Looking Back

By Arline Adamsick

The Manteno News: November 22, 1972

Happy 50^th Anniversary to a very special local resident – Rev. Tony Nugent!!!!

“Anthony Nugent to Be Ordained to Priesthood on November 25”

“Father Anthony Alan Nugent will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, November 25, at 10:30 a.m., by Bishop Raymond J. Vonesh, Auxiliary Bishop of Joliet, at St. Liborius Church, Steger.

“Father Nugent was born on December 29, 1945, in Joliet and is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Leo Nugent of Manteno, and brother of Lavern, Daniel, and Timothy Nugent of Manteno, Kevin of Manhattan, Mrs. Virgil Bertrand of Manteno, and Mrs. Chuck Cassidy of Kankakee. A brother Joel is deceased.

“Father Nugent attended grammar school at Our Lady Academy, Manteno, and high school at St. Patrick Central (now Bishop McNamara) in Kankakee. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Conception Missouri, in 1968, and a Master’s in Divinity at St. Meinrad School of Theology, St. Meinrad, Indiana, in May of 1972.

“Father Nugent served as Deacon at St. Matthew’s Parish, Glendale Heights, and, since February, he has been assigned as Deacon at St. Liborius Parish, Steger. He also presently is teaching religion at Marian High School in Chicago Heights.

“Father Nugent will offer his first Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Joseph’s Church Manteno for the members of the parish and all friends of the community. On December 3, Father Nugent also will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving at 2 p.m. at St. Joseph Church Manteno for the members of the parish and community. Everyone is invited to an open house reception in the church hall immediately following the Mass.”

Thank you, Father Tony, and wishing you many, many more happy years!!!!!!

From “As We See It…”

“Thanksgiving 1972”

“Our American Thanksgiving Day dates officially from 1863, when the nation was locked in a sectional struggle. At that time, Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, who had been proposing a National Day of Thanksgiving for decades in Boston and Philadelphia, as a magazine editor, wrote to President Abraham Lincoln – who in October 1863 issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation

“There have been earlier thanksgiving days; some date the American observance to the days of the early settlers of the nation – who gave thanks for their food supply and the opportunity America offered. The first probably occurred in the Plymouth Colony in 1621.

“There also have been observances in other lands, but few countries had adopted annual thanksgiving days prior to the American custom. An international Thanksgiving Day was held in Washington in 1909, having been conceived by the Rev. Dr. William Russell of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.”

The Beecher Herald: November23, 1972

“Kurt Wilke Becomes Beecher’s First Eagle Scout”

“Raymond Kurt Wilke, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Wilke, has the honor of being the first Scout in Beecher to attain the rank of Eagle and what a great personal accomplishment in that he did this at the age of 12.

“The presentation of the Eagle Scout award took place in an impressive ceremony at the AMVET Hall on Wednesday, before a large crowd of Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, leaders and Scout mothers, representatives from the Calumet Council, village and township officials, faculty and school board members, members of the local clergy, officers and members of the AMVETS, relatives, and friends.

“Kurt’s Eagle Scout project was to beautify the school grounds. With assistance from members of his troop, he planted evergreen trees around Beecher High School and then maintained them for several weeks to assure their growth.”

“County Employees to Get 5.5 Percent Pay Boost”

“All county employees will be receiving a 5.5 percent pay raise from their present salaries, according to the new Will County budget placed on file at last Wednesday’s meeting of the county board. Final adoption of the budget is to take place at the board’s December 4 meeting.

“Efforts to place certain employees in the Planning Department and on the State’s Attorney’s staff on ‘professional’ status, thus exempting them from the pay board’s 5.5 percent pay boost ceiling, failed when William Starner offered an amendment to the budget filing motion limiting all pay hikes to the 5.5 percent figure. A possible loophole in the motion provided the limitation applied only to employees staying in their present job categories.

“Board member Allan Mauer pleaded for more money for a chief planner in the County’s Planning Department. The present planner, Robert Brown, is receiving $12,000 in the position, but he will not be rehired when his contract expires in December.

“Mauer argued that $12,000, plus a 5.5 percent increase, would be not nearly enough to attract a well qualified professional planner – one with a bachelor’s degree and preferably a master’s degree is being sought. Two assistant planners, who are not fully qualified, are presently working at $9,000 each. ‘We hire some clerks for $11,000,’ said board member Robert Weidling, in support of Mauer’s request ‘We need good help.’”

The Peotone Vedette: November 24, 1972

Thought I needed to check with 2022 statistics on this one…

In 1972, “Glacier Count! The North Cascade Mountains in Washington State contain 756 glaciers covering 103 square miles.” According to a 2022 National Park Service site on the Internet, the North Cascades presently have only about 600. According to the site, the glaciers are in trouble and their rapid melting rate threatens the fragile mountain ecosystems, but also the world.

“Peotone Wrestlers to Host Turkey Tourney Saturday”

“Peotone High School will host its second annual Turkey Wrestling Tourney on Saturday, November 25, with sessions beginning at 9 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. This year, the tourney has expanded from four-to-eight teams. Included in this year’s field are Clifton Central, Dwight, Gardner – South Wilmington, Illiana Christian, Manteno, Minooka, Providence, and Peotone.

“Peotone is the defending champion in the tourney, while Dwight, which finished second last year, is the only other school coming back. Dwight has one returning champion, Nowal Wiemken, who won last year at 132. He will probably be at 145 this year.

“Peotone has four returning champions: Mike Mausehund, who was 98 last year and will be at 105 this year; Bill Mort at 167 and also at 167 this year; Pat Smith at 105 last year; and Curtis Mort at 112 last year. It is not certain at what weights Mort and Smith will be this year.”

Returning team members also included: John Abell, Randy Murray, Gary Zybak, Rick Domagalla, Don Slocum, Gary Mausehund, and Robert Arseneau.

“Joliet Livestock Center to Begin Hog Trading Monday”

“Hog trading will begin November 27 at the Chicago-Joliet Livestock Marketing Center, it was recently reported by Harlan Bane, president. The hog house will be able to handle up to 6,500 hogs daily at the facility, which has been trading in cattle exclusively since it opened August 2, 1971.

“It is expected the center will sell a million hogs in the first year. Since the center opened, more than half a million cattle have been traded. Officials hope to expand this to 1.5 million head of cattle annually, with the opening of a new cattle house to replace the center’s temporary cattle pens. The new cattle facility will increase daily capacity from 4,500 to 8,000.

“The new center was opened when the Chicago Stock Yards closed after 105 years of providing a market for cattle, hogs, and sheep.”

The Crete Record: November 23, 1972

“Lockport Taxpayers Put Bite on Pomeroy”

“In a devastating two-hour confrontation before the Will County Board, some 150 irate taxpayers, mostly from Lockport Township, challenged Oren Pomeroy, Will County Supervisor of Assessments and the Board of Review to correct what they called gross inequities.

“The wrangle took place in the midst of the regular County Board meeting Wednesday, during which three more unsuccessful attempts were made to remove Pomeroy from office.

“The Lockport claque was led by their township assessor, Mrs. Pat Hartley, who told the board that 3,000 of the 22,000 complaints on assessments filed in Will County were from Lockport Township.

“‘I have the facts and figures,’ she said. ‘I tried to correct the inequities for 1971 and failed completely.’

“‘If the local assessor corrects these errors next year, will they remain corrected?’ she asked Roy Hassert, chairman of the County Board and the Board of Review. ‘Or will Mr. Pomeroy, once more, change every figure in the township?’ She queried.

“Hassert agreed there were some unfair assessments but said the local assessors could correct them. ‘I stand behind the Board of Review,’ he declared. ‘It is the best Board of Review this county has ever had.’

“His statement brought boos and jeers from the audience.

“Mrs. Hartley contended the fact there were 22,000 complaints filed showed Pomeroy has failed to do his job. Even though people filed with the Board of Review, their cases were not acted on, she charged. Instead, everyone was given a blanket reduction, which did nothing to correct the inequities, she said.

“Among the many discrepancies, Mrs. Hartley charged that Pomeroy had changed improved property she had assessed back to vacant, as it had previously been carried on the books, even though houses now stand on the land. She cited dozens of properties that were both under and over assessed by Pomeroy, who had changed their figures after they were turned in.

“Farmland valuations fluctuated from $15,000 too much to $14,000 too little, based on recent sales, she declared. Pointing out more inequities, Mrs. Hartley called attention to recently sold homes in the $10,000 – $13,000 range, which were assessed anywhere from $2,000 to $9,000.”

It appears the dissension continued for some time, with boos and groans from the audience. Someone even asked how Pomeroy got the job and was told he was the only one to pass of the three who took the state administered test, which was promptly followed by shouts of “get rid of Pomeroy.”

On a more positive note, it seems that of those who filed complaints in the county, more than 90 percent were satisfied with their resolution, which was based on the taxes being too high and not on the assessment itself.

Despite many calls for his resignation, Pomeroy stated: “I have to respectfully decline to resign. There’s a job to do, I’m in the middle, and I’m going to finish.”

Stay tuned, I still don’t think we’ve heard the last of this…

*****

What a glorious time of year. I would like to take this moment and wish each of you a most Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving, which seems to have arrived at just the right time. With all upheaval going on in the world around us, it really is the perfect time to search our hearts and remind ourselves of all the wonderful blessings we are so fortunate to possess. Life is Good!!!