Forty-eight years ago, when Illinois Times had just opened for business, its very first cover story featured the Menard County community of Athens: “Rebuilding Athens: How to save a small town,” Sept. 18, 1975.
There was a movement at the time to rebuild the waning small town, and optimism reigned because Athens, 16 miles northwest of Springfield, had just just secured a new park and a municipal library building.
More than a generation has passed since that time. Many things in Athens have changed but much has stayed the same. Athens has had its ups and downs, its business closures and openings, its setbacks and opportunities.
Through it all, the community’s residents continue to be optimistic about their hometown where a “can-do” spirit seems to get things accomplished.
The past: “I said no, my team is here.”
John and Francene “Fran” Curry have been married for 53 years, have lived in Athens that long, and were the grand marshals of the Athens Glory Days Festival Parade on May 13.
“We moved to Athens in August 1970 to teach, and we never left. It’s a good community to raise a family in,” John said. “If somebody is sick they’re taking food in, people really care and they come out and help.”
John remembered that in 1970 Athens had four gas stations, an auto dealership, two grocery stores, a bowling alley, a variety store and a lumber yard. There are now two convenience stores, but the rest of those past businesses are gone. The community has since added a new athletic complex for the school system, a shooting range, several trades businesses, a food pantry and several residential subdivisions.
“Shortly after we came we had a gentleman who donated a large amount to start a park district and that was a big part of the community,” Fran said. “There was a pool with a swim team, our kids even worked as lifeguards there, and they had great baseball programs.”
The park pool has since closed and the space it occupied has been filled in, but the park remains. Fran noted, however, that the school district keeps growing and making improvements, so she considers things to be about equal when comparing Athens’ past and present.
Holly Henning-Buhr’s late husband, Bob, was in one of the photographs with the 1975 Illinois Times article. Henning-Buhr moved to Athens from the Chicago area to teach and has been a part of the community for 50 years.
“Our school district is excellent, I was part of it for 35 years,” Henning-Buhr said. “We built a library with some things in the Heritage Room that they didn’t even have at the Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. We were able to figure out how to keep the library open during the COVID crisis and that was a tremendous thing for everybody.”
Henning-Buhr’s first husband died in 1995. She remarried, to an Athens native, shortly thereafter and they were married for 24 years before he died during the COVID pandemic.
“My family anticipated that I would move back north to Chicago, but I said no, my team is here, the kids and I had been so involved in the community,” Henning-Buhr said. “One of the big drawing cards of Athens is if people see a need, they talk it up with a group of like-minded citizens and they work to make it happen. Nobody seems to be afraid to put themselves out there to make something happen.”
One part of Athens’ past that remains vibrant is the Long Nine Museum. It’s housed in an original 1830s building and is the site of an Aug. 3, 1837, banquet where Abraham Lincoln and several fellow state legislators celebrated the vote to move the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield.
The museum was established in 1972 and features the re-created Lincoln banquet area on the second floor, a re-created post office where New Salem Postmaster Lincoln would occasionally pick up mail, and dioramas associated with Lincoln’s connection to the area. Lincoln’s ties to Colonel Matthew Rogers, who built the structure and had business dealings with the future president, are also highlighted throughout.
“Everywhere you turn in the building, there are Lincoln and Rogers connections around every corner,” said museum volunteer Jim Siberell.
The Long Nine Museum will feature new rotating displays this summer. June will include “Lincoln as New Salem Postmaster” and “1974 Illinois Historical Society marker at the Long Nine Museum;” July, “Salzenstein family’s activities and influence in Menard County” and “Surveys and surveyors in Menard County, late 1820s-1830s;” and August, “Local participation in 28th Illinois Infantry Regiment in the Civil War” and “Donation of survey chain to the Long Nine Museum.”
An 80-year-old, one-tenth-scale model of the Lincoln Tomb that had been housed at the Will County Historical Museum in Lockport is expected to arrive any day at the Long Nine Museum.
“The Long Nine Museum had another of the three known models in the 1970s but that model had badly deteriorated by 1979,” Siberell said. “Obtaining a replacement model for us now is a homecoming of sorts.”
The Present: “Time to try to bring something back.”
The Glory Days Festival held May 11-13 in Athens featured a carnival, music, pageant, parade and family activities and is an example of the community’s current vibe.
“Our goal is to provide as many free activities as we can for the community,” said lifelong area resident Lyndsey Bosie, director of the Glory Days Festival. “We asked all of the local businesses to put something together like a free game for the kids, and it makes me really proud that they stepped up and provided this for our community.”
Bosie mentioned the Athens School District as being one of the community’s best current assets and added that Athens is “a very safe community, everybody knows everybody and if you are new to the community you get to know people very quickly.”
Doug Penrod served on the Athens Community Unit School District 213 school board for 16 years, six as president, and eight of his children went through the Athens school system.
“We lived away for 20-some years and when we decided to move back to the area, Athens kind of stood out to us as not only a good school district but also just a good community,” Penrod said. “I had a serious accident in 2009 that caused a spinal cord injury. People came by and did work around the yard that I couldn’t do when I was in a wheelchair, and that really meant a lot to me.”
The Athens Municipal Library has been a focal point for the community since it was built in the 1970s, and the library staff and volunteers pride themselves in responding to residents’ needs. The library was recently awarded an American Library Association Grant for $20,000 to make the facility more accessible to children and families with disabilities.
“We also partner with the school district, we have one young lady who has Down syndrome and another teen who is on the autism spectrum,” said Library Director Ginger Newingham, whose family has resided in the Athens area since the 1830s. “They come two times a week with a job coach to work for us and are paid with a grant through the school district.”
Brian Ratliff recently opened the Corner Cup downtown to bring back some of the treats and activities he remembered from growing up in Athens.
“I retired and my wife and I both felt it was time to try to bring something back, to try to revitalize this small town,” said Ratliff of his ice cream, candy and craft store. “I think the teenagers and the young adults just starting out will welcome these new businesses. The town is trying to re-beautify and I think it’s worthwhile to live here and to get businesses going so more people will move in.”
Another relatively new business, Country Road Relics, opened in late 2020 just south of Athens.
“I have people that are local, mainly from Menard County, that handmake items so I give them an outlet to sell,” said owner Debbie Heffner. “The community and the area have been very supportive, the only real advertising I have done is through Facebook.”
Some Athens-based businesses reach well beyond the community, but their presence is also felt locally. These include MTM Arms, which operates a shooting range where area citizens and police agencies can take target practice. Then there’s Hallelujah Holiday Lighting, which helps to light up central Illinois residences and businesses.
“This all branched off from our main seasonal business, Mosquito Squad, when we thought about ways to keep our employees year-round,” said owner Aaron Schober. “A lot of our guys are comfortable up on ladders and we are able to keep them pretty much year-round except for maybe February and March.”
Hallelujah Holiday Lighting decorated more than 200 residences last year, the entire Auburn Square, two parks in Lincoln, and a 26-foot tree in Springfield’s Washington Park.
“I grew up here and went to high school here, it’s really a great place to do business,” Schober said. “It’s small, tightknit and everybody knows everybody. I really wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Chris Reichert has been the mayor of Athens for two years and welcomes people to Athens, whether they are visiting or putting down roots in the community.
“The small-town atmosphere is what drew me back to Athens 20 years ago,” Reichert said. “If there’s an event that needs support our town really comes together to make sure that the situation is cared for. Your neighbors are your friends, you know everybody. I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”
The future: “Lindbergh tipped his wing to show his gratitude.”
Athens’ future might be tied to its past. There’s a movement afoot to create the first annual Lindbergh Days, which would commemorate Sept. 30, 1927, the date when famed aviator Charles Lindbergh made an emergency landing near Athens while flying his St. Louis to Chicago mail route.
“A local farmer checked on him, fed him, put him up for the night, and possibly helped with repairs to his plane,” said organizer Chance Newingham. “The next morning, he took off from a muddy field and then dropped mud across the countryside as he flew away. In the future as he flew over Athens, Lindbergh tipped his wing to show his gratitude.”
If he can get the support and event participants lined up, Newingham would like to start Lindbergh Days this year on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The event could feature aviation-themed activities such as skydiving demonstrations, remote control airplane and drone demonstrations, flight simulations, paper airplane contests for all ages, hot air balloon rides, and evening stargazing.
“We might try some kind of mud sport like mud volleyball as a tie-in to the Lindbergh plane taking off from that muddy field,” Newingham said. “We might also ask local establishments to serve aviator-inspired cocktails like the Wright Brothers Flyer or the Jet Setter.”
Newingham encouraged anyone who would like to participate in Lindbergh Days to contact him via email at lindberghdays@athensil.com. Even though the event is not yet official, and a lot depends on how many people offer to help in the next few months, Newingham is optimistic.
“Athens has a history of stepping up when they see a need or opportunity,” Newingham said. “They did it for Charles Lindbergh in 1927, and I hope they’ll do it for Lindbergh Days this fall.”
This article appears in Still building Athens.
