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HISTORY OF BAYLES LAKE

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

1948-2016

January 1, 2017

Rod Cardinal

History of Bayles Lake-Other Stuff

These articles, 1948-2015 are from the Champaign-Urbana Courier, Champaign News-Gazette,

Paxton Record and the Loda Times Newspapers.

1940’s

1948, December 17, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Loda Votes On $30,000 Bonds”

Loda residents will vote on a proposal to issue $30,000 in bonds to finance sewer improvements

and make possible the construction of a 160 acre lake west of the village.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. at a single polling place in the town and village hall.

The village board called the referendum to get voters’ approval of a plan to extend and change

the location of the main outlet sewer from the village. In addition to making the proposed lake

possible, the improvement would make the construction of a future sanitary treatment plant less

expensive, according to the board.

1949, March 24, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Clubs Support Proposed Lake in Loda Area”

Sportsmen’s clubs in Champaign and Ford County will join the Iroquois organization in working

for construction of a state conservation lake at Loda, IL, it was announced.

Royal B. McClelland, secretary of the Champaign County Sportsmen’s Club, said prospects are

good that the Loda Lake will be included in the state’s 1951 conservation program.

An “excellent” site for a 175 acre lake is available about 5 miles northwest of Loda, and some

preliminary work already has been done by the owner, McClelland said.

Champaign county sportsmen decided at a meeting Wednesday night that they will support the

Iroquois County project rather than the push for immediate action on a Champaign County lake.

The state has embarked on a program aimed at eventually providing a lake in each Illinois

County but the only potential Champaign County site north of Mahomet is “not too good,”

McClelland said.

He explained that the Sportsmen were not abandoning Champaign’s county claim to a lake but

agreed that “the highest priority” should be given to the Loda location.

Earliest time for action by the state at Loda is 1951, according to McClelland who also is

executive secretary of the Illinois Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs. The state has the first seven

lakes in its program under construction now.

The conservation department plans to confine requests for the 1949-51 biennium to about

$2,000,000 required to complete these lakes. It intends to seek funds in 1951-53 for construction

of more lakes, McClelland said.

1950’s

1952, May 13, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Loda Awards Contract for Drain Ditch”

The Loda village board has awarded a contract to D.B. Bayles of Paxton for the construction of a

9000-foot-long drainage ditch to divert Spring Creek to the east side of the Loda lake site.

Bayles bid was for $28,000, with work on the project to begin this spring.

Before the new contract could be put into operation, an amendment to the original ordinance for

diverting the drainage of Loda had to be passed.

A new set of plans for the diversion of Spring Creek were filed with Loda township clerk, Archie

Tomsheck, after being drawn up by John Walker, Loda engineer.

Bayles subsequently furnished the village with a plotting of the waterway for recording.

The drainage ditch will also be used as a spillway in case the lake level rises.


“Loda Drainage Work Will Start Soon”

Construction of a 9000-foot drainage ditch to divert Spring Creek to the east side of the Loda

lake site is expected to start soon. Loda village board has announced award of a contract for the

project to D.B. Bayles, Paxton contractor, on his bid of $28,000.

New plans for the diversion of the creek, draining the Loda area, were prepared by John Walker,

Loda engineer. An amendment to the original ordinance providing for the improvement was

adopted because of changes in conditions.

The new ditch can serve as a spillway if the lake overflows.


“Work Resumes on Building of Loda Lake”

Work has been resumed on the construction of 200-acre recreational Bayles Lake, one and a half

miles west of Loda, D.B. Bayles, Paxton contractor, announce Thursday.

The project, which lies in a 580-acre tract, was postponed in the early 40’s. Formation of a

corporation is planned to finance and direct completion of the entire area Bayles said. Oak trees

cover most of the land apart from the proposed lake bed.

Work is under way on the south side of the county highway in the construction of a diversion

channel for Spring Creek. This was found necessary to avoid pollution in the lake because Loda

village sewers empty into Spring Creek. Diverting the creek from the lake also will reduce

silting of the lake, Bayles said.

Contract for the channel was made May 10 between Bayles and the Loda village board.

Bayles said plans have been submitted to the Iroquois County highway department for approval

and aid in constructing a new bridge one fourth mile east of the existing county highway bridge.

This is where the diversion channel will cross the highway.

“Considerable construction has been completed on the levee which will dam Spring Creek,”

Bayles said. “The levee when completed will have an approximate length of 500 feet and will be

30 feet high. The dam will have a crest of 30 feet and be 210 feet at the base.

“The water at the dam will be 22 feet deep at spillway crest. The lake will have an average depth

of nine feet,” he added.

Tracy Pitzen, Civil Engineer of Paxton, is preparing plans showing the area as it will be

subdivided into areas and lots, Bayles reported. The lots will be sold or leased to individuals for

cottage or residence sites.

Bayles said he hoped that Loda would support a plan for developing a recreation and picnic area.

He predicted that the lake would be ready for flooding by Sept. 15.

1952, May 22, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Resume Lake Construction at Loda”

D.B. Bayles has resumed work on his lake project west of here and said Thursday it may be

ready for flooding by September 15.

The project consists of about 580 acres of which between 150 and 200 acres will be flooded.

The rest of the area will be covered mostly with oak trees.

Work was started on the project in the early 1940’s but was postponed because of unavoidable

conditions, Bayles said.

Bayles and the village of Loda recently completed a $28,000 contract for construction of a

section of Spring Creek to by-pass the larger portion of the water from the creek, in addition to

water from the village storm sewers. Actual cost of the work is estimated at $33,000.

Bayles said it is hoped that civic organizations of the community will support a plan for

developing a recreation and picnic area at the lake site. Lots will be sold or leased to individuals

for cottages or residence sites.

1952, June 12, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Bayles, Pacey to Head Loda Lake Project”

D.B. Bayles and Warren Pacey have been tentatively been named to top offices in the Bayles

Lake, Inc., which will develop a 580-acre lake and residential tract west of Loda.

At an organization meeting of shareholders Friday night, Bayles was named president and Pacey

was chosen secretary, pending final approval at another meeting next Friday.

As the east central Illinois area sweltered in record-breaking heat Saturday, it was announced

that big strides have been made in formation of the corporation and construction of the drainage

ditch which will skirt the east side of the lake.

A charter has been issued to the corporation, which has issued $25,000 in stock and plans to float

$125,000 in bonds to finance the lake project. There reportedly are about 35 stockholders in the

corporation.

Dredging will start at the north end of the lake site next week, and the lake bed will be ready for

flooding in September. Around the 200-acre lake site itself, roads are being constructed and

stakes laid out for drainage. Lots also are being sold for cottages and permanent residences.

1952, June 18, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Bayles Lake Corporation Is Formed At Loda”

D.B. Bayles has been elected president and Warren Pacey, Paxton, secretary of Bayles Lake,

Inc., a new corporation which plans to develop a 580-acre lake and residential subdivision west

of Loda.

Other officers are Dr. E.T. Grove, vice president and Louis Reynolds, treasurer, and directors are

William Overstreet, Dr. Grove, J.I. Woodworth, Fred W. Parker, Bayles, Edward Wolfe and

Maurice Weaver.

The corporation is capitalized at $25,000 in stock, and it plans to issue $125,000 in bonds to

finance the development. About 35 persons own stock in the firm.

Bayles originated the movement to build the lake near here more than 10 years ago. A drainage

ditch is being constructed along the east side of the lake site.

Bayles announced that dredging in the north part of the site will be started next week and the

lake bed is expected to be ready to be filled with water in September. The lake will cover about

200 acres and lots in the area around it will be sold as sites for cottages and homes.

1952, July 8, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Loda’s Bayles Lake Prompts Airport Plan”

Latest development on Loda’s Bayles Lake project is the possibility of an airport at the lake’s

southeast corner.

A sewage ditch from Loda, 10 feet wide and 33 feet deep, is being dug for 1½ mile along the

eastern skirt of the proposed lake basin. Removed dirt is being used as a levee and is also being

piled in such a way as to be used as a level landing strip for an airport.

Situated near the lake and long enough for a 2,000 feet runway, the site could well become a

seaplane base.

The lake will have an average depth of nine feet, reaching 22 feet at the dam. A road will

encircle the lake.

As soon as the sewer ditch is completed, work will begin on a semi-completed dam and on the

spillway at the dam’s northeast corner. The lake flooding is scheduled to start September 15

although rain has slowed work some.

Another possibility in conjunction with the proposed lake is a golf course, on which plans have

sprung up with much of the same suddenness as those for the airport.

The site being thought of in golf course terms is one which will eventually be on some 50 acres

of water south of the county road. The area surrounding the lake, with its trees and uneven

terrain, would be ideal for a course if local people were so inclined.

A total of 440,000,000 gallons of water will be needed to fill the lake, which is about one-third

of the community’s annual rainfall. Several springs will also feed the lake.

August 28, 1952, The News-Gazette reports

“Work Moves Swiftly on Large Bayles Lake Site Near Loda”

By Jim O’Connor, News-Gazette Staff Writer

Grading and drainage of the new 400 acre Bayles Lake site, one mile west of here is expected to

be completed by September 15 as work moves into high gear to take advantage of ideal weather

conditions. The lake itself will cover 220 acres of the development.

Begun in 1946 by D. B. Bayles, Paxton contractor, the project had been delayed almost five

years because of the illness of Bayles. Now, under the combined supervision of Bayles and

Tracy A. Pitzen, Paxton mayor and project manager, 15 pieces of big grading equipment are

rapidly finishing the blacktopping of four miles of lake front roads and clearing lake bottom

areas preparatory to partial flooding this fall.

When the final touches are done, Bayles Lake, Inc. will offer one of the most beautiful

residential sites in the area within 45 minutes driving time of Champaign Urbana. Preliminary

surveys provide approximately 250 choice lake front lots of 15,000 square feet each, with good

stands of hickory, oak or walnut on all of them.

The completed lake will be more than five times the size of Lake of the Woods at Mahomet and

will be equal in the size of Lake Vermillion at Danville. It will be a minimum of four feet deep

and its maximum depth will be 35 feet. Water to keep the lake at constant depth will be secured

from a ditch, which drains 9,500 of farmland north of Paxton. Yearly rainfall is sufficient to fill

it completely three times.

Included in the plans are approximately 30 acres of timbered area, which will be open to the

public as a picnic site. The Loda Sportsmen’s Club has cleared brush and weeds from the park

site and fireplaces will be erected, probably next spring. Girl Scout and Boy Scouts from the

surrounding area have earmarked a 20 acre area on the northwest corner of the project for their

use.

Although the corporations officials state that the lake could easily be filled this fall, present plans

are to fill only the lake bottom until lot purchasers have an opportunity to build boat docks

fronting their property. Complete flooding will then occur in the spring.

When finished, the lake are will be bisected by the county road, with about 160 acres lying to the

north and the balance to the south. Presently gravel, the county road is scheduled for

blacktopping in the near future.

A major feature in the construction was the need for eliminating possibility of sewage or silt

flowing into the new lake. In order to prevent contamination, the city of Loda and the Lake

Corporation is sharing the cost of a new drainage channel one and one quarter miles long which

will lead Loda sewage around the lake and empty into the main channel below the dam site. At

one point the new channel is 33 feet deep.

Total cost for the lake project is $200,000 to $250,000.

Projected also are a nine hole golf course and a landing strip for light aircraft, however no date

has been set for the starting of either job.

The Bayles Lake Corporation was at one time of great interest to the state as a preservation area.

Following a change in administration, 40 Loda and Paxton area businessman joined with Bayles

in financing and most of them have planned homes of their own in the new area.

Until the construction work now under way is completed and final costs assessed, the

corporation will be unable to state what costs of home sites will be. However, Pitzen advises

that the planning is primarily civic and not a money making project.

Zoning ordinances are under discussion by the corporation in order that comparable structural

costs and appearances will be maintained.

It is expected that sometime around September 15 plans will be sufficiently complete to permit

acceptance of reservations. The Maurice Weaver real estate company, Paxton, will act as agent.

Construction of a caretaker’s home and office is now in progress at the lake site.

Mason and Meents contracting company, Watseka, have the road contract and it hopes to

complete the 4 miles of lake front road within the next three weeks.

Also assisting with work is E. P. Newell, Urbana contractor.

1952, August 28, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Work Proceeds on Bayles Lake”

Construction of the dam to form Bayles Lake one and one-half miles west of Loda is expected to

be completed soon.

All work on the lake development is on schedule, according to a recent report to stockholders in

the corporation carrying out the project.

Although the 200-acre lake is expected to be ready for flooding by Sept. 15 as planned earlier,

that step probably will be deferred to allow a little more time for the dam to settle and become

stronger.

Roads in the 580-acre tract being developed as a recreational area will be surfaced by mixing oil

with earth and rolling the mixture to form a hard roadway. Grass and underbrush are to be

burned out of the lake basin. That work will take about a week.

A few more secondary roads also are to be constructed. A new entrance road has been placed on

the east side of the tract, running along the edge of a 25-acre public picnic grounds, through a

grove and joining the road circling the lake.

Sales of lots to be used as cottage or residence site may begin late in September.

1952, September 8, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Work is begun on Earth Dam at Bayles Lake”

Work on the earthen dam for Bayles Lake, one mile west of Loda, has been started and is

expected to be finished in a week.

The dam will form part of the lake bank on the north as well as block the creek channel. It will

be 700 feet long, 40 feet wide at the top and 240 feet wide at the bottom. As soon as

construction of the dam is completed, the spillway will be started.

All work on the project is going according to schedule, and the lake will be ready for filling my

mid-September. Filling is expected to be deferred, however, to allow more time for the earth in

the dam to settle and give lot owners an opportunity to build their own boat docks.

Sale of approximately 250 lots bordering the lake front will begin in a few weeks. Maurice

Weaver, Paxton real estate dealer, will handle the transactions.

Work on new roads around the lake is nearing completion with only a little grading and surfacing

to be done.


“Loda Lake Dam To Be Finished This Week”

The dam and spillways at the 220-acre Bayles Lake, under construction one mile west of here,

will be completed this week, according to Tracy Pitzen, Mayor of Paxton and project engineer.

Flooding of the lake bottom will be delayed for some time to permit the dam to settle. Only

partial flooding will take place this fall, since many home site purchasers will want to build boat

docks before flooding is completed.

Pitzen said that the sale of lots would not begin for some time yet.

The 400-acre site offers over 300 choice lake front lots of approximately 15,000 square feet

each. The project is being carried out by the Bayles Lake Corporation, composed of 40 Paxton

and Loda businessmen, most of whom have already planned lake homes.

Blacktopping of four miles of lake front roads is complete except for final surfacing.

Total construction cost of the lake site is estimated at $250,000.

1952, November 20, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Start Cottage Construction at Loda Lake”

Construction of three Bayles Lake cottages at Loda will begin this week if the weather is mild

enough to permit the pouring of footings, Tracy E. Pitzen, a member of the lake corporation’s

board of directors, announced Thursday.

Chet West, Loda lumber and supply company manager, will start construction of a home site for

himself and two contract units.

Applications to purchase 72 lots with a value of $151,000 were filed with Weaver and Kaufman

realtors Sunday.

A total of 200 choice lake front lots were laid out in the original planning. The filing of plats in

Iroquois County will take place next week, Pitzen announced.

Only normal rainfall is now needed to fill the main basin of 200 acres lying north of the road one

mile west of Loda and approximately 60 acres lying south of the highway.

Pitzen estimates that a rainfall of seven inches is ample to fill the lake to the desired depth. The

lack of rainfall in the area has thus far prevented partial flooding as planned, however, winter

rains and snows will easily fill the lake by March, Pitzen said.

The cost of the lots varies from $1,250 to $4,500. Early sales were primarily in the higher cost

levels.

The directors have placed several restrictions on building in the area. There will be no

commercial building of any kind. All homes must have a minimum of 550 square feet of floor

space and must be under one roof. Set-back restrictions will prevent buildings from blocking

neighbor’s views.

Water will be secured from deep wells for household use, and sewage disposal will be by septic

tanks.

Among early home site purchases are several Champaign-Urbana and Kankakee residents, Pitzen

reported.

At the present time no building sites are being sold on the south side of the county road. Lake

front roads are now completed. The office at the lake site will be open on weekends, Pitzen said.

1952, November 30, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Applications Received For Bayles Sites”

Applications have been received for purchase of 98 of the 175 cottage sites on Bayles Lake, one

mile west of Loda, the board of directors for the lake development corporation has announced.

Work on the spillways is completed so that the lake basin can fill with water from rain and snow

during the winter. Two hundred acres will be covered with water.

Applications were taken first on lots selling for $3,000 to about $4,000. The remaining sites will

sell from $1,000 to approximately $2,500. The applications will hold lots until the sales can be

completed when a plat is recorded in Iroquois County.

Chet West, Loda lumber firm manager, is the first lot owner to complete plans for building a

cottage, but weather has not permitted work to be started. The structure he builds probably will

be for sale.

Building restrictions adopted by the corporation’s directors include; only single family

permanent residences can be built, and all homes must have a minimum of 550 square feet of

floor space and be under one roof. Setback lines must be observed and no outside toilets will be

permitted.

Each lot owner will become a member of the Lot Owners Association, which will manage the

area. Water will be obtained from deep wells, and septic tanks will be installed.

Lots have not been laid out in one tract north of the county road, which bisects the lake but the

platting there probably will be completed next year.

No building sites are being offered at present on the south side of the road, where approximately

40 acres of the lake will be located. D.B. Bayles, who originated the development, said that the

bridge maybe altered next year so that boats can pass between lake sections. A golf course may

be developed later south of the road.

Maurice Weaver and Mark Kaufmann, real estate dealers, are accepting applications from

prospective lot buyers for the board. Weaver is on duty at the lake office from 1 to 5 p.m. on

Sundays.

Sunset Drive, an all weathered road two and one-half miles long, encircles the lake.


“Building Starts at Bayles Lake”

C.L. Ehresman, Buckley, is the first owner of a lot in the Bayles Lake development, one mile

west of Loda, to start building work.

He has poured footings for a 52-by-28 foot summer home with garage attached and plans to get

construction underway soon if weather permits.

Clyde Day, Melvin and Chester West, Loda, are also planning to build this winter. Both have

made measurements for footings.

D.B. Bayles, Paxton drainage contractor and developer of the lake and residential project,

reported the sale of that 97 of the first group of 180 lots placed on the market. He said he knows

of “10 to 12 persons” who are planning to build permanent residences costing in the

neighborhood of $30,000 each.

Steps are being completed for the legal recognition of records of the addition, and that action will

make it possible for electric power lines to be installed by the Eastern Illinois Power

Cooperative.

The 160-acre lake is part of a 600-acre development.

1953, January 26, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Start Building Power Line to Bayles Site”

Construction of a power line to the new Bayles Lake site west of Loda has begun, Warren Pacey,

attorney for the development association, announced Monday.

Sale of between 90 to 100 lots at prices from $1,000 to $4,500 for home sites was reported by

Pacey. Deposits on a number of others have been received. Some construction has started.

Winter rain and snowfall have not yet been sufficient to bring the three lake basins totaling 220

acres to the level expected at this time.

Improvement of the highway leading west from Loda to the lake site is planned.


“Bayles Lake Power Poles Distributed”

Workmen of the CIPS electric company were distributing poles for the installation of electric

power at the new Bayles Lake site Thursday.

Recent rainfall has increased lake level until about 100 acres of the 220 acre site are now

inundated. Cleaning of brush from the public park area is complete and the area has been

fenced.


“Bayles Lake To Be Filled By June 1”

Bayles Lake, under development one mile west of Loda, probably will be filled with water by

June 1, according to Tracy A. Pitzen, Paxton engineer for the project.

Approximately 160 acres of the lake area have become covered with water in about the last

month. Recent heavy rains have raised the water level sharply and expanded the area under

water.

About 140 acres on the north side of the county road, which runs through the lake area, and 20

acres on the south side now are under water. Near the dam, water has risen to a depth of 20 feet.

Rises of about four more feet will fill the lake.

Two spillways will prevent an overflow of water in the lake area after the bed is filled, Pitzen

explained. An intake valve also can be closed.

The idea of developing a waterfront area for public use at the lake is under discussion, according

to L.W. Reynolds, treasurer of Bayles Lake Corp. It has been suggested that Loda Sportsmen’s

Club or other groups might take the initiative in the project, which would make possible public

swimming.

A site at the southeast end of the lake would be used for such a development. Reynolds said the

corporation would not be able to provide and maintain facilities of the type proposed. A golf

course and landing field eventually may be developed near the lake.

About 100 lots have been sold for approximately $200,000 and 80 more are for sale.

Construction of summer and permanent homes will begin this spring and summer. A main road

around the lake has been blacktopped, and arterial roads are to be improved, according to

Reynolds. Installation of a lighting system for the area has been started by the Eastern Illinois

Power Cooperative.

A Lot Owners Association is to be organized; it will plan fire protection and set up regulations,

Reynolds said.

A majority of the lots in the development are owned by Paxton residents, but other owners live in

Buckley, Loda, Elliott, Roberts, Gibson City, Champaign-Urbana, Rantoul and several other

towns.

1953, April 20, The News-Gazette reports

“BAYLES LAKE FILLED; START BUILDING HOMES, DOCKS”

Construction of two homes at the new 220-acre Bayles Lake site west of Loda has begun. About

15 are already using the lake, which is now completely filled, and construction of many more

homes will begin soon, Tracy Pitzen, engineer for the project said Saturday.

Interest in the new lake, largest of its kind in the immediate vicinity, has already resulted in the

sale of more than 130 lots for home sites, Pitzen reported.

A total of 250 lots were laid out in the original plans and plans are already being made for an

additional 150.

The lake, which is bounded by a blacktopped road, over three miles long, is 30 feet deep in the

center and almost two miles long. A county highway divides it with 170 acres lying to the north

of the road and the balance lying south of the highway.

Plans for a formal dedication to be held sometime this summer are being made, Pitzen said.

Preliminary planning is for a water carnival in conjunction with other ceremonies.

An estimated $250,000 has already been spent on development of the lake site. Still to be

completed is the blacktopping of the road over the dam at the north end and access roads to many

of the inlets lying on peninsulas jutting into the lake.

Costs of the lots vary from $1,500 to $3,000. Some especially choice lots were sold for $6,000

each.

Homes are restricted to a minimum size of 500 square feet and all building on the lot must be

under one roof. Some three-bedroom homes have been planned.

Water for home use will be obtained from deep wells. Groups of lot owners are expected to put

down central wells, which will serve from six to 20 homeowners. Power lines have already been

strung to the site.

Because of the depth of the lake, no public swimming areas are planned at present. However, a

park site of about 20 acres adjoining the county highway has been reserved for public use.

Boats on the lake will be restricted to a maximum of five horsepower. The lake will be stocked

with fish, according to present plans.

The Weaver and Kaufmann realty firm, Paxton, which is handling lot sales, are keeping an office

open at the lake site on weekends.

During one recent weekend, more than 600 automobiles made the tour around the lake.

Financing the project is the Bayles Lake Corporation, a group of Paxton area men headed by

D.B. Bayles for who the lake is named.

Doctor E.T. Grove, Paxton, is vice president and Warren Pacey is secretary-treasurer.


“Homes Built at Loda Lake”

Construction of three summer homes on lots adjoining Bayles Lake, one mile west of Loda, is

nearing completion, and work is progressing on six others.

About 125 of the 200 lots which have been platted around the new man-made lake have been

sold so far. The first houses to be completed will be those of Les Ehresman of Buckley, who

built on the west shore; Clyde Day, Gibson City and Glenn Hall, Onarga, both on the east side.

A sand beach is being developed by D.B. Bayles on his lots, and gravel is being pushed 25 feet

into the water.

Small bass are reported growing in the lake, and it is to be stocked with blue gills soon.

A well sunk on the east side of the lake will serve 42 lots, and another well has been constructed

in the park near the Bayles lots. A third well is being dug on the west side.

A number of lot owners are working on their property, building boat landings, picnicking and

swimming areas, in the evenings.

Parks which are scattered through the rolling country around the lake are to be mowed and

planted with evergreen trees.

1953, September 14, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Another Lake Planned Near Loda”

A Paxton businessman has purchased 200 acres north of the 220-acre lake Bayles Lake site, west

of Loda, and may develop a lake on it within the next two or three years for recreational

purposes, said Tracy Pitzen, Paxton Mayor and consulting engineer said Monday.

Preliminary copy lines of the property have been drawn by Pitzen’s engineering office, but

engineering details are not complete.

The Bayles Lake Corp. is not taking part in the projected plan, but water flowing through the

present 220-acre lake would also be used to flood part of the adjacent acreage.

Pitzen said it is too early to estimate the exact size of the proposed lake but that it would likely

exceed 100 acres.

About 160 of the 220 lots on Bayles Lake have already been sold, Pitzen reported. However, a

number of choice lots are still available.

About 25-30 new homes are completed or under construction at the lake with 15 designed for

year round living, and a number of lot owners are planning construction later this fall, Pitzen

said.

1954, June 3, The Paxton Record reports

A car accident takes place at Bayles Lake. A woman who was visiting family at the lake and

was returning from Loda was turning into the west entrance. As she was turning, two guinea

hens ran in front of her. She veered to her right to avoid hitting them and hit a parked car, her

car then glanced off the parked car as she hit her head on the steering wheel and the car headed

down the bank towards the lake. As the car picked up momentum and hit the water, its force

carried her out into the lake. Fortunately for her there were two Air Force service men from

Chanute Air Force Base fishing nearby and they dove into the lake and swam to the car.

Initially, they struggled to get the submerged car doors open. After successfully getting a door

open and helping her to the shoreline, she recovered with bumps and bruises to her head and

face. A tow truck service was called to get her car out of the lake…..

(This article is retyped from The Paxton Record, June 10, 1954, a huge, one page advertisement,

congratulating Loda, on its 100th Anniversary.) Centennial Edition.

BEAUTIFUL BAYLES LAKE

Central Illinois’ Loveliest New Sub Division

Congratulates Loda on its 100th Anniversary

(Large aerial view of Bayles Lake, same photo as 1953 article)

(Four Advertisements were listed along both sides of the aerial photo)

For Real Family “Fun” *Fishing

Relax in Your Own Home *Boating

On Bayles Lake…Just *Swimming

One mile West of Loda Many Fine Choice

On State Aid Road Lakeside Lots Available

4 Miles North of Paxton Phone 45-Paxton, Ill

Get Your Lake Lot Now Weaver or Kaufmann,

And Enjoy it All Summer Realtors

And the Year Around

Services Available Excellent Roads

Electric Service: All Weather Roads

Hookup with REA Leading to Each Lot

Telephone Service: Will be Completed

With General Telephone This Year

Water Service: School Bus…

Fresh Drinking Water Piped Transportation is Available

To Lots Through Cooperative Also as The Bus Completely

Efforts of Lot Owners Circles the Lake

(This was written below the aerial photo)

This bird’s view of Bayles Lake is an aerial picture taken from several thousand feet in the air

and from the north end looking south. On the right is the huge earthen dam across which the

road runs and in the left foreground is the spillway.

The lake has nine miles of shoreline as it has a number of inlets and bays, largest of which is

Etty-Kay Bay located just off the middle of the lake to the east. The severe drought last summer

and fall gave the lake as difficult test as could be had and it came through perfectly. The level

dropped only 18 inches during that period as compared to the virtual drying up of Mattoon Lake,

the drastic depletion of water in Lake Decatur and in the lesser Lake of the Woods.

Still another virtue of this man-made lake is its almost perfect immunity against being filled up

with sediment. Only two small streams draining 6,000 acres of land feed into the lake. The lake

also is augmented by some springs.

The principle stream that feeds to the lake first flows into a settling bed where it halts long

enough for the sediment to settle. Then the water is drawn off the top into the lake proper. As a

result very little sediment goes into the lake.

BAYLES LAKE—HOW IT CAME INTO BEING!

ORIGIN: Mr. D. B. Bayles, a drainage contractor of Paxton, Illinois, for years contemplated

construction of an artificial lake at this location. In 1940 he started acquiring necessary land for

the lake site. In the years 1947 and 1948 negotiations were concluded for the sale and transfer of

the Lake, when constructed, to the State of Illinois for a State Park. The authorities of the State

of Illinois refused to permit pollution of the water flowing into the lake by the discharge from the

sewer system of the Village of Loda. This presented to the Village of Loda and its residents the

problem of abating the nuisance caused by the pollution. The village authorities, considered

various alternatives including both individual and municipal sewage treatment installations. The

village voted a bond issue and bonds were issued at this time to extend the sewage outlet of the

village to a point downstream from the Lake. Drainage easements, or right-of-way, were

obtained for the extension of the sewer outlet.

A change in Administration in our State Government resulted in abandonment of plans to create

additional State Parks, leaving no alternative but to proceed with the project as a private

enterprise rather than public recreational facility. In the spring of 1952 Bayles Lake, Inc., a

corporation, was organized and the sum of $150,000 was provided by its shareholders (most of

whom are local people) to finance the completion of the Lake.

The corporation assisted the Village of Loda in solving its sewage disposal problem by

furnishing the right-of-way for the construction of a channel into which this pollution could be

diverted and by bearing a substantial part of the cost of building this channel.

Work on the diversion channel and the structures required for the Lake to proceeded throughout

the summer and fall of 1952 so that a major part of the work was done by late fall of that year.

The Lake filled early in the spring of 1953.

PURPOSE: Since the Lake could not be completed as a State Park and had to be financed and

constructed as a private enterprise, it is a private lake. The primary purpose is to provide

recreational facilities for the persons who have made it possible by purchasing building sites on

the lake. It is unfortunate that the facilities are not adequate and could not be made adequate to

provide unlimited recreation for the general public.

It is the desire of the officers and shareholders of the corporation to make the facilities available

to the fullest extent possible, without depriving the lot owners of their rights.

There are no present plans for commercializing any part of the area or providing public bathing,

boating or other recreational facilities.

SIZE: 625 acres of land are owned by the corporation, about 200 acres of which are flooded to a

maximum depth of about 23 feet at Newell Dam, the main levee. Except for the beaches, the

water is all four feet or more in depth.

LOTS: Portions of the acreage owned by the corporation have been subdivided into lots. All

lots have frontage on the lake and vary in size from approximately 5,000 square feet to more than

20,000 square feet. Many of the lots are covered with natural timber, of oak and hickory.

BUILDING RESTRICTIONS: All lots are limited to residential use and are subject to the

restrictions contained in the recorded plat of the subdivision. Among the building restrictions are

requirements that building plans be submitted to and approved by the sub divider before

construction will be permitted. Each dwelling shall have minimum of 500 square feet of floor

space. Detached garages or other out buildings will not be permitted. Outdoor toilets will not be

permitted. Each lot owner shall be required to join and abide by the regulations of a Lot

Owners’ Association. Lot owners are required to keep their lots in a neat condition and cannot

permit a nuisance to exist.

FISHING: The Lake has been stocked with the varieties of fish best adapted for the Lake and

locally. Fishing is good. Lot owners, members of their families and their guests may be

permitted to fish.

BOATING: There is a limit on the size of motors, which will be permitted to be used with boats

on the Lake. A permit, in writing, is required for any boat or motor used on the Lake.

PURCHASE OF LOTS: More than 2/3 of the lots originally platted have been sold. However,

many choice locations remain for sale. Prices range from $1,000 up.

TITLES: Title to each lot sold will be guaranteed by a Chicago Title and Trust Owners Title

Guaranty Policy.

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES: Suitable space can be made available for the construction of a Golf

Course. It is contemplated that an airport or restricted landing area for aircraft at the lake will be

licensed before the end of 1954.

NOT FOR A WEEK—OR TWO WEEKS—BUT ALL YEAR

LONG AT NEARBY BAYLES LAKE

MANY BEAUTIFUL HOMES ALREADY BUILT

As of June 5, 1954, a total of 39 new homes had been built at Bayles Lake…that after the lake

had been in existence only one year.

From modest three-room cottages to pretentious $30,000 to $40,000 homes in several cases, the

extent of building has been almost unbelievable.

Each home is served by a fine crushed rock drive off of the hardtop road, which circles the lake.

Each has good shoreline for every lot for sale on the lake and has a direct outlet on the water.

Attractive ranch type homes featuring huge picture windows opening on the lakefront, fireplaces

as well as complete heating systems insure the residents of complete comfort.

To date there are seven families living at the Lake. Others use their homes for outings,

weekends and all summer long. Many kept them open last winter just for entertaining at skating

parties, etc.

The Les Ehresman family was the first to move into their home at the lake. That was last

summer. The Ehresman home since has been sold to Art Falter of Hoopeston and Ehresman has

built another lakeside home for his family.

Building restrictions at the lake insure property owners of attractive cottages or homes. These

have been rigidly enforced with the result that the homes all are most attractive as well as

serviceable.

It is expected that another 20 cottages and permanent type homes will go up at the lake this

summer.

1954, June 11, The Loda Times reports

When the beautiful new 1954 Hudson car was pulled from Bayles Lake recently, there was

considerable amazement with the speed with which the auto was pulled out by Terry’s Wrecking

Service. A local resident supplied the best facetious reason when he commented “they got the

car out so fast because it was way over the horse power limit for the lake.” (Out board motor

owners are limited to 5 horse power motors on the lake.)


“39 Homes Now Have Been Built At Bayles Lake”

The recent count revealed that a total of 39 homes are built or under construction at Bayles Lake,

a mile west of Loda.

What makes this total particularly staggering is the fact that no construction was underway

before June, 1953.

At the present rate the assessed valuation of lake property should swell to $1 million within a

very few years.

The horseshoe-shape roadway which winds around the main section of the lake will be

resurfaced this summer, according to lake officials.

The types of home construction vary from prefab summer cottages to two and three room to

permanent homes of wood and stone.

The lake itself nears engineering perfection. While other area man-made lakes were almost dry

as a result of the serve drought of last summer and fall, the level of Bayles Lake dropped only 14

to 16 inches now, with spring rains, has regained its peak.


“Lake to Charge Fee for Public Fishing”

It was announced today by Bayles Lake officials that effective July 1, all fishing by the public at

the lake will be $1.00 per day, and the fishing will be in a specified area south of the road that

bisects the lake. It was further pointed out by lake officials that fishing from the lake road is to

be prohibited and this ruling will be enforced.


“Drowning at Bayles Lake”

A 35 year old man from Rantoul drowned about 1:00 am. Five people, who were not lake

residents, had been at a party decided to stop at Bayles Lake to go swimming. Two of the men

were going to try and swim across the lake, near 1202 Sunset Drive, one man swam part way but

turned around to return to shore but the other man decided to keep going. The group heard the

victim yelling for help but before they could find a boat and get to him, the yelling stopped.

The group contacted the Bayles Lake Security Officer and the Iroquois County Sheriff’s Office.

Search operations began shortly after 3:00 a.m. with as many as seven boats scouring the area

with lights provided by a Loda Fire Truck. In the morning two search planes were brought in

and at 11:00 a.m. they reported seeing a dark object under the water. Divers were able to recover

the body.

The four remaining friends were charged, in an Iroquois County courtroom with trespassing and

fined $50.00, they remained in jail until they could make payment.


“No Foul Play Indicated In Gusler Drowning”

Friends Can’t Pay Fines

An official spokesman for Iroquois County Sheriff Archie Krug said Tuesday morning in

Watseka that there is no indication that foul play was involved in the tragic drowning Monday at

one a.m. in Bayles Lake a mile west of Loda of John Shelburn “Jack” Gusler, 35-year-old

Rantoul man.

Verne K. Bussert, of Sheldon, county coroner, said that an inquest is planned into the death. The

body of Gusler, however, has been released from the Kelley Memorial Home in Buckley to a

Rantoul funeral parlor.

Friends Can’t Pay

The four friends who were with Gusler at the time of the drowning were fined $50 and costs each

Monday evening in Watseka in the court of Judge Lytel, and unable to pay they remain in jail,

according to the Iroquois county sheriff’s office. The charge against each was for disorderly

conduct.

“If and when their fines are paid,” said the spokesman for Sheriff Krug, “they will be

released…and we are contemplating no other charges.”

The four earlier had been arraigned at Loda before Justice of the Peace Ed Garney and held on

$50 cash bonds for trespassing on the lot of Archie Tomshek at Bayles Lake. They were not

held on the trespassing charge in the Watseka court, however.

Tried To Swim Lake

Held in Watseka are Albert Tomlinson, 29; Dick McConkey, 26; and Don McConkey, 24, all of

Rantoul; and also a 26 year-old Rantoul woman.

Gusler drowned when he attempted to swim across Bayles Lake, which was about 300 yards

wide at that point. He went under the water about two-thirds of the way across. He was

swimming toward to east shore.

Gusler, a veteran of World War II, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Gusler, who lived on a

farm southwest of Rantoul. He made his home with his parents.

He was born on February 14, 1919, and had been employed in Rantoul by the General Paving

Company of Champaign. He was unmarried.

5 Brothers, Sisters

In addition to John “Jack”, the Joesph Guslers have two sons and three daughters. One of the

daughters is Mrs. Rosie (Clyde) Day of Gibson City. Mr. Day assisted in the dragging of the

lake for his brother-in-law’s body.

The other children are James, Racine, Wis.; William, Peoria; Mrs. James Bates, Jr., Tolono; and

Mrs. Frank Holzinger, Champaign.

Post-Midnight Swim

His apparent drowning was the result of a post-midnight swim involving four men and a woman.

State Policeman Calvin Coleman, of Paxton, one of the first persons on the scene and the director

of the dragging operations, said that he was told all five of the persons went into the lake nude.

The victim was describe as only “a fair swimmer.”

This reporter, who talked to Gusler’s companions, was told the following story: We all went into

the water, and were swimming around just a few yards off the west shore (are now accused of

trespassing on lot owned by Archie Tomsek of Loda). We had gotten there about 12: 40 a.m. or

so and had been swimming about 15 or 20 minutes when Jack (Gusler) and Dick (McConkey)

decided to swim across the lake (the lake is 130 yards or more wide at that point).

Hear Jack Yelling

McConkey continued the story: “I got less than half-way across and told Jack I couldn’t go all

the way. I started back for the west shore and was about 30 feet from the shore when I heard

Jack yelling. He was about two-thirds of the way across the lake then.”

“I made it to shore myself and we got a boat that was tied near the dock and went out to where he

had heard Jack yelling. He was gone. He was only a fair swimmer.”

The group said the first thing that was done then was to notify police authorities in Loda.

Laurence Houser, who is employed as a policing officer at Bayles Lake and also is an Iroquois

county deputy sheriff, went to the lake with the Rantoul people.

The men said that none was married to the woman, “and we’d rather not give her name, if you

don’t mind.” They did say she was from Rantoul. She appeared to be about 28 years of age.

Other officials said that the Rantoul group admitted having been drinking Sunday afternoon and

evening, and were quoted as saying “we all had four, six or eight cans of beer.” They were

driving in a 1950 Ford sedan.

Planes Spot Object

As late as 11 a.m. Monday the body had not been recovered, but two planes in use for spotting

from the air had reported seeing a dark object in the water. The planes, a Swift and a Piper Cub,

were piloted by Red Johnson and Ralph Bradbury of Roberts.

The dragging began shortly after three a.m., with light being provided by the Loda fire truck. By

10 a.m. at least seven boats were being used to scour the drowning area.

Shortly before 11 o’clock, Mike “Tex” Lukert, 17-year-old Loda youth and an expert swimmer

volunteered to dive into the water to look for the body. He was wearing fins on his feet and

goggles over his eyes.

At least five or six other youths offered their services within a few minutes.

Assisting State Patrolman Coleman and Sheriff Archie Krug of Watseka and his deputies were

Ford County Sheriff Fred R. Kemp and Chief Deputy Raymond Burklund of Paxton.

Brother-In-Law Helps

The drowned man is the brother-in-law of Clyde Day of Gibson City, who has a home at the lake

and was assisting in the dragging operations from a boat.

Gusler is the first person to drown in Bayles Lake although there have been several close calls in

the past year.

Last summer little Barbara McCall, daughter of the Warner McCalls of the Perdueville

community, was revived after about 30 minutes of artificial respiration. She had been swimming

a few yards off shore at the lake and was found floating face-down in the water.

Believed Drowned

Earlier in 1954, Clarence “Bud” Henry, 28, of Ludlow, was killed in an auto crash at the Bayles

Lake bridge. It was feared that a passenger in the car, Raymond Gibson, of Ludlow, had

drowned. He disappeared after the crash but reported to the Ford county sheriff’s office in

Paxton the next morning.

Mrs. Carrie Kemp, of Delavan, narrowly escaped death by drowning when the car plunged from

the road on the west side of the lake into the water last month. Men fishing from the main road

nearby saved her life pulling Mrs. Kemp from the car which was rapidly filling with water.

(With the above article there was also a photo taken by Addison Goodall: (Paxton Youths Build

Diving Apparatus” with the caption: Sheriff Fred Kemp, left, looks on as Kenny Keefe and Bob

Swanson adjust the heavy steel hood on the shoulders of Gene Mattoon just prior to their search

for the body of Jack Gusler who was drowned at Bayles Lake late Sunday night. It was with the

equipment attached to an air compressor that they finally discovered the body. The three teen-

agers all were members of last year’s Paxton High football team and in this year’s graduating

class at Paxton.)

1954, July 23, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Bayles Lake, Near Loda, Thrives as Resort Area”

Little more than a year old, Bayles Lake, west of Loda, is attracting an increasing number of

residents seeking leisure living within easy reach of resort-type recreation facilities.

It was in 1953 that D. B. (Doc) Bayles, Paxton earth moving contractor, completed the man-

made lake and his Bayles Lake Corp. began developing the area.

Now there are 45 homes either completed or nearing completion, and the lake development, with

its nine miles of shoreline and surrounding wooded landscape has an assessed evaluation of

nearly $1 million. Telephone service is in the offing and recently Mr. and Mrs. Bayles moved

into their new home on Wolfe Drive.

Their home, with its large picture window commanding an excellent view of the lake, has five

rooms, including two baths, two terraces and two carports.

Typical of the popularity of Bayles Lake for residential sites are the 15 warranty deeds for lots

recently filed in the office of Iroquois County Recorder Robert J. Strough, Watseka.

Warranty deeds were filed by L. D. and Marie B. Vicker, Urbana; Addison and Marion W.

Goodell Loda; E. Clark Karr and Lillie D. Karr, Route 1, Loda; Leo and Evelyn Streff, Paxton;

Arthur Eckersley and James Ditman, both of Buckley; M. B. Kennedy, Paxton (two lots).

Loyd H. and Mary Jane Champion, East Lynn; Reul Bartell, Buckley; William L. Thompson,

Paxton; Paul F. Weakley, Paxton; Wallace Abernathie, Champaign; Robert and Rebecca

Jorgenson; Paxton; Phillip B. and Ellen N. Nelson, Rantoul; Loretta Marguerite Pfeifer,

Champaign; and Lyon W. and Dorothy A. Hartman, Champaign.


“Bayles Lake Sites Attract Many Area Purchasers”

Bayles Lake, west of Loda, three years ago only a set of plans, has now grown into one of the

most popular summer and year-round resorts in the Champaign-Urbana area.

At the present time, 50 homes have been completed, two are under construction, and plans for

three more have been announced.

Of the original homes sites platted, only 43 lots remain to be sold.

The homes vary in value to a top of approximately $35,000.

The 220 acre lake is restricted for use by residents or lot owners.

Original plans for a public picnic area were abandoned when users failed to take proper care of

facilities.

Among the purchasers of lots are:

From Champaign-Urbana: O. Wayne Braid, L.D. McVivker, E.F. Kirwan, William C. Picken,

Grover Ennis, Ralph B. Peck, Jay Brammer, Joe Blessman, Roy Otto, Willis Bliven, John M.

Wainscott, John M. Keefe, Victor Hyde, Lorette Pfeifer, Paul and Wayne Utterback, R. Will

Burnett, L.W. Hartman, William J. Bash, Stanley F. Allen, Wallace Aberthanie, Robert E. Smith,

Kenneth Boyer, Wendell Crawford, V.A Roland, Laurence Ostema, Jack Marco, Loyd Cole.

Paxton owners: Paul Weakley, M.R. Kennedy, S.H. Dilks, Mae Saldeen, Fred Smith Lumber

Co., Warner McCall, Tracy Pitzen, Robert Jorgenson, D.E. Martensen, Mildred Pacey, Warren

Pacey, Ernest Brown, Fred W. Parker, Dr. E.T. Grove, W.W. Overstreet, J.I. Woodworth,

Herbert Stevens, Dorth Todd, L.W. Reynolds, Harvard Keefe, Marshall Elson, Calvin Thoman,

D.C. Hummel, Ed Rasmus, Leo Streff, Mrs. Horace Fredrick, Bayles Construction Co., Edward

Ogle, Donald Peterson, Donald Hasselbring, J.A. Keefe, Betty J. Bayles, Edward W. Wolfe.

Rantoul: Raymond Camper, J.W. Eater, William Thompson, Albert Adell, Philip B. Nelson,

Godfrey Gwynn, Eryle Graper, Mary A. Tague.

Savoy: Ralph Fisher, Willard Koss.

Tolono: R.H. Daily, Irenen Anderson.

Bayles Lake: Art Falter, Dr. E.A. Tappan, Dale C. Bayles, Charles Ehresman, R.H. Berg, Clyde

Joyce, Cleo B. Bayles, D.B. Bayles, Bert Isaacs.

Loda owners: Harry Swanson, Edward Garney, Chester K. West, Maurice J. Weaver, Addison

Goodell, Clark Karr, W.C. Healey, C.G. Healey, Cornelius Gutzwiler, Robert Currie.

Buckley owners: Irvin Nieman, Mark Kaufmann, Elroy Jansen, Arthur Eckersley, James

Ditman, Ruel Bartell, Harold Wagner, Walter Swanstrom.

Owners from other area towns: Gordon Kimes, Thomasboro; Carlton Myers, Gifford; Donald

Brewinton, Rankin; Wilson D. Kreizter, Elliot; Couye Sadler, Melvin; Ray LeCrone, Monticello;

Raymond O. Carson, St. Joseph; Ira M. Hamilton, Roberts; Clyde Day, and L.F. Swanson,

Gibson City; Dr. Clyde Rulison, Roberts; Glenn Hall, Onarga; Robert Siedentop, Gilman; Helen

Strong, Cissna Park; Mary L. Exton, Thomasboro; Robert Webb, Ogden; Thurm Kuiper, Gilman.


“7 Homes Planned At Bayles Lake”

Seven new homes will be under construction by fall at Bayles Lake, a mile west of Loda.

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Hasselbring, Paxton, have started construction work on a two bedroom

house on Von Etty-Kay bay on the east side of the lake.

The Hasselbrings plan to make this their permanent home. He is in the implement business at

Paxton.

New home of Mayor Tracy Pitzen of Paxton is nearly constructed on the west side of the lake.

Pitzen was the engineer for the project.

D. B. Bayles, who has sold his permanent home on the east side of the lake to Mr. and Mrs.

Weaver Healey, will build a summer house just south of his present home.

Ralph Peck of Champaign has added a bedroom to his home and Mr. Hendrix of Leroy is

building a home on the east side.

Dorrence Tamman of Danforth has started construction on his new home on the east side of the

lake.

A new home will be built next to the Chester West home on the lake by the Rolands of

Champaign.

1956, May 16, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Bayles Lake Stocked With 2,500 Pounds Of Fish”

Twenty-five hundred pounds of live north lake fish were added into Bayles Lake near here

Wednesday morning in a major step by property owners in a fish restocking program.

The fish released Wednesday near the dam at the north end of the lake, weighed from 1½ to 8

pounds each. About 30 persons were on hand at 6 a.m. to see the fish release.

To date, about 50 percent of the lot owners have contributed to the fund to stock the lake and it is

expected that others will contribute. As soon as more money is available, a shipment of walleyes

will be brought in from Lake Superior.

The lake’s board of directors voted at its last meeting to turn over all money from fishing permits

and boat and motor permits to a fund for lake improvement, including killing of rough fish and

cleaning the water of weeds.


“Airfield Approves At Bayles Lake”

A private airfield for Bayles Lake, Loda, was among the seven approved by the state department

of aeronautics during May, Arthur E. Abbney, department director, announced Saturday.

1956, June 17, The News-Gazette reports

“Summer Is Pleasant At 65 Homes Around Loda’s Bayles Lake”

By Ed Borman, News-Gazette News Editor

Bayles Lake, a dream only a few years ago, is home this summer for about 65 families, who have

fishing, swimming and boating a few feet from their doors.

They are getting more neighbors almost weekly as new houses go up amid big trees on the

rolling ground that encircles the 220 acre lake.

More than 100 other families who have purchased lots in the attractive subdivision join Bayles

Lake residents frequently in their summer fun. They drive out often for recreation on the lake

and spend hours in planning of “this is where we will put our house.”

The lake, two miles west of Loda and four miles north of Paxton, provides a touch of Wisconsin

or Minnesota in the center of Illinois cornfields.

D. B. Bayles of Paxton, who developed the 220-acre lake and laid out about 300 lots and little

parks around it, now is dreaming of a nine-hole golf course and clubhouse on the south side of

the lake.

But that is “sometime in the future.” He and his associates still are very busy with the initial

development, which began in 1952. Lots have sold rapidly, but there still is an assortment of

locations available.

The lake with eight and a half miles of shoreline is formed entirely from runoff of rainfall from

surrounding farmland. A nearby stream is bypassed around the lake because it contains sewage.

Addison Goodell, Mayor of Loda and an enthusiastic summer resident at Bayles Lake, says the

“only loss of water from the lake is evaporation, because the clay bottom is so tight.”

When Bloomington faced a serious water shortage this year because of the low level of its big

lake, Bayles Lake was at normal height. Lowest point last year was only 14 inches below

normal.

In April 1953, there was no water in the lake, but the most eager owners set piers and boat docks

where the engineers said the water would be. After 2 or 3 rains the water was there. The lake

averages about 20 feet in depth but drops to 60 in spots.

The first houses were built in 1953. Since then, there has been steady and increasing

construction activity.

None of the homes around the lake are “cabins.” Restrictions in the deeds set minimum

requirements for the homes, but most builders have exceeded them in cost and beauty.

An increasing number of the residents live at the lake year round. For example, Tracy Pitzen is

resigning August 1 as Mayor of Paxton, because he is moving to Bayles Lake. He is so anxious

to get on the lake that he’ll live in a caretaker’s house until his new home is finished. Pitzen was

the engineer for the development of the lake.

Dr. Edward A. Tappan has a busy practice in Paxton but lives at the lake, with his son-in-law

Dale Bayles, next door. He says improvement of his attractive home is a “job that’s never done.”

Bayles Lake Inc., a corporation formed by Bayles, carried out the development, complete to

streetlights on the excellent private roads.

Dr E. T. Grove of Paxton has succeeded Bayles as president of the corporation. When

development and lot sales are complete, control of the area will be turned over to an association

of the lot owners. Maurice Weaver and Mark Kaufmann handle lot sales, Paxton real estate men.


“Bayles Lake Country Club Gains Support”

Approximately 50 persons have subscribed to an agreement to raise $125,000 for the

construction of a country club, nine-hole golf course and swimming facilities in the vicinity of

Bayles Lake.

The subscription forms have been in circulation for about a week and call for 250 signatures of

persons willing to contribute $500 each.

D. B. “Doc” Bayles, of the Bayles Lake Corporation, owner of the land, said land had been

offered on the south end of the lake and that according to reports the response has been pretty

good.

Bayles said the proposed recreation area would serve Paxton, Gibson City and the Melvin,

Buckley, Roberts’s area. “There also was some interest from Chanute,” he said.

Dr. E. T. Grove, Paxton, described the response as “fairly good” and said that tentative drawings

of the proposed golf course have been made. “We had hoped it would be ready by next year, but

no predictions can be made.”

Estimates on the cost of construction have been given at about $40,000 to $50,000 for the course,

$50,000 for the clubhouse and dining facilities. No amount has been determined for the

purchase of the land.


“75 Bayles Lake Homeowners Enjoy Urban Living in Resort Location”

By Richard Kasten

Seven new homes are under construction at Bayles Lake, one mile west of Loda, and two of

them will be occupied in August.

The new owners will be among 75 with homes on the privately owned, mile-long lake. All the

homes have been built on the nine miles of shoreline in the last 3 years.

V.A. Roland, who lives at the corner of Ridgeway Street and Springfield in Champaign is

building a 26 by 32 foot four room house for summer and winter use.

It is located on a point where a small bay enters the lake, providing beautiful lake views from

two sides of the living room. Large glass doors form most of the two sides.

On the west is a spacious screened porch, with concrete walks around the porch and a patio on

the north.

The house has a brick veneer front. The exterior is peach colored with white trim and there is a

five-ply tar and gravel roof containing marble chips from Georgia for light and heat reflection.

Contractor is Erwin Roy of Paxton, who also is building a garage and living room addition to the

Chet West residence next door.

W.C. Falvey, retired Ludlow barber, is completing a 56 by 26 foot house on Von Etty-Kay Bay.

The exterior is of coral cedar with snow white shingles. There is a large stone chimney for the

living room fireplace.

The house has five rooms, bath and two-car garage. The Falveys expect to move in by

Wednesday. Only cabinet work and a little floor work remain to be finished. Contractor is C.L.

Ehresman, a permanent resident at the lake.

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Hasselbring also have a home under construction across the bay from the

Falveys. Hasselbring is a Paxton implement dealer.

Ehresman also is building a redwood home on the west side of the lake for Mr. and Mrs. Joseph

Pfeifer of Champaign. Pfeifer is an electrician at Lauterborn’s in Champaign.

Tracy Pitzen, an engineer and mayor of Paxton, is building a 30 by 80 foot house on the west

side. It has three bedrooms, two baths, dining room, living room, kitchen, partly enclosed

summer porch, two-car garage and a full basement.

Rooms have plaster walls and complete mahogany trim. Wood materials were shipped from

California. Contractor is Estes Construction Co. of Rantoul. The house will be completed in

about three weeks.

Stylecraft Construction Co. of Gibson City is building a four room summer home at the south

end of the lake for Clyde Hendrix of Clinton, Ia.

It is an experimental model of a pre-cut home with butterfly roof, redwood siding and a large

tangerine-colored chimney. Fireplace inside also is painted tangerine. Flooring is covered with

linoleum and there are open beam ceilings.

Hendrix is president of Hendrix homes of LeRoy, chairman of the Iowa Industrial Development

Corp. and is on the National Boy Scout Board.

Fred Tammen of Danforth has started construction of his new home on the east side of the lake.

Residents are members of Bayles Lake, Inc. All houses must have at least 500 square feet of

floor space and plans must be approved by the corporation directors.

The lake land originally was owned by D.B. Bayles, who now has a permanent home on the east

side of the lake. About 25 persons formed the corporation in 1952 to purchase the land,

subdivide it and provide for utilities and make improvements owned in common.

First meeting of the stockholders was held in October, 1952. Ehresman and Clyde Day built the

first houses, which they occupied in the fall of 1953.

The 75 owners of the homes at Bayles Lake are from Champaign, Rantoul, Paxton, Gilman,

Onarga, Melvin, Roberts, Gibson City, Elliott, Indiana, Iowa and four from Chicago.

About 25 families are permanent residents.

The corporation dug five wells 210 feet deep. Cost was shared by stockholders and there are no

water bills. A few residents have their own wells also, drawing on am 80-foot deep vein.

Electricity is supplied by the REA. There are long distance telephone service from Paxton,

sanitary sewer lines on the east side of the lake and seepage beds for sewage on the west side.

The lake has two spillways, one an emergency spillway six inches higher than the first which

controls the lake level. The corporation also has provided a grass landing strip for airplanes,

south of the Hendrix home.

About 50 residents have pledged $75,000 and signed up to construct a country club with a nine-

hole golf course and club house at the lake.

The corporation also built a caretaker house for Chris Klein of Loda, who mows weeds, trims

trees and repairs roads.

A special deputy hired by the corporation to patrol the lake area is Rudy Berg, a permanent

resident there.

Only residents are allowed on the lake. Permits are required for all boats and motors and there is

a limit of 5 ½ horsepower on boat motors.

At a cost of $1,200, the corporation stocked 2,500 pounds of channel catfish in the lake in May,

1956. Walleyed pike will be stocked this fall. The lake area has all virgin oak and hickory trees.

Officers are Dr. E.T. Groves of Paxton, president; Maurice Weaver, D.B. Bayles, Fred Parker

and William Overstreet, all of Paxton and Dr. E. Tappan and Clyde Joyce, permanent residents,

directors.

1956, August 11, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Group to Buy Land for Club”

A group which proposes to develop a country club at Bayles Lake, west of Loda, met at Ford

County Courthouse Friday night and decided to obtain an option to purchase land from Bayles

Lake Corp. for the site of the proposed club.

D.C. Hummel, Paxton attorney, was named chairman of a committee of attorneys and a judge to

prepare an application for a corporate charter. The application will be acted on at the next

meeting, to be held Thursday in the courthouse.

Plans call for a membership of 250 persons, each to contribute $500. Money raised would be

used to finance construction of a nine-hole golf course, clubhouse and beach.

More than 125 persons have signed up as members so far. Others have indicated they will sign

later.

Other members on the committee are Sidney Dilks, Judge John Howard Benjamin, Warren

Pacey and Ed Pacey, all of Paxton, and Charles E, Carnahan of Gibson City.


“Name Board for Bayles Lake Club”

Seven directors will be elected by the Bayles Lake Country Club Aug. 27 to meet the

requirements for obtaining a corporation charter, it was announced at a meeting Thursday.

The election meeting will be held in the evening at the Ford County Courthouse. The

organization proposes to build a nine-hole golf course, a clubhouse and beach facilities on land at

Bayles Lake.

D.C. Hummel, attorney, was appointed registration agent of the corporation “if and when the

corporation is formed.” Yearly dues were discussed and the organizers said it probably will be

“not over $100 a year and probably less.” No definite action was taken.

William Mattox, Rankin, presented the building plans which were discussed by the members.

Definite action will not be taken, they said, until the membership reaches 200. There are

approximately 150 members in the organization.


“Bayles Lake Group Plans Incorporation”

About 100 lot owners in the Bayles Lake area near Loda, met to start incorporating procedures

and to name a seven man board of directors.

Seven men named to the board were: Howard Keefe, Paxton; C. K. West, Loda; Louis G.

Collison, Bayles Lake; Dr. C. H. Meyers, Gifford; Tracy Pitzen, Loda; Dale Bayles, Bayles

Lake and William J. Bash, Sr., Champaign. Directors will serve one year.

An organizational meeting will be held in the near future. The seven directors will represent

different areas of the lakeshore lots.

The group is seeking to incorporate as the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Assn. Named as

incorporators were D.B. Bayles, Paxton; Maurice Weaver, Loda; Tract Pitzen, Loda; Dr. E.A.

Tappan, Bayles Lake; Mark Kaufmann, Buckley; and Addison Goodell, Loda.

Tracy Pitzen acted as temporary chairman and Warren Pacey acted as temporary secretary.


“Bayles Lake Club Signs 144 Members”

One hundred forty-four persons have signed up so far for membership in the Bayles Lake

Country Club; it was announced Monday night as a seven-man board of directors was elected.

Each member pledges $500 toward the financing drive and the amount raised so far thus would

be $72,000. It has been decided that the land for a golf course and clubhouse at the south end of

Bayles Lake, one mile west of Loda, will not be bought until membership reaches 200, a figure

which would assure $100,000 capital.

The goals are 250 members with subscriptions totaling $125,000.

Directors named for one-year terms are Carl Hudson, Sidney Dilks and J.A. Keefe all of Paxton;

Veryl Kramer, Gibson City; Duane Cultra, Onarga; Joe Holmes, Piper City, and W.D. Kreitzer,

Elliott.

The board was authorized by members who met in the Ford County Courthouse in Paxton, to

incorporate the country club or use the state charter of the Paxton Golf Club if it can be amended

satisfactorily.

The Paxton club operated a golf course in the east part of town until much of the land was

converted into Memorial Athletic Field. The non-active group still has $2,000 in its treasury and

it is hoped that the money can be made available for the new club.

Plans call for the purchase for $20,000 of between 90 and 100 acres from Bayles Lake Corp. to

be used as a nine-hole golf course and clubhouse site. Other estimated costs include

development of the course, for which a tentative layout of holes has been prepared, $40,000 and

construction of the clubhouse, $50,000 to $60,000.

Don Laz, Champaign architect, displayed sketches of the proposed building which he made. The

plans provide for a modern structure to be located on the hillside overlooking the lake. It would

have two levels, with entry in the basement where lockers and shower rooms would be located,

with a terrace.

On the ground floor there would be another entrance from higher ground and facilities would

include a lounge, dining room-ball room, bar, restrooms, kitchen and a three-room apartment for

the caretaker. There also would be another terrace.

Directors will elect officers of the corporation soon from their ranks. Another meeting of

members and financing drive being conducted in Paxton and surrounding towns will be reported.


“Bayles Lake Club Picks Directors”

A seven-member board of directors was elected Monday night and authorized to incorporate the

Bayles Lake Country Club.

Election meeting was held in the Ford County Court House and the board members were also

told to take steps to amend the charter of the former Paxton Golf Club.

Board members elected were: Carl Hudson, Sidney Dilks, Arthur Keefe, all of Paxton; Verle

Kramer, Gibson City; Duane Cultra, Onarga; Joseph Holmes, Piper City; W.D. Kreitzer, Elliot.

It was reported that membership now totals 144 but, it was explained, plans will not be made

until the membership of 200 is reached. The country club to be constructed lies at the south side

of Bayles Lake west of Loda. The group has $2,000 in the treasury, it was announced.


“Bayles Lake Residents Plan Country Club”

Many of the 188 members of the prospective Bayles Lake Country Club have met with Mr. and

Mrs. W.D. Krietzer to discuss continuation of the project.

It was decided to begin building and to acquire land when the organization has 214 members.

Members believe the cost of building the club eventually will require sale of 250 of the $500

memberships.

According to Mrs. Krietzer, who heads the membership drive, money from the 214 memberships

will enable the club to pay for a club house and golf course and to make a down paymentt on the

land. Charter for the organization has not yet been obtained.


“200 Join Country Club”

Bayles Lake Organization Reaches Goal.

Drive to assure financing for the development of the Bayles Lake Country Club, one mile west

of Loda, has reached its goal with 200 persons having signed agreements to invest $500 each in

the undertaking.

Attorneys have been instructed to apply for a state charter, and the board of directors is taking

steps for purchase of the land and preliminary planning for construction of club facilities. It had

been agreed that those efforts would not be attempted until 200 subscribers had been secured.

Only 250 memberships in the club will be issued. When that figure is reached, the list will be

closed, it is emphasized.

The development is expected to cost approximately $125,000. Facilities projected include a

clubhouse and nine-hole golf course adjoining Bayles Lake on the south. The tract will be

acquired from the Bayles Lake Corp.

Leaders of the movement report that the clubhouse may be completed this year, and the course is

expected to be ready for play by the spring of 1958.

W.D. Kreitzer, Elliott, is the chairman of the temporary membership committee.

Persons who have signed to become members live in Gibson City, Elliott, Loda, Buckley,

Melvin, Roberts, Piper City, Danville, Rantoul, Champaign-Urbana, Thomasboro, Gilman,

Onarga, Rankin, Cissna Park and Paxton communities.


“Bayles Lake Club Start Soon”

Needed $200,000 Believed Available.

Construction work on the development of Bayles Lake Country Club west of Loda is expected to

start in about two weeks, it was announce Wednesday.

Subscribers to the financing drive received reports of progress in planning and approved the

projected steps at the meeting, Tuesday night in the Ford County Courthouse in Paxton.

Warren Pacey, Paxton, an attorney for the group said that several changes are being made in the

corporate set-up, a new list of subscribers is being prepared and other details are receiving

attention. It is believed that when the subscription list is revised by both deletions and additions

of names, the $200,000 desired to begin development still will be assured.

The final goal is to raise $250,000 on pledges of $500 from each of 250 persons, but it was

agreed some time ago that work could get underway when 200 subscribers were signed. Charles

Maddox, Rankin, a golf course architect and builder has prepared plans for a nine-hole golf

course. Construction is expected to be completed in time for seeding of fairways and greens next

fall, making it possible to begin use of the course in the spring of 1958.

Plans also call for the erection of a clubhouse, which it is hoped can be opened in the fall or early

next winter. The club will be located at the south end of Bayles Lake, one mile west of Loda.


“Bayles Lake Company Formed”

The Bayles Lake Country Club will be known under the name of the Bayles Lake Development

Company, it was announced at a meeting at the courthouse.

The purpose of the new company, Atty. Warren Pacey said, is to build a golf course and country

club to be rented or leased to a social club, which will be formed as a separate organization. A

motion was also passed to form a business corporation.

Two hundred people have subscribed or promised to subscribe, according to Pacey.

The development company will probably build both the country club and golf course with work

on the golf course to start first because of the necessity of seeding the grounds.


“Bayles Lake Development Group Elects”

The Bayles Lake Development Co., at a meeting at the Ford County Courthouse, elected a Board

of Directors Monday night.

Named were Sidney Dilks, J.A. Keefe, Carl Hudson, all of Paxton; C.E. Wilson Jr., Melvin,

Duane Cultra, Onarga; Verle Kramer, Gibson City; and W.D. Kreitzer, Elliott.

The board then elected officers who are: Hudson, president; Kreitzer, vice president; D.C.

Hummell, secretary; and Richard K. Johnson, treasurer.

Chairmen of committees appointed by the board are; Building committee for the clubhouse,

Kramer; building committee for the golf course, William Overstreet Sr.; grounds, Charles

Condit; and finance, Johnson.

The board then instructed the treasurer to make an immediate call for the payment of dues which

amounts to $500 per member. The club already has received $20,000 in payments.


“Highway Route Alters Site of Golf Course”

Plans for routing of the new north-south express highway west of Loda have necessitated a

change in part of the site on which the Bayles Lake Country Club golf course is to be developed.

That was learned Tuesday after the organization meeting of Bayles Lake Development Co.

Monday night in Paxton. Officials of the corporation said they hope to complete negotiations for

purchase of the land needed for the club by the end of the week.

It was planned originally to acquire 140 acres for the nine-hole golf course. The projected

routing for the new highway, however, it was learned, will take for the right of way some of the

desired land.

Plans for location of the course are being revised, surveying is being completed, and

arrangements for purchase of the rest of the area needed are in the final stage.

According to the information made available, the highway will run east of Bayles Lake, between

it and Loda. Since access to the new road will be limited, it is not clear what will happen to the

road running west from Loda across the south end of Bayles Lake.

The east-west road is used heavily for travel to and from the lake.

Elected as officers of the development firm, formed to handle the golf course and clubhouse

building projects, were Carl Hudson, Paxton, president; W.D. Kreitzer, Elliott; vice president;

D.C Hummel, secretary, and Richard K. Johnson, both of Paxton, treasurer.

Other directors elected by subscribers to the financing drive are Sidney Dilks and J.A. Keefe,

Paxton; C.E. Wilson Jr., Melvin; D.B. Cultra, Onarga; and Verle Kramer, Gibson City.

Appointed committee chairmen were W.W. Overstreet Sr., Paxton, golf course construction;

Kramer, clubhouse, and C.C. Condit, Paxton, grounds. Johnson heads the finance committee.

Plans are being made to start work on the club this summer.


“Change Site for Bayles Golf Course”

Proposed construction of a clover-leaf at the intersection of proposed Route 45 and Bayles Lake

road, four miles north of Paxton, will require a change in the land area to be used for the Bayles

Lake Country Club golf course.

This was reported Friday by D.C. Hummel, secretary of the Bayles Lake Development Co. He

added that the area proposed for the golf course, must now be re-surveyed. A strip about 200

feet wide, wanted for the golf course, would be needed for the new highway and clover-leaf,

according to tentative plans, Hummel said. This would necessitate using additional land to the

west of the road for the golf course, Hummel said.

Construction of the clover-leaf at this point would result in two clover-leafs within four miles. It

is proposed to build a clover-leaf in Paxton for the new Route 45 at the intersection of Route 9.


“Bayles Lake Group Studies Club Designs”

The Bayles Lake Development Co. Thursday night met in the courthouse with Watson Healy,

architect from Joliet, who presented preliminary plans for the clubhouse building to be erected at

Bayles Lake.

The plans were found acceptable by the Board of Directors and Healy was authorized to proceed

with preparing the plans and specifications for the building.

The directors said they plan to keep construction costs under $50,000. They said they hope to let

construction contract by the end of the September. They will ask for bids from contractors.


“Bayles Lake Group Re-elects Officers”

Officers of the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association have been re-elected for the second year of

service.

They are Tracy Pitzen, president; Glenn Collison, vice president; Warren Pacey, secretary, and

Harvard Keefe, treasurer.

Directors are William Bash, Sr., Champaign; C.K. West and Dale Bayles, Loda, and Dr. C.H.

Myers, Gifford. The association consists of persons owning lots at Bayles Lake, west of Loda.


“Pitzen Again Heads Bayles Lake Assn.”

Tracy Pitzen, Bayles Lake, was reelected president of the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Assn.

All other officers and directors also were reelected at the annual meeting of the group.

Glen Collison, Bayles Lake, vice president; Warren Pacey, secretary; Harvey Keefe, Paxton,

treasurer; and directors, William Bash, Champaign, Chet West, Bayles Lake and Dr. C.H. Myers,

Gifford.

Bayles Lake is one mile west of Loda.


“Bayles Group to Lease Club House”

Stockholders of the Bayles Lake Development Co. agreed Monday night to lease the proposed

new club house and facilities at the lake to an organization or group to operate as a country club.

Nine directors were appointed at the meeting in Ford County courthouse, Paxton, to run the

operation as a country club and hire managers and other employees.

Officers elected for the club include Carl Heacock, Paxton, president; Bill Overstreet Jr., Paxton,

vice president; Mrs. Beth Healey, Loda, treasurer; Mrs. Fran Condit, Paxton, secretary. They

will also serve as directors along with Orvin Price, Paxton; Glen Collison, Loda; Mark Kaufman;

John McKinney, Gibson City; and John Howard Benjamin.

The new group will apply for a charter to operate as a country club. Another meting has been set

for 7:30 p.m. Friday at the courthouse.

In other business, the stockholders appointed Clarence Ringler, Gibson City, to the board of

directors for the lake development company. He fills the vacancy caused by resignation of Verle

Kramer, Gibson City.


“Bayles Lake Country Club Incorporates”

Formation of a corporation to operate the new country club being developed west of Loda began

a meeting of Bayles Lake Development Corp. stockholders Monday night in Paxton.

The board of directors was directed to lease the clubhouse and golf course to an organization and

the new company is being established to take the lease. Nine directors were elected for the new

corporation.

They are Carl Heacock, Paxton, who was elected president; William Overstreet Sr., vice

president; Mrs. Weaver Healey, Loda, treasurer; Mrs. Charles M. Condit, Paxton, secretary;

Orren Pierce, Gibson City; Glen Collison, Bayles Lake; Mark Kaufmann, Buckley; John

McKinney, Gibson City, and Judge John Howard Benjamin, Paxton.

The group will apply for a state charter asking that it be incorporated under the name of Lake

Shore Country Club. If another club already is chartered under the name, however, a change will

be necessary.

The club previously has been referred to as Bayles Lake Country Club. The nine-hole golf

course and clubhouse under construction are on the south shore of the lake.

At another meeting scheduled for Friday night in Paxton, it is hoped that the charter and by-laws

will be ready for adoption. The new board will hire personnel to operate the dining room of the

clubhouse, maintain the golf course and plan for placing the facilities in operation.

Clarence Ringler, Gibson City, was elected a director of Bayles Lake Development Co. to

succeed Verle Kramer, Gibson City who resigned at the Monday session. The firm acquired the

land and is developing the facilities.

Good progress was reported in construction of the clubhouse, with a possibility that it will be

completed before May 1, the scheduled date, if the weather is favorable. The golf course also is

expected to be ready for play in the spring.


Paxton Club Is “Lakeview”

Lakeview Country Club is the name approved for the corporation to operate the new country

club west of Loda, it was announced at the meeting of the Bayles Lake Development Corp.

Friday night in Paxton.

The name Lake Shore Country Club, originally was chosen, but it was reported by the secretary

of state office, which issued the charter, that another country club in Illinois already has that

name.

Charles Heacock, Paxton, president of the corporation announced the following committees: By-

laws and rules-William Overstreet, Sr., Paxton, chairman, Mrs. Weaver Healey, Loda, Charles

Condit, Paxton, and John J. Benjamin, Paxton, and budget-John McKinney, Gibson City,

chairman, Glen Collison, Bayles Lake, and Oren Price, Paxton.

The group will meet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the CIPS building in Paxton for approval of by-

laws.

1958, March 9, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Bayles Lake, Five Years Old, Boast 77 Homes”

By Josephine Davis

One mile west of Loda, where six years ago a small creek followed its course through a timber of

spreading oak trees, is now one of the most scenic spots in Illinois-beautiful manmade Bayles

Lake.

The project was started in 1952 by a corporation headed by D.B. Bayles and the rains in March

1953, filled the 200 acre lake.

Foundation for the first home was laid in the fall of 1952 by C.L. Ehresman and the first homes

were erected in 1953.

Five years later. On the fifth anniversary of the building program, 77 houses have been

completed. Two foundations have recently been laid, three more homes are under construction

and 12 more will begin as soon as weather permits, contractors reported.

All of the homes near the lake are built for “year round living” and range in value from $12,000

to $50,000, according to a survey of homeowners.

In addition, brush has been cleared away and roadside and park areas are maintained. Their

maintenance has been taken over by the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association, officers of which

are Tracy Pitzen, president; Glenn Collison, vice president; Warren Pacey, Paxton, secretary;

Havard Keefe, Paxton, treasurer; and directors, William Bash, Champaign; C.K. West, Dale

Bayles and Dr. Carlton Meyers, Gifford.

Thirty-three families have established permanent residence and have school bus service, police

and fire protection, daily mail delivery and garbage collection.

About three and a half miles of blacktop road has been built and leads to every house. Each lot

has a waterfront and water mains, telephone and electricity are available.

Residents reported the large lake has been stocked with largemouth bass, blue gill, crappies,

channel cat and wall-eyed pike. A total of 2,500 pounds of channel cat catfish were added in

1956 and 2,500 of wall-eyed pike in 1957, reportedly making the lake “one of the best fishing

lakes in downstate Illinois.”

Swimming, boating and surf board riding will also be available in the approaching summer

months. Winter has also meant sports for the lake. As soon as the lake has frozen over, ice boat

and skaters have appeared. An estimated total of up to 500 persons have enjoyed the lake at one

time during the past winter.

In 1957, the Bayles Lake Development Co. was formed and in October, a ground-breaking

ceremony was held for a country clubhouse to be constructed at the south side of the lake.

Board of directors for the company which is building the clubhouse and a nine-hole golf course

includes Carl Hudson, president; D.C. Hummel, secretary; Dick Johnson, treasurer; S.H. Dilks,

J.A. Keefe, C.E, Wilson, all of Paxton; W.D. Kreitzer, Elliott; Duane Cultra, Onarga; and

Clarence Ringler, Gibson City.

Exterior of the clubhouse under construction will be of brick veneer. Plans call for the kitchen

and dining area to be on the top floor. On the ground floor will be located a bar, showers, locker

room and patio.

Large picture windows will overlook the attractive beach, lake and golf course when completed,

the directors reported.

Fred Kingren, Elliott, is contractor, and expects to complete construction of the clubhouse by

May 1. During the bad weather, a large tent was erected and work on the building continued.

Directors stated the golf course and clubhouse are expected to be ready for use by July 1.

Lakeview Country Club has been chosen for the name of the new lake center. Directors include

C.R. Heacock, president; William Overstreet, vice president; Mrs. Charles Condit, secretary; all

of Paxton; Mrs. Weaver Healey, Bayles Lake, treasurer; Mary Kaufman, Buckley; J.H.

Benjamin, Orrin Price, John McKinney, all of Paxton; and Glenn Collison.

Shares in the “country club” are still available and may be obtained by contacting officers or any

member of the club.

1958, July 1, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Bayles Lake Course Opens”

Nine-Hole Golf Layout Ready Wednesday

New nine-hole golf course of the Lakeview Country Club at Bayles Lake, one-mile west of

Loda, will be opened Wednesday for play by members.

Announcements of the opening along with regulations to be followed in operating the club

facilities have been mailed to members.

Completion of the clubhouse has been delayed by recent rainy weather. The club’s beach

developed at the south end of Bayles Lake will not be ready for swimming by the July 4th

holiday, but it is to open soon.

The nine-hole golf course, 3,300 yards long, was constructed on rolling land. It has grass greens,

watered fairways, water hazards and sand traps.

More than $86,000 has been spent so far for acquiring and developing facilities for the new

country club.

Green fees for member guests using the course will be $2 on week days and $3 on Saturdays and

holidays. Non-members living in the surrounding area cannot make more than three visits in one

year.

Persons living more than 35 miles from the club may be guests more frequently and member’s

house guests from outside the area may use the club without restrictions after payment of green

or beach fees. Special guest days will be arranged.


“Bayles Lake Retains Board”

Directors and others of the Bayles Lake Development Co. were re-elected at the annual meeting

of shareholders Monday night at the Lakeview Country Club, west of Loda.

It was announced that 264 shares of the corporation have been sold at $500 each, indicating that

the amount of capital raised is about $130,500. The goal for full capitalization is 300 shares.

Renamed to the board were Carl Hudson, who was re-elected president when the board

reorganized; Sidney Dilks, vice president, D.C. Hummel, secretary, Richard Johnson, treasurer;

C.E. Wilson Jr., and J.A. Keefe, all of Paxton; W.D. Kretizer, Elliott; Clarence Ringler, Gibson

City, and Duane Cultra, Onarga.

The development firm contracted the golf course, clubhouse and beach for the new Lakeview

Country Club and is leasing the facilities to the club.

The nine-hole course was opened early in July and the clubhouse a few weeks later. The beach

was placed in use late in August. Landscaping and other work around the clubhouse and on the

beach still are to be completed.


“Bayles Lake Co. Elects Officers”

The Bayles Lake Development Co, elected the following officers at the clubhouse Tuesday: Carl

Hudson, president; Sid Dilks, vice president; Richard Johnson, treasurer, D.C. Hummel,

secretary.

Directors elected were Bud Kreitzer, Elliott; C.E. Wilson Jr., Paxton; Clarence Ringler, Gibson

City, J.A. Keefe, Paxton; and Duane Cultra, Onarga.


“Sandberg Appointed By Bayles Lake Co.”

Arthur M. Sandberg of Paxton has been appointed treasurer of the Bayles Lake Development Co.

by the board of directors.

The firm owns the facilities of the new Lakeview Country Club at Bayles Lake, west of Loda.

The board is planning a drive for the sale of multiple shares of stock to stockholders in the

corporation.

A nine-hole golf course and beach were developed and a clubhouse built by the Development

Co. at a cost of $190,000.

1959, January 8, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Arthur Sandberg Bayles Treasurer”

Arthur M. Sandberg, Paxton, was appointed treasurer of the Bayles Lake Development Co. at a

meeting of the board of directors.

The Bayles Lake Development Co. owns the facilities of Lakeview Country Club. Plans are

being made to promote the sale of multiple shares of stock to present stockholders in the

company, it was announced.


“Bayles Lake Owners Pick Directors”

Three directors of the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Assn. Monday were elected at the annual

meeting of the association at the Legion Hall, Loda.

Elected were: Havard W. Keefe, district one, reelected; Ed Rasmus, district two, replacing C.K.

Kent who resigned as of June 27; and Everett Puckett, district five, filling the vacancy caused by

the death of Paul Saldeen.

The association announced that a contract had been let to the Mason and Meents Co., Watseka,

for road improvement on all of the roads at the lake at a cost of $9,277 for all work and materials

after the grading which will be done by the Bayles Lake Construction Co., Loda.


“Improvements Planned for Bayles Lake”

One mile of road between Loda and the Bayles Lake entrance will be resurfaced within the next

week, it was announced at the annual meeting of the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Assn.

The road leading to the lake entrance will be closed for about a day or a day and a half when it

will be graded, oiled and chipped.

The cost to date of the grading and preparation of the road bed of all the roads at the lake, which

is expected to be completed Sept. 30 by the Bayles Lake Construction Co., Loda, is $670.

The work is in preparation for the road improvement, including oil and rock construction, on the

lake roads which will be done by the Mason and Meents Co., Watseka, which was the low bid

out of the 12 bids submitted for the work. The estimated cost is $9,277 for all work and

materials after grading is completed.

The association announced all of the lots in Section One of the lake have been sold and 127

houses have been built on the lots, 48 of which are permanent residences.

The terms of the three new directors are Havard W. Keefe, district one, two years; and Ed

Rasmus, district two; and Everett Puckett, district five, each one year.


“All Lots Sold At Lake Site; Road Bid Let”

All except one of the lots on the original Bayles Lake site have been sold and 147 houses have

been erected, it was announced Monday night at the annual meeting of Bayles Lake Lot Owners

Association.

The area in which the developments have been made adjoins the lake north of the bridge one

mile west of Loda. Forty-eight of the homes were built for use as permanent residences. The

others are occupied part of the year.

The association let a contract to Mason & Meents, Watseka contractors, for spreading oil and

chips on all roads at Bayles Lake. The low bid, one of 12 received was $9,277.00. Work is to be

completed by Sept. 30.

Bayles Lake Construction Co. is grading and repairing the roads. The road between Loda and

the lake is being leveled and oiled, and chips will be applied in a Loda Township project.

Three directors were named at the meeting at the American Legion Hall. Harvard Keefe of

Paxton was re-elected to represent the first district of the Bayles lake area.

Ed Rasmus of Bayles Lake was named to replace Chester West of Loda who resigned in June as

second district director. Everett Puckett was chosen to fill the district five post opened by the

death of Paul Saldeen. He will serve two years.

The late Tracy Pitzen was president of the association. Glenn Collison presided at the meeting.

Keefe has been treasurer. The board will reorganize soon.


“Bayles Lake Group Elects New Board”

Two new directors were elected at the annual meeting of stockholders of Bayles Lake

Development Co. Monday night at Lakeview Country Club west of Loda.

They are Jeff Holmes of Piper City and Victor Springer of Rantoul. The succeed J.A. Keefe of

Paxton and D.B. Cultra of Onarga who retired from the board.

Five other directors whose terms expire we re-elected. They are C.E. Wilson Jr., Sidney Dilks

and Carl Hudson, all of Paxton; William D. Kretizer, Elliott, and Clarence Ringler, Gibson City.

All board members are named for one year.

Bayles Lake Development Co. owns the facilities of Lakeview Country Club. Members will

elect officers at a meeting Dec, 14 in the clubhouse. The Development Co. will reorganize at a

session there the same night, and the boards of the corporation and the club will hold a joint

meeting.

The number of shares of stock in the Development Co. sold for $500 each since it was formed

several years ago to construct the golf course and clubhouse now totals 287.

The country club has 160 members. A membership drive is planned.

1960’s

1960, October 5, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Bayles Board Gets Four New Directors”

Four new members were elected to the board of directors of the Bayles Lake Development Corp.

at the annual meeting of stockholders Tuesday night at the Lakeview Country Club.

Elected were Gustin Riley, Piper City. C.I. Brown, Paxton; Charles Warlow, Roberts; and Roy

Miller, Paxton.

Reelected were Clarence Ringler, Gibson City, C.E. Wilson, Jr., Paxton; and Vic Springer,

Rantoul.

Retiring members are Carl Hudson, Paxton, who served as president for the past three years; Sid

Dilks, Paxton; Joe Holmes, Piper City; and W.D. Kreitzer, Elliott. Organization will be later.


“Date Not Set but Plan is Definite”

A second artificial lake near Loda will be added to the successful Bayles Lake subdivision which

has reversed a trend of dwindling population in this central Illinois farm community.

Loda Village Attorney Warren Pacey revealed plans for the new lake at a public hearing on

Interstate 57 held Thursday at Buckley.

D.B. Bayles, president of the Bayles Lake Corp., said the company now has 200 acres available

for the new project and hold options on 160 more acres.

“We will probably have considerably more land than we that before we go ahead with the second

lake” he said. The original Bayles Lake consists of approximately 200 acres of water and a total

of between 500 and 600 acres.

Bayles said it is too early to attach a date to completion of the project, but that it certainly will be

constructed.

When finished it probably will be comparable in size to the subdivision which already has 142

homes and sites for over 300 more. Bayles said that 300 of these have already been sold and

only a few remain.

Pacey, in presenting a petition for an interchange at Loda on the federal aid highway, told

officials that since 1956 the population of Loda has grown more than 10 percent.

He predicted that the population would double, or possibly triple before the 1970 census is taken.

“Loda, with a population of around 2,500 at the turn of the century, steadily dwindled until 1953.

But Bayles Lake reversed that trend.”

He pointed to population figures showing 1,031 residents in 1950 and 1,147 in 1960. “This is an

increase of more than 10 percent, most of which, I believe, took place after the construction of

Bayles Lake. I also believe there has been an increase of over 5 percent since the 1960 census,”

he said.

Pacey appeared at the hearing, in addition to his village attorney role, representing the Bayles

Lake Lot Owners Assn. and Bayles Lake Corp. He presented a petition by signers nearly

equaling half of the population of Loda. The 558 petitioners asked that one of the three

interchanges planned for Interstate 57 at Paxton, Buckley and Onarga, be shifted to Loda.

Now numbering about 150 permanent residents, the Bayles Lake area has become a popular east

central Illinois recreation center as well as a modern living facility. A modern golf course

adjoins the lake and Pacey said that land is available for aviation facilities at the present site.

The land for the new lake is located south of the existing lake, which extends northwest from the

village.


“Country Club Elects Three”

Ralph McNarney of Gibson City and Maurice Mullinax and Emmett Pederson of Paxton were

elected directors at the annual meeting of Lakeview Country Club Monday night in the

clubhouse at Bayles Lake west of Loda.

Retiring directors are Dr. S.B. Furby of Paxton, who was secretary of the board; Lial Pollock of

Gilman and Dr. Harry D. Danforth of Cissna Park.

At the reorganization meeting of the board, Dr. Harvey Workman of Paxton, president and Ralph

Schimanski of Paxton, treasurer, were re-elected and McNarney was named secretary.

Hold over directors are Schimanski, Dr. Workman, Dr. William Mabry of Piper City, Amos

Zander, Rantoul, John Wilson, Piper City, and Wayne O’Neal of Gibson City.

The resignation of Donald Schif of Paxton as club manager was announced. Tony Polilo

resigned earlier as greens keeper of the golf course and moved to Decatur to accept a similar

position.


“Razzano Is Club Manager”

Louis Razzano of Watseka will begin his duties as groundskeeper, golf professional and club

manager at Lakeview Country Club, west of Loda, the first of the year.

He has held a similar position at Sewani Country Club near Watseka for two years. Razzano, a

well-known golfer, will succeed George Polilo as greenskeeper and Donald R. Schif of Paxton as

manager of the clubhouse.

A Watseka resident for 16 years, Razzano operated a restaurant until the building was destroyed

by fire in 1958. He later erected a new restaurant building.

He previously was manager and pro at the Benton Country Club, Fowler, Ind. Razzano is

planning to open a proshop at the club. His wife and brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs.

Andy Razzano will assist him in operating the club.

Polilo resigned as greenskeeper to accept a similar job at a Decatur country club. Schif is

resigning to devote full time to his business, the 102 lounge, in Paxton.

The Lakeview clubhouse will be open from 10:30 a.m. to midnight for 11 months beginning Feb.

1. The club will be closed during January.

1961, December 29, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Bayles Lake Directors Elected”

Seven directors were elected for one-year terms at the annual meeting of the shareholders of the

Bayles Lake Development Co. Thursday at the Lakeview Country Club, Bayles Lake.

Donald Hasselbring Bayles Lake, and Loyal Cornelison, Paxton were the two new members

elected to the board.

The holdover members of the board of directors are Clarence Ringler, Gibson City; Charles

Warlow Roberts; Justine K. Reilly, Gilman; Victor Springer, Rantoul, and Charles I. Brown,

Paxton.

Cecil Wilson, Jr., Paxton, president, said officers will be elected at a later meeting of the

directors.


“Directors Are Elected By Bayles Lake Group”

Loyal Cornelison of Paxton and Donald Hasselbring of Bayles Lake were elected to one-year

terms as directors of the Bayles Lake Development Co. at a meeting Thursday night.

Re-elected for one-year terms were directors Charles Warlow, Roberts; Justin Reilly, Piper City;

Vic Springer, Rantoul; Clarence Ringler, Gibson City, and Charles I. Brown, Paxton.

A reorganization meeting will be held later.


“Bayles Lake Area: Water Co-op Being Formed”

A cooperative organization is being formed to develop and operate a water system which will

serve the residential areas adjoining Bayles Lake, west of Loda.

More than 200 water users have agreed to join. Tentative rates are being determined. A meeting

of property owners will be held March 30 in Loda Legion hall. The rate schedule is expected to

be adopted then.

Well systems now serving homes are expected to be kept in use. Directors of Bayles Lake Lot

owners Association have been planning to form a co-op.


“Cornelison Heads Bayles Lake Corp.”

Loyal Cornelison of Paxton has been elected president of Bayles Lake Development Corp.,

which owns the Lakeview Country Club property west of Loda.

Other officers are Don Hasselbring of Loda, vice president, and Charles Warlow of Roberts,

secretary-treasurer.

Other directors include Vic Springer, Rantoul; Clarence Ringler, Gibson City; C.I. Brown,

Paxton, and Austin Riley, Gilman.


“Bayles Lake Access Roads to be Kept”

Requests of Loda residents for a local interchange with Interstate 57 have apparently been met

by plans for constructing a frontage road giving access to Bayles Lake from all directions.

A year ago Village Attorney Warren Pacey told highway engineers at a public hearing that

Bayles Lake expansion was reversing “a trend of dwindling population” in the community. He

asked that an interchange proposed at Buckley be moved south to Loda in order that Bayles Lake

not be cut off from easy access from Route 45 and territory east of the lake.

In plans presented by engineers here on Thursday the interchange remained northwest of

Buckley.

But added was a frontage road connecting main access township roads which enter Loda from

the north and west.

The frontage road will connect County Highway 12 (north) and County Highway 10 (west),

paralleling the course of Route 57 around the northwest corner of the town.

An overpass on Highway 10 in the west part of Loda will cure any problems which closing of

Highway 12 at the Route 57 location to the north would have created for access of Bayles Lake.

Only objections to the plan presented Thursday were by Clarence Wagner, Loda township road

commissioner and George Reid, Loda township farmer.

Wagner maintained that it would be cheaper to construct an overpass on Highway 12 and retain

the present network of local roads rather than building approximately one and one-quarter miles

of frontage road over “rough terrain.” Reid told the engineers closing Route 12 would add to his

grain-hauling cost.

1963, July 11, The Paxton Record reports

On July 9, a light airplane was demolished in an unplanned nose-dive type landing at the Bayles

Lake restricted landing area one mile west of Loda about 5 p.m. Monday, but the pilot escaped

without serious injury.

Paul A. Bruce of Paxton, told Trooper Dean Rhinehart of the State Police that he was coming in

to land about 200 feet over the lake, travelling about 85 miles per hour. The plane suddenly

nosed over in the air and hit the ground at about a 50 degree angle.

Mr. Bruce was taken to Paxton Community hospital by the Loda fire department ambulance and

was treated and discharged.

The plane was reported to be a total loss. Its value was estimated at about $3,000.00.


“Bayles Lake Directors Elected”

Annual meeting of the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Assn. was held at the Loda City Hall Monday

night with new directors being elected.

John Janssen, Buckley; S. Frank Brown, Rantoul; and Roy Otto, Bayles Lake, were chosen as

new directors. Reelected as a director was D.S. Kaufman, Buckley.

Officers for the year were reelected. They are: President, D.S. Kaufman; vice president, Wayne

Niewold, rural Loda; secretary, Warren Pacey, Paxton; and treasurer Harvard Keefe, Paxton.

One hundred fifty persons were present at the meeting.

Resolution to lower the lake during late October and in November to enable lot owners to work

on docks, clean out weeds and level the beach was voted down 74 to 48.

Motion to put a ceiling on assessments on all properties, the ceiling not to exceed $55 on any lot,

was also voted down, 87 to 30. Resolution to discontinue cutting of weeds and go back to

spraying method was approved.


“At Bayles Lake: Water Drop Plan Rejected”

A proposal to lower the water level in Bayles Lake in late October was rejected at the annual

meeting of the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association Monday night.

The idea was offered to permit repair work on boat docks and some cleaning in the lake west of

Loda.

All officers were re-elected by vote of 150 members at the meeting in Loda Village Building.

They are D.F. Kaufmann of Buckley, president: Wayne Neiwold of near Loda, vice president;

Warren Pacey of Paxton, secretary, and Harvard Keefe of Paxton, treasurer.

Other directors are John Jansen of Buckley, F. Harold Brown of Rantoul and Roy Otto of Bayles

Lake.


“Bayles Lake Tax on Lots is Doubled”

The Iroquois County Board of Review in a surprise move has doubled the tax assessment on all

lots at Bayles Lake, it was announced Monday night at the annual meeting of lot owners.

There 300 lots at the lake with an average tax value of $800, making a total assessment of

$240.000. This amount has been doubled to make a new total of $480,000 assessed valuation.

Main objection of the lot owners to the move was that (1), they had no prior information that

there would be a tax increase and (2), they do their own road maintenance, provide their own gas

and lights and maintain the lake itself, with no help from the county.

Lot owners empowered the president, D.F. Kaufmann, to appoint a committee from the group to

meet with the board of review at Watseka this week.

In other action, new directors of the Association were elected for the coming year. They are:

District 1, Harvard Keefe; district 2, Ed Rasmus; and district 9, Wayne Niewold. All were

reelected.

The board of officers were also reelected. Members are D.F. Kaufmann, president; Burton

Saxton, vice president; Warren Pacey, secretary; Harvard Keefe, treasurer.

The Association agreed that a study will be made and an engineer will be consulted as to the best

method of cleaning the lake spillway.

Discussion of cleaning of the bays and problem algae in the water will take place at a later board

meeting. Meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month.


“Bayles Lake Tax Increase Is Protested”

Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association will send representatives before the Iroquois County Board

of Review this week in an effort to secure a reduction in increased tax assessments for properties

at Bayles Lake, west of Loda.

The decision to meet with the board was reached at the annual meeting of the association

Monday night at Lakeview Country Club.

The board has doubled the assessed valuation of the properties around the lake. Harvard W.

Keefe of Paxton, treasurer of the association, explained that the approximately 300 lots had been

assessed at an average of $800 totaling about $240,000.

The new total, approximately $480,000, would result in tax increases amounting to about 46,640

a year. The tax rate for Bayles Lake property is $2.77 per $100 of assessed valuation.

It is estimated that about $3,670 of the additional revenue will go to the Buckley-Loda

Community Unit School District.

The board of review is hearing complaints on valuations this week in the courthouse in Watseka.

It has been pointed out that the Bayles Lake assessments have not been changed since the lake

was developed 13 years ago.

Keefe, Wayne Niewold of near Loda and Ed Rasmus of Bayles Lake were re-elected directors of

the association. Renamed as officers as the board reorganized were Donald (Sid) Kaufmann,

president; Bert Saxton, vice president; Warren Pacey, secretary and Keefe, treasurer.


“Bayles Lake Owners Discuss Tax Hike”

A group of five men representing lot owners at Bayles Lake met with the Iroquois county board

of review recently to discuss the decision to double tax assessments of Bayles Lake property.

It was decided the lot owners should be informed by the committee that if they have any unusual

or questionable taxation which they feel should be adjusted they may send this information to the

board of review within one week for consideration.

Representing lot owners at the meeting were Sid Kaufman, Havard Keefe, Warren Pacey, Louis

Razzano and Fred Otto.

1965, October 6, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Bayles Lake Country Club Lease to End”

Bayles Lake Development Co. will not renew the lease of the Lakeview Country Club board of

directors on the club grounds and building at Bayles Lake west of Loda.

A proposal to discontinue leasing of the property after the present agreement expires Dec. 1 was

approved Tuesday night at the annual meeting of shareholders of the development firm.

Plans for continued operation of the nine-hole course and clubhouse were not discussed, but it is

anticipated that the development company will arrange to run them.

The surprise action reportedly was assured by proxies approving it, obtained earlier from

shareholders who were not present at the meeting attended by approximately 35 persons.

The movement to eliminate the country club board reportedly sprang partly from the fact that

most members of the Lakeview board are not shareholders in the firm which developed the lake

and surrounding area for permanent homes and summer cottages.

It was explained that the country club board was created in order to provide machinery for the

payment of the excise tax when the club was developed in 1958.

With that tax now discontinued, a separate board no longer is needed to operate the club,

shareholders were told.

The country club board, of which Dr. Earl Ellis of Rantoul is president, will be notified of the

decision not to renew the lease.

Since present club memberships extend to next April 1, it is expected that members will be able

to use the club’s facilities until that time without paying dues under any new set up.

The development company’s action will be considered at the annual meeting of the club Oct. 27.

Carl Hudson of Paxton, Glen Collison of Bayles Lake and Wayne Hoffmann of Cissna Park were

elected directors of the development company. Holdover members of the board are L.B

Cornelison of Paxton, who has been president; Don Hasselbring of Bayles Lake and Emmett

Peterson of Paxton.

The board will reorganize next week.

1965, October 7, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Country Club Board is Dissolved”

The board of directors of the Bayles Lake Development Co. has voted to disband the board of

directors of Lakeview Country Club.

The country club board was set up to govern the club and has been leasing the property from the

Bayles Lake Development Co.

The Bayles Lake Co. board decided that one board would control the entire operation. Members

of the club will hold their offices until December.

Newly elected members of the Bayles Lake Co. board of directors are Carl Hudson of Paxton,

Glen Collison of Bayles Lake, Orrin Price of Cissna Park.

Holdover members are Emmett Peterson and Loyal Corneilson, both of Paxton, and Don

Hasselbring of Loda. The board will hold an organizational meeting sometime next week.

The annual meeting of the country club board is Oct. 27. President of the board is Dr. Earl Ellis,

Rantoul. Other members are Harold Brown, Oscar Brown, Paul Weakley, Don Williams and Dr.

James Dunnan, all of Paxton.

1965, October 18, The Champaign Urbana Courier reports

“Bayles Lake Group Elects”

Loyal B. Cornelison of Paxton was re-elected president of the Bayles Lake Development Co. at a

meeting of the board of directors Thursday night.

Elected vice president was Wayne Hoffman of Cissna Park.

In a surprise action Oct. 15 at the annual meeting of the development company, shareholders

voted not to renew the lease of the Lakeview Country Club board of directors on the club and

building at Bayles Lake west of Loda.

No further action was taken by the company’s directors at Thursday night’s meeting.

Lakeview Country Club officials met Wednesday night but a spokesman stated no action will be

taken until the annual meeting of the club Oct. 27.


“Bayles Lake: Country Club Going Out Of Business”

The Lakeview Country Club will go out of existence soon after it turns over the club grounds

and building to the Bayles Lake Development Co. on Jan. 1.

Dr. Earl Ellis of Rantoul, president of the club, said the company had agreed to honor

memberships paid up until April.

Lyle Cornelision, president of the company, said he believed at this time, the company would

carry on as a country club without much change.

The company, which owns the facilities located west of Loda, had announced in October that it

would not renew the club’s lease.

It was explained that the country club board was created in order to provide machinery for

payment of the excise tax when the club was developed in 1958.

With that tax now discontinued, a separate board was no longer needed, it was stated.

Dr. Ellis said it was the feeling of the club’s board, voiced at the annual meeting held

Wednesday night, that the clubs contract ran until May, but that it decided to relinquish control

as of Jan. 1 since all employee contracts run from Jan. 1 to Jan.1.

It was also noted at the annual meeting that members of the company board had expressed a

feeling of apology to the country club board for the abruptness of the announcement of the

decision not to renew the lease.

The country club board went on record as recommending that the contract of Louis Razzano, pro

and groundskeeper, be renewed.


“Bayles Lake Group Elects 2 Directors”

Edward Hayes and Harry Swanson have been elected new directors of the Bayles Lake Lot

Owners Association.

Burton Saxton and Harold Brown also re-elected to the board at the annual meeting in Lakeview

Country Club west of Loda. Members voted to change the annual meeting from the second

Monday in September to the first Monday in May.

The board was requested to study the possibilities for weed control around the lake and report

next May.


“Bayles Lake Elections”

The annual meeting of the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Assn. was Monday evening at the Lakeview

Country Club.

Elections were conducted for positions on the board of directors. From Block 2, Ed Hayes was

elected, replacing the late Ed Rasmus; Burton Saxton was reelected from Block 3 and Harry

Swanson was elected for the first time from Block 8. Harold Brown was reelected from Block

10.

The board decided to ask the state for a study of weed control in the lake.

An amendment to the by-laws changing the time of the annual meeting to the first Monday in

May was approved, to become effective in 1967.


“Bayles Lake Group Elects Wayne Huffner”

Wayne Huffner of Cissna Park was elected president of the Bayles Lake Corp. at its organization

meeting Wednesday night.

Other officers elected were Vic Springer, Rantoul, vice president; Havard Keefe, Paxton,

treasurer and John McGreal, secretary.

Also at the meeting three new board members were elected to 3-year terms of office. They are

M.J. Kendrick, Melvin; Cyril Anderson, Paxton; and Ralph Schockey, Gibson City.

Retiring from the board were Loyal Cornelsion, Paxton, this year’s president; Carl Hudson,

Paxton; and Don Hasselbring, Bayles Lake.


“Bayles Lake Corp. Elects”

M.I. Kendrick, Melvin; Cyril Anderson, Paxton and Ralph Schockey, Gibson City were elected

director of Bayles lake Corp. Wednesday night at the annual meeting.

Retiring members of the board are Loyal Cornelison of Paxton, who has been president; Carl

Hudson, Paxton, and Don Hasselbring of Bayles Lake.

Officers chosen at the board’s reorganization meeting are Wayne Huffner of Cissna Park,

president; Vic Springer of Rantoul, vice president; Harvard Keefe of Paxton, treasurer, and John

McGreal of Rantoul, secretary.

Other directors are Orrin Price of Paxton, and Glenn Collison of Bayles Lake. The corporation

operates Lakeview Country Club at Bayles Lake west of Loda.


“Bayles Lake Group Elects New Officers”

Wayne Hoffman of Cissna Park has been elected president of the Bayles Lake Development Co.

Hoffman, an executive and partner in S.J. Hoffman and Sons Silo Co. succeeds Loyal B.

Cornelison of Paxton as president.

Other officers are Vic Springer, Rantoul, vice president; John McGreal, Rantoul, secretary, and

Havard Keefe, Paxton, treasurer.


“Group Buys Bayles Farm”

D.B. Bayles of Bayles Lake has announced the sale of a farm of almost 500 acres, formerly used

for breeding and raising race horses, to the Ministers Aid Society of the Central Illinois

Methodist Conference.

The land is south of Buckley on the east side of U.S 45. Grain farming will be continued on the

land, and the society hopes to rent the former horse barns, possibly to a cattle breeder or

dairyman.

Income from the farm is to be placed in the pension fund for retired pastors.


“Bayles Lake Group Is Reorganized”

Stockholders of Bayles Lake Development Co. voted Wednesday night to change the name of

the corporation to Lakeview Country Club, Inc.

The firm owns and operates Lakeview Country Club at Bayles Lake west of Loda. The facilities

include a nine-hole golf course and clubhouse.

Bayles Lake Development leased the property to the country club board until two years ago. The

board then was dissolved, and the corporation took over operation.

The country club board was formed originally to provide machinery for the payment of the

excise tax. When the tax was discontinued, a separate board no longer was needed to operate the

club.

Bayles Lake Development developed the lake and surrounding area to provide sites for

permanent homes and summer cottages.

About 50 stockholders attended the meeting at which Paul Danforth of Roberts and Harvard

Keefe of Paxton were elected directors to succeed Glenn Collison of Bayles Lake and Vic

Springer of Rantoul.

In the board’s reorganization meeting, Orrin Price of Paxton was named president; Cyril

Anderson was named vice president; Keefe, treasurer and John McGreal of Rantoul was re-

elected secretary.


“Bayles Now Lakeview”

About 50 stockholders attended the annual meeting of the Bayles Lake Development Company

Wednesday at the Lakeview Country Club.

The group voted to change the name of the Bayles Lake Development Company to Lakeview

Country Club, Inc.

Two new board members were elected. They are Paul Danforth of Roberts and Harvard Keefe

of Paxton. Glenn Collison of Bayles Lake and Vic Springer of Rantoul retired from the board.

An Election of officers was completed at the organization meeting. Orren Price, Paxton, was

elected president. He succeeds Wayne Hoffman of Cissna Park.

Other Officers were: Cyril Anderson, Paxton, vice president; Harvard Keefe, Paxton, reelected

treasurer; John McGreel, Rantoul, reelected secretary.

Other members of the board include Carl Hudson, M.I. Kendrick, and Ralph Schockey.


“At Bayles Lake: New Rules on Fishing”

Regulations governing fishing on Bayles Lake, west of Loda, have been adopted by the Lot

Owners Association and approved by the Bayles Lake Corp.

They provide that a written permit, signed by the host lot owner, must be obtained for each day

of fishing in the lake except from the boat of the host or on the shore line in front of the property.

The permits must be shown to the game warden or any other officer who requests to see it. Any

person who fishes in the lake without permission will be prosecuted as a trespasser under the

regulations.

The daily catch limits are two wall-eyed pike and five channel catfish.

Ice fishing is not permitted within 150 feet of any shoreline. Each lot owner can have one ice

fishing shelter which can be moved by hand; carries identification numbers used on boats and is

removed from the lake before sundown. Other uses of shelters are prohibited.

1968, January 24, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Bayles Lake Fishing Rules Are Adopted”

A resolution outlining new fishing regulations was adopted at a meeting of the Bayles Lake Lot

Owners Assn. with the approval of the Bayles Lake Corporation. The fishing regulations cover

daily catch limits and winter activities at Bayles Lake near Loda.

The new resolution states that a written permit, signed by the host lot owner, clearly specifying

the name of the person to whom it is issued and the “one day only” for which it is valid, will be

required on the person of anyone fishing in Bayles Lake unless fishing is being done from the

boat of the host lot owner or the shoreline in front of his property.

The permit must show lot and block number of the property owned or occupied by the host lot

owner and be available to exhibit to any game warden or peace officer upon request. Anyone

fishing in Bayles Lake without a valid permit will be considered a trespasser and so prosecuted.

Also considered a trespasser will be anyone fishing and possessing more than the daily limit set

at two walleyed pike and five channel catfish.

Ice fishing is a very popular sport at Bayles Lake during the winter months. New regulations

state that ice fishing is prohibited within 150 feet of any shoreline. Ice fishing shelters are

prohibited except that each lot owner may be allowed not more than one shelter if it is manually

portable, marked in the same manner as boats or floats with the lot and block of the lot owner,

the shelter be removed from the lake before sundown each day, leaving the area in which it was

used in the following conditions: cleared of the equipment and debris, clean and unobstructed.


“$4 Million Residential Development Starts Immediately Near Bayles Lake”

A $4,000,000 residential and recreational development extending over 500 acres and containing

800 lots just north of and adjacent to Bayles Lake, will be started immediately, according to the

developer Development Services, Inc., of Rock Creek, Ohio.

Bayles Lake is located one mile west of Loda.

The water area will total 120 acres of the 500 acres, officials of the development company said.

The new development will be completely separate from Bayles Lake and the company will

install streets, curbs and gutters and central water and sewage facilities.

A new dam will be constructed at the north end of the development, and the present dam at

Bayles Lake will form the south end.

Total cost is to be between $3.8 and $4.6 million dollars and construction is expected to be

completed within 18 months.

It is planned to begin the sale of lots by Oct. 1, and a grand opening is planned for next spring.

Kenneth Gorman, president of Lake Iroquois Corp., which is doing the developing, said the lake

would use the “same source” of water as the present Bayles Lake.

“Our engineers tell us this will be more than adequate water supply,” Gorman said.

Lake Iroquois Corp. is a subsidiary of Development Services, Inc.

About 450 of the 500 acres was purchased from Bayles Lake, Inc. D.B. Bayles of Paxton is the

president of this company. The remaining 50 acres was purchased from landowners who owned

property adjoining the development.

“All contracting will be on a competitive bid basis,” Gorman said. “It is our policy to use local

labor and local contractors whenever possible. We’ll take bids on the dam construction, bids on

road construction and so on. The building will actually be tightly restricted. Our building codes

are usually higher than is general in the area.”

Ohio Development Corp. has built more than 50 residential and recreational facilities throughout

the country, according to Gorman.

The closest to this area is Holiday Shores at Edwardsville, where nearly 1800 lots have been sold

in about four years.

“We expect most of our buyers will be from the nearby area-Champaign, Urbana, Rantoul,

Danville,” Gorman said. “Although it might extend farther. People from the Chicago area will

just flock to water,” he added. “The development will have its own 24-hour police force and will

maintain its own streets and sewage facilities.”

There will be community beaches, boats docks and children’s playground areas.


“Residents Fight Development Plan at Bayles Lake”

East shore residents of Bayles Lake are up in arms over a 200-unit trailer court and three marinas

proposed for the west shore.

Dr. Earl Ellis of Rantoul, president of the Lot Owners Association said his group “is opposed to

the influx of people the development would mean” and also is concerned about “increased traffic

on the lake.”

The development of Lake Iroquois in the area will also mean a substantial gain in the area’s

population, Ellis pointed out.

“Our biggest concern, however,” he said, “is to find out just how much control we would have

on boat traffic.”

He said the current restriction limiting motors to six horsepower would be retained. There are no

marinas on the lake. Residents with lake-frontage can arrange their own boat docking.

The development, proposed by Dale Bayles and Don Hasselbring, would include three marinas;

two would be adjacent to single lakefront lots and one to a property with three adjoining

lakefront lots.

The lake is deeded to the Lot Owners Association with the provision that Bayles has access to

certain lakefront properties, the ones for which the current controversial plans have been made.

Dr. Ellis said his group’s intention is to “see what control we have legally; have over the

developments.”

Several heated meetings have been held this week. Another is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Lot Owner’s secretary, Warren Pacey, resigned this week, because he is a legal

representative for the Bayles Lake Development Corp. and wanted to avoid a conflict of interest.

Two other Lot Owner directors also resigned, but Ellis said their resignations were not connected

to the controversy. Clifton Robinson resigned after serving many years on the board and Robert

Coddington because of “increased business commitments in the East.”

Dr. John Sillicker, who owns a summer home on the lake, has been appointed to fill one of the

vacancies.

Ellis said a committee will interview attorneys and report to the board on their recommendations

for a legal representative.


“Bayles Lake Meet Set On Owners Rights”

The Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association, Board of Directors will meet to hear a report from a

special committee on the legal rights of the property owners to control use of and access to the

lake, according to association president Dr. Earl Ellis, Rantoul.

Dr. Ellis said that the group is seeking control of the use of boats on the lake in advance of a

proposed development program, which would include three marinas and a 200 unit mobile home

park.

The trailer park site and the three marinas are slated for property owned by Dale Bayles and

Ronald Hasselbring, original developers of the lake area. The trailer park will be located on land

presently used for a landing strip, Dr. Ellis said.

At present, no marinas or trailers are allowed on the lake but restrictive covenants on the use of

most of the land were not attached to the land involved in the proposed development, Dr. Ellis

said.

The association committee is slated to contact and hire an attorney before the meeting.


“To Outline Bayles Lake Boat Rules”

The Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association board of directors has authorized Harold Baker, their

attorney, to draw up a resolution outlining boating regulations on the lake.

The board is seeking to control the use of boats on Bayles Lake west of Loda preceding

projected developments including three marinas on the lake and the establishment of a 200-unit

mobile home court east of the lake.

The resolution would regulate the number and size of boats on the lake and the number of boats

at the marinas, said Dr. Earl Ellis, board chairman.

Ellis said the developers of Bayles Lake deeded the lake to the Lot Owners Association in

March.

The board will vote on the adoption of the regulations in the next week or two, according to

Ellis.


“Lot Owners Study Rights”

A meeting of the board of directors for the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association is to be

scheduled to hear an attorney’s report on the legal rights of property owners to control use and

access to the lake.

Harold Baker, Champaign attorney engaged by the board, met with a special committee Monday

night. He will report his findings in a study to the full board at a session which probably will be

held Sept. 10, according to Dr. Earl Ellis, board chairman.

The board is seeking to control the use of boats on Bayles Lake west of Loda preceding

projected developments including three marinas on the lake and the establishment of a 200-unit

mobile home court east of the lake.

Dr. Ellis announced the appointment of Mrs. Betty Thompson of Paxton as secretary of the

association.

1970’s


“David Maggard Drowns Sunday in Bayles Lake”

Find victim in shallow water near pier; rites held Tuesday afternoon

David Lyn Maggard, 17, drowned Sunday afternoon while swimming with friends in Bayles

Lake, near Loda.

The youth, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Erroll Maggard, was last seen alive about 3:30 Sunday.

Searchers found his body about 8 p.m. in chest deep water 10 feet from the pier at the Raymond

Younger residence. (342 Kaufmann Drive)

Rescuers from the Iroquois County Civil Defense unit, the Iroquois County Sherriff’s

department, the Ford County Sherriff department and the Paxton fire department spent about

three and a half hours searching for the body. Paxton Fire Chief Mike Siebert, Eddie Mize,

Darrell Swan and Jim Robinson assisted in dragging operations. The youth was reported missing

about 4:30.

J.L. Joyce of Paxton joined five other divers from Kankakee, Rantoul and Champaign in an

underwater search for the body.

Two youths who had been swimming with the victim said Maggard dived out of the boat 60

yards from the shore and that was the last they saw of him. Persons on the shore reported seeing

someone diving off the pier between the time young Maggard was last seen and when he was

found. However, they could not say for certain that it was the victim.

His funeral was held at 2 p.m., Tuesday at Ford-Baier funeral home, Paxton, with Rayford Faires

of the Rantoul Church of Christ officiated. Burial followed in Maplewood Cemetery, Rantoul.

David was born November 11, 1953 at Glasgow, Ky., a son of Erroll and Margaret Barrick

Maggard. He spent the first ten years of his life in Kentucky and moved with his parents to the

Loda area in 1963.

Surviving are his parents; two brothers, Gary, Riverdale, Md; and Clifton, Pontiac; a sister

Deborah, at home; paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Maggard, Glasgow, Ky.; and

maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Barrick, Glasgow, Ky.

He had just finish his junior year at Buckley-Loda high school. He was to start work this

summer for Paxton Electronics Components Co.

1974, July 26, The Paxton Record reports

“Looking Back”…on this date in history:

Mr. and Mrs. D.B. Bayles moved in to their ultra-modernistic home on Wolfe Drive at Bayles

Lake this week. It was Mr. Bayles, known to his intimates as “Doc”, whose idea it was to

develop the once wooded slopping area a mile west of Loda into a lake. The five room home,

which has two baths, two terraces and a two-car carport, was recently completed. It commands

one of the most beautiful views of the Lake area.


“Hearing Slated on Loda Prison”

A hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday in the Iroquois County Courthouse, Watseka, to

receive opinions on the proposal to build a state medium security prison south of Loda.

Clarence Gehle of Buckley said that the site under consideration is a 400-acre tract owned by

Russell Lachenmyer of near Thomasboro. The land, which now is farmed is in Iroquois County

about two miles north of Clarence and adjacent to the Ford County Line.

Charles Rowe, director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, recently notified Gehle that the

hearing would be conducted.

Lachenmyer has offered to sell some of his land to the state.

Iroquois County is one of 18 counties being considered as sites for two prisons. A site near

Beaverville proposed by county officials was rejected because the Illinois Department of

Conservation plans to expand recreational use of the state-owned land now used as public

shooting grounds.

The corrections department asked the county to recommend another site. County board

members, however, agreed to have the county withdrawn from the list of counties under

consideration because no other site was available.

The new proposal was submitted after Lachenmyer’s attorney to Gelhe that Lachenmyer was

willing to sell part of his land.

Each of the new prisons is expected to cost about $25 million, have an operating budget of more

than $8 million and employ more than 350 persons.

Bill Shayne, chief of program services for the corrections department, said the purpose of the

hearing “is to answer concerns and questions” of the residents in the area under consideration

and “to judge public reaction.”

State officials expected to attend the hearing include Rowe, Gayle Francea, assistant to Gov.

James R. Thompson, Ethel Gingold, who heads the department’s adult advisory board, and

Shayne.

1980’s

1980, August 13, The Paxton Record reports

“Drowned Youth’s Body Found”

The body of 16-year old William McDuffie, rural Mahomet, was recovered from Bayles Lake

about 2:10 p.m., Friday.

Iroquois County Coroner Phyllis Jameson said an inquest is pending probably in about two

weeks.

Searchers had been scanning Bayles Lake since early Thursday morning after the youth went

under while swimming with a friend, Scott Percival, 18, from Urbana.

The youth’s body surfaced about 2:10 p.m. and was quickly spotted about 200 yards from Bayles

Lake road. (near 140 Sunrise Court) The youth’s body surfaced about 100 yards northwest of

where Percival said he believed the accident occurred.

McDuffie was taken by ambulance to Ford-Baier Funeral Home, Paxton, shortly after his body

was found. His funeral was Sunday afternoon, the Rev. Dorotha Russell officiating. Burial was

in Shiloh Cemetery, Fisher.

He was born November 18, 1963 in Champaign, a son of Clifford E. and Shirley J. Schuman

McDuffie.

Surviving besides his parents of rural Mahomet are two sisters, Peggy Hardyman and Denise

Arie, both of Urbana; three brothers, Patrick, at sea with the Navy; and Clifford and Kevin, both

at home; paternal grandfather, Eddie McDuffie, Champaign; and maternal grandmother, Rosalie

Schuman, Decatur.

He would have been a senior at Mahomet-Seymour High School. He worked with his father at

Cliff’s Auto Body Shop.

William McDuffie was a member of DeMolay, a Masonic youth organization, for several years,

and had just served as master counselor of the group.

Memorials may be made to the burn center of Shirner’s hospitals.

The search for the youth’s body included efforts by divers from numerous area law enforcement

agencies; dragging operations; use of a seine net; scanning of the lake by a State Police airplane;

and efforts by psychic Greta Alexander of Delavan.

McDuffie was swimming with Percival about 12:30 a.m. Thursday when the youth, who

reportedly could not swim, went under.

The two were staying at a friend’s cottage at Bayles Lake. They were seen swimming in a

shallow area south of the Bayles Lake road as early as dusk.

However, they were told to get out of the lake and instead boated through an area underneath the

road and began swimming in deeper water.

When McDuffie called for help Percival reportedly was able to bring him to the surface.

McDuffie said he was okay, and Percival swam back to the boat.

When he turned around, McDuffie has disappeared. Percival searched the area for McDuffie,

but could not find the youth.

Percival then boated back to the cottage, could not find a phone and drove to Loda where he

telephoned his parents from a pay phone.

His parents notified police.

1983, March 30, The Paxton Record reports

“D.B. (Doc) Bayles, 82, dies; was developer of Bayles Lake”

D.B. (Doc) Bayles, 82, of 236 E. Center Street, Paxton, founder and developer of Bayles Lake in

Iroquois County, died at 1:00 pm (March 25, 1983) at Illinois Knight Templar Home, Paxton.

His funeral was Sunday at Ford-Baier Funeral Home, Paxton, the Rev. Larry D. Manship

officiating. Burial was in the Glen Cemetery, Paxton.

Pallbearers were Don Roisland, Warren Pacey, Richard Bennett, Dale Meyer, Frank Johnson and

Wilbur Ogle. Honorary bearers were Howard Thomas, George Riemenschneider Wallace

Judkins and Marcus Spencer. Organist was Francis Robertson.

He was born Nov. 5, 1900 at Xenia, IL, a son of Austin and Martha Ellen Burkett Bayles. He

married Ethel Harriett Johnson Nov. 11, 1922 at Walnut, IL. She survives.

Also surviving are a daughter, Betty J. Burgrabe, Paxton; a son, Cleo B. Bayles, Bayles Lake:

three sisters, Wreathea Cuvelier, Hobart, IN; Bertha Bartelt, Salem, IL and Lillie Whitsell,

Mount Vernon, IL; a brother, Fred Bayles, Xenia, IL; six grandchildren, a step grandson; eight

great grandchildren and a step great grandson.

He was preceded in death by a son, three brothers, a sister, three grandchildren and a great

grandchild.

Mr. Bayles attended Xenia schools and lived in Walnut, IL for several years before moving to

Paxton, IL in June 1936.

He was a member of Paxton Church of Christ; Paxton Masonic Lodge; the Royal Arch Masons;

Mt. Olive Commandery; Prospect Chapter Order of the Eastern Star; Danville Consistory; Ansar

Shrine, Springfield; Shrine Club, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; And Paxton Chamber of Commerce. He

was a charter member of the Lakeview Country Club and a member of the board of Directors of

Farmers Merchants Bank, Paxton

1984, April 13, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Tornadoes Sweep Central Illinois”

Tornadoes and high winds raked portions of East Central Illinois, damaging or unroofing houses,

smashing trailers and ripping down power lines but apparently sparing anyone serious injury.

The twisters, spinning out of clod-laden skies that dumped rain across the state throughout

Thursday, whipped into Cumberland, Effingham, Iroquois, Jasper and Vermillion counties at

day’s end.

1984, April 13, The Champaign News-Gazette reports

“Sky Filled with Wood as Storm hits Homes”

By Steve Bauer

The idyllic lakeside neighborhood was jarred as a small tornado skipped through the Bayles Lake

area, tossing pontoon boats like bathtub toys and smashing the home of one couple.

“All of a sudden, I heard this roar, it sounded like 50 freight trains,” said Bill Archer, a resident

on the southwest side of the lake. Bayles Lake is a residential development west of Loda.

“I looked up and I saw it coming. The air was swirling and the water was going up like a water

spout, maybe 50 to 60 feet in the air,” Archer said. “Then it followed the lake and hopped

around”

Archer said he watched the funnel come back down in the area of Rulison Drive and Kaufman

Drive on the east side of the lake.

“I saw it hit by the porch on Saranel Mosier’s on Kaufman and the whole thing exploded and the

sky filled up with wood,” Archer said.

Archer said he was stunned by the experience, which lasted no longer than 40 seconds. The

sound and sudden appearance of the twister caught him by surprise, he said.

“The funny thing was that the storm, which started about 4:30 p.m. was dissipating, he said. The

main brunt of the storm was done.”

A Bayles Lake neighbor, John Anderson, said he saw the funnel cloud wreak havoc about 5:00

p.m. in front of his home on the lakes west side.

Houses on Ocala Drive on Bayles Lake also were damaged. The high winds overturned boats,

knocked down trees and power lines and ruptured a gas line, according to police reports.

“I saw it and heard the tornado while looking out my picture window,” he said. “I had heard on

my scanner that one was seen near Paxton’s Big Wheels plant. About that time the rain quit and

it got quiet.

“I saw the funnel in the air over the lake. It touched down and just sucked the water up into the

air. The funnel moved down the lake in the water and as it moved out of sight, I remember

thinking to myself, “Boy, if that thing hits a house, it’s a goner.”

1990’s


“Assessment Flap has Residents Thinking Secession”

By Greg Kline

They aren’t donning gray uniforms or waving the stars and bars, but whopping increases in

property assessments have folks in Loda Township sounding like Southerners, circa 1860.

Around the township’s Bayles Lake community, in particular, there’s talk of seceding from

Iroquois County and joining Ford County a few miles south.

“Really, Ford County is right down the road from us,” Bayles Lake resident Bill Archer said last

week. “Paxton is only four miles and that’s the county seat.”

Such a split in the Iroquois County union, however, is unlikely. It would require countywide

referendums in both counties, with little chance they’d win approval.

But the assessment flap has a battle brewing in other ways. The major fronts include:

A referendum on the November ballot to have the Iroquois County supervisor of

assessments elected rather than appointed by the county board. The switch supposedly

would make the person filling the job more accountable.

A wave of assessment appeals to the county Board of Review that could number near

900. (By contrast, Vermillion County, with three times the population, will have 600 to

700 appeals.) As many as 50 percent of Loda Township’s homeowners may argue that

their assessments should be lowered.

The threat of a class action lawsuit by township residents if their appeals fail.

For now, the lawsuit is on hold until the appeals process, which includes the county review board

and then, if necessary, the state Property Tax Appeal Board, runs its course, said Paxton attorney

Jerry Niemann, who’s been advising the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association.

“The jury’s out at this point,” Niemann said. “Maybe the system will work.”

At the center of the controversy is an increase in assessments on lots, houses and improvements

ranging from 18 to 87 percent this year at Bayles Lake.

Those assessments, determined through a complex state formula used by township and county

officials, form the basis for resident’s property tax bills.

In Archer’s case, for example, he said the value of his lot and house jumped by 18 percent which

will cost him about $400 more in property taxes.

“Some people’s taxes are doubling and tripling from what they have been in the past,” said Jim

Calloway, president of the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association board.

Lake Iroquois and Kellart Lake residents experienced increases too, although not as great. So

did off-the-water Loda Township property owners and some people in other Iroquois County

communities, such as Buckley and Gilman.

Nonetheless, many of Bayles Lake’s more than 250 lot owners feel they’re being soaked because

they own lakefront property. But “that’s not the case at all,” according county Supervisor of

Assessments Gene Bruns.

In reality, Bruns said, property in the lake area, and much of the county was under-assessed for a

long time.

Officials needed a sufficient number of sales to use as benchmarks in reassessing of property

values. But there weren’t many sales in most area of this sparsely populated county of 33,000

residents.

But a spate of sales the last two to three years finally allowed the reassessment process to

resume, Bruns said, and the property owners are feeling the effects of the lag.

The selling prices for Bayles Lake property has “dramatically increased,” he said. “Gradually,

(assessments) are getting to where they should be.”

Recent changes in state law also have mandated additional training for township assessors and

pushed them to do reassessments more regularly.

In addition, 1991 is a quadrennial assessment year when, theoretically anyway, all property in

the state is reassessed.

Bayles Lake residents don’t argue those points. But they still feel they’re being treated unfairly.

For one thing, the reassessments are based on a handful of sales that may not reflect reality, said

Fran Martin, a Paxton Realtor who specializes in lake property.

“I think the biggest problem is they take one sale and try to evaluate the whole lake on one sale,

or two or three sales,” she said. They’re all individuals, and they should be individually looked

at.”

And some of those sales were at inflated prices, made to Chicago-area residents willing to pay

mightily for a country retirement home on a lake, maintained Ralph Schimanski, a Bayles Lake

homeowner and retired Realtor.

“They might pay $80,000 or $90,000.” he said. “For property around a lake, they think that is a

steal.”

The other problem, according to the lake residents is that while Loda Township Assessor Pat

Freed has been diligent in do her reassessments many of the county township assessors have not.

We get increased, and the rest of them get only insignificant increases, if any at all,” Galloway

said. “We think it’s kind of discriminatory.”

Bruns said there’s little he can do to force the assessors, who are independent, elected, local

officials, to perform their duties.

But the county board can have Brun’s office to the reassessments and bill the townships for their

work, said Tom Basso of the Illinois Department of Revenue. In the extreme, he said, the county

also could take recalcitrant assessors to court.

Some of the assessors complain the job just isn’t worth the money it pays, especially with the

increasing amount of paperwork required by the state. Most of them, who salaries are set by

township boards, earn less than $5,000 annually.

“I would have to work eight hours a day, 365 days a year, and for $3,000 I’m not going do it,”

said Douglas Township Assessor June Wilms, one of those behind in her reassessments.

Meanwhile, at Bayles Lake, Galloway said he worries the tax increases are going to drive some

longtime residents out of the community.

“A number of elderly people live here on the lake. They have pensions, fixed pensions,” he said.

“It’ll actually cause some of them to have to sell their property.”

1998, January 14, The Paxton Record reports

“Bayles Lake Man Injured in House Fire”

Lake resident Frank Brocato, 110 Sunset Drive, is in serious condition Wednesday after a fire

destroyed his home Tuesday afternoon.

Loda EMS took Brocato to Carle Hospital, and from there he was transferred to the burn unit at

Springfield Memorial Hospital.

About two dozen firemen from Loda and Buckley were on the scene for about two hours.

Rich DeAtley, Loda Fire Chief, said a neighbor called in the fire around 1 p.m. When firemen

arrived they found Brocato standing outside.

“He told me he was watching TV and when the heater kicked on he heard an explosion,”

DeAtley said.

The fire was contained to the utility room but the rest of the house was heavily damaged by

smoke and water.

There are also some rafters that are pretty badly charred,” DeAtley said.

In order to enter the house firemen had to wear air masks. “It was black inside,” DeAtley said.

“We kept in close contact because it was easy to get lost.”

Firemen also had to cut holes in the roof in order to get smoke out and to get to the fire in the

upper part of the structure.

The fire chief said the cause of the fire is unknown. “But with the smoke and water damage the

house is pretty well gutted,” he said.

1999, September, The Paxton Record reports

“Neighbors save Woman in Blaze”

By Dave Hinton

Nancy Davis had just walked in the door when the phone rang Sunday morning.

The caller said she had heard a scanner report that an elderly woman at 221 Sunrise Drive was in

a wheelchair and her house was on fire. The caller wanted to know how close Davis lived to that

address.

Mrs. Davis recognized it was Lucy Goff’s house, two doors down from hers.

She ran to the house with husband Jim and sister, Arla Boehme not far behind, and when she

flung open the door, there stood the disoriented Mrs. Goff in a house filled with smoke. Mrs.

Davis picked up her elderly neighbor and quickly got her out of the house.

“She had stood up in front of her wheelchair,” Mrs. Davis said. “She did not have her walker.

She cannot walk alone. She was standing with one arm on the refrigerator and the phone in the

other hand.

“I was afraid of hurting her. I put my arms around her waist and lifted her out. I got her and my

husband and sister got the wheelchair out.”

The Davis and Mrs. Boehme got Mrs. Goff out in the yard and told her to take some deep

breaths.

Soon after, Loda ambulance and fire department arrived. Mrs. Goff, who is 89, was admitted for

observation to Gibson Area Hospital and suffered minor smoke inhalation.

The phone call (Mrs. Davis did not want to name the caller) and the neighbor’s quick action no

doubt saved Mrs. Goff from serious medical problems, if not suffocation.

Mrs. Davis said the smoke was so thick “you could not see across the kitchen.”

Mrs. Goff had discovered the fire after hearing a pop, she told a friend, Jan Archer, also of

Bayles Lake. “She said she opened the door to her utility room where the furnace and hot water

heater are. She said, “The flames came at me,” said Mrs. Archer.

Mrs. Goff shut the door, phoned for the fire department and got a wrong number on the first try.

After reporting the fire she wheeled herself to the back of the house where she normally exits

through the garage, but the door would not open.

So she turned herself around and went the length of the house to try to get out the kitchen door.

It was then the Davises arrived.

The interior of the house, which shows little exterior damage, was burned to a crisp.

Even so, some of Mrs. Goff’s most prized possessions were saved.

Her photo albums and scrapbooks that include so many memories from her family and her days

with the USO were not burned. And a metal recipe box that holds all of her friend’s phone

numbers and addresses came out in fairly good shape.

The box was blackened on the outside, and the tops of the cards are a little brown, but they are

readable, said Mrs. Archer.

“That was the first thing she asked for, “Just get my card box,” Mrs. Archer said with a laugh.

And, perhaps as a sign, those who went through the burned-out house found a gold pen with a

guardian angel on it lying on the floor, untouched by the inferno.

“I told her, “That guardian angel was watching over you Lucy,” Mrs. Archer said.

Loda firefighters with mutual aid from Buckley battled the fire, which was called in about 10:30

a.m. Strong winds fanned the flames.

Flames could be seen coming from the house when firefighters arrived

Friends are call Mrs. Davis a hero, but she dismisses the idea.

“Anybody else would have done it if they had known about it,” she said during a break from

hanging wall paper Tuesday morning.

Sunday was Mrs. Davis’ 60th birthday, but she remembers little other than the incident with Mrs.

Goff. “It’s just blank,” she said. “I said that was just a good birthday present,” being able to

help Mrs. Goff, whom she and her husband have known since moving to the lake in 1977.

“We are gone an awful lot, I’m just glad we were home.”

Mrs. Goff will celebrate a birthday of her own, her 90th, Oct. 15 and friends are planning an open

house 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 17 at Lakeview Country Club, Bayles Lake. Beginning Tuesday she will

reside in room 126 at the Ford County Nursing Home.

2000’s

2000, May, The Loda Times reports

“Bayles Lake Home Destroyed by Blaze”

Fire, fueled by strong winds, destroyed a Bayles Lake family’s home Thursday night.

The home of Don and Janet Ward, 606 Skyline Drive was a total loss.

Loda, Buckley and Roberts firefighters battled the blaze into the early morning hours.

Firefighters were called out about 9:30 p.m.

“The biggest problem we had was the high winds from the south,” said Don Jones, Loda Fire

Protection District training officer.

“It was a cathedral roof. It goes to a peak and there’s a dead place between the outer roof and the

cathedral roof. The fire got into that, and with the wind blowing it was like a blow torch. Once

it got started doing that we couldn’t commit people to be inside. It is too bad. It was a beautiful

house.”

Neil Kaufmann, assistant Buckley fire chief, said the fire was “one of the most miserable ones

I’ve been on. The roof fell in.”

“The fire was burning under the roof. You basically has to pull it piece by piece. There was a

lot of manual labor involved.”

Buckley remained on the scene until about 1 a.m., Kaufmann estimated, and Loda firefighters

until 3:30 a.m., said Jones.

Kaufmann said he was told fire was starting through the roof when Loda fireman arrived. “With

the wind venting it, there was no way to getting that thing shut down,” he said.

“If we had had eight of 10 lines in there right away we might have been able to contain it, but

there’s no way a volunteer fire department can do that.”

Water was transported from Loda. Jones said firefighters weren’t able to take water from Bayles

Lake because a good approach was not available. If a truck had been parked on bare ground it

would have sunk in and could not have been driven out, Jones said.

In addition to the home, a new Cadillac parked in the garage was lost.

Firefighters were able to save surrounding structures. “It was so hot it had a tree burning in the

front,” Jones said.

Loda fireman were called out at 6:30 Friday morning on a rekindle.

Jones estimated Loda had between 15 and 18 firemen on the scene, while Buckley had about 12,

said Kaufmann.

Roberts responded with volunteers and one truck at the scene and another on standby at the

Buckley fire house due to Buckley sending out all of its trucks.

No injuries were reported.

2004, July 18, The News-Gazette reports

“A Little Bit of Paradise In Southern Iroquois County” By Tom Kacich

Cleo Bayle’s father decided more than 50 years ago that the flat and humdrum landscape around

Paxton needed some help.

So D.B. “Doc” Bayles, who owned a construction company in Paxton bought some rolling

pastureland west of Loda and slowly, at first just in his spare time started building a lake. He

surveyed the property, yanked out some of the old Oak and Walnut trees on the bottomland,

dredged some of what would be the lake bed, built up a dam and within a few years “Doc”

Bayles had done what God had neglected to do. Bayles put a beautiful lake in southern Iroquois

County, less than a mile from Loda and about four miles north of Paxton.

“My dad just decided we needed a lake here,” said Cleo Bayles who, with his wife Mary, still

lives in a ranch house with a beautiful view of the lake that bears his father’s name. “We did a

bunch of the work on it in the early ‘40s and then again in ’45 or ’46 or around there,” said Cleo

Bayles. “Gov. (Dwight) Green got wind of it and he wanted to take the land and turn it into a

state park. But then Green got thrown out of office (1949) and we were able to build it again.”

Much of the site preparation for the lake had been done by nature, Cleo Bayles said. : It was like

a natural valley down there,” he said. “It was all solid clay and the water just drained off the

surrounding land.”

“He really didn’t build it to make money,” Bayles said of his father. “He just built it as a place

where families could go and have some recreation.”

By May 1952 “Doc” Bayles had signed up about 30 more shareholders and began completing the

lake. By the following September, the 200 acre lake was filled. And later that year the first

homes, some of them little more than wood frame fishing cottages, were being used.

By 1956, there were 75 homes at Bayles Lake, about one-third of them permanent residences.

Many of the rest were summer homes for people from Champaign, Urbana, Rantoul, Paxton,

Gibson City, Gilman, Onarga and even as far as Chicago.

Originally, said Cleo Bayles, lots at Bayles Lake-almost-all of which are on the lake-went for

$1,500 apiece, or two for $2,500.

Today, said Fran Martin, an agent with Rosenboom Realty in Paxton, even the least expensive

home on the lake is worth at least $100,000.

“Most of the houses at Bayles will go for anywhere from $175,000 to $200,000” she said.

Martin, who moved to the adjacent Lake Iroquois (which was built in the late 1960’s and is on

the other side of the dam) about 30 years ago, said housing prices at that time were $35,000 to

$40,000.

“I’ve always said that a house is your best investment,” she said “But a waterfront home is an

even better investment, whether it’s on the water in California or Florida or at Bayles Lake.”

“People are hard-working today and there’s a lot of stress,” she said. “That’s why people love to

go to a home on a lake, with lots of trees and just relax. Everyone tells me it’s a little like

paradise here.”

Mary Dean Bayles, Cleo’s wife, agreed. “I think a lot of us who live here a while take it all for

granted.” she said. “People are just floored by how beautiful it is.”

There are about 285 homes on Bayles Lake, said John Healey, whose father sold several acres to

“Doc” Bayles that was used to build the lake and whose family began living there in 1955. He

and his wife own a permanent home that he lives in most of the year. Next door, he is almost

done refurbishing one of the original knotty pine-walled fishing cabins.

“I love living on the water where it’s peaceful and it’s not so crowded,” I enjoy getting up in the

morning and just looking out at the lake.”

He also has a small, electric powered boat that can ferry several people around the lake. There’s

a 10-horsepower limit on the lake, making pontoon boats the favorite among residents. Lake

Iroquois is larger and permits faster boats and water skiing. And if fishing, boating and relaxing

isn’t enough, the Lakeview Country Club with its nine-hole golf course, restaurant and bar sit at

the south end of Bayles Lake.

Although most of the residents of Bayles Lake and Lake Iroquois are from east central Illinois,

an increasing number are from the Chicago area. Among her neighbors, Martin said, are a

retired Chicago policeman, a young couple who moved from the Chicago area to raise their

children in a rural area and the retired owner of a suburban insurance firm. “And three different

people from Tinley Park just bought three different homes on the lakes,” said Martin.

“I think a lot of Chicagoans are looking here rather than going to Wisconsin,” said Healey.

“There is more traffic going up there on summer weekends, plus you really get to enjoy a place

here about a month longer than you do a place in Wisconsin.”

“The baby boomers are buying these places now,” said Martin. “They are looking ahead now

and buying something for when they’re retired.”

It was time for her to go. Back home, many of her family of two children and nine grandchildren

were enjoying the water. “I want to be with them,” she said. What better time after all, to enjoy

a house on a lake than in the middle of July?

2006, June 24, The News-Gazette reports

“Bayles Lake Has a Relaxing Appeal, Sense Of Seclusion”

By Meg Thilmony

Bev Jeffers never thought she’d love a dwelling more than the apartment on the 76th floor of the

Hancock Building in downtown Chicago.

But when she and husband John got involved in a business in East Central Illinois in the mid-

1990’s, they started looking for homes in the area. A Champaign real estate agent led them to

Bayles Lake, where they rented the only house available.

“A week after they moved, the business deal fell through,” John said. “But we thought, “This is

kind of a neat place. Let’s stay.”

The Jeffers bought what Bev called “an old 50’s boat house” and remodeled it extensively. It

features an enormous two-story deck attached to the house’s lakeside and features a wall of

soaring windows. Binoculars sit on the windowsill for Bev, John and their guests to observe

boaters and wildlife on the lake.

Now, Bev says because of the friends and neighbors she’s met, she’d never return to downtown

Chicago.

“More people lived in the Hancock Building than in Loda or at Bayles Lake,” Bev said. “But we

never even got to know anyone’s name. We got down here and it wasn’t long before we were

active in the community.”

Her husband agreed, “Its family.”

Bayles Lake is located in Iroquois County, about a mile west of Loda. It was constructed by the

late D.B. Bayles and completed in 1952. Most of its 220 acres of water is located north of

Bayles Lake road, which bridges it.

In this area, the road gracefully follows the curves of the lake. On the west side of the lake,

water spills over a dam in a rushing waterfall and into adjacent Lake Iroquois.

The area also features several parks filled with Oak trees and flowers in the summer. Nearby

Lakeview Country Club boasts a golf course and restaurant.

Since its construction, weekenders and full time residents have built almost 300 houses and

cottages, said Stephen Schroeder, a Realtor at Rosenboom Realty in Paxton. Many of those are

located on the water.

Schroeder and his family live at Bayles Lake and he said many residents are buying small

weekend cabins and razing them to make room for larger, year-round homes on the sites.

“Size is more important today,” Schroeder said. “The one-bedroom cottages are almost

exclusive to vacationers.”

Schroeder said he thinks those new to the lake are attracted by its secluded feeling and the

combination of the water and densely wooded areas.

“It has a relaxing appeal,” Schroeder said. “It has the vacation sense to it.”

The Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association places limits on the horsepower of boats on the lake.

Pontoon boats can have 10 horsepower motors, run-about boats heavier than 250 pounds can

have 8-horsepower engines and run-about boats lighter than 250 pounds can have 6 horsepower

motors.

“Many people just have pontoon boats,” Schroeder said.

All homeowners are required to join the owners association, which maintains the area’s parks

and roads. The lake has 9 miles of shoreline and 7 miles of road, according to a brochure

distributed by Rosenboom Reality. Both are maintained by the Bayles Lake Lot Owners

Association, along with parks and timbers in the area.

All homeowners are required to join the association and pay about $700 per year in dues, said

Don Ward, former association president. That fee includes water and sewer service.

Ward and his wife, Jan, started as Bayles Lake weekenders. They were both employed at the

University of Illinois-Jan as faculty and staff benefits coordinator and Don as assistant vice

president for human resource management.

“We came in contact with people who lived here and we explored the area,” Ward said. “We

bought a weekend place and would come up once or twice per week.”

They made the move permanent in 1992 after retiring. Ward said he enjoys the lake, but

emphasized his affection for the laid-back community there.

“It’s quiet and peaceful-relaxing,” Ward said. “It’s a great place to be.”

2006, December, The Paxton Record reports

“Concerns Voiced Over Proposed Developments at Bayles Lake”

Many questions, concerns and misunderstandings were addressed Wednesday, Dec. 6 during a

meeting of the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association.

Developers have expressed interest in building two new developments in the Bayles Lake area.

The developers told the lot owner’s association members one of their plans is to build 12

duplexes, consisting of 24 residences.

Developer Bruno Pelech said, “We would like to do it right with quadplexes rather than

duplexes. Quadplexes just look much better. It is a growing trend right now that golf course

communities are all putting in townhomes.”

Current residents of the lake expressed concern at the meeting Wednesday night over the

development of multi-family residences and its impact on the lake community. How water and

sewer systems at the lake could handle the extra load and overcrowding of the lake were among

the major concerns addressed to the board by members of the lot owners association.

Many members of the lot owners association stated they were under the impression that the

developments were a “done deal.” The association members were assured by attorney Bob

Martensen and board members that the new developments are “not a done deal”.

Martensen said before any new multi-family developments can be built in the lake community

they must first be approved by the Bayles Lake Lot Owners Association Board and the Iroquois

County Board.

Martensen said the Covenants of Bayles Lake imply that duplexes can be installed in the lake

community, but Iroquois County has all of Bayles Lake zoned as R-1, single family residential.

The Covenants do not have a provision for quadplexes. Martensen stated that the Covenants

cannot be changes until three years from now, on the 10th anniversary of their installation.

The developers want to build two separate developments. One of the areas where the developers

want to build is already annexed into the Bayles Lake Subdivision and subject to lake privileges

and inclusion into the lot owners association. The other area is not annexed into Bayles Lake

Subdivision and is only subject to the jurisdiction of Iroquois County.

Lot owner’s association members stated to the board that they want a public meeting held to put

to rest any rumors. The board said they will hold another meeting in the future to summarize the

information.

(Editor’s note; through a series of lawsuits / countersuits and legal maneuvering’s the lawsuit

between BLHOA and the B.A. Higgins Development Company was settled. BLHOA received

final paperwork from Barmann, Bohlen and Jacobi, attorneys representing BLHOA and the

Iroquois County Recorder’s Office in November 2014.)

(The B.A. Higgins Development Company conveyed to Bayles Lake, 8.06 acres, south of

Country Club Lane, along the county road, 100 East, near Lakeview Country Club in return for

all legal proceedings be dropped against them.)

2010, February 17, The Paxton Record reports

“Lakes, Loda Might Meet to Discuss Project”

By Will Brumleve

Proposed Sanitary Sewer System, Joint Sewage Treatment Plant Still an Option.

Engineers are trying to set up a public meeting for the near future in which officials with three

communities in southern Iroquois County would try to resolve issues any of them might have

with combining their respective sanitary sewer plant projects into one.

Officials with the unincorporated communities of Bayles Lake and Lake Iroquois and the Village

of Loda had been invited to attend a meeting originally for this Friday evening at Loda Village

Hall, but one of the parties has a conflict that caused the meeting to be postponed, according to

Roger Meyer, engineer for Bern’s, Clancy & Associations, Urbana.

Meyer wants the three entities to meet with the Loda Sanitary Sewer District Board to resolve

issues he has said needed to be addressed before it would be possible to combine the three

community’s sewer projects. The combination of the projects would involve Lake Iroquois plant

being rebuilt and expanded to serve residents of all three entities.

Lake Iroquois is already planning to build and expanded plant-but only to serve its own

residents-while both Bayles Lake and Loda are exploring building their own separate sewage

treatment plants. Meyers, whose firm is working on the Bayles Lake and Loda projects, is

encouraging Lake Iroquois to combine its project with the others as a way to reduce resident’s

user fees.

But Steve Garbaciak, chairman of the Lake Iroquois Association’s water/wastewater committee,

said last week, after Meyer had made a presentation to Lake Iroquois officials that the

homeowner’s association still has not received the answers it needs about the exact cost savings

to Lake Iroquois residents.

“We’re still waiting for definitive answers to our questions,” Garbaciak said. “They still have

not provided the answers, and it was reiterated to them last night at the meeting.”

Meyer had acknowledged last month that “further study is required to study and document the

possible cost savings available.”

The upcoming meeting between all three groups and the sanitary district board would involve

discussion about monetary issues as well as several “non-monetary” issues that need to be

addressed, Meyer said. Meyer last month asked that the non-monetary concerns be fully

addressed within the next 60 days, to keep negotiation’s progressing.

Among the issues is that Lake Iroquois would need to give up ownership of its wastewater

treatment plant to a public entity.

“For it to become a multi-community facility, Lake Iroquois either must create a public utility or

have to join the Loda Sanitary Sewer District so that there’s a public entity that owns and

operated the wastewater treatment plant,” Meyers said last month.

If Lake Iroquois wanted to join the sanitary district, it could be done through two means: (1)

through a referendum, in which voters from Bayles Lake and Loda would vote on the issue

separately from Lake Iroquois voters, and both sides would need to be in favor; or (2) through a

vote that only involves Lake Iroquois residents, followed by a vote of the sanitary sewer district

board, which is comprised of two Bayles Lake residents, Jay Ross and Warren Hamby and one

Loda resident, Alan Johnson.

Lake Iroquois project, David Shafer, an engineer with Bloomington based Shive-Hattery

Architecture and Engineering, which is designing the Lake Iroquois plant, said he anticipates

three weeks would be required to redesign the plant to accommodate sewage coming from

Bayles Lake and Loda. Lake Iroquois officials have indicated they would not delay construction

of the currently proposed plant to accommodate plans for a combined plant that would serve

Bayles Lake and Loda.

Shafer said Friday that Lake Iroquois is “still working with the (Illinois) EPA on the permit” for

the plant it plans to build by the end of this year. Lake Iroquois is also currently seeking loans

for the plant through the United States Department of Agriculture.

“I don’t see any issues with the funding,” Shafer said. “We had some discussions with them

before we submitted any paperwork, so we’re fairly comfortable with it.”

(Regarding the) Loda project, if the three communities do not team up to complete one sewage

plant to serve all three entities, one of them might not be able to complete its own project due to

financial constraints.

In Loda, village officials are still not sure how they can keep pursuing a sewage plant on their

own, especially given the village’s lack of payments from the state.

Bern’s, Clancy & Associates had asked the village to make a decision whether to spend more

than $100,000 on an engineering study for the proposed plant, which would serve just the village

residents. But the board has decided to keep the money out of the village’s budget.

The need to build a sanitary sewer system in Loda has been prompted by environmental

regulations that are going to be strictly enforced regarding discharge of waste into waterways.

The same holds true for the nearby Bayles Lake and Lake Iroquois.

2011, October, “Bayles Lake Homeowners Association, Fall Newsletter” reports

BAYLES LAKE SANITARY SEWER NEWS UPDATE

Water and Sewer Committee Report

Ed Killen

Dale Foster

Nick Schuit

Update on the Bayles Lake Sanitary Sewer Project

Since September 2006, The Bayles Lake Homeowners Association (BLHOA) in partnership with

the Loda Sanitary District (LSD) has been researching and planning a sanitary sewer facility to

serve the Bayles Lake subdivision. It has been seven (7) years since that undertaking began and

we realize that there have been many turnovers on the Bayles Lake Board and numerous new

home-owners added to our subdivision who may not be fully informed about this proposed

project.

To keep you informed and with assistance from Ted Jeurissen and Greg Gustafson, Berns Clancy

and Associates (BCA), we prepared this brief history of the proposed sanitary sewer project

specifically articulating the reasons why it needs to be done. We also include a status update of

the project.

Why is the Bayles Lake Home Owners Association considering a centralized sanitary sewer

system? What’s wrong with what we have?

The answer to that question dates back to a September, 2006 written notice from the Ford-

Iroquois Counties Public Health Department (FICPHD) to the Bayles Lake Lot Owners

Association (BLLOA) stating that the perimeter tile(s) that collect the outflow of our private

septic tanks violates EPA regulations.

The notice cited two specific violations of the law:

(1) We exceed daily discharge limitations of 1500 gallons of effluent per day.

(2) We exceed the maximum allowable number of hook-ups per tile. Only three (3) individual

hook-ups per tile are allowed. (We have six (6) tiles and numerous individuals connected to the

tile lines.)

The notice went on to inform us that no new on-site sewage disposal systems will be permitted to

connect to the perimeter tile(s) and no existing on-site sewage disposal system requiring repairs

or replacement will be permitted to reconnect to the perimeter tile(s).

In January 2007, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) published a notice

(NPDES Permit Number 64) concerning the agency’s intent to begin enforcing existing

regulations requiring a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general

permit for all surface eliminating private disposal systems discharging into the waters of the

State of Illinois. In our case, those waters are Spring Creek and Bayles Lake.

The impact of these two actions is of paramount importance to the homeowners of the Bayles

Lake subdivision.

The first action forces all new and all repaired private sewer systems to discharge to

somewhere other than the perimeter tile(s) and stipulates that no more than three (3)

existing private sanitary sewer systems may lawfully connect to the perimeter tile(s).

It further implied that at some point in the future, FICPHD will begin to enforce this

regulation by requiring the disconnection of all of the remaining private disposal systems.

What does this mean for the residents of Bayles Lake?

Since 2006-07, no new private disposal sewer systems have been allowed to discharge to the

perimeter tile(s), with all of the systems that have been permitted since then are discharging into

the lake. Furthermore, only a few private sanitary sewage systems, requiring only very minor

repairs, have been allowed to remain connected to the perimeter tile(s).

We must be prepared for the eventuality that all 260 + private sewage disposal systems at Bayles

Lake will require major repairs or total replacement within 25-40 years.

What are the lawful options?

Two things are certain, we cannot continue to use our existing sanitary sewage disposal methods

and, our lawful sanitary sewage disposal options are extremely limited:

We may discharge **some of the “effluent” directly into our lake. IEPA regulations

allow the “effluent” discharge of up to two (2) private sanitary sewer systems per surface

acre of water. (This option assumes a compliant private sanitary sewer system that

produces secondarily treated “effluent” and that each such system discharging into the

lake will still be subject to the conditions of a general NPDES permit requirement at an

average annual cost of around $500).

**It is important to note that this option CANNOT solve the entire problem simply because we

don’t have enough surface area and volume of lake water to accommodate everyone. The lake

has a surface area of 130 acres and therefore could only be utilized by 130 systems into a 3 to 5

foot depth requirement AND achieving the adequate dilution required.

All other solutions will require some type of EPA approved sanitary sewer collection and

treatment system.

What actions has the Board of Directors taken?

The Board of Directors has taken the position that dumping our “effluent” into Bayles Lake is

NOT AN OPTION! The public health, safety and economic risks are simply too great. The lake

is the reason we’re all here and the protection of that asset ought to be our primary focus in this

matter.

Therefore, the Bayles Lake Board of Directors, understanding the compelling need to protect the

health and welfare of Bayles Lake and its homeowners while at the same time assuming the

responsibility for achieving compliance with IEPA, authorized a planning study to evaluate the

feasibility of constructing a central sanitary sewer facility.

Since 2007, numerous meetings have been held to discuss and evaluate alternative sewer

systems. Many leads have been followed and suggestions investigated including partnering with

the Village of Loda, Lake Iroquois and the City of Paxton. Uncounted articles have been written

and published in the Paxton Record, The Loda Times, The Champaign-Urbana News Gazette

and our own Quarterly Newsletter.

Detailed information has been disseminated, questions raised, investigated and discussed during

numerous open meetings including; Bayles Lake Board of Directors monthly meetings, Bayles

Lake Homeowners Association annual meetings, Loda Village Board meetings and Loda

Sanitary District meetings.

After digesting all of the information, the Bayles Lake Board of Directors settled on pursuing a

low-pressure, small diameter effluent collection system and recirculating sand filter treatment

system. This collection system is a combination gravity / low pressure collection system. This

option allows us to reline and repair segments of our existing perimeter collection tile in areas

where reuse is possible and install the low pressure lines in those areas where it is impractical or

cost prohibitive to reuse our existing tiles.

The board selected this option for two reasons; first, it is the least costly system to build and

second, it is the least disruptive construction option.

Latest events:

All preliminary engineering work has been completed. An updated Loda Sanitary District

Facilities Plan has been submitted to and approved by IEPA. The Bayles Lake Board of

Directors and the Loda Sanitary District board (legal authority who will own and operate the

proposed system) were recently informed that a final NDPES permit could be issued by the EPA

within the next 30 days moving the process of authorizing construction forward.

Before being able to move on to the construction stage however, the project engineer and sub-

engineer need to complete the Final Design work, prepare Bid Documents/Specifications and

submit all to the IEPA for construction permits. We are scheduled to complete that work during

our next fiscal year (2013) and if affordable funding can be arranged we may begin construction

in 2014.

As a final note, the Bayles Lake Homeowners Association Board of Directors urge you to

become involved in this project by attending the regular board meetings and by talking with your

State and BLHOA District Representatives. Please ask questions or offer advice, the board wants

and needs your input.

2012, April 24, The Paxton Record reports

“Bayles Lake Expected to Proceed with Final Design Plans for Sewage Plant”

By Will Brumleve

The Bayles Lake Home Owners Association is expected to authorize an engineering firm

Wednesday to prepare final design plans for a long-discussed sanitary sewer plant that would

serve the unincorporated Iroquois County community.

Rod Cardinal, president of the homeowner’s association that governs Bayles Lake, said its board

of directors likely will take action at a meeting Wednesday to allow Urbana-based Berns, Clancy

& Associates to proceed.

The process of preparing the final design is expected to last through the end of 2012, Cardinal

said.

In preparation for the final design work, Cardinal said, the engineering firm has completed a

“significant portion” of a video analysis of the existing septic system in Bayles Lake.

The final design cost would be about $70,000, engineer Ted Jeurissen said last year, when

preliminary design engineering for the sewer plant was still under way. At that time, Bayles Lake

officials questioned whether to move forward with paying for more engineering work, after

learning that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) had denied grant funding to

build the $4.7 million sewer system and treatment plant.

Cardinal said funding for the plant remains an unresolved issue.

“We’re still trying to seek out how it’s going to be paid,” Cardinal said, adding that the

association may seek grants or loans, for example, but won’t know what it can do until the

design process is finalized.

Some funding options may be available through the Loda Sanitary Sewer District, of which

Bayles Lake is a part, according to the district’s attorney, Bob Martensen, who lives at the lake.

Martensen said he expects Bayles Lake to seek “any and all sources of revenue to assist in the

project.”

Bayles Lake applied for a grant through the sanitary sewer district but was denied the awarding

of funds last year because there was not enough money left to give out through the IEPA’s

Unsewered Communities Grant Program. Without the grant funding, the 260 homeowners in

Bayles Lake would need to pay what the IEPA referred to as “unaffordable” monthly sewer

charges to pay for the plant — estimated at $106 — and as a result of that unaffordability, the

IEPA requested that the sanitary district submit a “facility plan amendment” to the agency prior

to the IEPA continuing to review the project.

Jeurissen said Tuesday that he expects Bayles Lake to be ready to apply for a new permit

through the IEPA after the final design engineering is completed. Funding options would also be

pursued at that time, he said.

“There are other programs that are available (to fund the project), depending on whether or not

they get fully funded or not through the EPA or through Rural Development,” Jeurissen said.

“We’re going to pursue those.

“I guess the bottom line is that the system will be built when it becomes affordable to the users,

and if it’s not affordable for the users, it won’t be built.”

The sewer system is being sought as a result of IEPA regulations regarding the discharge of

sewage into natural waterways. The existing septic tanks at Bayles Lake discharge into a

diversion channel that goes along the east side of the lake and is part of Spring Creek, according

to Cardinal. For the same reason, the nearby village of Loda also was at one time considering its

own sewage treatment plant — or perhaps building a sewer system that would connect with the

one proposed for Bayles Lake — but plans for Loda’s proposed sewage system remain on hold.

“(Village officials) think they have other priorities, so they’re working on those and this is in the

back burner, at this point anyway,” Martensen said.

2012, May 16, The Paxton Record reports

Loda wants out of sewer district

The Loda Village Board voted unanimously last week to place a referendum on next April’s

election ballot that would ask voters to allow the village to detach itself from the Loda Sanitary

District, a taxing body that also includes Bayles Lake.

Residents of both Bayles Lake and Loda would vote on the referendum, which if approved

would allow Loda to set up a separate sanitary district exclusively for the village, officials said.

The village board’s decision came just a few weeks after the Bayles Lake Home Owners

Association’s board of directors approved moving forward with final engineering design work

for a proposed $4.7 million sanitary sewer plant and septic system.

The sewer plant would only serve Bayles Lake, an unincorporated community west of Loda that

was notified several years ago that it is in violation of regulations regarding the discharge of

sewage into public streams.

But some Loda officials voiced concerns last week that the village could end up supporting some

of the cost of Bayles Lake’s project.

Funding for the project is likely to be made possible through user fees charged to Bayles Lake

residents, as well as potentially grants or loans sought through the sanitary district, according to

Jay Ross, the sanitary district board’s president, and Ted Jeurissen, the district’s engineer, who

both live at Bayles Lake. Ross stressed that tax increases through the sanitary district would not

be possible without a referendum or change of tax structure.

"All taxing districts are governed by taxing limits, and we are at our limit,” Ross noted.

Nonetheless, Loda residents, who have been paying taxes to support the sanitary district, wanted

to be sure their taxes would not be affected as a result of the project.

Pulling out of the sanitary district also seems like a good idea, according to some village board

members, because it would make sure that taxes paid by Loda residents would be used only for

Loda’s benefit, not Bayles Lake’s. Board member John Zalaker said there has been some

concern brought up about what benefit Loda has received by paying taxes to the sanitary district.

J.R. Ptacek, a former village board member, has created yard signs in support of Loda detaching

from the district. Ptacek said Loda taxpayers have paid more than $20,000 in property taxes to

the sanitary district over the years, but the only benefit Loda has received has been a $5,000

expense the district made when applying for a grant on the village’s behalf.

Ptacek called the proposal to detach from the district “an excellent thing for Loda.”

Ptacek noted that it would not only keep Loda taxes in the village’s control, but it would also

help the village when seeking grants if it ever pursues a sewage treatment plant of its own. That

is because Bayles Lake, a higher-income community, would never be factored into any grant

application made by the village of Loda, a lower-income community.

“The city is well-documented that it meets income requirements for these types of loans and

grants,” Ptacek said. “Whereas the Loda Sanitation District, as it stands now, may not fall under

those economic guidelines (with Bayles Lake factored in).”

Zalaker said Loda exiting the sanitary district would also simplify decisions. Right now, “it’s just

not working” having both Loda and Bayles Lake in the district together, he said.

The Loda Sanitary District’s three-member board of trustees is currently composed of two

Bayles Lake residents but only one Loda resident, giving Loda residents less of a say in the

district’s decisions, Zalaker added.

“People in Loda feel we have no voice on the board,” Zalaker said. “I’m not saying it’s a bad

thing to leave (the district) together, but we feel it would be a whole lot better to be left on our

own. To me, it just hasn’t worked like it should.”

Zalaker said the move would also give the village more “flexibility,” allowing the village to

choose its own engineers and architects for its own sanitary district. Loda would also have its

own sanitary board made up only of Loda residents.

Loda Village Board President Carol Arseneau said she supports exiting the district, with “mixed

emotions.” She said her only concern is that if Loda decides to set up its own sanitary district,

any tax money received be earmarked for an intended use.

Zalaker said the taxes paid by Loda residents to the sanitary district would remain the same if a

separate district was formed for Loda.

“Once a year they would recommend they put that money received from the taxes into a savings

account. If we do it that way, then 10 to 20 years down the road, whoever has to deal with (a

potential project) ... is going to have a little bit of money,” Zalaker said.

The sanitary district’s engineers completed a feasibility study for a proposed sewage treatment

plant for Loda a few years ago, but the $3 million plant is no longer being considered by the

village due to the unaffordable costs involved.

And Zalaker stressed that Loda has no plans currently to further pursue a sewage treatment plant

for Loda — which, unlike Bayles Lake, has not yet received notice from the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency of the need to do so, he said.

“It’s not going to happen today or tomorrow,” Zalaker said. “Whatever we do, it’s basically

making sure that whoever is sitting here 20 years down the road will have something to work

with.”

The village board plans to schedule a public hearing on the proposal to exit the district in

upcoming months, Arseneau said.

The board plans to then file a petition with the county to have the referendum placed on the

ballot for the April 9, 2013, consolidated election. That action must be taken at least 180 days

prior to the election.

2015, April 1, Letter to all Bayles Lake Residents, From the Board of Directors

To: Bayles Lake Residents

From: Board of Directors

Date: April 1, 2015

RE: Updating the Wastewater / Sanitary Sewer Project

In 2006 the Bayles Lake Homeowners Association (BLHOA) began consulting with the

engineering firm of Berns Clancy and Associates (BCA), to help guide our homeowners

association through the complexities of upgrading our wastewater / sanitary sewer system and

bring it in line with Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) standards. The Board of

Directors (BOD) authorized a planning study with BCA, not to exceed $13,500, to evaluate the

feasibility of constructing a central wastewater / sanitary sewer facility.

For nine years, our Board of Directors has trusted BCA and their professional judgment. We

expected that their time and effort would be productive and timely as they walked us down this

path.

Why did we seek their professional help?

In September 2006 BLHOA was notified by BCA that we were in violation with the

Ford-Iroquois Counties Public Health Department; that our perimeter tile(s) that collect

the outflow of our private septic tanks violates Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

regulations. Primarily we exceed daily discharge limitations of 1,500 gallons of effluent

per day.

Since 2006 no new private disposal sewer systems have been allowed to discharge to the

perimeter tile(s), with all of the systems that have been permitted since then are dripping

treated effluent into the lake. Furthermore, only a few private sanitary sewage systems,

requiring only very minor repairs, have been allowed to remain connected to the

perimeter tile(s).

In January 2007 IEPA published a notice (NPDES Permit Number 64) concerning the

agency’s intent to begin enforcing existing regulations requiring a National Pollution

Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for all surface eliminating private

disposal systems discharging into the waters of the State of Illinois. In our case, those

waters are Spring Creek, our diversion channel and Bayles Lake.

BLHOA currently has five (5) homes that now drip treated effluent into the lake. New

State of Illinois Law, Section 905.20 (q) Maintenance of Private Sewage Disposal

Systems states in part:

“An aerobic treatment unit (ATU) requires evaluation and maintenance at least once every

six (6) months. The systems may be evaluated by a Private Sewage Disposal Installation

Contractor, a licensed Environmental Health Practitioner, an Illinois licensed Professional

Engineer, a representative of the Department, or an agent of the Department or local health

department. The inspection and maintenance shall be performed per the manufacturer’s

requirements to assure proper operation. If the required inspection and maintenance are not

preformed, the system is in violation of the Act and this Part.”

In the short term, because these five (5) homes drip treated effluent into the lake, through

our Rules and Regulations, the BOD is asking these residents to provide the board with a

copy of their maintenance / service contract at least once every six (6) months.

The BOD has taken the position that allowing treated effluent into Bayles Lake is not a

long term option. The public health, safety and economic risks are simply too great. The

lake is the reason we’re all here and the protection of that asset ought to be our primary

focus in this matter. In the past the BOD took the position of understanding the need to

protect the health and welfare of Bayles Lake and its homeowners while at the same time

assuming the responsibility for achieving compliance with IEPA.

BCA progress seemed minimal and at times confusing. This past fall, our BOD questioned the

cost and the pace of the project as they were being asked to sign off on bills that seemed to

provide minimal details. The BOD has asked for more information and BCA has provided us

with some addition material. We are currently waiting for the final few pieces of information.

Where do we go from here?

Our questions need answers before we can move on and our professional relationship with BCA

has deteriorated to the point where neither side is comfortable talking to each other.

In February 2014 the BOD created a Sewer Advisory Committee (SAC). Their responsibilities

are to gather information and bring their knowledge and suggestions to the BOD for discussion

and decisions. This committee will stay in place until the completion of the sewer project. The

reason for forming this committee is to retain the same people and all the knowledge they have

accumulated about the project. This will aid in bringing new board members up to speed every

year.

At our October 2014 board meeting, the BOD approved retaining an investigator to review all

the tasks that BCA has performed to date. The BOD has made a request to BCA that no further

bills should accrue until the SAC can review the nine year paper trail as to what actually was

done.

At the February 2015 board meeting, the BOD reaffirmed its desire to upgrade our wastewater /

sanitary sewer system and began to review the investigative report:

The BOD has made multiple requests for additional details; copies of all documents,

reports and work related items and we are waiting for the final pieces of information.

It appears to the SAC and BOD that materials BCA indicated were prepared for our

project were actually not specific to our project and not compatible and not cost efficient

in today’s market place.

It appears to the SAC and the BOD that we have paid BCA more money than was

initially estimated for the completed sewer project and we have not received a final

design plan for the project and BCA has requested $340,000 to complete this project.

The investigator and the SAC was asked to review the work and billing of BCA. The

investigator reported that he has been hired in the past to do forensic analysis of public

and private work projects for insurance companies and attorneys.

The investigator has compared the original fee quotes with the work that was purported to

be done and billed for. His conclusion was that the fee schedule was set up with 12 work

tasks, the first 6 originally quoted for initial plans, ours beginning 2005, 2006, 2007,

2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 with a total quoted which should have at that point produced

a final plan, should have cost $134,000 and has now cost the BLHOA in excess of

$278,000, and he found that the designs are 85% incomplete.

The investigator and the SAC are hoping to salvage the project without a lot of additional

cost to the homeowners, but the only thing that is usable going forward is the

topographical plans.

The investigator advanced the suggestion of a new generation of wastewater treatment

which offers the highest quality effluent possible on the market as being the most cost-

effective way to address the wastewater / sanitary sewer requirements.

The investigator suggested having an engineering consultant which has used the system,

produce a plan in a cost-effective manner using information from the topographical maps.

Their engineering costs are figured into the costs of the whole system with an initial

retainer for preliminary design and site work at a fee of $10,080, which will include an

estimate of construction costs.

The investigator suggests that BLHOA hire their own in-house, construction manager to

oversee the project on behalf of the homeowner’s association, with the assistance of an

environmental engineer, to complete the project in a more economical way. There has to

be a better internal checks and balance system.

The total project, including the consulting and contracting commissions, would all be part

of the total cost of the project for the purposes of obtaining a loan.

The investigator and the SAC is hoping to obtain the remaining documents, reports and

work performed by BCA so as to go forward with a system without having to re-do all of

the engineering work.

At the March 2015 Board of Directors meeting, after reviewing the investigative report relating

to work done on our wastewater / sanitary sewer project, the Board of Directors approved

terminating our professional and working relationship with Berns Clancy and Associates.

2015, June 10, “The Paxton Record” reports

After 43 years, Loda Sanitary District to be dissolved

By Will Brumleve

One thing is clear: The Loda Sanitary District is coming to an end after 43 years of serving the

village of Loda and unincorporated community of Bayles Lake.

What isn’t clear is when the dissolution will happen, and how the district’s $43,646 in funds on

hand will be distributed to the two Iroquois County communities.

The Loda Sanitary District, in existence since 1972, was formed with the intent of collecting

property taxes to help fund sanitary sewer projects for both communities. But years of efforts to

bring proposed sanitary sewage treatment plants to fruition have been unsuccessful.

With too little funds to proceed, Loda is no longer even considering a sewage treatment facility

— either in conjunction with Bayles Lake or on its own. That has left Bayles Lake independently

moving forward with its own treatment plant that would serve only its own residents.

Dissolution talks have been ongoing for a while because Loda residents think it is not fair they

are being taxed by the sanitary district when it is serving them no purpose. Another issue is that

Bayles Lake, which had been using the sanitary district to apply for grants for a proposed sewage

treatment plant, has not been able to acquire any grants through the district — and the prospects

for getting such a grant appear increasingly unlikely.

With that in mind, the sanitary district’s three-member board agreed Monday that the district

should be dissolved. The board voted unanimously to publicly state that as its goal.

“We’re talking (about dissolution) because there is no desire on the part of the village of Loda to

proceed with a (sanitary sewer) system as a part of the sanitary district,” said Loda Sanitary

District Board President Jay Ross, a Bayles Lake resident. “Meanwhile, Bayles Lake is

proceeding independently (on a sewage treatment plant of its own), and there is no grant money

that we can help them acquire, so we’re really serving no purpose.”

As a first step toward dissolution, the board directed its attorney, Bayles Lake resident Bob

Martensen, to prepare a tentative budget and appropriation ordinance for this fiscal year that

would allocate about $5,000 of the $43,646 in funds on hand for “administrative costs”

associated with the legal steps of dissolving the district.

The remaining $38,000-plus will be budgeted with the intent of distributing those funds between

Loda and Bayles Lake.

The board set a meeting for 5 p.m. June 15 at the Loda firehouse for the purpose of approving

the tentative budget. A final budget will be approved before the end of July, after public notices

are published in local newspapers.

Martensen had suggested to the board that the funds on hand be “brought down to a small,

reasonable sum” — perhaps something like $5,000 — and that the board figure out a way to

fairly distribute the rest of the money between Loda and Bayles Lake through intergovernmental

agreements. Martensen said he would prefer that all of that happen before the sanitary district

board files a petition in Iroquois County Circuit Court seeking to dissolve the district.

“I’d just assume that the board come to an agreement that everyone can live with and spend this

money down to, say, $5,000 ... as opposed to telling the judge we’ve got $40,000,” Martensen

told the board. “I don’t want to go up there (to court) and have somebody from the village of

Loda say, ‘We need $10,000 more,’ and I don’t want somebody from Bayles Lake saying, ‘We

want $10,000 more.’ I want all that to be resolved before we go up there.”

According to Martensen, in order for the board to file the petition, the Sanitary District Act of

1917 requires a sanitary district to have no outstanding and unpaid revenue bonds, have a

population of fewer than 5,000, and have an intergovernmental agreement entered into “with a

municipality for the mutual expenditure of funds in joint work and for the transfer of assets under

the Municipality and Sanitary District Mutual Expenditures Act.”

Martensen said the sanitary district meets the first two criteria and needs to come to an

agreement with Loda and Bayles Lake on a fair way to divide the funds on hand to meet the third

one.

The Sanitary District Act of 1917 only mentions the requirement of having an intergovernmental

agreement with a “municipality” — such as Loda. It does not say an intergovernmental

agreement is required or even allowed for a nonprofit corporation such as Bayles Lake.

However, Martensen said the Illinois Constitution explicitly allows for intergovernmental

agreements with nonprofit entities, so it will be legal for the sanitary district to divide its funds

between both communities.

Ellen Lee, an attorney representing the Bayles Lake Home Owners Association, asked Martensen

if it was the sanitary district’s intent to divide the funds between each community based

proportionately on their tax support to the district.

That means Loda, with a lower population, would receive less money than Bayles Lake.

“That’s what these three guys get paid the big bucks for,” Martensen said, referring to the

sanitary district board. “But my guess is they’d say, ‘yes.’”

Ross said the sanitary district board intends to do “this as fairly as we can possibly do within the

laws as it’s understood.”

Meanwhile, J.R. Ptacek, a Loda resident, disagreed with the board’s intentions. Ptacek urged the

board to instead put all of the money into a CD account and then have a judge decide which

community gets what.

“Don’t spend this money. I am asking you, ‘Don’t spend this money,” Ptacek told the board.

Martensen said that if the district distributes the money to the two communities, “the only strings

put on it is it must be used for sanitary purposes.”

“We will not give them one dime to spend on roads; we will not give them one dime to spend on

a water system; we will enter into an agreement with them to distribute money to them to spend

for sanitary purposes,” Martensen said.

Martensen and the sanitary district board stressed that the dissolution process will likely take

some time and that there is no rush to move forward because no taxes are being collected

anymore on behalf of the district.

When filing the required petition in court, the district will need to state its reasons for dissolving

the district; state that no debts of the district are outstanding or that there are sufficient funds on

hand to satisfy those debts; state that no contract or federal or state permit or grant will be

impaired by the dissolution of the district; state that all assets and responsibilities of the district

have been assigned to the “successor municipality”; and state that the district will pay any and all

court costs incurred in connection with the petition.

“Once the petition is filed, the judge will determine what kind of notice of the hearing on the

petition should be given, and any notices given must include the Illinois Environmental

Protection Agency,” Martensen explained. “A hearing is then held to determine whether or not

the district should be dissolved.”

The Loda Village Board is expected to discuss the impending dissolution further during its

monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at Village Hall. The meeting is open to the

public.

2015, June 17, “The Paxton Record” reports

Loda Sanitary District to divide funds between Bayles Lake, Loda

By Will Brumleve

Before it is dissolved, the Loda Sanitary District plans to divide most of its $44,271 in funds on

hand between the village of Loda and unincorporated community of Bayles Lake.

The sanitary district’s three-member board voted unanimously Monday to approve a tentative

combined budget and appropriation ordinance for the fiscal year that runs from May 1, 2015,

through April 30, 2016 — which is expected to be the district’s last.

The budget shows $44,271 in total expenditures, including $7,500 for the compensation of the

district’s trustees and attorney, $600 for printing and publication expenses, and the rest —

$36,171 — for “sewer capital projects.”

Of the $36,171, the budget shows $7,823 for sewer projects in Loda and $28,347 for sewer

projects in Bayles Lake — the two communities that make up the district. The sanitary district’s

attorney, Bob Martensen, said those numbers reflect the amount the district would be giving to

each community — to be used exclusively on sanitary sewer projects — prior to the district’s

dissolution.

Martensen said the proposed distributions are based on the property tax support each community

has provided the district in the past. According to Martensen, the total assessed valuation of the

sanitary district was $16.1 million in 2013, and Loda’s total assessed valuation was $3.48

million.

By subtracting Loda’s assessed value from the districts, Martensen said, Bayles Lake has an

“assumed” assessed valuation of $12.6 million.

That means Loda’s assessed value makes up 21.6 percent of the district, while Bayles Lake’s

makes up 78 percent.

The tentative budget and appropriations ordinance will be put on public display for 30 days.

Then, a hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. on either July 20 or July 27. The final ordinance will

then be approved.

Martensen stressed to Loda and Bayles Lake officials in attendance Monday that the money each

community receives must not be used for any purpose other than what the sanitary district had

originally levied taxes for. Prior to its dissolution, the sanitary district intends to enter into

intergovernmental agreements with Loda and Bayles Lake stating that the funds can only be used

for sanitary sewer purposes.

“As I pointed out at the last meeting, this is not for road purposes; this is for sewer projects,”

Martensen said.

Martensen asked Loda officials to think about what sewer-related project they would pursue with

the $7,823 the village would receive.

“We would like to know what the plan is,” Martensen said.

“Right off the top of our head, I don’t know that we have a sewer project (in mind),” said Loda

Village Board member Jon Boone. “But we can do it; I’m sure we can do it.”

Meanwhile, Loda resident J.R. Ptacek argued that only Loda should receive any of the sanitary

district’s funds — not Bayles Lake. Ptacek noted that the Sanitary District Act of 1917 — the

state law governing the district’s dissolution — only mentions the requirement of having an

intergovernmental agreement with a “municipality,” such as Loda. It does not say an

intergovernmental agreement is required or even allowed for a nonprofit corporation such as

Bayles Lake.


agreements with nonprofit entities, so it will be legal for the sanitary district to divide its funds


Loda Sanitary District Vice President Warren Hamby stressed that everything will be done

legally.

“It’s all going to be legal,” Hamby told Ptacek. “I don’t care what you say. It’s going to be legal.

Understand that. Get it through your head. It’s going to be by the laws of the state of Illinois, not

by what you think are the laws of Illinois.”

Meanwhile, at last week’s Loda Village Board meeting, Ptacek claimed the taxes collected from

Loda residents to support the sanitary district have never been used for Loda’s benefit — only

Bayles Lake’s.

“Since 2006, this village has given over $4,000 a year to that entity,” Ptacek said. “That entity

has spent zero dollars in Loda. So I wouldn’t feel bad whatsoever about taking that $40,000 from

them.

“They took $25 a year from me. I’ll never see it again, but I’d like the whole city to get that and

spend it on anything you want.”

Ptacek asked Loda’s attorney, Dale Strough, whether the sanitary district would legally be

allowed to give money to Bayles Lake, since it is not a municipality.

“I do have some experience on such matters,” Strough said, noting he represented the

Chebanse/Clifton Sanitary District when it dissolved and divided its assets between Clifton and

Chebanse proportionately.

Strough, however, said he did not immediately know the answer to Ptacek’s question.

“Before I give a formal opinion on that, I would have to check out (the law),” Strough said.

The Loda Sanitary District voted last week to move forward with dissolving the district. The

district was formed in 1972 to assist Loda and Bayles Lake with pursuing sanitary sewer

projects.


proceed with a (sanitary sewer) system as a part of the sanitary district,” Loda Sanitary District

Board President Jay Ross, a Bayles Lake resident, said last week. “Meanwhile, Bayles Lake is

proceeding independently (on a sewage treatment plant of its own), and there is no grant money

that we can help them acquire, so we’re really serving no purpose.”

2015, August 19, “The Paxton Record” reports

Loda man continues to argue district can't give Bayles Lake any money By Will Brumleve

The Loda Sanitary District’s three-member board still intends to divide its remaining funds on

hand, whenever it dissolves, between the village of Loda and unincorporated community of

Bayles Lake — despite a Loda resident’s contention that the village legally is entitled to all of

that money.

The board on Monday restated its intention to split all but about $8,000 of its $44,271 in funds

on hand between the two entities that make up the district, with Loda receiving 21 percent, or

$7,823, and Bayles Lake getting 78 percent, or $28,347, based on the amount of property taxes

each has contributed to the district.

Meanwhile, Loda resident J.R. Ptacek continued to argue, as he has done in past meetings, that

only Loda should receive any of the sanitary district’s funds — not Bayles Lake.

Ptacek noted that the Sanitary District Act of 1917 — the state law governing the district’s

dissolution — only mentions the requirement of having an intergovernmental agreement with a

“municipality,” such as Loda. It does not say an intergovernmental agreement is required or even

allowed for a nonprofit corporation such as Bayles Lake.

“You are bound by these laws,” Ptacek told the board. “I’m sure a judge will decide that the

$40,000 should go to the village.”

However, sanitary district attorney Bob Martensen said Monday that the Illinois Constitution

explicitly allows for intergovernmental agreements with nonprofit entities, so it would be legal

for the sanitary district to divide its funds between both communities through intergovernmental

agreements.

Martensen’s opinion differs, however, from attorney Ross Sorensen, a partner in Martensen’s

law firm who filled in for Martensen at a sanitary district board meeting last month. Sorensen

told the board that he belives the district cannot write checks directly to Bayles Lake because it is

not a “municipality,” and that it can only write a check and execute an agreement with Loda.

As a possible solution to the issue, Sorensen suggested Bayles Lake provide its bills to the

district and allow the district to pay them. Sorensen also suggested Loda and Bayles Lake discuss

coming up with an amicable split of the remaining monies.

Meanwhile, Loda village board members indicated last week that they felt a judge should decide

how the funds are split, not the Loda Sanitary District board.

According to officials at Monday’s meeting, Loda’s attorney, Dale Strough of Watseka, said the

village board still needs to vote on a resolution to direct him to start working on the legal matter

through “billable hours.” The board, however, did not vote to do so at last week’s meeting.

Because Strough was not present Monday, and nor was Bayles Lake’s attorney, Ellen Lee, the

sanitary district board tabled further discussion on the dissolution process until its next meeting,

which has yet to be scheduled.

In the meantime, Martensen was directed by the sanitary district board to contact Strough to

discuss the matter. Strough will be asked to attend the next sanitary district board meeting, as

well.

The Loda Sanitary District voted earlier this year to move forward with dissolving the district,

which was formed in 1972 to assist Loda and Bayles Lake with pursuing sanitary sewer projects.


proceed with a (sanitary sewer) system as a part of the sanitary district,” Loda Sanitary District

Board President Jay Ross, a Bayles Lake resident, said. “Meanwhile, Bayles Lake is proceeding

independently (on a sewage treatment plant of its own), and there is no grant money that we can

help them acquire, so we’re really serving no purpose.”

Other business Also at Monday’s meeting:

— The sanitary district board voted 3-0 to not pay a $5,061 bill from the Illinois Environmental

Protection Agency (IEPA). The bill, due Aug. 10, represents a renewal fee for Bayles Lake’s

NPDES permit, Martensen said. Bayles Lake officials said the bill appears to have been sent in

error. They explained that about a year ago, Bayles Lake received a $2,500 bill from the IEPA,

and they were later told the bill was sent out “prematurely.” Earlier this year, Bayles Lake

received another $2,500 bill. But the fees charged to Bayles Lake do not seem to apply to the

community. “The permit is for a municipality that generates 100,000 to 500,000 gallons per day

of water discharge use,” Bayles Lake resident James Clarage said. “We have documentation that

Bayles Lake uses only 41,000 gallons per day.” Bayles Lake Homeowners Association Board

President Nick Schuit said a former engineer for the village applied for the permit and told

Bayles Lake officials it needed to be done. Schuit said the permit “never should have been

applied for.” Bayles Lake officials said they would like to work with the sanitary district board to

get the fees “thrown out.” They asked the sanitary district board to not pay the bill until the

correct usage amounts can be established through research.

2016, June 16, “The Ford County Record” reports:

Loda man: It’s illegal to give Bayles Lake any of district’s funds By Will Brumleve

A Loda resident Monday night questioned the legality of the Loda Sanitary District board’s plans

to help pay engineering fees for a proposed sanitary sewer system that would exclusively serve

the Bayles Lake Home Owners Association.

http://www.paxtonrecord.net/author/will-brumleve

J.R. Ptacek repeatedly asked the sanitary district board’s attorney, Bob Martensen, a Bayles Lake

resident, which section of the Sanitary District Act of 1917, under which the district was created,

allows the district to give money to an unincorporated community like Bayles Lake.

Ptacek’s question was preceded by the board’s approval of a tentative combined budget and

appropriation ordinance for the fiscal year that runs from May 1, 2016, through April 30, 2017.

The budget shows $44,874 in potential expenses, including $9,705 allotted for sewer-related

capital projects in Loda and $35,168 for Bayles Lake — the two communities that comprise the

sanitary district.

The board discussed the possibility of using some of the funds budgeted for Bayles Lake to help

that community pay for engineering expenses incurred in applying for a permit from the Illinois

Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for a proposed sanitary sewer system. A proposed

contract requiring the sanitary district to reimburse the homeowners association had been listed

on Monday’s agenda for approval, but Bayles Lake was not quite ready to move forward.

Meanwhile, Ptacek contended that the district cannot legally give money to Bayles Lake, but

only Loda, because Bayles Lake is not a municipality.

The sanitary district board, however, said it is not only legal but is the fair thing to do. Although

the proposed division of the budgeted funds is not equal — with 79 percent of the expenses

allotted for Bayles Lake and only 21 percent for Loda — it is equitable, board members said,

since the percentages are based on the amount of property taxes each community has paid to

support the district.

Ptacek disagreed.

“That money is not yours to give away,” Ptacek said. “This 80/20 thing is a fallacy. It actually

sounds like you’re trying to get around the intergovernmental agreement of the (Sanitary

District) Act by paying (Bayles Lake’s) bills.”

Martensen responded by noting that the district was created 44 years ago to assist with the

sanitary sewer needs of both Bayles Lake and Loda — and it will continue to fulfill its mission

until the day it is dissolved.

The dissolution of the district remains a possibility in the future. A year ago, the district’s three-

member board agreed that the district should be dissolved, as it voted unanimously to publicly

state that as its goal.

The sanitary district board’s president, Jay Ross of Bayles Lake, said the dissolution talks are

currently “in limbo.”

If dissolution ends up occurring, the remaining funds on hand would be distributed between

Loda and Bayles Lake based on each community’s assessed valuation. Martensen has suggested

to the board that the funds on hand be “brought down to a small, reasonable sum” — perhaps

something like $5,000 — and that the board figure out a way to fairly distribute the rest through

intergovernmental agreements. Martensen said he would prefer that all of that happen before the

sanitary district board files a petition in Iroquois County Circuit Court seeking to dissolve the

district.

Ptacek thinks Loda is entitled to all of the remaining funds, since the Sanitary District Act of

1917 only mentions the requirement of having an intergovernmental agreement with a

“municipality,” such as Loda. It does not say an intergovernmental agreement is required or even

allowed for a nonprofit corporation such as Bayles Lake.


agreements with nonprofit entities, so it would be legal for the sanitary district to divide its funds


“If you think that the people of the village of Loda think that they are going to get $30,000 that’s

been paid (to the district) by Bayles Lake to be put into the treasury of the village of Loda,

you’ve got another thing coming,” Martensen told Ptacek.

“I’m saying it’s the law,” Ptacek responded. “You’ve got to follow the law.”

Ross told Ptacek the board would consider his opinion.

“We will take your comments seriously. We will consider your opinion, (although) it doesn’t

have to prevail,” Ross said.

Responded Ptacek: “Just know that if what they’re doing is not the letter of the law, when it

comes to dissolution time, the Bayles Lake Home Owners Association is going to cut a check to

the village of Loda to make up for the shortfall that they are (responsible for). Everybody, do the

proper thing.”

“We intend to do the proper thing,” Ross responded. “We’ve never tried to do anything else.”

In response to Ptacek’s concerns that Loda has seen little benefit from belonging to the sanitary

district, Ed Killen, representing Bayles Lake, noted that the district has not just spent money on

Bayles Lake, but also Loda.

“The village of Loda was given $6,000 to apply for a grant,” Killen said. “It was approved by the

same three people who have been on this board for a long time, and there was no gripe by Bayles

Lake.

“If that was legal and within the law, what’s on the table now surely has to be within the law.”

Budget up for vote in July The board voted 2-0, with board member Alan Johnson absent, to approve the tentative

combined budget and appropriation ordinance.

The ordinance will be put on public display for 30 days, as legally required, prior to a public

hearing being held at 5:15 p.m. Monday, July 25, at the Loda firehouse. Immediately after the

hearing, a final combined budget and appropriation ordinance will be up for approval.

New member to be appointed The board also voted 2-0 to accept the resignation of Johnson. Johnson was forced to give up his

position because he moved from Loda to outside of the district’s boundaries.

Board member Warren Hamby immediately made a motion to recommend that the Iroquois

County Board appoint former Loda Village Board president Ron Dudley as Johnson’s

replacement on the sanitary district board.

But before Ross could second Hamby’s motion, Loda Village Board President Carol Arseneau

asked that Loda resident Paula Rossow also be considered for the position.

Rossow has lived in Loda for 3 1/2 years and “is very up on things” in the community, as she has

attended all of the village board’s meetings since she arrived in town, Arseneau said.

Ross asked Rossow about her qualifications for the position.

“Apart from being committed to the village of Loda and its interests and trying to follow

everything, I have the time (to serve), being retired, and I’m interested in this,” Rossow said.

“I’m not coming in with some kind of agenda other than representing the village of Loda to

whatever extent necessary.”

Martensen asked Dudley and Rossow to each submit to him a letter outlining why they would be

a good fit for the trustee seat. Martensen said he would forward the letters to the county board for

its consideration. The county board is expected to vote on the appointment at its July meeting.

2016, November 8, “The Ford County Record” reports:

Loda Sanitary District to reimburse Bayles Lake $23,242 for project

By Will Brumleve

The Loda Sanitary District board approved Monday reimbursing the Bayles Lake Homeowners

Association a portion of the $95,000 in costs it expects to incur to televise and clean its sanitary

sewer lines.

The $23,242 reimbursement will come out of funds allotted specifically for sewer-related capital

projects in Bayles Lake. Of the sanitary district’s $41,144 in cash on hand, about $32,000 is

budgeted for projects in Bayles Lake, while the rest — about $9,000 — is allotted for potential

sewer-related capital projects in the village of Loda.

“All of this money that is paid out will come out of the ‘Bayles Lake’ column (in the budget),”

said the sanitary district’s attorney, Bob Martensen.

http://www.paxtonrecord.net/author/will-brumleve

That will leave about $9,000 available in the sanitary district’s budget for use on Bayles Lake

projects in the future. Loda, meanwhile, is still trying to figure out a way to spend its allotted

amount on an eligible sewer-related project.

Once the remaining funds are exhausted, the sanitary district board intends to dissolve the

district, which was formed in 1972 and comprises Bayles Lake and Loda.

The board’s president, Jay Ross, said Bayles Lake is pursuing the cleaning and televising of its

main sanitary sewer lines in preparation for moving forward with the construction of a sanitary

sewage treatment plant that would exclusively serve Bayles Lake. Bayles Lake would be solely

responsible for funding the construction of the proposed treatment plant, Ross noted.

Martensen said the work that is expected to be completed this fall will help Bayles Lake

determine “the cheapest way to do it.” It will help answer questions such as, “Do you put in a

whole new (sewer) line around Bayles Lake, or do you repair the existing line that is there, etc.?”

Martensen said.

“So this is preliminary to engineering and (determining) what’s the next step,” Martensen said.

“We hope to do the televising so we can see what’s going on underground so we can see the

problem spots, get those fixed, and eventually put a filtration system in down the road

somewhere,” said Nick Schuit, president of the Bayles Lake board.

Martensen said the sanitary district will provide the $23,242 in reimbursement to Bayles Lake

only after the contractor doing the work — Peoria-based Hoerr Construction Inc. — completes it,

Bayles Lake’s board signs off on it, and Bayles Lake submits a written request for payment to

the sanitary district board.

Under the terms of Bayles Lake’s contract with Hoerr Construction, the firm has agreed to

complete the project by Dec. 21. The contractor was expected to formally start the project on

Nov. 1, but delays have occurred, according to Schuit.

Martensen said Bayles Lake will be responsible for making sure the work is done according to

plan, not the sanitary district.

“We don’t inspect; we don’t supervise; we just care that the work gets done,” Martensen said.

Once the work is done, the sanitary district board will call a meeting to authorize payment of the

reimbursable costs, Ross said.

Meanwhile, Loda resident J.R. Ptacek questioned the legality of the sanitary district giving any

of its money to Bayles Lake, a nonprofit corporation. Ptacek claims the district cannot legally

give money to Bayles Lake, but only Loda, because Bayles Lake is not a municipality. Ptacek

contends that under the Sanitary District Act of 1917 — the state law that was used to form the

Loda Sanitary District — the only legal option the board has is for it to give all of its remaining

funds to Loda.

Martensen, however, has said that the Illinois Constitution explicitly allows for

intergovernmental agreements with nonprofit entities, so it is legal for the district to divide its

funds between both communities.

The proposed division of the budgeted funds — with 79 percent of the expenses allotted for

Bayles Lake and 21 percent for Loda — is based on the amount of property taxes each

community has historically paid to support the district. The amounts are not equal, but they are

equitable, sanitary district board members said.

“It’s a simple effort to try and be fair,” said Ross said last summer.

With dissolution of the district seemingly imminent, the board has agreed to not levy any

property taxes this year. It is the second year in a row that the board has opted not to have a tax

levy to support its operation.

The tax levy was eliminated over concerns, mainly from Loda residents, about what benefit they

are getting out of the district. Most of the tax revenue paid into the district over the years has

been used to assist Bayles Lake, not Loda, some have complained.

OTHER NOTES

2015, August 23, “The News-Gazette, The Answer Book” reports

Article by Will Brumleve

Welcome to Loda…Addison Goodell, born in Ohio in 1822, Addison Goodell moved to Loda in

1855, ten years after the town had been platted and became a successful banker and investor. In

1861, the stalwart Republican-a supporter of President Abraham Lincoln-was elected as a state

representative. In 1870, Goodell was chosen a member of the Illinois Constitutional Convention

and took an active role in framing the state’s constitution. He also was deeply interested in

churches, schools and other public interests in Loda and generously contributed to them.

Goodell continued to be active in the banking business until his death in 1903. “It is safe to say

that no man in Loda ever held the place in the hearts of his fellow citizens that Addison Goodell

did, and wherever he was known he was not only honored and respected but loved, as well,”

reads a chapter about Goodell in the 1907 book “Past and Present of Iroquois County, Illinois.”

Historical Note: The Past… The Distillery Closes in 1869.

The closure-for its failure to pay the government a million dollars in back revenue-was a blow to

the small Iroquois County village that had prospered during the Civil War era. “Nothing like

that distillery has been seen in Loda since those days,” News-Gazette staff writer Harold E.

Hutchings wrote in a 1930 story. “It was a monstrous establishment with its low, wooden

buildings scattered over an enormous tract of land southwest of the present village. Morning

after morning, just as the smoke began to roll from its many stacks, workmen could be seen

making their way across the fields to “the brewery.”

The distillery, which opened in 1858 or 1859, employed about 100 men. It was owned by three

brothers-Frank, William and Archie Leckey. Frank, the eldest brother, died in an accident at the

distillery. “Rumor got busy in the little Loda community when government officials from

Washington one day came with padlocks and fastened the brewery buildings forever.” Hutching

wrote. “The rumors explained, in their inaccurate way, that less revenue had been paid than

should have been because of a ruse of the brewery owners…however this might be, it is

generally conceded that almost a million dollars in back revenue was due the government when

they finally closed the brewery and put a watchman over it.”

Then, just after midnight in 1869, the brewery, which had remained idle for the previous two

years, caught fire and burned to the ground. “That was the final blow for Loda’s hopes to

become a large industrial city.” Hutchings wrote.

Town of Bairdton July 17, 2014

The town of Bairdton was plated in 1856. (Loda was plated in 1854.) Plat recorded July 21,

1856, Book “I” of Deeds, Page 703. Towns like Bairdton were known as “paper towns”

because, to start with, they only existed on paper. The land or railroad surveyors would plat out

towns and then investors like banks, railroad executives or other prospective land speculators

would travel to Chicago or out east and try to line up town investors. Detailed and colorful

stories, maps and drawings depicting these paradise destinations were early marketing and

advertising ploys to entice investors. These were competitive efforts and failure to line up

financial support meant the demise of these “paper towns”.

I am not sure where the name Baird or Bairdton comes from. Also called Baird Town or Town

of Bairdton.

Bairdton was plated south- southwest of Loda, with Washington Street, extending to the west,

serving as the northern boundary and Franklin Street, extending to the south, serving as the

eastern boundary. The town was plated south and west of Washington Street and Franklin

Street.

I presume this area would have included parts of Spring Creek, Interstate 57, south of the

overpass, and extended into the area of the south lake of Bayles Lake and Lakeview Country

Club.

On the copy of the Town of Bairdton map that I got from the Iroquois County Recorder’s Office,

the civil engineers and surveyors laid out a typical town of 36 sections.

East/West Streets (going north to south)

Washington

Henry

Webster

Marshall

Clay

Hancock

Carrol

North/South Streets (going east to west)

Franklin

Adams

Jefferson

Madison

Monroe

Jackson

Harrison

Description of the Town of Bairdton, from the Iroquois County Recorder’s Office Plat:

Block #18 is donated to the inhabitants of Bairdton for purpose there in expressed. (Cemetery)

N ½ Block #14 is donated for Courthouse or if no Courthouse is built for a Public Square.

S ½ Block #23 is donated as a sight for a College or Schools.

Lot 8 Block 36 is donated as a sight for a Baptist Church.

Lot 4 Block 2 is donated as a sight for a Methodist Church.

Lot 4 Block 17 is donated as a sight for a Presbyterian Church.

Lot 8 Block 21 is donated as a sight for a Episcopalian Church.

It must be distinctly understood that the Lots or Blocks herein donated and given are to be used

for the express purpose designated and none other; and if not used are to revert back to the

proprietor.

The proprietor reserves for his own use and benefit all the trees and timber necessary to be

removed to beautify the town, the streets and alleys.

Signed ????

Civil Eng. & Surveyor, Loda ????

1954, June 25, The Loda Times / Paxton Record reports

“Establish Sausage Factory in Loda”

Expect to be under production by September 1st

When September 1st rolls around the first Hungarian Salami ever made in the United States will

be on the market, the product of A.L. Riha and Company of Loda, IL.

Mr. Riha, who brought with him to this country the secret of proper use of spices to make this

premium salami, has the “know-how” (and worked) for years in the old country. For it was there

in Yugoslavia that he had his own sausage factory until Marshal Tito came along and

appropriated it.

Escaped With Life

Riha escaped with his life from a concentration camp, his reward for having property and a

thriving factory. Coming to the U.S. as a displaced person his desire was to start up a sausage

factory here.

The opportunity came when he met Mrs. Mary Lupatin of Cleveland, Ohio. They formed a

partnership and the plant now under construction in the former site of the Loda Café, is the home

of the A. L. Riha and Company Sausage Factory.

Originally they planned to start a plant in Waterloo, IA., but found they had interstate licensing

complications. So they moved to Loda and plan to use the Chicago marker primarily.

Install Large Cooler

Thus far they have installed a 13 by 32-foot cooler and have constructed a partition across the

front of the former restaurant building. All in all they expect it will be another two months

before they will be ready to roll into production.

Visiting Mrs. Lupatin and helping get the factory in readiness this summer is one son Raymond,

20, who will start his junior year at Ohio State University this fall; Albert, 18, who will complete

his last year in high school at Waterloo this fall and one daughter, Mrs. Leona Britt, and two

other children.

(Needless to say everyone in the community wishes the new concern the best of success in their

venture. Ed. Note)

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