Live entertainment in the form of historical impersonators is coming to Breese Public Library in February, March and April.
This year’s three-part series of LIVE History 2020 events will include Chris Vallillo and the “Music of the Civil Rights Movement” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27; Dennis Stroughmatt with “French Creole Fiddle Tunes and Tall Tales” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 24; and Brian “Fox” Ellis, presenting “John Deere: A Discussion of History and the Future of Agriculture” at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 23.
“We had such a positive response for our inaugural series in 2019 that we wanted to do it again,” said library director Kelly Zurliene. “These presentations will inspire adults and young people alike, instilling in them a love for our state’s amazing history. We’re very fortunate to again be able to offer this caliber of performers here in Breese.”
Chris Vallillo - Thursday, Feb. 27
Vallillo is a singer/songwriter, folk musician and folklorist with a natural affinity for American roots music. In the 1980s, he was involved in documenting the last of the “pre-radio” generation of rural musicians in Illinois.
A master of bottleneck slide and acoustic guitar, he weaves original, contemporary and traditional songs into a compelling and entertaining portrait of the history and lifestyle of America.
Top: Clinton County Vietnam veterans Jim Lampe, Leonard Holtgrave, Ron “Moose” Holtgrave and Bob Petermeyer went on a trip in October to Specimen Creek Outfitters in Jardine, Montana; bottom left: Kevin Courson of Salem was surprised with a special hunt at Specimen Creek in Montana to go elk hunting, pictured with John Burke; bottom right: Mel Deien, inventor of the Peep Eliminator, was able to hunt both a mule deer and an antelope successfully in Shawmut, Montana in November. (Photos by Kelly Jo Ross) It's been a little over 20 years since a young hunter lost his life in a hunting accident, however, the compassion and generosity of the human spirit — and the amazing difference that one community can make — were evident Saturday night when over 500 people gathered at the Germantown American Legion to raise funds for the Jared Burke Foundation (JBF).
While final proceeds had not been tabulated at press time, it is estimated that the sixth annual JBF banquet raised over $70,000 to help the organization continue its mission.
The Jared Burke Foundation is named in honor of Jared Burke who was killed in a hunting accident at the age of 16 during the November 1999 deer season. Jared loved to hunt, fish and be outdoors. His family and friends established the foundation as a means of promoting hunter safety and enabling disadvantaged hunters to turn their outdoor adventures into lasting lifetime memories.
Shannon Kluemke of Beckemeyer, Jared’s sister who helps coordinate the event with her family and fellow committee members commented, "we would like to thank everyone, including all of our wonderful volunteers, from the bottom of our hearts for all the love, donations, and support that we received for our Sixth Annual Jared Burke Foundation banquet."
She said that they had an excellent turnout as always, and certainly couldn't do it without everyone involved.
"Keeping Jared's memory alive through our organization means more to us than anyone can ever know," she said. "It's absolutely outstanding how the community comes together to support our efforts to get those that are less fortunate outdoors to create some amazing experiences. You all help keep our motto 'Turning Outdoor Adventures into Lifetime Memories' alive for everyone. Thank you all so much again! God Bless!"
Jared Burke’s brother, John Burke of Bartelso, who spearheaded the foundation along with other family members, commented, “When we first started this organization, we never would have thought we a would be where we are now. I can’t say enough about everyone who helped in any way, shape or form.”
In its first five years, JBF has provided multiple individuals, who have encountered a variety of disadvantages in life, with unforgettable hunting experiences.
In the past year, there were groups that went black bear hunting in North Carolina, there was a whitetail hunt in Missouri, an antelope and mule deer hunt in Montana, a Louisiana gator experience, snow geese hunts, 4-wheeling adventures and much more.
Keeping with its mission, the foundation is planning many more hunts and outdoor experiences in 2020-2021. This will be possible thanks to the generosity of the many sponsors and generous folks who attended the sixth annual JBF banquet on Saturday in Germantown.
Over 50 guns and much more were given away. A special raffle for a Henry Golden Boy gun was held to benefit the local food pantries in which banquet attendees received one raffle ticket for every five nonperishable food items that were brought to the door.
Over 2,000 canned goods and other nonperishable items were collected at the event and will be donated to food pantries in Breese, Germantown and Carlyle.
JBF has certainly lived up to its mission, and several of the individuals who received hunts throughout the past year were introduced Saturday evening. To name a few of the hunters:
• Morgan Jansen, along with her parents Kerry and Cindy, had a 4-wheeling adventure last summer at Harpole's Heartland Lodge in Nebo. Carl Kluemke, Mark O’Laughlin, Blake Klenke (video) and Tammy and Mike Kluemke (all of JBF) hosted this whole group of riders and helped with all aspects on the trip.
• In September, John Schrage along with Ronnie Gebke and Travis “Tarvin” Albers who tagged along with John Burke, and Cayce and Nick Jondro of Jondro Studios to hunt a few alligators in Louisiana. Duck Dynasty's Phillip McMillan and Uncle Si Robertson also joined the group for dinner one evening.
• Clinton County Vietnam veterans Jim Lampe, Leonard Holtgrave, Ron “Moose” Holtgrave and Bob Petermeyer went on a trip in October to Specimen Creek Outfitters in Jardine, Montana.
• In November, Mel, Janet and Tim Deien went out to Cayuse Hills Outfitters in Shawmut, Montana, where Mel (inventor of the Peep Eliminator) got to hunt both a mule deer and an antelope successfully. Colton Kinsey was able to help guide Mel on the hunt.
• High Adventure Ranch set the stage for Mike Hudson and his brother to go fallow deer hunting Dec. 1-3 at Cook Station, Missouri.
• Dare to Hyde Outfitters was responsible for getting Jennifer Green on a nice North Carolina black bear hunt in December, where she was able to bring her son Trevor Huegen. Mark O’Laughlin and Nick Jondro from JBF also tagged along.
• Also in December, Don Lampe and Xaiden Foppe were able to go on a hunt at Oak Creek Whitetail Ranch in Missouri. Ryan Harris, Cody James, Mark McKnight and Donald Hill were able to help with this hunt.
The JBF banquet would not have been complete without remembering two important friends of JBF who passed away in the last year:
• Navy veteran Steven Platt, 26, of Edwardsville passed away in June 2019 after battling Stage IV cancer. He was able to go on a hog hunt in Corpus Christi, Texas, along with his family in May. A few weeks after his hunt, Platt passed away.
"His outlook and attitude was an inspiration to all of us that had the pleasure to be along," said Burke. "It was great listening to his stories of his service."
• Max Hankins II, 45, of Highland was diagnosed with ALS and in April 2018, he was able to go turkey, ram and boar hunting with JBF at Wilderness Hunting Lodge near Monterey, Tennessee. Hankins passed away in September.
"When you spend time with these people in their last moments, it's really hard to describe," said Burke. "But, what I can tell you is that it heals me with what happened to Jared and this is one of the better things about it, and I hope that more people can volunteer with JBF. There is nothing better for these guys."
As part of Saturday’s banquet several of the hunters were surprised with mounts and large prints from their respective hunts. Much of the taxidermy work was done by Kevin Gilbreth of Gilbreth Taxidermy, and the photography work, along with video footage, was done by Nick and Cayce Jondro of Jondro Studios. Both businesses were recognized for their dedication and commitment to JBF.
Burke also announced that Dylan Ziegler was selected as the honorary JBF committee member. Ziegler was able to go on a turkey hunt near New Memphis in March of last year.
"The youngins that we have in this organization are the future of the JBF," Burke said.
The Jared Burke Foundation surprised Kevin Courson of Salem with a special hunt at Specimen Creek, to go elk hunting. Courson is battling Stage IV cancer and his son Dalton helped surprise his dad with the hunt.
In addition to the gun raffles, there were hunting and fishing trips, wilderness artwork and more sold on live auction, a silent auction and through various games of chance.
John Burke invites the public to witness the smiles and memories created by the JBF by visiting the group’s Facebook page or its website, www.thejaredburkefoundation.com.
“Once again, I cannot thank everyone enough for honoring my brother Jared’s memory with these fantastic events. I am forever grateful,” said Burke.
Top left: Bunker gear and self-contained breathing apparatus are packed aboard the St. Rose Fire Protection District’s donated Ford pumper; Top right: The newly-delivered Ford pumper, already sporting its Louisburg Fire Department livery. Bottom: Loaded up, Tyler Kramer gets ready to depart St. Rose on the morning of Feb. 8, headed for Louisburg, Missouri. It's often that rural volunteer fire departments have to rely on their own ingenuity to acquire needed items.
Sometimes, all it takes is spreading the word that something is needed, to have that need filled.
Truck 8513 took its last ride in the streets of St. Rose earlier this month, before being delivered to a new home, for a much-needed purpose.
The St. Rose Fire Protection District donated the 1978 Ford pumper to the Louisburg Fire Protection District in Missouri, shipped there by semitrailer on the morning of Feb. 8, a Saturday.
The truck had been in service with the department until this year.
With it went donated firefighting gear destined for a department that really needed it.
St. Rose assistant fire chief Justin Detmer, talking on Feb. 14, said the truck had been listed on Facebook Market as being for sale, when Detmer got a message from a Louisburg firefighter about the vehicle.
After some conversations with St. Rose fire chief Dan Trame, the department opted to send the truck to a new home.
Louisburg is located in Dallas County, and has a population of 122, according to Tyler Kramer, who delivered the truck and gear.
He remembers that number from seeing the population sign as he entered the rural community.
Louisburg is on U.S. Route 65 south of Urbana and north of Buffalo.
The 35,000-pound Ford was originally titled by the office of then-Illinois Secretary of State Alan J. Dixon.
The St. Rose Fire Protection District wasn't the only entity involved in this venture.
The Breese Fire Protection District, Beckemeyer-Wade Fire District, Santa Fe Fire Protection District in Bartelso, and the Highland-Pierron Fire Protection District helped out with the donation of the truck, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs), and approximately 20 sets of gear.
| Fri., Feb. 14 | 452.29 |
| Sun., Feb. 16 | 451.98 |
| Tues., Feb. 18 | 451.59 |
| Feb. 12 | .49" |
| Feb. 13 | .49" |
| Feb. 14 | .00" |
| Feb. 15 | .00" |
| Feb. 16 | .00" |
| Feb. 17 | .00" |
| Feb. 18 | .09" |
