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

1980 – The IVC high school’s bowlers carried out what no team in IVC school history has ever done. The bowlers placed fourth in the 1980 IHSA State Bowling Tournament. Team members included Jenny Walker, Tina Nowlin, Samantha Cooper, Cindy Barker, Cheryl Duckworth, Lisa Tyler, Dana Dobbins, and Sherry Colwell. The team was coached by Bonnie Swanson. IVC finished in fourth place behind Olympia Fields, Dixon, and Abingdon.

1980 – The IVC boys varsity basketball Grey Ghosts became the first Chillicothe high school team to win a regional title. The team was led by starters Cam Parr, Craig Parr, Bob Jenkins, Bruce Everetts, and Dan Felske. The team finished with a record of 19 wins and 7 losses and was coached by Hugh Friday.

1980 – An informal ceremony was held at the residence of Jeff Colwell at 1223 N. Second Street to commemorate the first house in Chillicothe to have cable television installed. Princeton Cable Inc. is the company providing a new service to residents in town.

1980 – The City Council approved a twenty-seven-lot subdivision in west Chillicothe, known as Area Growth Subdivision Extension 4. Developed by the Area Growth Corporation, with James E. Whalen serving as President, it is situated south of the Area Growth Subdivision, South of Walnut Street, and west of Bradley Avenue. The streets within the subdivision will include Walnut Street, Elm Street, and Stanley Avenue.

1981 – The IVC boys varsity basketball Grey Ghosts became the first Chillicothe high school team to win a sectional title. The team was led by starters Craig Parr, Bob Jenkins, Bruce Everetts, Dan Felske, and Jim Youngman. The team finished with a record of 24 wins and 6 losses and was coached by Hugh Friday. 

1981 – The IVC Golf Team shattered the school’s low nine-hole record of 150 with a team score of 145 at Canton Country Club. Joe Anderson (35), Bruce Ehlke (35), Thom Nibbelin (37), and Brian Fislar (38) combined to set the new record. The team also recorded the first-ever tourney win at Hawthorne Ridge Golf Course near Aledo. Other team members included Micah Horan and Chuck Diveley.

1981 – Incumbent Richard L. Fislar is re-elected as the Mayor of Chillicothe. Fislar ran unopposed and received 1,434 votes. In other election results, Ilion Wait Crabel won re-election as City Clerk. This marked Crabel’s seventeenth consecutive term. Crabel, a 54-year veteran of the clerk’s office, ran unopposed and totaled 1,502 votes to lead all city-wide candidates. She polled 83.4 percent of the possible votes.

1982 – Two amendments were passed by the City Council. A restaurant classification was added to the City’s liquor ordinance stipulating that alcoholic beverages could be sold on the premises provided more than half of the business’ income was derived from the sale of food. The second amendment gave Chillicothe grocery stores permission to sell packaged beer, wine, and ale.

1982 – Bill Bro, president of Midwest Radio, Inc. purchases WTXR Radio for $275,000 from Chilli Communications. He changed the format from adult contemporary to country music.

1982 – IVC High School junior Bill Kephart won the American Legion National High School Oratorical Contest, for which he was awarded a $16,000 scholarship.

1982 – The new Mid-Illini conference is formed. The conference is composed of Morton, Metamora, Washington, Canton, Chillicothe IVC, and Limestone. Metamora moved over from the Corn Belt conference, Washington and Limestone from the Mid-State 10 conference and Morton, Canton and IVC came from the defunct Heartland Conference. East Peoria also announced plans to join the Mid-Illini conference in time for the 1983 fall season.

1983 – IVC High School senior Jeff Adams becomes the first wrestler in school history to win 100 matches in his career. Adams collected his 100th win of his career by pinning Joe Binder of Bergan in 34 seconds. Adams finished his career with 117 wins and 12 losses. Adams surpassed the win record earlier in the season previously held by Jeff Camp with 84 wins.

1983 – The 911 emergency phone service went into effect March 1 and is available to all residents with a 274 prefix. Chillicothe becomes the 42nd community within Illinois being served by the 911 service.

1983 – The Kroger Company moved into its new flagship store at 527 S. Fourth Street. Kroger first opened its doors in downtown Chillicothe on the 900 block of Second Street in 1923. This marks the fourth location in Chillicothe that Kroger has occupied during its 60 years in business. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new 31,170-square-foot location took place on March 1. According to Store Manager Wes Williamson, four Kroger employees, including himself, have been with Kroger since it was located downtown. The other three are Mary Bireline, Bill Ladd, and Rich Underwood.

1984 – A Community Workshop and Training Center’s residential living site on Hoyt Street is dedicated and named Crabel Court. The site’s Crabel Court apartments and adjoining new city street, Crabel Court, respectively, are named after longtime City Clerk Ilion Wait Crabel. The project was funded by a $1.57 million dollar loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

1984 – The IVC School Board authorizes the closing of North School and Pearce School, along with the elimination of 28 teaching positions. The news comes on the heels of a Caterpillar Tractor Company reassessment bid that meant a loss 0f $932,0oo to the district. Both North and Pearce Schools will close at the end of the 1983-84 school year. North School was opened in 1952 and Pearce School was opened in 1936.

1984 – Geiger’s True Value moves into their new location at 307 W. Walnut Street at the Northwest Corner of Walnut Street and Third Street. The new 12,500 square foot building will add some great new areas to the store. Marion Geiger opened the original Geiger’s Hardware store in the 900 block of Second Street in 1938.

1984 – Fire Chief Gail “Mike” Myers was presented with a 45-year service pin at a recognition banquet held in his honor. The official recognition of a career that began in 1939, when Myers joined a group of about 10 volunteers in town under Fire Chief Tom Anderson. Myers became Chief in 1953 after the sudden passing of Charles “Chuck” Hoyt. 

1984 to be continued in next month’s edition.