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New Athens, IL, Historical Society, 101 N. Johnson Street, New Athens, IL (2026)

06/12/2026

Historical News Items from the Journal Press

25 years ago, June 2001

The candidates for the annual homecoming prince, princess, and queen have been announced. The prince candidates are Tyler Gabelman, Kyle Shaffer, and Austin Wilcher. The princess candidates are Alicia Birkner, Kayla Kerby, and Sonni Merlenbach. The queen candidates are Brandi Dudeck, Amanda Haubrich, and Jill Kurtz. (June 21, 2001)

50 years ago, June 1976

A bowling team from Hi-Way Lanes, The Dynamics, captured first place in the 21st annual handicap tournament sponsored by Belleville Women’s Bowling Association. Members of the team were captain Mary Ann Range, Betty Frech, Theresa Juenger, Diane Kinzel, and Elaine Murdock. (June 3, 1976)

Luhr Brothers was awarded the contract for the grading work for the relocation of Route 13 to New Athens. Luhr’s bid of $6,881,995 was below the state ceiling bid estimate of $7.8 million dollars. The relocation will bypass New Athens and extend 4.21 miles from the Route 13 and 156 intersection connecting to the present highway just outside Lenzburg. (June 10, 1976)

The first boxcar of coal was unloaded at the new coal loading dock at the Kaskaskia Regional Port District Dock No. 1 south of New Athens. The coal was dumped into the hopper where it is held until loaded onto a conveyor belt to load onto a waiting barge. (June 24, 1976)

75 years ago, June 1951

Omar Anderson of Belleville announced today that the new drive-in ice cream stand located next to the Sunnyside Tavern will have its grand opening in a few days. Anderson and George Dunn, also of Belleville, are the owners of the new business. Even though the facility is not completely finished the business is now serving ice cream and frozen custard. (June 7, 1951)

New regulations governing the activities of the local Boy Scouts were announced by the Scout authorities after four local youths were tried in Justice of the Peace John Keiner’s court for various acts of vandalism. The four boys whose average age was sixteen were charged with destroying property at the Scout camp in town, climbing the water tower, throwing knives at the door of the Scout camp, and tearing down at tent at the Winkeler residence. A fifth boy is charged with climbing the water tower. Judge Keiner instituted a 10:30 p.m. curfew on the youths telling them that any further mischief would result in their being turned over to the County Sheriff for further discipline. The boys were also ordered not to associate with one another. (June 14, 1951)

A memorial service for a local marine who was killed in action will be held on Sunday July 1st at the St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed Church. Pfc. Maurice Weidemann was killed last December while fighting in Korea. Weidemann is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Weidemann of New Athens. The Rev. Henry Lippert will conduct the service with members of the local VFW and American Legion and their auxiliaries participating in the service. (June 28, 1951)

100 years ago, June 1926

Government officials under Prohibition Administrator Alroy Philips and at the direction of Asst. Administrator W. Frank Cunningham, raided the local brewery with a squad of six men. The officials claimed they found 8,400 gallons of beer having an alcohol content of 4.14%. They also found a truck with 3 half barrels and took the drivers into custody. (June 4, 1926)

The Freeburg Nine Stars ended the New Athens Merchants baseball team’s dream of an undefeated season as they handed the local boys their first loss by a score of 6-3. With exception of the sixth inning the locals played excellent baseball. Too many fielding miscues in that stanza enabled the Nine Stars to score four runs to take the lead and eventually the win. (June 11, 1926)

Cancelled checks found during the raid of the brewery may provide proof of ownership of the brewery. A $5,000 check was written to George C. Probst by a Belleville tavern owner. Federal Agents wanted an explanation from either Probst or Gintz, but both men have not been seen since right before the raid. Another check found was made out to Ray Stevenson, notorious East Side bootlegger. Stevenson was killed recently in a boating accident in New Orleans. (June 18, 1921)

~~by Steve Woodward

05/16/2026

Historical News Items from the Journal Press

25 years ago, May 2001

The body of a 24-year-old Granite City man was pulled from the Kaskaskia River near the marina. Michael Oliver and a friend had been fishing between Fayetteville and New Athens when their boat experienced mechanical problems. Oliver got off the boat with his friend returning the boat to the Fayetteville dock from which they had departed. Oliver had not been seen since then. Two fishermen spotted the body in the river a week later. The coroner ruled the death an accidental drowning as there were no signs of foul play, but a formal inquest would be held. There would be toxicology results needed for a final decision since the two men had been drinking. Oliver’s family stated that he was a strong swimmer (May 3, 2001)

The New Athens High School band received an overall rating of First Superior at the Illinois High School Association Organization Contest held at Mt. Vernon High School. The band performed three selections for a panel of three judges. After this, the band performed another selection which they had not practiced before. This “sight-read” performance was played before another judge. The band is under the direction of Mrs. Lois Waeltz. (May 10, 2001)

50 years ago, May 1976

Hecker’s entry in the Mon-Clair Woman’s Slow-Pitch Softball League took first place in the fifteen-team tournament sponsored by the Cat and the Fiddle. Judy Kaiser was awarded the Most Valuable Player award for the tournament. The leading hitter for the tournament for Hecker was Ann Rettinghouse who hit a robust .579 in the tournament. (May 6, 1976)

At Saturday night’s Bicentennial Ball sponsored by the New Athens Bicentennial Committee, three ladies were crowned the Bicentennial Court. Those ladies were Mrs. Ruth Carr Joseph as the “Belle of Peace;” Bernice Schoepp Huber as the “Bicentennial Belle of Freedom;” and Alice Baehr Nuernberger as the “Belle of Love.” (May 13, 1976)

The local chapter of the Jaycees received their charter at a banquet and program last Friday at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Southwest Region President Bruce Soennlin presented the charter to local Jaycee chapter President Steve Wirth. Soennlin also presented Wirth with a handmade podium that he made. Freeburg Chapter President Ken Bald presented Wirth with a gavel. Visiting Jaycees from as far as LaGrange and Chicago attended the ceremony as well as members from area chapters. The New Athens chapter was sponsored by the Freeburg chapter. There are currently twenty-five members in the local chapter. (May 13, 1976)

Phil “Clem” Frech passed away at age fifty. A native of Lenzburg, Frech was a star athlete at Belleville Township High School. Clem and his wife, the former Jeanette Weible, settled in New Athens after getting married. Clem was a player and manager for the New Athens Merchants baseball team for many years. In the early 1960’s, Clem organized the New Athens Merchants slow-pitch softball team. Clem was the driving force behind the construction of a slow-pitch diamond on the site of the old Merchants’ baseball field. He organized leagues and tournaments making New Athens a hotbed of slow-pitch softball in our area. (May 13, 1976)

The new water purification plant constructed by the Kaskaskia Water District just south of New Athens went into operation this week. The plant will provide water to New Athens, Lenzburg, Marissa, and Tilden water distribution systems. The plant has a capacity of 1.5 million gallons of water each day and is currently operating at a rate of 500 to 600 thousand gallons per day. (May 20, 1976)

75 years ago, May 1951

Congressman Melvin Price of East St. Louis announced that the Kaskaskia Valley Flood Control Survey from the Office of Chief Engineer in Washington D.C. would be completed in 1952. In his reply letter to an inquiry from the Journal-Press, Price stated that there were several plans being considered. Price further stated in his letter that the most favorable plan would include the establishment of storage reservoirs at Shelbyville and Carlyle. Levees in other areas would also be a part of this plan. (May 3, 1951)

Picnics were the focus of the paper this week. The annual Community School Picnic will be held in the Village Park on May 26th. The picnic is open to all students of the New Athens area and their parents. The New Athens VFW and American Legion were excited to announce the Ainad Temple of East St. Louis drum and bugle corps had been booked for the parade for the Veterans Reunion and Picnic scheduled for June 2nd and 3rd. The drum and bugle corps will participate in the float parade taking place on June 3rd at 6:00 p.m. (May 17, 1951)

Graduations will take place this week at the grade school, high school, and St. Agatha Parochial School. On Thursday nineteen eighth grade students will take part in the graduation ceremony to be held in the high school gymnasium. Friday the gym will be packed for the high school graduation. Dr. Ray Jordan, a professor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, will be the main speaker. Twenty- five students will graduate from the high school. After the 9:30 a.m. Sunday mass, twelve students will receive their diplomas from St. Agatha School. (May 24, 1951)

100 years ago, May 1926

Mother’s Day will be fittingly observed here next Sunday with appropriate services at the Community Theater at 2:00 p.m. Everyone is cordially invited to bring his or her mother, or someone’s mother, to the event. The principal address will be given by Col. J.J. Bullington of Belleville, well known to people of the area. (May 7, 1926)

Now that the question of the main road placement has been answered, there are improvements being planned for the downtown area. Van Buren Street will be widened to forty-six feet and paved with curbing from Grover Feurer’s garage to Kaskaskia Street. This will leave a strip of fourteen feet wide for businesses on each side to pave to reach the curb. There is also a possibility that Kaskaskia Street would also be widened and paved from Van Buren to the Community Theater ending at Benton Street. (May 21, 1926)

The Board of Education of the New Athens Grade School announced the appointment of teachers for next year. The teachers and their salaries are Miss Vivien Koenitz ($875.00), Miss Linda Fuller ($900.00), Miss Bertha Knop ($250.00), Miss Helen Carter ($900.00), and Mr. John Vogler ($1450.00). Vogler also serves as principal of the grade school. (May 28, 1926)

~~ by Steve Woodward

04/20/2026

The New Athens Historical Society will hold an evening “get-together” on Tuesday, April 21 in The Bullpen’s small meeting room. Join us as we gather to discuss New Athens history. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with the meeting lasting from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Bring your questions an any items or pictures you would like to share. If you have any topics or questions you would like to discuss, you can email Steve Woodward, Historical Society president, at [email protected].

We hope you will join us as we talk about the town we grew up in and or live in now.

04/14/2026

Historical News Items from the Journal Press

25 years ago, April 2001

Dennis Breithaupt was elected Mayor of New Athens garnering seventy percent of the vote. Nancy Ritter was unopposed for the office of Village Clerk. Those elected to the village board were Bryan Rausch (24.6%), Brad Main (20%), and Robert Kearns (19.7%). (April 5, 2001)

The New Athens District Library received word from the National Endowment for the Humanities that they have been selected to receive a Millenium Project for Public Libraries award. The library will receive fifty “Library of America” volumes published between 1992 and 2000. These volumes are a rich collection of great American writing and will be an asset to the library. (April 19, 2001)

50 years ago, April 1976

Forty-four Rotarians, their Rotary Anns, and special guests attended the annual Rotary Club’s Ladies Night March 29th at the Community Hall. The highlight for the evening was the presentation of the Citizen of the Year award for 1975. Paul Bartsokas presented the award to Roger Roley. Roley is president of the newly formed local park board. Roley served as homecoming chairman the past two years and is a member of the Commercial Club, Lions Club, and Kaskaskia Industrial Development Corporation. He also is a member of St. John United Church of Christ. (April 1, 1976)

Former New Athens High School star athlete and professional baseball player Rich Hacker has been named the head baseball coach at Southeastern Illinois Jr. College located in Harrisburg, IL. Hacker will coach the baseball team this spring while also serving as director of the school’s Early School Leavers program. That program works with high school and college dropouts to make them aware of the GED and vocational opportunities offered at the college. Hacker will also be the assistant basketball coach. (April 15, 1976)

The Bicentennial Ball will be held Saturday night, May 8th, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in New Athens. A buffet will be served as part of the admission price. Dancing to the music of The Gents will be from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The Bicentennial Committee is sponsoring the ball which will include pictures being taken to place in the time capsule that will be opened in 2076. Highlighting the evening will be the crowning of the Bicentennial Belle and presentation of her court. (April 29, 1976)

75 years ago, April 1951

Civic leaders of New Athens vigorously opposed a proposed project to reclaim swamp land along Silver Creek from Lebanon to Scott Air Force Base. Letters were sent to U.S. Representative Alan Dixon along with state representatives Otis Miller and Frank Holten stating this project would increase the flooding issue for New Athens. The reclamation project would allow water to move more swiftly into Silver Creek which drains into the Kaskaskia north of New Athens causing increased dangers of flooding for New Athens. The letter was signed by Mayor Frank Kaiser, Commercial Club President John Feurer, and G. F. Fries, chairman of the Flood Control Committee. (April 12, 1951)

In local elections, incumbents Henry Reuss (170 votes) and George Stolte (168 votes) were reelected to the New Athens Village Board. They will be joined by newcomer Raymond Muench (134 votes). Dan Dunlap was elected Police Magistrate with seven votes. New Athens High School saw O. E. May and George H. Wirth elected with each receiving thirty-four votes. They replaced Edgar Wirth and Raymond Schoepp who did not run for reelection. A mere sixteen votes were cast in the New Athens Grade School election with Emil Klingenfus reelected as president. Roy Kniepkamp and William Pannier were also elected to the grade school board. Gus Fries was reelected to serve on the New Athens Township school board. (April 19, 1951)

A meeting has been called for April 27th by parents of local grade and high school students to discuss forming a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) for the local schools. The meeting will start at 8:00 p.m. in the Village Hall meeting room. Mrs. Stephen Davis of East St. Louis who is the district PTA director and Clarence Blair, county Superintendent of Schools, will make presentations. (April 29, 1951)

100 years ago, April 1926

New Athens businessmen unmercifully denounced Senator R. E. Duvall at a meeting last Tuesday held in the local brewery office. Duvall was accused at the meeting of being the reason the strip of road through New Athens and connecting to Lenzburg has not been completed. The meeting was called to express their displeasure with Duvall and make a unified effort to work against him in next Tuesday’s primary. The anti-Duvall sentiment became evident last week when Duvall was denied admittance to the Auto Stove Works plant for the purpose of electioneering. Martin Geiger called the meeting to order announcing the object of the meeting was to show we do not approve of the tactics pursued by Senator Duvall in this road controversy by preventing his continuance in office. Geiger further stated that Duvall should not receive ten percent of the votes in New Athens next Tuesday. Concerning this, since the senator has stated he “did not care if he got one vote from New Athens,” it was proposed to cut the ten percent down to one percent. All of which means it is going to be a hot time in the old town next Tuesday. Automobiles will be out in full force, and a big vote will be cast all on account of the long, drawn-out road question. (April 9, 1926)

New Athens “got” Senator Duvall’s “scalp” as predicted. Our citizens turned out in full force (Democrats as well as Republicans) with one object in view – the defeat of Senator Duvall for delaying the hard road through town. The fact they accomplished this goal is now history. Had he received the normal Republican vote of this vicinity, he might have been nominated and no doubt reelected. As it was, almost everybody, including Democrats, voted the Republican ballot to take a hand in the senatorial fight. (April 16, 1926)

The reorganized New Athens Merchants baseball team defeated the New Athens “Old-Timers” 13-5 in a game held on the renovated and improved New Athens Merchants diamond. The “Old-Timers” got a “cold shoulder” all around Sunday as a cold and windy day made it all the worse for the one-time New Athens baseball stars, all of whom have been nursing lame backs this week as a result of the unusual exercise. Sporting new uniforms, the “new” Merchants had an easy time defeating the “old-timers” as it provided an excellent opportunity to try out new players. Manager Reinheimer is getting his team in good condition for next Sunday’s match-up with O’Fallon, a team that gave last year’s Bearcats a thorough drubbing. A good game is anticipated and with better weather predicted, a big crowd is expected to greet our newly uniformed boys. (April 30, 1926)

~~ by Steve Woodward

03/29/2026

The Historical Society museum will be open today, Sunday, March 29th, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Come and visit and see some of the history of New Athens.

03/12/2026

Historical News Items from the Journal Press

25 years ago, March 2001

The final production of the season for the Open House Theater will take place Friday and Saturday, March 9th and 10th at the New Athens Senior Center. The Friday night performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s performance will be a dinner-theater performance with dinner served at 6:00 p.m. with the play following. The dinner will be served at the KC Hall across the street from the Senior Center. Play only tickets can be purchased Saturday night at the door beginning at 7:00 p.m. The title of the play is “The Street of Good Friends.” There will also be gospel music and music grandpa used to sing before the play. (3/1/2001)

Membership pins were presented at the 80th anniversary meeting of the Progressive Grange. Members presented with pins were Katie Spalt (75 years), Gertrude Hanft (65 years); Stanley Pannier (50 years), Curt Lindauer (25 years), Jeffrey Steinheimer (25 years), and Curt Pannier (25 years). Unfortunately, Katie Spalt was unable to attend the meeting. (3/15/2001)

50 years ago, March 1976

The styles of yesteryear were on full display at the Woman’s Club Bicentennial Dance at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Karber and their daughter Renee won the Best Colonial Family award. Best Colonist Man, Woman, and Child winner was Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Smith and daughter Amber.
Bill Bonewitz, Mrs. Kathy Emge, Everett Fischer and his son Michael took top honors in the Best Frontiersman category. (3/4/1976)

New Athens Merchants were making plans for the annual Merchants’ Appreciation Days celebration. The three-day celebration takes place on Thursday through Saturday, April 1st through April 3rd. Ray Swyear Rides will provide a full array of rides on the village parking lot located behind the Glik’s Store. (3/25/1976)

75 years ago, March 1951

W. A. Schickedanz, treasurer for the Benevolent Corporation and treasurer of the South Illinois Synod of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, announced that he has taken as an individual with the right of assignment an option to purchase at an attractive price the spacious home and grounds of the late Mr. and Mrs. Walter Roath of New Athens. The announcement by Mr. Schickedanz stated the E & R Synod is considering the establishment of small regional homes for the aged. The Roath home is slated to be one of these homes. (3/8/1951)

St. Agatha Parish is the latest congregation of the Belleville Catholic Diocese to announce plans to build a new parochial school. Preliminary sketches for new four- room school are being studied. Father Joseph Legrand commented that the existing school can be converted into a parish hall. With an enrollment of 70 students, the existing building is taxed to capacity.

100 years ago, March 1926

When John Ziegler reached his garage Tuesday morning to open for business, he discovered someone had broken into his establishment overnight. Ziegler discovered that nothing was missing. On further inspection, he found footprints left by the burglar. Upon closer inspection, Ziegler determined that only one footprint was continually found leading to the conclusion that the burglar had only one leg. The same night Dr. Dominic Lanter shot at a fleeing burglar who had broken into his garage. Mrs. Lanter discovered the burglar when she returned home from sitting with a sick friend. Dr. Lanter and the Ziegler Garage are located in the same area. The police stated they are receiving many complaints about late-night prowlers. The recently adopted practice of allowing hoboes free use of the village hall may be contributing to this. Before when hobos wanted to spend the night indoors, they were locked in the jail cell. (3/5/1926)

Lt. C.F. Horton and Staff Sgt. A.W. Kiehl of Langley AFB, Virginia, were forced to make an emergency landing outside New Athens when the propeller broke on their plane. The plane was headed for Scott Field, but thick fog over the field forced Horton, the plane’s pilot, to divert to a southern course. When the propeller broke with the plane over New Athens, Horton made the decision to increase the speed of the plane so it would reach an area without houses. Even though the broken propeller made guiding the plane extremely difficult, Horton was able to reach a farm field where he attempted to land the plane. The field was muddy making it impossible to control the direction of the plane when it landed. The right wing of the plane hit a large tree and was torn completely off. This caused the left wing to dig into the mud eventually bringing the plane to a halt. When the two airmen were reached, they were found with minor injuries and were swapping yarns as it nothing serious had happened. Horton had been in the Army Air Force since 1917 and had flown many missions during World War I sustaining no injuries. His luck continued on this night. (3/19/1926)

~~ by Steve Woodward

02/22/2026

The New Athens Historical Society Museum will be open today, February 22nd, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

02/21/2026

Historical News Items from the Journal Press

25 years ago, February 2001

Petitions are available for the April 3, 2001, election at the Village Hall. Offices up for election are Mayor, Village Clerk, and three Village Trustees. (2/1/2001)

New Athens defeated Marissa 59-38 on Senior Night at the high school. Four senior players and two senior cheerleaders were honored before the game. Players honored were Andy Fauth, Dan Hausmann, Jacob Howes, and Adam Steinkamp. The cheerleaders honored were Alaina Helfrich and Amanda Idecker. (2/22/2001)

50 years ago, February 1976

More than thirty photography students from SIU-C will be visiting New Athens snapping black and white pictures for a class project. Five years from now, another group of students will return to New Athens to take pictures to see what changes have occurred due to the increased demand for coal and the coal gasification industry has had on the community. The students are also doing this project in West Frankfort. (2/5/1976)

The heritage project of the national Bicentennial celebration, the restoration of the Lively Huggins Cemetery, has been completed. This was a joint project of the New Athens Woman’s Club and the St. Agatha Men’s Club. The Woman’s Club donated $992 for the restoration of the tombstones. The Men’s Club furnished the labor for the clean-up project. (2/12/1976)

At a special meeting held on February 4th, the New Athens Jaycees voted to complete organizational plans to establish a new Jacee Chapter in New Athens. The group will meet again on February 16th to finalize all plans for the new chapter and elect officers. All males ages eighteen to thirty-five are invited to attend the meeting. All men enrolled before the charter night the last weekend in February are entitled to a special charter membership. (2/12/1976)

75 years ago, February 1951

$105.82 was collected for the March of Dimes last week at the Town Theater. Theater manager Alvin Keuss Jr. requested that his thanks be conveyed to all those who contributed and to Mrs. Siegel Hesse and her Brownie girls for their fine work in collecting the money. (2/1/1951)

At the Monday night Village Board meeting, it was decided to enact one-hour parking on Van Buren Street. The area affected by this would be on both sides of the street from Geiger’s Dept. Store corner to the end of the street by the grain elevator. Village attorney Otis Guymon will prepare an ordinance to be approved at the March meeting. A survey revealed that store personnel were largely the blame for causing the lack of available parking for shoppers. Marshal Lee Warren was instructed to write tickets to enforce this when enacted. The board also instructed Marshal Warren to strictly enforce stopping at stop signs. The board has received many complaints from people ignoring these signs. (2/8/1951)

For the first time in its more than fifty-six years, the Journal-Press will now have seven columns instead of six. The larger page size has been made possible by the acquisition of a Cottrell newspaper press. Two of these presses were recently purchased from the El Paso, IL Journal newspaper, who were converting to off-set printing method of printing. (2/15/1951)

Melting snow and ice upriver and incessant rain in the Kaskaskia River means only one thing – another possible flood in downtown New Athens. The out-of-banks river has been rising steadily although its crest still remains several feet below flood stage at the lowest point of the downtown area. The last flood occurred last January when thousands of dollars of damage was experienced to stock and buildings, as well as the loss of revenue due to stores being closed for the flooding and repairs. (2/22/1951)

100 years ago, February 1926

Citizens residing in the vicinity of Geiger’s Store were aroused at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning when the alarm sounded and the store suddenly lit up as light as daylight. Two windows in the rear of the store were found cracked, setting off the alarm. Clara Haentzschel, who lives in the apartment above the store, stated she saw several men running out of the alley behind the store. Other neighbors said a car was heard speeding off shortly after the alarm sounded. (2/12/1926)

Prof. Henry Krohn received a letter from Harry Thrasher, the Supervisor of High Schools for the county, stating the high school is still accredited and in good standing. The only unsatisfactory item was the lack of a gymnasium or assembly room. (2/12/1926)

Professor Krohn reported the school phone had been moved from the hallway into his classroom laboratory. Professor Krohn stated that too often the phone calls for students were a disruption to classes and teachers. Professor Krohn reminded everyone that only emergency phone calls for students should be made to the school in the future. Messages for students that are not an emergency will no longer be relayed to the students. (2/12/1926)

~~by Steve Woodward

01/22/2026

OPEN HOUSE CANCELED

Due to the predicted weather and accompanying concerns, the New Athens Historical Society’s monthly open house this Sunday (January 25) is canceled. Please join us on our next open house in February. The open house is always the last Sunday of the month from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.

Stay safe this weekend.

01/09/2026

Historical News Items from the Journal Press

25 years ago, January 2001

Who will be the “New Athens New Year’s Baby” this year? The question of who the first baby to be born to a New Athens resident in 2001 is a topic of conversation in town. The 2000 baby was Jeremy Paul Wade and the year before was Emily Nicole Wade. (1/4/2001)

The Lenzburg Farmers Cooperative Grain Company, better known as the Lenzburg Farmers Co-Op, will merge with the St. Clair County Service Company. This merger was announced by Carroll Barlow, the current manager of the Lenzburg Co-Op. The merger will formally take place on February 1, 2001, with the name of the business changed to St. Clair County Service Company. (1/18/2001)

50 years ago, January 1976

A large crowd gathered at the Community Hall Tuesday night to attend a meeting to consider Peabody Coal Company’s request to mine the old Kaskaskia River channel north of New Athens. Nearly 11,000 feet of old river channel would be
mined over the next year and a half with another half year needed to reclaim the land. A spokesperson for Peabody stated it is estimated that 1.6 million tons of coal would be mined in that area. (1/8/1976)

Glik’s Department Stores has announced the purchase of the Fairway Department Store. Glik’s has taken over the operation of the store and will begin remodeling and redecorating the 5,000 square foot store. Most of the current employees will be retained with new merchandise to be brought in. This will be the twelfth Glik’s Store in the area with a thirteenth scheduled to open in Bethalto in March.

The Broad Hollow Grange celebrated its 55th anniversary last Friday with 41 members in attendance plus 14 members from neighboring granges. Another local group is looking into starting a Jaycees chapter in New Athens. The Freeburg Jaycees will conduct a meeting at the Community Hall on January 29th for the purpose of gauging interest. Local men between the ages of 18 and 35 are invited to attend. Free beer will be provided. Contact Dennis Kinzel for more information about the meeting. (1/22/1976)

75 years ago, January 1951

The New Athens Yellow Jackets basketball team captured their first trophy under the tutelage of coach Earl Givens, placing second in the O’Fallon Christmas Tournament. The Yellow Jackets defeated Mascoutah and Marissa before falling to host O’Fallon in the championship game. (1/4/1951)

According to Frank Kaiser, local RCA Victor television dealer, if you are waiting to buy a new television because you are wanting a colored one you are in for a long wait. Kaiser was the main speaker at Monday’s Rotary Club meeting. One of the reasons for this wait according to Kaiser is that those companies manufacturing televisions are turning their attention away from this to making radar and radio equipment for the armed forces in Korea. Kaiser also stated the cost of these new televisions may price most people out of buying one. He did mention that research into converting current black-and-white televisions into colored televisions is being explored. (1/11/1951)

Two new teachers will start the second semester at New Athens High School. Mr. David Wilson will teach chemistry and mathematics substituting for Dale Walker who was recalled into the armed forces. Mr. Arthur Ewing will replace Miss Jean Smith as the vocal music instructor. Mr. Ewing will also teach two classes of freshman English. Miss Smith will become the full-time music instructor at the grade school. (1/25/1951)

100 years ago, January 1926

T.J. Christman of Belleville purchased the Community Theater at last Tuesday’s public sale. Christman entered a bid of $18,600 prior to the beginning of Tuesday’s sale. No other bids were received. It is understood that this figure is the amount of indebtedness on the show house. The Board of Directors will meet next week to decide whether to accept the bid or not. Christman stated that Albert Keuss, current theater manager, would continue in that position for now. Christman would not commit to the future management of the theater. (1/1/1926)

The People’s Amusement Association Board of Directors approved the sale of the Community Theater to a group headed by T.J. Christman for $18,600. The members of the group are Christman and John A. Carson of Belleville, and Conrad Sauerwein, Joseph Smatlik, and George Feurer of New Athens. Each of the men will contribute $4,000 to the new company. There will be no manager of the theater with company receiving assistance from Walter Sauerwein and Miss Burke. Miss Burke has been associated with the theater since its opening. It was stated that business will go on as usual at the show house for the present. (1/8/1926)

The two banks in New Athens recently held their annual stockholders’ meeting. Both banks also named their appointments for the year. At the Farmers State Bank, the following were appointed: President – A.W. Barthel; Vice-President – Casper Kiefer; 2nd Vice-President – George Krupp; Cashier – E.P. Moeser; Directors – Dr. Theodore Trappe, Phillip J. Nuernberger, George Feurer, Fred Berthold, and William Zoeller. The State Bank of New Athens appointed the following at their meeting: President – Martin Geiger; Vice-President – Peter Haupt; 2nd Vice- President – George Probst; Cashier – F.W. Fries; Assistant Cashier – C.J. Schmulbach; Directors – Martin Geiger, Peter Haupt, George Probst, George Wirth Sr., J.F. Weible, and F.W. Fries. (1/15 & 22/1926)

~~by Steve Woodward

New Athens, IL, Historical Society

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