History Of Odell – Part Five
John V. Keating, Officer in Charge, Odell Post Office, was named Odell Postmaster, effective on March 29. He succeeded Viola Allen who recently retired.
Rentz’s Tap in Odell opened a new dining room on May 3, 1986, to mark their 13th year in business. The menu consisted of a variety of steaks, ribs, chicken and other items. Odell’s township and village officials reached an agreement in May of 1986 regarding the future of West St. north of the village. Township road commissioner Ed Doughan Jr., and supervisor Robert Legner met with village board member Charles Verdun and mayor Bill Wilkey, along with representatives of the state Department of Transportation. The road is currently under state jurisdiction, but the state had stated a desire to either abandon the road or hand over responsibility to the village or township. Odell Township agreed to accept the road, with the provision that road work be completed by the state. Trustee Verdun added the state had indicated they would be willing to resurface it the rest of the way to Route 66. The state previously had jurisdiction over West St. from Second St. to Route 66 south of the village. The roadway was previously resurfaced by the state and handed over to the village.
Steve Muir and Jim Abry, both of rural Odell, won the 1986 large plow and small plow state championships, respectively, in the Illinois plowing contest. Steve’s father, Earl, and brother, Doug, are past champions. A bid of $12,482.60 was accepted by the Odell Village Board for a major drainage improvement project on Oct. 6, 1986. Haley Brothers of Clifton were awarded the bid to install new tiling along E. Hamilton St. from East St. to Wabash St.
Beck’s Market on Waupansie St. in downtown Odell closed its doors in late June of 1987. The Home Variety Store next door will remain open, according to owner Don Beck. Over a century ago, Don’s grandfather moved to Odell from Germany and set up a butcher shop in the old Eastern Hotel building, located across the street to the north of what is now Odell Bank. Don’s father, Roscoe, joined in the partnership at Gutel Grocery in about 1928. Don began at the store in 1938 at the age of 12, working before and after school. In 1950, the Becks purchased the store and it has been under the same name since.
A state championship crown was brought to Odell over the weekend of Aug. 7,1987, as Rentz’s Tap, a slow-pitch softball team, earned the USSSA Class A State Tournament championship in competition at Rockford. Tapper softball pitcher Greg Homstein was the recipient of the tourney MVP award and named to the all-tourney squad along with teammates Don Kennedy and Kevin Polizzi. A five-foot tall trophy was awarded to the Rentz’s Tap squad for earning the state crown. The Tappers advanced to the national tournament in Muncie, Ind., during the Sept. 5, 1987, weekend and finished seventh overall.
The store portion of Stadel Contractors and Home Improvement closed on the 14th anniversary of its opening on Sept. 15, 1987. Don and Marjo Stadel are the firm’s proprietors. Don continued to operate the contractors’ business after the home improvement store closed. Don took up a career in contractors’ work in 1960 after being in the service. In June of 1972 Stadels purchased the business from Frank Wolf Jr., with whom Don had worked. In September of 1973, the Stadels purchased the retail business from Clyde and Millie Rainbolt, located where the Wishing Well Cafe now operates. They moved to the 109 N. Front St. location in December of 1973.
Representatives from Casey’s General Store approved Odell as a site for a new business, the village board was informed on Sept. 8, 1987. The convenience store/gas station business has also hired a realtor to locate property to purchase for the firm. Casey’s General Store officially opened May 5, 1988.
A 10-cent tax increase for the Odell Fire Protection District was approved by voters Tuesday, Nov. 3. 1987, by a 306-154 margin. The approval moved the district’s rate to 40 cents. District trustees sought the increase to offset the nearly $8 million decline in assessed valuation over the past five years, resulting in a loss of $24,330 in revenue.
The deteriorating 27-year-old water tower in Odell was scheduled to be replaced by a new 150,000-gallon tower, village trustees learned Nov. 6, 1987. The village was awarded a $187,500 grant from the Community Development Assistance Program to help fund the project. Total cost of the project was estimated at $250,000.
The new water tower construction was completed and the structure was put into service on Dec. 19, 1988. The painting of the tower, complete with an outline of the State of Illinois, was completed in June of 1989. Steve Muir added a second plowing title to his trophy case, winning the national large plow championship in Amana, Iowa, in the fall of 1988, to qualify for the world contest held in 1989 in Norway. The state match was held in early September, 1988, on the Earl Muir farm.
The Odell Village Board gave the green light March 14, 1989, to the village engineering firm to begin the paper work for the Community Development Assistance Program grant application to improve water quality. The Environmental Protection Agency requires that the village be in full compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act no later than Nov. of 1991. Village water currently exceeds the maximum levels allowed for radium content. The installation of a reverse osmosis system for water treatment is the most viable option to solve the problem. The new well was to be located near the east end of Deer St.
After more than 41 years in the automotive repair business, John Stonecipher closed his Odell service station, located at 102 S. West St. His interest in the automotive repair business dates back to his time serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. After his discharge, Stonecipher said, “I went into painting for a few years. Fred Goodman had the garage (then located where the Odell fire station now stands) and I had an opportunity to get into the business. At that time, there weren’t any automobile repair services available in town, so that got me into it.” He opened Stoney’s Marathon Service on May 3, 1948. “When I started, it was a Marathon station. Phillips 66 bought the Marathon bulk plant in Pontiac and that’s when it changed to Phillips 66,” Stonecipher continued.
Tragedy struck early Friday morning, Sept. 23, 1955, when fire swept through the building. The one-story frame building was completely destroyed and tools, equipment, tires and a large supply of other products were also destroyed by the fire. News reports at the time stated the damage was estimated to be “at least $100,000.” Stonecipher had suffered a great loss. He was unable to obtain full insurance coverage for the business, since it was a wood-framed building. “When it burned, I wasn’t going to get back into the business, but the people of Odell gave me cash incentives to stay in business,” he said. Odell area citizens grouped together to raise money to help Stonecipher continue using his automotive repair talents. Within a week after the fire, Odell Mayor L.P. Ready presented a purse of over $2,000 to Stonecipher on behalf of the community. The Odell Legion had sponsored a drive to raise money to donate to Stoney. Donations were received at the close of services at each Odell church and others were also contacted by the Legion committee. Stonecipher moved to the 102 S. West St. location on Jan. 1, 1956. The building was previously purchased by Cliff Schaefer after he was discharged from the service and was used as a welding shop. Ernie Porter later purchased the building and Stonecipher bought the building from Porter.
