Contributed photo | www.springgrovevillage.com
Contributed photo | www.springgrovevillage.com
December 29, 2021
Dear Village Resident,
Christmas Tree Disposal
Recycle your Christmas tree at the McHenry County Conservation District parking lot in Glacial Park at 6705 Route 31, in Ringwood until January 16. The trees will be processed into mulch for local hiking trails so must be without tinsel, garland and other decorations. Trees may also be placed out for garbage collection during the month of January.
Snowmobiling in Spring Grove
Snowmobile trails are marked and maintained by local clubs. Please respect the property of others when driving to the trails. Do not travel in excess of 15 mph when on village right-of-ways and stay off lawns and driveways, yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, and come to a complete stop before crossing a road. It is unlawful to drive a snowmobile on private property without the consent of property owners and using the trails when they are closed is considered trespassing. Snowmobiling is prohibited between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Sunday-Thursday and midnight to 7 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. For trail conditions call the McHenry County Hotline at 815-334-7669.
SGFD Blood Drive Tomorrow
The Spring Grove Fire Department is hosting a Blood Drive tomorrow, December 30, from 2:30 - 6:30 pm, at 8214 Richardson Road on the Jingle Bus in the parking lot. To schedule your appointment, visit versiti.org/IL, download the Versiti Donor App, or Call/text Carrie at 815-271-2910. View the flyer.
Photo of the Week
Be careful when putting up or taking down your Christmas lights! Photo submitted by Warren McDonald. If you have a photo of Spring Grove you would like to share, email it here.
Weight Loss Challenge
Salli Renz presents Chain O' Lakes Weight Loss Challenge with 14 weeks of motivation, based on percentage of weight lost. Prizes are based on how many join, with multiple places awarded. Begins Tuesday, January 4. Join the Facebook Group and view the flyer with more information. The Spring Grove weigh-in location is at Squeez Juice Bar located at 2450 Route 12.
Drive Sober Campaign through January 3
The Spring Grove Police Department will participate in a statewide impaired driving awareness campaign from Dec. 17 through Jan. 3, made possible by federal traffic safety funds administered by IDOT. Keep these tips in mind to help ensure a safe and joyful holiday season: Before you head to the party, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation or a ride-sharing service to get home safely. If you see an impaired driver on the road, pull over and call 9-1-1. Help impaired friends get home safely and take away their car keys. Always buckle up!
Season's Greetings from Salon Jevee
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Salon Jevee! View the flyer with salon hours and stylists' phone numbers. Salon Jevee is located at 2207 Route 12.
Horse Fair Park Rentals
Planning a party in 2021? Residents can reserve Horse Fair Park starting Monday, January 10. Amenities include the indoor/outdoor pavilion with a refrigerator, freezer, oven, microwave, bar and picnic tables and an outdoor grill, port-a-potty, and volleyball & basketball courts with equipment. Non-residents can reserve the Park starting Monday, February 14. Rental fees are $200 for residents, businesses and organizations, and $380 for non-Spring Grove residents, businesses and organizations. View more info...
Blast from the Past - Howard Peacock
WWI Draft Card
Howard's Constable badge
Marker in English Prairie Cemetery
7704 Blivin Street
In 1942, Howard Peacock stood 5' 11" tall, had brown hair and blue eyes and weighed 155 pounds. Howard Jay Peacock was born in 1894, one of four children of Ernest and Emma Peacock. (His grandmother was Mary Ann Richardson Peacock.) He went to school only until the 8th grade, like most farm children of that era. His help was needed on the farm, so even during school months, kids like him were absent for weeks at a time during planting, harvesting, and corn husking time.
In 1917 he was drafted into WWI and went overseas. His draft card shows he was 22 years old, married, and working as a "whitewasher" at Borden Dairy. (Whitewashing is a natural way to sanitize stalls in dairy barns with a lime and water mixture that also turns wood white.) He went overseas to fight, but on December 8,1918 was shipped back from Liverpool, England on the Leviathan transport ship with other sick & wounded soldiers.
The 1920 census shows him still married to a woman named Evelyn, working as a farm laborer and living in Antioch. We meet up with him again in the 1940 census. Now he is divorced and living in a house on the Art Oxtoby farm at 7704 Blivin Street working as a "hired man". The census also notes that he had been living there at least since 1935. He made $30 a month and told the census taker that the week prior to the census taking he had worked 99 hours. (The original notation of 100 hours was scratched out, but still, if true, meant he was working at least 16 hour days).
By the 1960s, Howard was retired from farming and was hired to work as the Spring Grove Town Constable. One of this duties was to direct traffic at the corner of Blivin and Main Street during peak traffic times. He would also drive around in a black car from the 1940s, which he called his police car.
In 1971, at the age of 77, he died in the same house at 7704 Blivin, after living there for over 35 years. He is buried in the English Prairie Cemetery
on English Prairie Road, where his parents and one sister are also buried. Howard's badge and his 1942 Driver's License were found in another Oxtoby house at 8009 Blivin Street before it was torn down in 2016. Unfortunately, there is no picture in a 1" x 1" square on his license where one was supposed to be attached.
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