USA > Illinois > Champaign County > Gifford > The Centennial book, Gifford, Illinois : 1875-1975 > Part 7
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Source of water has been found that will pro- duce 100 gallons per minute. Project will include a 50,000-gallon elevated water storage tank and a pump house.
Courtesy of JIM'S FURNITURE MART 126-8 North Garrard Rantoul (and Gibson City), Illinois
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Clubs and Organizations
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THE "GIFFORD HYMN SINGERS"
These fine women have for years devoted one day a week to singing in nearby nursing homes. They appear regularly in the Champaign County Home, Greenbriar Manor, The Fontana Nursing Care Center, the Americana Health Care Centers (2), The Heritage House, the Country Health Nursing Care Center, and in the Garwood Nursing Home.
Seated, left to right: Tinnie Kopmann, Sophie Roess- ler, Margaret Schluter, Gertrude Barnes, Dora Stone- street and Theda Smith
Standing, left to right: Hilda Bergman, Dora Sjoken, Margie Huls, Reka Goldenstein, Uvah Alcorn, Betty Fuller, Bernice Buenting, Tena Olson, Anna Hester- berg and Carlene Schluter.
Courtesy of The Lutheran Brotherhood Insurance Co. Life and Health - Kent Stonestreet, Agent Rantoul, Illinois - 892-2467
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O
L
INTERN
GIFFORD LIONS CLUB
The Gifford Lions Club was chartered in 1957 with 30 members:
Ehme Ackerman
Ernie H. Huls
Roy S. Barnes
William R. Johnson
Dr. Robert Basler
William Kilhoffer
Arthur F. Busboom
Orville Leischner
Ernest Busboom
Elbert Murrell
Raymond Busboom
Lloyd Carley
Dr. Donald Pratt James Rocker
Wesley Calhoun
Louis B. Schluter
Pastor W. J. Ferne
Mike Schlueter
Pastor Charles Gibson
Theodore Siddens
Dale E. Goodwine
Ballard H. Spears
James Hannagan
Wayne Stonestreet
John Harper
Marshall Strom
James R. Herbert
Joseph E. Whalen
Eugene Hoch
Byron Wise
and chose Arthur F. Busboom as its first president.
As an international organization, the Lions have always devoted much of their time and money to services for blind persons, and to the prevention of blindness. Locally, the Lions Club has sponsored many community improvement projects, beginning with the installation of street signs and house num- bers in Gifford and Penfield. The idea of a German Fall Festival was born in a Lions Club meeting, and the idea of the Country Health Nursing Care Center was nurtured and fostered by the club. The Gifford Lions, under Lion "Pete" Watson, painted the entire Nursing Care Center before it opened. We spon- sored a new Lions Club in Thomasboro and we now number 63 members-ready to help with communi- ty projects in the years to come.
SCOUTING IN GIFFORD
Gifford has had Boy Scout troops for a long time. R. J. Walston was Scoutmaster along about the early thirties. But there had been a period of inactivity and Scouting was renewed in the late forties with first the Methodist Church as sponsor and later the Gifford Lions Club. We first had Troop 45 and then Troop 27. Scoutmasters since the late forties have been: Werner Roessler, Robert Carley, Dick Murrell, Dewey Carley, David Powell, Robert Chapman, Norman Zech, Richard Mercer, Clyde German, John Hiles and Bill Henry. The institu- tional representatives through the years have been Pastor Edward Hamilton, Doyle Curtis, Lorain Arm- strong, Ballard Spears, Werner Roessler and Bill Henry.
The Neighborhood Commissioner has been Pas- tor Melvin C. Blobaum. The Committee Chairmen have been Lorain Armstrong, Carlton Myers, Werner Roessler, Pastor James Elder and Robert Hesterberg. Members of the Scout Committee have included
B.S.A.
Bill Johnson, Dale Goodwine, Wayne Stonestreet, George Stonestreet, Lloyd Filkin, Eldon Scott, Wil- liam Early, Ronald Ryan and Eric Strzesak. For a short time in the fifties, Gifford had an Explorer Post. Advisors have been Robert Buenting and Gene Rudisill.
Scout projects have included selling flags, sell- ing candles, cleaning up the roadsides, and planting trees to beautify the community.
Scout leaders in this the Centennial Year are: Scoutmaster, Carl Bales; Assistant Scoutmasters, Fred Davidson and Clyde German; and Junior Assist- ant Scoutmasters, Mike Busboom and Gary German.
The Gifford Cub Scouts were organized in 1953 with 20 boys enrolled. The Cub Master was John Wrench, Jr., and there were three dens. The
Courtesy of CORKY'S AUTO-TRUCK SERVICE CENTER Glen D. Roseman, Owner Route 45 South, Rantoul, Illinois "All Parts and Labor Guaranteed"
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Den Mothers were Mildred Schneider, Freda Huls and Frieda Mennenga. In 1957 the Gifford Lions Club assumed sponsorship of the Cub Scout Pack and in 1962 the Pack number was changed from 45 to 27.
CUB
Our girls have been active in Scouting at least since 1932 when they were sponsored by the Gif- ford Women's Club. Women and girls who have been Scouts will recall their past Troop Leaders, includ- ing Mrs. Melvin Blobaum, Mrs. Eli Macom, Mrs. Bill Early, Mrs. Chris White, Mrs. Donald Halverson and Mrs. Evelyn Smith. They will recall, too, one of their activities-the laying of wreaths in the local cemeteries on Memorial Days.
GS M
NU IOTA
Nu Iota is a Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, an international organization created for young women in search of culture and social activity, friendship and helping others.
Nu lota was formed in May, 1965, by several women who were members of the Theta Chi Chap- ter in Rantoul.
The Charter Members were: Elaine Busboom, Barbara Johnson, Phyllis Wright, Wilma Busboom, Betty Greenhow, Jean Hannagan, Addie Fruitt, Pauline Craig and Ruth McQuaid.
Some of the projects of Nu lota have been helping the Gifford Kindergarten-Country Health Nursing Home, and they helped furnish the doctor's waiting room in Gifford. They are going to furnish a drinking fountain for the new park and are setting up a Scholarship Fund.
THE "GIFFORD HOBO'S"
CITIZEN BAND CLUB
The Gifford Hobo's Citizen Band Club is a non- profit organization chartered by the State of Illinois in February of 1975-surely our newest organiza- tion. The club is for better relationships among licensees in Citizen Band Services and to serve the community by providing a reliable communication facility when called upon by civic or disaster-relief organization, by law enforcement agencies or by sports groups when two-way radio communications may help in the protection of life or property or give guidance to the travelling public.
Our pioneer officers are: Dean Spurlock, presi- dent; H. D. Heimburger, vice-president; Gini Schlu- ter, secretary ; Ralplı Mayeron, treasurer: Eva Schlu- ter, public relations; John Christians, membership; Larry Schluter, recreation and social activities; and Joe Glazik, sergeant at arms.
GIFFORD HOBO'S
Courtesy of Cler's Welding - Porch Railings and Columns Walter Cler, Penfield, Illinois
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THE PENFIELD-GIFFORD AMERICAN LEGION POST
After World War II the veterans of the two World Wars decided to form a Legion Post in the community of Gifford and Penfield. Seventeen names appeared on the temporary charter which was issued in October of 1947. They were: Edward Whitt, James Early, John McNamara, Frederick Ackerman, Ora K. Miles, Joe Powell, Thomas Gor- don, Robert Hedrick, Elof Olson, Ernest Busboom, Charles Willard, Jesse Stover, William Webber, Harold Early, Charles Buck and Cloyd Hayes. Of these, Whitt, Busboom, Willard, Buck and Hayes are now deceased. Elof Olson has 53 years of continuous membership in the American Legion.
The post first bought the former United Breth- ren Church for a Legion home, but had used it only a few months when fire damaged it badly and it was torn down. In the Spring of 1948 it was decided to buy lots from Mrs. Annie Huls and build a Legion hall there. Plans for a building with basement were decided upon in September of 1948.
The application for permanent charter, issued in January of 1949, listed the names of 64 members, of whom 14 are now deceased. The latest to die was Arthur Buck who passed away in December of 1973, having been a Legionaire for more than fifty years.
The present Legion Hall was dedicated on Sun- day, November 13, 1949, and with a lot of hard work and money from the people of the Gifford and Penfield community, a dream had come true.
THE GIFFORD WOMEN'S CLUB
When the Women's Club was started in 1914, it was called the Domestic Science Club and it began with 22 members. The minutes show that in that first year the lesson materials and activities included studies of Chinaware and of the Life of Theodore Roosevelt, a masquerade party, a guest day in May, a picnic in June and an annual banquet. The club bought a set of scales for the Gifford Grade School in that first year. In 1921 the name was changed to "The Women's Club of Gifford" and there were 30 members.
The club colors are yellow and white. The club flower is the yellow chrysanthemum. The club objective is to "promote intellectual and civic im-
provement and social enjoyment and to provide a united effort for the welfare of the community." The Women's Club is one of the oldest organiza- tions in the town and now has 30 members.
Other entries in the old minutes mention study of the life and works of James Whitcomb Riley and of the history of St. Patrick's Day. The club has given financial support to The Red Cross, the Can- cer Fund, the Community Chest, the Tuberculosis Association, the March of Dimes, the Polio Fund, the United Fund, the Boy Scouts and others. Local- ly, the club has helped to provide street lights and shrubbery near the School, and has sponsored the Parent Teachers Association and the local kinder- garten classes.
The minutes for 1943 show that Rev. Clarence Hall of Ludlow showed pictures of his trip to the Holy Land at one meeting, and that Mrs. Darlene Cherry and Mrs. Betty Chumbley showed and dem- onstrated "Hair Styling, Wigs and Hair Pieces" at another meeting.
The club contributed to the founding of the Country Health Nursing Care Center and provided beautiful candlesticks and a cross for its chapel. We serve cakes for regular birthday parties at the Nurs- ing Care Center, send cards and flowers to members who are ill and collect used clothing for the needy.
The roster of our past presidents will interest "old-timers" in Gifford:
1914-14
Mrs. J. D. Morse
1916-17 Mrs. Rena Axtell
1918
Mrs. Laura Wood
1919
Miss Gertrude Wooldridge
1920-21 Mrs. Bertha Hamilton
1922 Mrs. Margaret Smith
1922
Mrs. Margaret Jenkinson
1923
Mrs. Pearl Hennessey
1924
Mrs. Frances Morse
1925
Mrs. Ora Stewart
1926
Mrs. Rena Axtell
1927-28
Mrs. Frances Herbert
1929-30
Mrs. Rena Axtell
1931
Miss Jeannie Clark
1932-33
Mrs. Gertrude Barnes
1934
Mrs. Rena Axtell
1935
Mrs. Geraldine Jennings
1936
Mrs. E. J. Rueck
1937
Mrs. Maude Varner
1938
Mrs. Bertha Hamilton
1939
Mrs. Frances Morse
1940-41
Mrs. Julia Truman
Courtesy CISSNA PARK LIVESTOCK SALES Jack, Donald and Jerry Wyss Cissna Park, Illinois
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1942 Mrs. Alta Watson
1945 Mrs. Alsye Wooldridge
1946-47 Mrs. Marie Biddle
1948-49 Mrs. Belle Hamilton
1950-51 Mrs. Esther Mae Hein
1952 Mrs. Effie Lee Smith
1953-54 Mrs. Nellie Leischner
1955 Mrs. Opal Gehrt
1956-57 Mrs. Oral Bartell
1958-59
Mrs. Margaret Franzen
1960-61 Mrs. Mabel Steward
1962-63 Mrs. Elsie Armstrong
1964 Mrs. Gertrude Barnes
1965-66 Mrs. Mabel Steward
1967-68 Mrs. Elsie Armstrong
1969-70 Mrs. Uvah Alcorn
1971-72 Mrs. Emma Busboom
1973 Mrs. Gertrude Barnes
1974-75 Mrs. Theda Smith
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO by Mrs. S. M. Smith
(Read before the State Farmers Association, Bloomington, Illinois, January 20, 1876) I fain would spend an hour to-day In retrospective thought, Upon the changes that for us The century hath wrought; Compare our losses, and our gains, Our happiness and woe, With something of their lot who lived A hundred years ago.
Gone are those savage warriors now, Vanished the dusky race, A Christian people, Christian arts, Usurp their dwelling place; Yet do we hear of scalpers now, Who still go to and fro, Plying a trade that flourished here A hundred years ago.
Farms, mines and manufactories Have poured their riches forth; With gold and silver we have filled The treasuries of earth,
Yet for the hands that gather it, With toil and sweat of brow, There was more money in the world A hundred years ago.
No monster combinations then
Their industries destroyed; No cry for mine or factory Of labor unemployed; No corn was burning in the West,
Because its price was low,
While men were starving at the East, A hundred years ago.
They thought it no disgrace to work, And idlers then were few; And of the wealth that from the farm, From mine and mill they drew, They found that when the year came round They'd something more to show Than empty purse and tax receipts, A hundred years ago.
And though with unaccustomed pomp Of circumstance, and state, The natal day of Liberty We this year celebrate; Lay countless offerings on her shrine, Yet bitterly, we know, That soul is fled that dwelt in her A hundred years ago.
She stands, an empty image, bound, With chains of glittering gold, And in her presence, in her name, Men's souls are bought and sold- Bartered for gold, the sacred rights Once dear to high and low, And with the blood of heroes bought, A hundred years ago.
May the old memories that the year Will bring to every heart, Bring the old spirit also, ere Its later days depart; Set Liberty's forgotten fires In hut and hall aglow That men may love her as they loved A hundred years ago.
Courtesy of Gery's and Al's Sporting Goods 130 North Garrard Rantoul (and Gibson City), Illinois
EPSILON SIGMA ALPHA
The local chapter of ESA, Epsilon Rho No. 4318, was chartered in 1973 when nine women of the community joined to form its membership. Epsilon Sigma Alpha International was founded in 1929 and now has some 30,000 women working in service to the handicapped through the internation- al philanthropic project of St. Jude Hospital for children.
The aims of the local chapter are to develop the finest qualities of womanhood in each member, to encourage the joys of association within a mem- bership devoted to common ideals, to develop in every member an ability for self-expression, and to foster a truly educated membership, endowing it with the leadership abilities needed to meet the challenges of the world.
The charter members were: Mrs. Larry Barrin- ger, Mrs. Ronald Duden, Mrs. Donald Franzen, Mrs. Ronald Franzen, Mrs. Vernon Franzen, Mrs. Gary Hedge, Mrs. Barbara Howell, Mrs. Delan Johnson, and Mrs. Paul Severins.
COUNTRY HEALTH AUXILIARY
The Country Health Auxiliary was organized in October of 1969 at the request of the Country Health Board of Directors. The purpose of our or- ganization is to perform voluntarily many functions which will make the health center stay of patients more pleasant and homelike. We accomplish this through many projects and services-sewing, decora- tion, arts and crafts, parties, transportation, floor work, assistance with church services, planting and tending flower and vegetable gardens, and other activities. Material donations are made possible by fund-raising projects in harmony with the nursing home and with the planning of the community.
The membership has centered at about 100 volunteers. The Auxiliary has also sponsored the Red Cross Volunteens. These young girls and boys provide many services to the residents after school and on holidays and weekends. Our Volunteen Chairman schedules their time and they are a joy to the residents.
The Auxiliary undertakes many ways and means projects each year, the largest recently being the Fall Festival Food Tent. Other projects include dances, dinners, bake sales, white elephant sales,
rummage sales, magazine subscriptions, fruit and fruit cake sales, theatre ticket sales, bazaars, the redemption of Betty Crocker coupons and others.
Our donations to the Nursing Care Center have included the installation and maintenance of a pub- lic address system, training aids, donation to sprin- kler system, draperies and curtains, donation to purchase of floor coverings, card tables, record player, blankets, pads, sewing room and beauty shop equipment, refrigerators, orthopedic chairs, movie projector, stainless steel carts, laundry sup- plies and equipment, stack chairs, shower curtains, wastebaskets, pillow covers, bulletin boards, charts and chart holders, vacuum cleaners, examination tables, and others "too numerous to mention."
No record is kept of the hours of our volun- teer work. We have not been concerned with the time element but have been satisfied instead with the satisfaction which comes from providing services to the home and to the community. Our organiza- tion is very proud of its accomplishments, and our members have gained much from their work at Country Health.
KEEP YOUR RAIN BARREL UNDER
THE DRIP
Many the blessings that fall from the sky, But often we let them slip;
There is rain enough for the world's supply, But our barrel isn't under the drip.
Opportunity knocks but we've gone for a walk, And it calls for the man next door; He takes the job while we stand and talk, Till the best of our chances are o'er.
'Tis better to catch a horse by the nose Than to risk a grab at his tail; You often can head him off as he goes When to wait till he passes, you fail.
Watch for the chances that pass you each day, Take hold with a stronger grip; Look for the clouds that are coming your way; Keep your rain barrel under the drip. -Wm. J. Harper
Courtesy of JERRY BARKER - Real Estate, Construction and Interior Decorating 131 East Sangamon Rantoul, Illinois 61866
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THE GIFFORD HOME MAKERS EXTENSION
UNIT
The first organizational meeting to form a Home Bureau Unit was held in the Penfield Grade School in 1949, with twenty to thirty members joining this wonderful club as charter members. Our lessons were then presented by specialists from the University of Illinois. Our club was first called the Penfield-Gifford Home Bureau, since enthusiastic women from both communities belonged. Meetings were held once a month in the homes of members. By 1952 our membership had grown to 32 active members, along with several associate members.
Our lessons cover a wide area such as clothing, family life, family economics, foods and nutrition, home furnishings, interior design and housing, en- vironmental design and protection, home manage- ment and health education. We are much concerned with our most important crop-our 4-H Club mem- bers and other youth. County-wide, we have special lessons, activities, bus trips to points of interest and annual meetings.
On April 28, 1959, Mrs. Carrie Linthicum, a member of long standing, suggested we change our name to just Gifford Home Bureau, since it had somehow developed that all of our members were from the Gifford vicinity. Her motion was seconded and carried. Our adviser, Carol Ribbe, had advised that this move would be legal and we carried our new name until 1962 when "Home Bureau" was changed to "Home Extension." We now have sixteen active members and a number of associates.
The years of membership in the Home Exten- sion Unit have brought many friends, county-wide, because of our annual meetings, bus trips and 4-H activities. Several of our members have served on the county board of Home Extension and have worked as chaperones for the 4-H girls and boys at the State Fair. All Home Extension functions are open to the public and anyone wanting to become a member can do so.
Our Homemaker's Aim is to have the home- Economically Sound Mechanically Convenient Physically Healthful Morally Wholesome Mentally Stimulating Artistically Satisfying Spiritually Inspiring and Founded Upon Mutual Affection and Respect.
THE AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY
The Penfield-Gifford American Legion Auxil- iary was formed in 1949 at the neighboring town of Penfield as a service organization to the Penfield- Gifford American Legion Post 1153. Seven Gifford women were charter members: Elaine Busboom, Esther Mae Hein, Mary Burdette, Marie Filkin, Maurine Sturgeon, Marge Snyder and Bernice Huls. Elaine Busboom was our first president, and over the years several Gifford women have held the presidency and other offices.
Rehabilitation work at the Veterans' Hospital in Danville is a very important part of our concern, and Sophie Roessler, Mabel Steward, Uvah Alcorn and Theda Smith became volunteer workers at the hospital. Many hours of time have been donated by these women. Mabel Steward received a bronze plaque from the hospital in 1970 for 1750 hours of volunteer work, and when she was honored by the community in 1974, representatives of the Veterans' Administration noted that she had donated a total of 2400 hours of time to their work. Miss Steward died this Spring, but the other three are still faithful workers. Mary Burdette has been helpful to the Veterans' Hospital in another unique way. She has made hundreds of Joke Books and Cross Word Puzzle Books for the men at the hospital. She moved to Florida recently, and she is greatly missed.
Since 1951, the Auxiliary has made annual visits to the USO which serves the Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul to provide the Airmen with homemade cake and cookies. American flags were given to the Gifford Cub Scouts in 1952. School signs were provided for the Gifford Grade School, and in 1957 the unit donated $25 to the Gifford Fire Protection District. One of our members, So- phie Roessler, was chosen by the unit to compete in the "Mother of the Year" contest.
Many other community service projects draw our support. Some of them are: baby sitting, reli- gious training, visiting the ill, and doing volunteer work at the Nursing Center. The unit gave $125 to the Country Health Nursing Care Center at Gifford, and we plan this year to donate and plant an oak tree in the Werner Roessler Memorial Park. Each year we sponsor the Americanism Essay Contest and the Gifford School has always participated in it.
Courtesy of MIDWEST ADVERTISING Cissna Park, Illinois (815) 457-2175
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Events and Personalities
(Champaign County Gazette - August 10, 1894)
GIFFORD MISHAP - AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIRE THURSDAY MORNING
The Business Section of the Town is Practically Wiped Out of Existence
List of the Sufferers, with Estimates of the Losses and the Insurance Special Correspondent of the Gazette
Gifford, Illinois - August 10 - What is left of this little village is a sorry looking sight, but the town is composed of energetic, enterprising business men, and in less than a year from this time Gifford will not know that it was once destroyed. The fire which swept over the business district at day-break Thursday morning left nothing in its path but great heaps of smoldering ashes, piles of burned and twisted stoves, agricultural implements and hard- ware, and great heaps of parched grain.
At 3:30 o'clock in the morning, C. C. White, a citizen, had business downtown, and as he was passing along the main street he discovered that H. E. Elmore's Barber Shop and Billiard Hall, locat- ed in the Bullock Block, was on fire. When the dis- covery was made the flames were bursting through the roof. He at once raised the alarm, and in a very few minutes the whole population was out, clad in all sorts of apparel. The only means at hand to fight the fire was water carried in buckets and this had apparently no effect in stopping the progress of the flames.
The fire made short work of the building where it originated and soon spread to adjoining buildings, so that in considerably less than a half hour the entire business portion of the town from
Fordon's Restaurant north to C. W. Ellis' Lumber Yard, and from Wooldridge's Restaurant to Wood and Perring's Grain Office was a sea of leaping fire. The people were almost powerless to fight the fire. Men and women carried water for their lives, but to no avail, and when the sun looked down on Gifford Thursday morning it saw nothing remaining of the business portion of the town but J. K. Ice's Drug- store, Hoch and Cummings Blacksmith Shop and H. W. Beacham's General Store.
They would not have been left to mark the place where the business portion once stood had it not been that they stood alone, some distance from the burning district. As it was, men standing on the roofs of these three buildings had all they could attend to in efforts to save them. The two hotels of the village, which are on the north side of the rail- road, are still standing. Soon after the fire got under headway a stiff breeze came up from the northwest and this assisted in spreading the fire. It also carried fire sparks into the country and fear was enter- tained that the fields of grain surrounding the build- ings would be fired, but this did not occur. A few houses some distance away caught from the flying sparks, but their owners were watching over them and no damage resulted from this source.
In less than three hours after the fire was first discovered in the billiard room, twenty places of business and other property had been destroyed. When it was seen that every business house in town was doomed and could not possibly be saved, the villagers set to work removing what they could of the stocks of goods from the stores in the path of the fire. Perring and Brothers saved probably $6,000
Courtesy of THE HITCHING POST 424 South Century Rantoul, Illinois
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