Leading The Way 2011

A Special Supplement to the Journal Gazette & Times-Courier

Leading Way

Letters

Journal Gazette & Times-Courier Leading The Way 2011: Letters Home • 1

Damien LeVeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Shawn Gough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Tim Tetrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Gene Wallace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Allyson Glazebrook-Kunz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Jacob Shasteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Dave Hoover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

The Mattoon Morning Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Chuck Witters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Cory Duzan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Regional Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Caleb Crouch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Nolan McNeely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Letters Home: The Civil War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

GI Decorated Mail to His Wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

The daily trip to the mailbox used tobe made with much anticipation, andsometimes still is.

Particularly families who had a lovedone serving in the military or living along way from home, the letter home wasa lifeline. In many cases, the letter wasthe only way to receive detailed informa-tion about people’s lives.

In reading the letters, you could pic-ture your friend or relative as if theywere in the room talking with you. Youcould sense their emotion, share in suc-cesses and sympathize with their chal-lenges.

Letters sometimes were read out loudso everyone in the room received boththe words in the letter, and the deliveryof the person reading. Letters then canbe put in drawers and reread later, oftentimes eliciting new little meanings thesecond and third time around.

When children left for college in theold days, in many cases there was littleregular communication through theweek. Maybe a short phone call on Sun-day evening when the rates were lower,but people generally used long distancecalls for emergencies or brief updates.Those updates were nothing like receiv-ing a letter.

The letter has many good uses today.Some organizations that sponsor trips

overseas for youth encourage parents towrite sealed letters before their childleaves. During the trip, chaperones occa-sionally distribute the letters as a lovingreminder from home.

Personalized thank you notes remainan asset for those in business. In someways, the dearth of first class lettersthese days makes getting a nice noteeven more meaningful.

It’s also true that some people justcommunicate better in writing. You get abetter sense of their thinking and theiremotion through the written word.

This is the second year we’ve featuredletters home in a newspaper section.Wereceived outstanding response to the onelast year.

We took suggestions from readers onprompting individuals to write a letterwith updates about their life, their ca-reer, family, etc. In some cases, the writ-ers share a memory of growing up inEast Central Illinois.

The section also includes variousother historical and biographical infor-mation about individuals who have livedin East Central Illinois. In some cases,we pulled some information from oldnewspapers.

We hope you enjoy the section.

700 Broadway Avenue East, Suite 9A • Mattoon, IL 61938(217) 235-5656

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Advertising:To place a displayadvertisement, call

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To place classified advertising,call 238-6828

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Cover Design: SusanYoungGraphics: Elgin Combs, SusanYoung & Marcus Zeal

Nothing like tradition of a letter homeFeatures

excited to have the whole fam-ily and all my friends in townto watch the film on the bigscreen.

Among its 12 other festi-vals invitations, “Take MeHome” was also selected bythe Napa Valley Film Festival(November). Coincidentally,both of the short films that Iedited for Heather Morris(Brittany on Glee) “The Eleva-tor” and “Andy Made aFriend,” were accepted aswell! So three films that I ed-ited will be playing at thesame festival!

Some of my other editingprojects include a TV pilot fora show being pitched to Com-edy Central that is writtenand directed by some very tal-ented friends, and a sizzle(like a long movie trailer) for a

TV show pitch starring come-dian Brian Regan.

You would think that withall these different projects,plus a full-time job, plus beingmarried, I wouldn’t have time

for anything else. Well, I do.I’ve finally, after six years ofediting non-stop, gotten backto screenwriting.

Actually, the only reasonthis has been possible is be-cause Natalie is so incrediblyencouraging and supportive ofmy aspirations that shemakes it possible to do more.I give her all the credit. Dad,

now I know what you meantabout the importance of “mar-rying up.”

I really hit the jackpot, letme tell you. Natalie was mywriting partner on the horror

script that I recently finished,and we’re working togetherdeveloping three more! I don’tknow if it’s her journalismbackground, love for reading,or just the fact that she’s a lot

2 • Leading the Way 2011: Letters Home Journal Gazette & Times-Courier

Dear Mom and Dad,

I hope this letter finds you an

d the dogs well. I can’t believe

it’s almost October. This year

is flying by andit seems like lif

e out

here in Los Angeles is getting

busier by the week. Lots of new

projects. Lots of life changes. When I tell you t

hat I have zero

free time, I mean it--not that

I’m complaining.

Natalie (my wife) took the Cal

ifornia bar examat the end of

July and recently started work

ing for the entertainment law

firm

where she worked during her year

at Loyola Law School. She’ll

get her bar results in Novembe

r. I’m confident she passed.

If you know anyone needinga bulldog enter

tainment lawyer, let

me know. She’s looking for clients.

Fortunately, her work schedul

e coincides nicely with mine.

I’m

still editing E! News with Ryan

Seacrest for E!Entertainment

every day (youwatch every ni

ght at 7pm, right?). I’m blessed to

have a job like this that isconsistent. Most editing jo

bs last until

the TV show or movie is completed, and the

n you’re unemployed

until the nextone comes alon

g. Luckily for me,since the enter

-

tainment newsnever stops, ne

ither will my job. And, since I

’m on

a set schedule,I’m afforded time t

o work on projects on the side

.

I’m still pursuing acareer in featu

re films and scripted TV, so

my free time outside of E! is d

ominated by projects related t

o

that.“Take Me Home

,” the feature film I edited, direct

ed by and

starring Sam Jaeger (Joel on“Parenthood”) i

s doing quite well on

the festival circuit (www.takem

ehomemovie.com). We were jus

t

accepted into our 13th film festival, and th

e film will be showing

next month atthe prestigious

Chicago International Film Festival

over the weekend of October

7th (exact date/time TBD). I’m so

IL License # 104-0001071-888-303-ROOF

Damien LeVeck

“As you know, I’ve always wanted tocome back to Mattoon to shoot a film.”

smarter than me, but she’s areally great writing partnerand very creative.

We’ve been kicking aroundthe idea of trying to independ-ently produce one of thesefilms. As you know, I’ve al-ways wanted to come back toMattoon to shoot a film. Inthe meantime, we’ll just keephoning our craft and prayingthat we sell something some-where down the line.

Natalie and I can’t wait tosee you at the “Take MeHome” screening in Chicagonext month. Say hi to thedogs and cats for us.

Love,

Damien


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Damien and Natalie LeVeck

me apply my small college-fund to tuition at an eightweek immersive summer atInterlochen Arts Academy.After that, my private pianoteacher, Martha Appleby, sug-gested I “make a choice” be-tween swimming and music,so I could concentrate on onediscipline and “give it my all.”

Again, I didn’t see why thiswas necessary, but I took heradvice, and along with playingin church, at Wesley UnitedMethodist, I began playing formusicals and school choirs, ledby the amazing Alice JayneSwickard and regional the-aters. When I hit 16, my dad,being a car salesman, in addi-tion to a farmer, allowed me toborrow a car and start drivingweekly to St. Louis where Ihad transferred my piano les-sons to. After some more com-petitions and a summer atThe Advanced Piano Instituteat Ann Arbor, Michigan, Istarted studying privatelywith a professor at the Uni-versity of Illinois. In a fewyears, I won a scholarship tobegin my college studies atthe U of I. There i met Pavo-ratti’s accompanist and musicdirector, John Wustman, whotook me on as an undergrad,even though he only worked

with graduate students, and Ibegan working with singersand chamber music intensely.

Travels & SearchingFrom U of I, I transferred

to Arizona State Universityand from there took a chanceon making it in Hollywood.After a few months, standingon a corner selling off my pos-sessions in order to eat, i haddecidedly not “made it.” Imoved to Austin, Texas towrite music with a friend whowas studying at the Univer-sity of Texas. In the followingyears I began playing for vo-calists and bands which tookme to London, Hawaii, Spain,New Zealand and Australia. Itwas not until I landed a job

with Austin Musical Theatre,that my true destinationwould become clear.

Concrete Jungle wheredreams are made

Through all my travels andworking on musicals, I hadnever seen a broadway showor been to New York City, so Ijumped at the chance to audi-tion lead actors there for anupcoming show in Austin. Therest as they say, is history. Iarrived in the city, wasknocked out by the shows, thecity, the lights, the action, andwent back to Austin, packedup a U-Haul and moved to theBig Apple. Needless to say, myfolks thought I had finally lostmy mind, and my mother was

sure I would be mugged andshot at any moment.

I struggled to gain afoothold in an enormous in-dustry, waited a lot of tables,played for a lot of balletclasses and ate plenty of din-ners out of cans, never forget-ting where I came from andthe people who taught me howto keep my feet on the ground.In the years that I’ve been inNew York, I’ve had the greatfortune to work with amazingpeople like Stevie Wonder,Barbara Streisand and LizaMinnelli, gave our then mayorRudy Giuliani voice lessonsfor a Godfather send-up con-cert just months before 9/11,conducted the National Sym-phony for a Presidential Inau-

Shawn Gough


WHY WAS I BORN HERE?Questions in a small town. . .

early mornings being awoken by my father to go work on

the farm when i’d rather sleep. . . flat, open spaces with miles

between my hopes and dreams. . .carburetors, oil changes and

cutting corn out of beans. . .surely, this is not where i should

have been born. . . when you feel like you don’t belong, like you

don’t fit in, you often want to escape the place you’re in. . .

it’s only now, after i’ve found some of the things i was look-

ing for, i truly appreciate where i’m from.“Make a choice”There were only two things that interested me as a young

boy growing up in Charleston, IL and they had nothing to do

with tractors, cows or cornfields. I wanted to be in the water,

swimming for fun or on a team, or beating on an old antique

piano my parents had in the house. Luckily, my mom enrolled

me in a group piano class at Eastern Illinois University, and

when the teacher there suggested I transfer to a private in-

structor in Charleston, my dad, kept paying for the ever-in-

creasing expensive lessons, “under protest” he would say, as I

began to develop my interests. “Do something people need,

son....People need cars, they need food, they don’t need music!”

But even though my father Bert didn’t understand why I spent

so many hours practicing music written by people long dead, or

trying to write my own music, he would take time away from

the farm to drive me to piano competitions, and with intense

pressure from my mother, Audrey, he even relented to letting


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guration on the steps of theLincoln Memorial in Washing-ton D.C., performed with theincredible world-famous Rock-ettes at Radio City MusicHall, and now conduct a 10-time Tony Award winning mu-sical, Billy Elliot, onBroadway with a cast of 52, anorchestra of 18 and a score byElton John, entering it’s thirdyear, with over 1200 perform-ances.

I dedicate this letter to allthose who believed in me inColes County from the verybeginning, to my sister Jen-nifer, my nephew Tyler, mylate mother and father, and toanyone who, like me, mightwonder why they are wherethey are. Life is what youmake it; you can do anythingyou set your mind to, and al-ways remember where youcome from and keep your feeton the ground. You may evenend up being written about onthe pages of someone else’sautobiography, like I was, re-cently in Susan Lucci’s mem-oir, All My Life:

“ ...a wonderful and tal-ented musical director namedShawn Gough. Shawn lookslike a picture-perfect, blond

Ralph Lauren model. He isvery handsome and a pleasureto work with. He appears tooyoung to be doing what hedoes and yet he is so very tal-ented and good at it. Shawn isa perfectionist--he doesn’tmiss a thing. He can listen toan entire orchestra and hearone violin miss a single note.Although he is an unbeliev-able musician who has the re-spect of so many people,Shawn doesn’t bring his ego tothe stage--a trait I find is com-mon among the very best andmost talented artists.”

Now I don’t know aboutthis, but I do know I’m hon-ored and blessed to lead thelife I have, and am proud tohave been born and raised bythe real and genuine people ofCharleston, Illinois.

Love,

Shawn

Conducting at Radio City Music Hall

Tim Tetrick was

born in 1982 in Flora. His par-ents wanted him to go to col-lege, but Tetrick knew whathe wanted to do. By age 16 hewas a competitive harnessracing driver.

Through his ongoing career,he competed at several localand area tracks, with his firstvictory coming at Paris.

In November 2007, hebroke a nearly 10-year-oldrecord for number of wins(1,077) for a single year, fin-ishing the year with 1,189wins.

Tim’s colors are green andgold and he’s easily identified

by the bright yellow wheels onthe sulky.

By age 18 he was driving inChicago, and later expandedto other tracks in multiplestates, often driving hundredsof horses competitively in asingle year.

Tetrick continues to drivedaily in New Jersey, havingbounced back from some sur-geries. His love for harnessracing developed in his youthin Wayne County and histeenage years travelingthrough Central Illinois,where he continues to havemany friends and acquain-tances.


I later moved to Texas, where I continue ina career in investment banking and corporatefinance.

I've been very fortunate. My career has al-lowed my to travel through most of the world,including most of the European capitals,China and Hong Kong. My two children livein Texas, and I very much enjoy being agrandparent.

A recent memory of Illinois is I served asgrand marshal of the University of IllinoisHomecoming in 2004, the 50th anniversary ofgraduating from college.

Hello to all my friends in Illinois.

Gene Wallace

Gene A. Wallaceis a Managing Director at Bar-rier Advisors, Inc. with nearly30 years of investment bank-ing and corporate finance ex-perience. He advises clients onM&A, equity and debt place-ments, and specialty financetransactions.

Prior to joining Barrier, Mr.Wallace was a Senior Manag-ing Director, InvestmentBanking-Corporate Finance,in the Capital Markets Divi-sion at Commerce Street Capi-tal, LLC. He held a similarposition with its predecessorcompany, SAMCO CapitalMarkets, Inc. Prior to this, hewas head of Corporate Fi-nance at Rauscher Pierce Ref-snes, now RBC CapitalMarkets. Prior to RauscherPierce Refsnes, he was head of

the Dallas Corporate FinanceDepartment for LehmanBrothers.

Representative clients in-clude Texas Instruments,Texas Utilities, Centex, South-west Airlines, UCCEL, KenDavis Industries, Intecom, En-terprise Products, L.P., Vin-tage Petroleum, Clipper Oiland Gas, Doskocil Manufac-turing, Rent-A-Center, Bel-mont Homes, Play-by-PlayToys, NCI Building Systems,Service Drilling and VarelManufacturing.

Mr.Wallace holds an M.S.and B.S. degree from the Uni-versity of Illinois at Cham-paign. He served as anavigator with the rank ofCaptain in the United StatesAir Force.

KKoorrnneerr CCaaffee““TThhee PPllaaccee FFoorr GGoooodd HHoommee CCooookkiinn””Rt. 133, Chesterville • 217-543-2457(located between Arcola & Arthur)Monday-Saturday: 6 a.m. - 2 p.m.

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I havefond me

moriesof grow

ing up in Arcola

, whereI

graduated from

high school in

1950, and East

CentralIllinois.

I

developed man

y friends there

, and later at t

he University o

f

Illinois,where I

was senior clas

s president in 1

954.

I was valedicto

rian ofthe Arc

ola Class of 195

0 and let-

tered infootbal

l and track thr

ee years each

at AHS.

I learned a lot

in Arcola -- de

tasselling corn,

cuttingand

seedingbroomc

orn, hoeing wee

ds out of soybe

an fields and

carrying newsp

apers -- worki

ng homebuildin

g construction,

diggingditches

for sewer pipe

s -- allvery va

luable experi-

ences.A sad me

mory ofgrowing

up wasmy brot

her being kille

d

in a head-on au

tomobile accide

nt between Arc

ola andMattoo

n.

The people in t

he other car w

ere killed as w

ell, andmy

motherwas dev

asted.

My first job af

ter college wa

s a special new

trainingclass

with General E

lectricin Sche

nectady, N.Y. Ha

ving been in RO

TC

while at Illinoi

s, I wascalled t

o activeduty fr

om GE, serving

three years wi

th theUSAF-5

51st AEW&C squa

dron atMcClel-

lan AFBin Sacra

mento.

I returned to

the UIfor gra

duate work, the

n livedand

workedin Danv

ille, Illinois. I w

as president of

the Young Re-

publicans repre

sentingfive cou

nties indownsta

te Illinois, and

a

fundraiser for

EverettDirksen

and Chuck Perc

y.


AllysonGlazebrook-Kunz

I have very fond memories ofgrowing up in Sullivan. Imoved away when I was 18and attended Drake Univer-sity in Des Moines, IA and

would come back for short pe-riods of time during the sum-mers during those years.After graduation, I moved toChicago and have been here

since. It is quite a differenceliving in a city of millions ofpeople compared to a town of4,000+, but I wouldn't havechanged my upbringing forthe world.

There is something specialabout growing up in a smalltown and I loved the days ofspending our summer daysriding bikes all over town,coming home when the streetlights come on, spending timeat friend's houses, playingsports with the same peoplefrom t-ball to high school, cele-brating the 4th of July andhaving relatives close by.When I come home to visit Ifeel like I can relax becausethere is no traffic, the chanceto see a friendly wave andenjoy the sounds of quiet.

I was thinking the otherday that I've almost lived inChicago as long as I lived inSullivan and when does it getto the point where I claimChicago as my “home?” I real-ized that no matter how long Ilive away from Sullivan, I willalways proudly claim it as my“home.”


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That is my husband Dave Kunz, my daughter Rylee Kunz and then me, Allyson Kunz

Jacob A. Shasteen

DIRECTIONS:Arthur:

2 Miles East & 1.5 South of Rt. 133

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1.5 South of Rt. 133

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I've been living in Thibodaux, La., for a little more than a

year now. As you can see from the picture, the saltwater fish-

ing is great, and a lot of fun. I also hunt for ducks and deer.

This is my third year working for John Deere in supply

management. My current job involves new product programs

for the Sugar Cane harvester. I make sure we get the parts

in here that we need.The first two years with John Deere were in Ottumwa,

Iowa before the move to Louisiana to a community of about

14,000 population founded in the 18th Century.I got my bachelor's degree in supply management from

Western Illinois University in Macomb after starting my un-

dergraduate work at Southern Illinois University.Prior to that after graduating from Sullivan High School, I

was in the National Guard, 1544th Trans Company based in

Paris, Illinois. We served in Iraq in 2004-05 providing convoy

security.A favorite memory of growing up in Sullivan was driving

through Wolf Creek park looking at deer with my grandpar-

ents on Sundays.When I come home, I always make a point to eat at Moni-

cal's Pizza,Jake ShasteenThibodaux, La.Sullivan High School graduate


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Hello Carl,

We are in ou

r 20thyear o

f residence in

Clemson, SC,

and couldn't

be

happier with

the path we

have traveled

. My wife Jol

ene isin her

20th year

as thehead v

olleyball coac

h at Clemson

University, w

here she has

enjoyed

greatsucces

s. We are bless

ed with two

daughters. Ha

yley isa soph

omoreat

Southern We

sleyanUniver

sity where s

he is majoring

in Special Ed

ucation, and

playingvolleyb

all. Our youn

ger daughter

, Carley, is a

Juniorat loca

l Daniel HS

and has comm

itted to play

softball at S

tanford Univ

ersitywhen s

he graduates

.

I haveenjoye

d a rewardin

g career in s

ales managem

ent inthe

footwear/app

arel and spor

ting goods ind

ustries. As a p

artnerin a sa

les

agencywe hav

e helped lau

nch afew very b

ig brands ove

r thelast se

veral

years.It has

been alot of

fun tosee a

greatidea o

r technology

evolveinto

a major prod

uct that so m

any people ca

n enjoy. As you

mightimagin

e witha

very active f

amily,I spen

d manyweeke

nds and even

ings traveling

to seeat

least one of

them competing in

a sporting ev

ent ofsome t

ype. I do continue

to runand ex

erciseon a r

egularbasis t

o keepmy san

ity.

Growing up in

Mattoon I wa

s fortunate to

have some g

reat experie

nces

and life lesso

ns that have

stayedwith m

e stilltoday.

Greatwork e

thic and

lifetime frien

dshipswere f

orgedin my

younger year

s there, and

I was

blessed to h

ave many gre

at teachers,

coaches, men

tors, and tea

mmates along

the way. I am very p

roud to call

Mattoon home

, and Iwish e

veryone ther

e

good health a

nd prosperity

!

Best Wishes,

Dave Hoover


Main Office:1286 W State Street

Charleston345-9587

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We thought you might enjoythis trip down memory lane. Thisadvertisement is from the MattoonMorning Star in July 1904.

It appears to be a travelingcompany show from Tyler BrothersAmusement Co., that stopped inColes County for a week. Perform-ances were at Urban Park, alongthe Mattoon-Charleston electricline, where there later was an acci-dent that is prominent in local his-tory.

Just imagine a performanceabout the Great Train Robbery incommunities in which the rail-roads played the lead role. We lovethe end of the ad: “Every showstrictly moral and first class inevery respect. Grand fireworks ex-hibition on opening night.”

In ads next to this one a localdruggist promotes Dr. Allen’s elec-tric fluid, which cures pain in 30seconds.

The toothache cure relieves in10 seconds.

Ice cream is delivered any-where in the city for 25 cents aquart.

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I have many fond memories gr

owing up in Charleston.

The number one would be man

y close friendsand second wou

ld be playing football,

basketball andbaseball, in tha

t order. I played for coach Me

rv Baker and that was a

great experience. Merv was my c

oach for Football and Basketba

ll and Paul Foreman

was my Baseball coach.

I still have a lot of close frien

ds in and around Charleston, a

nd I try to getback for

Homecoming every year to cat

ch up.

I went to school with former I

llinois GovernorJim Edgar from first grade thr

ough

Eastern. He was a great frien

d, and still is.

I'm the youngest of seven childre

n, and graduated from high school in 1

964. We lived

at 909 Sixth Street.

I went to the Buzzard lab school at EIU and then gradu

ated from Eastern Illinois

Unviversity with a bachelor's d

egree in business and received

an M.B.A. in finance from

Illinois State.After graduate

school I worked in Chicago, th

en moved to Los Angeles and I

rvine

California in 1976 and Las Vegas

in 1993.

The work ethicand business et

hic and Midwestern values I g

rew up with in

Charleston boded very well fo

r my career. People know they can take m

y word to the

bank and that'scritical in the c

ommercial realestate business

I've been in for26 years.

I joined Lee &Associates in 19

84 and became a founding partne

r of the Lee &Asso-

ciates Ontario office in 1987. I'

ve been with the Lee Nevada o

ffice since 1993. Lee & As-

sociates is a commercial real e

state firm that highly encourages its pro

fessionals to join

the company asshareholders, n

ot just employees. That way th

ey have more of a vested

interest in serving our clients.

My backgroundis in the leasing

and sales of office buildings, l

eased investments

sales and landsales as well as

consulting.

I've been fortunate through m

y career to berecognized for

our work, including "of-

fice broker of the year," eight

times in 10 years by the Society of Indus

trial and Office

Realtors.Prior to joining

Lee, I worked 14 years in manag

ement, marketing and finance f

or

Mobil Oil, Occidental Petroleum

and Fluor corporations.

Among many career highlights

are the sale ofthe Fluor World

Corporation headquar-

ters for $340 million; an 81,000 square foot bui

ld-to-suit and 12-year lease w

ith Aristo-

crat Technologies Inc.; and 53

,000 and 65,000 square foot leases with KB Homes.

Charles Witters

Lee & Assoc. just openedits 44th office in Ft. Myers,Fla. and is set to open inManhattan, N.Y. the 4th qtr.,2011.

I have venture capitalownership in 40 of the officesand I'm the largest owner ofour Las Vegas office.

Lee & Associates is bro-ker owned and has no debtlike the large national bro-kerages as we self-financeevery new office with venturecapital investments from theShareholders in the new of-fice and the existing offices.The model has worked verywell.

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Corey and Katie Duzan

I didn'tuse to

think Iwould m

ove to an urban

area. But

here Iam, tea

ching at Neuqu

a ValleyHigh Sc

hool inthe

Chicagosuburb

of Naperville. T

he enrollment

is about4,100

students, or ab

out four times

the sizeof Oakl

and.

I movedhere af

ter graduating

from EasternIllinois

Uni-

versity,where I

met mywife Ka

tie. I now also ha

ve a master's

degreefrom Concord

ia University.

Katie grew up in th

e southsuburbs

of Chicago, and

con-

vinced me to mo

ve to this area,

where I've bee

n aboutseven

years.I got hooked u

p witha great

school,a great

department

and never looke

d back.I love e

very minute of

it.

I teachCAD, dr

afting and a pr

e-engineering

curriculum in-

cludinga proje

ct called "Proje

ct Leadthe Wa

y." I'malso an

adjunctprofess

or at Joliet Com

munityCollege

, whereI teach

CAD.Something I re

memberabout g

rowingup in O

aklandis

peoplewere al

ways there. It

didn't have to

be a special oc

ca-

sion. Anything

we everdid invo

lved somany fr

iends and fam-

ily, andyou cou

ld expect anyb

ody tobe ther

e. It was great

small town livin

g.

I miss the hunt

ing andfishing,

and I miss my p

arents.

Corey Duzan


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Compiled by the JG-TC

The Mattoon-Charleston area hasproduced several notable individualswho made major contributions to societyand inspired others.

Some of those folks include a NobelPrize-winning physicist, an AcademyAward-winning cinematographer, thefirst African American woman to serveas a United States ambassador, the au-thor of a book about a beloved doll and aman who displayed unwavering heroismin a tragedy.

Arland Williams Jr.Arland Williams Jr. was a passenger

aboard Air Florida Flight 90 whichcrashed on takeoff in Washington, D.C.,on Jan. 13, 1982.

The Mattoon native was one of justsix passengers to survive the crash. Sev-enty-eight others died on impact.

The plane crashed into the 14thStreet Bridge and then plunged into thefreezing Potomac River.

According to the other five survivors,one passenger was pinned to the fuse-lage of the plane but helped others reachthe rescue ropes being dropped by a heli-copter, repeatedly passing the line toothers instead of using it himself. Thatman was Arland D.Williams Jr.

When the other five had been takenaway by helicopter, the tail section of thewrecked plane shifted and sank furtherinto the water, dragging Williams underwith it.

In June 1983, President Reagan andU.S. Secretary of Transportation Eliza-beth Dole awarded the U.S. CoastGuard’s Gold Lifesaving Medal posthu-mously to Williams. The ceremony wasattended by Williams’ parents, his twochildren and a sister.

The 14th Street bridge over the Po-tomac River crash site was renamed theArland D.Williams Jr. Memorial Bridgein his honor and in 2000, The Citadel,The Military College of South Carolina

(Williams’ alma mater) created the Ar-land Williams Society to recognize grad-uates who distinguished themselvesthrough community service.

In his hometown of Mattoon, one oftwo new elementary schools that openedin 2003 was named the Arland D.Williams Jr. Elementary School and agroup of friends and former classmatescreated the Arland D.Williams Jr. Schol-arship to be awarded to a Mattoon resi-dent attending college.

Edward PurcellA Mattoon native, Purcell won the

Nobel Prize for physics in 1952 for hismethod of measuring nuclear magneticresonance. His findings provided thebasis for equipment to conduct tests suchas the MRI in the medical field.

Purcell also taught at Harvard Uni-versity and served as science adviser topresidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F.Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

Gregg TolandBorn in Charleston in 1904, Toland’s

family moved to California when he wasabout 10 years old. During the 1930s,Toland was one of Hollywood’s top cine-matographers.

In a seven-year span, he was nomi-nated five times for the “Best Cine-matography” Oscar, winning in 1940 forhis work on “Wuthering Heights.”

Many film historians consider “Citi-zen Kane” the top movie of all time.Toland was the cinematographer on thatOrson Welles’ classic and is credited withseveral innovations used in that film.

Other notable movies filmed byToland include “Les Miserable,” “TheGrapes of Wrath,” “The Best Years of OurLives,” “The Long Voyage Home” andDisney’s “Song of the South.”

Toland called filming “Citizen Kane”the “most exciting professional adven-ture of my career.”

He died of a heart attack in 1948.

Patricia Roberts HarrisBorn in Mattoon in 1924, Harris was

the daughter of a railroad dining carwaiter.

She graduated summa cum laudefrom Howard University in Washingtonin 1945 and later graduated No. 1 in herclass at the George Washington Univer-sity National Law center.

She worked briefly for the U.S. De-partment of Justice and then taught atHoward and in 1969 was named dean ofHoward University’s School of Law.

President Lyndon Johnson named herambassador to Luxembourg in 1965.

Later, President Jimmy Carter ap-pointed her to his Cabinet as secretary ofHousing and Urban Development. Shewas the first African American woman toenter the presidential line of succession.In 1980, she became secretary of the

newly organized Department of Healthand Human Services.

She died in 1985.

Johnny GruelleBorn in Arcola in Douglas County,

Gruelle is the creator of perhaps Amer-ica’s most beloved doll -- Raggedy Ann.

Gruelle, whose father was an artist,also was an artist, political cartoonist,children’s book author and illustrator.

He worked for several newspaperswhen he gave his daughter Marcella adusty, faceless rag doll found in the attic.

He drew a face on the doll and namedher Raggedy Ann. Marcella played withthe doll so much, Gruelle figured otherchildren would like the doll too.

The Raggedy Ann doll was patentedin 1915, and in 1918, the first RaggedyAnn stories were published. Gruelle thencreated a series of well-selling RaggedyAnn books and dolls.

Denise Van Patten of the websiteAbout.com said:

“Raggedy Ann and Andy have been incommercial production since 1920, whichqualifies them as an antique doll, a vin-tage doll, and a modern doll. I cannotthink of any other doll that spans such along history—in fact, I played with oneas a child, as did my grandmother,mother, and daughter! The history alonemakes Raggedy Ann and Andy remark-able.”

Josephine CochraneA Shelbyville woman who enjoyed

hosting parties in the 1870s, she was nothappy when servants chipped her goodchina dishes when washing them.

“Why doesn’t somebody invent a ma-chine to wash dirty dishes?” she report-edly said. “Why don’t I invent such amachine myself?”

So she did.With the help of an Illinois Central

Railroad mechanic named George But-ters, she built a mechanical dishwasher.

She received her first patent in 1886.Rather than market the appliance tohomemakers, she targeted hotels andrestaurants in Chicago.

Through a mutual friend, she got anappointment with the manager of thePalmer House in Chicago. He bought thefirst dishwasher. Several other hotels fol-lowed.

Her big break, however, came at the1893 World’s Columbian Exposition inChicago when thousands of visitors to

the fair ate and their dishes needed to bewashed.

She soon started her own manufac-turing company in Chicago which laterbecame KitchenAid and eventually waspurchased by Whirlpool.

Josephine Cochrane died in 1913 inChicago.

‘Uncle Joe’ CannonTuscola has ties to a lawmaker with a

streak of the political tyrant.Joseph “Uncle Joe” Cannon was

Region has produced heroic, talented, determined Americans

Raggedy Andy and Ann

Patricia Roberts Harris Papers, Moorland-SpringarnResearch Center, Howard University

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speaker of the U.S. House of Representa-tives from 1903 to 1911 and served asRepublican Congressman for all but fouryears from 1873 to 1923.

Cannon lived in Tuscola from 1859 to1878 before moving to Danville. His for-mer home at Parke and Pembrookestreets still stands in the DouglasCounty town, where he founded the Sec-ond National Bank with his brother, andalso served as state’s attorney.

Cannon’s rise to speaker eventuallycaused a political rebellion in 1910 tobreak his control of the House. A feistyCannon once compared President TeddyRoosevelt’s respect for the U.S. Constitu-tion to what “a tomcat has for a marriage

license.”And Roosevelt was a fellow Republi-

can!

Hal MiddlesworthHal Middlesworth was born in Cow-

den in 1909.He worked at newspapers in Okla-

homa City,Washington, D.C., and Detroitfor 25 years before becoming the publicrelations director for the Detroit Tigersin 1960.

Middlesworth, who is now deceased,retired in 1979 though he continued edit-ing the baseball team’s yearbook for afew years after retirement.

He made visits in East Central Illi-nois during his time with the Tigers, re-membering his roots.

Middlesworth worked during a timeperiod in which printed material wasdominant. At one point, broadcast repre-sentatives banded together to protestwhat they considered to be secondarytreatment in the press corps, somethingthat would be unheard of today.

Ronald W. DavisJust this year, Ronald W. Davis was

selected in 2011 for the Gruber GeneticsPrize for his pioneering work in develop-ing biotechnologies that have signifi-cantly advanced the fields of moleculargenetics and genomics. The prize, whichconsists of $500,000 along with a goldmedal, will be presented next month.


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addition to offering rooms for residents who need long-term placement, we also

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speech therapy for a short-term stay. These private Rehab To Home rooms have

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Davis, the son of Lester and GerzellaDavis, was born in Maroa in 1941.Shortly thereafter his family moved toCharleston and established Davis Floor-ing Company.

Davis attended Charleston schoolsand later graduated from EIU with a de-gree in chemistry before going on tograduate school.

Ronald WoodsAnother EIU graduate, Ronald Woods,

in February of this year joined the Med-ical College of Wisconsin and Children’sHospital’s Herma Heart Center in Mil-waukee. Woods formerly was chief of pe-diatric cardiothoracic surgery at MaryBridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma,WA; Woods also is involved in a humani-tarian project focused on developing achildren's heart program at a hospital inHo Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

Woods earned his bachelor’s degreefrom Eastern Illinois University, his PhDin Biophysics from the University of Illi-nois and his MD from the University ofIllinois. He completed his general sur-gery residency at the University ofWashington, his pediatric surgery fellow-ship at Children’s Mercy Hospital andhis thoracic surgery fellowship at theUniversity of Washington. He also servedas a Specialist registrar at Great Or-mond Street Hospital for Children inLondon.

He is a member of a number of pro-fessional organizations and has receiveda significant number of awards including


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Regionfrom page 17

the MultiCare Health System Presi-dent’s Award for Excellence in TotalQuality in 2008.

Carl MeinhartLake Land College graduate Carl

Meinhart now is a professor of mechani-cal engineering at the University of Cali-fornia-Santa Barbara. He received aPh.D from the University of Illinois andhas been at Santa Barbara for 10 years.

Meinhart's research group investi-gates fundamental fluid mechanics prob-lems at the micro-scale and nano-scale,with special emphasis on transport is-sues in MEMS-based sensors for detec-

tion of specific biological molecules, theuniversity’s web site reports. The Bio-MEMS research is highly interdiscipli-nary and involves the development ofInP-based integrated lasers that are flip-chip bonded to Si-based microfluidic flowchannels, and the use of dielectrophore-sis to enhance binding reactions near alaser sensor.

Ada KepleyThis Effingham woman stood up for

what she believed in.She wanted to practice law so she be-

came the first woman in the UnitedStates to earn a law degree shortly afterthe Civil War. She later was the firstwoman to gain a license to practice lawwhen U.S. Grant was president.

Kepley was dedicated to the Temper-ance Movement that helped ban alcoholsales in many cities and states long be-fore Prohibition.

She published the names of patronsof local saloons in a newspaper to shamethem into taking the pledge. One ex-posed bar customer apparently pledgedto take Kepley’s life by firing a gun ather. He hit her dog instead but the inci-dent gained international press cover-age.

Kepley helped the unfortunate andwrote patriotic songs for America’s entryinto World War I in her later years.

She died in Effingham in 1925.


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Since graduatin

g fromOakland

in 2002, I atte

nded Lake

Land College an

d graduated wi

th an Associate

’s Degree in

telecommunicat

ions in August 2

005. Ienlisted

and began

my career with

the Illinois Arm

y National Gua

rd in 2003.

I was assigned

to helpwith th

e Hurricane Ka

trina af-

termath, which

interrupted clas

ses at EIU in 2005

. From

September 200

8 to Septembe

r 2009I serve

d in

Afghanistan in

supportof Oper

ation Enduring

Freedom.

Initially, my as

signment with t

he Guard was t

o fix elec-

tronics.I then

earneda degre

e in career and

organiza-

tional studies f

rom Eastern, where

I was inthe Res

erve

OfficerTraining

Corps (ROTC)

program, and co

mmissioned

as an ordnance

officer.

Now I'm a shortdrive aw

ay in Springfie

ld, at Camp Lin

-

coln, which is th

e stateheadqu

arters.I serve

as a Mobi-

lizationPlans S

pecialist for th

e Illinois Army

National

Guard.Also, I’m

currently the c

ommander of Fo

xtrot Com-

pany, 634th Br

igade Support

Battalion, 33rd

Infantry


Caleb, Nicole and Aubry Crouch

Brigade Combat Team stationedin Mt. Vernon, IL.We providetransportation, equipment re-pair, food, fuel, and ammunitionfor 2nd Battalion, 130th In-fantry Regiment based in Mar-ion, Illinois.

My wife Nicole and I live ina small town near Springfieldand have a 2 and half year olddaughter, Aubrey.

The thing I remember aboutgrowing up in Oakland is thatit’s a tight-knit communitywhere everyone knows everyoneand takes care of each other.

Caleb A. CrouchCPT, OD, ILARNGMobilization Plans SpecialistFoxtrot 634th BSB CDR


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to write a song about Lois and I.I started working on it and afterseveral days I came up with thefollowing song:It was a long, long time agoI saw it rain and I saw it

snowI met a little girl and her

name was LoisWe took each other by the

handWalked out across the landAnd went places we had

never gone beforeHand in HandHand in HandI was in the kitchen when I

started singing it. Midnightcame running in there andstarted rubbing against my legsand stretched out on the floor,rolling over and over, goingaround and around, then backrubbing me on the legs. Shekept doing this as long as I was

singing.One evening Larry, my son,

and his wife Jimmee, came over.When they opened the door andstepped in, I asked them tostand there and look at the catasleep on the couch. I went tothe kitchen and started to sing.I had only said “it was” whenshe jumped off the couch, camerunning to the kitchen and wentthrough all of those motionsagain. They couldn’t understandwhy nor could anyone else thatsaw her do that.

After Lois died in May of2008, I quit singing so muchand then stopped. Then onMarch 12, 2010, I sat down inthe rocking chair and was goingto turn on the TV and watch theevening news.When the songcame to my mind, I started to


It was in late August of 2005 when Hurri-cane Katrina slammed into New Orleans andpushed flood waters 14 miles north to Slidell,Louisiana. My daughter and her family g

athered

up all the things that they could including a

dog named Olivia and two cats named Maia and

Midnight and came to our place in Mesa, Ari-

zona to live with us. The flood waters ruined

their home. They stayed here and later moved

to a condo nearby.My wife had been diagnosed with cancer

earlier that same year. She lived about 3years.

The last year was really bad. My familyand

friends were really nice about taking her to the

hospital in Phoenix, a 35-mile trip, whereshe

underwent 6 operations and one skin graft, andlater to another center for radiation and

bloodwork.

At the time, I was living here alone andwas

getting lonely and worried so I thoughtif I

would sing maybe it would help me. I started

singing the old songs that I knew a long timeago. Then one day, I decided that I woul

d like

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sing it. The next thing I knew,Midnight had jumped up on theback of my chair and using herpaw, patted me on the back ofthe head. I will never know why.

Over 80 years ago when Ilived in southern Illinois, mygrandmother had come to visitus. She was my mother’s mother– Mary Kepp. She explained tome when reading the Bible

there are things that I just was-n’t supposed to know. I believeshe was right.

It has now been almost threeyears since Lois passed awayand Midnight wanted to be withor near me day and night.

I, Nolan McNeely, was bornon April 19, 1917 in Louisville,Illinois. I lived there in the early1920s, and then moved south-east of town in 1925 to a 180-acre farm in the Little WabashRiver basin about halfway be-tween the little towns ofLouisville and Clay City. It wason this farm in 1943 that I hada girlfriend named Lois May-lene Devore. Her birthday wasalso on April 19th.We weremarried on October 7, 1944 inLouisville, Illinois, which wasthe beginning of a marriagelasting more than 63 years.

The marriage ended withLois’ passing at 6:45 a.m. Fri-day, May 23, 2008 after a longhard-fought battle with cancerwhich she lost.

Nolan VanceMcNeelyMesa, Arizona


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McNeelyfrom page 23


There are numerous examples on of letters home from the battlefield onthe Internet. We like this introduction found on the Virginia Tech web sitealong with several examples of letters. In the Civil War, remember, many ofthe soldiers were quite young, really just big boys. At the end we included anexample of one of the letters.

“When he wasn't marching, fighting, or setting up camp, the Civil Warsoldier might take a few moments to write to his loved ones at home. Theseletters often contain accounts of battles, life in camp, and general news. Butmany soldiers, as they marched off to face the enemy, had left behind a wifeor sweetheart, and to them they would compose sweet, poignant, and occa-sionally funny letters that give life and personality to the participants inthis great national conflict.

“The Special Collections Department holds many Civil War era (1861-1865) manuscript collections, several of which include letters written by sol-diers to their loves, and a few from the ladies to their soldiers. These lettersshow their sorrows of being apart, fears that the soldier would not return

home, and hopes for the future after the war's end.“The letters displayed here portray many sides of the soldier in love. On a

slow Sunday at Brandy Station in November 1863, Confederate surgeonHarvey Black wrote his wife Mollie, lovingly recounting how he fell in lovewith her at first sight and about their courtship. Daniel Blain writes fromcamp near Petersburg in August 1864 to his future wife Loulie about hisbeing obligated to call on young ladies at a nearby farm, but that he wouldbe thinking all the time "if it was just my darling Loulie how different it wdbe." And William Henry Ruse writes to Maggie in Adamsville, Ohio, of howfunny it would be if their letters spoke to each other as they passed on theroad.

“Some of the letters are comical, as is the letter from an unknown soldierto a woman who evidently answered his "lonely-hearts" advertisement, orfrom another soldier to a friend asking her to tell any local "good-lookingamiable young Lady" what he wished to marry when he returns from thewar.”

Letters Home: The Civil War

Brandy Station,Sunday night, Nov. 1 [1863]

My dear MollieI rcd a letter today from a very handsome lady to play cupid.

Although not accompanied by her likeness yet her image was so in-

delibly impressed upon my mind thatthe likeness itself could not

recall the features more vividly thanthey are impressed. I first

met her in a village in Western Va when I was about 17 years old

and she 8. I afterwards saw her frequently and occasionally was in

her company, and nonwithstanding the disparity of our ages, I be-

came so favorably impressed with her fair face and gentle manners

that I frequently said to myself thatI wished she was older or I

younger.In 3 to 4 years she had grown so much that th

e disparity in age

seemed to grow less. Never did a lady witness the budding of a

flower with more requisite pleasure than did I the budding of that

pretty little girl into womanhood. Shemade much of my thoughts

while in Mexico and more upon my return home. While at the Uni-

versity of Va., I not infrequently found my thoughts wandering

from the dry textbook to contemplate by the aid of memory the

features and form of this little girl.After I completed my studies, I trave

led in the west and ex-

pected to find a home in some western state, but not finding a

place to suit me, together with the persuasions of that fair face,

induced me to return.I entered, as you know, actively into

the pursuit of my profes-

sion with the determination to makeat least a fair reputation and

tried to withdraw my thought from everything else, but I found

this little fairy constantly and pleasantly intruding into all my plans,

whether of pleasure or interest. At this period she met me politely

and respectfully but seemed to growmore distant, coy & reserved,

so that I frequently thought that even the ordinary attentions of

common politeness & courtesy were no special source of pleasure to

her.In a few instances when she has arrived at ab

out the age of 15

this shyness and reserve seemed tobe forgotten, and I would pass

an hour or two in the enjoyment of her company with great pleas-

ure to myself and I imagined with atleast satisfaction, if not en-

joyment, to her. I began to think that my happiness was identified

with hers. I began to pay her specialvisits or at least seek oppor-

tunities by which I might be in her company. I sought her society

on pleasure rides and thought it not a hardship to ride 65 miles in24 hours if part of the time might be spent with her. She alwaysexhibited or observed the decorum of modest reserve which mightbe construed into neither encouragement nor discouragement.After the delibertation & reflection which I thought due to amatter which involved my happiness for life, I felt that her destinyand mine were probably intended to be united, and that all the ad-verse counsel which I could give myself could bring no objections. Ifelt that I ought both as a matter of duty and happiness give mywhole life to her, who for 9 years had my attention and devotion,though concealed love.After a few little billets and interviews, and with a full declara-tion of the love I desired to bestow, I received a measured andloving response and was made most happy in the anticipation of thecelebration of the nuptials fixed at some 6 months hence. This timeglided nicely & happily, though not too rapidly, away from me. Thehours of leisure were spent with her and my visits were alwayswelcomed with that cordial welcome, that maiden modesty, so muchto be admired. Tis true that on one occasion she did rest her elbowupon my knee and look with confidential pleasure in my face andmade me realize that indeed I had her whole heart.Suffice it to say, the happy day of our marriage arrived andsince then, hours, days, and years of time, confidence & happinesspassed rapidly away, and only to make us feel that happy as werethe hours of youthful days, they compare not with those of lateryears and perhaps even these may not be equal to that which is inreserve for us.

I dont know how much pleasure it affords you to go over thesedays of the past, but to me they will ever be remembered as daysof felicity. And how happy the thought that years increase the af-fection & esteem we have for each other to love & be loved. May itever be so, and may I ever be a husband worthy of your warmestaffections. May I make you happy and in so doing be made happy inreturn. A sweet kiss and embrace to your greeting.But maybe you will say it looks ridiculous to see a man gettinggrayhaired to be writing love letters, so I will use the remnant ofmy paper otherwise...

Yours affectionately H Black


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People 12,910,409Under age 5 6.9 percentUnder age 18 24.6 percentAge 65 and over 12.4 percentHigh school graduates, age 25 + 81.4 percentBachelor's degree or higher 26.1 percentPer capita income $23,104

2009 Population estimate by county

Clark 16,657Coles 52,065

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When writing letters to my wife

near the end of the war with Japan, I

used to draw on the envelopes.

After many weeks of battle to se-

cure the island of Okinawa, we were

awaiting orders to proceed to Japan,

and I had time to begin drawing this

G.I. character on each envelope. The

colored pencils I used were left be-

hind by the Japanese after the inva-

sion of Ie Shima.For those unfamiliar with Oki-

nawa, it is the largest and most im-

portant of the RyukyuIslands in the

Pacific. It lies in the far western Pa-

cific about midway between Formosa

and Japan. One of the bloodiest cam-

paigns of World War II was waged in

Okinawa and nearby waters.

American troops under the com-

mand of Gen. Simon Buckner Jr.

landed on Okinawa in April 1945. Vi-

olent fighting lasted until late in July.

General Buckner was killed in the

last days of this battle. About 12,500

Americans were killed on Okinawa.

I was with the 233rd Combat En-

gineers and we were attached to the

77th Infantry Division.We took part in the battles of

Guam, the island of Leyte in the

Philippines and the invasion of Ie

Shima. It was on this little island (Ie

Shima) that Ernie Pyle, the war cor-

respondent, went in with us. He was

killed a few days later on April 18,

1945.Our last combat action was at Ok-

inawa. It was several weeks before

this battle was over and later after

the atomic bombs were used, the war

with Japan came to an end, Aug. 15,

1945.

James Hendricks

GI decoratedmail to his wife

Editor's Note: This was submitted by James Hendricksof Mattoon for the 50th anniversary of the end of WorldWar II section published in the JG-TC in 1995. Hendricksdied in 2001.


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