Features

Darrin Lurkins is showing his family’s Polled Hereford cattle at the Fayette County Fair.  He seemed especially proud of “Eclipse,” a heifer that was born in September.

Raising Hereford cattle is the Lurkins family’s business.

“We raise seed stock, and sell bulls and heifers to 4-H kids, and try to help people out as much as we can,” he said.

Lurkins, a 4-H Club “veteran,” is an avid supporter of the organization.

Though he came from very humble beginnings, the Rev. Norris Price has fashioned a life that is rich in all the important ways.

At the age of 77, he is still vital, healthy and involved. And he maintains an intellectual curiosity that keeps life interesting.

“I grew up in the country southwest of Ramsey,” Price said. “I suppose we were considered poor. There wasn’t much cash, but we never went hungry. And we had a lot of fun.”

From an early age, he demonstrated a thirst for knowledge and a fascination with people.

Haldon Warner became a member of the family at First National Bank of Vandalia in 1963, working in the bookkeeping department.

“Back then,” he said, “they wanted you to start by learning every department and work your way up.”

That seems like a good plan, because young Haldon Warner did, indeed, work his way up. He is now senior vice president and chief lending officer, positions from which he is retiring. He wears other hats, including serving as the compliance officer.

Jay Stortzum gives the first impression of a soft-spoken man of with a pleasant, intelligent and friendly personality. 

An ensuing conversation reveals that the first impression is correct, along with a sincere commitment to serve for the betterment of others, a trait which became apparent when he attended Eastern Illinois University.

As a student at EIU, Stortzum served as a student senator and the student body vice president, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education.

Katie Carson’s winning essay for the “Patriot’s Pen” contest, which is held every year by the Brownstown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9770, went on to win the District 12 competition.

Katie, the daughter of Duane and Tammy Carson, is an eighth-grader at Brownstown Junior High School. She said that her writing was partially inspired by the return home from the service of a friend, Travis.

“The town escorted him home and had an appreciation party for him,” she said.

In many cases, when one is nearing the age of Ethel Gates Booher, the occasion is described more accurately as “observing”or simply “reaching” the honored year, which, in Ethel’s case, is 99.

In Ethel’s case, her homey, cheerful room in the Long Term Care facility at the Fayette County Hospital was alive with greetings, laughter and listening to Ethel’s stories of the past last Friday, as she, and her children and grandchildren literally celebrated Ethel’s 99th birthday.

Cindy Hicks saw a need in the Fayette County area and, wanting to help people, was tossing around ideas in her head on how best to do this.

She saw a need to help people clothe their families, especially younger children and teenagers, when they are hard-pressed to pay their bills, handle school expenses and put food on their table. Although clothes are a necessity, they are not at the top of the have-to-have list.

“I just kind of knew from about the age of 14 that was what the Lord had given me the gifts to do and to be."

That's what Mary Lou Whitten said, in regard to her notable and lengthy work and contributions in the nursing/teaching field. 

“I also had a favorite aunt, Fleeta Mattes, who was a nurse, and I think just being around her and watching her probably  contributed to it. But I felt the Lord gave me the gifts and I just took it from there. I never even thought about being anything but a nurse.”

A framed photograph in Roy Elliott’s room shows his shirt tail being cut off, a traditional ritual when someone becomes a licensed airplane pilot.

A member of Fayette County Civil Defense (now Emergency Management Agency)  for years, he was a jack-of-all-trades with many skills, until a fateful day three years ago when a tree he was trimming fell on him, fracturing his back in two places. Parkinson’s disease entered the picture, rendering him unable to perform routine daily activities.