The Dale C. Maley Family Web Site

1. Coal Mining in Fairbury, Illinois

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John Marsh and his son Henry Marsh dug 180 feet down and discovered coal about 1 mile west of Fairbury. This discovery set off a coal mining boom in the entire state of Illinois. This book covers the evolution of the five coal mines in Fairbury. It includes tunnel maps for the mine located where the entrance to Timber Ridge Subdivision is now. The book has all the very photographs of Fairbury coal mines and miners. Coal mining was a dangerous occupation and had a normal amount of fatalities given the three million tons of coal mined in Fairbury.

2. Fairbury, Illinois and the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition

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Fairbury had a very strong connection with the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. John Virgin imported large French Percheron horses and sold them to Fairbury area farmers. John was a big supporter of the Fairbury Fair and the Illinois State Fair. The Governor of Illinois appointed John Virgin to design and build the Agricultural Exposition building at the World's Fair. The Fairbury Fair was cancelled in 1893 so people could take the train to Chicago to the amazing World's Fair.

3. Fairbury History Stories Volume One

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This is a collection of 73 well-researched Fairbury history stories including at least one photograph per story. It covers a very wide range of Fairbury history topics.

4. Fairbury, Illinois from Prehistoric to Modern Times

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The early geological history of Illinois explains many aspects of Fairbury life. This history explains why we still find fossils of sea creatures in our fields, why coal was found in Fairbury, how we got such flat and rich soil, and the early Native Americans that lived in our area.

5. Fairbury, Illinois in 1888

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One of the three primary history books about Livingston County was the 1888 history book. This book extracts the biographies of many early Fairbury citizens. It also includes beautiful illustrations of Fairbury farms and the two field tile factories.

6. Fairbury, Illinois in the Civil War

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Most Fairbury men joined either an infantry unit or a cavalry unit. The infantry unit was led by A. J. Cropsey. Today, Cropsey Township and the village of Cropsey are named after him. Both of these military units fought in battles primarily south of Illinois. Some Fairbury farmers hired substitutes to take their place in the Union army, which was a legal practice in that era. Two Belle Prairie young men signed up to be substitutes, but never made it to their military units. To this day, these two young men are still missing.

7. Fairbury, Illinois in the World Wars

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This book covers both World War I and World War II. Because World War I was so relatively short, few Fairbury men actually made it to France to fight before the war was over. Some Fairbury men were gassed by mustard gas in France in World War I. Many Fairbury men and women served in World War II. The book includes the military service record of everyone who served in World War II. Biographies of the fatalities are included as well. Glenn Lee Johnson, who served in the Pacific, went missing on a small island and he is still missing today.

8. History of Murders Committed in Fairbury, Illinois

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Fortunately, Fairbury has experienced only eight murders since it was founded in 1857. All eight murders are thoroughly investigated and all the newspaper accounts are included in the book. Because Fairbury is a small town, these eight murders impacted many different members of the community.

9. Honegger's & Company of Fairbury, Illinois

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Honegger's was formed by two brothers from Forrest. They started out with one small feed mill and ended up with an international operation. They had a fleet of company airplanes, employed almost 500 people at the peak, and were listed on the stock exchange. The book covers the founding of the company through its eventual demise as farming and the feed markets changed over time.

10. Livingston County Historical Society: It's Beginning and Some Later Years with Updates

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This book was originally published in a small quantity by Paul Yost of Pontiac. It includes copies of several paintings of the early county courthouses done by Katherine Yost. Fairbury historian Alma Lewis James was an early member as well as Chatsworth's Mrs. Stoutemyer. This book includes a fascinating story about Native Americans and their artifacts.

11. The Great Chatsworth Train Wreck of 1887

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Mrs. Stoutemyer of Chatsworth published her book about the train wreck in 1970. She is deceased and her book has been out of print for many years. The new book uses her original research. The new book triples the content of her book because of the availability of more materials using the Internet. One new chapter details what happened to all 23 Fairbury passengers on this ill-fated train. This Niagara Falls excursion train derailment still ranks as the seventh worst train wreck in American History.

12. The Founding of Fairbury, Illinois

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Alma Lewis James, in her Fairbury history book, Stuffed Clubs & Antimacassars, focused on the founding of the village of Fairbury. This new book thoroughly explores the founding of both the pioneer farmers and the village. The new book uses land purchase records to tell the story of how three different farmers all competed to have the new railroad run through their farms. Back in the 1820s, land was considered valuable if it was on a creek or river and had a timber.  All of the earliest settlers in the Fairbury area followed this convention and located on Indian Creek or the Vermilion River.

13. The Goudy Bros. of Fairbury, Illinois

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The Goudy brothers were early motorcycle racers. They grew up in Fairbury and their father ran a jewelry and watch store for many years. Both brothers set many world records in motorcycle racing. Unfortunately, younger brother William was killed at a California track while doing practice laps. The Fairbury girl friend of older brother Carl would not marry him unless he gave up motorcycle racing. Carl gave up motorcycle racing and went on to be an inventor and businessman in New York. Both brothers are in the American Motorcycle Association Hall of Fame.

14. The Kring Family of Fairbury, Illinois

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The Kring family history is deeply intertwined with early Fairbury history. One family member ran a foundry which made cast iron products. Some of these Kring foundry cast-iron doorways are still being used on Fairbury stores on Locust Street. Two Kring brothers ran a huge greenhouse that was located just west of the Prairie Central High School.

15. The McDowell Family of Fairbury, Illinois

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The second pioneer farming family to settle in the Fairbury area was the McDowell family. They helped to found the towns of Avoca, McDowell, Fairbury, and Gibson City. Judge McDowell saw how Fairbury took off after the railroad came through in 1857. He also saw how Pontiac grew after it became the county seat. Judge McDowell went to Nebraska and tried to predict where their railroad would go next, and where a future town could make a new county seat.  He bought the inexpensive Nebraska farm land, and the new railroad came through his land and his new town became a county seat. He named his new town Fairbury, Nebraska, after his home town in Fairbury, Illinois.

16. Walton Bros. of Fairbury, Illinois

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Isaac and J.W. Walton go clear back to when they opened their first store in 1868 in Fairbury. They experienced three different times. After each fire, they rebuilt bigger and better department stores. Many Fairbury businesses were spawned from the Walton Bros. department store. Walton's would add a new product line, then spin it off to their employees that ran that business.

17. William T. Stackpole of Fairbury, Illinois

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Mr. Stackpole was one of early Fairbury's most interesting characters. During his life, William was a gold prospector, pioneer, farmer, merchant, grain speculator, oil field worker, real estate sales person, inventor, writer, publisher, and visionary. His home still exists on West Maple Street, at the southeast corner of Marsh Park.

18. William T. Stackpole's 1849 Journey from Illinois to the California Gold Fields

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Before he came to Fairbury, Mr. Stackpole caught the "gold bug" and headed to California during the 1849 Gold Rush. He kept a diary written in longhand using a steel cartridge ink dip pen. His diary still exists in the Yale Research Library. Copies of his diary were obtained, and his longhand was painstakingly transcribed into modern text. His journey to California and his return trip is a fascinating story. Mr. Stackpole was one of the few prospectors that actually struck it rich in the California gold fields.

You can use this link to watch this YouTube video.

The first 75 Fairbury history stories in the Blade newspaper were combined into a book titled, "Fairbury History Stories Volume 1." The titles of these Blade stories are shown below.

Chapter 1

Book Design

Chapter 2

A Truly Larger than Life Figure

Chapter 3

Fairbury, Illinois in 1888

Chapter 4

1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition

Chapter 5

Fairbury Murder Book

Chapter 6

Fairbury Book Authors

Chapter 7

Sanborn Insurance Maps

Chapter 8

WJEZ Radio History Segments

Chapter 9

Fairbury Coal Mining Book

Chapter 10

William T. Stackpole Book

Chapter 11

Archer House Sign

Chapter 12

Lough & Ellis Drum

Chapter 13

McDowell Book

Chapter 14

Kring Family Book

Chapter 15

Founding of Fairbury Book

Chapter 16

The Goudy Brothers

Chapter 17

History of Fairbury Waste Treatment

Chapter 18

The Las Vegas Connection

Chapter 19

Joseph Slagel

Chapter 20

Fairbury Swimming Pool History

Chapter 21

Civil War

Chapter 22

World War I

Chapter 23

World War II

Chapter 24

Fairbury Banks

Chapter 25

Fairbury School History

Chapter 26

Fairbury Country Schools

Chapter 27

Bat Masterson Working in Fairbury Coal Mine

Chapter 28

Conerus Cigars

Chapter 29

The Dangers of Coal Mining

Chapter 30

Fairbury Movie Star

Chapter 31

Levi Judson Odell

Chapter 32

Old City Hall

Chapter 33

Mapel Brothers

Chapter 34

The Mapel Brother’s Horse

Chapter 35

Native American Artifacts

Chapter 36

Fairbury’s Most Famous Drug Store

Chapter 37

Shedd Aquarium

Chapter 38

Kuenzi Dairy

Chapter 39

Little Joe’s Grocery Store

Chapter 40

Don Karnes

Chapter 41

Underground Fairbury

Chapter 42

Dominy Memorial Library

Chapter 43

Ziegenhorn’s

Chapter 44

Carl Eilers

Chapter 45

Early Health Challenges

Chapter 46

Horse Palace

Chapter 47

Dr. C. B. Ostrander

Chapter 48

Dick McAllister

Chapter 49

1887 Chatsworth Train Wreck

Chapter 50

George A. Decker

Chapter 51

U.S. Patents

Chapter 52

Alma Lewis James

Chapter 53

Fairbury Hospitals

Chapter 54

Knights of Pythias

Chapter 55

Post Office History

Chapter 56

1849 California Gold Rush

Chapter 57

Mausoleum

Chapter 58

Ghost Towns

Chapter 59

The Pontiac Boys

Chapter 60

Veterans Memorial Park Historic Murals

Chapter 61

Old Business Advertising Signs

Chapter 62

The First Murder

Chapter 63

Livingston County Nurse

Chapter 64

Francis Townsend

Chapter 65

1918 Spanish Flu

Chapter 66

World War II Rationing

Chapter 67

Fairbury Ice Businesses

Chapter 68

Temperance and Women’s Voting Rights

Chapter 69

Golf Course History

Chapter 70

Cigar Store Indians

Chapter 71

Locust Street Opera House

Chapter 72

Third Street Opera House

Chapter 73

Polio

Chapter 74

Gypsies

1. Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
2. How Asset Allocation Can Help You Achieve Your Financial Goals
   
3. Frequently Asked Questions & Answers about ETF’s and Index Funds
   
4. Why We Don't Save Enough for Retirement and How You Can Save More
   
5. Are You Using the Right Rules to Plan Your Retirement?
   
6. How to Use Psychology to Achieve Your Financial Goals
   
7. Should Immediate Annuities Be a Tool in Your Retirement Planning Toolbox?
   
8. Who Wins the Variable Annuity Versus Mutual Fund Battle?
   
9. Will Your Children or Uncle Sam Inherit Your Estate?
   
10. What Are the Requirements for Becoming a Financial Planner?
    
11. Sell My Stocks Before the Baby Boomers Crash the Market?
    
12. How Do I Determine If I Have Saved Enough to Retire?
    
13. Don't Max Out My 401K?
    
14. Will Reverse Mortgages Be the Salvation of Baby Boomer Retirees?
    
15. Do I Need Ten, Twenty, or Thirty Times My Income to Retire?
    
16. How to Find a Good Financial Planner
    
17. Total Market or Slice-n-Dice for My Investment Portfolio?
    
18. What Safety Factor Are You Using for Your Retirement Plan?
    
19. How Much Income Do I Really Need in Retirement?
    
20. What Lessons Can We Learn from the Crash of 2008?
    
21. How to Invest for Retirement after the Crash of 2008
    
22. Rules-of-thumb or Retirement Planning Software?
    
23. Is Portfolio Rebalancing Worth It?
    
24. Do I Need Umbrella Insurance?
    
25. Got My First Job and How Do I Handle the 401K?
    
26. Are Black Swans Really Harmful to Ordinary Investors?
    
27. Should My Asset Allocation Include My Pension and Social Security?
    
28. Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Early?
    
29. How Does My Asset Allocation Compare to Everyone Else?
    
30. How Do I Maximize Retirement Income From My Portfolio?
    
31. Is Saving 10% of My Gross Income Good Enough?
    
32. Contribute to My Bad 401K or Go Taxable?
    
33. Do I Need an Investment Policy Statement?
    
34. Do I Need Long-Term Care Insurance?
    
35. Do I Need Long-Term Disability Insurance?
    
36. How to Read Your Way to Financial Wealth
    
37. How Do I Select the Correct Risk Level for My Portfolio?
    
38. How Do I Estimate Retirement Living Expenses?

1. How to Build a Fascinating Ratcheting Wood Model

1. The Bogleheads Guide to Retirement Planning.

SAE paper number 931173 Rapid Development of New Product Concepts, 1993.

These can all be accessed from this web site.

1. Background and how Dale became interested in Fairbury history
2. How the city of Fairbury, Illinois was founded in 1857
3. Sources for historical researchers, and the process of uncovering the past
4. Fairbury’s most nationally famous citizens
5. Fairbury and the coal mines
6. Fairbury and the railroads
7. Murders committed in Fairbury, Illinois
8. Fairbury book authors
9. Fairbury war stories
10. U.S. Patents issued to Fairbury citizens
11. Fairbury and the 1893 Columbian Exposition
12. The early rivalry between Fairbury and Pontiac boys
13. Fairbury and the Indians
14. Dominy Memorial Library
15. Fairbury Echoes Museum
16. A historical visit to Fairbury
17. Fairbury area ghosts towns
18. Discovery of old Fairbury maps
19. Health conditions faced by the early Fairbury settlers
20. Early Fairbury inventor Joseph Slagel
21. The Shedd Aquarium’s connection to Fairbury
22. Historic mural project in Fairbury
23. Restoring the Occident Flour Sign in Fairbury.
24. Fairbury Coal Mining Book
25. New Biography of William T. Stackpole
26. Restoration of Swing Steidinger sign
27. Jail Cell & Upcoming Marsh Park Improvements
28. Marsh Park Update
29. The Successful Quest to Return William Stackpole’s 146 year-old book to Fairbury
30. Early Fairbury and Livingston County History
31. Transcribing William T. Stackpole’s 1849 California Gold Rush Diary
32. Fairbury, Illinois from Prehistoric Times to Modern Times
33. Fairbury in the World Wars
34. Fairbury and the Civil War
35. 1885 Fairbury Map and 1863 Civil War Murals
36. Restoration of the Archer House Sign
37. Marsh Park Renovation
38. The Walton Bros
39. The Kring Family
40. McDowells Book
41. Founding of Fairbury
42. Livingston County Historical Society

There are approximately 30 YouTube videos showing various woodworking and stained glass projects completed by Dale C. Maley