Looking Back

By Arline Adamsick

The Beecher Herald: November 16, 1972

“Vandalism Is Cause of Power Failure”

“The widespread power failure on Saturday afternoon, November 11, was apparently caused by vandals, according to Commonwealth Edison District Superintendent of the Harvey area, William Rosenquist.

“The failure first occurred in parts of Sauk Village, quickly spread to the entire Sauk Village, parts of Crete, Beecher, and as far south as Grant Park. According to Rosenquist, the trouble was caused by six insulators being shot and broken near Balmoral Park Race Track.

“Service was restored within a short time to most areas by switching to another line, but Commonwealth Edison crews discovered, in checking, that many other poles north of the trouble point at Balmoral had been shot at and insulators chipped. They worked from 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon until about 2 a.m. on Sunday morning repairing all the damage. It is believed many of the shots discovered were older, and the shooting had been going on for many days before the vandals had been successful in actually breaking the insulators.

“According to Rosenquist, the county police, who were called, questioned some young men in the area with rifles or shotguns, who were ostensibly hunters. Although one did not have a hunting license, according to Rosenquist, the police were unable to determine they were in any way responsible for the vandalism.”

It seems flu shots were also a topic in 1972…

“School Board OKs Flu Shot for School Personnel”

“The board of education at its regular meeting on Monday night authorized one flu shot for all school personnel.”

The board also approved a revised IBM maintenance contract, a resolution authorizing a levy for the Life Safety Survey work at the elementary school, plus high school librarian, Miss Rodgers, demonstrated the use of audiovisual equipment and explained how these are used in the classroom.

It’s official – Sauk Trail Drive-In Theatre was closed for the season, but the Holiday Theatre was featuring George C. Scott and Stacy Keach in “The New Centurions.”

It seems it never is too early to think of Christmas, but a holiday parade in the middle of November??Park Forest was hosting its Holiday Pageant Parade on Saturday, November 18, beginning at 9 a.m.

“The pre-holiday pageant hosts a retinue of 15 visiting bands, choralers and baton twirling groups, 39 clowns, and a host of paper-sculptured floats depicting storyland characters and Christmas scenes. This is the sixth year of the parade, sponsored by the Park Forest Plaza merchants and the Village of Park Forest.”

The Peotone Vedette: November 17, 1972

“Irish Sneak Past Devils in Season Finale Saturday”

“The Peotone Blue Devils finished their first varsity football season on a losing note, but you couldn’t tell it by the statistics, you couldn’t tell it by the team spirit, and if you missed two plays, you couldn’t tell it by watching the game. Unfortunately, you could tell if you looked at the scoreboard at Bishop McNamara’s Memorial Stadium, which showed the Macs on top 19-18.

“The final statistics showed the Blue Devils getting 10 first downs to McNamara’s two, out gaining the Irish 217 to 167, and completing 10 passes to Mac’s one.

“Peotone was all fired up when they traveled to Kankakee, but it was two mistakes that cost them the game. The first came after the Blue Devils pushed the Irish deep into their own territory. Then a defensive lapse let a reverse fool them, and McNamara went 77 yards for the first score of the game. The PAT was stopped and, with 6:23 remaining in the first quarter, it was 6-0, Irish.

“It was shades of things to come in the second half, as the Blue Devils were stopped on the opening series of downs and then had their punt attempt blocked.

“Luckily, this time the defense was up to the challenge. After the Irish made their only two first downs of the game, Randy Wischover and Jim Robbins smeared the Mac’s quarterback, forcing him to cough up the football, and an alert Pat Goodwin fell on the ball for the recovery.

“Unfortunately, it was to no vail. The Blue Devils were held and forced to punt. Again, it was blocked, but this time the Irish recovered on the Peotone seven-yard line, and it took just one play for them to go in for the TD. The kick for the extra point proved to be the winning play of the game.

“After the game, Coach Lew Reed could not say enough for the team effort displayed during the afternoon. ‘I would have to judge this game as a great team effort by the Blue Devils,’ Reed said. ‘A terrible way to end the season, but in view of our team effort, we can stand proud in the KVC.’

“The Blue Devils finished their first season of varsity competition with a five-and-four record. They were also the area’s leading offensive team, rolling up a total of 210 points, an average of 23.3 per game, while the defense allowed just 126 points, an average of 14 points per game.”

A bit more on football, as Peotone had four of its Blue Devils named to the All-Conference Team, including: Clarke Shaw, who was named the top quarterback, while Roger Beaver and Wayne Cann were named the top two wide receivers. Bill Mort, named to the defensive team at guard, also received special mention for the offensive team.

The Crete Record: November 16, 1972

Guess it’s still not over…

“200 Tax Protesters Jam F-Men’s Hall”

“An estimated 200 Crete Township residents gathered at the Crete F-Men’s Hall Tuesday night to protest their taxes, and a number of others left when there was no more room to stand inside or hear what was being said.

“When the crowd had cleared at the end, some 150 signatures were on lists declaring their intent to pay taxes under protest. Another meeting was set for Tuesday, November 21, in the same building.

“F-Men President August Schaffroth, who called the meeting, explained his purpose was to demonstrate to the county treasurer how many people here plan to pay their taxes under protest, in order to have provision made in Crete Township to handle the crowds.

“All taxes paid under protest must be paid in person in Joliet, according to the county treasurer’s office. An agent with power of attorney also may pay on behalf of a client. Crete Township Supervisor J. Merton West said he asked State’s Attorney Louis Bertani for a ruling on whether protested taxes can be paid in Crete, rather than in Joliet. That ruling is being awaited.

“Schaffroth opened the meeting with a comment that he had been called by the State Department of Local Government Affairs concerning an article in another newspaper that erroneously reported taxes were at record levels due to a state multiplier. That is not true, he said. ‘The increase is caused by our assessments.’

“Schaffroth said the F-Men would be paying their taxes under protest, and he invited non-members in the audience to join them in this move.

“‘At this point we don’t need an attorney,’ he said, ‘but if we’re going to get one, we should get the best there is,’ he added.

“He continued that those with relatively small tax increases probably do not ‘have a beef,’ but those with big jumps should pay under protest.

“Residents in the audience cited mainly cases of what they considered exorbitant increases in assessment and taxes. A few noted unusual and unaccounted for decreases, even for those who had not protested to the board of review.

“The most common complaint was voiced by Mrs. Charlotte Koelling, who deplored the lack of uniformity in the assessments, ‘with no rhyme or reason.’

“Another frequent criticism heard was that properties were not personally appraised by either the assessor or the board of review, although there were references to ‘windshield estimates’ and ‘flyovers.’

“A show of hands near the conclusion of the meeting indicated all but two or three people present intend to pay their taxes under protest. Of the holdouts, at least one said he had no intention of paying at all. Those who have banks holding the mortgage on their property paying the taxes from an escrow account should be able to have the funds released so they can pay taxes under protest in person, according to West.”

The Manteno News: November 16, 1972

There were some delightful pictures on the front page that week, showing the industriousness of local students…Cathy Byrum and Bruce Raymond were stock clerks at Kasco, where Cathy also served as checker. Pat Walen worked as a clerk at Manteno Hardware, and LeRoy Lanoue was a stock clerk at Manteno Foods. Randy Harvell worked in the lumber yard at the Farmer’s Elevator Company in Manteno, while Don Guimond, Bob LaMore, and Judy Williams all worked in candy production at Ludwig Candy Company.

There was a notice the paper would be a day late the following week due to Thanksgiving. Also, here are some of the specials Kasco Foods featured for the holiday: Swift Premium self-basting Butterball turkeys – 39¢/lb.; whole chickens – 25¢/lb.; canned Stokely vegetables – 6 cans for $1; Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese – 29¢/8 oz. pkg.; G&W sugar – 39¢/5 lbs. with coupon, and cranberries were 25¢/lb.

At Manteno Foods, the specials also were quite good, though there was no mention of a sale on turkeys, but they had coupons for: 5 lbs. Gold Medal Flour – 49¢; 3 twin packs of Gala Towels – $1; Comet Cleanser – 9¢; Betty Crocker pie crust mix – 13¢; Folger’s coffee – $2.09/3 lbs.; Campbell’s mushroom soup – 7 cans/$1; skim milk – 39¢/half gallon; and Real Whip whipped topping – 29¢. Care to go shopping??

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Have a wonderful week and enjoy the rather leisurely pace this week just might provide, as things will really begin to speed up next week. After all, it seems like it’s mostly a blur from Thanksgiving to New Year’s – so hang on to your hat. Or is it a blur because I’m very definitely a senior citizen? Maybe I have a bit of an advantage, though, as I don’t move as fast, nor can I get as much done in a day as I used to do. I’ve finally come to the realization that some things just must go – it’s either that or no one can stand my crabbiness!!! Think I’ll opt for the lack of crabbiness!!!! Have a great week – Life is Good!!! Maybe I also should add “simple” to the Life is Good phrase?