Scales Mound 160th Celebration June 21-23

The Village of Scales Mound, Illinois, will celebrate their 160-year-old anniversary with a weekend long celebration June 21-23, 2013, in commemoration of its farming and mining roots and the proud 413 residents that inhabit this over century and a half old town. All events will be staged in the town's park and town hall, located in the center of this rural Jo Daviess County community.

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"There is absolutely something for people of all ages planned for the weekend long celebration," said Joann Schultz, one of the celebration's organizers. "The whole town has come together to celebrate in their diversified ways. It's been a real community collaboration overall."

In addition to the celebration there will also be a special re-dedication of the village's new Veteran's Park that is still under construction, but already a visual landmark of the town's pride in honoring not only their home grown veterans, but all veterans. "The memorial is a continuous work in progress," said Bill Foley, also of Scales Mound and a member of the re-dedication team. "Brick purchases will be on-going and as donations become available we will add enhancements to the park."

Friday, June 21 events will kick off at 5 p.m. in the town park with carnival rides by Oak Ridge Amusements, craft booths (call Karlie White at 815-492-0141 for more information) and a beer tent. Wally's Chops and Kettle Corn from Warren will be the food vendor that evening.

The rest of Friday evening's park activities will be a horse shoe tournament at 6:30 p.m. Interested participants can contact Chris Schultz at 815-541-1392 for more information. Registration will start at 6 p.m. prior to the event.

At 7 p.m., the Scales Mound High School Gymnasium will perform "The Town That Didn't Disappear," an original musical written by Marya Smith of Elizabeth. Tickets are $4 per person at the door.

The evening ends back at the town park with music by "Armstrong Clawhammer" from 8-11:30 p.m., sponsored by the Scales Mound Chamber of Commerce.

Saturday, June 22 opens the festivities with a flea market and open house starting at 8 a.m. at Dr. Woodchuck's next to the railroad crossing in the center of town. For more information, interested people can contact Wulf or Tina Hollis at 815-858-2548. The Ladies Home Extension will also be sponsoring a bake sale in the town hall, along with a history display as their backdrop.

The park itself officially comes alive at 10 a.m. with children's games, and carnival rides, in addition to food and beverage sponsored by the Scales Mound Recreation Department and a continuation of the craft booths.

At 10:30 a.m. a parade will be held throughout the town, ending up at the Veteran's Memorial for the re-dedication ceremony. Parade entries are free, but registrants are asked to reserve a spot by calling Rick Koehler at 815-275-2931 or by email at scalesmound160celebration@gmail.com.

 

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Saturday June 22
Aactivities at the park include music by local musicians and the following:

• 1 p.m. - Firefighter's challenge: Water fight between area towns' firefighters.
• 1:30 p.m. - Bean bag tournament.
• 1:30 p.m. - Amazing Animal Pet Show at the park's bandstand. Contact Kate Keiffer for more information at 815-541-2469.
• 2 p.m. – Historical presentation by Dorothy Beckwith in the town hall, featuring Scales Mound people of note.
• 3 p.m. – Cupcake eating contest.
• 4 p.m. – Tractor rodeo in front of the town hall.
• 4-7 p.m. – Beef sandwich dinner in the town hall, sponsored by the Jo Daviess County Beef Producers.
• 5 p.m. – High Point Cruiser's Antique Car Show line up.
• 6 p.m. – "Festival Feud Game Show" where participants can put their Scales Mound knowledge to the test.
• 8 p.m. – Historic Scales Mound Citizens cemetery tours hosted by Joann Schultz.
• 8-11:30 p.m. – Music by "Misbehavin" at the bandstand, sponsored by the Scales Mound Chamber of Commerce.

Sunday, June 23
Start the day with a 4-H breakfast at the town hall from 8 a.m.-noon. The menu includes pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage patty, applesauce, cheese, rolls, milk, coffee and juice. Cost is $6 for adults; $3 for children; and under 4 is free.

Gospel music at 8:30 a.m. at the bandstand will preclude an old time church service at 9 a.m., with the Rev. John Lee presiding.

At noon a tractor pull, sponsored by the Scales Mound Recreation Association, will be held behind the high school, followed by a second performance of the musical "The Town That Didn't Disappear," at 2 p.m. in the Scales Mound High School Gymnasium.

Committee members for the 160th Anniversary Celebration are Chris Schultz (chairman), Bill Foley, Tina Hollis, Carrie Stier, Karlie White and Joann Schultz. For more information on the celebration, contact: Chris Schultz at 815-541-1392 or sdschultz73@yahoo.com or Joann Schultz at (815) 281-2275 or joann.schultz1@gmail.com.

 
Scales Mound Redevelopment Project Area

Tax Increment Financing District Eligibility Study, Redevelopment Plan and Project. Click Here for Complete Draft 
Veteran’s Park Update - March 2013
Did everyone miss the lights on the flags at the Veteran's Park as much as we did? It is amazing that in the short time the flags and lights have been there, it has become something we all expect to see when we round the corner from the north or south. I think we all agree it's good to have the power back on.
 
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Donations and brick orders are still coming in. To date, we have taken in almost $21,000 and our expenses have been around $14,000. We have orders for 117 bricks and 105 of them are engraved. The two additional stones, one in memory of Tom Williams and the other in memory of Leland Holland have been purchased and will be put in place once the weather allows. We have a donation for one bench and hope to eventually have four. As funds are available, we will put up a sign and add some urns.

Besides bringing you up to date on the status of the project, we believe it is time to encourage you to get your brick order in if you haven't already done so. Remember, a brick can be purchased for anyone who has served in the military – it can be an active military person - you do not have to live or even have lived in Scales Mound to have a brick. We welcome all!! We still have a list of people who have shown an interest but have not yet sent in an order so we would like to give everyone a friendly reminder to do so.

We have launched an "Adopt a Veteran" program which means if you don't have a military person in your family but you want to make the $75.00 donation, you can choose a name from the list of veterans we are sharing with the Scales Mound Post Office. If you are not comfortable choosing a name, you can "draw one of the same names out of the hat" and honor that veteran. We will help you put the information together. The time to lay the bricks will be here before we know it and we would like to have as many engraved bricks as possible to put down. If you want to be assured that your brick will be put down before the rededication ceremony, your order should be in before the end of March. This will allow the engravers time to get them done. Of course this is an ongoing project and bricks can be purchased in the months and years to come but we need to set a temporary deadline for those to be included in the initial installation. The rededication of the park will take place during the Village's 160th Celebration in June. Plans are to hold it directly after the parade.

Our sincere thanks goes out to all who have helped with the project in any way. We have been able to move forward much quicker than we ever imagined. We believe the completed park will be simple in its own way but very remarkable. Thanks again!

The forms for the bricks can be downloaded here, or you can contact Steve and Margaret Townsend (815-845-2240) or Jerry and Fran Edwards (815-845-2343).  The bricks are $75.00 each

Contact Steve Townsend at 815/845-2240 for more information.

2010 Census Data Reviewed
2010 Census Data shows the Village of Scales Mound lost 25 residents since the 2000 Census and now have 376 residents. But That Can't Be Right!! We did extensive research that shows our true count is 413.
 
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Census data shows our total number of housing units at 183 (154 occupied and 29 vacant). Thirty seven people may not seem like a lot, however, in a Village the size of Scales Mound, it could have a huge im-pact. The Census is all about providing the government with key demographic data so that it can understand the nature of our communities better. Billions of dollars worth of federal/state/local funding (YOUR tax dollars) will be allocated on the basis of the census.

For Scales Mound, inaccurate information could mean the loss or decrease in school funding, infrastructure dollars and more. At a time when states and counties already face severe cutbacks in public funding, an accurate as possible census is even more essential. The next time the census rolls around, do yourself and your commu-nity some good; fill out the census form as timely and as accurately as possible.

Details Here