Grundy County Historical Society celebrates 100 years

There was much to learn last Sunday at the Grundy County Historical Society as residents and volunteers gathered to celebrate its 100th anniversary at 510 W. Illinois Ave. in Morris.

Displays commemorating the county's history are always available during the Historical Society's 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday to Saturday hours, but the experts were on hand Sunday to share more than what can be gleaned from looking at the display.

These experts include Shawn Hornsby, the grandson of Hornsby's Grocery Store founder Art Hornsby Sr. Hornsby Sr. shared memories of a time when grocery store chains were more regional and locally owned.

It all started when Art dropped out of high school at 16-years-old.

"He started working for the Hertz Variety store part-time before that, then went full time," Hornsby said. "Because of World War I, it was heart to find men to work in stores so he became the manager of their Spring Valley store at 17-years-old."

An old Velie carriage display at the Grundy County Historical Society. (Michael Urbanec)

Art, along with his brother, were management for the Hertz Variety Stores, which was owned by the same brothers who started the Yellow Cab Company in Chicago. These also are the same brothers who founded Hertz Rental Cars.

In 1922, Hornsby was approached by a local bank in Morris to purchase a local variety store that was going out of business. He paid $2,800 for the store.

Hornsby's Grocery Stores were a staple of Central Illinois, with 24 stores stretching. More information about Hornsby's can be learned by visiting the museum.

Nancy Mattson works the loom, creating rug after rug during the Grundy County Historical Society's open house. (Michael Urbanec)

Normally, the rug-makers from Goose Lake Prairie Partners are only in the museum using their loom to create rugs on Fridays. They made an appearance Sunday afternoon for a demonstration, showing how they use recycled materials like old blue jeans and other fabric to create rugs.

Bev Mansfield said this particular hand-operated machine lets them get seven rugs out of 16 yards of material.

Nancy Mattson worked the loom, which holds threads straight to allow her to weave material between them. When she's reached a suitable amount of material weaved, she pulls a handle back toward her. This moves the already-weaved material onto her lap, providing more string.

These rugs can be purchased at the Grundy County Historical Society during business hours.

There's also a machine shed full of old tools, which Dan Dransfeldt said comes from a lot of the old farms from around Grundy County.

He pointed to old tools like ice picks and hooks used to get hay up into the lefts, the hooks used to catch chickens and get them to eat. They even have an old corn sheller, which strips kernels off the cob.

The Grundy County Historical Society is full of displays honoring the county's past, covering modern history topics such as the I&M Canal and technology from typewriters to all the way back to arrowheads and the local Native American History. There's also displays of fossils, including fossils of the Tully Monster, the Illinois State Fossil.

A mannequin dressed as a paperboy, who is carrying a 1907 edition of the Morris Herald. (Michael Urbanec)

Discussion on forming a historical society took place first at a preliminary meeting on May 31, 1923, at the Morris Public Library. The committee formed there adopted by-laws by Aug. 17, 1923, and elected Dr. W. E. Walsh, a Morris physician, its first president. The Historical Society then began collecting relics, antiques and items significant to Grundy County, first at the Grundy County Courthouse and then at 201 E. Illinois Ave.