The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

A Community Celebration

By Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher

July 4, 2012

I think the favorite time for most all of us is when everyone comes home. Whether's it's Christmas, graduations, county fair, or the 4th of July, that special time when we know everyone is coming, is the best!

This weekend's celebration at Stronghurst along with the alumni banquet for Stronghurst High School, felt just like that, even though my children were not home, yet.

The committees for both events did an amazing job and we who were able to attend owe you a great big hug. .... well, we are family aren't we?

It is fun to see familiar faces and meet some new ones. I enjoyed going out to Linda and Dick Clifton's where about 40 of the Peasley family were gathering Sunday morning for breakfast. I met Linda's uncle Don Pealsey who lives in Woodstock, Illinois. He is around 90 years old, and still writes for two newspapers there. It's amazing the dates and particulars he remembers as we visited. I wanted to meet him because I found one of his columns accidently when I googled Stronghurst Railroads. It was a column that ran last week entitled, "Peasely Going Home Again This Month," so I stopped and read it.

Don talked about Going Home again and that "his mother's father, Joseph Dixson" had helped create the town and convinced the railroad to run through Henderson County to ease the cost and help keep the value up on his cattle herd. The nearest rails were 25 miles away.

He wrote that Dixson had also proposed the name Stronghurst after the two railroad officials Mr. Will B. Strong and Mr. R.D. Hurst.

After I visited with Mr. Peasley, I wished he was sitting in my office pounding out those stories for The Quill.

Peggy Peasley Boston was also there and is a newspaper publisher and a 1964 Stronghurst graduate. She's going to help with the next alumni banquet in 3 years. I wish I could spend more time catching up with those who came. All were brought home by this birthday celebration and it makes it memorable.