Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 33

'1 Compiled from staff and news service reports Warn feathered friends Birds migrating through your yard or eating at your feeders can get confused about images they see in window reflections. Warning window decals can help stop that. Duncraft's new Save-the-Birds UV decals are transparent to the human eye but reflect a solid blue image to birds, making the window glass "visible" to them so they avoid crashing into it. Space the decals, available in snowflake, star and leaf shapes, 3 feet apart. They are $9.95 for a set of six of one type at www.duncraft.

com or 1-888-879-5095. hese walls talk! Putten-8 Historical hDme has -i: isawaste RTfUS lots of stories to tell wM I I I I I of my Next bunday Nk: A x. rn b'; i timeE2 Questions or comments regarding this section? Contact Life Editor Jeana Matherly at 421-6974 1 fe. i -f rff By SHARON K. WOLFE 14 It 1 1 I Lee News Service Writer 1 1 ular heavy white bobby socks to heavy white bobby socks to was fwMnnninimTnrirtriilPif' r--: For more than 100 years, indigent children of Illinois veterans grew up here NORMAL In the early 1940s, the girls desperately wanted socks, but not just any socks.

"When Frankie Sinatra burst upon the scene and screen, we begged our guardians for the popular wear with our brown-and-white oxfords," recalled Eileen Smith Voile, who lived at the Illinois Soldier's and Sailor's Children's School from 1931 to 1943. "The American Legion came to the rescue, buying us each a pair. You cannot imagine what those socks meant to us. For a little while, we looked like the 'outside' kids. Those socks lasted two years with loving care.

When they got holes, we mended them by putting a light bulb in the toe to hold the shape when we darned." Her memories are part of what was collected over eight years of gathering material, writing and publishing a 146-page book recalling life at the school. "A Place We Call Home" is subtitled "A History of Illinois Soldier's Orphans' Home 1864-1931" and "Illinois Soldier's and Sailor's Children's School 1931-1979." Dedicated in 1869, the orphanage was home to needy children of wounded or deceased Civil War veterans. "Every Northern state had something similar, at least one," said local archivist Jo Ann Rayfield, one of three people who worked on the book. In 1899, the home opened to indigent children of any military family; eventually, it was open to any such youngster in the state. "On these grounds for 114 years, scores of caregivers and educators provided thousands of children with a homelike environ- Herald ReviewCarlos T.

Miranda Jill Vernon, left, Yvonne Borklund, center, and Jo Rayfield, right, were instrumental in producing a history book titled 'A Place We Called Home, A History of Illinois Soldiers Orphans' Home and Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's ment," reads a marker on the school grounds. The school closed in 1979. Many of the former buildings off North Beech Street have been restored and are used for businesses and private residences. Yvonne Borklund, Jill Vernon and Rayfield accumulated boxes and boxes of material for Ruth Cobb, a Call Jill Vernon, (309)829-1800 Cost: $20, $23 with shipping and handling local author and former librarian, to sort through to write the book. Material not used in the book is in Illinois State University's archives.

Vernon spent a lot of time at the facility because her mother was good friends with Clara Kepn-er, a teacher who lived there as a 0RPHANSE2 Take a bow wow The furry and famous of the silver screen are being honored with their own walk of fame in London. The first inductees will be six dogs chosen by public vote from a shortlist that Gromit includes Lassie, Toto of "The Wizard of Oz," cartoon superdog Gromit and Tintin's trusty companion, Snowy, organizers said Thursday. The winners will be announced Nov. 5. The walk of fame is sponsored by the Kennel Club and television channel Sky Movies.

Gutter robot Rosie, the Jetsons' robot, never cleaned the gutters. But yours can. iRobot the company that brought us the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, recently introduced a gutter-cleaning robot called the Looj. It cleans an entire stretch of gutter, starting from and returning to one location, so you don't have to keep repositioning and climbing the ladder. The Looj has an auger that breaks up clogs and sweeps out leaves and debris at the direction of a remote control.

The device is 214 inches tall, and fits beneath the gutter straps. The Looj can be ordered at www.irobot.com at prices ranging from $99.99 to $169.99. It will be available at select retailers in the coming months. Bookshelf There are houses, and then there are homes. To Kathleen Cox's way of thinking, houses are just struc-SPACE MATTERS tures, where- 3fc I and bnna us pleasure as we go about our daily lives.

They appeal to us viscerally, not just visually. Cox, of Shaker Heights, Ohio, seeks to help readers turn their living spaces into true homes in her new book, "Space Matters." She bases her approach on the principles of vastu, the Indian science of architecture and design. It emphasizes the importance of a relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit. "Space Matters" is published by Stewart, Tabori Chang and is priced at $29.95 in hardcover. Reader Focus A lotus bud in a pond near Har-ristown drinks up the morning dew.

See more images from local and yours on the Her- Photo by Ben WatkinsDecatur aid Review Web site at i mium MHWmi Children play together at ISSCS 'We were provided with gymnastics, a pool, bikes and had arts and crafts, plus camp in the summer and movies on Friday nights and an education. Not many kids on the outside got as much as we did Irma Hilligoss Matthews, (ISSCS, 1950 to 1959) during the 1930s. a drop in the bucket liitlll With Decatur under mandatory water restrictions, it Is a good I idea to learn how to property water plants, Watering thoroughly, about an inch per week, is much more fo effective than short bursts of watering. Short bursts saturate the I soil shallowly, never reaching many roots. On new plantings, this I is particularly damaging, as new roots stay where the water is.

Thorough watering will encourage roots to grow deepen ultimately producing a stronger plant equipped to access moisture deep in i the soil and tolerate drought conditions better. To make your allotted watering time most effective, consider drip irrigation. Sprinklers tend to allow some evaporation. Drip irrigation, such as through soaker hoses, delivers the water directly to the root zone. Place the hoses at the drip line, which is at the furthest reaching tips of the branches extending horizontally from the trunk or base of the plant.

There are commercial bags available that zip SIIA1T HAWBAXER Rain's just We've been reading a lot lately about the lack of rainfall in this area as well as much of the Southeast United States. We know how dry it is in this part of Central Illinois, and several communities have imposed water restrictions. I don't remember Lake Decatur being so low since the drought of 1988. Fortunately, we had some nice rainfall this past week, but a few inches of rain does not stop the effect of a drought. It will take several rains over the next few months to recharge the soil and to fill Lake Decatur back to normal levels.

Area farmers had record crops this year despite the lack of rainfall during the season. These record yields were possible because of the tremendous water-holding capacity of the very area. to soil corn to due and also shrubs, especially with the water restrictions. Unfortunately, we may not know the effect of this drought for some time. The combination of ice damage to our trees coupled with drought effects may make the damage even more severe.

I guess we will just have to wait and see. Some of our ancestors used some simple methods to capture rainfall and store it for future needs. Remember when we all had a cistern to hold excess rainwater? Actually, a cistern is just a giant rain barrel. In many parts of the country, people still use rain barrels to capture water as it runs off their roof. You may be surprised how much water runs off your roof.

I know when my gutters get stopped up, the HAWBAXERE3 on around a tree or shrub. When filled, water slowly drips from the bags into the ground. These are great for new plant ings that have a drip line close to the trunk, but they often cost productive soils in this But those soils need be recharged by more rainfall this fall and into spring. Without adequate water recharge, farmers will not be able to produce even average crop yields. In 1988, average yields were cut back about one-half of normal to the lack of rainfall poor soil moisture levels.

This soil moisture deficit may have some long-term effects on trees and more than $20 each. An economical option is a Ion bucket with a few holes drilled in the bottom. Water in the buckets placed along HI Jj the drip line will seep out and soak the ground. Jennifer A. Nelson 1.