By Arline Adamsick
Much of the area news this week was anything but pleasant…
The Beecher Herald: September 7, 1972
“Three Members of Monee Family Slain”
“Violence, which most people feel ‘couldn’t happen here,’ did happen sometime around midnight Sunday night, when three members of the Steven Hawtree family were brutally murdered in their home on Monee-Manhattan Road, approximately 1-1/2 miles west of the I-57 interchange, near Monee. Dead are Steven Hawtree, 56, his wife, Judy, 53, and their youngest son, Thomas, 17.
“According to Sheriff Joseph Trizna, the bodies were discovered about 10 a.m. Monday morning by Mrs. Jennie Verhoeven, 75, mother of Mrs. Hawtree.
“The tragedy apparently occurred sometime between 11 p.m. Sunday night, when Thomas returned from work at the Hauck Service Station in Monee and 1 a.m. when Mrs. Verhoeven reported she heard a car pull out of the driveway. She said she looked out the window but, seeing lights on next door and the two family cars still at home, she assumed her daughter and her family just had company who stayed late.
“Mrs. Verhoeven said she went to the house around 10 a.m. Monday when she was puzzled because she had not seen any of the family members up and about, in or around the house. When she entered the home, she found lights burning, the freezer door open, evidence the house had been ransacked, and the telephone cord cut. Checking the house further, she went to the basement and found the bodies.
“Will County Coroner Willard Blood said it appeared the three had been herded into the southwest corner of the basement where they shootings occurred sometime after midnight. It also appeared they had ‘been cooperative with the person or persons who entered the house.’
“There were several – two or three – wounds to each person, Blood noted. He said there also was a slight knife wound to the back of Thomas’ neck, indicating he may have resisted the intruders to a certain degree.
“Authorities are attempting to determine if there is a connection between the murders and a reported attempted burglary at the Lester Silcox residence on Bruns Road Sunday night. A suspect in the burglary was arrested by State and Peotone Police in Peotone early Monday morning.”
The Crete Record: September 7, 1972
In addition to the grim article concerning the murder of three members of the Hawtree family, THE CRETE RECORD also noted the family’s services…
“Funeral Services for Hawtrees to be Held Friday”
“Funeral services for Stephen, Judy, and Thomas Hawtree will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, September 8, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Old Monee Road, Park Forest. The three were victims of a triple murder in their rural Monee home early Monday morning.
“The Hawtree family moved to Monee 16 years ago from Chicago. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hawtree were interested in gardening and had several greenhouses on their property. They had hoped to go into the nursery business in the years to come. Mr. Hawtree was in the engineering department of the International Harvester’s West Pullman Works on Chicago’s south side. Thomas worked for the Hauck Service Station on Rt. 50 in Monee.
“The Hawtrees are survived by two older sons, Robert, who is employed in California, and James, a student at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Also surviving are Mr. Hawtree’s bother, Theodore of Chicago, and Mrs. Hawtree’s mother, Jennie Verhoeven, and brother, Walter, of Chicago.
“Thomas is a 1972 graduate of Crete-Monee High School and was planning to attend college in Tennessee this fall.”
Also, on the front page that week was this headline…
“August Dykhuisen Killed in Industrial Accident”
“August R. Dykhuisen, 43, of Crete was killed in a freak accident at the Interlake, Inc., steel plant in Riverdale Monday afternoon.
“Mr. Dykhuisen operated a steel splitting machine, from which the leftover scrap went into a continuous winding ball. Somehow, he became entangled in the scrap ball and was killed by it. There were no witnesses to the accident, and plant personnel were at a loss to explain how it happened, since the slitting machine is guarded on all sides.
“His helper on the machine was not present at the time of the accident. Fellow workers found him apparently a short time after the accident. Mr. Dykhuisen had been an employee of the company for 22 years. He is survived by his wife, Dolores; three daughters, Mrs. Roxanne Miller of Steger, Joanne and Sally Ann, at home; two sons, Keith Allen and Peter John at home; and two grandchildren.”
The Manteno News: September 7, 1972
“The News Makes the News; Publishers First Offset Issue in 86-Year History”
“New Procedure Makes Possible More Art and Pics”
“This is the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius. If that sounds fishy to you, just ponder for a moment that even as you read this lead article on the first page of this issue, you are helping THE NEWS make history. This very paper marks the changeover of THE MANTENO NEWS from letterpress to offset production.
“Basically, this means the linotype machine, which cast hot lead into type for most or all our 86 years, is now retired. In its place is some very sophisticated computer typesetting equipment that stores the words until it receives enough to make a line and then spaces the words properly and reproduces the lines by a photographic process onto photocopy paper. The developed paper is in a column, just like the one you are reading. It is placed with other columns, with pictures and artwork on a sample page of the paper. The page is photographed, and a plate is made that will print the paper on an offset press. THE NEWS has used a small offset press for job work for some time and now will publish this paper by this process each week.
“Several weeks of preparation were necessary to arrange for the purchase, delivery, installation, and operation of the machines. After the factory representative departed, a week or two of practice was required to develop sufficient knowledge and flexibility with the machines to go into production.
“What does this mean to subscribers? It means that for a few weeks you will probably notice the bugs being worked out of the process as we learn more about it. We solicit the understanding of the world’s most beautiful people – our advertisers – during this transition. When the last bug is exterminated, we believe the end results of the new process will be an improvement in the overall appearance and capability of the World’s Greatest Newspaper Created in Manteno – THE MANTENO NEWS.”
“As Others See It…
“Believing all you hear is matched only by telling all you know. – Globe, Mason City, Iowa
“A bore is one who is here today and here tomorrow. – Count Down, Los Angeles.
“Of course, there are bigger things than money. For example, bills. –Tribune, Des Moines.
“Some men have a reputation for truthfulness, because they can’t think fast enough. –Guide, Audubon, Iowa.”
The Peotone Vedette: September 8, 1972
Sauk Trail Drive-In: Cliff Robertson in “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid,” and Clint Eastwood in “Play Misty for Me.” There also was an ad for the Holiday Theatre in Park Forest, which featured “The Man” – “The explosive story of the first Black President of the U.S.”
“Quarterback Club Holds First Meeting of ’72 – ’73 Season”
“The first Quarterback Club meeting of the ’72 – ’73 athletic season was held Tuesday in the high school cafeteria. The football scoreboard has been installed and the press box erected. The club also is purchasing a whirlpool for the benefit of the athletes.
“Membership in the Quarterback Club is open to everyone, especially those interested in furthering high school athletics. Anyone who would like to join the club should contact one of the following members of the committee: Betty Blog, Lew Reed, Larry Ponton, or Lloyd Collins.”
Kasco Foods’ ad in Manteno included: Armour Star 5 lb. canned hams – $4.59; Del Monte lite tuna – 39¢/6-1/2 oz. can; Friskies dog food – 59¢/5 lb. bag; home grown sweet corn – 4¢/ear; red potatoes – 59¢/10 lbs.; and ground chuck – 79¢/lb.
There also was a picture of the 10 returning lettermen on the Blue Devils football team, including: Wayne Cann, Pat Goodwin, Clarke Shaw, Randy Wischover, Mike Downs, Roger Beaver, Donn Slocum, Randy Murray, Bill Mort, and John Abell. The Blue Devils would open their first season in the Kankakee Valley Conference on Saturday, September 16, at 2 p.m., in Minooka, then play their first conference game the following week at Herscher.
In those days, the Classifieds consisted of a number of pages – that edition had four pages featuring: Auctions and public sales; baton, tap, and pre-school dancing lessons; pets for free and also for sale; lost and found – including a lost Siamese cat and a 10-speed Schwinn bike “that was stolen;” Antique clock repair (now I could use that one); housecleaning; babysitting; house painting; and even private driving lessons – “by qualified teacher at half usual price. Will help get permit and driver’s license;” cottages, apartments, and farmland for rent; plus lots of help wanted – cutting down trees, quality control lab technician, fire prevention and building inspector for Village of Park Forest South.
Under Personals there was this… “Contrary to all rumors, the Magic Mirror Beauty Salon is not for sale. Peggy Rice.” Some things never change in a small town!!!
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Have a great week and hope you did not suffer any storm damage last week. Peotone was hit rather hard!! We are now in the ‘ber’ months and really looking forward to everything that says fall, but somehow, the ‘bers’ seem to fly by way too swiftly, so enjoy it while it’s here!!! Happy apples, pumpkins, and cinnamon!! Don’t those cooler evening temperatures feel great? Life is Good!!!!