SVM-MAG_12122013

ANTIQUES ARE ‘IN’ AT THIS INN

Cover story: Old Hotel Antiques & Collectibles opens in Morrison – Pages 4-7

Also inside

Business Journal Sauk Valley

Vol. 16, No. 4 Sauk Valley Media Winter 2013

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PAIDPermit No. 440

Sterling, IL 61081

PRSRTSTD

P.O. Box 498Sterling, IL61081

CHANGE SERVICEREQUESTED

SAUK VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNALPAGE 2 WINTER 2013

Fresh & Frozen Meat Canned Food Candy & Snacks SeafoodDry Goods Appetizers Vegetables Beverages

1888 Paulsen Road (Just off of Palmyra Road)Dixon, IL 61021

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Serving The Sauk Valley Area For Over 25 Years

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SAUK VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL PAGE 3WINTER 2013

Cover story | Old Hotel Antiques & Collectibles ..................................................4K&K Cycles ..........................................................8Persona Studios ................................................10Rawshu’a Organic Market ...............................12Whiteside Area Career Center .........................14

Internship program sponsored by Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce ..............17Wheelock Furniture marks its 100th anniversary .....................................20Ken’s Barbershop .............................................21Barnacopia ........................................................22

INDEX OF STORIES

Welcome ... to the Winter 2013 issueof Sauk Valley Business Journal

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Publisher: Trevis MayfieldAdvertising Director: Jennifer Baratta

Advertising Sales: Jill ReynaBusiness Journal Editor: Jim Dunn

The staff of the Sauk Valley Business JournalOn the coverDon and Jacqueline Jevne

recently opened the Old Hotel Antiques & Collectibles store in Morrison.

– Phillip Marruffo,Sauk Valley Business Journal

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MORRISON – Don Jevne has packed 3,000 square feet of space on the main floor and the basement of the Old Hotel with collectibles and antiques.

He doesn’t take consignments or have independent vendors; everything here has been gath-ered by him and his wife, Jac-queline.

He also owns the local Tru-Valu Hardware, which was was once housed in the former hotel building.

After he bought a larger space for the hardware store, he turned the old three-story hotel into a fun place to browse and find treasures.

‘Connecting the past with the present’

BY LONNIE MILLERSpecial to Sauk Valley Business Journal

Old Hotel Antiques & Collectibles has art, depression glass

Philip Marruffo/[email protected] and Jacqueline Jevne have recently opened the Old Hotel Antiques & Collectibles at 130 E. Main St. in Morrison.

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OLD HOTEL CONTINUED ON 6�

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The new venture has incorpo-rated the help of the hardware store staff, with each clerk tak-ing a turn at the antiques and collectibles venue. Laura Fred-erick is there on Wednesdays. She is also the bookkeeper and helps to keep the place orga-nized and clean.

One of the nice features about the store’s arrangement by a single owner, rather than sever-al different vendors, is that col-lectibles tend to be displayed by type. Milk glass and depression glass are sprinkled through-out, but tend to be displayed by color. Artwork, ranging from one-of-a-kind to Sterling Silver Franklin Mint pieces, is abun-dant throughout as are many other collectibles.

Furniture and dishware, flat-ware, cast iron skillets and pots, kitchen utensils, cookie cutters, bake ware, and kitchen gad-gets are conveniently arranged

somewhat in an area where they are displayed together.

The same is true of fishing reels, pocket knives, tools, and bikes. A hardware-store mental-ity definitely has influenced the layout of the merchandise.

That is not a hard-and-fast-rule, however, so be sure to browse and peek at the backs of shelves and in the base-ment, as a shopper can find hand-painted bowls, glass-ware, and other household items mixed in with really unique antiques such as sew-ing machines, steamer trunks, furniture, armoires and ward-robes, crystal salt cellars, and a “fireless cooker” that appears to be a precursor to

the modern-day crock pot. Made in 1918, it has the origi-nal instruction book with it, including recipes.

The basement houses a mul-titude of items, and it’s well worth the trip downstairs to search out treasures. Don says it’s a favorite place for younger folks to find things with which to furnish a new apartment or home.

“They tend to like the beer glasses and other interesting glassware,” he said.

Attorney Vince Chimera, from Chicago, browses between court appointments or at lunch while he’s in Morrison. He enjoys “connecting the past with the present” and has spent some very pleasant time search-ing for history in the shelves of the antique store.

OLD HOTELCONTINUED FROM 4

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Collectibles tend to be displayed by typeHunt for history

Old Hotel Antiques & Collect-ibles, 130 E. Main St. in Mor-rison, is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Call 815-772-4810 (Tru-Valu Hardware) for more information.

Philip Marruffo/[email protected] electric fans are just some of the specialty items at Old Hotel Antiques & Collectibles at 130 E. Main St. in Morrison.

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Philip Marruffo/[email protected] Jevne plays Fats Domino’s “Blueberry Hill” on a Vic-trola record player at her Old Hotel Antiques & Collectibles on Main Street in Morrison.

OLD HOTEL ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES

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DIXON – Owner Keihin Ket-chum couldn’t be more pleased with how K&K Cycles has grown as it celebrates its first year in business.

The shop features a full-repair garage where he works on all makes and models of motor-cycles, specializing in Harley-Davidson, as well as scooters and ATVs.

“My prices are really for guys like me who can’t afford to ride a Harley with the cost of repairs being what they are,” he said. “I make it as reasonable as I can and keep a very low markup on parts.”

Business rolling in at K&K Cycles

BY KIMBERLY WATLEYSpecial to Sauk Valley Business Journal

Military vets fix motorcycles, scooters, ATVs

Kimberly Watley/Special to the Sauk Valley Business JournalKeihin Ketchum, 25, owner of K&K Cycles, works on a Harley-Davidson. About 60 percent of busi-ness is repair work and 40 percent is parts sales, Ketchum says.

BUSINESS PROFILE

K&K CONTINUED ON 9�


The 25-year-old Ketchum insists on letting his customers know when repair costs aren’t worth the effort and exceed the value of a bike.

Parts make up about 40 per-cent of K&K’s business. “I can get parts for just about any bike you need,” he said.

He also has a showroom with a wide variety of motorcycles on consignment.

“I try to change the inventory at a great rate. ... We want peo-ple to keep coming back to see different things.”

Ketchum, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, went to school at Motorcycle Mechanics Insti-tute in Orlando, Fla., when he got out of the Army. He had planned to work at a Harley-Davidson shop or dealership.

But when he finished school, he came back home and took auto mechanics classes. He realized his dream wasn’t out

of reach and decided to start his own business.

It wasn’t long after open-ing the shop that Josh Yardley walked in looking for brakes. The two soon were working side by side.

Yardley, 31, also a veteran, was on leave at the time. He had been a diesel mechanic for 12 years in the Army.

He said he likes that K&K’s repair prices are fair.

“You go to some places and it’s over $100 an hour for labor,” Yardley said. “He’s not like that at all here.”

They built a custom motorcy-cle from the ground up in only 5 months. It is now displayed in the shop’s showroom.

Ketchum credits his father,

Karl, who owned Dixon Scooter Service, for his career path.

“I’d have to say, my dad got me interested in all this,” he said. “I was about 10 years old, working with him. I remember we built a purple bike from the ground up.

Was an ugly paint job, but a nice bike.”

His wife, Samantha, takes care of the office work and bookkeeping. Their 5-year-old daughter, Aeilee, likes to run around in the backyard.

K&KCONTINUED FROM 8

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Focus on parts, repairs One of many motor-cycles recently for sale on con-signment at K&K Cycles, at 1114 River Road, Dixon.

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STERLING – Kathy Henson, 54, owner of Persona Studios, is a third-generation shutterbug. Her grandfather, John Persona, opened the photography studio 79 years ago.

Her father, John Jr., also was passed the photo gene. Henson essentially grew up in the family studio.

Photographer Ashley Mosher’s son, Bentlee Lawrenz, is learn-ing what that is like firsthand. An entire wall of his growth has been documented and dis-played at the entry of the studio.

“Grandpa took hundreds of pictures of me when I was a baby, too,” Henson recalls.

Grandfather’s photo passion lives on

BY KIMBERLY WATLEYSpecial to Sauk Valley Business Journal

Technology takes photography business from film to digital

Kimberly Watley/Special to the Sauk Valley Business JournalActing as photographer Amanda Koelling’s assistant, Nicolle Manus uses a reflector to block out some of the sunlight over the subject of the photo, Ashley Mosher.

BUSINESS PROFILE

PERSONA CONTINUED ON 11�

Considering


As much as things are the same, and as many styles that find their way back, times have changed a lot. Since Henson took over the business in 1980, she said, evolv-ing technology has posed a huge learning curve.

“The evolution of digital can be a blessing and a curse,” she said. “I didn’t like it when it first came along. Now, I do. It is so easy. When you had film, you didn’t know what you were getting.”

Photo editing can also be tricky, but her entire staff does a little of everything, she said.

The full-service studio offers all variations of photo sessions, with the staff of seven working as a team.

Photographer Mosher, 22, said that during consultations, the staffers share ideas with clients. They discuss location, poses, props and the variety of printing options they offer.

Once a plan is set in motion, two assistants work with the per-

son or family to help make sure each detail is taken care of.

“We want them to be happy with everything,” Mosher said. “Sometimes they come in with a picture they found online with an idea they want to re-create, and we do our best to make that happen.”

Added Amanda Koelling, 30, “We love when people come in with ideas and we are able to create their vision.”

Aware that not everyone has an idea how to be a “model,” they often show people exactly what pose and direction to face.

“We will get into position and show them, ‘This is what we want you to do,’ rather than just telling them,” Koelling said. “We

have two assistants who make sure everything is just right, every hair is in place, and things look good.”

The team enjoys shooting out-side and taking advantage of natural light. The backyard of the studio is fully landscaped. It also has staged sets, including a rock wall waterfall, barn doors, wagon wheels, and several smaller props.

Although two indoor studios are available, many customers prefer to go on location, where the staff happily totes as many props as needed.

“Every year, every session, we want to do different things,” Koelling said. “You find, though, everything eventually comes back into style. We have a lot of urban brick wall type settings, farms, railroad tracks, abandoned buildings, and we are always on the lookout for that type of thing when we drive around.”

The team is involved in area schools as well. Aside from basic portraits, the photographers shoot high school prom, home-coming and other dances. This

year they covered 13 schools.They also shoot sporting events

for yearbooks at no charge to the schools.

Because of time constraints, they no longer do weddings unless it is by special request.

Henson said doing what she loves is her favorite part about her work.

PERSONACONTINUED FROM 10

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Full-service studio offers variety of sessions

Kimberly Watley/Special to the Sauk Valley Business Journal

Persona Studios is at 602 First Ave., Sterling. John Persona, grandfather of current owner, Kathy Henson, opened the pho-tography studio 79 years ago.

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ROCK FALLS – Nearly every morning, Joshua Carter spends 2 hours blending, pressing, mix-ing, and meditating over gallons

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ingredient to Rawshu’a Organic Market, 116 W. Second St. in Rock Falls, which opened in September.

Carter, 28, owns the organic market with Courtney Fritz, 19. They say that Rawshu’a is more

than just a juice bar; it’s about giving its customers knowledge about the food they eat and the body care products they use.

“Everything here, basically, is certified organic, which means no pesticides, no hormones, no additives,” Carter said.

Rawshu’a’s owners say ‘food is medicine’BY MATT MENCARINI

Sauk Valley Business Journal

Organic food market takes holistic health approach

Photo by Alex T. Paschal/[email protected]: Joshua Carter, owner of Rawshu’a Organic Market, makes a juice drink for a customer. RIGHT: The wheatgrass has been very popular at Rawshu’a, along with the market’s signature almond milk.

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“We also offer raw living foods, which is sprouted seeds and nuts.”

In the front window of the Rock Falls storefront, Rawshu’a grows wheatgrass, which can be used in the food that the market serves at its deli. Customers can also buy bulk items, like nuts and granola, health care prod-ucts, vitamins and Rawshu’a’s signature item, the almond milk.

Carter makes 2 or 3 gallons of the almond milk each morning the market is open. He prays and meditates over the milk during the process, sending positives vibes.

“Just the intention,” he said. “Words have the power of life and death. So when you speak to it, it changes the structure, vibrationally and intentionally, because cells hold memory.

“Just like your brain or your skin or your stomach, when you ingest [genetically modi-

fied organisms] or toxic food, it holds a negative thought or memory. And when you intro-duce raw living or sprouted foods, it reverses it to a posi-tive.”

Rawshu’a is careful about the products it stocks its selves with, or that it puts into its food or drinks. “Food is medicine,” the owners said.

“We’re all about being local,” Fritz said. “All of our produce is local – that we receive for our juice bar. The only meat that we carry is local, from Hollyhock Farms [in Sterling].”

Carter first immersed him-self in the world of holistic healing and organic foods while living with his uncle, Kelly Carter, in California. While he was back in Ster-ling visiting family, an ATV accident set him on a path to plant roots in Rock Falls.

“I injured my hand, crushed my hand last summer in an ATV

[accident], and I had to stick around for doctor visits,” Cart-er said. “And we got the apart-ment back here, and it just so happened this [storefront] was open. And, I don’t know, it was just instilled in me that I had to pursue it.

“The seed was germinated 10 years ago, but now it basically bloomed into Rawshu’a today.”

ORGANIC MARKETCONTINUED FROM 12

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Market owners careful to stock local products

Alex T. Paschal/[email protected] Fritz is co-owner of Rawshu’a, which along with fresh food, juice, and smoothies, carries nutritional supplements.

Store infoRawshu’a is open every day

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STERLING – The challeng-es Illinois schools face from decreased funding for education have been well documented. Career and technical education centers have not been immune to those same challenges.

Despite recent drops in state and federal funding, Whiteside Area Career Center has man-aged to maintain a balanced budget. The funding distri-bution is different from the schools, although budget cuts at the schools can have a great impact at the career centers.

Whiteside Area Career Center Director Kim Purvis says there are several factors that have allowed the hands-on learn-ing institution to weather the

storms.“We are holding our own right

now,” Purvis said. “We are very fortunate because even though

state and federal funding is down, we set tuition rates local-ly and the schools have been very supportive.”

Like other school funding, career center revenue is based on the number of students attending, but the distribution is different. WACC is funded through state grants, federal grants, and tuition from the 15 public and two parochial schools they serve. Purvis said they also receive some donations.

In 2010, the funding distribu-tion was 29 percent state, 15 percent federal, and 56 percent from the local schools. In 2014, state money will be 28 percent of its funding, 12 percent will come from the federal govern-ment, and the schools will pick up 60 percent.

From 2010 to 2014, per pupil funding has dropped 7 per-cent at the state level, and fallen 26 percent at the federal level, while local funding has increased 2 percent.

Purvis said that she has seen two sides to the schools’ budget cuts.

Career center weathers budget storms

BY PAM EGGEMEIERSauk Valley Business Journal

Government funding down; schools help make up for the loss

Michael Krabbenhoeft/[email protected] in the food service lab prepare chocolate chip cook-ies for visitors during the WACC open house on Nov. 7. Despite drops in state and federal funding, WACC has managed to con-tinue having 12 programs and has maintained a balanced budget.

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In 2010, a year of more dras-tic budget cuts by the schools, the career center’s enrollment dropped to 579 – it is now at 646. Those cuts, however, would later spur more student interest in WACC.

“Most schools lost electives due to cuts,” Purvis said. “Many of them came here to receive some of the hands-on experi-ence that they couldn’t get at their own schools.”

Shortly after, a change in the tuition calculation system also helped enrollment spike.

“The tuition change gave the schools incentive to send more students here,” Purvis said. “As they sent more students, some were basically paying half price for tuition.”

Hands-on learningWACC has lost its CAD pro-

gram, but picked up a new class – keeping it at 12 programs.

The addition is the CEO class, taught by LeAndra Hartman. The 23 students in the class meet at different businesses, where they can speak to own-ers, company presidents and the workers in the trenches. Before the end of the year, the students also will have written a business plan and met with prospective investors for their business. The class is modeled after the successful Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) pilot program devised in Effingham County.

Lindsay McCoy, a senior at Amboy High School, said the class has visited several local businesses, including Wahl Clipper, Frantz Manufacturing, HALO Branded Solutions, and even a nonprofit agency, United Way of Whiteside County.

“I like learning business like this better than in a classroom setting,” McCoy said. “This is real, not just something from a textbook.”

McCoy says she has always wanted to run a bakery. She

believes the class does a good job of preparing students for wherever they land in the work-place.

“It teaches communications skills, networking, and how to be a professional,” McCoy said. “People in this class are people who really want to learn.”

Sarah Gunderson, a senior at Sterling High School, is thinking about opening a fashion bou-tique with her mother. She said the class is teaching her about being responsible and taking initiative.

The students say that local business leaders have been very generous with their time when they are in the field.

“Some places we’re just there for a day, but others like Unit-ed Way, we were there for 2 months,” McCoy said.

“I would encourage people to do this; it’s a great learning experience,” Gunderson said.

Joseph Hunt is a third-year instructor in the popular com-mercial food services class. This year’s class has 38 students

– twice the number from last year. Hunt says that some stu-dents just want to learn to cook, while others have aspirations of running a restaurant or study-ing to become a chef. Thanks to a resurgence in program inter-est, classroom upgrades will be made for next year.

“We’re getting a new kitchen with four cooking stations and a demonstration area,” Hunt said. “There were years where the program was closed, but we’ve grown the last 3 years.”

Hunt, a Bureau Valley High School product, has extensive experience in his field – culinary school in Chicago and work stints in such places as Naper-ville and Drury Lane Theatre. He now does banquets for Tim-ber Creek Golf Club in Dixon.

“It’s nice to take what you do at work and teach kids,” Hunt said.

The students get a good taste of life outside the classroom kitchen.

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CEO program important addition to WACC

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“The kids actually have a license to do catering,” Hunt said. “They go out in full dress code and they get 100 percent health department scores.”

Community interactionWACC has close ties with Sauk

Valley Community College, hospitals, and other colleges. School representatives often visit for a day.

At a recent open house, par-ents were visiting the vari-ous classrooms to get a better understanding of the WACC learning experience.

Dale and Rebecca Anderson were there to check out the allied health program. Their daughter, a junior at Forreston High School, is in the program to pursue what she thinks will be a future in health care. She spends 3 days a week at the career center and 2 in the field. She is doing different rotations,

which gives her a taste of differ-ent health care specialties.

“Twice a week, she goes to the health care facilities. She has three rotations to go. Now she’s doing respiratory therapy, and then she’ll move on to X-ray,” Rebecca said.

“It’s a pretty sharp learning

curve,” Dale said. “Being in the hospital, she sees real stuff.”

Future of WACCPurvis, now in her seventh year

at WACC, her third as director, says the career center has had to make its own cuts to keep the budget balanced.

“We decided to cut an admin-istrative position a few years ago, which has helped to make up the difference in the loss of funding,” she said.

Purvis believes that the high cost of college will help drive enrollment at career centers. The expense makes it even more important that students pin-point what they want to do as soon as possible. She believes the programs are relevant and the instructors’ experience in their fields can be a huge advantage.

The career center offers more than 80 college credits through its programs. It places more than 200 students in internships. The curriculum also is led by students. The students actually teach preschool, cater food for special events, fix cars and work in health care center environ-ments.

“They can experience a career choice firsthand here rather than read about it,” Purvis said. “They can leave here with college credit and a better knowledge of what they want to do in the workplace.”

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College, hospital ties aid learning experience

Michael Krabbenhoeft/[email protected] Berhow, the instructor of the allied health program at Whi-teside Area Career Center in Sterling, talks to visitors during a recent open house. Despite drops in state and federal funding, WACC has managed to continue having 12 programs.

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ROCK FALLS – The career paths of Rock Falls residents Derek Flannery and Mary Kay Whaley were moving in very different directions before they intersected through internships at the Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce.

Flannery, 19, who went through the program this past summer, is just starting out in the workforce. Whaley, now 68 and retired, did her internship back in 2005, after being forced to start over.

Although Flannery is young and studying full time at Sauk Valley Community College, his ambition could classify him as a non-traditional student.

Internships: Starting out, starting over

BY PAM EGGEMEIERSauk Valley Business Journal

Official wantsto take program to the next level

Alex T. Paschal/[email protected] Flannery interned this past summer with the Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce. Flannery, a full-time student at Sauk Valley Community College, will be with Rotary Airlock in Rock Falls for another year before heading off to continue his studies in industrial engineering and business management.

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That’s because the Rock Falls High School grad seems to have an affinity for hands-on training.

He is studying industrial engineering with an emphasis on business management. To accelerate his career develop-ment, Flannery also has been working about 30 hours a week as an assistant production manager at Rotary Airlock, a Rock Falls Industrial Park man-ufacturer, for the past 3 years.

“I wanted to mix my technical knowledge with management skills,” Flannery said. “I get to manage a process – things like efficiencies and quotas – but I also get to deal with people in this setting.”

Starting overWhaley worked at RB&W and

Reliant Fasteners for 24 years and was an AFL-CIO member. While a desire for more edu-cation always stayed with her,

Whaley figured her career was winding down and she would soon retire from the manu-facturing life she had always known.

But in 2002, Reliant closed and her plans would have to change. She took a temporary job as a union outreach counselor.

“That was a great opportunity, but it only lasted a year,” Whaley said.

“Here I was in my latter 50s, had a high school diploma and was coming off a pretty serious industrial accident that took me out of the workplace for 2 years.”

Whaley assessed her situation and decided to listen to that voice in her head – she went to Sauk to pursue an associate degree in management.

Genesis of the programBethany Bland, president/

CEO of the Rock Falls Chamber, has been with the group for 8 years and launched the intern-ship program shortly after her arrival. Only about seven people have gone through the program

since its inception. Participa-tion has been sporadic, but she believes the program’s success is important on several levels.

“What I really believe is this is a great opportunity to get

involved and help the com-munity,” she said. “Maybe we can keep more people here by help-ing them per-sonally.”

T h e f l e x -ibility was an i m p o r t a n t aspect of the program, in

the hopes of attracting people in many types of situations. Ideally, the intern would work 3 ot 6 months, but it’s not an absolute.

“This was designed to be a pretty laid-back internship,” she said. “We target high school and college kids, employees who were let go and going back to school. They might work one

day a week, only a month, or do some of the work at home.”

Target areas are manage-ment, graphics, Web design, human resources, marketing and general administrative work. With high school stu-dents, the goal is to teach basic skills that involve respect, pro-fessionalism and an idea of the expectations of the workforce.

All work is done exclusively for the chamber office. Appli-cants must go through an inter-view process.

Bland offers a program pro-totype of sorts to businesses in the hopes it will catch on else-where.

“They can use our materi-als and basically duplicate the programs,” she said. “Some-times it can be a struggle to get them to understand how it can benefit them.”

Bland is working to eventually bring some money to the table for the interns, through the development of a scholarship program.

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Program’s success important on several levels

PROGRAM CONTINUED ON 19�

Mary Kay Whaley

Former intern

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Adding to the skill setFlannery’s desire to add to his

skill set brought him to Bland last summer. He had heard about the opportunity by word of mouth, called Bland and filled out the application.

While the chamber intern-ships are unpaid at this time, the organization’s flexibility allowed Flannery to stay in his job at Rotary during the internship.

“The chamber really tailored the internship to my needs, so I didn’t care so much that it was unpaid,” Flannery said. “It wasn’t just busy work; they’ll set it up so there are specific things to help in your area of study.”

Much of his summer intern-ship was spent working on Summer Splash, a chamber-sponsored festival held on the riverfront. Flannery said he able to hone his skills in communi-cations and marketing through the internship. He took care of

vendors and recruited compa-nies and community organi-zations to get involved in the event, giving him the opportu-nity to work with large corpo-rations, small businesses and nonprofits.

“I learned a lot about pro-fessionalism, how to handle yourself around many different types of people,” Flannery said.

Flannery recommends the internship experience, espe-cially for those who are trying to juggle several other things.

“It’s a really good option for flexibility,” he said. “I worked 45 hours while I did it. They are more focused on how much got done, not how many hours you put in or when you did it. I even made a database for vendors from home.”

A new pathWhile at Sauk, Whaley’s cur-

riculum required she do an internship. She started what was supposed to be a 3-month stint with Richard Downey, who was the Rock Falls city adminis-

trator at the time.“Richard told me that some-

one had offered him an intern-ship that was important in his career development and that he wanted to pay it forward,” Whaley said. “It was very hands-on; I had a computer and chair right in his office and saw many of the city’s inner workings.”

Halfway through, Whaley ran out of work and she was sent to former chamber director Doug Wiersema and Bland to finish her time at the chamber. She said she received training in graphics and communications rewrites, and came away with a big-picture view of the city.

Whaley went on to get her management degree and made her transition from manufac-turing complete by landing a job with Hope Life Center in Sterling, a nonprofit Christian-based social services agency. After 2! years there, Whaley retired and cites “enjoying her grandkids” as the most impor-tant skill she refines these days.

She has never forgotten how

important her internship was in very uncertain times. She said she would particularly recom-mend the experience for older people who are trying to tran-sition to something completely different.

“The internship was such a blessing,” Whaley said. “I met so many people who made a difference in my life. The expe-rience and contacts I made were so much more important than the money.”

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Participant appreciates program’s flexibility

Bethany BlandPresident/CEO, Rock Falls

Chamber of Commerce

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ROCK FALLS – If it seems as if Wheelock Furniture has been around forever, well, it almost has.

It’s been open for 100 years.The store, 101 W. Second St.

in Rock Falls, is at the interec-tion of First Avenue and Second Street, not far from the First Avenue bridge. It’s the intersec-tion with one of the highest traf-fic counts in a 13-county area, co-owner Daehle Reitzel said.

When he and his wife, Angie, bought the business 12 years ago, they became the third own-ers in Wheelock’s history.

“It was a very successful busi-ness,” Reitzel said. “It’s much easier taking one of them over than starting from scratch. The employees came along. They

had been here for many years.”Reitzel has owned and oper-

ated service stations in Sterling and some Villager Video loca-tions. But he said he was selling real estate and missed the store-front business before taking control of Wheelock.

Jeff Klocke, the manager, has been with Wheelock for about 25 years. Reitzel said the staff’s knowledge of the retail busi-ness, and the furniture industry, is one of Wheelock’s strengths that has helped it last for so long.

The Reitzels bought two build-ings to the west of the show-room. They have expanded into one already and plan to move into the second, Reitzel said. They’ve also added a ware-house.

The business also added a life-time warranty for the mecha-nisms on its furniture. It’s a small reassurance to custom-ers that they’re buying quality products, Reitzel said.

“It’s the same old story: You do something wrong, and they tell everyone,” he said. “You do something right, and they might tell someone.”

Furniture store enters second century

BY MATT MENCARINISauk Valley Business Journal

Wheelock Furniture celebrates 100 years

Philip Marruffo/[email protected] Furniture co-owner Daehle Reitzel is celebrating the store’s 100th year in business in Rock Falls. He and his wife, Angie, bought the business 12 years ago and are the third owners in Wheelock’s history.

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The store, at 101 W. Second St. in Rock Falls, is open 7 days a week.

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In 1965, the most popular Christmas presents were the game Operation and Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots. “Bonanza” was the most popular TV show. “The Sound of Music” won the Oscar for Best Picture. The Bea-tles’ “Eight Days a Week” hit No. 1 on the charts, haircuts were $2.75, and Ken Masters started cutting hair at 208 W. First St. in Dixon.

Masters began working at the First Street location with Harry Stout on March 30, 1965.

“I graduated from high school, went to barber school, then started cutting hair,” he said.

“How many businesses are in the same building for 48 years?” Masters wondered out loud.

The Small Business Adminis-tration website (www.sba.gov) reports, “About half of all new establishments survive 5 years or more, and about one-third survive 10 years or more.”

But to approach 50 years, and be in the same building, is sure-ly very rare. Masters feels the weight of reaching that mile-stone.

“I’ve thought it would be nice to make 50 years,” he said. “But I’m not sure it’s going to hap-pen.”

Masters has cut back on his working hours in recent years.

“Now all I do is golf, gam-

ble and work … in about that order,” he said with a big smile.

“If the lights are on, I’m here. I gotta stay on today, ’cause I got a guy comin’ in a little bit. … He was my first customer when I took the place over,” he said of Walt Wickens. That was April 1, 1974.

Masters seems to have an extremely strong retention rate with his customers. Jim Smith thinks he had something to do with the shop’s longevity.

“It’s because I keep comin’ back,” Smith said with a smile. He has been a customer of Ken’s since about 1976.

“I tried a couple other barbers in town, and when I came home my wife would ask, ‘Where’d you get that haircut?’ So I’d tell her, and she’d say, ‘Well don’t go there anymore!’ So, I’ve put up with Ken, and he’s put up with me.”

Masters doesn’t claim to do anything fancy.

“I just give haircuts, is all. I don’t do the fancy new hair styles,” he said. “I enjoy people comin’ in for the b.s. You can get a good haircut anywhere,

but not the b.s.,” giving some credit to his gift of gab for keep-ing customers coming back.

Another factor he points to is Bruiser.

“Bruiser was my dog ... a Chi-nese pug,” Masters said. “He went with me wherever I went. He lived for 14 years, 7 months, and 19 days ... not that I was counting.”

Bruiser had a special chair on which he’d sit all day while Masters was cutting hair. “I wish I had a dollar for every per-son who petted him,” he said.

Masters hasn’t raised his pric-es since Nov. 4, 1999. Haircuts are still just $10. So if you want an inexpensive haircut, and some “good b.s.” (which is an oxymoron, but not necessar-ily a contradiction), you’ll want to head over to the shop from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday or from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, and just see wheth-er his lights are on, or call him at 815-631-8444.

Veteran barber: ‘I just give haircuts’

BY JOHN KERMOTTSpecial to Sauk Valley Business Journal

Gift of gab keeps customers coming back to Ken’s

Alex T. Paschal/[email protected] Masters, owner of Ken’s Barbershop in downtown Dixon, has been at his 208 W. First St. location since 1965.

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POLO – When you walk inside Barnacopia, before you get to the old-time diner or the replica of downtown Polo or the bed and breakfast in the silo, you walk over the first tractor Gary Bocker ever rode.

The red-and-white 1946 Ford is set into the floor, underneath glass, and looks as if it never spent a day in the fields.

It’s just one of the many pieces of family history that Bocker, 68, has in Barnacopia, the barn he started building 20 months ago for weddings, receptions and other events.

But there’s plenty of local and farming history to go along

with the family history, which includes a red 1962 Corvair, the first car of his 66-year-old wife, Judy.

High on the rafters on the third floor is an old bell from a schoolhouse, which used to be on Westbranch Road, just a few miles from Barnacopia, which sits next to the Bockers’ home on state Route 64, about 7 miles north of Polo.

He built the barn, in part, to house all his antique tractors.

This repurposed barn is a real blast

BY MATT MENCARINISauk Valley Business Journal

Ag history seenin B&B, museum and wedding venue

Alex T. Paschal/[email protected] Bocker points out some aspects of the main area and talks about what went into the building of Barnacopia in rural Polo.

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One is a John Deere 730, the last two-cylinder model tractor the company made. Another tractor in the collection, from the first 10 series the company ever made, is a six-cylinder.

“One of the reasons I did this is because I wanted my grandkids

to see how farming used to be,” Bocker said while walking among the eight tractors on the first floor.

In addition to the tractors, the first floor has the seating area, bathrooms designed to look like downtown Polo, and the kitch-en, which serves ice cream, the only food it’s licensed to serve, although people renting the venue can have caterers come in and use the kitchen.

A walk up the stairs, or a ride in the elevator inside a silo, takes you to the second floor, where there’s a movie theater, a chapel and, among the nearly eight cars, an old state trooper patrol vehicle.

“It was just going to be a barn to show people stuff,” Bocker said. “About halfway through we saw how much money we were spending, and [then] we

put a bed and breakfast in.”The third floor has the game

room, which includes a John Deere pool table, and the best view of the 18-foot fan on the barn’s ceiling.

There are two rooms in the bed and breakfast, which is in a silo next to the barn. The top floor of the silo, which is one of the unfinished aspects left, will be a library, Bocker said.

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Tractors and cars are major decor elements

Photos by Alex T. Paschal/[email protected]: Barnacopia is at 10662 Illinois Route 64 West, about 7 miles north of Polo. RIGHT: The second floor displays vehicles that are special to the Bocker family.

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