Raymond's Claim to Fame

Did you know?

Actress Kate Capshaw, wife of Steven Spielberg, had relatives in Raymond and Waggoner. Myron Nail was her grandfather, Henry Nail was her great-uncle, and Edith Hantla was her great-aunt.

Francis Martin's shrine along the West frontage road was featured in Route 66 books and videos, aired on "Nightline" with Ted Koppel, and was featured on several Route 66 programs.

Bruce House and Alan Pecht, known as the "Tapekho Brothers Juggling Act" were featured on the "Regis Philbin Show" and the "Corky the Clown" program.

Gus Sutter, a rural mail carrier in the Raymond-Harvel area, was on CNN, CBS, NBC, and featured in local and national newspapers when he retired from the U.S. Postal Service after 64 years of service.  He was recognized for being both the oldest and the longest-term mail carrier in the United States.

Rusty Bergman, son of Harry and Evelyn Bergman went on to become a well-known college basketball coach.

Jim Held and Wendell Egelhoff were related to American Statesman, Lewis Cass, who ran for president of the United States in 1848. He was defeated by Zachary Taylor. Cass later became a U.S. Senator and served as Secretary of State under President James Buchanan.

Verne Pinkston served as General Patton's jeep driver.

John Dillinger was a cousin to Raymond resident, Jimmy Richardson, owner of "Jimmy's Junk" store on main street in the early 1930's. The store was located next to Temple Hough's beauty shop and Bob Hough played cards with Dillinger when this notorious gangster was in Raymond "hiding out" shortly before his death.

Hank Scheisser went to school with Theodore Kaczynski, "The Unabomber."

(The information above appeared in the book commemorating Raymond's quasquicentennial published in 1996.)

The Year Without a Summer

Although today is the first day of spring, the long-range forecast for my area includes highs in the 30's and another possible winter storm on the horizon. With the winter lingering on, I thought it would be appropriate to share an article that my friend and former Raymond resident, Sherri Lanter Cook, sent to me a few months ago. The article below, published in The State Journal Register in 1915, includes a letter to the editor that was first published in The Blue Mound Leader an unspecified number of years prior to that. Apparently in 1915, Central Illinois was experiencing unseasonably cool weather, which prompted the article.

Although the details are sketchy and the author of the letter is not even identified, a quick Internet search reveals that something strange did occur in 1816. While I have not conducted any formal research on "the year without a summer" based on some of the information online, it seems that the strange weather event is thought to have been caused by the eruption of Mt. Tambora in Indonesia in April of 1815. Apparently it created food shortages in the United State and Europe, and some historians link the event to an accelerated expansion of the United States as people moved West, searching for better farming conditions. It is interesting to note that Mary Shelley wrote her classic novel, Frankenstein, during this time period.

I have always been fascinated by stories from "back in the day" about events that caused folks to believe that the end of the world was near. If any readers have information about "the year without a summer" or stories about other events that were thought to signal the end of the world, please share them.  

Lincolnwood Goes to State!

Forty two years ago this week, the Lincolnwood Lancers won third place in the IHSA State Basketball Tournament at the Assembly Hall in Champaign. Although I was only eight years old, I can remember many details about that weekend. I was so excited that people from Raymond were going to be on TV, and I remember "warming up" our RCA big screen (28") console television in anticipation of the first game. The Lancers won a tense game on Friday night and advanced to the semi-finals. The following day an unprecedented event occurred: my dad closed the Raymond Variety Store on a Saturday afternoon so he could watch the ballgame. As my brother pointed out, no one in town would have been doing any shopping that day anyway. 

Of course it was disappointing that the Lancers lost the semi-final game, but it was exciting to watch them on television again Saturday evening when they won third place. On Sunday, many people in town lined the streets and cheered as the Raymond police and the fire department (lights and sirens blaring) escorted the players' bus and the fan caravan in a victory parade through town that ended at a pep rally at the high school gym.  

Do you remember when the Lancers went to state? See below to relive some of the fun and excitement from March 1972... 

(From The Raymond News, March 16, 1972)

School News

Sandy (Peger) Smith sent this article to me over a year ago. It is from the Raymond Community High School newsletter that was published in the fall of 1938. This particular issue featured my dad and Sandy's mom, Phyllis (Bechtel) Peger.

Below is a picture of the Raymond Community High School Class of 1939.