until Gov. Small put it there. The Governor has promised us more hard roads providing his $100,000,000 bond issue carries and he is re-elected Governor. Every voter in Calhoun county, regardless of party affiliation, should vote for the $100,000,000 bond issue and for the re-election of Gov. Small and we will tell you why. Simply because a person who does not own a motor car does not contribute one cent toward the building of the great Illinois system of hard roads. The enemies of Gov. Small will tell you that the $100,000,000 bond issue will entail an additional direct property tax. They are trying to deceive the voters. Automobile license are to paid whether this bond issue carries or not, and if Calhoun county were to retain her own license fees and construct their own quota of hard road mileage on these fees, as Governor Small’s enemies would have you believe it, it would take 20 years or more for her to complete the construction of the mileage now under construction in our county. Let’s lay politics aside for a time and vote for the best interest of our county. If we don’t look out for our own county no one will for us. Strain a point to hear Governor Small when he comes to Calhoun.

75 years ago

Oct. 21, 1948

The largest vote ever cast in Calhoun County was in the presidential election of 1940. In that year 4,223 people cast their ballots. This was almost a 100% vote for the county which has only a little over 8000 people. Since 1940 the vote has diminished greatly. In 1944 only 3275 people cast their ballots. Many voters were in war service that year and many others had left the county to work in war plants. However, they did not all move back, so the vote this year will not be nearly as high as in 1940. It is being estimated that a possible 3500 may turn out for this election. In 1940 Wilkie led Roosevelt in Calhoun by a vote of 2616 to 1625, giving Wilkie 60.7%. In 1944 Deweys vote was 1956 to Roosevelt’s 1271. Dewey got 60.6% of the vote in that election. This year there will be around 4000 qualified voters and local contests might bring out at least 90 percent of the vote. Weather always has a lot to do with the size of the vote in Calhoun. So many people live “across the creek’, and a flood like we had here on primary day of 1944 would force some people to stay at home on election day. In the local contests J. Clark Anderson, republican state’s attorney, is being opposed by two candidates. They are Ralph J. Moses, democrat, and Chas. M. Hagen, independent. For circuit clerk republican incumbent George W. Sibley is running against Ercell Liley, democrat. Ellis Inman, republican coroner for the past four years is opposed by John Born of Brussels, the democratic candidate. Democrat A. M. Retzer is opposing Floyd Freesmeyer, republican incumbent, for county commissioner. Both parties are working hard to bring out the highest possible vote.

50 years ago

Oct. 18, 1973

A budget of $805,067.28 was adopted by the County Commissioners for the fiscal year from Sept. 1, 1973 to August 31, 1974 at their meeting Monday. The budget is an increase over last year’s budget of $696,689 for the same period. Biggest items in the budget are the General Fund which calls for $143,000 in disbursements during the period, the Unit Road District Fund which is budgeted for $154,200, and the County Unit Motor Tax Fund which will have $115,000 in disbursements. Last year the budget called for expenditures of $166,820 in the General Fund, $139,400 in the County Unit Motor Fuel Fund, and $67,950 in the County Unit Road General Fund. A citizen’s group from Carlin Precinct appeared before the Commissioners concerning East Panther Creek Road. The group asked that improvements be made on the road, including clearing brush and weeds in certain areas, and installing a creek crossing tube. The County application for federal flood insurance was sent to the federal government. THe application included maps of the areas, a survey of the flood plain, the resolution passed by the Commissioners concerning the insurance, and a copy of the Calhoun County Zoning Ordiance of 1971. The flood insurance is authorized by the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, through the Federal Insurance Administration. Steve Fortschneider of Golden Eagle has been released from the hospital, following a severe illness, and returned to his job as County Commissioner Monday at the Court House to attend the regular meeting of the Board. Steven is finishing his 18th year as a member of the County Board, for which he served as chairman many of those years. He was first elected Commissioner in 1951 and has always worked hard for the best interest of Calhoun County. Steven did not seek re-election for one term during the past 22 years, and he is not a candidate for another term this year due to ill health.

25 years ago

Oct. 21, 1998

A fire alarm sounded Sunday, October 18 at 5:00 p.m. for the former A&G Store and flower shop on North County Road in Hardin. “It was flaming out of both sides really bad. We jumped on it with our big hoses,” Hardin Fire Chief Bob Lorsbach said. About 35 firemen arrived on the scene with both of Hardin’s trucks and remained there until 6:30 p.m. The Fire Marshall was called Monday to investigate the cause of the fire. The Hardin Fire Department had purchased this building earlier in the year from Joan Corbett. Their intentions were to have it torn down in order to relocate the fire department out of the floodplain. There had been a fire inside a month ago when a couch had caught on fire. That piece of furniture was dragged out at that time.

Posted in News