The Decatur Daily Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 25

THE DECATUR DAILY REVIEW PAGE TWENTY-FIVE Decatur, Illinois, Thursday, November 30, 1978 REAL ESTATE REVIEW Florida, free hours face long-time fireman An intensive two-day review to prepare you for the Real Estate Salesman's or Broker's License Exam will be offered Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 16-17 at the Sheraton Springfield, 3090 Stevenson Drive, Springfield. For registration, call TOLL-FREE 800-972-4582; bers one close call. "We were at a fire on North Whitchel and I was standing under the wall when the whole thing came down. "Fortunately I was right under a window and the glass had already been broken out so I ran right in under that window." While Sturgis won't be fighting any more fires, the name will remain on the Fire Department rolls.

His two sons are both firemen. Lee O. Sturgis Jr. is a fireman at the No. 5 house and Bert "Pete" Sturgis is a lieutenant, working until now under his father at the No.

4 house. ganized a Decatur relief effort which" sent more than 100 pounds of clothing to a widow and five children made destitute by a Honduran hurricane. Sturgis says the 1974 Norfolk Western Co. explosion and fire, which took seven lives, was the worst he ever worked. "That was one of the sad parts of the job, but there were glad things too," he says.

Qne of the glad things was rescuing a woman from a burning house and reviving her with artificial resuscitation. Sturgis says he was never seriously injured while fighting fires, but remem secretary since 1966. He has held active membership in Firefighters Local Union 505 for 352 years, longer than any other person. He also has engaged in civic work, staging children's fishing rodeos and serving as chairman of the municipal employees division of the United Way of Decatur and Macon County in 1972. A square dance enthusiast and caller, Sturgis called square dances on a float in the Orange Bowl parade in 1970 and in 1953 was president of the Illinois Federation of Square Dance Clubs.

He was president of the Scovill Golf Association in 1956, and in 1975 he or no fls REAL ESTATE EDUCATION COMPANY OLDBLATT'S t- Tin i ilnn filial ii lu WW Save $40 and $50 Electrophonic stereos st r- Save $40 Electrophonic oave qou mecrropnonrc fmm psychedelic light 4-way stereo system 5 ,.4 17995 disco juke box 29995 Reg. 349.95 AMFM- stereo radio, 8-track playerrecorder. Automatic 3-speed changer with cue control. Full-rangespeakers. Dust cover, 2 mikes.

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1 man on the seniority list of city employees, Fire Department Lee 0. Sturgis has retired. "It's with a certain amount of sadness that I leave my comrades, but I welcome the chance to be free of responsibility and do some of the things I want to," Sturgis said during his last-work shift at the No. 4 fire station Monday. Sturgis will spend his winters in Ft.

Lauderdale, from now on, fishing in the Atlantic Ocean in his newly acquired boat, golfing and gardening. He and Mrs. Sturgis are also avid world travelers, and plan to travel as finances permit. "I don't want to leave without thanking the citizens of Decatur for giving me the privilege of serving them all these years, and for the chance to buy a home and raise a family without the fear of being laid off my job." It was job layoffs which led to Sturgis seeking appointment to the Fire Department, a post he won July 1, 1943. "I was working in the shipping department at Staley's," Sturgis recalls, "and every time there was a slump I got laid off." A native of Maroa who moved to Decatur as a child, the 61-year-old Sturgis had another incentive for joining the Fire Department.

His wife, the former Etta Maxine Smith, is the daughter of the late Bert L. Smith, who was a fireman between 1917 and 1946, retiring as an assistant chief. Sturgis had just become a fireman when World War II duty called. He enlisted in the Army Air Force Nov. 16, 1943.

Returning to the department after the war, he was promoted to lieutenant in March 1957, and to captain Sept. 16, 1958. He also has served as acting battalion chief on numerous occasions. Sturgis has been active in non-fire-fighting activities of the Fire Department, serving as a member of the firemen's pension board since 1951 and its 'Saint Jeanne' no longer is Esker's fixture By Al Stamborski Esker's Tavern isn't the same anymore without its "patron saint." When Jeanne Pinkston left Esker's, 1703 E. Clay this summer after 12 years of work, she was presented a plaque enscribed "Saint Jeanne of Esker's." "She's a lady you just couldn't replace," says Angelo Drakos, owner of Esker's.

"She was very conscientious and always doing that little bit extra." After all those years of cooking and tending bar, she was "just like one of the boys," Drakos says. Mrs. Pinkston, 61, of 1514 E. John Ave. is now working at becoming "one of the boys" at the Macon Nite Owl restaurant and tavern on U.S.

51 south of Macon. Judging from the customers' rapport with her, she is just as popular at the Nite Owl as at Esker's. She brought with her not only the cooking skills that made the chili and red snapper the hallmarks of Esker's, but also her hearty laugh that could turn the frown on any customer upside down. Mrs. Pinkston bought the Nite Owl in August with Don "Spider" Williams of Blue Mound.

He was a good friend of her late husband, LeRoy "Pinky" Pinkston. She said she knew Williams would make a good partner. For the last 11 years, Williams was general foreman of janitors at Firestone Tire Rubber Co. Before that, he owned and worked at bars in the area. Mrs.

Pinkston and Williams are only the second owners of the restaurant and bar. They bought the business from Dell Carroll of Macon, who started it with a single gas pump and barbecue stand more than 50 years ago. Asked why they bought the business, Williams quickly replies "so we don't have any bosses." It didn't turn out that way, though. "Now we've got 5,000 of them," he jokes. Seriously, Mrs.

Pinkston says, "it's always been my dream to have a place of my own." A farmers' daughter from DeKalb, Mrs. Pinkston has worked most of her life in bars and restaurants. Once she tried working in a factory, but after three months she quit. "I couldn't stand it." The reason she sticks with the work she is in is because of the people. "I love people," she says.

She also loves work. At Esker's, she often worked 12 to 15 hours a day. "I thrive on that," she says, adding she has no regrets about it. "I enjoyed every minute I spent at Esker's." At the Nite Owl, she puts in even more hours, as does Williams. They don't want to be absentee owners.

"Your customers want to see you," says Mrs. Pinkston. And the feeling is mutual. No one enters or leaves the Nite Owl without a personal greeting from the owners. "That's what keeps them coming back," says Williams.

Many of the Nite Owl's customers are the friends Mrs. Pinkston made at Esker's. "I really didn't know I had that many friends in Decatur," she says. "They really come out here and see us," especially on Sunday morning when the bars aren't open yet in Decatur. "We used to call this the church," she laughs.

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