September 18, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

10 things you don’t know about me… Max Painter

The newest St. Joseph Village Trustee tells us 10 interesting facts about himself.

My favorite childhood memory is getting up early and getting on my bike and riding around town all day with my friends. I’m not that old but such a different world back then. We were gone all day and our parents barely knew where we were. They probably never worried about something bad happening to us. Things were way simpler back then.

My first pet was named Socks.

We just took a family vacation to California for the first time this summer and I must say we loved all of it. We started in San Francisco and worked our way down the coast to San Diego. The Pacific Coast Highway was beautiful. I could do without the traffic in LA but the rest of it was wonderful and the weather was fantastic.

I used to play a lot of golf now I barely play 10 times a year. I love to play basketball and the Just B Fit gang keeps my blood pressure high with doing workouts, Tri’s, and races. Unfortunately, work keeps me busy as well so I don’t get to do these things as much as I’d like.

My secret talent is to talk nonstop about nothing. If you get me with another talker, we’re in big trouble.

I’m terrible at making time for reading. My oldest son reads nonstop, mostly historical authors such as Hemingway, and I admire that he makes that a priority. I read Stephen King’s “IT” in the army and now with the movie out, I remember it well. I always loved that book! I will say “The Shack” was a fantastic book that I read as an adult that has always stuck with me as well. 

My favorite thing about owning my own business is I love helping people really. I take a lot of pride in my work and love making people happy. 

I have always been good with electricity. When I was 14, I wired up everything in my room to work on switches. When I went to EIU for a degree in Economics, I always knew I wanted to be an electrician when I finished school so I graduated from EIU on a Saturday and started my electrical apprenticeship the following Monday!

I love my country, I joined the army to defend it if need be. I missed out on going to Desert Storm by six months but I would have gone if they had needed me. 

I have too many favorite TV shows to pick one if I had to pick I would say The Walking Dead, A Million Little Things, and Stranger Things.  

in People
Banner
Related Posts

Kids say…Would you like to be a farmer? Why or why not?

October 22, 2019

October 22, 2019

Every week we ask area students questions about being a farmer. This week we spoke to kids at PVO South....

Kids say…

August 26, 2019

August 26, 2019

Every week we ask students at local schools three questions related to farming. This week we spoke to students at...

Senior Spotlight… Hannah Rajlich

June 18, 2019

June 18, 2019

Every week we ask an SJO senior five questions. This week we talked to Hannah Rajlich. This post is sponsored...

‘No one believed in our kids and our teams more than he did’

April 24, 2024

April 24, 2024

Dan Wright loved life.  He loved his family. He loved his community.  Wright passed away on March 19 in Florida. ...

Haley’s lofty vision with SJO baseball has become reality

April 16, 2019

April 16, 2019

Josh Haley didn’t do anything elaborate after he achieved a coaching milestone earlier this month. For the St. Joseph-Ogden High...

5 things you don’t know about me… Braxton Kuchenbrod

August 7, 2019

August 7, 2019

Braxton is in the running for the title of Little Prince! He is six years old. We asked him to...

St. Joseph rallies to find missing dog

September 17, 2020

September 17, 2020

Operation bring Piper home is in full effect in St. Joseph. Piper, a yellow labrador retriever, went missing from the...

10 things you don’t know about me… Jason Retz

November 7, 2019

November 7, 2019

In honor of SJO Cross Country going to state this week we asked head coach Jason Retz to tell us...

Former rivals give back with youth girls’ basketball program

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

Growing up, Andrea Flenniken was a Spartan. Flenniken graduated from St. Joseph-Ogden High School in 1996 and played girls’ basketball...

Going the Distance: Smetzer excels at Western

October 17, 2019

October 17, 2019

Ross Smetzer has goals. The 2016 St. Joseph-Ogden High School graduate runs cross country and track for Western Illinois University...

Hartman makes finals of Project Run and Play.

April 14, 2022

April 14, 2022

St. Joseph resident Emily Hartman has made it to the last round of Project Run and Play. The project is...

Talk of the Town with Susan McKinney

July 2, 2019

July 2, 2019

Every week we ask a village official three questions. This week we talked to St. Joseph Township Librarian Susan McKinney...

10 things you don’t know about me… Abbie Layden-Rogiers

June 17, 2019

June 17, 2019

Each week we ask a community member to tell us 10 things about themselves. This week is Abbie Layden-Rogiers, owner...

10 things you don’t know about me… Joe Hackney

September 27, 2024

September 27, 2024

1. What is a tv or movie you could watch over and over and why? Lately, I’m really looking forward to...

Get to know Holly Clingan

March 25, 2025

March 25, 2025

Can you please provide some biographical information? I am Holly Clingan, and I’ve been a homeowner in St. Joseph for...

Comments
Leave a Reply