Q. 977. 381 P191P k X-ll. -/V 2 "■""^j^ ^'^=g£-*'-aw „ ILIINOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY S/^ -Z<^ JForcUiart Jtt^t as there is no standard pattern for Centennial celebrations, so there is no form for the production of a special newspaper issue or booklet signalizing the an7iiversary. As the "steering committee" within Pana Centennial Inc. got to work, several months ago, it decided to publish a booklet subsidized by advertising , and to sell copies to benefit the Centennial fund. It was agreed that the Pana Centennial Souvenir Booklet would be devoted to the history of the community, from its beginnings to date, and the staff of the Pana News-Palladium was commissioned to prepare the copy and produce the booklet. The histoiy herein is as nearly accurate and complete as months of research could make it. If there be eriors and omissions, some will be chargeable to the staff and some will have to be laid to failure of solicited sources to provide information. The type will be held for a month after the celebration in order that a second printing can be done quickly if the original printing is sold c^ut. If you are unable to get the number of copies you desire at Centennial time, write immeiUatfly to Panu Centennial Inc., and enclose $1.00 plus tr)C handling charge for each additional booklet desired. If by Aug. 1 there are enough reorders to justify a stcond run, they will be filled, otherioise your money unll be refunded. To Tom (T.J.) Phillips, native of Pana who came to the News-Palla- dium staff in January after his stint in the Navy, goes the credit for most of the historical research and writing the bulk of the copy for the booklet. Ackmn^lle^^mcnts The assistance of many persons in many ways is gratefully acknow- ledged. At the peril of offending by omission, the staff nevertheless thanks publicly the following: John Strader, Charlene Paul, Mary Montel, A. H. Prunke, George Searles, Eleanor Burhorn, Fr. T. J. O'Neill, City Clerk Charles Joley, officers of civic and fraternal organizations for their ccj-operation, pastors of the churches, Lyle Koontz, Leo Btytrs, Mrs. Will Kroenlein, Mrs. War- ren Penwell, George Penivell, Eugene SehniHz, Leon Budds, Jessie Winters, Page Smith, Fred G. Johnson, the Paul Brothers, Nora Molz, O. H. Brown, Max Pemvell, Kenneth Penwell, Katherlne DeLane, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Nowack, Mrs. J. J. Tappero, Harold Rakers, Mr. and Mrs. Warren Chris- ner, Oeorge Scott, Fannie Vidler, Will F. Jordan, Homer Millot, Charles Ashcraft, Logan Griffith. Index Pages A History of the City of Pana 1856-1956 - 5-18 Still Some Doubt as to Origin of Name "Pana" - 19 Nationality Composition Changed Little 19 There Is Also a "Pana" in Africa — - - 21 Nearest Neighbors — Oconee, Rosamond, Tower Hill 21-22 Telephone Service Began About 1900 .. ..- - 22 Development of the Local Educational System 23-27 History of the Churches of the Community 27-31 Organizations — Civic, Fraternal, Labor, Social 33-36 Railroads and the Growth of the Pana Commimity 37-39 Coal Mining Is a Bulwark of the Local Economy 41-42 Pana Widely Noted for Wholesale Floral Industry 42 The Carnegie-Schuyler Library 42 Kitchell Park One of Pana's Greatest Assets 43 10 Different Newspapers Have Served This Area 45-46 Small Airport Serves Area's Needs 46 Former YMCA Building Put to Many Uses 46 Pana Is Proud of Huber Memorial Hospital 47-49 3 Major Cemeteries Serve Pana Area 49-50 Many From Pana Have Gone to the Wars 50 Pana Has Active Chamber of Commerce . 50 Pana Has Fast, Efficient Volunteer Fire Department 51 CIPSCO Provides Excellent Utility Services 52 Postal Increase Index of City's Growth 52 Many Names on Roster of "Famous Sons" 53-55 The Centennial Celebration Program 56 Old Photographs William Glascow, One of the Real Pioneers 5 Millot Building, Now Pana Hotel - -- 9 Minstrel Time in the Hayward Opera House .- H The Old B&O Shops --- 14 Laying the First Sewer 17 An Old-Time Street Parade 18 May Day Festival in the Schools , 25 Haying Scene .-. 39 Chautauqua Scene 43 Another Chautauqua Scene 45 Horse-Drawn Ambulance 47 Fire Chief in Full Dress 51 The Post Office Crew in '98 54 W. F. Sell's Livery Stable 55 DRAKE'S GROCERY .Siy EAST SECOND ST. PHONE 5770 COMPLETE LINE OF » GROCERIES • MEATS • VEGETABLES • FROZEN FOODS "SHOP IN AIR-CONDJIONED COMFORT" OPEN SEVEN DAYS WEEKLY DAILY: ti a.m. to 7 p.m. SUNDAY: 6 a.m. to 12 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PAUL, FLORENCE and TOM DRAKE — FRED PRYCE — PRESTON BALES * AIR CONDITIONED * ^5 "IT PAYS TO KEEP WELL-GROOMED" SPINDEL'S BARBER SHOP 817 E. SECOND ST. PANA, ILL. J. E. SPINDEL R. D. SHIMP ROTARY CLUB 1921 1956 Pana, Illinois REEDER'S HARDWARE Phone 2211 31 South Locust St. Pana, 111. WITTMANN DRUG CO. THE REXALL STORE Wilbur J. Kuhn, R. Ph. Phone 1.502 Pana, 111. WEDGE INN Pana's Finest For Food Sandwiches • Regular Meals • • Complete Fountain Service • Steaks • • Chicken « Centennial Greetings As in the Past . . . So in the Future ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO SERVE YOU &^GDETTIG'Sm BUJtDING MATERIAL;&iiijt MURRAY'S RADIO & TELEVISION Your Electronic Dealer Since World War II JIM E. & E. SALES GIFT SHOP 8 E. Second Phone 202 Elsie Weber Pana Compliments TILLEY'S BARBER SHOP When It's Time to Redecorate . . . Think of PANA PAINT STORE Eleanor, Gene and "Frosty" Ttate Congratulations From HINTON INSURANCE AGENCY GENERAL INSURANCE Eugene J. Hinton, Broker PHONE 1920 509 East Third Pana, 111. BILL'S DRIVE INN We Specialize in Sandwiches 12 N. Poplar it STAR BAKERY ic AND CONFECTIONERY Phone 591 25 E. Seconc Pana, 111. TEX & GAINES (Joe) (Red) Complete Home Furnishings Pana, 111. JOHNSON and DUCHANEY 35 E. Second Pana, 111. Phones : 1193 5990 1856 ... A History of the City of Pana . . . 1956 I'aiia, ■■City of Roxes^ aj;ii- Lultural L'oninuinily and industrial centei-, lies near the geographical center of the state of Illinois, in Christian county, latitude 39.23 de- .•jrees north and longitude 89.05 de- irrees west, at an elevation of 696 I'eet above sea level, having a 1950 census of 6,178. Pana's origin is attributed to th'^ loniing of the '■Iron Monster" to the praiiies of the state in 1853. In that year the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad was eommenced. A cabin used by the lailroad was erected somewhere along the right- of-way of the Illinois Central. A local historian of some years ba. I :itates that this "shack" was h cupied by James Keenan, a nati\ of From. Gahvay, Ireland, a rail reading contractor. Keenan sup- posedly held the grading contract for the last 6 miles of roadbed con- .■;truction of the Illinois Central into Pana. Keenan's wife, Diana, con- ducted an eating house in the shack for graders and other workmen en- .n;aged in construction of the rail- road. This structure sat opposite the present Union Station (New York Central) at the intersection of the New York Central and Illinois Cen- tral Railroad tracks. The Keenans occupied the shack for 3 years and were present when the first Illinois Central train came over the steel rails to Pana on Mar. 24, 1855. This was the humble beginning of the city known today as one of ! he leading smaller communities in the state. Before the coming of the railroad this territory was siuveyed in 1821 and for a period of years was vin- 'nhabited save for hunters and the Indian. The country was known as the "Black Hawk Hunting ground." Game of all kinds was in abundance. At this time too, the immediate countryside was a part of Shelby county and remain- ed so until the yeai- 1839 when Christian county was organized. As mentioned before the Indian .ilone was the first resident of this vicinity except foi- settlers scatter- ed here and there about the county. Tribes of Indians who roamed the grounds wheie the city of Pana atand.s were the Sac, Pawnee, Fox, Pottawatomies (most intelligent, fiercest and bravest of the tribes) and the Kickapoos. In the year 1853 Pana weis sur- veyed and platted, along with the Illinois Central Railroad. The exact location of the city was determined by the point of inter- section of the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad (NYC. which was William (ilascow, pioneer and merchant in thi.s city, is pictured a-s reprodiic<>d from a charcoal sketch owned by his great-grand- son, I^gan Griffith of this city. Some say that I'ana was named for Gla.sco\v's wife, whose given name was Anna, but called "Pana" by Glascow. completed shortly after the Illi- nois Central in 1855), and the Illi- nois Central tracks. The plat was recorded in January of 1855 and was executed by C. A. Manners, surveyor, for David Neal, then president of the Illinois Central. One year latei' in 1856, additional plats were made by P. C. Higgins working in the interest of the Alton & Terre Haute Railroad (NYC I and John S. Hayward, own- er of large land interests in the township. Also in the year 1854 there was erected along Stone Coal Creek near the Illinois Central tracks a post offics, with Milan S. Beck- with as postmaster. Pana and the surrounding township were known as Stone Coal Precinct during this period. Stone Coal Precinct was foimod June 5, 1845, by the county com- missioners' court and was bounded as follows: Beginning at the south- east coiner of the (ovmty, thence west 9 miles to the middle of Range 1 east; thence north 6 miles, ihence east 9 miles to the place of beginning. It included 54 sections. The name Stone Coal was derived from a small stream flowing through the township, called Coal Creek. Along its banks could be found stone coal outcropping in limited quantities. The first settlers of Stone Coal Piecinct weie Jared Malin, Abram Milligan and Thoiiias Bell, who came in 1809; Henry H. Bond, An- drew Hanson, Levi Hopson antl Alfred Hopson in 1840; Benjamin Gordon and John Abbott in 1841; Joseph Dutler and John Hanson are said to have come at an early date, not exactly determined. The first election of the piecinct was held in the home of Andrew Hanson, Aug. 2, 1845. Andrew Hanson, Thomas Bell, and Abram MiUigan sorved as judges. Durinjr !hat p3riod there were 5 voters in Bell's Grove attached to the pre- (Inct, totaling in all 19 votes cast at the first election. Before the organization of the precinct, the inhabitants voted at Taylorvillc. William Pryce acted as deputy lax collector in this precinct in 1845, the taxes paid-in amounting to $7.60. Pryce was also the first bridegroom, marrying Mary Jane Edwards on Feb. 14, 1844. William Buzan married Jane Gor- don, Sept. 1, 1845. These cere- monies were performed by the Rev. Miles H. Abbott. In the year 1848, Henry H. Bond, Jacob Hanson and Ignatius Butler were elected its first school trustees. At the first enumera- tion of children under the school law, there v,-eie only 18; but with the advent of the railroad in 1854 population increased rapidly and a further census of children in 1856 shows the formation of 3 school districts. No. 1 had 18, No. 2, 118, and No. 3, 116, making a total of 256. The name of the township was changed to Pana on Sept. 2, 1856, on the petition of Mason French, and 30 other legal voters. The petition was presented to the county court by Postmaster Beck- wit h. One time in the history of llie township an effort was made to secede from Christian coimty and re-actach the township to Shelby county. This movement was made prior to the days of the railroads at a lime when miles of unsettled territory lay between the town- .ship and the county seat. Follow- ing passing of an act in February of 1851 to aid in Iha transfer ol Township 11, 1 east, from Christ- ian to Shelby county, an election was directed to be held on the first Monday of July, of the same year, to vote on the measure. The results were: In Christian county, for secession, 17 votes were cast; against the movement 220 votes were tallied, a majority of 203 voters wishing to stay as a part of Christian county. Shelby county was willing to receive her lost sister back to the fold, 109 We Welcome Small Accounls For Small Accounts Grow Large. It Is Our Policy and Pleasure to Treat Every Customer with Perfect Fainiess and Unvarying Courtesy, Regardless of the Size of the Account. PEOPLES B ANK Of Pana CLEMENTS ■ LEWIS INSURANCE AGENCY. INC. SAM S. LEWIS, Agent "Insurance For Every Need" 1381/., South Locust Street PHONE 4910 Pana. Illinois PRESNELL BROS. CONTRACTORS Ready Mixed Concrete Sand, Gravel, Cement Second & Chestnut Phone 4930 BUTTER'S TAP 15 S. Locust St. Pana, 111. Free Shuffleboard — TV Anytime "You'll Find the Spirit of the Pana Centennial at Buttei''s Tap!" THE NEW SPOT e LIQUOR • WINE • BEER • Jess Johnson Marie Gibson 103 E. Second Pana, 111. PUG'S TRYST O LIQUOR • WINE • BEER • K.Y. Irma 21 East Second Congratulations . . . ... To the People of the PANA Community in Celebrating The FIRST Centennial! JNO. W. FRIBLEY — AND — GEO. J. LaCHARITE voters balloting: yes to 3 dissenting votes. A notable event in the days of Stone Coal Precinct was the lo- cating of a county road to Taylor- viUe. Joseph Edwards, Andrev.- Hanson and Wm. Hammer were itppointed commissioners at the September term of the county court in 1846. They viewed and located the road in November of the same year. It was surveyed by County Sur- veyor VV i 1 1 i a m A. Goodricli. William Pryce and Henry H. Bond acted as chairmen. The survey began near the southeast corner of the county and was run in a direct line to Taylorville. making the head of Locust Creek timber a point in route. After the road wa.s established a furrow was run lo mark more definitely the sur- vey and to guide the traveler over the wide, uninhabited prairie. There is some doubt as to the first citizen of Pana. The honor IS given to either Milan Beckwith (ir D. Kincaid. Early histories of the county differ, one reporting D. Kincaid as having moved the first house to Pana from near Stone Coal and entering business with Mason French to become the first merchants. The second history says, "There seems to be a difference of opinion as to who moved the first building to Pana following the construction of a cabin by the Illinois Central Railroad. Both Beckwith and Kincaid had shan- ties moved to this point and were the first merchants. However, we are inclined to think Beckwith was first to move his shanty here in 1854 fiom Beck's Creek or Stone Coal post office. Kincaid and Fiench had a small house on wheels which stood at the foot of the knoll in front of the freight house in which they sold groceries, whiskey, etc." Following Beckwith and Kin- caid came the usual flow of im- migrants necessary for the growth of a city. The original plat of Pana con- tained 22 blocks. Twelve of these were whole blocks and 10 were halves. In 1880 an additional 27 additions were attached to the original plat. The city was laid out with the rails of the Illinois Central as a base. Giving proof is the fact the city of Pana does not lie in a direct north to south position but northeast to south- west. In the winter of 1856-57, with the population of the settlement as taken from a census of the Illi- nois Central at 850, the Illinois legislature granted the charter in- corporating the village of Pana. The first election was held Mar. lit, 1857, for village officers and resulted as follows: A. Monroe, president; James Martin, W. H. Glascow, L. F. Shepherd and W. B. Little, trustees. The government under the charter of 1856 continued until Feb. 13, 1867, when another charter superseding the old one was granted. On Mar. 8, 1867, an election was held for city officers. W. J. Jordan was elected mayor and John DeLane, E. A. Humph- rey. W. VV. Watkins, and W. A. Newcomb aldermen. William T. Dobbs was elected city judge, Amos A. Rhodes city clerk, J. W. Kitchen city attorney and F. M. Malone city marshal. Pana was chartered for the thiid and last time in May of 1877 under the general cities and vil- liges act. The city's growth had been on the increase with 1000 population by 1860, 2390 in 1870 and in 187G over 4,000. During the charier year of Pana, the Illinois Central also noted the following facts: A total of 68 liouses stood in the village. with one church, the Presbyterian. The first seniion delivered in Pana was by a Presbyterian min- ister, the Rev. E. B. Olmstead. traveling through the area by rail. It was given in a box car standing on the Illinois Central tracks. This was on a "bright autumnal Sabbath, in October, 1855," according to C. Gowdy, MD, author of a history of Pana's Presbyterian church. The streets of the city lay in a .somewhat different manner in the early days of Pana relative to their position today as evidenced by a plat of the city in 1876. Familiar street names in bygone days such as Rosamond, Christian, Alton, Macon, Cleveland, Davison, and Kentucky are non-existent now, having been renamed. Rosa- mond street was the thoroughfare citizens of Pana know today as Second street. It ran from the west limits of the city to the corner of Sheridan where it be- came North Third. Chiistian street is now Washington; Macon- Orange; Alton-Olive; Cleveland- Lake; Fulton-Magnolia avenue; Davison-North Locust; the pres- ent North Poplar was Washing- ton street; Park-North Elm, and Kentucky-East Third. In the west section of the city, streets beginning to the south with Seventh street were number- ed toward the north beginning with South Third, now Seventh; South Second, presently Sixth; and ending with South First, now Fifth. All streets Irom Fifth on were prefixed North. Thereby, our piesent Fourth street was North First, Thinl street was North Second, and Second street was North Third. This arrangement held true in the east section of the city except for the fact the city extended farther south and included South Fourth and South Fifth which arc today East Eighth and Ninth, re- spectively. The portion of East Sixth street today extending east- ward from U. S. Route 51 was in the infancy of our city known as Ohio street. One block to the south, the portion now East Seventh was Indiana street. Our present Main sUeet now laid out boidering the south side of thj Frances Hotel ran eastward to Harrison wliich is now Hickory, serving the same purpose as Washington street does for the present population. Az stated Hick Dry on the north side of the New York Central tracks was then Harrison, but south of the railroad became Poplar street. Thiid street to the east of Hickory v/a.s Kentucky street. Going to the northern section of town bounded today on the west by the Illinois Central and on the cast by the C&EI, streets running from east to v.'cst were numbered from the north beginning with Seventh to the present Washing- tan street in this section, which was Third street, and on one block south to the Baltimore & Ohio tracks, the railroad then being the Springfield Division of the Ohio & Mississippi, to a street nmning parallel to the tracks marked Second. North Pine was Chest- nut street running to the south of the New Yorl: Central, beyond to the noith it became Adams street. Kitchell Avenue at one time vv'as Elm street. Principal thoroughfares of the city today are: Poplar, Maple, Vine, Spruce, Hickory, Pine, Wal- nut, Kitchell Avenue, Clark, State, Sheridan, Wells, Sherman, Grant, Washington, DeWitt, Fiist, Sec- ond, Third. Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Orange and Olive. With the growth of the city in recent years new additions with thoroughfares were constructed. These are the Kennedv Country Club addition in the southeast por- tion cf the city with MacArtluir Boulevard and Patton Avenue, on Sept. 27. 1948; Presnell's addition in the west part of town. West and Short streets, Oct. 14, 1949; the Beyers addition, Beyers Ave- nue, Sept. 2, 1950; and Piogress street in tho H. B. Minei' Division, Sept. 13, 1954. Business boomed in the early days of the city. The first hotel was erected by W. H. Glascow to the north of the railroad track and was in later years known as the Ritter House. One of the nioie elaborate store buildings of VISIT THE PANA PANA 1 t^ 1 1 r^ PLUMBING BOWL SUPPLY DURING THE CENTENNIAL Complete Remodeling Bath and Kitchen We Are Proud to Bring the Latest in Fully Automatic PLUMBING HEATING DRAINAGE REPAIR Pinspotters to Our Patrons. Automatic Water Heaters Sewer and Process Piping GRAND OPENING PLUMBING AND HEATING JULY 1st CONTRACTING Air-Conditioned HERB PORTER, Owner For Your Bowling Fourth and Clark Streets and Drinking Pleasure Phone 5280 Pana, 111. RUHL FORD CO. ••Say It With Flowers" ^^^^ HENDERSON 10 South Locust St. J^l FLORAL SHOP PHONE 190 ^taj^'F Corner Third & Chestnut Pana, Illinois ^^ PHONE 300 CULBERSON CENTENNIAL 1 OMPLIMENTS and ^^■IHHIH UONGRATULATIONS ^^^^^^H TRACTOR & EQUIPMENT CO. Ford Tracfors from 1 ^^H H. R. "Reg" "_ "^ 1 Ford /mp/emen/s TURNEY ^^M HIGHWAY 51 SOUTH COUNTY ^^■■lJRRI Pana, Illinois Phone 5260 CLERK ^^^■MSESa YOU'LL LIKE . . . BRUNNER AUTO SUPPLY WAREHAM'S Auto Parts — Accessories — Tools Better Dairy Products Shop Equipment Order From Your Grocer — Today 30 South Locust Street BOB PUGSLEY, Distributor Phones: 292 & 860 Pana, 111. the settlement was erected in 1856 by A. G. Neel who journeyed to Decatur, quite a distance in those days, to procure lumber for the structure. Mr. Neel opened his store on April 3, 1856. Disaster struck the community of Pana in 1857. A tornado pass- ed through on June 13, destroying half the city and crops. Work was started immediately and the town rebuilt. Milan Beckwith. Stone Coal postmaster, ventured into the field of journalism and published the town's first paper, the Weekly Herald. The first edition of this publication was placed on sale Dec. 23, 1857. The Weekly Her- ald also held the honor of being the first paper ever printed in Christian county. The paper was established to promote interest and encourage settlement in Christian county, where Editor Beckwith was largely interested in real estate. The Herald which began as an independent paper became Democratic in 1858 but did not survive long enough to benefit the party, passing out with the 41st issue of Vol. II. Following Beckwith were Slack and McCoy, constructing the first steam mill, which opened foi business on Feb. 3, 1858. J. C. Helmick became the city's lirst financier, opening the doors of his bank in 1866. Ten years later the banking house of H. N. Schuyler (later to go defunct, in 1930) was started. Another bank was opened on July 1. 1867 by W. E. Hayward, but was closed in November of 1878. Mr. Hayward engaging in real estate. This bank was located across the street south of the H. N. Schuyler building which was situated on the northeast corner of Second ;ind Locust streets. For a period of 3 years. 1860-63. money was hard to come by in Pana, but the situation eased when manv new citizens migrated to the city and adjoining coun- tryside. Real estate prices are .•;aid to have increased several hundred per cent. Pana around the year 1865 was .somewhat an underworld paradise with gambling and thievery pre- vailing throughout the city. The organization is said to have been so complete that few strangers having the good fortune to entei the city with a full purse left in Ihe same condition. This band was finally broken by irate citi- zens of the community taking necessary means to obtain law and order. Early in the history of Pdna, in 1863. Eli Jacobs erected a mill with the capacity of 60 barrel.s and a run of 3 burrs. In 1868, the Overholt Bros., who then operated the Jacobs mill, put up an ele- vator in connection with the mill. The new structure had a capacity of 25 thousand bushels of corn and 40 thousand bushels of wheat. During the spring of 1867, S. M. Haywood, father of the late Harry Haj'wood, constructed a grain elevator in Pana. In operation, this concern handled approxi- mately 2 thousand bushels a day and employed 10 to 12 men. In the year 1870 the citizenry of Pana erected a City Hall, a brick structure, 2 stories high. This building was razed in 1941 and the present city administra- tion building constructed. The building houses the volunteer fiic department as well as various city offices, police department, etc. Since the second organization of the city Mar. 5. 1867, when with increase of population it wa.s deemed necesary to change tho form of government. Pana has come under an aldei manic admin- istration. The city following thi.s change was composed of 2 wards. Ward I at this time contained 150 registered voters. Ward II, 220. Previously Pana had been vmder the village board type of government with a president and 4 associates elected. The city, growing through the years, is presently made up of 5 wards each supplying 2 aldermen to the City Council. Another elevator u-as built in 1874 by Jacob Kremer with a capacity of 20 thousand bushels of grain. This organization was later purchased by Tilton Hemsley & Company. A fruit cannery was established here in 1872. known as the Pana Branch of the Alden Preserving Company. The building was de- stroyed by fire 4 years later in July of 1876 and the remaining machinery was sold to parties in Springfield at a price of S350. In 1876, the Pana City Mills, a brick 31 2 story building, was built by George and Minnis Miller. Pana's industrial history also boasts in bygone days a Door. Sash & Planing Mill operated by Wood and Laton. Two other planing mills were in existence at the same time and were operated by A. W. Parker and D. T. Davis. In 1876 there was located in the vicinity of the present waterworks the Piogressive Mercantile & Manufacturing Co., specializing in confectionery equipment, foot warmers, etc. Pana has always been known a.-; a railway centei-. The Illinois Cen'.ral built to Pana in 1854. thc- New York Central in 1855, Balti- more & Ohio in 1869, and the Chi- cago & Eastern Illinois in 1904. The city housed the shops of the Illinois and South Eastern Rail- road, which was taken over by the Ohio & Mississippi Co. in 1876. The shop; employed 150 men who specialized in general repairing and rebuilding of railway equip- ment. The road later became thi' Baltimore & Ohio and the shops were removed in 1900. Supplying the everyday needs of the populace of Pana in its early growth were various mer- chants and business concerns. Some of these follow: Dry Goods, Clothing, Boots and Shoes— S. C. Wagener, George V. Penwell. Beckenheimer, Goldstine and Co.. J. R. Race & Co.; Groceries James Babcock. Jacob Born. Jewell & Moscly. Jageman & Mc- Elroy, W. L. Dowling. J. B. Shaf- foT. M. J. Jones, Newcomb Bros., IfiB/ This, the Kuropcan Hotel, or Millot's liiiildiiiK. u landmark of the area, no\\ mtvcn the oitizeiLs of I'ana and wayfarers, as the Paiui Hotel. hH-ated «m South Locust street. The structure was ereet.-d In 1890.— Photo from Homer Millot. OFFICE and FACTORY Located at VINE STREET and the B. & O. TRACKS Near the City Water Works NATIONAL GREENHOUSE CO. PANA, ILLINOIS DESIGNERS and MANUFACTURERS OF GLASS AND FIBER GLASS GREENHOUSES Enjoy an Exciting Hobby. Come in and See Us. GET OUR FREE CATALOGUE Comphments of EARL "BUD" LANCASTER CIRCUIT CLERK & RECORDER Of Christian County V.F.W. POST 4431 Meeting on the First and Third Mondays V.F.W. AUXILIARY 4431 Meeting on the First Thursdays Comphments NICK'S MOTEL • ALL MODERN • • ALL NEW • • Air Conditioned • Phone 7370 South on Rte. 51 ^^£ Bulova, Elgin, Wyler Watches Fostoria, Imperial Crystal Diamonds Compliments NICK'S PACKAGE LIQUOR STORE Phone ISO We Deliver It was minstrt'l time in the then ••Ute Haywanl Opera House around 1901 when this pieture was made. I^oeated on the corner of Main and Poplar streets, the opera house was the eenter of I'ana's entertainment w()rkl. Participatinff in the priHluotion were (9 men in full dress suits) left to rigfht: Frank Stamm, KImer White, Fred Weber, John Robb, Dr. John D. Keid (interlocutor), Freeman Butts, Winfield Arthur Martin, Charles Schempf; Black face end men, only 2 identified: Claude McMullen (left) and Benton Butts (right) ; In the orchestra: Tutt IVnwell (center, dark suit); Elizabeth Pirnes (pianist); Kmma Schwietzka (standing:); Jim Corman (standinR by piano). Others are unidentified. J. C. Willis, Casey & Cox, Wm. Howard, and Griffith Evans; Hardware, Stoves and Tinware — Lewis Jehle, Wm. Stuhlman, A. B. Corman, H. Biiell; Furniture- Jesse & Bros., A. B. Corman; Drugs— R. C. Coyner. P. M. Nichols, O. Gossmann & Bros., L. D. Higgins; Harness — Lewis Schlierbach, Charles J. Hill, J. C. Woolside and in later years Otto and Louis Paul; Photograph Gal- lery — .1. V. Hover; Agricultural Implements — O. H. Paddock, Cox & Swim, F. W. Stockbridge; Undertakers— J. E. Neely, H. Kirkpatrick; Millinery and Dress- making — Mrs. S. P. Mooney. Misses B. and E. Millard. Mrs. George Belnap; Hay Dealers — D. E. McGarrah, D. M. Keys; Whole- sale Gunpowder Dealers — E. C. Reese & Bros. Pana citizens in the past were entertained in an opera house, known as one of the best in the vicinity, owned by J. S. Hayward. The opera house had a seating capacity of 813 people with a stage 24x30 feet. Light was furnished by gas and heat was "applied by 2 wood furnaces. Scenery for the productions was furnished by Noxon of the Olym- pic Theatre of St. Louis. The opera house was located east of the Frances hotel on the comer of Poplar and Main streets. Hotels were in abundance in early Pana. In 1867 .1. S. Hay- ward erected the St. James Hotel iuiown today as the Frances. This hotel was first opaned by D. Tumbolt as the Turnbolt House. It can be said that this hostelry was the most imposmg in the city at the time, being 3 stories high of brick with marble floors. The hotel contained 80 rooms with ac- conunodations for 160 guests. Also provided for the entertain- ment of the guests were a dining room, saloon, and oilliard hall. Other hotels included the Har- rison House, Mrs. Matilda Har- rison, proprietor; Central House. James Dalton; Kentucky House. J. C. Stout: and Hall House. G. Evans. Early physicians in the city were Geo. W. Patton, Jacol) Huber, J. H. Dodge, H. H. Deming, Salem Dickey, A. E. Eversole. L. D. Higgins. H. H. Hall and T. H. McCoy, dentist. The year 1884 brought to Pana the industry which was to rocket the city to prosperity and recog- nition. Coal was hoisted from the Pana Coal Company's Mine No. 1, known as the Old Mine, first of 4 mines to be sunk in the city dur- ing this period. Mining has car- ried on imlil the present day as one of Pane's leading industries. As well .as one of the city's greatest benefactors, ths mining industry brought to Pana, during a period in 1898, internal strife such as has never been witnessed in the city since. A miners' strike for better wages and labor con- ditions plus the importation of cheap Negro labor from Birming- ham, Ala., to work the mines kindled a spark which ignited in wholesale violence with shooting in the streets throughout the city on Apr. to, 1899. This date was known as the mine riot but the city had been the scene of spas- modic periods of violence since Sept. 1, 1898. The mine strike continued until Oct. 10. 1899, when the operators recognized the union and the men went back to the pits. During these periods of violence the city of Pana was under martial law, the state militia pa- trolling the streets. The Pana mine war according to state union officials was not only a victory locally but was a step foi-ward for the miners of the country. With the end of rioting and the deparl- \ire of Negro labor the city settled back to its former peaceful existence. HAYES HATCHERY & FEEDS Pana, Illinois Phone SO Nokomis, Illinois - - - Phone 251L PANA FederalSavings AND LOAN ASSOCIATION 113 East Third Street BOB'S TEXACO SERVICE First and Poplar Streets Pana, Illinois ROBERT ZUECK IVAN BRAYE JEFFREY'S TELEVISION & APPLIANCE PHONE 511 29 S. Locust Pana, 111. Compliments of '^'^'^tl^mi 203-5 South Locust St. Pana, Illinois B & B CAFE 8 South Poplar Street FAMOUS HAMBURGERS AND RED HOTS 3.^ PANA, ILLINOIS CHARTERED MAY 1944 Compliments SMITH & MAGILL ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW KOCHER STUDIO AND CAMERA SHOP 36 S. Locust Pana, 111. "We Don't Steal, But . . . We'll Take Anything!" Phone 1961 BURKHARDT FURNITURE "Everything For the Home" 211 South Locust St. Phone 420 Pana, 111. B. C. KING MOTOR SALES • DODGE • PLYMOUTH 8 N. Locust, Pana, 111. Phone 540 By the year 1892. Pana was a prosperous commiinily of 7000. In a hand business directory of that yeai- the city's business houses totaled approximately 379. With the progress of the city tame the luxury of public works. Pana's first water supply was taken from wells and pumped by a waterworks established north- west of town in 1893 by Eugene Hayward. Following use of the wells, in 1911 a reservoir was constructed ^;pproximately 2 miles east of the lity and water piped to Pana. At this same time a waterworks was constructed in the east section of the city on Main street at a cost of $150,000. In 1928 the reservoir was enlarged with the building of a new dam south of the site of the original reseiToir dam. Again in 1949, resulting from an insufficient water supply to fit the needs of the community and local industries, on to the south of the second dam a thiid dam was built, bringing Lake Pana to cover 250 acres and a water capa- city of one billion, one hvmdred million gallons. Water is pumped from the reservoir to the city by the use of two 100 hp. motors. A 100-hp. motor, backed by 60 .md 50 hp. motors then pumps the water after filtialion at the waterworks to consumers through- out the city. Water is presently pumped through 14" cast iron main laid in 1947 to the filter plant. Elevated storage of water in the city totals 250,000 gallons while ground storage at the filtra- tion plant is 300,000. An all time high for the city in watei- con- sumption was hit in July of 1952 when 43,410,000 gallons were con- sumed. Seasons' pumping aver- ages for the city of Pana are: Summer — 1,500.000 to 1,750.000 .gallons per day; winter 1.250.000 gallons per day. In lh2 late 1890's W. Alexander and J. W. Paddock of this city purchased an ice making machine and operated foi- a period of ap- proximately 2 years. Their plant was located in the St. James block (Vicinity of St. Frances Hotel to- day). Due to machine failure the manufacturing of ice was given up but the men continued to harvest ice in the winter for sale during the warmer months. In 1907 a modern plant was built by a group of 4 men. P. M. Davidson, D. W. Tate, Max Prell and J. Langenfeld. It was located in the east section of town on the site of the late D. P. Bogle ice plant. Bogle having purchased the interests in the concern except for Davidson's in 1909. One year later the plant burned but was immediately rebuilt. Bogle bought Davidson's interest in 1913 and operated the plant until the time of his death in 1935. The plant was then operated by his mothei- until her death one year later. H. P. Bogle then took the plant over as manager and owner. In more lecent years the plant was pur- chased and operated by Enni^ "Speedy" Pfau. After a fire in 1948 operations at the plant wert- ciirtailed and presently ice for th" city is brought in by truck. The city's electric lights and power were first furnished by Robert Johns, local promoter, who was manager of the Pana Modern Light & Street Railway Company. This organization was formed for the purpose of extending an electric railway line from East St. Louis through Litchfield and on to Pana. For reason unknown the project never materialized. Ac- cording to Will F. Jordan, local re- tired newspaperman, the road was built as far as Litchfield. The line was owned by U. S. Senator McKinley of Champaign. From a central heating plant located at the power company, heat for the uptown business district of Pana was furnished at that time. It has been acknowledged by the Paul Bros., proprietors of the local harness shop, that Mi-. Johns' plant was not as modem as the name implied. The harness makei-s found it necessary to in- stall gas light along with electri- city. On rush nights, Satiudays. power would fail, throwing the building into darkness foi long periods of time. With gas light available business went on as usual. Following the Johns or- ganization was the Pana Gas ^etI the B*0 S\V Pana divLsion point mainfenanee headquarters — along the present B&O tracks just north of the National Greenhouse Co. — this building at the time of the picture in 1904 housed the Illinois Axle Skein & Nut Lock Co. A number of the employees are shown here, including Ed Folks, Wilbur Carroll, Aretus Burtt, Josh Matheney, (un- knowTi) Suter, Charles Manley, William Stamm, HaJ Alexander and Orville Metcalfe. Most famous pro- duct of this company was a cigar vending machine. is A\li- Ski-iii \ Nut l.iM k ( was succeedetl in this location by the I'ana .Metal Bed Works, and then by a company which i>r<>duced soda fountains. The B&O shops «ere built, according to Ed Folks, whas? photograph this is, by the township upon the condition of employment of more than 100 persons for 20 years. A year after the 1873 erection, he relates, the shops were laid waste by tornado, re- built and occupied at near capacity intended employ- ment until 1894, when the force was cut to about 40. The division point was moved to Flora in 1899, and thereafter the buildings used othen\ise. They have disintegrated, ;uid been razed. C&EI); Illinois Central and the Baltimore & Ohio — making it one of the best railroad centers In the State of Illinois, and consequently one of the choicest locations for industries, for the reason that its facilities from a shipping point, with its low rates for transporta- tion of its output of products from agriculture, mining, and manufactures, are unexcelled by any other city of like population in the United States." During this period a total of 38 passenger trains serviced the city of Pana. It was stated that at this time there had not been a business failui-e in the city for a period of 25 years, an admirable record. Two banks in the city during these years of prosperity were the previously mentioned H. N. Schuyler State Bank and the Pana National, the combined resources on the 2 totaling $325,000 with combined deposits of nearly $2,000,000. Business houses total- ed 200 during 1913, including one flour mill, 3 grain elevators, 4 coal mines, a manufacturer of wood and metal, an electric plant, 3 concrete manufacturers, a manufacturer of concrete fences, one machine builder, 2 ice cream manufacturers, one opera house, 2 motion picture theatres, 2 whole- sale groceiy companies, 2 lumber companies, 2 brick manufacturers. 2 bottling plants. 2 agricultural implement houses, 2 department stores, a marble and granite yard, 2 creameries, 5 drug stores, hardware establishments and a large plumbing and heating supply house. Prominent names in Pana busi- ness in 1913 were Paddock Lum- ber; G. F. Barnett, grain elevator; Edward Picquet. City Flour & Feed Store; L. P. Trumper, gro- cery; W. E. Hsss. mortuary; John Longsdorf, grocery; F. J. Flesch, groceries and flour; Tokoly Buf- fet; G. V. Penwell & Sons dry goods; F. E. Neu. groceries; W. F. Sell, owner of the Oak street Lvery; A. W. Vincent, manager, Pana Ice Cream Co.; E. R. Darl- ington Lumber Co.; S. Sve, watch- maker and jeweler; Roley Bros., transfer; Jas. Umpleby, elevator; Millinery Parlors of Leach Sz Leach; O. H. Metcalf, monument works; Schlierbach Harness Co. and M. R. Corbett, grain, hay, tile. fence and fertilizers. The second of Pana's "big 2" in- dustries has been hitherto un- mentioned. Vital to the basic economy of the city is the floral industry which originated in Pana between the years 1875 and 1880. A Mr. Cooper is credited with the first dabblings in greenhouse horticulture in Pana. Cooper grew vegetables the year around, in his glass house, selling them to local market. In later years, Frank Shaffer bought Cooper's house, enlarged it and grew both vegetables and flowers. The floral industry has grown until at present it is a leader of Pana in- dustry, ranking with mining and agriculture. Pana's title. City of Roses, was given to the city by the ■Jordan brothers, editors and pub- lishers of Pana's newspaper in the early 1900's, at a time when they foresaw the future value of the floral industry. There now exist in Pana 6 major floial companies. World War I cast its shadow over the city in 1914 and 426 young men of Pana township answered the call. A group of 10 never returned and in their honor and of those who served, a monu- 15 ment, funds supplied by popular subscription, was erected in Kit- chell Park. This drive was spon- sored by the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. J. W. Kitchen and Mrs. Lindsay Reese collected the funds. An industrial boom boginning in 1916 has continued on to the present day. In 1916 the Sugar Creek Creamery opened a plant in Pana, located on Main street, with J. L. Benjamin as manager. Two people were employed. Cream received was shipped to Watseka, in northern Illinois, which was the home office of the organiza- tion. From the first location Sugar Creek moved to the East Second stieet building now oc- cupied by Gebhart's Auto Supply. The creamery was expanding and now employed 15 to 20 people. In 1924 a new plant, the pres- ent location, was built. It opened on Mar. 5, of the same year. The buying of milk and cheese making began in 1941 employing an addi- tional 5 people and raising per- sonnel to 25. Presently man- aging the plant is Clarence Nor- man. Sugar Creek now produces 3% million pounds of finished dairy products pei- yeai-. Fifty per cent of this total is butter, and the remaining 50 ""r cheese. Wadley's Poultry Co. was estab- lished in the city in 1923. This plant deals entirely in the pur- chase of poultry, eggs and feeds. The company once employed 50 to 60 men. Present employ- ment is 37. The Wadley Co. mar- kets locally and throughout the state, although its turkey crop is marketed to the eastern states. The local plant is under the man- agement of Shubel Burnett, who succeeded Cloyd Vickery in 1933. Charles Krouse was the plant's first manager. The Equity Creamery & Pro- duce Co., a co-operative organiza- tion, was organized by the farmers of this locality in 1927 and plant operations began June 5 of the following year. The creameiy originally dealt in the sole pur- chase of cream but expanded to buying milk and making cheese in 1940. The plant began opera- lions on the corner of Second and Poplar streets but with the growth of business needed more space. A new plant was erected in 1948 and the creamery moved to its present site on East Washington street. The creamery now pro- duces 11/2 million pounds of cheese per year and has a milk output of 730,000 gallons per year. Ninety per cent of the creamery's cheese is marketed in the eastern states. The creamery was first managed by a Ml-. Shanley. The late George Southwell became man- ager in 1931 and continued in that position until his death in June of 1951. His son, Leonard, suc- ceeded him as manager. Per- sonnel employed at the plant total 17. Approximately 400 stock- holders make up the organization. Jan. 1, 1925, the Purity Baking Co. purchased from the Pana Baking Co., its piesent site located north of the New York Central railroad. B. W. McMahan seived as the first manager of this enter- prise. Three truck routes were in operation, a city route, the sec- ond to Taylorville, and the third supplying Litchfield. Bread was also shipped as far as Bimker Hill. The initial bakei-y employed a group of 12 personnel, employ- ment growing in later years to the present roster of 65. Purity was then a one-oven bakeiy, with pro- duction reaching 10,000 loaves a week. A new oven was added in 1926, additional wrapping facili- ties in 1927, more flour storage and a shipping room in 1934 and in 1936 the entire plant was re- modeled and doubled in size at an overall cost of $40,000. The trade name Purity was changed in 1951 to Miss Sunbeam. This same year the company purchased a plant in Salem. Production today is many times the original peak and 17 truck routes to surround- ing communities cover a radius of 50 miles. Manage) of the bakery is J. R. Long. The National Greenhouse Co., located at the foot of Vine street, is one of the largest producers of greenhouses and parts in the United States. This firm was organized in 1931 by P. L. McKee with a crew of 3 employees. By 1936 the plant had outgrown its original working space, and construction took place. By 1948 the company occupied 40,000 sq. feet of floor space. At that time McKee sold the business to its present owners who con- tinued as an Illinois corporation imder the management of Frank J. Impey. At present, the company utilizes over 50,000 feet of factory build- ings and lumber yard in its opera- tions and employs 30 people. Thousands of greenhouses of all sizes and design of both glass and fiber have been supplied into every one of the 48 States besides ex- ports to South America, Alaska, India, Canada, etc. In addition to greenhouses, the firm produces circulating pumps and electrically controlled venti- lating systems and is the sole dis- tributor of 2 patented extruded putties VI s e d foi- greenhouse glazing. Adding to the City of Roses' versatilitv is an oil refinery estab- lished in the spring of 1939. The men responsible for this ven- ture were Ray Hose, S. D. Jarvis of Decatur, Hayden Davis and George Day of Springfield. The refinery at first employed 65 men, o;i being piped in from the Lou- don township field in Fayette county. In 1948 the refinery was purchased by the Illinois Farm Supply Company. The present capacity of the refinery is ap- proximately 6000 barrels of crude oil per day, which is about twice the amount produced in the plant's beginning. Present manager of the lefinery is Russell Carroll. The Pana plant of the Illinois Glova Company opened in Novem- bsr of 1943 in the Township building at Fourth and Oak streets. The factory occupied the entire second floor and part of the first. In its beginning the plant em- ployed 25 to 30 persons but by 1951 had outgrown the township building and moved to its new modern plant at Main and Poplar streets in February of 1951. At that date the factory employed 300 persons, working day and night shifts. The factoiy was closed in 1954. Also in the year 1943 the Lecas Candy Company was organized In the city. This enterprise markets wholesale hard candies at the rate of 700,000 pounds a year. The finished product is shipped as far west as Kansas City and is dis- tributed throughout the eastern states. George Lecas is owner and manager of the company. The plant is located at the end of West Third street. Another bulwark in the Pana economy had its origin when Co- Ed Frocks opened a dress factory in the city in 1943. In 1946 Co-Ed Frocks was changed to Associated Garment Company and in 1955 the present Style-Rite Manufacturing Company was formed. The plant no A' employs approximately 115 people, with an annual payroll in excess of $250,000. The Pana plant manufactures diesses and sportswear and houses the main office, controlling plants in Shelby ville and Assumption. Harry" Redler heads the Style- Rite Manufacturing Company, and •Tctively manages the business. This has been a brief resume of Pana's growth of industrial might and her major industries. Three large hatcheries and feed stores of the city also market their products on a nationwide scale. The most recen* of Pana's in- dustrial developments took place in February of this year when through the efforts of the Cham- ber of Commeice, the Switch Divi- sion of the P. R. Mallory Com- # ILLINOIS CONGRATULATIONS CONSOLIDATED BEST WISHES From TELEPHONE PANA COUNCIL KNIGHTS COMPANY OF COLUMBUS Chartered July 10, 1904 DENTON OIL COMPANY Washington & Locust Streets Pana, 111. CALL AND Price — Quality — Service O'BRIEN "66" SERVICE PAUL and ELSIE TUETKEN HI-HO TAVERN ^^gs^ 136 East Second St. AIR CONDITIONED Package Liquor Short Orders # Lubrication # SILVER MOON TAP ROOM • Accessories • Frances Hotel Phone 5561 LaVeta "Arky" • Tires • • Batteries • • Washing • AIR CONDITIONED THE CIRCLE DANCING— "Pana's Popular Nite Spot" Wines • Liquors • Mixed Drinks Featuring Steaks & Chicken Vi Mile West Pana on Route 16 # Simonizing # # Wheel Balancing • Corner Second & Poplar Pana, 111. pany, a nationally known in- dustry, occupied the former glove factory building. Applications were received for employment during the last week of February ;uid the factory began limited operations the first week in March. Peak employment is ex- pected to total 250-300. The plant is the company's di\'ision producing automatic washer switches and other components to the appliance field. The company additionally purchased, at the time of locating, the property of Eulyss "Boots" Vaughn, known as the Roley Transfer Co., Vaughn moving to the former Rose City Garage building on West Second street. Other plant sites of the Mallory company are located in Indianapolis and Frankfort. Ind.; Chicago, Detroit, North Tarry- town and Warsaw, N. Y., and Philadelphia, besides a plastics plant recently purchased in Du- Quoin. Pana Today Pana, with industry' thus men- tioned and agricultural wealth abounding, stUl retains its position as one of the more progressive communities in central Illinois. Fourteen houses of worship and 7 schools lone parochial! in the city provide adequately for the spiritual and educational needs of the area. Mining, the floral industry, and agriculture lead as the vicinity's prime industries. Impiovements remembered by the younger generation in recent years have been the resurfacing of Pana's main streets, and the addition in April of 1953 of a nev.- downtown lighting system, Pana's sewer system which be- gan in 1906 with the laying of the Locust street pipe, contimied to be built at intervals beginning from one year later, 1907, when the southwest portion was laid; to 1912. the Kitchen addition; 1913, Kitchen avenue, and 1925-26, the laying of the north and east and the southeast, sections re- spectively. This system and the city's dis- posal plant, located south of Pana. was used until 1953, the com- pletion date of a new disposal plant and laying of sewer pipes. This new system was built at a cost of $450,000. Drainage of the city of Pana is effected geographically by the "Big Four Ridge," all water to the north of the tracks supposedly rushing north. This would hold true if the job were done by nature, but man has diverted its course, and drainage in the city, except for the northwest section and land to the north of West Third street, runs to the south to the Kaskaskia river. ic first sewer I I'ana in N«ivem- These ni.ii ber, 19(«i. Timeko'per oil the construction job was I.ogan (iriffith, retired Pana attorney, w ho can be seen in the second row from bottom, seo;)n«l jierson from the left. The old Citj- Hall may be. seen in the background. The photo was made from what is now the comer of Third and Poplar streets. Recreational facilities are pro- vided by the donation of Capt. and Mrs. J. W. Kitchen, in 1908, Klt- chell Park. The 40-acre area in the southern portion of Pana in- cludes a baseball and .softball diamond, tennis courts, an equip- ped playground area, the Chau- tauqua auditorium, picnic pavilion and a ; wimniing pool. The Pana Country Club located e.ast and adjacent to the pari; offers a golf course to thos? in- terested in the .sport. Two theatres, the Roseland and Tanner's Drive-In, bring the latest in motion pictures to the city. Two bowling alleys and a skat- ing rink compri.se the remainder of the recreational areas. To give the reader in years to come an overall view of the busi- ness in the City of Pana in this our centennial year the following list has been compiled. These statistics do not include eveiy business house in the city but are those titilized most foi- the every- day needs of the population. Making up the major portion of Pana's business world are 8 at- torneys, 3 auctioneers, 6 auto- mobile dealers, 17 auto service stations, 2 bakeries, 2 banks, 2 billiard halls, 2 bowling alleys, 3 building material suppliers, 3 chick hatcheries, 3 children and in- fant wear shops, 4 cleaners and dyers, 7 coal and coke retailers, 4 concrete contractors, 5 con- fectioneries, 7 dairy product sup- pliers, 4 dentists, 5 department stores, 3 drug stores, 5 electrical appliance stores, 2 electrical con- tractors, 3 excavators, one photo engraver, 3 farm implement com- panies, 3 feed stores, 3 retail florists. 6 wholesale florists, 3 tu- neral homes, 3 furniture stores, 5 automobile garages, 3 wholesale gasoline dealers, one glass com- pany, one grain elevator, 16 retail grocers, 4 hardware stores, one wholesale hardware dealer, 4 heat- ing contractors, 2 hotels, one Ice dealer, 9 insmance agents, 2 in- terior decorators, 3 retail jewelers, 2 laundry agencies, one self, service laundry, one package liquor store, 2 lumber yards, one mail order house, 10 meat mar- kets, 6 men's clothing stores, 3 motels, one mover, one musical merchandise store, 2 news dealers, one newspaper, one office supply store, 10 fuel oil dealers, 3 op- tometrists, 8 paint and paint sup- pliers, 6 painters, 2 photographers, 7 physicians, 5 plumbers, 4 poultry houses, 2 printeis, 6 real estate agents, 11 restaurants, 2 rubbish removers, one savings and loan association, 3 retail shoe stores, one skating rink, 3 retail sporting goods stores, one stock vard, 23 taverns, one taxicah Probably taken from the southwest comer of Second and Locust streets, this street scene pictures many of the business houses familiar to citizens of a young, Kr.iwinR Pana. 0:ie nj Pana's first telegraph offices may be seen to the left of the photo (second door shown). In the background is the old YMCA building before the second storj- was supposedly razed by wind. No identification of the picture is available, but marchers could be fire departments from various cities which gathered here on the Fourth of July for hose cart races, etc. service, one telephone company, 6 television dealers, 2 theatres, 3 trucking films, one upholstering shop, one veterinarian, 3 watch and clock repairing shops, 4 weld- ing and brazing shops and 5 women's apparel establishments. The uptown business district pres- ently covers the better part of 6 square blocks. Pana finances are handled through 2 banks now serving the city, the First National, establish- ed in June of 1930 and the Peoples Bank, organized more recently by citizens of Pana in April of 1954. The same railroads that brought prosperity to Pana in earlier years serve I he city. The New York Central, a main line from St. Louis to New York, furnishes both pas- senger and freight service. The remaining 3 railroads, the Illinois Central, Chicago & Eastern Illi- nois, and Baltimore & Ohio supply only freight service, importing the needs and exporting the fin- ished products of Pana's industries to distant markets of the country. Transportation is available by bus to any point in the country. Servicing Pana are the National Trailways and Greyhound bus lines. Travelers journeying through the city may find ac- ccmmodations in 2 old hotels and 3 new motels. Then and still adding im- measurably to the city's growth are 3 highways which dissect the city of Pana. The roads were built in the early 1920's. Route 51 running north and south joins Route 16 one mile east of the city. They enter Pana together, then separate at the corner of Second and Poplar streets. Route 16 bear- ing west and 51 continuing south. The third highway is Route 29 which connects Pana with Spring- field by way of Taylorville. City officials are: Mayor — John M. Jones; Aldermen — First Ward, Max Finefrock (R '57); Harold Snooks (D '59); Second Ward, Paul Schmitz (D '57), Victor Dunn (D '59); Third Ward, Henry Wolf (D '57), Cy Zahradka (D '59); Fourth Ward, John Lesko (R '57), Wilbert Hall (D '59); Fifth Ward, Roy Henderson ( D '57 ) , Joe Chladny (D '59). Appointive officers are: City Attorney, John W. Fribley. Fire Chief, Arthur Ullrick. Chief of Police, Ferdinand Le- gru; Patrolmen, C. E. Kramer, Kirk Weddle, Vaughn Lester, Chas. Budds, Harry McGavic. Street Superintendent, George Bertin. Supt. of Water, Sidney Foil; Waterworks Engineers, Loran W. Peters, Archie Castle, George Gudehus, Wm. Eggermsin. Park Custodian, Martin Robson. Water Commissioner, Waldo Meachum. Supt. of Sewage Disposal, Roy Randle. Supt. of Dump Grounds, Ivy Romager. Board of Health, Mrs. Joe Stocker, Mrs. Hazel McClung, Frank Bertin. To foresee the future is im- possible, but conclusions may be drawn from studying the past. It is not impractical then to state, with raw materials available and labor in abundance the future of the "City of Roses" in the next 100 years may be projected in these 2 words, ' "PROGRESS UN- LIMITED." Still Some Doubt as to Origin of Name "Pana" Many and varied are the vei- sions of how the city of Pana ac- quired its name. Most accepted by historians is the idea that the name "Pana" was taken from a tribe of Indians who once roamed or hunted this sec- tion of the country. This may well be correct as many tribe.s from whose names could be derived ihe word inhabited this vicinity. To the east, as white men have their centers, so did the Indian. Near Danville on the Big Vermil- lion River stood the important Piankishaw Indian village. These redmen, undoubtedly, passed through this portion of the state and with a little imagination put in play it might be surmised that Pana was j?hort for Piankishaw. Other historians are prone to believe that Pana is a corruption of the Algonquin word "pena," meaning partridge. The early Indian history of Christian county gives Pana as derived from "pani," a word for slave closely related to the Paw- nee, another tribe of redmen fre- quenting this territory. Along with this theoiy is the story of Pana being named for an Indian slave girl who passed through here at various times. The Pottawato- mie Indians, a tribe from which the name Pana could possibly be derived, are also believed to have inhabited Christian county. The name Pana is also linked with the coming of the Illinois Central Railroad. According to story, 4 bosses on this project agreed that upon completion of the tracks through heie, one would have the honor of naming the .settlement. The 4 played a game of cards to decide who would have the honor of naming the station and Mr. Pana ( first name not known I won, so the story goes. This lale was told to Z. F. Smith by his father, Zebidee Smith, who reputedly worked with the gang. The latter version could be cor- rect, as our neighboring city of Mattoon, some 45 miles to the east, received its name as a result of a wager between a contractor, "Big Bill" Mattoon, running the tracks of the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad (New York Central ) westward from Paris, and Colonel Mason of the IIlinoLs Central. The wager stated the first crew rurming its tracks to the intersecting point of the 2 loads would have the privilege of naming the station. Mason won but was so pleased with Mattoon for initiating such a spirited race that he named the station in Mattoon's honor. From a Pana News clipping in the late Warren Penwell's scrap, book the following article on the naming of the city of Pana was taken i exact date of clipping is not known but believed to be be- tween the years 1906 and 1908): "While visiting Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Gooden at Lawienceburg, Ind., I was taken to see an encycloped- ia, or rather a pair of them be- longing to Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Hayes, and I was given the en- closed manuscript which may prove of interest to the readers of the women's edition. — Mrs. L. N. Gilbert. " 'William Glascow was a black- smith in Lawrenceburg, Ind., ani did work for my father when I was a boy, and aftenvards fo. myself. I know him well, also knew his wife whom he always called Pana, whether that was her real name or not I am not able to say. " 'Mr. Glascow was a member of the Masonic ordei', in good standing. In 1848 when I was 21 years of age, upon the recommen- dation of him and Harry G. Blais- dell, who was afterwards governor of Nevada, I became a member of Lodge No. 4, of Indiana and am still a member. " 'About '51 or '52 he removed to Illinois where he had entered land. He afterward laid out the town of Pana upon the land. I was at his house as I was buying cattle in that locality, soon after the town was laid out. He told me he had named it Pana, in honoi- ot his wife.-Kzra O. Hayes, Lawienceburg, Ind.' " William Glascow mentiontnl in the above letter is the great-gi-and- father of Logan Griffith of this city. Mr. Griffith attests to the fact his mother told him at various times that his grandfather, whose wife's name was Anna, called her "Pana." The Griffiths leside at 115 South Maple street in a house owned by the above named William Glascow, the deed for which is dated 1856. Railroad directoiies and old atlases show that at one time there were 4 other Panas in North America besides one in Illinois. They were in Alabama, Wash- ington, Kansas and in the Cana- dian province of Ontario. From the Chicago Tribune's fjreign desk in 1949. Gilbert Twiss informed the Pana News- Palladium that Pana appealed a number of times as the last name of Romanians. From this infor- mation it cannot be concluded whether our city was named after Mr. Pana i who might have been Romanian ) or an Indian tribe. In 1951 the Illinois State Regis- ter's information office stated, after a letter of inquiry from Miss Jessie Winters, local newspaper- woman now 83 and still working, that it had checked with the Bu- reau of Ethnology on Pana Indians and the bureau reported that no tiibe known as Pana Indians ever inhabited central Illinois. The Ponea Indians were called Pana but never lived in Illinois. Nationality Composition Changed Little Early settlers of this area migra- ted from the states of Ohio, Penn- sylvania, and Kentucky. Some were foreign born, but all had lived in the eastern States before coming to Pana. By 1880 the population of the city" had grown to 3,000. In 1890, an increase of 2,077 was register- ed, the city's population then being 5,077. This 2,077 increase was 100';', over the increase of the pre- ceding 10-year period, when 1,200 new citizens were added. Thereafter, the grov.-th of Pana slowed considerably, for in 1900 the population stood at 5,530, 727 people of this total being foreign born. The nationality composition of Pana changed with development of the mines. Need for workers brought an influx of people from North Carolina, West Virginia, and additional folk from Ohio, Penn- .sylvania, and Indiana. Also during this time a number of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe began to arrive. The number of foreign-born in Pana as snown by the census of 1890 was 594. Of this niunber only 85 were under 20 years of age. As was stated, by 1900 this figure had risen to 727. Italy was also represented in the population of the city of Pana. Prior to Jan. 31, of this year, a group of 21 aliens in Pana town- .ship filed with Postmaster Charles "Chick" Tmvey. Immigration as in earlier years is no longer the primary factor in the growth o( our city's population but still adds a touch of the old world to that of the new. Pana's present population as of the latest national census, taken in 1950, is 6,178 in the city, and 7,536 in Pana township. CHECKERBOARD SOYBEAN COMPANY Pana, Illinois Phone 2310 GRAIN AND FERTILIZER ■^ Low Cost Soybean Storage Available to You -{^ May We Help You With Your Soil Fertility Problems? Our FOURSQUARE CHECKER Challenges Us to STAND TALL THINK TALL SMILE TALL LIVE TALL PANA LABOR ASSEMBLY CREDIT UNION 1100 E. Jefferson St. Telephone 3713 JOHN KRAUS, President VERN E. ANDERSON, Sec. -Treasurer 'Teach Your Dollars to Have More Cents! Compliments RONCHETTI DISTRIBUTING COMPANY DISTRIBUTORS OF BUDWEISER • BUSCH BAVARIAN BEER Phone 4040 Pana, lU. HARTMAN'S DAIRY FREEZE O Sandwiches O Root Beer • • Orange • Fourth and Poplar Pana, 111. H ILL PLUMBING ARDWARE & EATING CO. PHONK 4630 Fifth & Kitchen Pana, 111. PANA SECURITY SYSTEM CORPORATION O. H. BROWN, Treasurer Pana, Illinois NORA MOLZ INSURANCE REAL ESTATE Farm Lands and City Property For Sale Loans Made on Real Estate 10 East Second Pana, Illinois Res. Phone 3533 Office Phone 1050 There Is Also a "Pana" in Africa Around the world from Pana, Illinois, USA, situated in French Kqiiatorial Africa, is another set- tlement called Pana. The people of this reg^ion are a strong looking race, though black, living inde- pendently by raising large gardens and flocks of sheep and goats. Peaceful now, the citizens of this distant Pana were once known as fighters throughout their land. Although cannibalism was preva- lent in their locality the African Panas deny the practice. The Panas live in mud huts with grass roofs and make by hand all the implements needed for surviv- al, such as axes, earthen pots, hoes and wooden stools, baskets, and sieves. For food these people raise guinea corn, beans, peanuts, corn. ground nuts, pumpkins and other vegetables. They have some chickens and ducks. During dry seasons to provide food the hunting is divided be- tween the men and women with the males tracking the animals and fishing in streams while the ladies hunt locusts an J grass- hoppers. Clothing for men is made from the bark of a ceitain tree which can be made flexible, or the skin of a goat to serve as a loin cloth. Women's fashions are somewhat different, being made of leaves. They wear an apion of leaves, with a bouquet of leaves in back tied on with a string around the waist and decorated with .shells or beads. In some villages clothes are now worn as the government has taken over the tribe and pays for cotton raised by the Panas. At one tinae the Panas defied the government, resulting in war. After loss of many lives in the tribe they surrendered and were brought down from their inaccessible mountain villages and settled in villages along roads, where they now reside. The above infomiation on the Panas was gathered as the result of News-Palladium contacting Missionary Estella Myers of the Panas, upon being referred to an article by Miss Myers in a nation- al religious magazine. During correspondence with Miss Myers, who resides in Nzoro par Bozum par Bangui, French Equatorial Africa, the Missionary kindly vol- unteered the infoi-mation. Nearest Neighbors - Oconee, Rosamond, Tower Oconvv A short time prior to the Civil War, the village of Oconee was incorporated. The first person to enter land in this township was Merida Hender- son, who came in February of 1836. Widow Matney was the first settler to actually make a home in the vicinity. She was the mother of 4 boys and 4 g^irls. The Matney family came from Sanga- iiion county. Other early settlers wei-e: Thom- as Holbrook, who came in 1840 and lived in Oconee until his death in 1910; William Pryce (also of Pa- na) who located in the area about 1834; and John Mount, who later moved to Pana. Other prominent citizens includ- ed John Hinton, whose father set- tled in the east part of the town- ship in 1836; James Freeman, owner of the house in which the first preaching was done, and the Rev. James Beck, the first preach- i-v of the Baptist faith. The first settlement laid out in the township was called Luro. When the Illinois Central con- structed its railroad through this part of the country, it refused a 1 equest by the citizens of Luro for a switch at their town site. As a result the settlement and business enterprise died out. Oconee was surveyed in 1855 by E. G. Shallenbarger, County Sur- veyor, on Section 29, and Freeman Roberts and Hinton, having moved their store building there from Luro, began selling goods in Oconee during the month of Aug- ust, 1855. This was the first town site. The first house in Oconee was erected by James A. Coplin, a physician and carpenter, who also kept a boarding house. The sec- ond building was owned by Culber- son & Co. and used for a saloon, the firm later changing its busi- ness to dry-goods. William Gunnells served as the first postmaster of Oconee and agent for the Illinois Central rail- road, the post office being located in the depot. John McBride was Oconee's first blacksmith. Timber is giown in the town- ship, particularly adjacent to wa- ter courses, the western, northern and central parts being good prairie land. Soil is fairly pro- ductive and for agriculture pur- poses Oconee may be classed among the good townships of Shel- by county. The village of Oconee, located 7 miles to the south of Pana on Route 51, derived its name from the Indian word "oconee," which supposedly was the pioper name of a beautiful "papoose" or Indian maiden. Henry Holthaus serves as mayor of Oconee. The Village Council is made up of T. A. Hebenstreit, Om- er McBride, Otis Dooley, W. O. De- Vore, Howard Woolard, and Earl Kinney. Harry Wallar serves as clerk and H. G. Rakers as treas- At present Oconee is a village of 300 population governed by Village Board. Business houses include Rakers Lunch Room, Wallar Gro- cery, Holthaus Gruceiy, Kinney's Seivice Station, Bass Garage, G. H. Rakers' Barber Shop, Diefen- thaler Plumbing, Roy Satter- thwaite Kennels, Rakers Brothers Feed & Coal, and Andrew Flesch Fertilizer & Trucking. The Oconee telephone system is owned and operated by Jim Fry. There are now 2 schools in Oconee, the Pana Unit grade school and the Sacred Heart paro- chial school under the charge of the Rev. Fr. M. J. McGovern, who in June, 1956, celebrated his Silver Jubilee as a priest. Enrolled in the unit grade school are 110 pupils. Sacred Heart enrollment is 35. Major organizations in the vil- lage of Oconee are the American Legion, Masons, and the Eastern Star. Churches ministering to the spiritual needs of the population are the Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Fr. McGovern as pastor: the Methodist church, the Rev. Wesley Kersh, pastor, and the Baptist church, served by the Rev. Clifford Spires of Stonington. Rosamond Rosamond, neighboring Pana 4 miles to the west, was given its name from the fact I hat during the spring and early summer, the prairies in the early days of the county, weie covered with a luxuriant growth of wild roses. The township is located in the .southeast part of the county, being township 11 north range 1 west, and is bovmded on the north by Locust township, on the east by Pana township, on the south by Montgomery county, and on the west by Greenwood township. The following- is a historical sketch taken from a pamphlet published by the Rosamond Ceme- tery Assn.: "The village of Rosa- mond, Christian County, 111., on the line of the Cleveland, Cincin- nati, Chicago & St. Louis Rail- road, 4 miles west of the city of Pana, was settled in 1856 by a colony of Massachusetts people who immediately established a church and school. "On the outskirts of the village is beautiful Rosamond Grove Cemetery, in which stands the monument of Abraham Lincoln, a gift in 1903 of the late Capt. and Mrs. J. W. Kitchen, in honor of those who served during the war between the states." In the same year, Capt. and Mrs. Kitchell deeded to the ceme- tery association approximately 50 acres of land lying immediately west and south of the 10 original acies of the cemetery. Also located in the cemetery is "Mary Lincoln," a gun cast in Terre Haute, Ind., on order of the Republican Club of Rosamond. At the time of its use, a gun squad consisting of Wallace P. Warner, John Hirt, Ben E. Schermerhorn and Frank Adams was trained and drilled by Capt. Edward Hill, formerly of the New York Militia. Its first important service was during the occasion of a mass meeting at Springfield. It was taken there by Capt. B. R. Hanley accompanied by nearly every man in Rosamond, its escort stopping at Taylorville the first night out and attracting much attention. Arriving in Springfield, the com- pany halted in front of the now famous residence of Abraham Lin- coln and fired a salute. Mr. Lin- coln made his appearance amid enthusiastic cheering and when quiet was restored, was asked to name the gim. Reflecting a moment, then laying his hand on the gun, he said, "Let it be named after my wife." And so the gun was christened Mary Lincoln and ever after was known as such. The town of Rosamond was first surveyed and platted Oct. 25, 1860, by C. A. Manneis for B. R. Haw- ley and Phordice Boutwell, the original proprietors. The following were prominent men in Rosamond during 1880; C. D. Haywood, owner of the Hay- wood elevator which he erected in 1875, with a capacity of 16,000 bushels; W. W. Powell, owner of the Powell elevator with a capa- city of 15,000 bushels, which was erected in 1879; Louis Guth, general merchant; Drs. G. M. Walker, F. Fisher, and R. S. Simpson; Matt Hilger, black- smith; William Christner, wagon maker; and John B. Frost, boot and shoemaker. Rosamond is presently a neigh- borhood of 200 population. Tower Hill A history of Shelby county states that Tower Hill Township is mostly a high rolling prairie, slightly timbered in the northeast and southeast corners. This town- ship has a more diversified and beautiful landscape than probably any other section of the county, made so by the chain of mounds (or as the old settlers term them — knobs) which extends to the great- er part of the northern and central portions of the township. The village of Tower Hill is on the south side at the base of one of the largest knobs in the township. Originally known as "Pilot Knob" it commands a beautiful view of the country. The settlement of Tower Hill stems from the village of Westmin- ster which was located one mile or more southeast of the Eiler Ceme- tery or in northwest corner of Sec- tion 33, in 1848. The construction of the Indian- apolis & St. Louis Railroad, now the New York Central, proved to be a death blow to the pro.«nerity of the villaffe. as Tower Hill was laid out on the line of this railroad, within 3 miles of Westminster. Eventuallv the nlace was disband- ed and all buildinp-s and businesses moved to Tower Hill. Tower Hill was surveyed by Elias Smith, County Surveyor, in June, 1857. It is said the village was named for the "Tower Hill Prison of London." During the time the railroad was constructed, a track was laid from the main line to the side of the hill to ob- tain gravel. All of this was man and mule labor, and most of the laborers were Englishmen. This may have reminded them of their English Tower Hill Prison, and hence the name Tower Hill. Tower Hill is presently a village of 750 population, governed by a village board administration. Vil- lage officers are: H. A. Woodring, president, and D. E. Thompson, H. M. Nerstheimer, Mell Finks, Hal- den McElrcy, Harold Halbrook and Bruce Dilley. Leon Huttes serves as village clerk. Telephone Service Began About 1900 The Christian County Telephone Co. was organized in Taylorville and shortly afterward, in 1905, operations in Pana and several other towns were acquired by the organization. Pana's exchange began opera- tion about 1900, with Warren Penwell as one of the original in- corporators. The above Information was ob- tained from the records of the Illi- nois Consolidated Telephone Co. presently serving Pana. However, in an unofficial history of the city written by a retired local journ- alist the following was reported; "The first telephone exchange installed in Pana was about 1895, when Dr. J. H. Miller and Robert Johns foi-med a company, obtained a city franchise and established a system for the city. Previously a private phone line was maintained from the office of the Pana Coal Company to the Union Station and to the North Mine of the com- pany." In the year 1915 Pana seived less than 900 phones. Phone in- stallations began to gradually in- crease, however, except during the depression years. Following are statistics of phones serviced in Pana, taken at 10-year intervals from 1925 to 1955: 1925—1200; 1935—872; 1945—1325; 1955— 2647. In the past 10 years these statistics show a 100% increase. Local calls handled a day in the Pana office average 9,000, while toll calls average 700. Pana's first telephone was lo- cated on Locust street north of the present J. C. Penney Co. store in a drug store operated by R. C. Coyner. Later telephone and telegraph combined offices, and were situated east of the Schuyler Bank site, now occupied by the McCandlish Drug Co. For a period of time it is said the of- fice was located above George's Confectionery. It then moved to the building east of the present site, now Rock's Confectionery, and from this location to the present building. In 1924, Christian County Tele- phone Co. became a part of the Illinois Consolidated Telephone Co., now operating in 33 cities in central Illinois. It is an in- dependent company, the 32nd largest in the United States. The local exchange has a staff of 33 personnel, consisting of 25 operators, 3 supervisors, and one chief operator, plus an office staff. Development of the Local Educational System At one time or iuiother in Christ- ian county dating baclv to its or- s^anizKtion in 1839, the children of Ihe early pioneers and residents have attended school of some nature. Formal education in the Pana area began around the middle 40's with records showing that in 1848 Henry H. Bond, Jacob Hanson and Ignatius Butler weie elected the lirst school trustees of Stone Coal precinct. In 1854 the children in the piecinct were enumerated under the school law, a total count of 94 being returned. In 1856 three school districts were formed and again the children counted. District 1 had 18 members, District 2—118, and Distiict 3—116. Pana's first publicly financed school came into being in the year 1857. An election was held to select citizens to form a group comparable to the present school boards. Elected were W. C. Flem- ing, president; Thomas Finley, clerk; and Major Little, director. The initial task of these men was to find a location for Pana's first house of learning. Following a search during which rooms about town were inspected and bargained for, it was proposed by a Mr. Hobson, proprietor of a store then located on the north side of Second street, slightly east of the corner of Second and Locust streets, now the heart of the down- town shopping section, that he partition half of his building for use as a school room, the rent for the space to be $20 a month. His proposal was accepted. The Pana Academy, as this first public school was named, had as principal a Mr. Hartshorn, who was hired by the directors at a salary of $40 a month and a Miss Grassy to teach the grades for the sum of §30 per month. Furniture for the Academy con- sisted of 40 walnut desks con- it ructed by a local carpenter. Heat for the room was supplied by 2 wood stoves purchased from Judge J. H. Dawdy, a Police Magistrate of Pana during that ))eriod. Finances were also taken into consideration in those days. A resolution was passed by the di- rectors that wood for the school would be purchased at a price no higher than $3.00 a cord and the principal, Mr. Hartshorn. would be hired to chop the fuel at a wage not to exceed $1.00 a cord. At the closing of the year 1857, Pana's education system consisted of one-half of one store room, 2 teachers and 61 pupils. There is mention of si'hool being held diuing this period in the Short house purchased by the dis- trict at a price of $2000, but no information could be found on this location. However, in a history written by C. Goudy, M.D., titled "A Stray Chapter from the Un- published History of Christian County," detailing the origin and growth of the Presbyterian church in Pana, a Miss Ophelia Putnam, noted later in this article for teaching the first school in Rosa- mond, is said to have taught Ih,^ first school in Pana. Mr. Goudy says, "This house (location of the first Presbyterian services by the Rev. Joseph Gor- dan of Vandalia) was built origin- ally for a school house and in it was taught the first school in Pana by Miss Ophelia Putnam of Rosamond. It then fronted on the open prairie, standing on the rear end of the Beckwith-Walsh lot, with no fences, .streets, or build- ings near." This could very well be true, as Miss Putnam was not employed until 1856 as a teacher for the Rosamond grades, while according to Goudy the building was "ori- ginally built as a school, prior to its use as a house of worship in 1356." The Illinois Central in its census for 1856 listed one school building in Pana. On Aug. 11 of the year 1858. President Fleming a.".d Clerk Finley contracted for Pana's first pemianent school building. This structure was a 2-story, weather- board building measuring 37x51 feet and was erected on the south- east corner of Second and Pop- lar stieets. It was used until 1866 when the front portion of the first east school (Lincoln) was built. In this same year the student popu- lation of the village increased and more space was needed. To sup- plement the east building, another structure was erected in the west part of the village. the present Washington school site. This newest addition was razed by fire on Feb. 13, 1872. but con- struction was started immediate- ly and before the end of the school yeai classes were again being held in the west school. During con- struction of the new building stu- dents attended classes in (he City Hall. Again came the need for more space, and shortly after the com- pletion of the west building the rear portion of the east school was added. No nienlion h;i.s lioen made up to this point of the Sacred Heart Parochial school of St. Patrick's parish which stands behind the present church and parish house. Its his'.ory dates back to the years 1835-1873 during the in- cumbjncy of the Rev. Fr. Julian Turmel. The present building of 24 rooms was not erected until 1910. Prior to this, classes were con- ducted in a frame building near th2 site of the present Echool on \h3 co'.ner of Fourth and Oak streets. Classes were held here until 1887 when the older part of the brick edifice was constiiicted. This building contained only 4 rooms and housed 8 grades. The ground for the present structure as it can be seen today was broken on July 19, 1916, and the school was ready for occupancy on Nov, 1 of that year. Prese:il enroll- ment of the Sacred Heart School is 228 pupils, with 5 Sisters of the Dominican oider attending them. With tho early 1890s there came a wave of prosperity to the city, no doubt stemming from the progress of the coal mining in- dustry. The growth of the city was outdistancing its growth in schooling facilities. To eliminate overcrowded school looms, 2 rchools were built in 1893, these being (he Lowell and Longfellow, Known respectively as the South and North schools. During tha year 1897 th3 Illinois State compulsory school attend- ance law was passed. This legis- lation again placed an overload of students in Pana schools. Be- cause of this situation the Young Men's Christian Association build- ing was rented to house a high school. Up to this time the east and west buildings had included their own high schools, but held joint graduation exercises in the Hayward Opera House, which sat on th3 northwest coiner of Poplar and Main streets. The first annual commencement if the Pana High School was held in 188G on June 4. The Rev. E. W. Clark, the city's Presbyterian minister, presented diplomas to a class of 11 girls. Those graduat- ing were: Julia Smith. Nellie Van- deveer. Bessie Reid, Love Race. Mary Pellat. Minnie Johnson. Anna Neely, Fannie Wight. Nellie Shsean. Susie McDeimott (mother of the noted journalist Vincent Sheeani and Henrietta Schlier- bach. In 1908. the citizens of the city deemed it nece.ssary to erect an- other school. An election was Compliments FOWLER'S BARBER SHOP ANSCOTT & TATE CAFE Routes 29-16-51 Pana, Illinois OPEN 24 HOURS Regular Meals • Short Orders O Sandwiches • © Home Made Pies • • Special Sunday Dinners • PANA TRADES AND LABOR COUNCIL Vern E. Anderson, President Samuel E. Hillman, Secretary Michael N. Kuhn, Treasurer MOON'S SELF-SERVICE LAUNDRY Modern Equipment and Service Sat. 8 to 12 Week Days 8 to 5 16 S. Poplar St. Pana, 111. !'"" . GUNDEL'S Department Pana City of Roses Store 12 East Second Pana, Illinois BRADLEY'S FLOWERS FLOWERS FOR EVERY OCCASION 41 S. Locust Pana, 111. co@^' Locally Owned — Nationally Organized 30 S. Locust Pana, 111. "Say li With Flowers'' —FROM— PANA ROSE GARDENS PHONE 2450 WE DELIVER BIG ELM MOBILGAS STATION "Everything For Your Automobile" Ross Whittington, Prop. Second and Poplar Phone 692 CUSTER & ALLEN • Hardware • Tools * • Skelgas * Appliances • 42 S. Locust Pana, 111. Compliments @tumpf 'a?^ie WEST PANA ON ROUTE 16 held, voting on site and bonds for the Field school. This movement carried and the site selected is the present Field school location. Following construction of the Field building in I he northwest section of the city, the present high school building, except for the gymnasium and adjoining classrooms, was built in 1909. This stnicture was raised at a cost of $75,000 to the citizens ol Pana. Since completion, the high .school has had one addition. In 1924 the present gymnasium and classrooms forming the north end of the school were annexed tu llu' old building. Two years prior to the hit;li school addition, 1922, the present building housing the Washington school was built. A year latei. in 1923, the Lincoln school wa.'^ constructed. Both buildings an' of the same architectural design except for the west wing at Lin- coln being slightly larger than at Washington. Voting for establishing what is now the present system, Pana Community Unit District No. 8, was held on Saturday, Feb. 28, 1948, consolidation becoming ef- fective in June of the same year. As stated in the official de- scription of the district the boun- daries of the unit in 1948 extend- ed 161 2 miles north and south of the city of Pana and 15 1/2 miles to the east and west, including Rosamond and Oconee. In recent years the boundaries liave changed, with additions, to 17 1^. miles to the north and south and 16 '2 miles, east and west. At the time of voting, taxable property in the unit was evaluated at $22,800,000, but has risen in J956 to $32,043,168. A total of 8 student centers make up Pana Community Unit No. 8, including one school situated in Rosamond, one in Oconee, and the remaining 6 in the city of Pana. Students in the unit num- bering 1926, 979 boys and 947 girls, are served by 124 employees of the unit. This figure includes 88 teachers, 12 janitors, 11 cooks, 10 bus drivers, and 3 secretaries. The origin of the development of the Pana Township school sys- tem into a unit district goes back to 1941 when 11.997 school dis- tricts made up the state of Illinois. In each of these districts were many outlying rural schools for which teachers could not be ob- tained. As a result of this situa- tion, the state legislature was con- stantly prevailed upon to pass laws on enrollment requirements for schools which wished to obtain state aid. Many lural schools whose enrollment did not make up the state requirement were forced to close because of lack of funds. Back a fru wars aun th • Taiia si In. lU 1111,1 d in May F>stivals. In this gala affair iin .May iO, 191(i, lunc I'.im.ll i.Mi^. <;. (i. McCandlish) had just been crowned Queen by Liny Johnson (Mrs. Koger DeHart). I'hotj from the souvenirs of Mr-. K. A. Cutler, who in 1916 was supir- visor of music in the sehooU. County survey committees were then drawn up to map consolida- tion measures for their respective counties, the units to be as nearly as practicable equal both in size and financial resources. With Rosamond and Oconee in- cluded in Pana Community Unit District No. S and Tower Hill close by to the east, it is fitting to present a brief resume of early education in tlio:?o 3 outlying area^. Rosamond's first education facility was a house which stood on the present location of tho McClain home. It was here Miss Ophelia Putnam in 1856 applied the principle of the golden lule to the younger generation of the village. The first parmanent schDol building was erected in 1858. It was a one-room structure in back of the present site. Both high and grade schools were held here. For some time the high school of Rosamond was a 3-year school, but in the fall of 1932 became an accredited 4-year high school. Presented to the public in 1922. a bond issue of $23,000 was passed for the purpose of constructing the present Rosamond building, less the gymnasium. George Scott. Charles Kimball and A. B. Cowgill were on the Board of Di- rectors at this time. The building was completed in 1924. Seven years elapsed and anothei- bond issue in the amount of $7,000 was passed. This amount was to be used in the building of a gym- nasium. The issue wa: and the gymnasium annexed to the old building. With the consolidation of Rosa- mond into the Pana Unit, stu- dents from Rosamond high school now attend classes in Pana with the old Rosamond school used as a giade build'ng for the children of the Rosamond neighborhood. Seven mile.i to the south of Pana, the village of Oconee boasted a school erected in 1838. It was leplaced by a laiger building which was still in use in 1860. This building was sold and moved to r> nearby farm and at present is b?ing used as a barn. Oconee's second school was o'.ccted in 1846. The following April of 1847, William Pryco opened a "subscription" school which he taught 2 years con- secutively. This building was of logs, with oil paper for windows. Later it was organized as Mt. Pleasant school district and later yet became "Mount school." This building was struck by lightning and damaged. It was used until 1895 when it was replaced by a larger frame building. FcUowing the incorporatio.i of lh» village of Oconee a frame building was erected in 1856 anel .'erved the community for school purposes until 1860. This school building was located in what is now the former Oconee bank building. In the late '60's a 2 story building was erected across :he street, east of the present site. For several years only the lower PANA COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION Congratulates the Pana Centennial Inc., and all its committees. The Pana Community Credit Union has had a small part in mak- ing Pana a better place to live in. We are 14 years old and cele- brating along with the Pana people and their 100th anniversary. FRANK L. KINSEY LOUIS HILDEBRAND PAUL W. SCHNUTE FRANK DUCHANEY CHESTER L. MORTON VERN E. ANDERSON CHAS. F. BRYSON JUSTIN J. TAPPERO EDWIN J. LONGWELL "Teach Your Dollars to Have More Cents" WAYNE FEED SUPPLY CO., INC. ( Formerly Sunshine Stores Inc. ) H. E. McNeely, Mgr. Phone 2880 Pana, 111. MARVIN NANTKES PLUMBING, HEATING SHEET METAL Phone 1302 13 S. Locust Compliments of McCRACKEN FUNERAL HOME 308 East Second Street Pana, Illinois FOUNDED IN 1864 by the Late KIRKPATRICK FAMILY Compliments From WM. H. AMLING and BILL J. SLATER ED DAVIS KROGER MANAGER Pana, Illinois SHIRLEY SHOP ExchisLve Ladies' Ready-to-W ear Phone 1060 Pana, 111. level of this building was used for classrooms, the upper story being used for community social func- tions. On May 1. 1916, a bond issue was voted for the building of a much larger and more modern building. It was finished early in 1917 by a contractor from Pana. Joseph McCarthy. The building still stands as the present Oconee grade school. To the east of Pana approxi- mately 7 miles in the village of Tower Hill the exact date of the beginning of formal education is not known. However, the first .school built was a small log cabin of hickory logs, named "Old Hick- ory." This structure stood near Ihe center of Section 3 and records show that Charles McCabe was among the first teachers. From a history of Tower Hill by Homer Eiler the following infor- mation was obtained: "In 1866 the first school, a one-room frame building, stood facing the south about where the present west wing of the grade school stands. It had 2 front doors and the teach- er's desk was placed just between them. Mrs. Dave Canaan was one of the first teachers. A one- armed man, Mr. Miller, taught about 1867. D. S. Miller taught 2 terms during the last of which the pupils were divided, Cass Brown taking the first and second grades to a building between the present post office and the M. K. Parsonage. "In 1869 a second building was added on the site of the present school ground. This was a gabled red brick building with a belfry. Dr. I. L. Brant was a teacher in 1869. In the early ■70's, J. W. Sharrock, a Civil War veteran, was one of the teachers. Mrs. Frances Baines, W. C. Kelley and Wash Rarer taught in the late •70's. "In 1889 came a 2-story new addition to the gabled red brick school house plus an addition to the belfry. In 1895 the new building built in '89 burned, and was later repaired. A number of years later the school was doubled in size by the addition on the east, as it stands today, and is being used as the Grade School. "Previous to 1920 it had been community talk, pro and con, as to the advisability of establishing a community High School to meet the demands of 8th grade grad- uates of the town and rural cen- ters. As a result, the first Towei Hill Community High School was officially opened in the fall of 1922. The enrollment for the first year was 47 with a graduating class of 3. KnroUment soon in- creased and it became evident that larger quarters would be neces- i-ATy to take care of the rapid growth. "In 1924 a wooden frame tem- porary building consisting of 3 large rooms was built on the east side of the present grade school. It was a great help and gave addi- tional class rooms for the High School. It provided a laboratory and 2 large cla "Federal monetary assistance was secured and in February of 1936, a new high school, the pres- ent building, had been erected at a co3l of $68,000 and occupied." The Tower Hill Community High School's area covers 62 square miles. Pi-esent enrollment in the high school is 80 students, directed by a staff of 9 teachers. Grade school enrollment totals 218, with 10 faculty members. Superin- tendent of tho Tov.-er Hill School- is C. E. Adams. History of the Churches of the Pana Cominunity Presbyterian Church Tower Hill The Tower Hill Presbyterian Church was organized on Sunday, Feb. 17, 1867, by the Rev. A. G. Norton and the Rev. William P. Geitsworth, members of the Alton Pi'esbytery. Members of the congregation at that lime were Sylvester Van Dyke. Mrs. Lucy Van Dyke, Thomas B. Johnson, William Mc- Kittrick, Mrs. Susanah E. Baines, Dr. Geo. Fringer, Mrs. Martha V. Fringer, Mrs. Caroline Everitt, and Peicy McDowell. Early leaders of the church in- cluded Fred Stumpf (grandfather of James Stumpf of Pana), elect- ed and ordained an elder Dec. 30, 1871, and Dr. Geo. Fringer (great- uncle of Clark Fringer of Tower Hill) who was a charter member of the congregation. Minister of the Tower Hill Pres- byterian church now is the Rev. Roy A. Brumbaugh. J. A. Culum- ber is clerk of the Session. The congregation numbers 37. Christian Church Pana The present Pana Christian Church was inaugurated during August, 1954, by Minister-Evan- gelist C. E. Shepherd of Mt. Vernon, 111. Brother Lawrence Carpenter ministered to the congregation until January of 1955 when the present pastor, the Rev. Merlo Melton of Walnut Hill, was called to take the congregation. The Christian church is located at 405 East First street, and services are held in a residence converted to a house of worship. This denomination was or- ganized twice before in the city of Pana. The first organization was in the year 1857 and the second during 1875. No church was ever erected by these congrega- tions. Mr. Melton's congregation totals 31 members. St. Paul's E. & R. Church Dollville In the year 1865 the St. Paul Church of Dollville was organized by a group of German-Americans undei the leadership of Matthias Galster. They affiliated themselves with the German Evangelical Synod of North America, now the Evan- gelical & Reformed Church. After meeting for a few years in pii- vate homes for worship, the con- gregation erected a small brick building in 1869 on an acre tract of land donated by one of the group, the late Jacob Weber. It was of soft bricks, some of which were home-made, wliilo the rest were purchased in Pana. This structure 's still standing about a quarter of a mile north of the present church and is used as a meeting place by church organiza- tions and family gatherings. It is called the Brick Community House. A new building was erected for the congregation in 1887 some distance north of the old church. The exact date of the first par- sonage is not known but it is believed to have been constructed between the years 1880 and 1884. In 1917 the old parsonage was replaced by a modern 2-story frame house, which is the minis- ter's residence today. Church officers for 1956 are: Fred Galster, vice-president ; Charles Munzenmaier, vice-presi- dent; John H. Weber, secretary: Walter Gerhold, treasurer. Mem- bers of the Church Council are Roscoe Vincent, John Gerhold jr., Arthur Christopher, Julius Metzger jr., and Garold Brunken. Officers of the Sunday School are: Arthur Christopher, superin- tendent; Julius Metzger jr.. assistant superintendent ; Mrs. Walter Gerhold, secretary; Lever- ett McDonald, treasurer. Pastor of the Dollville church is the Rev. T. H. Hosto. The con- gregation now numbers 65. FIRST NATIONAL BANK PANA, ILLINOIS Continues to Render a Prompt and Efficient Banking Service to the People of Pana and the Surrounding Community. • Member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation *■ Member of the Federal Reserve System Compliments of THE 0. H. PADDOCK LUMBER CO. "The Place to Buy Lumber" READY MIX CONCRETE Pana, Illinois Phone 1230 Shelbyville, Illinois - Phone 77 WEMPEN'S APPLIANCES CBS COLUMBIA TELEVISION NORGE APPLIANCES FEDDERS AIR CONDITIONERS GIBSON AIR CONDITIONERS Phone 3162 1002 South Poplar Pana, Illinois SINCERE CONGRATULATIONS . . ... To the People of the Pana Com- munity for 100 Years of Work and Progress ! PANA TOWNSHIP OFFICERS Chas. J. Slaymaker, Supervisor Don E. Beyers, Highway Comm. Frank L. Kinsey, Town Clerk Homer Millet, Assessor TOWN BOARD George W. Courtney Ferd C. Stocker A. H. Pranke CONSTABLES George W. Searles Charles Kirkpatrick Ted Schmidt Ben Oakley Wm. L. Metzger SERVING ILLINOIS SINCE 1849 Township Government . . . "The Government Nearest to the People" St. John's E. & R. Church Pana A wave of German immigrants to the United States shortly after the turn of the nineteenth cen- tury led missionary societies of Germany and Switzerland to send representatives to the mid-west. One of these, the Rev. Matthia.s Galster. is credited with organiz- ing: the first Evangelical con- gregation in this vicinity. It was located 10 miles northeast of the city in DoUville and was or- ganized in 1865. Later a con- giegation was founded in this city under the name German Evan- gelical Lutheran. In December of 1865 the con- gregation decided to build a church at the cost of $3000. This structure was a frame building 40x25. By 1893 the building proved too small and negotiations were begun which finally bought the building of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Shortly after this property was purchased, a school room was added. This is the present site of the church. In 1915 the church was reno- vated and on Nov. 14 of that year the organization's 50th anniver- sary was celebrated. Ground was broken on Oct. 13, 1952. for the addition of an educational anne.x to the church. This project war; completed and dedicated on Dec. 6, 1953. Serving as pastor of St. John's Evangelical & Reformed Chuich is Ihe Rev. Robert A. Nolte. The congregation numbers 333. First Presbyterian Church Pana On the 21st day of May, 1856, a leligious society known as the First Presbyterian Church was formed m Pana by the Rev. Joseph Gordon. At the same time 5 trustees. John M. Patton, Quentin B. Strider, C. H. Tunnison, Mason French and Franklin Saunders, were elected for a term of 5 years. A building committee was form- ed and a contract was made with Thomas B. Hickman of Vandalia to construct a frame house 34x50 feet in size, to be completed by Jan. 1, 1857. This building was not completed on schedule but soon afterward. Befoie it was dedicated, however, a tornado passed through on June 13, 1857, carrying away a portion of the roof. Rain then damaged plaster- ing and rendered the building unfit for use. Through donations by townsfolk the building was again made ready for use and on Sept. 19, 1857, the Rev. Joseph Gordon preached the first sermon in the church. In the year 1876 a brick build- ing was erected and the congrega- tion moved to the new meeting quarters. This edifice was de- stroyed by fire early on 1 he morn- ing of Dec. 23, 191C. Plans were under way at this time for Ihj construction of a new building and the fire hastened its completion. Ths result of this effort is Ihc present Presbyterian Church. The present pastor is the Rev. Bruce O. Larson. Present mem- bership in the congregation stands at 300. First Baptist Chtirch Pana Another Pana ihuicli cele- brating its centennial this year is the First Baptist Church. Baptist citizens of the city met as early as this date 100 years ago. although the church was not organized until 1858. A council was held in July of that year, composed of several men to consider the expediency of oiganizing a Baptist Church in Pana. A congregation of 8 mem- bers composed the first Baptist Church in Pana. Membership in the congregation presently is approximately 419. Church offices are held by Day- ton Prater, treasurer; Marion An- derson, clerk; Vesper Culberson, Sunday School superintendent. Deacons of the church include Clint Dean, Vesper Culberson, Dayton Prater, Lloyd Ilalbrook, Clifford Culberson, Ernest Sickles. Doyle Compton, Marion Anderson and James Akers. The present building is the sec- ond, the first having been erected in 1860 and the present stiucture in 1925. The Rev. Albert Rust serves as pastor. Sacred Heart Chiirch Oconee Catholic settlers in Oconee were mostly immigrants from the vi- cinity of Hannover, Germany, and from Dutch settlements on th? border of Holland. At the time of the settling of Oconee the closest priest was located in Pana but could not understand the native language of the people. In 1869, Gerhardt Herman Rakers sr., came to Oconee. Mr. Rakers was the pillar supporting the move to obtain a priest for his new home community. As a result of his efforts, the Rev. Michael Weiss, who at that time was the pastor of the Van- dalia church and also ministering to the village of Ramsey, consent- ed to visit the Oconee congrega- tion occasionally. The first church was built in 1872, a building of 18x36 ft. di- mensions. The first Mass was sung in this structuie on May 9. of that year. During the service wagon seats weie used as pews and some of the faithful brought chairs. The second church build- ing was started in 1891, the con- gregation having grown too large to be housed in the old church. The contract was let for a frame slruc.u'.e, 60x36 ft., with a tower 05 ft. high and let to Skinner Brothers of Oconee. The corner- stone of this house of worship was laid in October of 1891. The third and present edifice, of brick construction, was built in 1912. The cornerstone was laid on Sept. 9 of that year. Joseph McCarthy of Pana was the con- tractor. The new church was dedicated Sept. 21, 1913. On the same date, the new parsonage, nearly completed, was blessed. The Oconee parochial school wa.s opened in September of 1922 and staffed by the Sisters of St. Theresa Academy of Decatur. The present congregation of thi- Oconee church is 260. Thirty-five children attend the Sacred Heart school. The Rev. Fr. Michael J. Mc- Govern is pasloi- of th:? Oconee church. Methodist Church Oconee The Rev. William Wihiier wa.s said to be the oiganizer of the Methodist church in Oconee some time prior to the year 1864, when the first church was built. Before construction of the church, servic- es were held in a school house. In 1907 the first church was deemed too small for the growing congregation and a brick edifice was erected on the same location and was dedicated in 1908. This building was rejuvenated in 1951 and scarcely a year later, Jan. 28, 1952, was completely destroyed by fire. A new church is now near- ing completion on the same site and will probably be dedicated this year. The present building occupied by the Oconee Methodist Church was started in the fall of 1952 follow- ing the fire, under the direction of Uie Rev. Jiles E. Klrkland. The cornerstone was laid on Apr. 26, 1953, and first services were held on October 3, 1954, with the ob- servance of World-Wide Commun- ion Sunday. In December, 1955. the debt of $2,000 against the church was paid and presently it stands debt-free with only a few minor remaining jobs to be com- pleted before dedication. Ministering to the needs of the Methodist congregation in Oconee is the Rev. Wesley I. Kersh who also serves the Ohlman and Fair- view Methodist congregations. Church of the Nazarene P'ana The Pana Church of the Naza- rene was organized on July 6, 1924, with 5 charter members. The Rev. E. O. Chalfant, district superintendent of the Chicago Central District, presided. The history of the mother church goes back to the year 1895 with a few congi-egations forming the association of Pente- costal Churches of the Nazarene. In the same year on the west coast the first Chui'ch of the Nazarene was formed in Los An- geles, Cal. These groups from the east and west united in 1907 as the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. In 1919 the name was changed to Church of the Naza- The Nazarene Church of Pana was first located on South Pine street. In 1941 the congregation was moved to a basement on South Cedar street and in 1945 moved to the present location on the corner of Third and Spruce streets. The present congrega- tion, with the Rev. H. K. Burton as minister, numbers 60. There are 120 in Church School. Church of Christ Pana The Church of Christ began meetings in Pana in September of 1951 in the Clint Miller home. In November of the same year, meet- ings were held in quarters at 125 East Second. From that location the church was moved to 600 West Second street in May of 1952. During the summer of 1952 a lot at 14 Franklin street was pur- chased and construction on a new church started. The church is presently nearing completion. There are now 25 members in the local congregation. The principles of the Church of Christ were brought to this coun- try in colonial times by a group of refonners including Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott and Samuel Kogers. First Assembly of God Pana A basement building located at 105 Cedar was built by the Naza- rene denomination in 1935 and later sold to the American Legion. This building was purchased in August of 1948 by the Home Mis- sion of the Illinois District Council of the Assembly of God. At the time there were no known mem- bers of this denomination in the city of Pana. In November, 1948, the church's first pastor, the Rev. W. C. Rus- sell, moved to Pana with the desire to build a church. On Jan. G, 1949, the first Sunday School convened with a total of 6 in at- tendance. On Mar. 26, 1951, work was begun on the basement room used for worship and on Mar. 21, 1952, the present building was com- pleted. The church was dedicated on the same date. Mr. Russell resigned his pastorate in March, 1954, and was succeeded by the Rev. E. E. Austin, who was re- cently succeeded by the Rev. Del- bert W. Arnold. Present membership in the church is 60. Full Gospel Church Pana The Full Gospel Church was or- ganized in Pana in 1941 by the Rev. Eva Hunt. The congrega- tion of the church was made up of 8 charter members, including Howard Sims, Genine Sims, Mae Brown, Clint Brown, and their families. The Full Gospel denomination was founded in 1900 and presently is made up of 3600 ministers and missionaries in foreign fields. First services of the Pana Full Gospel Church were held on the front porch of a residence at 1000 East Jefferson street. In 1942 a basement church was built and in 1948 over this place of worship, the present church was con- structed. Mrs. Hunt still serves as pastor of the church. Church officers are; Chas. Cox, secretary; S. H. Sanders, treasurer; and Howard W. Sims, Sunday School superin- tendent. The church board in- cludes Chas. Cox, Clarence Beard. Howard W. Sims, Mae Brown, and S. H. Sanders. The Full Gospel Church has a membership of approximately 300. In June of this year, con- struction was commenced on a new 30x45 ft. education annex for the church. Ground was broken Sunday, June 10. Latter Day Saints Church Pana The Church of the Latter Day Saints was organized in Pana in 1904. E. E. Stanger was deacon of the congregation, Fred Nowack, priest, and F. M. Sherrock, presi- dent. The church building which pres- ently stands on South Sheridan street is the first erected. It was built during the summer of 1904 and has served the congregation since. Present officers of the church are: Paul Rudow, elder; Edward Nowack, piiest; James Munson, teacher; and Reuben Edwards, deacon. The congregation numbers 41. First Methodist Church Pana The First Methodist Church of Pana was organized in the year 1856 and celebrates its cen- tennial with that of the city. First meetings of the congregation were in homes until a building near where the Union Depot now stands was secured. This build- ing was later moved and repaired, occupying the present site on the northeast corner of Third and Poplar streets. In 1892 the present church building was built. The Morrison family made a donation to the church in 1922 which helped make possible the educational building and basement annexed to the east of the church sanctuary. In re- cent years a new educational building was constructed and named Trinity Hall; it was annex- ed to the north of the church building. The name of the denomination until 1939 was Methodist Epis- copal Church. Then the Metho- dist Protestant Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church South combined with the Methodist Episcopal. Membership in the church now numbers 984. The pastor is the Rev. Lawrence R. Tagg. Free Methodist Church Pana Organization of the Free Metho- dist Church in Pana took place between the years 1889 and 1891. The church was formed following a revival held here by 3 girl evangelists. A lot was purchased from Miss Lucy Borgett and a church was erected at 205 West Fourth street, across the street and southeast of the present lo- cation. In later years the build- ing was moved to the northeast corner of Clark and Fourth streets. The Free Methodist denomina- tion was founded in Pekin, N. Y., on Aug. 23, 1860, by a group of lay members and ministers. Around the year 1858, in the Genesee Conference of the Metho- dist Episcopal church in New York state, a group of preachers and many members of the church were excluded from the church for ecclesiastical reasons and in turn formed this new organization. Holding church offices here this year are Fred Johnson, Charles Ashcraft, Clifford Pruett, John J. Castle. Lloyd Geisler, Elva Stone- burner, Barbara Vilcot, Pauline Jayne, Bessie Geisler, William Shuman and Louvella Presnell. The Rev. Tony R. Jayne is pastor. Present membership of the church is 44. Methodist Church Millersville The Milleisburg- i now Millers- ville i Methodist Episcopal church was organized as a society in 1871. when a group of residents met on Aug. 12, and elected the following 9 trustees; Thomas Miller, chairman; Jeremiah Max- well, John Brain, Joseph Shaw, Andrew Barrett, Samuel Dusen- berry. George Miller, Fred Sec- lest, and M. G. Okey. The first church building was to have been completed Sept. 1, 1872, but no records are available as to the dedication date or the first pastor's name. In 1916, a new parsonage wa.s built to the north of the church building. E. E. McVicker was the chairman of the Building Com- mittee, On Oct. 19, 1921, fire destroyed 2 giain elevators, the church and home of O. E. Clark in Millersville. Services were then held in the community school house. Following this tragedy the Illi- nois Conference offered Millers- ville the Willow Dale church building which stood 6 miles south of Stonington and whose con- gregation had disbanded. The of- fer was accepted and the church moved to its present site and was dedicated on Sunday, Nov. 8, 1925. In 1931, Millersville was joined to the Ohlman circuit and the pastor lived in Ohlman, conse- quently the parsonage was sold. Present officers of the church are as follows: Mrs. Eugene Funk, Church School superintendent; Gerald Stattner, treasurer; Mrs. Gerald Stattner, WSCS president; Mrs. Paul Ewing, treasurer for the building fund. The present congregation of the Millersville Methodist Church is 81. The Rev. Kenneth Voas is pastor, also serving Buckeye and Owaneco Methodist congregations. St. Patrick's Church Pana St. Patrick's parish in Pana was organized under the direction of Fr. Thomas Cusack in 1858. Prior to this time Catholics in the vi- cinity had been served by priests passing through the settlement or those whose time was divided between Pana and other settle- ments in central Illinois. The first Catholic house of wor- ship was erected in 1860. With the growing of the Catholic con- giegation, it was necessary in 1883 to construct a larger church. This building was completed dur- ing the incumbency of the Rev. Fr. Ferdinand Stick. Church property remained the same until March of 1926 when the present St. Patrick's edifice was built, under the direction of Monsignor J. P. Moroney, perhaps the best known priest over to serve in the city of Pana. Under his guidance the parish of St. Patrick's grew both fi- nancially and in stature. During Monsignor Moroney's service at St. Patrick's many additions were made to the parish. Through his interest and work the parochial school was improved, the Com- munity House located on the corner of Locust and Fourth streets built, and Hvibcr Mem()ii:\l Hospital completed. The congregation of St. Pat- rick's, the largest in the city, is made up of 500 families. The Rev. Fr. Thomas J. O'Neill is the present pastor, assisted by Fr John F. Barrett. St. Paul Lutheran Church Pana The first services of the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Pana were held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Martin C. Amling, 500 East First street, on Mar. 26, 1922. Next a hall above Oyler cafe. 32 South Locust, was rented, and services conducted there begin- ning Apr. 15, 1922. The first church building, a portable frame chapel, was dedi- cated on Sept. 2, 1923, at the corner of West Third and South State streets. First church officers were: Her- bert A. Amling, president, Albert Berlin, secretary-treasurer; Mar- tin C. Amling, deacon. The charter congregation of the Pana Lutheian church totaled 15. It has now grown to 256. In 1944 the congregation pur- chased property at the corner of Fourth and Kitchell and dedicated the next house of worship on Apr. 24, 1949. A 2-story residence, east of the church was purchased on Feb. 1, 1955, and is used as an educational building. The first church-owned parson- age was purchased Aug. 29, 1941, at 201 South Sheridan. A new parsonage, east of the educational building, is .-n process of con- struction. Present church officeis are: Richard Rollo, president; Martin C. Amling, treasurer; Percy Turn- er, financial secretary; Delbert Stortzum, recoiding secretary. Sei-ving the congregation as pastor is Rev. Arthur T. Kuehnert. Community Presbyterian Rosamond Rosamond Community Presby- terian Church among other or- ganizations in this locality will celebrate its centennial this yeai . The first antecedent of the church in Rosamond was a Congregation- al church, during the year 1856. The Methodist Church was or- ganized ;n 1864 and the 2 churches federated in 1933. The congrega- tion of this church, on May 6, 1953, joined the Mattoon Presbytery. First meetings of the congrega- tion were held in homes until the year 1867 when the present church building was erected. Minister of the Rosamond con- gregation is the Rev. Roy Brum- baugh. Officers of the church are: John Scott, treasurer; Chas. Bowersock, financial secretary; and Geo. H. Scott, clerk of Ses- sion. The congregation numbers Methodist Church Tower Hill Tho Tower Hill Methodist Church was chartered May 13, 1864. The Rev. W. J. Boone serv- ed as pastor at that time. As early as 1857 Levi Munson, a local preacher, conducted serv- ice.s at Tower Hill. Tower Hill was then one of a IS-paint Shelby- ville circuit. Officers of the Tower Hill Methodist Church are: Reuel Good, chairman of the board; Roland McNeely, lay leader; Lester Can- non, superintendent. Pastor of the 135-member con- gregation is the Rev. James E. Ulmer, who also serves the Robin- son Creek Church. Christian Church Tower Hill The Tower Hill Christian church was founded in the spring of 1893. Several families of that faith moved into the Tower Hill com- munity and proceeded to invite a Christian denomination evangelist living in southern Illinois to come to the village and hold a revival. Brother W. H. Boles accepted the invitation and the result was the organizing of the Tower Hill Church of Christ, known locally as the Christian Church. The congregation used the building of the Methodist church in the beginning, the Methodists at this lime having construction under way on a new edifice. The Church of Christ purchased the old church from the Methodists on completion of the new building. In 1900 the old church was razed and the present building erected. Membership in the Christian church now totals 75. Officers presently are Blythe Hosteller, superintendent of Bible school, who also serves as an elder, and August Lee and John Wirey, eld- ers. Pastor of the church is the Rev, Robert Clemens. PANA NEWS-PALLADIUM THE HERRICK BULLETIN TOWER HILL TIMES Mondays — Thursdays Every Friday Every Friday PANA NEWS INCORPORATED 127-9 East Second Street, Pana, Illinois G. W. MICHELMAN — DON B. PAUSCHERT Sole Owners COMMERCIAL PRINTING PHOTO-ENGRAVING SCHAPER FEED & HATCHERY PURINA CHOWS CUSTOM GRINDING Central Illinois' Largest Producer of First Generation Broiler Chicks 5,000 AVAILABLE EVERY WEEK DeKALB HYBRID CHIX FIELD SEEDS FERTILIZERS Pana, Illinois DOWNS MOTOR, INC. * CHEVROLET * it OLDSMOBILE * Serving the Pana Trade Area Since 1910 DENTON'S AUCTION Complete Line Home Furnishings And Appliances Phone 7181 Pana, 111. ROSEBUD CAFE AND MOTEL Phone 6930 Pana, 111. 1 Mile East of Junction U.S. 51 and 16 A Little Farther Out, A Little Friendlier- Milk Shakes Our Specialty CLARENCE and LORINE DURBIN Organizations - Civic, Fraternal, Labor, Social p. E. O. Sisterhood The P.E.O. Sisterhood was or- ganized in this city on May 22, 1949. with 15 charter membeis. The oiganization was founded in Pana through the efforts of Stella Vaughn. First president of the P.E.O. was Gladys Preihs. The group functions both socially and educationally. Presiding are; Mrs. Nelle South- well, president; Helen Brumniett, vice-president; Geitrude Derk.s, recording secretary; Eloise Kresin, corresponding secretary; Barbara Aniling. ti-easurer; Belle South- well, chaplain; Marian Fiibley, guard. Bayview Reading Circle Bayview Reading Circle was once known as the Olio Club. The circle was organized on June 11, 1885. The organization ceased to be known as Olio in 1908 when the name was changed to Bayview. The circle was organized for mutual improvement through reading and until later years was furnished material by the na- tional organization. Membership in the circle is limited to 20 mem- bers. Charter members of the Olio were Mrs. Brown, Miss Custer, Mrs. Hoopes, Mrs. Lee Hayward, Mrs. A. Irwin, Mrs. B. H. Irwin, Mrs, C. H. Moore. Mrs. A. B. Mc- Coy. Mrs. J. H. Miller. Mrs. J. K. Shaffer. Mrs. Shaw, Mrs. W. J. Smith, and Miss Anna Stover. Present officers are: Mrs. N. R. Meyer, president; Mrs. William Benninger, vice-president; Mrs. Barbara Henderson, secretary; Fannie Vidler, treasurei-. American Legion The charter for American Le- gion Post No. 168 was granted Sept. 26, 1919. At that time Bruce Penwell was elected Com- mander, with Paul Endris serving as adjutant. The post was named in honor of the first 2 Pana men to give their lives during World War I, Merl Kerr and Homer Mize. Kerr wa.s the first Pana fatality in the continental limits of the United States, and Mize the first Pana Leading the organization for the year 1956 are: Robert White, commander; Charles D o y e 1 1 e, senior vice-commander; John Kuhn, junior vice-commander; Sydney DeWeerd, finance officer; Ernest Hildebiand, chaplain; and Arthur LaCrosse, adjutant. Pres- ent membership of the organiza- tion is 260. Lions Club The Pana Lions Club was char- tered in the city during the year 1944 with Joe P. Longwell electe;! president and Dr. W. L. Doelling secretary-treasurer. There were 12 charter members. In recent years membership has grown until the roster of the organization now contains 44 names. The inter- national organization of Lions was instituted in 1917 at a con- vention in Dallas. Texas. D. P. Woods of Evansvillf, Ind.. was elected president. From June 30, 1917. the organi- zation has grown from 25 clubs in one country, membership total- ing 800, to the present figure of 11,670 clubs in 69 countries with a membership of 523,000. The Lions are primarily a service or- ganization. Officers of the Pana Lions are: Stanley Summer, president; Char- les Downs, vice-president; Don Fogler, secretary; Donvin Rich- ardson, treasurer. Rotary Club The Pana Rotary Club was or- ganized on June 9. 1921. Elected officers at that time were Glenn A. Shafer, president; D. P. Bogle, vice-president; L. E. Jordan, sec- retary; Walter E. Downs, treas- urer. The organization was founded with the aim to better understand- ing between local business and professional men. Rotary International, of which the Pana Rotary Club is a part, was organized Feb. 23, 1905, by Paul Harris of Chicago and 4 of his business associates. Present membership in the Pana club totals 37. Officers are: Glenn Thompson, president; Herbert Siegert. vice- president; Bill Hamilton, sec- retary; Gerald Sermersheim. treasurer. Rebekah Lodge The first Rebekah Lodge or- ganized in Pana was the Purity Lodge, about 1874. On Mai-. 30. 1910, Fae Rebekah Lodge 295 was instituted. On Oct. 15, 1924, Purity Lodge and Fae Lodge con- solidated under the name and number of Pana Rebekah Lodge 81. The national branch of the Re- bekahs was organized in 1851 by Schuyler Colfax. Presiding over the organization at this time are Mrs. Vein Ander- son, Noble Grand, and Mrs. Frank Kinsey, Vice Grand. Present en- rollment of the lodge is 437. P.-T.A. Council The Pana Parent-Teacher As- sociation Council was founded in September of 1950 with the aim of establishing a closer relation- ship between P-TA's in the city and to provide a central forum wheie mutual problems of parents and teachers might be discussed and solved. Upon organization of the Coun- cil in 1950 Mrs. Reginald Culbei- son was elected president. Mrs. Warren Christner. secretary, and Mrs. Ralph Woofers, treasurer. Th3 Coimcil is made up of the president and 2 delegates from each school, plus 2 delegate prin- cipals. Present officers are: Mrs. Harry McDonald, president; Mrs. Roger Lebon, vice-president; Mrs. Earl Petty, treasurer; Mrs. Wayne Ekiss, secretary. Pana Education Assn. Pana Education Association is made up of members of Pana':; leaching profession and was oi- ganized Feb. 27, 1947. The char- ter of the organization was adopted on Api'. 10 of the same year. First officers of the association were Miss Rena O'Connor, presi- dent ; Miss Eloise Austin. 1st vice- president; John Howell. 2nd vice- president; Miss Charlene Paul, secretary, and Hubert Brown, treasurer. The organization in 1956 has a lOO'^'r membership of all teachers and administrators in Pana Com- munity Unit. Officers serving this year are: Lucien Cornwell, president; Eileen Anderson, 1st vice-president ; Alta Meier, 2nd vice-president; Neoma Cadwell, secretary; Donna Hubbard, treasurer. Hospital Auxiliary One of the newer organizations in Pana is the Hospital Auxiliary, organized by a group of civic- minded ladies on May 18, 1952, and founded upon the request of Moth- er Superior of Huber Memorial Hospital. The Auxiliary was organized with the purpose of rendering any service to the hospital possible oi- n e c e s s a r y. The organization pledged and paid $5000 toward the completion of the lecently built Huber Memorial Hospital annex. Chartei- membership was 103. Present membership is 105. Of- ficers are: Mrs. Gerald Kennedy, president; Mrs. C. D. Kemp, vice- president; Mis. A. C. McDonald, secretary; and Miss Marie Flesch, treasurer. Sportsmen's Club Pana Sportsmen's Club was or- ganized in 1937 by A. C. Mc- Donald, Guy Frazier, and Gus Siegert, the first officers, along with a group of interested sports- men. The local chapter was organized for the conservation, propagation, and restoration of all forms of wildlife in this vicinity. Membership in the club in 1939 totaled 369. Present membership in the organization is 200. In 1948 the organization in- corporated. Capital was raised by selling shares of preferred stock to members. A tract of land east of Pana was purchased and a clubhouse erected in 1949. A lake was built on this property in 1954 and stocked. Leading the club now are: Ralph Koontz, president; Larry Pearson, vice-president; Frank L. Kinsey, .'secretary; and Glenn McClung, treasurer. Directors are Robert Vits, Paul Tnetken, Ray Rochard, Max Sahr, Frank J. Siegert, and Charles Kamer. B. d P. W. Club The Business & Professional Women's Club was organized in St. Louis in 1919 to elevate the standard for women in business and professions. The local chap- ter was founded at a meeting held in the club room of the library on May 17, 1928. Agnes Wright was elected president and Nell Seiler vice-president. Membership in the organization has grown from 20 to 90 members since 1928. Present officers are: Lois Jos- tes, president; Pearle Baldwin, 1st vice-president; lone Coleman, 2nd vice-president; Audra Christ- ner, recording secretary; Ruth Mc- Taggart, secretary; Adelaide Foil, Home & Garden Club The Pana Home & Garden Club was organized in September, 1930. The organization was founded with the goal of promoting greater in- terest in city homes and gardens. For several years after being or- ganized the club was a member of the Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs and also a member of the Garden Club of Illinois. At pres- ent the club operates indeoendent- ly. Programs are planned by the members to give information on topics of interest to garden and flower lovers. There are presently 79 members. Officers for the 1956-57 term are; Mrs. William Amling, presi- dent; Mrs. Gailyn Anderson, vice- president; Mrs. Vernon Anderson, secretary; and Mrs. Jeanette Baldwin, treasurer. Home Bureau Unit Pana's Town & Country Home Bureau unit is composed of a group of mothers organized with the aim of developing better and happier homes. The unit was founded in Pana in 1952. Presiding at that time were Mrs. Mervin Hainline, president; Mrs. Forrest Denton, vice-president; Mrs. Glenn Thompson, secretary; and Mj-s. Weldon Clawson, treas- urer. The local branch was organized in the home of Mrs. J. F. Denton. Charter members were Mrs. Hain- line, Mrs. Denton, Mrs. Clawson, Mrs. EM Rochkes, Mrs. Harry Foltz, Mrs. Don Petei-son, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Neil Stephenson, Mrs. Herschel Collins and Mrs. Dean Brownback. Present officers are: Mrs. Char- les Wilcox, chairman; Mrs. Dale Lewis, vice-chairman; Mrs. Dale Reathei-ford, secretary; and Mrs. Wayne Swiney, treasurer. Order of the Eastern Star Arcana Chapter No. 493. Order of the Eastern Star, was or- ganized in Pana during the year 1902 through the efforts of S. C. Wagener. The order had a charter membeiship of 19 and has since grown until at present member- ship totals 400. Serving the chapter as officers during 1956 are: Elva Cook, woithy matron; Harry L. Cook, worthy patron; Loraine Bolding, associate matron; Robeit Bolding, associate patron; Zula Etheridge, sacretaiy; Huldah Schaper, treas- urer; Evelyn Pray, conductress; Esther Abrell, associate conduct- ress; Wilma Wright, chaplain; Mildred Abrell, marshal; Ruby June Munzenmaier, organist; Nettie Romager, Adah; Esther Porter, Ruth; Dorothy Parkinson, Esther; Mary He:iderson, Martha; Bessie Mosher, Electa; Myrtle Jones, warden; Jesse Jones, senti- nel; and Millard Henderson, color bearer. Modern Woodmen Th2 Pana Camp of Modern Woodmen of America No. 244 was chartered in this city Sept. 21, 1886, with 40 members. The organization is a fraternal benefit society operating on a lodge or camp system to provide life insuranc3 and practical fra- ternal service to its members. First officer's of the Pana lodge were: Julius Broehl, consul; R. S. Johnson, clerk; and William Pierce, banker. Present membership in the local lodge is 80. Officers are: Kenneth Dean, consul; Carl Simpson, ad- viser; F. J. Maisch, banker; and William J. Gundel, secretary. Knights of Columbus The Pana Knights of Columbus, Council 896, was founded on July 10. 1904, and has had a continuous and consistent growth since that time. First officers of this organiza- tion were: Dr. Charles R. Molz, Grand Knight; Frank D. Shields, Deputy Grand Knight; A. C. Seitz, recording secretary; J. E. Schneider, financial secretary; O. P. Galvin, treasurer; the Reverend Father Hensey, chaplain; William Daly, inside guard; G. Hamlin, outside guard; John McCarthy, warden; Thomas D. Kelligar. chancellor; Joseph McCarthy and Louis Waterson, trustees. Th2 following serve as officers for the 1956-57 term: Xavier Duez, Grand Knight; .Joe Kuhn, Deputy Grand Knight; Paul Harris, chan- cellor; Raymond Kennedy, treas- urer; destine Schmitz, advocate; Paul Lehn, warden; A. J. DeClerk, inside guard; Al Pastor, outside guard; lecturer, Gerald Kennedy; the Rev. Fr. T. J. O'Neill, chap- lain; Gene Endris, financial sec- ret ai-y. Trustees are Florian Scherzer, Art UUrick, and Wilbur Kuhn. Membership in the KC's totals 200. Tuesday Club The Tuesday Club was organized in Pana during the year 1869 with the goal of self-improvement through reading and study. Or- ganized by Mrs. O. M. Baldwin, the club had 8 charter members. Since June 6, 1899, membership has been limited to 25. First called the "Friendly Cir- cle," the organization's name was changed to the Tuesday club in 1877. Presiding are Mrs. Louise Mc- Cracken, president; Mrs. G. G. Mc- Candlish, vice-president; Mrs. D. M. Littlejohn, secretary-treasurer. Odd Fellows Lodge No. 331t Adar Lodge No. 334, Internation- al Order of Odd Fellows, was char- tered in Pana, Oct. 9, 1866, with a membership of 6. First officers of the organization were: N. B. Ja- coby, grand deputy; J. W. Stark, noble grand; W. T. Dobbs, vice grand; J. F. Harner, secretary; and J. C. Helmick, treasurer. During the years the member- ship of the Odd Fellows has grown to a roster of 70 members. On Apr. 26 of this year the or- der celebrated its 137th anniver- sary. Present officers of the lodge are: Everette Spindel, noble grand; William Maisch. vice grand; Vem Anderson, warden; Harold Hill, secretary; Frank J. Maisch, treas- urer; and Floyd Simmons, chap- Royal Neighbors The Pana lodge of Royal Neigh- bors of America was founded on Apr. 18, 1898. Mrs. Jesse Beatty is one of the living charter mem- bers. The Royal Neighbors .society was chartered on Mar. 21. 1895. When first organized in Pana in ■98. the Neighbors had 32 mem- bers. Enrollment has grown to 400 at present. The organization is a fraternal life insurance .society. Officers are: Grace Arnold, oracle; Mary Koontz, vice-oracle; Elizabeth Beveridge, past oracle; Emma Weers, chancellor; Mabel Hedderich, recorder; Anna Den- bow, receiver; Eleanor Dudzik. marshal; Juanita Endris. a.ssistanl marshal; Minnie Hackl. inner sentinel; and Vina Eich, oiitei sentinel. Loyal Order of the Moose The present lodge of the Loyal Order of the Moose. 1015, was chartered Sept. 15, 1946, in Pana. Heading the organization at that time were Earl Sims, governor; Thor Burkhardt, secretary; Justin Tappero, junior governor; Eugene Schmitz, prelate; Robert Goethuys, treasurer; and Harry Pearson, Os- car Eybel and Paul Maton, trust- Pana's first Moose Lodge was organized in 1913, with a charter membership of 230. The Moose organization was founded Apr. 12, 1868, in Louis- ville, Ky., by Dr. John Henry Wil- .son. The order is nationally known for its "child city," Mooseheart, 111., and for the home for aged, Mooschaven, in Florida. Present membership in the lodge totals 350. Officers of the lodge now are: Marceau Lebon, governor; Ger- main Delassus, junior governor; Robert Koontz, secretary; Loui.s Dudra, prelate; Frank Fisher, treasurer; Frank Duchaney, Paul Oiler, John Hunter, trustees. Elks Lodge No. J 261 Pana Lodge No. 1261, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, was formed in 1910, with a char- ter membership of 49. T. J. Vid- ler was the first Exalted Ruler. Officers presiding during the Centennial year are: Exalted Ruler, J. W. Hoefner; Esteemed Leading Knight, Bill J. Slater; Esteemed Loyal Knight, Frank Pushnik; Esteemed Lecturing Knight, Phil Stepping; secretary, James C. Neal; treasurer, Everette Powers; Esquire, Joe P. Longwell; chaplain, J. Wesley Brooks; tyler, J. E. Folks; trustees, H. R. "Reg" Turney, Dr. F. R. Hamilton, Don B. Pauschert. American Legion Auxiliary Plans for the organization of Kerr-Mize Post No. 168 American Legion Auxiliary were made at a regular Post meeting Oct. 7, 1920. The first meeting of the Auxiliary wa£ held on Friday, Oct. 22, of the same year. Elected officers of the organi- zation were: Mrs. Monta Danford, president; Marie Chalfant, secre- tary; Mrs. Alta Burgess, treasurer. The establishment of Legion Auxiliaries was provided for at the first national convention of the Legion in Minneapolis, Minn., Nov. 10-12, 1919. The Auxiliary was organized to aid the Legion in per- forming its activities and to be charged with phases of work more .suitably performed b.v women. Present officers are: Margaret Hildebrand, president; Ethel Hav- rilka, 1st vice-president; Hilda Endris, 2nd vice-president; Carmen LaCrosse, secretary; Teresa Kuhn, treasurer; Mary Wardall, sergeant- at-arms; Ora Wilhour, color bear- er; Lucille Hoehn, musician; Har- riet Foil, chaplain; and Louise Pol- lard, historian. Fortnightly Club The Fortnightly club was or- ganized in Pana on Feb. 22, 1899. by a group of young ladies. The purpose of the organization was educational- the study of litera- ture, art and music; as well as to form a social center for the en- joyment of its members and their friends. At the time of organization the club roster contained 12 names. Since then membership has in- creased to 24. Present officers are: Mrs. O. E. Penwell, president; Mrs. Rex Seller, vice-president; Mrs. F. W. Siegert, secretary and treasiuer. Women of the Moose The Women of the Moose was officially established by action of the Supreme Council, Loyal Order of the Moose, in 1916. In Pana, the organization was formed Jan. 11, 1948, with a membership of 57. The Moose Ladies group was formed to bring in closer fraternal relationship the families of the Moose in order to further philan- thropic principles and to aid and promote the aims and purposes of the Loyal Order of the Moose. Officers presiding over the Pana organization are Eleanor Pryce, senior regent; Helen Hitchcock, junior regent; Albertine Bedar, junior grand regent; Hazel Hill, chaplain; Mary Oiler, treasurer; LaVerne Lebon, recorder; Esther Burdzilauskas, sentinel; Susan Jones, Argus; Marguerite Seitz. guide; and Elda Havrilka. assistant guide. Order of Rainbow for Girls The local Order of Rainbow for Girls was organized in Pana on November 25, 1932. The organiza- tion became a chartered member of the Supreme Assembly of the Order of Rainbow for Girls on Dec. 12, 1936. During these 20 years, member, ship has been on an average of 30-35 girls. Now presiding are Judy Parkin- son, Worthy Advisor; Doris Wil- hour, Worthy Associate Advisor; Joan Thomas, Charity; Deanna Dixon, Hope; Kay Miller. Faith; Donna French, chaplain; Jeanne Morrison, drill leader; Judy Wash- burn. Love; Carolyn Ripley, Reli- gion; Wanda Walden, Nature; Pat \V a t k i n s. Immortality; Diane .A.mes, Fidelity; Barbara Bolding, Patriotism; Ruth Ann Roe, outer observer; Barbara Culberson, con- fidential observer; Karolynn Eilers, musician; Gail Anderson, choir di- rector. Nurses Association Three ladies make up the Pana area's representation in the lUinoi.s State Nurses Association. They are Mary BMith Duck of Huber Memorial hospital, who sei-ves as corresponding secretary for the association; Dorothy Smedley, and Anne Newton. Pana is lo- cated in Dist. 9 of the association, including the cities of Springfield, Jacksonville. Decatur and Taylor- viUe. All members of the as- tociation must be Registered Nurses. C. D. of A. Saint Rita Court of Pana. No. 404. of the National Order of the Catholic Daughters of America, was instituted on Sept. 28. 1919, with an enrollment of 54 charter' members. At the time of the Court's in- stitution it was generally known as the Catholic Daughters of Isa- bella. On Apr. 9, 1921, there was approved by Governor Miller of the State of New York, Chapter 194 of the Laws of 1921, by which the name was changed to Catholic Daughters of America. Now serving the organization are: The Rev. Fr. T. J. O'Neill, chaplain; Mrs. Lena Trumper. grand regent; Mrs. Frank Me- theney, vice-regent; Mrs. Virgil Alexander, prophetess; Mis. Arthur UUrick, lecturer; Mrs. Gerald Kennedy, historian; Mrs. Gordon Broxton, financial secre- tary; Mrs. Julia Kraus, treasurer; Mrs. Paul Schmitz, monitor; Mrs. Robert Hood, sentinel; Mrs. Florian Scherzer. organist; Mrs. Paul Merriman, trustee for one year; Mrs. Paul Endris and Mrs. C. A. Klein, trustees for 3 years. 36 Masonic Lodge No. 226 Pana Masonic Lodg-e No. 226 celebrates its Centennial with the city of Pana. Instituted in Octo- ber, 1856, the lodge consisted of 10 members. During the past 100 years membership has grown to 275. On the first roster of members are names connected with the or- ganizing of the village itself. M. S. Beckwith, who held the office of secretary of the lodge, was Pana's first postmaster. Wm. H. Glas- cow, treasurer of the lodge for its second year, was among the city's first merchants. Traditionally, Masonry originat- ed in the craftsmen's guilds during the building of the great edifices of Europe centuries ago. The Pana Masonic Temple, built in 1926 and dedicated in 1927, is one of the more imposing struct- ures in the city. The building measures 80 x 112 ft. and is 2 stories in height. It was built at a cost of $47,000 but increased val- uation of property in later years has brought the value of the build- ing, insurance wise, to $100,000. Offices of the Pana lodge this year are held by M. R. Brewster, Worshipful Master; P. C. Pray, Senior Warden; J. A. Castle, Jim- ior Warden; W. D. Bailey, treasur- er; L. P. Magill, secretary; S. V. Davis, Senior Deacon; D. N. Stew- art, Junior Deacon; H. F. Call, Senior Steward; H. L. Cook, Junior Steward; L. D. Wright, chaplain; R. S. Pilger, marshal, and R. L. Bolding, tyler. Carpenters & Joiners Union The Pana local of the Carpenters & Joiners union celebrates its dia- mond jubilee year along with Pa- na's Centennial, the national or- ganization being formed Aug. 12, 1881. The union was or- ganized m Pana on July 17, 1900. Membership in the local union hit an all-time high during the years 1923-24 with the building of new public schools in Pana. Pres- ent membership in the union is 78. Officers are: Charles Bryson, president; Minor Bowman, vice- president; J. L. Turner, financial secretary; Ray Stech, recording secretary; J. Ray Morton, business agent. Trustees are J. Ray Mor- ton, T. V. Broom and Frank Kin- sey. John Garber holds the office of warden. Bakers Union Union bakers of the city of Pana belong to the Decatur-Pana area Bakery & Confectionery Local 316. There are no records to show when the union first had members in the city of Pana. However, 2 charters were issued before the present one, both to the Decatur- Pana area. The first was issued Feb. 11, 1902, and the second June 18, 1913. The present charter of the union dates to Aug. 12, 1919. Pana men serving as officers in the Decatur-Pana local are: Ar- lington Abrell, president; Kenneth Hobble, recording secretary; De- neen Wheat, trustee; and Roy Cot- trell, ex-board member. Serving as business representa- tive for the union is a former Pana resident, George Zellmann, who moved to Decatur in 1944. Veterans of Foreign Wars The Pana Post of Veterans of Foreigfn Wars was chartered Sept. 11, 1945. Dr. W. L. Doelling was elected commander, John Dudra senior vice-commandei', Ferd Kole- sar junior vice-commander, Ray Wempen quartermaster, Joe Moore adjutant, and Oscar Maisch serv- ice officer. First meetings of this organi- zation were held over the E&Z tavern on Locust street, from whence the club mcved to the Elks club rooms, and then to quarters on the second floor in the build- ing across from Frances Hotel. From the latter meeting place the Veterans moved to their present location, their owr. home at 107 North Poplar street. The home was purchased without any direct solicitation of funds from busi- nessmen or persons not members of the organization. The charter membsrship of the organization was 17 but sinc2 has grown to 140. Officers of the Veterans of Foreign Wars are: Paul D. Cot hern, commander; William Henderson, senior vice-com- mander; Jim Sillars, junior vice- commander; Basil Boulier, quart- ermaster, and Jerry Thomas, ad- jutant. U. M. W. of A. The United Mine Workers of America was founded in 1890. The first charter in Illinois was is.=ued on Nov. 5, 1900. The organization was formed to protect tha int'^i- ests of mineis and mine laborers. Frank Davis, mediator in this city at the time of mine strikes in the late 1890's and a Pana resi- dent, rose from the lanks to be- come an International Representa- tive of the United Mine Workers of America. Officers of the Pana U.M.W.A Local 9087 are: William R. Good- win, president; John Castle, vice- president; William Chladnv, re- cording secretary; Robert Perry, financial secretary; James Coicon, treasurer; Roy Henderson, Louis Coet, Jesse Vernon, trustees. Members of the Mine Committee are William "Sailor" Goodwin, Charles Maton and John Ber':)n- flti. VFW Auxiliary The Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary was organized one year following the organization of the men's post, in 1946. Charter membership in the auxiliary was 26 and is now 55. First officers of the auxiliary v/ere: Christina Turvey. president; Goldie Anderson, senior vice- president; Freda Thomas, junior vice-president; Mildred Medley, secretary, and Meda Garver, treasurer. Present officers are: Pearl Pyle, piesident; Pearl Christy, senior vice-president ; Eileen Beeson, junior vice-president; Marge Push- nik, treasurer, and Goldie Ander- son, secretary. Delta Theta Tau Zeta Theta chapter of Delta Theta Tau sorority was inaugurat- ed in Pana June 27, 1937, by Au- drey Wilson, national treasurer of the sorority. Charter membership in the Pana chapter totaled 10. Mrs. Justin Tappero is the only remaining charter member. Membership in the local chapter is limited to 30, the roster now numbering 24. Officers are: Esther Elliott, president; Pauline Tappero, vioe- prcsident; Norma Ruth Richai-d- son, recording secretary; Ruth Kolb, corresponding secretary; Rotha Dickey, treasurer; JoAnn McLain, sergeant-at-arms; Cleo Kapilla, historian. Teamsters' Union Chartered in 1903, Pana Local 76 of the International Brother- hood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America served the community anl its membership until 1945. then amalgamating with Local 279, which is headquartered in Decatur and covers 7 counties. Approximately 165 men in Chris- tian and Shelby counties are im- mediately represented by the Pana sub-local, whose officers are: Rob- ert Koontz, president; Sheridan Hicks, secretary; Harry Clucas, treasurer and business agent. The sub-local meets the second Sunday of each month at 9:30 a.m. in Miners' Hall. Among the charter members of the original Pana local were Wil- liam Ketchum sr., Lewis Koontz, Lou Roley. Richard Koogle, Charles Perry, Charles Roach, president; Barney Pine, Fred Pryce, Frank Cox, secretary; and John Hinden. Of these only Perry and Pryce are living. Principal officers of Decatur Local 279, which now represents about 1500 men, are Guy Clapper, president, and Mack Ray, secre- tary and business agent. Railroads and the Growth of the Pana Community Paiui. ils iiiigiii stemming Irom building of the Illinois Central, has through the years been a lead- ing railroad center in central Illi- nois and today retains this promi- nence. Serving the city are 4 lines, the Illinois Central. New York Central, Baltimore & Ohio, and the Chica- go & Eastern Illinois Railroads. In bygone days when transpor- tation for long- distances by auto and bus was unheard of, the rail- roads of Pana accounted for a tre- mendous passenger service. At the height of this passenger trade in 1913, a total of 38 passenger trains a day served the citizens of Pana. Since that time passenger .service in the city has dwindled to 4 trains a dav, 2 eastbound and 2 westbound, all of the New York Central system. The remaining 3 roads plus the New York Central handle freight. While passenger service has hit its lowest mark in the history of the city, freight tonnage has sky- rocketed through the years, this being the result of the development of local industries, of which min- ing is the leader in freight tonnage. The 4 roads serving Pana run a total of 28 freight trains through the community a day. The New York Central leads with 18, the C&EI second with 5, the Illinois Central third with 4, and the Balti- more & Ohio alternating direc- tions each day of the week with one freight. Coal is the leading freight com- modity in the city and is handled almost solely by the Illinois Cen- tral. Based on the 5 day work week at Peabody Mine No. 17, the fol- lowing statistics are presented: The Illinois Central Railroad handles inbound into Pana each day an average of 160 empty rail- road cars, many of which are 70 ton capacity cars, an average of 3200 empty cars handled per month. Outbound totals match inbound, with 160 carloads shipped northward per day, for a total of approximately 3200 carloads monthly. These figures bring the total amount of cars handled by the road a day to 320 cars, 6400 cars monthly, and 76,800 cars annually. Tonnage moved a day by the road totals 10,700 tons, or approxi- mately 2,824,800 tons per year. This figure does not include empty tonnage, which would raise the total con.siderably. The above figures also include a small nunn- ber of cars of connecting roads which are handled by the Illinois Central. Folliiwiiig are short histories of the railioads which have contri- buted to Pana's growth: The Illinois Central To the Illinois Central Raihcad the city of Pana owes its existence. Around this line the settlement of Pana was laid out and through the years along with the railroad's growth has expanded likewise. The "Main Line of Mid-America" was chartered on Feb. 10, 1851, and was the first land grant rail- road in the United States. During the Civil War northern portions of the road served the XTnion and the southern sections provided transportation for the Confederacy. The Illinois Central was first m- corporated by a bill introduced in December of 1835, at a meeting of the Illinois General Assembly in Vandalia, then the state capital. This movement was sponsored by John S. Hacker of Jonesboro and supported by Abraham Lincoln and his partner, John T. Stewart. Stock was authorized to the ex- tent of $2,500,000, with the stipu- lation that no one buyer co\ild hold moie than 5 shares. The state of Illinois then gave the road approximately 2,595,000 acres of land along its right-of-way which could be sold to farmers when the state sold alternate sec- tions within land grant zones. On Mar. 25, 1855, the first Illi- nois Central train entered Pana and by 1856 the original charter lines ran from Cairo to Galena. Since that time the company has acquired extensive lines to Sioux City, la., to Kankakee, La- Salle, Freeport, Urbana, and ser- vice from Chicago to St. Louis, Ne.v Orleans, and Miami, Fla. When the original 705-mile char- ter line was undertaken Illinois was still a wilderness. Towns were small, few and far between. Vandalia had a population of 360, Decatur 600. and Bloomington 1594. Transportation was by river boats and stage coaches over mud roads. At the time of its completion the lUinoLs Central was the long- est railroad in the world. The Central serves 14 states. 2200 communities and has 6500 miles of track. In Pana the road employs 20 people with an annual pavroil of $80,000. Pana lies on the Springfield Division with headquarters in Clm- toii. ^ Local agent for the Illinois Cen- tral is Robert Pilger. The New York Central Following close behind the Illi- nois Central through the city of Pana in 1855 came the construc- tion of the New York Central (then the St. Louis, Alton &. Terre Haute). The present New York Central system is the outgrowth of a tiny pioneer line, the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, only 17 miles long, between Schenectady and Albany, N. Y. This experimental road was chartered by an act of the New Yoik Legi.siature Apr. 17, 1826, and after several test runs was opened formally for passenger traffic, Sept. 24, 1831. The sys- tem today has been built up from about 560 predecessor companies. It serves 1 1 Stales and 2 Provinces of Canada and has 10,375 miles of line and 24,135 miles of trackage. The pioperty investment of the New York Central is approximate- ly 12 and % billion dollars. Seventy per cent of revenues col- lected by the system comes from freight. Its freight volume, 9";^ of the total in the U. S., is greater than that of the railways of France and England combined. While the Central is not classi- fied as a "coal road" it moves 789^ of all coal mined in the nation by reaching bituminous coal fields of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and the state of Illinois. Besides coal transported from these areas on the road, there goes a large and steady volume of grain and other foodstuffs. The constituent lines of the New York Central System are The New York Central Railroad Company and its leased lines, the Michigan Central Railroad, the Big Four Railroad, the Boston & Albany Railroad; and its affiliates, the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Rail- road Company and the Chicago River & Indiana Railroad Com- pany, including its leased line, the Chicago Junction Railroad. In Pana the Central employs 15 men with an annual payroll of ap- proximately $60,000. Local agent for the New Yoik Central is Walter O. Brinkman. The C. & E. I. The first of the railroads com- prising the Chicago & Eastern Illinois system was chartered Jan. 2. 1849, to operate between Vin- cennes and Evansville. As other roads, through the pur- chase of smaller railroads and the building of branch lines, the C&EI expanded to its present size until today the road extends southward from" Chicago with 3 southern ter- COMPLIMENTS R & R DISTRIBUTING COMPANY Distributors Of STAG BEER Phone 4040 Pana, Illinois VICTORY CAFE Cecil and Ellen Short • STEAKS • CHOPS • CHICKEN • • Barbecue • Sandwiches • Soup • 16 E. Second Pana, 111. Phone 252 Compliments GEORGE'S CANDY SHOP KEHIAS APPLIANCES VICTORY TAVERN • BEER • WINE • • LIQUORS • "DUTCH" Route 29 Phone 6510 PAUL BROS. OTTO — LOUIE MERLYN E. LOWER GENERAL INSURANCE — and — REAL ESTATE AGENCY 307 S. Clark St. Phone 1321 Pana, 111. BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S CLUB Organized 192S Federated 1949 Compliments AL'S BOWLING ALLEY ■•Buivl For Health" As .■'. Native of the Pana Commun- ity, I Offer Congratulations to Pana and Its Citizenry on its Centennial. EDWARD C. EBERSPACHER STATE REPRESENTATIVE mini: Evansville, Ind. (287 miles); Chaffee, Mo. (394 miles); and St. Louis, Mo. (290 miles). Through trackage right.s oIj- tained from various southern roads the Chicago & Eastern Illinois system affords passenger service from Chicago to the Gulf. Its featured trains are the "Georgian" makin:^ connections from Chicago to Atlanta; the "Hummingbird," operating between Chicago and New Orlean.'-, and the "Dixie Flagler" from Chicago to Miami. In the state of Illinois the "Mea- dowlark" runs from Chicago to southern Illinois. Construction of the line running through Pana was begun in 1903 as a result of the company's deci- sion to enter the St. Louis field. Construction began at Woodland Junction running to Villa Grove and from Findlay to Pana. How- ever, before construction had been started beyond Pana an agreement was entered into by the C&EI and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (NYC I for joint use of the facilities of the line from Pana to Granite City. At the same time trackage rights from Granite City to St. Louis over the property of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis were secured. The line is largely a prairie road and country traversed is mainly flat with exception along certain streams and in the extreme south- ern part of Illinois where an out- cropping of the Ozarks is crossed. Agent for the Chicago and East- ern Illinois Railroad in Pana is C. W. Graden. The road in Pana employs 5 men for an annual pay- roll of $26,000. The Baltimore & Ohio The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was built through Pana in the year 1869 under the name Springfield & Illinois Southeastern Railroa:!. The road was originally charter- ed in February of 1827, and was America's first common carrier line. Originally built from Baltimore to the Ohio River the railroad ex- panded its system by acquiring railroads already built or in the process of building. This is true of the line which runs from Shaw- neetown to Beardstown, crossing the main line at Flora, 111. The line from Pana to Beards- town was originally chartered as the Pana, Springfield & North- western Railroad Company on Feb. 16, 1865. The line south of Pana was known as the Illinois South- eastern Railway. Though the S&NW was never built it was con- solidated with the Illinois South- eastern Railroad on Feb. 7, 1869, to form the Springfield & Illinois Southeastern Railway Company. Tho new corporc.tion compio'.ed the tiackage between Beardstown and Shawneetown by March, j87]. It was operated by this company from March 27, 1871, until a re- ceiver was appointed in Septem- hei-, 1873. The line was opeiated by the leceivtr until Jan. 30, 1875, when acquired l)y the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, running from Cincinnati to St. Louis. In 1893, the Ohio & Mississippi \vas consolidated with the Cincin- nati & Marietta Railroad to form the B&O Southwestern, which Ls today a wholly-owned subsidiaiy cl the Baltimore & Ohio Railioad. Diu-ing the 1890'p tne Baltimore & Ohio had general repair shops located in Pana but removed them in 1900. The shops were located in the noitheastern portion of the city along the B&O tracks. Serving as local agent for the lailroad is D. A. Burris. An ann'.ial payroll of approxi- mately $22,000 is paid to a group of 6 employees of tho road sta- tioned in Pana. Flfty-t«o years ago (". J. Resler of Daytonii Beafh, Fla., then local photographer, hkuimmI th;' country-side in search of siibjei-ts. On the Leo Ebert place 'j mile west of Buckeye t'hurch, he rec»rtle per ton for baling and paid the "hands" $1.25 each per day. Horse teams were alternated about every 30 bales. — I'hoto from T. E. Cook's souvenirs. KUPFER'S JEWELERS • Watches • Diamonds • • Silver • Repairs o 105 E. Second Pana, 111. Phone 3421 PURITY BAKING CO. ART'S CLOTHES SHOP MEN'S WEAR 148 S. Locust Pana, 111. Compliments From PANA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OFFICERS : James Stumpf, President Reynold Aide, Vice-Pres. Clara E. Frankenfeld, Sec. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Bert W. Deere Wilbur Kuhn Leonard Southwell John Ruhl Frank Duchaney Russell Carroll Gerald Sermersheim Compliments PANA LODGE NO. 1261 BENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS CHARTERED JULY 11, 1912 Club Rooms 133'- S. Locust Exalted Ruler - - - J. W. Hoefner Esteemed Leading Knight - Bill J. Slater Esteemed Loyal Knight - Frank Pushnik Esteemed Lecturing Knight Phil Stepping Esquire - - - - Joe P. Longwell Chaplain - - - J. Wesley Brooks Tyler ----- Edward Folks Inner Guard - - - H. L. Bolding Treasurer - - - Everette Powers Secretary - - - - James C. Neal Trustees: H. R. "Reg" Turney, Dr. F. R. Hamilton, Don B. Pauschert McCANDLISH DRUG CO. WALGREEN AGENCY G. G. McCandlish, R. Ph. D. R. Metzger, R. Ph. Phone 4500 Pana, 111. CONGRATULATIONS . . TO PANA ON ITS 100th ANNIVERSARY Compliments of HOOD JEWELERS Pana, Illinois Coal Mining Is a Bulwark of the Local Economy The second most important in- dustry in Christian county, mining, began at Pana in 1884 when the first coal wa.s hoisted from Pana Coal Co.'p Mine No. 1. Coal min- ing on a small scale had been carried on earlier at several point.s .south of the city. The best of the seams in this southern area was White's Bank along Coal Creek, on Section 34 of Pana township, where a 22- Inch seam of good quality coal was being worked. A 10-inch seam of poor quality coal was also found at Greenwood's Mill, about »i of a mile from the 22-inch seam. However, the amount of coal taken along Coal Creek was small, and this type of mine would most accurately be described as strip mining, as the seam was ap- proximately 30 feet above the level of the creek. Therefore, the in- dustry was not begun on a large scale until the opening of the mines at Pana. Although an early geographical sui-vey showed no coal in the state of Illinois from Bloomington south to Centralia. the people of Pana in 1880 raised funds by popular subscription for the boring of a test hole. This test was made by John Dugan about 1883, and a seam of coal was found at a depth of 720 feet which was "al- most without a superioi- in the state." The vein was ideal for mining; it was from 6 to 8 feet thick, stretched over an area of approxi- mately 700 square miles, and had a heavy covering of rock. The last advantage eliminated the necessity of extensive timbering to strengthen the roof of the mine and also pievented the sinking of the top ground. Da\'id Harts, a lawyer, and Frank Frorer, hardware merchant, of Lincoln, 111., sank Pana's first shaft into this seam in 1884. These men were also financing ventures into the mining industry in other parts of the state at this same time. With Charles White, they form- ed the Pana Coal Co. and initiated the project at Pana. The actual sinking of the shaft was under the direction of Julius Broehl, who became one of the outstanding operators in the area. In 1893 Broehl became a partner in the Pana Coal Co. By 1902 I the exact date is not known ) a group of men, including Broehl, purchased the interests of both Hart.s and Frorer and changed the name of the firm to the New Bent Coal Co. In 1906 or 1907, Broehl sold his entire interest to the Bell & Zoller Coal Ccj. and liveJ the re- maining years of his life in re- tirement in Pana. The Pana Coal Co. opened 2 mine? in the Pana area. The first was located between the Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati & St. Louis (NYC) and B&O railroads about 2 blocks west of the Illinois Cen- tral. This mine was known as No. 1 or the Old Mine, and was 739.6 feet deep, with an output of 1.300 tons. In 1886 the Pana Coal Co. sank ■A .second shaft as an escapement for the first mine. This second mine became known as Mine No. 2 and was loiatei on the Illinois Central about one mile north of Pana In depth and output this mine was approximately the same as Mine No. 1. Coal reports of 1898 gave the combined capacity of the 2 mines as 700,000 tons. Seeing the success of the 2 mines of the Pana Coal Co., local business men became interested and 2 more mines were opened. In 1888 the Penwell-Kitchell Coal Mining Co. was organized by pro- minent citizens of Pana. George V. Penwell and John W. Kitchell were the chief stockholders. A mine was begun by this firm in 1888, but construction of the shaft was constantly delayed by cave-ins. It was not until March of 1889 that the first coal was hoisted from the mine. The mine, 723 feet deep, v.'as located in the heart of the city, just 2 blocks west of Locust street along the Illinois Central Railroad. It was the second largest industrial con- cern in Christian county at the time and according to a Mr. Rut- ledge, mine inspector during the same period, gave employment to 257 men and had a capacity of 312,000 tons. The last mine to be opened during this era in Pana was known as the Springside Mine. The date given for its opening varies from 1890 to 1892. Most of the capital for this organization was furnished by Kitchell. It is quite probable that the earlier opening date is coriect for in 1889 G. V. Penwell puichased Kitchell's shares in the Penwell-Kitchell Coal Mining Co. This purchase would have freed Kitchell's capital for use in the new mine. The company known as Spring- side Coal Mining Co. located its shaft about ono mile east of Pana but connected it by an escape passageway with the Penwell mine. "The mine was 723 feel deep and had a reputed capacity of 200,000 tons. The operators of this mine were the Overholts, David J. and liis nephew. Lewis. In 1899 the Overholts .sold their mining inteiest to the Smith-Lohr Coal Co. and moved to Chicago, with Lewis entering the grain business. The 4 mines were very similar in general character. All were shaft mines of approximately the same depth. In 1898 their produc- tion was about equal, as shown by reports. The Pana Coal Co.'s mines pro- duced 50,860 tons of lump coal; the Penwell shaft 53,385; and the Springside mine 48,548 tons. The mining industry of Pana enjoyed a number of advantages, the thickness of the vein perhaps the most outstanding. The vein was described in an account in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat as fol- lows: "A 6-ft. miner can walk erect and stretch his arms above his head and it is all coal from the soles of his feet to the tips of his fingers." The thickness of the vein en- abled the men to produce more coal per day and at less expense than was possible in thin-veined mines. The coal was of excellent quality, being desired by railroad companies for use in making steam. Quality of coal gave min- ing companies an opportunity to sell at a higher price per ton than their competitors. The depth of the rock covering and dryness of the mines reduced materially the danger of cave-ins and the expen.se of propping, and increased the safety and healthful- ness of working con.htions. One by one through the years Pana's mines closed until a period of years during the 1940's when no coal was mined from the Pana field. In 1925 the Springside mine closed down permanently and the top works dismantled. Four years later Mine No. 2 of the Pana Coal Co. stopped operation. The Penwell Mine stopped work on Mar. 31, 1941, followed bv the Old Mine on June 28, 1948. The Victory Coal Mining Co. leased the Penwell property in 1942, and in 1944 contracted to purchase the property. There- after, Victory assigned its con- tract to the" Oldroyd Coal Co., which operated the mine until fire destroyed the tipple in February of 1945. The coal industry in Pana was revived in October of 1947 when on the third day of that month the contract for the sinking of the r.ew Peabody Mine No. 17 was let to Fitzsimmons-Connell Dredge & Dock Co. of Chicago. The mine approximately one mile south of Pana consists of 2 shafts 300 yards apart, one used for hoisting of coal and the second for trans- porting material and personnel to and from the bottom. By No- vember of 1950 the skip hoist and washer had been completed and coal was being produced at the rate of 5500 tons daily. The daily output of the mine presently is 11,000 tons. The shaft of Peabody No. 17 bringing up coal i:- tipped by a 138 foot head frame for 2 skips, weighing 8 tons apiece. These skips are electrically loaded 40 feet below the coal seam, which is 720 feet underground. At ground level the coal is raised an additional 66 feet before dumping, making a hoist of over 820 feet for each skip. Skips at PeaboJy No. 17 alternate unload- ing at intervals of 38 seconds. To date, 40':{ of the underlying coal is being mined with 60'; left for safety reasons. With the out- put of the mentioned 11,000 tons daily, the mine has an annual pay- roll amounting to more than $3,000,000. More recently the Peabody Co. acquired coal rights to 4600 acres to the south of the present mine. Working in 3 shifts the mine employs 660 men and an additional 35 foremen. The productive life of Mine No. 17 is estimated at 25 years. Pana Widely Noted for Wholesale Floral Industry Supplying flov^'ers to distant markets of the country, the floral industry in Pana is second only to mining as one of the city's leading economic assets. Greenhouses in th3 area of Pana supply markets north to Chicago, south to New Orleans and Houston, Texas, east to Cleveland, and west to Kansas City with 18 to 19 million roses a year. These flowers are grown under approximately 31 acres of glassed-in structures, ranging in groups from one to 32 per oiganiza- lion. At present 6 major whole- sale greenhouses are in operation in Pana. The floral industry in Pana is an offspring of a vegetable growing maiket inaugurated in 1870 by a Mr. Cooper who, operating in a small glass enclosed structure, grew vegetables throughout the year, selling his products on local markets. Seme years later Cooper sold his glass house to Frank Shaffer. Shaffer expanded from vegetable growing to the cultivation of flow- R. O. Henderson bought Shaffer's business in 1908 and grew only flowers, selling at retail. The wholesale production of flowers under glass began in Pana in 1918 when A. N. Nelson erected one large greenhouse. To this house he added 3 half houses in 1919 and ■i half hou.ses in 1920.' In 1921 the Amling brothers, Walter, Herbert and Martin, came to Pana from Maywood, 111., where they had received training in flower growing in greenhouses operated by their father. The Amlings erected 4 large houses and a power plant. Houses were added through the years until there are 28 in all, growing only loses. Business grew in volume and in 1927 the Amlings sold their in- terests to the Maton brothers and went to California. Upon return- ing to Pana in 1928 they erected a new series of 40 greenhouses with a modern heating plant. The concrete smokestack connected with the heating plant is 285 feet high, the tallest structure in Pana. This newest greenhouse was lo- cated west of the city. In 1945 the Amlings sold to a group of men who organized Illinois Roses Ltd. One year following the Amling brothers' first venture into the floral industry, the Matons, Paul, Arthur, and Amol, all former miners, erected 2 greenhouses and grew flowers and vegetables. In 1923 a house was added; 2 were added in 1925; and in 1927 a group of 9 more was constiucted, making a total of 14 houses and a power plant. Spanbauer & Webb erected a range of 5 greenhouses with a steam heating plant for growing roses in 1925-26. The Asa brothers, Clarence, Ed- war-d and John, erected a range of 7 greenhouses in 1923. In 1929 a range of 7 houses was added to the original structure. Thus the foundation for the name "City of Roses'^ given to Pana by the Jordan brother-s, for years editor cf the Palladium. The 6 major floral wholesalers operating in the city of Pana presently are Illinois Roses Ltd., Roses Limited, Amling Flowers, Webb Greenhouses, Pana Rose, and Asa Bros. All houses but Asa Bros., which specializes in potted plants, are producers of roses for the wholesale market. Illinois Roses Ltd., recently in- stalled an air-conditioning system in 3 of its 6 ranges. This move was made to keep Pana on the same competitive basis with Cali- fornia rose growers during the summer months. High summer temperatures in local greenhouses are responsible for smaller budded flowers than those grown in Cali- fornia. Altogether 171 people are em- ployed by the greenhouses of Pana. The Carnegie-Schuyler Library The first Pana Library Board was organized in the Young Men's Christian Association Building, on the corner of Second and Poplar streets on May 20, 1901. John W. Kitchell was nam- ed president. A month prior to that date, Apr. 8, the City Council passed Ordinance No. 58 which established a library and reading room for the city, to be situated in the YMCA. The Mayor had been directed to appoint a board of directors with not more than one member of the City Council to serve on the board at one time. Miss Neile Reese was nameJ first librarian, on Mar. 5, 1902. In August of 1904 Mrs. Nellie C. Russell was named assistant librarian. Mrs. Russell subsequent- ly became librarian and served until Sept. 1, 1925, when she re- tired, having held the position for a period of 17 years. She was succeeded by Miss Jennie Long. After a period of 10 years, a site for the library was donated by Mayor H. N. Schuyler, and the Andrew Carnegie Library Boar-d erected the building. Carnegie gave $14,000 toward the structure. The library was completed late in 1912 at a total cost of $25,000 and in early January of 1913 the library moved from the YMCA in- to the new building. By 1926 the library contained 11,000 volumes with 1,500 cards in circulation. The present total of volumes in the library numbers 6,500 with 1.633 car-ds in circula- tion. Miss Fannie Vidler is now Libr-arian, following Mrs. Stamm who became librarian upon the tirement of Jennie Long. Assist- ant librarian is Miss Grace Mouts. The present Carnegie-Schuyler Library Board consists of Mrs, Carl Preihs, Mrs. Edward Hav rilka, Mrs. C. D. Kemp, Mrs. H R. Suchard, Mrs. Pauline Russell Mrs. Bert Deere, Mrs. J. F. Klos terman, Vernon Anderson and Gailyn Anderson. Kitchell Park One of Pane's Greatest Assets KitcheU Park is a gilt to the citi- zens of Pana mar'.e bv Cap*ain and Mrs. J. W. Kitchell, leaders in tlic city's civic circles at the tu-n of the century, on July 15, 3908. Prior to this time what ti-.e citi- zens of Pana know as Kiichell Park was the Pana Tair Grounds. Beginning in the year 1885 and continuing on for many years an agricultural fair was held m tho city. The first fairs were held on grounds located to thi north an J east of Webb's Greenhouses. Ap- proximately 1886, the fair moved to the Kitchell Park site. The Pana Fair Grounds was known far and wide as a meeting place, containing a half-mile race- track rated as one of the best in the country. Grandstands stood on the west side of the road now nm- ning parallel to and west of the tennis courts. The only remaining hint that some of the country's finest thoroughbreds pawed the turf there is the road running in oval fashion around the present ball diamonds, which was con- structed in part from the track. On this track, Frank James, bro- ther of the famous Jesse, acted as starter for the races in 1906, the last year of the fairs. This was following the death of Jesse and Frank's pardon by Missouri au- thorities. Zora Ledbetter of Rosa- mond, entering a horse in the races that year broke a track record and was presented a winning cup by James, who made the comment •'Now, son, keep this for some day you'll be mighty proud of it." The entrance to the old fair- grounds was located approximately '^ block south of the north border of the park on US Route 51. The north end of the fairgrounds was lined with horse barns. The west side was used as a picnic area, with hitching racks available for vehicles of visitors. In 1907 a group of Pana men— J. W. Kitchell, Warren Penwell, J. K. Reese, and Dr. John Reid— or- ganized a Chautauqua Association. The association held yearly ses- sions in the park usually running for the duration of 9 days, featur- ing programs ranging fro m Shakesperian productions and grand opera to popular music and prominent .speakers of the day. Notables on the Chautauqua platform at one time or another were William Jennings Bryan, Ser- geant York of World War I fame, •Billy" Sunday, Captain Hobson, Opie Reed and Senator Gore. A portion of the music for the occasions was furnished for many years by a still prominent local .\ (■h:iutau(iu;i s< l Ih.- Klk-. « luh tent, >h..w, many faces familiar on the streets of I'ana in yesteryear. The uiiifiirmeil semice man, no (lcinl>t a flyer and in those (lays an extraordinary person, is a Ueiit. I'at O'Brien. Standing from left to right: Dr. Broering, Prentiss Kellers, Bill Sell, Johnny Eichelberger or A. B. Cornian, Sjd James, Dr. Louis Miller, O'Brien, Charles Eichelberger, unidentified, Dr. D. F. Coffey, Otis Slater, John \\. Preihs, unidentified. musician, Wayne Hunter, and his band. With the end of the Chautauquas Kitchell Park was used for celebra- tions held on Independence Day. Annual Homecomings, etc. The park today and at the time of it.' constiuction, contains 40 acres of sodded ground. It was fitted out by the Kitchells with electricity and recreation courts such as for lawn tennis and cro- quet. For the lagoon, Capt. and Mrs. Kitchell donated a flotilla of motor and row boats. In 1910 the bridge spanning the lagoon was donated by H. N. Schuyler. The following year, 1911, Capt. and Mrs. Kitchell in an- other generous gesture, donated the present gateway to the park. Also in this same year the park auditorium was built from dona- tions of the citizenry of Pana. The auditorium was a result of a 6 '2 inch rainfall which fell during the Chautauqua of 1910. It was felt if the Chautauqua were to sur- vive, suitable shelter had to be pro- vided. The auditorium at time of construction was deemed one of the most modern in the country, with a seating capacity of 3500. The stage measured 35x45 feet. In the pa^t 6 months the audi- torium has been completely reno- vated through a project sponsored by the Pana Lions Club. A con- crete floor, new paint, rewiring and the installation of 24 overhead lights rounded out the project. A majority of the labor going into the project was done by club members and local craftsmen who donated their time and efforts. In later years additional facili- ties were added to the park. The Chautauqua Association was in- strumental in erecting the swim- ming pool in 1924. Tennis courts were laid in 1932 and 1947. The first court was the Erisman Me- morial, and the latter a gift of Delta Theta Tan sorority of the city. The most recent Iv completed recreational facility in Kitchell Park is the Delta Theta Tau Picnic Pavilion. Situated in the .southwest corner of the park grounds this impressive structure measures 70x28 ft. and was built at a cost of $3000. The money for the Pavilion was raised by th? sorority through tag sales, dona- tions, etc. Completed in time for th3 Centennial celebration the pavilion is completely furnished with lights, water and tables. The park now contains, besides the recreational facilities men- tioned, 2 ball diamonds, Softball and baseball, and a well equipped children's playground. Until the recent building of the Tri County Faiigrounds in 1948, Labor Day celebrations were held on the Kitchell Paik grounds. The Tri County Fail- of today is an out- growth of the Pana Trailriders Club. The group organized the Tri County Fair Association and in- auguiatid the fairs of several days dm-ation which are held in the early fall, ending on Labor Day. VOTE FOR NED PODESCH DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE For CORONER OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY HONEST # SNDEPENDENT @ • FORTHRIGHT • The Man Who Will Do the Best Job For You! VOTE DEMOCRATIC NOVEMBER 6, 1956 Congratulations . To the People of Pana on a Century of Growth and PregressI SCOTT E STATE'S ATTORiMEY Compliments of MILTON H. (Swede) OLSON ^"^'^^ Democratic Candidate For CIRCUIT CLERK "Your Vote and Support Will Be Greatly Appreciated Tuesday, Nov. 6, 1956." 10 Different Newspapers Have Served This Area Since the tity Puna was onr year old, members of the "fourth es- tate" have been a driving; influ- ence in its organization and s;rowtli. A total of 10 newspapers have been printed for the enlight- enment of the population during this period. The first paper printed in Pana was the Weekly Herald. Publish- ed by M. S. Beckwith, the first edition came off press on Dec. 23, 1857. An independent publication in the beginning, the Weekly Her- ald turned Democrat in 1858 to .-support Stephen A. Douglas. The successor of the Weekly Herald was the Pana Plaindealer, which was issued first on Oct. 7, 1859. Ill the editor's slot was Eli F. Chittenden. This publication continued in Pana until Nov. 1, 1860, when the office was moved to Shelbyville. In January of the same year E. P. Sanders, with material and presses formerly used by the Tay- lorville Journal, published the first issue of the Central Illinois Demo- crat. J. B. Butler served as editor of the Democrat, putting the first copies on the street Jan. 7. On Nov. 9, 1860, G. W. Harper and F. J. Black purchased the paper, be- coming editors and publishers. The new proprietors of the Dem- ocrat, Harper & Black, immediate- ly changed the name of the organ to the Pana Weekly Enterprise. One issue ui this paper was pub- lished under this name and on Nov. 24, 1860, the office and equipment were sold to O. F. Morrison and M. M. DeLevis, who again changed the name. Thus came into existence the Pana Public, an independent sheet, with DeLevis in the editorial chaii-. The Public was an attractive, well printed, and well edited news- paper and flourished until June 1, 1862, when the owners move i the publication to Clinton. The Pana Gazette then came to the village of Pana. Richard Couch and R. M. Carr purchased new material and issued the first paper July 27, 1865. On Apr. 17, 1866, Carr purchased the entire interest in the publication. On Dec. 11, 1868, he sold half inter- est to R. W. Coon, the latter re- tiring in February, 1871. Carr then continued alone with the pa- per until 1889 when J. C. Essick, an able lawyer with journalistic aspirations, purchased the outfit and greatly improved the plant. A year or 2 served E^sick's de- .sire for newspaper experience and he sold to Kelligar & Son, who in turn were succeeded by Burch & Merry. In a few weeks Merry re- tired. Burch sold out to E. Gorell several years later. Gorell kept the paper a short time and sold to W. S. Childress. In 1895 Mrs. Lizzie Weaver became the owner ( h.inlai iho is shown posed here ; f.-ii)iir.-d till- limi.ius 0|.i.- i;.;i(l H nsiM-oplc of the tinu'. Left to right: (front row) unidentified, Mrs. Julius Broehl, Kead, unidentified, Dr. K. C. Daiiford; Back row: Jessie Voght, Mrs. Amy >Ieteer Met^ilf, >lrs. CW-llIii Reese Mohler, H. C. MohJer, Julius Br«<'hl, Dr. John Keid, Ida >IulI, Florence Robb. Mrs. Bertha Aughinbaugh Ha>-\vood, Mrs. Will Seller. by purchase but wlien she did not meet the success anticipated, dis- posed of the paper to C. N. Walls, who moved it to Assumption. The Central Orient appeared in Pana with the first issue on June 20, 1866, with J. F. Hamer as pub- lisher and C. S. Hilburn as editoi-. This publication gave its support to Democratic policies and candi- dates. After a short and quiet career, marked with lack of sup- port, the paper was discontinued in May of 1868. There had been no Demociatic newspaper in Pana until the birth of the Palladium in the latter part of 1869, with S. B. Rich as the di- recting hand. On April 23, 1870, the Palladium was transferred in- to the care of Messrs. P. A. and J. J. Farley, the former retiring after several years. J. J. P^arley turned the paper over to A. W. Chabin on Mar. 15, 1877, who sold a half interest 3 months later to Jacob Swallow. Three months later Chabin became sole owner and continued until Mar. 10, 1879, when the office reverted to the Farley brothers, who, in turn, sold to Mr. Swallow. In 1906 Swallow sold the publi- cation to the Jordan brothers, v/ho edited the paper. In the late 30's the Jordans re- linquished control of the Daily Palladiimi to a new corporation composed of Spi ingfield men, who re-equipped the shop, splashed briefly in the business community, and failed. Much of the new equip- ment was repossessed by suppliers, the Daily Palladium became the Weekly Palladium, and James "Tex" Travelstead picked up the goodwill, subscription list and re- maining assets of the once proud and distinguished Daily Palladium. Travelstead and his son, Lee Cavltt Travelstead, later to give heroic sei-vice in World War II, edited the Weekly Palladium, farming out the printing job to Pana News Inc., publisher of the steadily growing Pana News. In 1941 Pana News Inc. pur- chased and moved to the building at 129 East Second street occu- pied for scores of years by the Palladium. The corporation has -s-ince purchased and partially oc- cupies the adjacent building at 127 East Second, as well as ac- quiring the small cafe building and lots l.ving between Poplar and Commercial Alley, and between the Downs Garage and the rear of the newspaper building. The Weekly Argus was fii-st published by A. W. Chabin, Mar. 15, 1879, 5 niuiibers at Shelby- ville, and then brought to Pana. •IG Chabin sold half interest to Col. J. A. Haj^vard. who purchased ma- terial and presses. Ha\'ward be- came sole owner on June 1, 1880, and continued to publish as a Dem- ocrat organ. The plant was then moved to another city. Soon after Mrs. Weaver had acquired the Gazette, Childress, through the assistance of Col. Hay- ward, bought new presses and type and issued a paper, both daily and weekly, known as the Beacon Light. He later sold the paper to E. O. Gilmer, who con- tinued its publication with vary- ing success. Arthur Paine & Co. eventually purL based and changed its name to the Pana News. It was a Republican supporter, pro- moter of public spirited and bene- ficial movements, but finally ceas- ed existence. About 1930 a Presbyterian min- ister named Hartwich set up a little printing shop in what is now the Fribley building at 107 East Third, and indulged his hobby- printing. In time the business was pur- chased by Mr. and Mrs. Wm. J. Hellman, who had formerly pub- lished a nevv'spaper at Strasburg. They went into the religious pub- lication field, under the title Luth- eran Co-Operative Press, once publishing more than 50 monthly 8 to 24 page magazines; and sup- plying local commercial printing needs as well. In October, 1932, the Hellmans launched a free circulation shop- per, "The Weekly News," in Pana. In July, 1933, Pana News Incor- poi-ated was organized by A. E. Vandever and Don B. Pauschert of Nokomis, O. P. Miller of Bartles- ville, Okla.. and Mr. Hellman, Pauschert coming to Pana to be- come editor and business manager of the newspaper. The free circulation Weekly News expanded in size and scope, went on a paid basis, and in a couple years progiessed to twice- weekly publication. The status quo obtained through- out World War II in which Lee Travelstead of the Weekly Palla- dium, and G. W. Michelman and Don B. Pauschert (2 of the then '^ stockholders in Pana News Inc.). besides 7 fellow-workers in the News organization, were engaged. During the war years the busi- ness was managed by C. E. Schu- macher. After the war Travelstead went to law school and is now practic- ing h-. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. His father died in November, 1948, and immediately Pana News Inc. acquired the Weekly Palladium assets and consolidated the paper.s into PANA NEWS-PALLADIUM, wliich continues alone and grow- ing in the service of the commun- ity. Pana News Inc. also owns and cpeiates The Herrick Bulletin and the Tower Hill Times, in neighbor- ing Shelby county villages. The corporate stock is now held entirely by Michelman and Pausch- ert. The News-Palladium circulation runs between 4100 and 4200. Small Airport Serves Area's Needs Keeping up with the air age, the city of Pana has an airport, lo- cated approximately 2 miles east of the city in the vicinity of the old basin of the reservoir. Primarily for small planes, this strip is capable, if need be, of ac- commodating medium-sized air- craft. The first of Pana's airports was located south of the city approxi- mately 3 miles. From material now available not too much flying took place there but the location was quite a social center in its day. On or about the premises is said to have been a night spot called "The Wings." This airport, however, did play an important role at one point in the city's economic development. At the time of the banking crisis in Pana, during the early '30's, a sum of $250,000 was sent from Chicago via airplane to the Pana airport for the Pana National Bank just m case of a run after the closing of the Schuyler bank- ing house. In this instance, Bank President C. B. Parrish called Chi- cago on a Friday morning, the plane left that city at 11:30 a.m. and arrived in Pana at 1:55 p.m. Elevation at the present air- port is 665 feet above sea level. Traffic at the airport is some- what slower now, with a few local private planes and frequent busi- ness and transient ships using its facilities. Earl Hallett, formerly of Pana, now living in East Alton, wa.s msti-umental in construcimg Pana's present airport. Plans were made for the pres- ent Pana airport in September of 1945. Flight strips and taxi-ways were laid out early in 1946. The first airplane, one of 3 ordered from the Piper Aircraft Corp., was received in April of the same year. It was flown from Lockhaven, Pa., to the Pana airport. This was the first Cub trainer. The second liainer was received in August of 1946 and a Piper Cruiser in Decem- ber. The 2 landing strips of the air- port were 2100 ft. and 2300 ft. long, respectively, and 300 ft. wide. These were seeded to grass early in 1946. First owners of planes purchased at the Pana airport were Ray Os- boin (first purchaser of a plane from the local airport), Raymond GroU, Raymond Foor, and Dan Murray. During the busiest year, 18 planes were based at the Pana airport, at which time there were approximately 50 flight students in training. The airport buildings were con- structed during 1946 and 1947, and were necessary to meet the requirements of a commercial air- port. Some of the instructors employ- ed at the field at various times were Jack Staff, Bill Smiley, Joe Wiley and "Hank" Johnston. Mechanics included Omar Richard- son and Bob McAfee. Homer San- ders was employed in the airport office for a time. Former YMCA Building Put to Many Uses The Pana Young Men's Christian Association building, still standing in part, at the corner of Second and Poplar- streets, whose upper story is said to have been torn off by a tornado many years ago, is believed to have been built in the late 1890's (no record available). Then one of the more imposing structures in the city, it was the confer of activity of the younger generation. In 1913 a swimming pool was added in the building. Due to crowded conditions in the schools of Pana, the YMCA was conveited and used for a period as a high school. It was used for this purpose until 1909, when the Pana High school was built. This building also housed the first "reading roo)n" or library of Pana. Presently occupying the location are business houses in- cluding Alex Rochkes' Barber Shop, Roberts' Sport Store, and the Hi-Ho (Tuetken's) Tavern. The upper floor of the building contains the commodious Moose Club rooms. Pana Is Proud of Its Huber Memorial Hospital Pana's fiist refuge for the sirk became a reality in the year 1908 when the Deaconess Hospital, lo- cated on Orange street, across from ihe present Field School site, made its facilities available to the citizens of the community. The hospital was established by the churches of Pana and social club.'. Several organizations each contributed the equivalent of one loem foi the hospital. Maintenance fov the hospital, a branch of the American Congregational Deacon- ess Association, came from individ- ual contributions of citizens. Kath- erine Dockery served as superin- tendent of the institution. Huber Memorial Hospital, pres- ently serving the citizens of this commimity, was the dream of Doctor Jacob Huber, a physician who practiced in the city of Pana for a period of 50 years, also dur- ing that time serving as a sui-- geon in the Civil War. Upon his death his will provided that $20,000 of his estate should be used for the construction of a modern hospital for the city of Pana. Mrs. Amanda Huber, his wife, consulted with the Rev. Fr. John P. Moroney, pastor of St. Patrick's parish on the possibili- ties of acquiring a healing institu- tion for the city. Mrs. Huber sug- gested that Fr. Moroney shoulJ induce some Catholic order of nuns to come to Pana to take charge of the proposed work of the hospital. Fr. Moroney then made a jour- ney about the country consulting the different orders of the Catho- lic faith but found shortages of personnel in most quarters. He fin- ally succeeded in inducing the Sisters of Misericorde, whose head- quarters are in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to build and operate the hospital. By this time the building site of the hospital at the extreme end of South Locust street had been pur- chased. Groimd was broken for the institution May 12, 1913. The first spade of earth making way for the construction of Huber Memorial was turned by Mrs. Huber, assisted by Fr. Moroney. Will F. Jordan elaborates in his 1926 history of the hospital: "There was a great parade in which every minister, every physician, every other professional man, every city official and hundreds of civilians took part. It was headed by the Pana Band, which gave a concert on the building site. Everyone joined heartily in the festivities. There were 34 cars in the celebra- tion." The task of construction of the hospital was awarded to Joseph Horse-drawn ambiilunc*' show ii In front of lluhi-r !>!cniorial Hospital an undeterniineil number of years ago (the hospital opi'ni'd in 1914), and with unidentified attendants, belonged to the former Kirkpatrick Funeral Ser\ice (now McC'racken's) which dates back to 1864. — Photo from Mo- Cracken files. McCarthy, Pana contractor, and work began immediately after the ground-breaking. The building was completed and ready for occu- pancy on May 10, 1914. It was dedicated exactly one year from the date of the ground-breaking ceremonies on May 12, 1914. More than 2,000 people took pait in the dedication ceremonies which were held on the hospital lawn. Among speakers for the day were Capt. and Mrs. J. W. Kitchell, ex-Mayor Warren Pen- well, Dr. L. C. Taylor of Spring- field, Dr. William Scott of Chicago .^nd the Rev. Fr. J. P. Moroney. The first patient, according to !ecords, to enter the Huber Mem- orial Hospital was Ruth Brink Dorman, with the late Dr. Eber- spacher as her physician. This was on the 10th day of June, 1914. On Sept. 2, 1914, doctors and in- terested persons met and formed a staff for the new hospital, the following being selected to hold office: Dr. John Miller, president; Dr. R. C. Danford, vice-president; Dr. Fred J. Eberspacher. treasur- er. Prior to Apr. 30, 1914, the Sis- ters of the hospital had been housed in the McCarthy home in Pana and later in a cottage on Poplar and Ninth streets, but on this date occupied rooms on the first floor of the hospital. In early histories of the hospital Mrs. F. Crooker is listed as being the first to use the hospital's elec- tric elevator. The hospital's school of nurses was registered in the Secretary of State's office in Springfield on Nov. 26. 1919. In the 1920'.'!, the hospital had outgrown itself and $25,000 was raised for additional facilities. Movement for the erection of Villa St. John Nurses' Home be- gan the same year at a meeting of the Knights of Colombus on Mar. 26, when Fr. Moroney ex- plained the need for a nurses' home and urged all who were able to contribute. The most generous contribution for this cause was made by Mrs. J. \V. Kitchell with the donation of 38 lots in the Kitchell Park addi- tion as a site for the nurses' home. The value of the Kitchell lots was stated at $6000. By April oi 1920 a report was made that there was in the fund for the home a total of $14,000. But, it was not until 2 years later, Apr. 22, 1922, that bids were open- ed, with Joseph McCarthy, builder of the hospital, receiving the con- tract. A month later in observ- ance of National Hospital Day, May 22, the laying of the corner- stone of the Villa St. John took place. This ceremony, as the hos- pital's, was preceded by a parade with the local population turning out in "hundreds" for the affair. GREETINGS . . . FROM DECATUR LOCAL 279 INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA PANA LOCAL 73, CHARTERED IN 1903, AMALGAMATED IN 1945 WITH LOCAL 279 "We are Proud to Have Had a Part in Pane's Growth and Progress!'' Compliments of CITY OF PANA OFFICIALS JOHN M. JONES . CHARLES L. JOLEY ROBERT L. HOLDING Mayor . Clerk Treasurer JOE DeMEYER . Police Magistrate BILL J. SLATER . . City Judge PAULINE SILKNITTER . Court Clerk ALDERMEN Joe Chladny Victor Dunn Max Finefrock Wilbert Hall Roy Henderson John Lesko Paul Schmitz Harold Snooks Henry Wolf Cyrus Zahradka COMPLIMENTS and CONGRATULATIONS! CARL H. PREIHS ATTORNEY-AT-LAW ~ PANA State Representative 5 Terms Democratic Nominee for State Senate 40 Placed in the cornerstone of the villa were the names of all who contributed to the fund. The home was completed and opened on May 12, 1923, only one year after lay- ing the cornerstone. The building of the villa was the last addition to the Huber Me- morial hospital until ground was broken in December of 1953 for the erection of a new 42-bed annex, completed and opened on Oct. 2, 1955. Plans for the new annex grew out of a meeting held Jan. 30, 1952, at Villa St. John, attended by Sis- ters, physicians, surgeons, and rep- resentatives of the community at large. At this gathering the S-s- ters of Misericorde proposed to build and equip an annex at the estimated cost of $275,000 with the stipulation that the people of the Pana community would pay '» of this smn. This estimate later grew to $300,000. A committee of 12 doc- tois, with Dr. R. B. Siegert as chairman, was selected to assist the project. Mayor John M. Jones was elected general chairman. In argument for the new annex it was stated that in the past years the hospital had been constantly overloaded and in a time of emer- gency or disaster its facilities would be severely lacking. The new annex would not only add an- other 42 beds to the hospital but would make the entire second floor of the nurses' home available for an additional 22 beds for the aged and chronically ill. The drive for funds was started by the "Pana Hospital Building Committee " Members of this committee, their names now in- scribed on a bronze plaque mount- ed in the vestibule, were O. J. Aus- tin, John M. Jones, Geo. J. La- Charite, Don B. Pauschert, Geo. V. Penwell, A. C. Robertson and Dr. R. B. Siegert. First bids for the construction of the annex were received and re- turned, the amount being some- what more than expected. Archi- tects Hadley & Worthington of Springfield revised the plans and specifications, shortening the pro- posed annex by 15 feet, changing construction from steel to rein- forced concrete, and altering plans for elevator and floor construction. New bids were received on the revised specifications in November of 1953. In the meantime, juris- dictional appiovals were secured by the Pana hospital administra- tion, and a long term loan in the sum of $250,000 arranged with the Northwestern Mutual Life of Mil- waukee, the company which simi- larly imderwrote a part of the cost of the original hospital building 42 years ago. Final bids for the proposed an- nex were received and awarded to the W. H. Franklin Co., Spring- field, general contract, $220,900; Industrial Electric Shop, Decatur, electrical, $32,142; heating and plumbing, Pana Plumbing Supply. $130,845 The 3 contracts totaled $383,887 with a 350-day completion clause. The new structure was to be 44x125 feet, basement and 3 floors to join the old hospital with Villa St. John. The basement of the annex houses the kitchen and dining rooms; 1st floor, patient roim.^:; 2nd is devoted to chronics and pediatrics (childien's diseases, etc.); and the 3rd is a completely modern maternity department, also containing rooms for s;irgery patients. After 21 months of work the annex was officially opened Sun- day, Oct. 2, 1955, approximately 1500 people visiting during the afternoon and evening. It v.'as blessed the same day following Mass at 10:30 a.m. " by Bishop O'Connor of Springfield. The annex has raised the bed capacity of Huber Memorial from 40 to 94, many patient rooms being large enough to accommodate 2 beds when necessary. A beautiful addition to the tree- covered lawn of Huber Memorial hospital is the shrine of the Imm.aculate Conception, located on the southeast corner of the grounds. This shrine was initiated through the efforts of Sister Bonaventurc, and completed on Apr. 26, 1938, by friends on the hospital staff !n celebration of the Sister's silver anniversary. The shrine Ls patterned in a grotto fashion. A portion of the rocks used, amounting to one ton. were transported from the Ozarks by the father of a nurse then on the hospital staff. 3 Major Cemeteries Serve Pana Area Three cemeteries are located on the outskirts of Pana. To the west one mile is the first burial plot of the city. Mound (or West) Ceme- tery, although its present location is not the original one. Prior to tlie coming of the New York Central Railroad, then the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis, remains were placed in the approximate location of the tracks to the north of the prese.it cemetery. With the construction of the railroad approximately 12 bodies were exhumed and reburied in a lot located in the present Mound Cemetery. Mound Ceme- tery was plotted in 1857 by the owner, John Coon of Chicago, a minister. A descendant of Mr. Co('n, said to be his grandson, is presentl.v sciving as a minister in Decatur. First interment in Mound Cemetery is said to have been Joseph Madkins. Mound Cem- etery consists of 15 acres. Adjacent to Mound Cemetery on the west is Calvary Cemetery, bur- ial place of Pana's Catholic dead. This plot covers 5 acres. The cemetery was first known as St. Patrick's Cemetery but in later years (exact date not known) changed to Calvary. The ceme- tery is owned and supervised by St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church. Ellen Burke, wife of James DeLane, who died Oct. 15, 1865, was the first interred there. During these early days Si. Patrick's was used by Catholic residents of both Nokomis and Shelbyville. In the pioneer days of Pana the burial route from the city took the procession west on Seventh street to the road bordering the west side of Calvary whence it turned to right and proceded to an entrance to Mound Cemetery run- ning east along the southern bor- der of the Calvary Cemetery. The bunal route has changed, but the strip of land u.sed as a road into Mound is still owned l;y the cemetery association. 'i'oUow- ing the paving of the highway west of the city, funeral directors used the new pavement to reach the burial grounds. All was not well along this route at times, as trains, belching smoke and cinders, frightened the horses of the procession, some- times throwing matters into a state of confusion. The age of the gasoline engine eliminated this disadvantage. The third cemetery of Pana, Linwood, lies one mile to the east of Pana and was organized in 1867. The plot covers 20 acres. Standing in the cemetery are the impressive mausoleum of the Pen- well family and the Civil War Veterans bronze and granite monu- ment erected through popular sub- scription and supplemented by donations of J. W. Kitchell and W. E. Ha>'ward. Among pioneei- cemeteries in this vicinity is the plot of the Combest family, located 4 miles south of Pana along the right-of- way of the Illinois Central Rail- road. It is said I hat many of the builders of this road aie buried in this family cemetery. In the little plot, until very re- cent Iv caied for bv members of 50 the railroad's maintenance crew, are a total of 6 marked graves and 5 unmarked. Readable stones contain the names of Nancy Combest, who died Oct. 20, 1851, at the age of 39 years, 6 months, and 16 days, James Combest, who died Feb. 15, 1866, age 62 years, one month, 9 days and Mathias Combest, age unknown, who died Nov. 26, 1866. Mrs. Tom Woods, now living 4 miles southwest of Pana, is a des- cendant of the Combest family. The Combest family farmed east of the Illinois Central tracks. The reason, supposedly, for burying members of the con- struction gang in the family plot is that at the time of construction this vicinity was swampy and wet, diseasD was prevalent and many workers died. The Combest plot was probably the only marked burial spot for miles. Also located approximately 4 miles southeast of Pana behind the Joe Denton farm is the Connor cemetery, a neighborhood plot, situated on ground formerly own- ed by William Pryce, pioneer, Justice of the Peace, first tax collector, etc., in this area. It is primarily a family plot but was reputedly used by neighbors. It derived its name from the fact that after an epidemic of cholera, the first to be buried in this plot were members of the Connor family. There are more than 100 graves in the cemetery. It is not possible to reach the plot by road. Hany from Pana Have Gone to the Wars The Civil War The first of these, the Civil War, known better as the "war among the States," began in 1861 and lasted 4 years. Three million troops were engaged in this war. Of this total, 600,000 were mem- bers of the Confederate army, the remainder being Union troops. Chiislian county was represent- ed in the following Army com- panies: 14th Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, Company H; 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company D; 41st Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Companies G and I; 59th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Companies F, H and K; 62nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Companies G (one sold- ier) and H; 634th Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, Companies C and D; 115th Illinois Volunteer In- fantry (Which was part of the Iron Brigade) Companies A and E; 124th Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, Companies C (one soldier) and k; 130th Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, Companies A and D; 3rd Illinois Cavalry, Company M; 5th Illinois Cavalry, Companies A, B, and M; 6th Illinois Cavalry, un- assigned recruits; 7th Illinois Cavalry, Company H; 8th Illinois Cavalry, Company M; 10th Illinois Cavalry, Companies A, G, L, and M; 11th Illinois Cavalry, Company E; 14th Illinois Cavalry, Company E; 1st Illinois Artillery, Battery D; 2nd Illinois Artillery, Batteries B, C, F. K, and M. Aniong Pana citizens serving at that time were Dr. Jacob Huber, J. C. McQuigg, Napoleon B. Chal- fant, Gabriel C. Butts, Samuel F. Winters, Charles Walter Sibley, Cyrus Rayhill, Capt. John W. kitchell, August Trumper, T. W. Marling, Newton Porter, Daniel Lytle, G. M. Ludworth, Wm. M. Baldwin, Wm. M. Warren, David E. Thomas, P. G. Galvin, and A. P. Stover. The Spanish-American War The Spanish-American war be- gan Apr. 21, 1898, and continued to Aug. 12 of the same year when hostilities were stopped. Taken liom the "Roll ot Honored De- ceased Ex-Service Men and Wo- men in Illinois" are 3 names of veterans novvf interred in Pana cemeteries. In Linwood cemetery lie Chas. C. Brov.'n and a Mr. Johnson, who served with the U. S. Signal Service. Buried in Mound cemetery is Pvt. Calvin A. Neff, a member of the 13th Coast ArUllery, who died in June of 1926. Sam Wilhelm, presently living on West Sixth street, is a Naval veteran of this campaign, having traveled via convoy with the first torpedo fleet to make a trans- Atlantic crossing. Others who served were A. S. Fogler, Cass Canaan, Roy Smith, Robt. Hattcn, Owen Crosby and Walt Robei-ts. World War I World War I broke out Apr. 17, 1917, and the last shots were fired Nov. 11, 1918. To this conflict, probably the first war in the world based on the scientific extermina- tion of man with the use of the tank and dreaded gases, the city cf Pana contributed 426 young men, 10 of this total dying in the service of their country. "In honoi' of those who gave much and in memory of those who gave all m the Gr.-at World War conflict," reads the inscription on the monument erected in Kitchell Park for the men who served dur- ing World War I. Those killed were: Forrest Goffinet, Homer Mize (first Pana overseas fatal- ity), Herman Bruns, Michael Serockey, John McDonald, Bern- ard T. Beyers, Arthur O. Turner. Joseph Kowlowsky, John Merl Kerr (first Pana man killed State- side), and Edward Virden. World War II With the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, by the Japanese, the country was again involved in war. No actual rec- ord of personnel serving during this time is available; however, a count taken from a publication sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 168 following WW II, containing pictures and data on men and women of the area who served, totals 529. Of this number, 487 were men, 19 women, and 19 were "gold star" boys. The Korean Incident Again in 1951 the Korean "policing action" sent Pana boys to war, some returning home, others less fortunate now interred in foreign soil. Pana Has Active Chamber of Commerce The present Pana Chamber of Commerce was organized Oct. 7, 1943, with a charter membership of 15. Incorporators wei-e Nora Molz, Bruce Penwell and J. A. Clark. Mr. Clark was the first presi- dent of the Chamber of Commerce and Nora Molz served as secre- tary. Directors were: J. A. Clark, Bruce Penwell, O. H. Brown, Rex H. Seller, Ewald Siegert, Nick Tongate. The purpose of the; organization is promoting civic welfare. At present 112 members make up the organization's roster. Present officers are: James .Stumpf, president; Reynold Aide, vice-president; Clara E. Franken- feld, secretary. Wilbur Kuhn, Leonard South- well, John Ruhl, Frank Duchaney, Russell Carroll, Gerald Sermer- sheim and Bert W. Deere serve on the board. The Chambei- of Commerce was preceded in earlier years by no- body-remembers-how-many unin- corporated business and profes- sional people's associations. The last to sprout, bloom, fade and die before the Chamber entered the scene was the Pana Boosters Club. Pana Has Fast, Efficient Volunteer Fire Department Ihe exact date of organizing Ihe Pana Fire Depaitment cannot be (ieterniined. However, from scan- ning newspapers printed :"n the late 1860's in this vicinity, it is found that the press was clanioi- ing at that early date for some means of oiganized fire figiitin.vas more convenient at the time. Pana at first had 2 hose cart.<; carrying 750 foet of hose. On these carts also were chemical tanks which worked on the same principal as many fire extinguishers still in use. The chemical tank contained 4 barrels of soda water in which was sus- pended a container of sulphuric acid. Upon overturning, the .ac-.'l and water mixed to form the pres- .sure necessary to play the mix- ture on a blaze. During hose cart days, races featuring fire departments from various cities were the rage. Ac- cording to old timers in this vi- cinity, the Pana Department was Itnown far and wide for its speed. I It still is.) George Searles, semi-retired plumber, has the record for hold- ing the position of Fire Chief long- est — 35 years. He became a mem- ber of the department at the age of 19 and was appointed Chief at the age of 21 under Mayor A. B. Gorman. Searles is now 78 and still an active member of the force. Reminiscing, Searles mentioned the occasion of the department's trip to march in a parade at the World's Fair in St. Louis. Dressed in their full regalia, the local fire ■laddies" made the march and pro- ceeded to the railroad station to await transportation home. Throughout the day, says Searles, people had been mistaking mem- bers of the department for police- men. But the height of this mis- taken identity came when a wom- an with a small child walked up and presented Bill Mai.sch, who was standing at ease in the sta- tion, with a child, saying some- thing to the effect that the child wai, lost and \\ould Maisch take .^are of the matter. After fmding horsepower more efficient than manpower for draw- ing the hose carts, the City pur- chased 2 animals for that task. When not engaged in their primary job, the horses were used in main- tenance of the business district .streets. The horses were housed in a small brick stable behind the fire (ieorge Searle.s, retired I'anii plumber, who holds the I'ana record for serving in the position of Fire Chief the longest, 35 years (he was made chief at the age of 21 under Mayor A. B. Corman), Is shown in full dress. house. Harness of a slip-on type was situated so that the horses could be moved into place under- neath and the harness dropped on and fastened in a minimum time. In the old days, the first 2 mem- bers arriving at the fire station and driving the carts received $1 extra. This practice still holds true today as to driving the trucks. Many remember the old City Hall. The Fire Department quai- ters were located upstairs and had the much publicized sliding pole. In describing one of the major blazes in this city, it was said that at one time 5 buildings in the up- town business section burned. That was about 40 yeais ago. The structures were on the ea.st side of Locust stieet beginning with what is now Art's Clothes Shop, working north and east. They were Habecost Bakery (now Sin- nard's), Alexander's Butcher Shop I now Schloz Market), Werner Grocery, a restaurant, and the Reher Jewelry store (Smith & Magill law office I. In 1917. the city purchased a Seagrave pumper for $5,680. In 1927 a Studebaker ladder t-.uck was purchased. The vehicle car- ried 400 feet of hose, 2 Scott air watt floodlight, one combination resuscitator - inhalator - respirator anti one pump mounted on the front of the liuck capable of pumping 350 gallons of water per minute. Both these trucks have b3en retired. At present the company's equip- ment consists of a 1953 Seagrave combination pimiper 2-ladder truck capable of pumping 900 gallons per minute and a 1941 Seagrave capable of pumping 500 gallons per minute. The present fire siren, sitting alop the firehouse, adjacent to City Hall, is powered by a 71/2 horsepower motor and ban a range of 3 to 4 miles. In case of emergencies the de- partment is also equipped with a resuscitator, o.xygen tanks, "Mae West" life preservers ( used by membeis seeking bodies after drownings I and grappling hooks. At one I'nie Dan Murray of the department used a home-made diving set in lh2 search foi- pjr- sons who had drowned. Thi;: practice has been done away with and now only grappling hooks aie used. Turning in the alarm of a fire in the city is quite simple with the Gamewell system used by the fire department. The system consists of a central firehouse indicator, 22 alarm boxes besides alarm bells in firemen's houses and a siren atop the City Hall. When an alarm is sounded a cir- cuit in the firehouse in the City Hall is broken, stopping the clock. At the same time, the number of the box from which the alarm is called is punched on a paper tape. Bells in each fireman's house are tripped and ring. There are 11 miles of one-strand wire in the box system. Since many residents have tele- phones, most of the fire reports are called into the telephone of- fice, where the alarms are set off. Present members of the Pana Fire department are: Arthur Ull- rick, fire chief; Ralph Cothern, assistant chief; Ben Oakley, cap- lain; William Shafer, engine direc- tor; Dave Rowley, assistant engine director; Dan Murray, secretary; L. M. Doyle, treasurer; Leonard Klein. William Metzger, Cecil Spaunagel, directors; George Searles, Charles Flesch, Harry Vaughn. Lyle Koontz, members. The department is composed of 15 volunteer members on call around the clock, whether it be to remove a pet cat from a roof top or stop a roaring inferno. CIPSCO Provides Excellent Utilify Services From the days of the coal oil lamps, oil for which was furnished by Ace Cheney, who made his rounds about the city filling oil cans, Pana has become completely modernized electrically through the Central Illinois Public Service Company. The first office of the CIPS, which took over the task of furnishing electric light and power for the city in 1912. and later, in 1917, the control of gas, was lo- cated on the site of the present sub-station on Oak street. At that time 3 workers took care of maintenance. Today the total of maintenance personnel stands at 21, with additional help added during the summer. Robert Rollo, division superin- tendent and general manager of the local plant, who last month completed 44 years of service with the company, remembers that when the CIPS took over. 90% of the city stood without electricity. Rollo says the old plant did not generate during the day, only at night. This seems strange, he said, except when you think back and remember there were no electrical appliances to use electri- city in those days. Street lights in the "good old days" were placed at approxi- mately 5-block intervals. The eastern portion of the city, then the more elite, was the first to receiva electricity. In comparison, during the early stages of electricity in Pana the task of reading meters took ap- proximately 2 days. This task has grown to cover a period of 30 days presently. The present CIPS building on Locust street was built in 1930. Power for Pana is furnished from stations at Meredosia, Hut- conville. Grand Tower and Joppa. Prior to the CIPS, Pana's first electric power and gas were fur- nished as follows: The Pana Modern Electric Light, Power & Street Railway Company was incoi-porated in 1885. The total cost of the plant at that time was $50,000. In 1896, a new company was or- ,T:anized under the title Consumers Electric Light Company. This company constructed a small al- ternating current plant which was located in the old Pana Coal Co. mine. After 2 years of operation, Sam Johns, owner of the original plant acquired the property of the Con- sumers plant and consolidated them. The following year the electric utility in Pana was sold to the Standard Boiler Company of Chi- cago, but failure to carry out the terms of the sale caused the property to revert to Johns in 1901, at which time Robert Johns became local manager. About 1904, the National Light, Heat & Power Company acquired the Pana property and operated it under the name of the Pana Gas & Electric Company although gas service had not yet been estab- lished. The CIPS purchased the Pana Gas and Electric Company prop- erty in 1912 and continued to operate the Pana generating plant until 1916, at which time a trans- mission line was built to other power sources and operation of the local plant was discontinued. Gas was supplied by the Peoples Gas Company of Pana, which was organized in 1911 and incorporated May 22. 1912. The organizers, a group of local citizens, were: T. J. Vidler, president and manager; T. A. Cutler, Dr. F. J. Eberspacher, and G. A. V.'ittmann, members of the board. The plant was located on the B&O railway tracks between Allen and Hickory, Washington and Front streets. The equipment consisted of Tinney Water Ga:; machines installed by Mr. Tinney himself. The system was put in operation in July, 1912, and served approximately 150 customers. This system continued to prosper and expand until 1917, being ac- quired by the CIPS in July of that year. In July 1932, natural gas was introduced to the citiz3nry of Pana. In 1929 the original plant be- came inadequate to supply the in- creasing demand and a trans- mission main was laid to Taylor- ville, the supply thereafter coming from the Taylorville plant. Postal Increase Index of City's Growth A far cry today from the first crudely erected post office in this vicinity on Stone Coal Creek is the government mail house now serv- ing the city of Pana. Pana's post office on the corner of Fourth and Locust streets was erected during the years 1910-12 at a cost of $100,000. It was se- cured through the efforts of Con- gressman Ben Caldwell and ex- Congressman James M. Graham along with a group of interested citizens. The present building was oc- cupied on Sept. 14, 1912. W. H. Alexander was postmaster. Milan S. Beckwith, one of the '■fathers" of the city of Pana, was the first postmaster in this area. His post office was set up on Coal Creek to the south of Pana, in 1854. With the coming of the railroads Beckwith moved to Pana where he engaged in business to become not only first postmaster of the city but one of the first mer- chants. In later years, prior to occupy- ing the new building, the post of- fice was located a few doors west of the corner of Second and Locust streets on the north side. In a Centennial address cele- brating Independence Day in 1876, J. E. Southwick stated, "The post office business is truly astonishing. The number of letters forwarded annually from the office is over 160,000." According to present Postmaster Charles "Chick" Turvey in his an- nual report, the local post office. during 1955, handled 1,170,000 pieces of outgoing mail. Mail for the citizens within the city of Pana is delivered on 4 regular routes and one auxiliary which was added in recent yearj due to the building of new addi- tions to the city. According to post office officials a 100% mail coverage of the city of Pana means a distance of 95 to 98 miles walked by carriers. A parcel post route is trucked through the city. Rural Free Delivery service to families of Pana's outlying areas is made up of 4 routes totaling 186 miles. Mail is delivered to 2353 patrons comprising 669 families. Rural mail from the Pana post office is delivered approximately 8 miles to the north, 7 miles to the south, 3 miles east, and west to the end of the Bear Creek Road. A spscial service furnished patrons of Pana's rural routes is the handling, by carriers, of stamps and money orders, eliminating unnecessary trips to the city. Special delivery service through- out the city guarantees that any package arriving at the post of- fice between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. will be delivered to the addressee within a period of 1 K hours. The staff of the Pana Post Of- fice consists of 23 men. Also offered by the postal ser- vice is the Postal Savings system. At present the local post office has 885 depositors whose Postal Sav- ings total a million and one-quar- ter dollars. Many Names on Roster of "Famous Sons" Jitnus Vincent Shccan Perhaps, the most famous native son of Pana is James Vincent Sheean, noted journalist and au- thor. Sheean was born in Pana. the son of William and Susan iMacDermotti Sheean on Dec. 5. 1899. He attended the University of Chicago when he was 17 and was described as follows: "He was 'Jimmy' Sheean in those days, red haired, freckled, and rumor says 'the darling- of the campus.' His first newspaper ex- perience was on the college daily Maroon." After 3'o years of college Shee- an's mother died and Vincent had neither the funds nor the will to continue his education. He then took a job on the Chicago Daily News and was fired 2 or 3 weeks later. From the editor's office Sheean went directly to the rail- road station and departed for New York with "no baggage and not much moie money." For a time he worked on the New York Daily News. In New York he "learned the formulas of the trade .... sat at the feet of various radicals .... in Greenwich village .... got drunk in small bars and labored to become sophisticated." In the spring of 1922 he went to Paris and in the autumn on an excursion to Italy became foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. After much travel on the continent Sheean landed in 1924 in Morocco, where he reported the Rif rebellion. He was the only foreign coi-respondent to obtain an interview v/ith Abd el-Kiim, Rif leader. This adventure he coveied in his book "An American Among the Riffi." Sheean was married in 1935 to Diana Forbes Robertson, daughter of great English actor Sir John- .ston. Mrs. Sheean shared many adventuies with her husband. She is also an author, co-editor witli Roger W. Straus of "War Letters from Biitain," "The Battle of Waterloo Road." Sheean is still called "Jimmy" by his friends, is a solid 6 ft., 2 in., and likes nothing better than dis- cussion except an argument. Among Sheean's works are the "Anatomy of Virtue," his first novel, written in 1927, "Gog and Magog," a story of Communist Russia — 1930, and described as "having Sheean verve and richnes.s of political background but defi- cient in character building and story interest." He wrote "The Tide" in 1933 and this effort was received with "cordial calm as a thought-provok- ing satire on methods of modern journalism." Sheean was described by a noted columnist friend Dorothy Thomp- son as a man who in another age would have been a great poet, and best of the foreign correspondents. Sheean is best known for his wiiting of "Personal History," in 193.'5. John Zivinak John Zwinak, commercial artist and former Pana resident, was born in this city July 8, 1901. He received his early education in the Sacred Heart parochial school and Pana High School. It is said he did much ait work in local schools. During his career Zwinak served one year as art editor of Good Housekeeping, working with Her- bert and Mayes. At the time of his death at the age of 47 on May 22. 1947, he was with Kudner Ad- vertising Agency, New York Citv, N. Y. During 18 years of his career he had been on the staffs of Ward Wheelock and Young & Rubicam as well as Kudner. After leaving Pana he attended art schools in Cincinnati, Chicago, and New York. Relatives of Zwinak, including his mother, Mrs. Anna Zwinak of 401 East First street, still re- side here. A. J. "Butch" Nowack One of the most famous Pana names in the sportsworld is that of Albert J. "Butch" Nowack, for- mer west-side boy, star high school athlete and All-American football player. Nowack graduated from Wash- ington grade school, PTHS in 1925, and the University of Illinoi.s in 1929. An All-American his senior year at the U of I, "Butch" captained the mini and was selected as de- fensive captain of the All-East team that year, playing in the an- nual Shrine game at San Fran- cisco. He was coached by the famous Bob Zuppke. Following his college football career, he coached at Cleary Col- lege in Ypsilanti, Mich., then was a line coach at Indiana University under Head Coach "Bo" McMillen for a year, and then was engaged as head football coach at the big LaSalle-Peru, 111., high school, where he fashioned a remarkable recoid until his death Sept. 28. 1952. Nowack wa." born Aug. 6. 1904. L((jniud Ciundli Leonard Crunelle, former Pana resident, later famous for hLs sculptuie, was born in Lens Pas- de-Calais, France, on July 8, 1872, the son of Alberic and Marie iStrady) Crunelle. He was a pupil of Lorado Taft, renowned sculptor, and attended the Art Institute, Chicago. Dur- ing his time in Pana Ciunelle worked in the mines and is said to have begun his profession shap- ing stone and coal. In September of 1893 he mar- ried Augusta Waughop of Wash- ington Heights, Chicago. The couple had 6 childien. Marguerite, Jean W., Lawrence D., Lucille, Leonaid and Alice Yvonne. Crunelle's most noted works were a statue of Governor Richard Oglesby of Illinois, which is in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and a sta- tue of Governor John M. Palmer, also of Illinois, now standing in Springfield. Crunelle made his home in Chi- cago. Florian Zabach Florian Zabach, violinist, whose copies of "Hot Canary" have gone over the million mark in sales, is Pana's foremost representative in the field of entertainment. Zabach was born in Pana in 1918, the son of Florian, a mine:-, and Anna Zabach, Austrian immi- grants. The Zabachs first came to Chicago, then to Pana, the elder Zabach finding employment in the mines. When Florian was 3 months old the family moved back to Chicago. Zabach began violin training at the age of 8 under Eduard Doiazil and was his pupil for 8 years. He was known as a child prodi- gy at the age of 12 when he made his musical debut as a concert violinist. He continued in the concert field touring the US and Europe, until World War II. At the age of 15, he guest-starred at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. In 1936 he went on a solo tour of European capitals. For 2 years before joining the army, he was a violin soloist with the orchestras of Roy Shields and Percy Faith, on the NBC network. Zabach received his break in show business when in 1950 he won an appearance on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts." His performances on this program led to more contracts and offers. Zabach visited Pana, while play- ing In this vicinity at the Lake Club in Springfield, in November of 19.')5. Jesse M. Donaldson Jesse M. Donaldson, believed to be the only postal career man ever to become Postmaster General of the United States, and who as holder of that appointment prob- ably rose higher in the govern- ment service than any other native of this community, was born on a farm south of Oconee Aug. 17, 1885. He received his early education in the Oconee schools and a Normal school at Shelbyville, took bookkeeping, banking and steno- graphy courses in business college, and grounded himself in law. He taught school for 4 years in Shelby, Fayette and Christian counties, and during summer va- cations operated a 4th class post office at Hanson. Consecutively he became a letter carrier in Shel- byville, postal clerk and super- visor at Muskogee, Okla., postal inspsctor at Kansas City, in- spector at Chattanooga, deputy 2nd assistant postmaster general in Washington, deputy 1st assist- ant, chief post office inspector, and on July 5. 1945. 1st assistant postmaster general. In November, 1947, upon the resignation of Postmaster General Hannegan of St. Louis, President Truman moved up Donaldson, who served until after the political changeover in 1952. Donaldson, now retired, con- tinues to live in Washington. He is a Demociat, a Methodist and a Mason. He still has numerous friends and relatives in this com- munity, and often returns to visit. Jesse Gurney Vincent Colonel Jesse Gurney Vincent, retired executive vice-president of the Packard Motor Company, was the son of Joseph M. and Nellie (Gurney) Vincent, born in Char- leston, Ark., on Feb. 10, 1880, and between the ages of 5 and 17 yeais, he lived on a farm 7 mile.s southwest of Pana. His uncle, J. O. Gurney, was superintendent of the B&O Railroad shops and J. O. Gurney's father, also connected with the railroad, surveyed and was active in the building of the D&O Southwestern Railroad. Vincent was interested in me- chanics and at the age of 14 had a blacksmith shop, equipped by himself, where he repaired farm machinery. From 1897 to 1910, when ha joined the Packard Motor Cai Company, he was employed by the following various mechanical or- ganizations: Universal Adding Machine Company, where he was engaged in the development of the adding machine; Burroughs Adding Machine Company, where he was the superintendent of in- ventions and also developed the duplex adding machine for trial balances; the Hudson Motor Car Company as chief engineer. Commissioned as a Major of the US Signal Corps when he entered the Army in 1917, he was soon promoted in August of the same year, to Lieutenant Colonel. He had a leading pait in the design of the Liberty Motor and built the experimental station at McCook Field, Dayton. On Nov. 16, 1918, he became a member of the joint Army and Navy Technical Board. He received the highest honor to be given in his profession, that of being president of the Society of Automotive Elngineers. Vincent, a designer, sportsman and racing enthusiast, was a self- taught man. He studied in night schools and also took a home course from the correspondence schools. He received the degree of Master of Engineering in 1929, one of the highest honors to be given, at the University of Mich- igan. He retired just a few years ago. Garet Garrett Garet ( christened Edward Pet- er) Garrett was born in Pana Feb. 19, 1878, and became an eminent economist and journalist. Between 1903 and 1913, he was a financial writer for several New York City newspapers; he was editor of the New York Times Annalist from 1912 to 1914 and assistant editor of the New York Tribune from 1916 to 1919. He devoted himself for some years to writing essays and books, dealing chiefly with political and economic subjects. From 1940 to 1942, he was chief editorial writer for the Saturday Evening Post and in 1944 became editor of the periodical American Affairs. Among his writings are: Where the Money Grows (1911), Harangue (1927), The Bubble That Broke the World (1932) and The Revolution Was (1944). Employ<<'> of the first post olfic' in the city <>f Pana are shown in an InfumiaJ pose, about 1898. Picture was taken when mall delivery was first inaugurated in Pana. The post office is the old Schlierbach building on the comer of Second and Locust streets. Left t(. right: H<-nton Butts, clerk; Charles Alosher, letter carrier; Lawrence Conner, letter car- rier; Charles Miller, letter carrier; Gabriel Butts, postmaster; Ella Hunter, clerk; Freeman Butts, as- sistant postmaster; Owen Crosby, letter carrier. — Photo from Freeman Butts' collection. 55 Thomas Henry Carter Thomas Henry Carter was born Oct. 30, 1854, in Ohio, and in his fifth year came with the family to Pana, where he attended the pub- lic schools. He was employed at farming, railroading and teaching; studied law, was admitted to the Bar and moved to Helena, Mont., in 1882 to practice. A Republican, he was the last Territorial Delegate to Congress from the Idaho Territory and the fii'st Representative from the new State. He was commissioner of the General Land Office 1891-2, and in 1895 was elected United States Senator for the term ending 1901. He was chairman of the Republican National Committee 1892-1896. Dr. C. R. "Bob" Weber Dr. Charles Robert Weber, Re- search Associate Professor, Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, Iowa State College at Ames, is a former Pana boy, now widely known throughout the United States and many foreign countries for his research and experiments with soybeans. He is professional- ly known as "a crop breeder." He was born July 18, 1914, the fourth of 5 childien of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Weber, on a farm located about S'i miles southwest of Pana. He received his early education at Progress School and is a graduate of Pana High School. Weber later entered the University of Illinois where he majored in Agri- culture and received his Master's degree in 1941. He received his Doctor's degree from Iowa State in June of 1948. Weber is known for the development of the Hawk- eye and Blackhawk soybeans, and also worked with the Lincoln var- iety. Weber was married in the Little Brown Church at Nashua, Iowa, on June 27, 1951, to Miss Margaret Jane Ogilvie of Edinburgh, Scot- land. In his earlier years after leaving high school Dr. Weber worked for some time in the Amling Green- houses and farmed with his father, Carl. John Joseph Dudra The last member of Pana's base- ball hall of fame known to play major league ball is John Joseph Dudra, born in Assumption in 1916 and reared in Pana. Dudra broke into professional baseball with Owensboro, Ky., a Class "D " Club, in 1938. The next year he was called to Evansville, Ind.. playing Class "B" ball, a jump of 2 classes. During the 1940 season, Dudra played with York, Pa., another Class "B" club, and in 1941 went to Hartford, Conn., in the Eastern League. Near the close of 1941 season he was called up to the Boston Braves and made the team's final western tour of Na- tional League games. The following spring Dudra took spring training with the Braves at Bradenton, Fla. During this sea- son he was sent back to Hartford, Conn., awaiting his draft call. Dudra saw action in the Euro- pean Theatre, being awarded 5 major battle stars. Following his tour of duty in the armed forces he was offered contracts by Bos- ton but declined. He is now em- ployed as an electrical repairman at Peabodv Mine No. 17. More Famous Names Other notables than "Butch" Nowack in the competitive field of spDrts from the "City of Roses" include Bob Diefenthaler. out- standing high jumper and captain of the 1939 Univeisity of Illinois track team, and Michael Cvengros, major league pitcher who labored for the Giants, White Sox, Pitts- burgh, and the Cubs. Cvengros was known to the athletic world as "Little Mike" or "Lefty." During h'.s slay in the majors, though not so well known as many players, Cvengros shaied in 2 World Series pots. Another former AU-American grid star is Dr. Warren Amling, who attended Ohio State Unlver- sity. Amling, now a practicing veterinarian, was chosen All- Amerlcdn in '45-'46. He grad- uated from Pana High School in 1942 and received his degree from Ohio State in 1947. Herb Siegert, insurance agent, following a stint in the Marines during the years of World War II, added another star to Pana's .•porting crown when he was chosen to captain the University of Illinois grid team in 1948. His cousin, Rudy Siegert, PHS athlete, shared this experience, leading the mini in 1955. Herb graduated from PHS in 1941 and Rudy in 1952. Among names old timers may remember in sports in and about Pana during past years are: Frank Chizevsky, Loyale "Scotty" Hint on, Everett "Fat" Brown, John Duck, Orville "Sandy" No- wack, rated by some as better than his famous brother, all in football; "Freck" Hughes, base- ball; Clyde Hale and Jack Bald- win, track. Included .mi the roster of the old Pana Blues, one of the greater baseball teams of yesteiyear were Miller "Fish" Stewart, William and Joe Mizeur, Loran Peters, Blaine, Roy and Ted Snyder, Floyd Higgins, Joe and John Cvengros, brothers of Mike, Ted Schafer, "Birdie" King (Cowden). "Wagon Tongue" Joe Adams (Herrick), and "Nig" Langdon. Livery Stables Once Thriving Businesses Shown is Kennedy's Livery on Oak street, one of 3 stables in the city of Pana many years ago. This livery and the other 2, one located on the present site of B. C. King's auto agency on Locust stieet and the other in the vicinity of the present dress factory, were owned by the late Wm. F. Sell. In determining the location of the buildings in the above photo, notice the Paul Brothers sign In thj upper left background. Mr. Sell, with the coming of the paved roads, switched from the livery to cement and building materials. Seated on the wagon to the left is Sell's son, Charles Randall, on the right in the rig is Sell. Other men are unidentified. The build- ing to the right in the photo is Neely's undertaking establish- ment. The Sell family lived in an apartment upstairs. CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION PANA, ILLINOIS JULY 1-4, 1956 Program SUNDAY, JULY 1 Freedom of Religion Day Morning— Centennial homecoming at the church of your choice. 5:00 p.m.— Band Concert by Taylor- ville Municipal Band. 6:00 p.m. — John Colin and His Ac- cordion Band. 7:00 p.m.— Organ Recital. 8:00 p.m. — Crowning of Miss Pana Centennial. 8:45 p.m.— Style Show. 9:15 p.m.— Band Concert by Taylor- ville Municipal Band. 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. — Hours for pic- nics, reunions and to greet old friends and neighbors. 2:00 p.m. — Organ Recital, Mrs. Jos. Zahradka. 3:00 p.m.— Religious Hour, featur- ing massed Pana Church Choirs and address by the Rev. Robert Bodine of Peoria. 4:00 p.m.— Ball Game, Pana vs. Shelbyville. MONDAY, JULY 2 Tower Hill-Millersville-Oconee- Rosamond Day 7:00 p.m.— Strike It Rich. 7:30 p.m.— The Gold Dust Twins. 7:45 p.m.— Ortheldo and Dorothea. 8:30 p.m. — Free act on stage. 8:45 p.m. — Lari-y Costello and GJer- man Band. 9:00 p.m. — Square Dancing in the Auditormm. 1:00-4:00 p.m. — Visit the antique and historical displays in the stores in the downtown area. 4 :00 p.m.— The Gold Dust Twins on the streets in the business district. 5:00 p.m. — Championship Softball Game at Kitchell Park. 6:00 p.m.— Greased Pole Contest. 1:00-4:00 p.m. — Visit the antique and historical displays in the stores in the downtown area. 4:00 p.m. — Vaudeville acts on the downtown streets. 6:00 p.m. — Concert by the Pana Cen- tennial Band at Kitchell Park. 6:00 p.m. — Balloon Ascension TUESDAY, JULY 3 Pana Community Centennial Day 7:00 p.m. — Jimmy Powell and his Hill Billy Ramblers, including Little Eddy, Memory Wizard; the Commo- dores, Tumbling Act, the Sunshine Sweethearts and the Albertas. 9:00 p.m. — Ansar Temple Clown Band. 9:00 p.m. — Square Dancing in the Auditorium. WEDNESDAY, JULY 4 Independence Day Come and Spend the Entire Day and Evening With Us! 11:00 a.m.— Giant Parade. 2:30 p.m. — The Beard Contests. 3 :00 p.m. — Free acts on the plat- form. 4:00 p.m. — Band Concert, Pana Cen- tennial Band. 7200-SI5 5:00 p.m.— The Start of the Free Feed. 6:00 p.m.— Burial of the Records and Historical Book for the next gen- eration. 7:00 p.m.— Free acts. 9:00 p.m. — Giant Fireworks Display. PB-31 C ■T ^ f PERM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANfl Q.977381P191P C001 PANA, ILLINOIS, CITY OF ROSES CENTENNIA 3 0112 025398006