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Winnebago Community Historical Society
Secures Grant for Town Hall!
The Winnebago Community Historical Society (WCHS) has been awarded a $9,000 grant to replace doors and windows at the historic Town Hall building in Winnebago, IL.
Town Hall was acquired by WCHS shortly after the not for profit was formed in 2017. Built in 1894, the Town Hall was empty and rumored to be considered for demolition when citizens of the greater Winnebago area collectively formed WCHS to save the building. Since then, a number of improvements to Town Hall have been completed including a new roof, masonry work on the exterior, the addition of 2 ADA restrooms, a kitchenette, solar panels and LED lighting, improved drainage and restoring Veterans Park, adjacent to Town Hall.
“The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois has been a supporter of our efforts to make Town Hall a community center that the entire area can enjoy”, states Irv Koning, President of WCHS. “This grant adds to our long-term commitment to make the Town Hall a true community asset to the Village of Winnebago and surrounding area”
Construction and replacement are scheduled for late spring.
The mission of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is to inspire endowment and promote philanthropy for the current and future needs of the people of Northern Illinois. Since its founding in 1953, CFNIL has granted more than $90 million for charitable purposes. Learn more about CFNIL’s history, grantmaking, and commitment to endowments at www.cfnil.org
3/2025
Town Hall Update
Spring is a good time to reflect on the many improvements the WCHS has made to Town Hall since its acquisition in 2017. Here are a few of the numerous improvements/upgrades:
Removal of trees and vegetation from Veterans Memorial Park
New vinyl fence replacing older wooden fence at Park
Additional landscaping added to Park
Installation of two benches around flagpole at Park
Replacement of roof (twice) on Town Hall. Second replacement was due to hail damage.
Addition of drainage along north side of Town Hall
Adding solar panels and new LED lighting in Town Hall
Addition of 2 accessible bathrooms to Town Hall
Addition of kitchenette to Town Hall
Installation of dehumidifier for Town Hall
Brick repair and paint removal from Town Hall exterior
Currently, work is being scheduled for door replacement and window replacement at Town Hall, expected in late spring/summer. The foundation under the stage will also be strengthened to level out the floor in the auditorium. Thank you to all the donors that have helped with financial assistance and donation of time to make these improvements possible. Your WCHS Board continues to look for funding sources to further renovation. You can help. Your donation, large or small can be directed to the Town Hall renovation fund. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law.
3/2025
2025 Board of Directors
Irv Koning, President
Rob Bucey, Vice President
Denise Speracino, Treasurer
Russ Kaney, Secretary
Mary Gross
Norma Kloster
Tom Van Sickle
1/8/25
2024 Highlights
The front façade of the Town Hall was stripped of its many layers of paint and brickwork repair began.
The WCHS Local History Reading and Display area opened at the Winnebago Public Library.
Rev. Dr. Gary Brown was honored as Volunteer of the Year at the WCHS annual meeting in November. Gary is a member of the Local History Team. He helps staff the John D. Rowley Local History Room every week, works on inventory projects, is a program presenter, and especially likes to assist with genealogy inquiries.
The Local History Team prepared Winnebago: A Township & Village History Timeline 1835-2022 as part of a grant awarded to WCHS in the Activate History category from Illinois Humanities. The timeline accompanied a presentation, Local History at Your Doorstep, on Township and Village history. Visit the Local History Reading & Display area at WPL for your free copy.
For more information, read the WCHS 2024 Annual Report.
3/2025
Arvid C. Meline Collection Donated
The family of Lonnie Webb has generously gifted the Winnebago Community Historical Society with a collection of wooden wagons handmade by Arvid Meline after his retirement, and with his diaries, which he kept faithfully from 1923 until three days before his death in 1974. Both collections have become part of the WCHS Local Area History Collection. We are grateful for the opportunity to conserve these historical items and make them available today and in the future.
Arvid C. Meline was born August 20, 1897 in Kearney, Nebraska, the son of Gustaf and Anna Meline. He married Ruby M. Webb in Kearney on April 2, 1931. They farmed in the Kearney area for several years.
Arvid and Ruby moved to Rockford in 1936 and in 1941 to a home on south Seward Street in Winnebago. Arvid was employed in the machine tool division of Sundstrand Corporation (now Collins Aerospace) in Rockford. He retired in 1962. He was an active member of Winnebago United Methodist Church, where he directed the choir for many years. He died September 24, 1974 in Rockford Memorial hospital and is buried in Kearney Cemetery in Nebraska.
Arvid’s wife Ruby died January 18, 2003 in New Prague, MN and is also buried in Kearney Cemetery. A memorial bench in her honor sits outside the entrance to Winnebago Public Library.
Arvid and Ruby raised from infancy their nephew Lonnie Webb. He graduated from Winnebago High School in 1948 and from the University of Illinois in 1952. He married Lois Lenox and the couple lived in Winnebago. Lonnie was a CPA employed in Rockford and served as Winnebago Village Clerk 1956-1966. The Webbs and their six children moved to Minnesota. Lonnie died May 6, 2017 in New Prague, MN.
See the wagon collection in the new WCHS Reading & Display Area on the lower level of the Winnebago Public Library.
10/29/22
WCHS Reading & Display Area Dedicated
A new WCHS Reading & Display Area at Winnebago Public Library was opened on September 26, 2022. The area, on the lower level of the library, has a basic local history reference collection, displays of WCHS Local History Collection artifacts and memorabilia, research aides, and information about WCHS and its projects, activities, and programs. The public is welcome to visit the space during normal library open hours.
The WCHS Board is grateful to Winnebago Public Library for providing this public space, which makes the extensive resources of the Local History Collection much more visible and accessible.
10/29/22
Join Us to Learn More About Village & Township History!
Thanks to a grant from Illinois Humanities, WCHS presents an "activating history" program to help interested residents and researchers learn more about Winnebago Village & Township history. Participants will also learn about the Local History Collection and take away a history timeline and list of Local History Collection resources. The program will be followed by an open house featuring scrapbooks and albums from the collection and a ribbon-cutting for the new WCHS Local History Reading & Display Area at the library. The program is Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 2 pm at the Winnebago Public Library, 210 N. Elida Street in Winnebago. Doors open at 1:30 pm. Admission is free. Donations are welcome.
9/5/2
2022 Board of Directors & Board Officers
At the 2021 Annual Member Meeting, departing Board Members Don Crawford and Pat Wakeley were presented with plaques recognizing their service. Mary Gross was elected to fill the slot vacated by Pat. Norma Kloster, Irv Koning, and Denise Speracino were re-elected to the Board. The Board appointed Tom Van Sickle to a one-year term to fill Don's unexpired vacant term.
At its January meeting, the Board elected officers for 2022:
President Irv Koning
Vice-President Rob Bucey
Secretary Russ Kaney
Treasurer Denise Speracino
1/18/22
2021 Annual Member Meeting
The annual meeting of the membership of WCHS was held November 3, 2021. Board officers reported on 2021 accomplishments, 2022 goals, and WCHS financial and membership status.
Departing Board members Don Crawford and Pat Wakeley were recognized for their service.
Mary Gross received a new Volunteer of the Year award. Mary Gross, Irv Koning, Norma Kloster, and Denise Speracino were elected to two-year terms on the Board of Directors. See the 2021 Annual Report here.
11/5/21
Volunteer of the Year
The WCHS Board established an annual Volunteer of the Year award to recognize the value of volunteers to the work of WCHS. At the 2021 Annual Member Meeting, Mary Gross was presented with the first award. We thank Mary for all she has done and continues to do for WCHS and the community.
11/24/21
Diary of Mary Elizabeth Weldon Added to Local Area History Collection
The Winnebago Community Historical Society is pleased to announce that it has acquired a diary kept by Mary Elizabeth Weldon (1820-1894), daughter of Jonathan Weldon (1795-1876) and Mary Davis Weldon (1786-1871), one of the earliest settlers in Winnebago Township. The diary covers the period October 1841 through the beginning of July 1842. It provides a detailed picture of pioneer life in the newly settled area. Mary’s entries record the weather, the family’s farm duties, her housework duties, interactions with neighbors, land disputes, and her religious concerns. Of particular interest are the land disputes that arose as settlers claimed land rights under the Federal Preemption Act of 1841. The diary records the tar and feathering of her father, Jonathan, in the course of one such dispute.
The diary is a small leather-bound booklet with 64 pages of tightly spaced writing in the cursive style of the late 1800s, using brown and blue ink. The diary has been transcribed verbatim so that its contents can be studied without damage to the original, which is preserved in the Local Area History Collection at the Winnebago Public Library. A transcript is available for purchase here.
The Winnebago Community Historical Society was able to purchase the diary through a generous donation from Robert Weldon, a descendant of Jonathan and Mary Weldon.
7/31/21