This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Village of Hampshire’s centennial celebration in 1976.
Hampshire was incorporated in 1876 with Samuel C. Rowell serving as its first village president.
In order to honor the 40th anniversary, the Hampshire Historical Society held a “Hampshire Celebrates” event on Sunday afternoon, inside the 1859 one-room Eakin School House connected to the Hampshire branch of Resource Bank, 135 West Oak Knoll Drive (Route 72).
The Hampshire Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8043 Ladies Auxiliary provided refreshments. They also held a drawing for an American flag made in Kane County and collected worn American flags for proper disposal.
Hampshire Historical Society members Bill and Melanie Howe came up with the idea for “Hampshire Celebrates.”
Deanne Tamms, the society’s secretary, said she and Darlene Tegtmeier started working in May on putting together the historical display.
“Everyone has been very supportive,” Tamms said.
Hampshire VFW Ladies Auxiliary member Frances Stuehler was once the treasurer of the Rutland Township Historical Society that was formerly housed in the Eakin School House along Big Timber Road before it was moved to Hampshire.
“It’s wonderful to see the school house here,” Stuehler said on Sunday. “It’s also wonderful to give tribute to what happened in the past and keep it alive.”
Elgin resident Kate Wallace became a member of the Hampshire Historical Society because her family once owned a farm along Kelley Road.
“I think the school house is the perfect place for the ‘Hampshire Celebrates’ event,” Wallace said.
Hampshire’s centennial celebration featured a parade, First Lady of Hampshire pageant, centennial booklets, and burying of a time capsule that contained photographs, letters and a piece of the centennial cake.
The celebration also included a rocking chair competition.
“There were 13 contestants,” Tamms said. “The competition was held next to the Rose Garden Restaurant along State Street in Hampshire. Bertha Struck won the contest by rocking for 86 hours.”
In addition to honoring the centennial, the event on Sunday featured articles and artifacts from Hampshire’s Fourth of July celebrations, Old Fashioned Days and the current Hampshire Coon Creek Country Days Festival.
This year, the annual Hampshire summer fest will run from Thursday, August 4, to Sunday, August 7, at Bruce Ream Park, 368 Terwilliger Avenue.
The Hampshire Historical Society currently has 20 members. They meet in the Hampshire Township Building, 170 Mill Avenue, at 7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of September through June, excluding the months of November and December.
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For information, contact Deanne Tamms at 847-683-2499.
Denise Moran is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.