Shucking Corn

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Photo by Mike Brothers
Shucking Corn
During the Steam Threshing and Baling show held at the Illinois Amish Heritage Center August 3 and 4 people from all over the area gathered at the Center east of Arthur to watch field demonstrations from early farming. Above the horse powered corn shucking machine cut a single row of stalks which were stacked on wagons for further preparation. Demonstrations of past farming operations included silage chopping, oat combining, disking, plowing, sickle mowing and hay loading by horses and tractors.

Habitat Seeks Volunteers

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•August 1, 2018•

By Gillespie Roberts
for The News Progress

Moultrie County Habitat for Humanity is preparing for the 30th home build and is recruiting volunteers for ReStore in Sullivan, which generates the funds for Habitat homes in the county,
On Saturday, August 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Moultrie County Habitat for Humanity is hosting a volunteer recruitment event at the ReStore on Hamilton Street in Sullivan.
“We would love to sign up Friday and Saturday volunteers,” said Cheryl Thomas of the Habitat board. “Possibly families could spend a few hours on Saturdays maybe once a month.
“ReStore also needs people who could move furniture on a on-call situation or possibly a few hours a week,” Thomas said of the volunteering needs. Read More

Fun Week

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Photo by R.R. Best
Fun Week
The Sullivan Parks and Recreation week of fun came to a close on Friday with Sullivan Fire District providing a cool closing followed by serving lunch to everyone participating in the weeklong program. Above fire department volunteer Dave Reed, Fire Chief Mike Piper and volunteer Rob Young serve Park and Recreation summer program participants.

Relay for Life Brings Comfort

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•August 1, 2018•

For more than two decades Moultrie County Relay for Life has helped comfort those fighting cancer.
On Friday, August 10 survivors and supporters will gather at Sullivan High School from 5-10 p.m.
Moultrie County Relay coordinator Adam McReynolds noted that 14 teams have already signed up and begun their fund-raising efforts.
“Right now Moultrie County Pest Control team is leading with $2600 raised,” McReynolds said, noting this year’s goal is $50,000.
He explained that funds raised not only go toward research such as one project underway at the University of Illinois but goes to help those dealing with everyday issues while under treatment. Read More

Habitat ReStore Gets a Restart in Sullivan

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Photo by Mike Brothers
ReStore in Sullivan is Moultrie County Habitat for Humanity’s home building fund raiser and one unique department store located north of the tracks on Hamilton Street. A portion of the friendly volunteer staff from left: Pauline Rowles, Mary Ann Hargis, Dee Ann Daily, Cheryl Thomas and ReStore Manager Tara Reed. Back row: David Conklin and Mike Daily.

•August 1, 2018•

By Mike Brothers

Tara Reed has a vision and since taking over as manager of the Moultrie County Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Sullivan, it’s a vision teamed with elbow grease.
“I love cleaning and organizing,” Reed said, noting her goal is to give ReStore customers a warm, friendly, local department store experience.
Since May, Reed and the band of devoted Habitat for Humanity volunteers have been sorting through rooms filled with donated inventory. Grouping items by kind, cleaning and keeping the best items, the group is reorganizing the store into easy to shop departments.
“We want everything to be worthy of putting in your home,” she said, noting the displays when entering the Hamilton Street store are constantly changing.
Displays such as a dining room table, set with china near the entryway allows Reed to feature different items from furniture to glassware.
Store window displays are constantly changing, and seasonal items will be featured as well. Read More

Hood Ornaments Brought Poetry to the Automobile

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Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Pat Cribbet is displaying one of Huntsburger’s books on Hood Ornaments.

A Collector who Shared

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

At a recent meeting in a Titus Library conference room in Sullivan I noticed a large collection of car hood ornaments along one wall. The benefactor of this collection was Lynn R. Huntsburger.
Huntsburger was born on the last day in December, 1913 in a little frontier town in North Dakota. His mother was from Lovington, and when she died, he was sent to live with relatives in Kansas and then to others in Cadwell.
He grew up with a love of machinery and cars and in 1946, with a little seed money, he started O.K. Jobbers in his basement to sell auto parts and industrial supplies. In 1974 he bought his first antique car – a 1949 Kaiser, and by 1990 he had 14 antique cars which he loved to restore.
While restoring his cars he began collecting hood ornaments, mascots and other car trim. By 2004 he had more than 2,000 hood ornaments and was known world-wide as a premier collector of hood ornaments. He was interviewed by PBS TV, and his collection had been widely exhibited including at the Burke’s Museum at Millikin University. Read More

DC Extravaganza

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Photo by Mike Brothers
DC Extravaganza
The Eighth Annual All Wheel Extravaganza was held in Dalton City with 105 vehicles on display. Bob Montague of Sullivan brought his 347ci powered1962 Ford Ranchero with the crowd traveling to and from Harley’s Hide Out and the Shamrock during rainy spells. The Northenders endured weather and heat to play from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 22.

Question of the Week: Why Do People Shop Out of Sullivan?

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•July 25, 2018•

By Mike Brothers

Why do people shop out of Sullivan?
The answer was being sought by Rob Young and a group of about 35 people gathered at Cathrine’s 5 West Thursday, July 19.
The immediate answer was not quite clear, but plans for future growth were presented.
Sullivan Economic Development and Chamber Director Laurrie Minor explained how MAPPING the Future program through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity can help determine the best course for the area’s future growth.
Arthur, Bethany, Findlay and Shelbyville have participated in MAPPING which is multi-year community effort to map attainable goals for future community growth, Minor said, noting EDC is developing the local advisory board. Read More

Don’t Desert the Flock to Chase Stray Sheep

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•July 25, 2018•

Editor’s Note: The logo for this column started with Bob Best’s column and continued with Marion’s version. BB’s reflected the hopes and ambitions of Moultrie County as we hope to continue.

I was sitting in a meeting last week where some concerned business owners were wondering what it would take to get more people to shop in Sullivan.
The Moultrie County News Progress has been in business in Sullivan for the past 160 years and in the process has been a part of every Chamber that has been organized and every group that wanted to improve things so it is an item of interest.
This newspaper has covered the community from life to death since its doors opened. We are there to tell your neighbors about the birth of your child and that child’s growth in the community—everything from participating in preschool activities to sports accomplishments, scholastic achievements, engagements marriages, anniversaries and the last word in life, your obituary. Read More

Illinois Amish Heritage Center Hosts Annual Steam Threshing Show

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Photo courtesy Roberta Porter Brennan
The Amish Heritage Center’s Threshing event west of Chesterville is August 3-4. Above Glendon Herschberger shocks oats for drying prior to threshing.

•July 25, 2018•

The second annual Steam Threshing Show will be held August 3-4 at the new Illinois Amish Heritage Center three miles east of Arthur. Times will be 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The 2018 show will be centered around harvesting and threshing oats rather than wheat. The oats will be cut and bound into sheaves by a horse-drawn mechanical binder two weeks before the event after which the sheaves will be stacked into shocks for drying in the field. On the day of the event, they will be loaded onto horse-drawn wagons and transported to the threshing machine which will separate the grain from the chaff and straw. The grain will be directed to a bin, and the straw will form a hay stack that will continually grow with each new round of threshing.
The threshing process will be done using antique farming equipment including a 1924 steam tractor and threshing machine made by the Keck-Gonnerman Company of Mt. Vernon, Indiana. Other antique and vintage agricultural equipment will also be on display, including a 1954 Massey Harris model 44 tractor owned by Sam Miller, a 1931 John Deere D owned by George Kauffman, and many other antique tractors. Farm equipment demonstrations will feature a John Deere stationary hay baler, old engines and steam engines, a grist mill, field demonstrations of plowing and disking, with Belgian horses and the old methods of threshing grain by hand with flails and a fanning mill. Blacksmithing will also be demonstrated as well as goat milking and butter churning. All demonstrations will be “learn abouts” as they will be accompanied by explanations of the processes. Read More