150 Years & Counting: Shannon Sesquicentennial Celebration

Ryan Ekvall For The Prairie Advocate News

“Shannon Illinois 150 Years” will be a beautiful, hardbound, coffee-table style book that will be treasured for generations. It will include photos, stories, and memories. The book will be designed and edited by Kathy Pasch of Forreston who received awards from the Illinois State Historical Society for “Forreston 150 Year History”, “Polo 150 Year Tribute”, and “Hometown Heroes Military Roll of Honor”. Orders must be placed by Sept. 6, 2010 to reserve copies at the pre-publication discounted rate of $25. After Sept. 6 the price increases to $30 and quantities may be limited. Books will be available in time for Christmas 2010. Orders may be dropped of at First State Bank of Shannon, 1 South Linn, or mailed to Carolyn Deininger, Box 626, Shannon, IL 61078 or call her at 815-864-2534 for more information. Sample pages will be on display at Blarney Stone and at the Village Park on Monday during Shannon’s Homecoming Festivities held this Labor Day weekend.

Shannon is celebrating 150 years since its inception this year, and that celebration just wouldn’t be complete without homecoming weekend. Homecoming is typically thought of as a town’s pep rally for fall’s first football game complete with alumni returning to cheer on their old squad and maybe to haunt their old bars, but that’s not how it began in Shannon.

“We never had a football team . . .” explained Mayor Bonnie Foust, “so our first homecoming was actually to show support for our veterans returning home from World War I.” 91 years later, the Labor Day weekend homecoming tradition continues in Shannon.

“We’ve been talking about [homecoming] for a long time,” said the Mayor, “There will be a lot of class reunions this time of the year; people really do come back home to visit relatives and hang out with old friends . . . It’s also a chance to invite people to come into our community, like a big open-house for Shannon.”

That open-house includes Bingo, various competitions and contests, live music and . . . elephant ears. The American Legion and Lion’s Club will have a booth selling their famous elephant ears, as well as kettle corn from Blarney Stone. Eastland High School’s junior class will also have a food stand Labor Day weekend to raise money for prom.

“Clubs raise money that they’ll use in the community throughout the year,” remarked Foust, noting the new roof at Lion’s Park and local scholarships funded by the Lion’s Club.

“We’ve got so much going on this year. We’ll have more horse and buggy rides, lots of entertainment,” described Foust. Children of all ages will be happy to know this year’s homecoming marks the return of carnival rides to Shannon’s Market Street. “Joe Hammer was so instrumental in raising funds this year and securing the rides,” noted Foust, who also commended the work of the Homecoming Committee, including Don Larson and Brad Woessner of the Lion’s Club and Roger Carson of the American Legion. “[They’ve] just been doing so much work on the parade and other [projects] to make this happen.”

The rides will begin at noon on Saturday. Also on Saturday is the corn hole tournament, check in 11:30 near the fire station, and the Bob Miller Memorial 5K run, beginning from the Village Park. For more information on these events, interested participants can contact Amy Snyder at 815-864-2809. In addition, the Homecoming Committee was able to secure a free concert, thanks to local not-for-profit organization Leap of Faith Music Ministries, Saturday night to be performed by Christian band ‘Go Fish.’ The concert will begin at 7:00 PM at the stage on Market Street, and concertgoers are asked to park at Lion’s Park where a bus shuttle will be provided.

On Sunday, the live music will continue after the pancake breakfast at the Fire Station from 8 AM until noon, as Irish music and dancing take the stage at 2 PM. Following that, Eastland High School graduate Courtney Ruter will perform country music. Also performing is Hand Picked, an ole’ opry jamboree band which plays at the Freeport Moose Lodge the second Saturday of every month. The Eastland jazz band and Brian Scott, a singer/acoustics player, round out the entertainment Sunday.

‘Northern Illinois’s largest parade’ takes off Monday at 10 AM from Lion’s Park. The mayor added that parking will be available on the west side of Eastland Middle School and at the Bethel United Methodist Church parking lot. Village Hall will have on display Shannon memorabilia and trophies won dating back to the early 1900s.

Also on display is the time capsule, and its enclosures, found nearly a decade ago at the old middle school building. The time capsule dates from the early 20th century as well. The displays are open 5-7 PM Saturday, 1-4 PM Sunday and 1-3 PM Monday. To cap off the sesquicentennial, a history book of Shannon is in the works and will be made available for delivery before Christmas. The book will be available for pre-order at a discounted price of $25 Labor Day Weekend at the Blarney Stone and at Village Hall during the display times.

A complete schedule of events can be found in The Prairie Advocate, and at www.pacc-news.com.