Ashkum celebrating 150th

Local history volume tells vibrant story

By Robert Themer
Daily Journal Link

rthemer@daily-journal.com
815- 937-3369

Named for the chief of a Potawatomi band that had lived nearby, Ashkum has a name in keeping with its 150 years of history -- the name in Potawatomi meant "more and more."

And, according to the sesquicentennial history book written and assembled by Lois Phelps, the community could have a polysyllabic moniker if any of the chief's later names had been chosen. It seems a syllable was added repeatedly to describe the deterioration of his health in later years.

The town was laid out in 1856 -- 17 years after Chief Ashkum died -- by men named Ogden and Dufee, who bought a section of land along the railroad for $20,000.

Sixty men voted in the first election -- 1861.

By 1867, the population had grown to 1,200 -- 476 more than the 2000 census showed. It had four schools with 200 students.

Many of the early settlers were French Canadian, as was the case for many other communities in the region.

Phelps is a retired vice president of the Centrue Bank, which occupies the old "New Ashkum Hotel," so called because the brick building replaced the one that burned down. It's across U.S. 45 from the railroad and served as an informal station in early years.

Her historic research has yielded, among other gems, a story from Armand Poskin that captures the essence of small town America. Armand was in basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Station near the end of World War II when his unit was sent to Louisiana, but the men couldn't tell their parents or other loved ones. But they were going on an Illinois Central train, and Armand wrapped a message around a shaving cream can and when the train came through Ashkum, he tossed it on the station platform, knowing the station master would get it to his folks.

Phelps spent about a year and a half on the history, with help from other local residents and with material and historic photos provided by many. "We were fortunate to have so many pictures," Lois said.

The printer has promised that the book will be delivered in time for the sesquicentennial celebration, which starts Thursday. It will be sold for $20 at the park and at the history room in the Coliseum.

"I wish we had a building for a local historical museum," she said, showing a World War I memorial calendar bearing the names of 100 Ashkum Township men who served in that War to End All Wars, and an Army uniform that one of the doughboys wore. "Isn't that amazing?" she asked. "One hundred men from so small a place!"

About 200 served in World War II. That is the kind of spirit that she said most fascinated her in compiling the history. "I think what a vibrant community it was so many years ago," she said.

An example is the Comstock family, which built what is undoubtedly the best known building in town -- the Ashkum Coliseum -- in 1919.

With 7,200 square feet of unobstructed floor space, it was one of the largest buildings of its kind in Iroquois County, Lois wrote.

Years ago it hosted many a wedding dance, with bands led by Bubbles Faletti, Earl Betourne, Ross Milk or Byron Helt, and the public making donations to help the newlyweds set up housekeeping or take a honeymoon trip. If you haven't been to a dance or auction or Ashkum Chargers 4-H pancake supper at the Coliseum, you're probably just a social corpse.

Why Mr. Comstock built the Coliseum is a historic mystery, Lois said. "That's a good question. We don't know the answer. Did he want to do it for the town? He donated the park land, and we are very fortunate to have a square block of public park," she said. That shady east Main Street park will be the location of many of the sesquicentennial celebration activities Thursday through Sunday, which is also the 42nd annual Lions Club Homecoming.

"In 1943, William H. Comstock offered the building to the village of Ashkum. However, the village did not think they had the source of funding for maintaining the building," she said. "Ashkum Township purchased the facility from Mr. Comstock for $2,000."

The township still operates it.

At 2 p.m. Sunday, it will be the site of the sesquicentennial vintage style show. Among the models will be Ashkum native Kathryn Johnson Siedentop, now of Kankakee. She "will be modeling a dress she wore in the 1920s," Lois said. "How many people can do that?"