The following is the nineteenth of a multi-part article about the timeline of Chillicothe, IL. This article will illustrate the key dates along with the key individuals who helped to shape our city’s rich history.

1973 – The Save Our City committee was formed by concerned residents to halt the widespread establishment of gravel pits by the Martin-Marietta Company in Chillicothe. Jim Whalen was unanimously elected as President. The members of this group include Henry ‘Heine’ Truitt, Barb Truitt, Walt Giugler, Jim Mullen, Bill Roger, and Richard Fislar.

1973 – Ilion Crabel is honored for fifty years of service to Chillicothe. On May 12, 1973, Ilion Wait Crabel Day is proclaimed in the city of Chillicothe. This request was made possible by the president of the Chillicothe Historical Society, C. Richard Smith. Ilion has dedicated fifty years of service to Chillicothe, representing half of the one hundred years since the city was incorporated in 1873.

1973 – Businessperson and local contractor Harold Pribble was elected as the Mayor of Chillicothe. Pribble won the election by defeating challengers Richard Fislar and John Sprinkle. Pribble received 826 votes compared to Fislar’s 744 and Sprinkle’s 209. This victory marks Pribble’s second term as Mayor, having previously served from 1965 to 1969. In other election results, Ilion Wait Crabel won re-election as City Clerk, running unopposed. This marked Crabel’s fifteenth consecutive term

1973 – A mysterious benefactor, Martin Marietta, has purchased a 148-acre tract of land southwest of town. Subsequently, the company has donated 80 acres of the land for the construction of a new high school, contingent upon the passage of a referendum.

1973 – After a 34-year career in education in Chillicothe, Lonnie F. Parr, principal of IVC, is retiring. Parr arrived in Chillicothe in 1939 after graduating from the University of Illinois. He was appointed as principal in 1948. Ted Knudsen from East Moline, Illinois, will succeed Parr. 

1973 – The referendum for the $4.9 million (equivalent to $33.9 million in today’s economy) for the new school campus initiative has passed with a vote of 1374 in favor and 1158 against. On October 20, 1973, 2532 voters showed up for the special election of the school bond referendum. Consequently, a new high school will be built in Chillicothe, replacing the current high school constructed in 1922.

1973 – The City Council approves a forty-seven-lot subdivision development on the west end of town. The subdivision, known as Area Growth and developed by the Area Growth Corporation with James E. Whalen serving as President, is located just to the west of the Westmead subdivision on Walnut and Pine Streets, with a cross street on Stanley Avenue.

1974 – Ground-breaking ceremonies took place on September 11, 1974, near the corner of Bradley Avenue and Sycamore Street, marking the beginning of Phase One of the new $4.8 million High School facility. Board members, administrators, contractors, and students attended the ceremonies. Among the participants in the customary ceremony were Board President B. M. ‘Doc’ Hudson and former principal Lonnie F. Parr.

1974 – Louis Stoecker was awarded the contract as the low bidder for the construction of the new section of Bradley Avenue, which will extend between Sycamore Street and Truitt Avenue.

1975 – City Council approves Janet and Thomas Causey, owners of Controlled Builders, Inc., to plat out an eight-lot subdivision west of Chillicothe, North of Truitt Avenue. The subdivision will be known as Bayberry with Bayberry Court as the primary street name. Eight apartment buildings are built on each of the lots.

1975 – City Council approves Richard Vicary Jr., owner of Express Homes Construction, to plat out a sixty-two-lot subdivision one mile west of Fourth Street and North of Cloverdale Road. The subdivision will be known as Westaire Court. Streets within the subdivision are Hazel and Louise Streets, named after his wife, Hazel Louise Vicary.

1976 – City Council approves the plat for the Old Farm Subdivision near Birren and Wilmot. J. Blair Thackerey, President of River Bend Construction, will oversee the development of the seven-lot subdivision.

1976 – City Council approves the plat of the Mullen Manor 5th Extension. James N. Mullen, contractor and builder, will build the eight-lot subdivision on the east side of Bradley Avenue between Sycamore and Walnut Streets.

1976 – “The Way We Grew,” a sixty-five-page book detailing the history of Chillicothe, is written by Sharon Scott and Bob Burtnett. The book is on sale at the Chillicothe Historical Society Museum.

1976 – On August 31, 1976, students arrived for the first day of classes in the New High School. Situated on eighty acres of land formerly known as Cloverdale Farm, the new state-of-the-art facility cost approximately $6 million dollars (equivalent to $32.5 million in today’s economy). It boasts a gymnasium with a seating capacity of twenty-three hundred and an auditorium that accommodates four hundred fifty seats. 

1976 – The City Council has approved a fourteen-lot subdivision in west Chillicothe, known as Area Growth Extension 1. Developed by the Area Growth Corporation, with James E. Whalen serving as President, it is situated west of the Westmead subdivision, east of Bradley Avenue, and south of Truitt Avenue. The streets within the subdivision will be named Pine, Chestnut, and Cedar Courts, along with Fletcher Lane.

1977 – Local businessperson and real estate developer William “Bill” Traub has announced plans for the first phase of a 460-acre development north of Chillicothe. Phase one will comprise 63 spacious lots. To name the subdivision development, Traub Realty sponsored a “Name the Land” contest. The first prize of $500 went to Dorothy Kruse of Lacon for her entry of Fawn Hills. The second-place winner, Mabel Williams, received $300 for her submission of Deer Bluffs, while the third-place winner, John Conkey, was awarded $200 for Deer Hart. Street names within phase one of Fawn Hills include Deer Bluffs Road and Kimberly, Stephanie, and Adam Courts, named after Bill and Eve Traub’s grandchildren.

1977 will continue next month.