July 9, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Read all about it: St. Joseph Record wants to digitize old print editions — and they need your help

Local history projects are best told through community news sources.

So Mary Butzow wants the St. Joseph community to step up and help.

Butzow grew up in St. Joseph and was best friends with Jean Butler, the daughter of Bob and Barbara Butler, who owned the St. Joseph Record newspaper.

Butzow and Butler have kept in touch through the years as Butler now lives in Denver. Butler told Butzow she wished she had access to the old St. Joseph Record online so she could read her father’s editorials.
Butzow has volunteered at the Champaign County History Museum and asked the museum director, Connor Munson, how this could be accomplished.

“Connor had good contacts at the University of Illinois Library,” Butzow said, “so we got the project going.”
Butzow and the museum are spearheading a project to digitize the St. Joseph Record with editions from Dec. 8, 1894 to 1980. Butzow is scheduled to speak at a Lunch and Learn event sponsored by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce at 11 a.m. on Thursday at St. Joseph Village Hall.

The physical editions of the paper are currently stored at the Urbana Free Library. The group needs $30,000 to complete the project, and they have raised $5,500. Once they raise $8,000, they can start digitizing two decades of the paper.

To finish the project, organizers said more donations are needed. 

“Jean and I would like lots of people to donate modest amounts to the project,” Butzow said. “So far we have had donations from $5 to $1,000, with the average being $100. If 300 people gave $100 or 600 people gave $50 or 1,200 people gave $25, we would meet our goal.”

Butzow said she feels the project is important because so much of the intimate history of small towns is lost when the local paper becomes unavailable.

“While the St. Joseph Record rarely covered national and state news, its pages are rich in personal history of village board meetings, schools, social groups — such as the Lions club and the Ladies clubs — activities of children such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H and Little League,” she said. “School sports and accomplishments were also covered. Mostly it is the rich history of personal lives: births, deaths, weddings, family reunions and accomplishments.”

Banner
Related Posts

Ogden festival committee to meet tonight

March 11, 2019

March 11, 2019

The Ogden Festival will be bigger and better this year if organizer Kelly Cooper has anything to say about it....

Salon 192 to hold food drive

November 9, 2020

November 9, 2020

Amy Gibbons wants to help people. Gibbons, the owner of Salon 192 on Lincoln Street in St. Joseph, has organized...

Weekend Family Fun Guide

July 26, 2019

July 26, 2019

This post is sponsored by Island Travel Group and Events On Saturday, St. Joseph plays host to hundreds of runners...

Vendor profile: Tupperware with Aubree

August 8, 2024

August 8, 2024

1. Tell me about your business. Tupperware has been around for 79 years and is known for the bowls, kitchen...

‘I have absolutely loved portraying her’

April 3, 2022

April 3, 2022

Sophia McDade loves everything about the Addams Family production. The senior, who is acting in her second show with the...

It takes a Christmas village

December 10, 2024

December 10, 2024

Roberta Morris’ childhood dream was to be an architect. Instead, she worked as a pipe fitter at the Clinton Nuclear...

St. Joseph Chamber announces Little Prince candidates

July 27, 2024

July 27, 2024

Addison MonierSon of Tiffany Monierhttps://gofund.me/128cdc2b Conor SchottSon of Rachel and Jason Schotthttps://gofund.me/6c508ce0 Will PetersSon of Steve and Sarah Petershttps://gofund.me/712d223d Emmett...

Food pantry in need of donations

August 23, 2019

August 23, 2019

The shelves are almost bare at the St. Joseph Community Food Pantry. The pantry, housed in the St. Joseph Church...

Local towns schedule egg hunts

April 10, 2019

April 10, 2019

April 13 St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce Easter Egg Hunt The Chamber of Commerce stuffs 1500 eggs with candy, stickers,...

Alumni banquet to be held

October 25, 2021

October 25, 2021

The 2021 SJO Alumni banquet will be held Nov. 13 at the Royal Community Building. The event starts at noon...

Welcome home: Parade set to honor Randall

October 2, 2021

October 2, 2021

Lyndsey Leemon is proud of her brother. So proud in fact, she wants to honor him with a parade to...

Wheelhouse steps up to help community

August 19, 2020

August 19, 2020

Abbie Layden-Rogiers and her husband Ryan Rogiers have always wanted to help the community. The owners of The Wheelhouse in...

Orr to celebrate 100th birthday with parade today

April 20, 2021

April 20, 2021

St. Joseph resident Audrey Orr is turning 100. To celebrate her family has organized a birthday parade for noon today....

Weekend family fun guide for March 15-17

March 14, 2019

March 14, 2019

This weekend is jam packed with fun things to do with the family. March 15 The Savoy 16, located at...

Comments
Leave a Reply