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Mal Managlia is turning 95!
Emergency personnel bow their heads as Harry Craddick leads the 9/11 service in prayer. The event was sponsored by Build Benld.
Across the BenGil area, citizens remembered the 9/11 terror attacks early Wednesday morning on September 11. This year marked the 12th anniversary and Build Benld remembered the day by honoring past, current, and future first responders.
The event was centered around three stepping stones: 1 for EMTs, 1 for police personnel, and 1 for fire personnel. The stepping-stones were donated by Dee-Dee’s Designs in Gillespie and all the labor to install the stones was donated.
Kathy Petrak, of Build Benld, said Benld is one of the few towns in the country that has a Veteran’s Memorial complete with a tank and First Responder area. Petrak said everyone should be proud of what the park has turned into.
Harry Craddick said Benld honored first responders who lost their lives 12 years ago to do their duty and perform their services to save many, many people. “We remember them and we pray for everyone who lost their lives that day,” Craddick said. “We pray for everyone who lost loved ones that day.”
We recognize our first responders who we possibly don’t give enough credit to for all the time they put in, Craddick continued. He said they are always there when we need them, but many people forget how much time and hard work they put in for the services they provide.
“The EMT responders have to perform medical help just to get people to the hospital while they are still alive,” Craddick said. “And, we expect the firemen to come when there is a fire. We are blessed with such an efficient fire district,” he said of the fire department. He said it takes a lot of time and dedication and the group is comprised of volunteers.
“It seems like the police men have an easy job. Some say they just sit around all day, but they are right there when something happens,” Craddick said. “Policemen have to be trained and dedicated. They put their life on the line for us in daring situations.” He said all the area first responders have lighted the way for everyone to gather Wednesday morning.
Denny Gardner, Assistant Chief of the Benld Fire Department, honored the firemen stepping stone with a flag and rose while Jean Holesko of the Ambulance Service and Kurt Kozak of the Benld Police Department presented the EMT and Police stepping stone with a flag and rose.
Craddick closed the service by thanking God for all the first responders in the area of the past, present, and future. “Let us never forget, Father, if this wasn’t the land of the brave, it wouldn’t be the home of the free.”
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The one day event that was slotted to hold 33 vendors is now ready to host 44 vendors on Saturday, September 14. The Fall Fest kicks off at 10AM on Highway 159 and ends at 11PM. This year brings unique demonstrations all in one place.
Don Johnson from Grafton will perform detail wood carvings using a chainsaw. The TreeHouse Wildlife Center will have wild animals on hand to talk about the education, rescue, rehabilitation and release of wildlife. Professor Longhair will create balloon animals and perform magic in the Kids Corner.
The Kids Corner will also host the bounce house, and a 10’x10’ corn crib made by the Bunker Hill High School FFA organization. Kids can also enter a coloring contest and get their face painted. An art contest of Junior High and High School students will be on display for judging.
We haven’t forgotten about the adults. Scentsy, Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple, independent crafters and jewelry vendors will have their wares for sale. You won’t go hungry – over 20 delectable food selections to choose from.
Entertainment includes: Borderline Band, Code Blue Band, talent show, Little Miss and Mister Competition, car and tractor show. A burn-out contest will grant one winner a $100 prize. Come celebrate the beginning of fall in Bunker Hill. The event is sponsored by the Bunker Hill Chamber of Commerce and Pinups Bar and Grill. For more information contact Jessica Turney at Jessica@turneyservices.com or 618-420-0681.
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There are plenty of ways to keep up on BenGil news:
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Men of Company F of the 7th Illinois Infantry are photographed on Lookout Mountain, Ga. in 1864. Many of the men are from the Bunker Hill area. An original print of the photo has been purchased by a Carlinville collector who plans to loan the photo for public view.
Written and contributed by Tom Emery
An original print of a Civil War photograph is back home in Macoupin County, thanks to an antique tractor sale in Wisconsin. The photo is of Company F of the Seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry on a rocky outgrowth of Lookout Mountain, Ga. It was found pressed in a book at an estate sale in Salem, Ill. Company F was comprised mainly of men from Bunker Hill. Twenty-four men are shown in the photo, which was taken around June 17, 1864.
The print is now in the possession of Norm Crays, a Carlinville businessman who operates Carlinville Truck Equipment Manufacturing, Inc. A Civil War enthusiast and collector, Crays learned of the photo through a customer and friend from Dorchester.
“I received a call from Leo Hauschild, who had just purchased an antique tractor in Wisconsin,” said Crays. “He had heard from a man named Gene Timm from Mount Vernon, who had bought a different antique tractor in Wisconsin around the same time, and didn’t really know how to get it home.
“So he was given Leo’s name, and they began talking,” continued Crays. “He didn’t know where Dorchester was, but when Leo said it was near Bunker Hill, he knew where that was.”
That was because of the photo, which Timm had bought at the estate sale. “He was going through the line, and a woman ahead of him opened a book that had the photo in it,” said Crays. “She looked at the photo, closed the book, and put it down. Gene thought it looked like a Civil War photo, so he bought the whole lot of books.”
Hauschild contacted Crays and put him in touch with Timm, who felt that the photo should be returned to the Bunker Hill area. He offered what Crays called “a very fair price,” and the photo eventually made its way back to Macoupin County.
The Seventh Illinois is considered the first unit from Illinois to answer the call for troops at the outbreak of the Civil War. The regimental history includes an entry for June 17, 1864 in which the Seventh was in Chattanooga on their way to join the Atlanta Campaign of William T. Sherman.
That day, the Seventh climbed the imposing slopes of Lookout Mountain, described as a “wearisome task,” and reached Point Lookout, where the photo was taken. After “lowering clouds” passed, the men could see Chattanooga and the surrounding areas below.
The regimental biographer wrote that the men reflected on the Union victories at the battles of Lookout Mountain and Chattanooga the previous November, as well as the bloody Federal defeat at Chickamauga in September 1863. The Chickamauga battlefield was visible from their perch on Lookout Mountain.
Among the men pictured is the unusually-named Christopher Columbus Ryan of Bunker Hill, who still has descendants in Macoupin County. Ryan survived the war, but at least four others in the photo did not.
Crays plans to restore the photo and offer it on loan for display in an area museum. “I’d like to see it in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield,” said Crays. “If that doesn’t work out, I’ll look at other places. I think this photo should be in public view for everyone to enjoy.”
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Zion Lutheran School to host open house on March 18 for preschool and kindergarten programs
Illinois Farm Bureau to host ‘Rules for the Road’ trucking seminar in Carlinville on March 20
