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Page 13 text:
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mt L 2, Pomszs V A 1'-fag., X 11.13 'Hit el - - , c v L 'aim' i V Im ' J tg-iv, t W '-'lr - vx wg. iff, I' Q Empire Township High School UWB CHTY Our town. as it was fifty years ago. would surprise even Father Time. for we feel sure that in the whirl of this fast modern life he has forgotten what it looked like then. Fan o11e imagine a lielioy without any East Side. with no National Bank. no movie or 1-hurelies? ln the plaee where the First National Bank now stands was a two-story wooden hotel with a barber sl1op in one room. There was not one brit-k building in town until after the fire of 1892. The town was rebuilt by 1894 and the Udd Fellow's Hall tnow .lohnson's Vafeb was built in briek. The opera house was built at this tinie. lielioy was ineorporated in 1853. The Big Four Railroad was allowed to go through the town only with the l1llKlP1'Sf2lll1lill5I that no passenger trains should no through without stopping. The foresight of our forefathers saved us the disgraee of being: called a Hirk Town. liven before the town was incorporated a Mail Post we11t through here froin Danville to Peoria. At first it was taken by men on horsebaek. and later in a contraption that was flattered by the name of stage. Their stagres were little more than buggies with round tops. Stifling: skin eurtains were used to keep out the weather. In early l,eRoy there were no houses in the 11orth part of town beyond the site of George Dooley's present home. The lVashington Svhool building had been built but at first it eonsisted of one rooni whieh is now the baek 1l2ll'I of the buildingf. This sehool, the first edum-ational institution of Lelioy offered only the first six grades. The first ehureh seryim-es were held ill private htlllltli Silas Watters eondueted them. l7i
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Page 14 text:
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'V 4 X T. P 011.929 J Ihlu. 1- F lik QV ulfflimtg' I' f 5 X. Mft I. 55' I K , ,.a7'Q??:,'eQ.?9'Qmhi Flgieflaqrj. ffggibz, :ag I W -iz., 3151. , I 5 'ififiw' il -U.-,r ' tv ni 'iw-1 x-s..,j Washington School ln 1902 the Masonic Tkillllllt-' was erected. The old Presbyterian church, called the Salt Creek t'o11greg:atio11 and Scn1ina1'y, was more an institution of learning than for religious trainings. It was not very substantial, thus leaving, the Washington School the lnain institution i11 our town. The Opera House was the civic center of LeRoy. Strolling players often stopped and gave such plays as East Lynn and 'Tncle THIIVS lCtabin. Skating races were held. The champion distance skater for a time was a inan named Kelly. On Saturday horse races were the chief aniuselnent. Quilting bees were quite connnon. Baseball and Rugby, a very primitive form of football, were played in the- plot which is now the City Park. Pitch Ball was played ,on Main Street and potato and sack races were run between points which are now Johnsons corner and C. D. Jones' graragfe. The champion sack racer was Louis Hazel, who laid his success to his ability to take small stepsand not fall down. The northern end of town was open fields used for a baseball diamond or for scrubby ball. A race track encircled the town, and the lll'l'lllb61'S of the baseball team ran a1'ound this track all afternoon at a jog trot for training. LeRoy was threatened by' fire several timers, in spite of the fact that a Very good fire company had been formed. The firenx-cn were furnished with uniforms and buckets. livery business house had a cistern at the back for use in fighting fires. The Bucket Brigade was fairly successful but the chief decided to try a new fangled machine called The Little Giant. It was little 1ll01't' than a hose cart with 21 151111111 tsl
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