Charles Buntjer - From the Farm to California

I was born on a farm in nothern Illinois in 1940. My stepmother got me an interview in the summer of 1959, I was 19 years old. It was Freeport, at a huge manufacturing plant. I was hired a month later and of all things, sent to Chicago to learn how to create punched cards to store data, sort the cards for reports and wire boards to program IBM Tabulating Machines!

In 1961 I moved to Rockford Illinois, second biggest city in the state and went to work in a huge manufacturing plant in their computer center.

In July of 1963, I was 23 years old and I got a letter from the government that I had been drafted. I was sent to Fort Knox Kentucky and after basic training I found out I was being sent to the Presidio of San Francisco to work in the computer installation overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island and downtown San Francisco. I knew I was never going to leave San Francisco and California.

I knew I would be able to in a short time of driving or flying, go to exotic places like Reno, Las Vegas, San Diego and Beverly Hills. And I did!

Box Camera - Few Photos 1940 to 1950

Just to inform you, when I was young we rarely took photos. We had a Box Camera, hard to load the film and to take pictures. We took photos usually at family reunions, birthdays or anniversaries. Probably weddings, so it was much different than today with instant photos taken all the time.

Also of interest, Most of the towns around the farms where I grew up, don't seem to have photos, if any, online for one to view. Many of the towns were actually villiages with 100 or a 1,000 inhabitants. Even Rockford with over 100,000 people, few photos around 1960.

And don't forget, we still had a phone that had a crank to turn to make a call. Our phone number was two shorts and a long ring. Operator was one long ring. We were on a party line with about ten families on the line.

Illinois Overview

Illinois is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, which is the most populous state capital and fifth most populous city in the United States. Illinois is divided into 15 counties.

Illinois History

Illinois is the 6th-largest state by area and the 14th-most-populous of the 50 states. It is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. Historically part of the territory of Alta California and Nuevo México in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848, where the area became part of the New Mexico Territory. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase.

Southern Illinois is known for its desert climate, with extremely hot summers and mild winters. Northern Illinois features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees; the Colorado Plateau; mountain ranges (such as the San Francisco Mountains); as well as large, deep canyons, with much more moderate summer temperatures and significant winter snowfalls.

There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Sunrise, and Tucson. In addition to the internationally known Grand Canyon National Park, which is one of the world's seven natural wonders, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments.

Illinois is home to a diverse population. About one-quarter of the state is made up of Indian reservations that serve as the home of 27 federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Navajo Nation, the largest in the state and the country, with more than 300,000 citizens. Since the 1980s, the proportion of Hispanics has grown significantly owing to migration from Mexico and Central America. A substantial portion of the population are followers of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Illinois's population and economy have grown dramatically since the 1950s because of inward migration, and the state is now a major hub of the Sun Belt. Cities such as Phoenix and Tucson have developed large, sprawling suburban areas. Many large companies, such as PetSmart and Circle K, have headquarters in the state, and Illinois is home to major universities, including the University of Illinois, Illinois State University, and Northern Illinois University.

The state is known for a history of conservative politicians such as Barry Goldwater and John McCain, though it has become a swing state in recent years.

History of the Flag

The Illinois state flag primarily symbolizes the state's connection to the United States and its unique identity. It prominently features the Great Seal of Illinois on a white background, which includes an eagle, a shield, dates, and the state motto. The eagle represents the United States, while the shield within the eagle's talons symbolizes Illinois itself. The dates on the rock symbolize Illinois's statehood and the redesign of the state seal. The state motto, "State Sovereignty, National Union," reflects the balance between state autonomy and national unity.

Key elements and their meanings:

Bald Eagle: Represents the United States.

Shield: Represents the state of Illinois.

State Motto ("State Sovereignty, National Union"): Reflects the state's relationship with the US and the balance between state rights and national unity.

Dates on the Boulder: 1818 (statehood) and 1868 (redesign of the seal).

White Background: Represents purity and innocence.

Rising Sun: Symbolizes Illinois' bright future.

Polo - 1940

Yvonne, Charles, and Mother Edna

Father - Walter

Polo, Illinois is a rural city in Ogle County, located in the northwest corner of the state, near White Pines State Park. It had a population of approximately 2,500 in 2023. The city is known for its friendly community, safe environment, and superior schools. In 2023, the median household income was $52,976 and the median property value was $108,500.

My sister Yvonne was born in 1932. I was born on February 4th, 1940. Our mother Edna was born in 1906 and our father Walter in 1910. Our Grandparents in the 1880s.

My parents were buying the 160 acre farm near Polo Illinois but decided to rent a 500 acre farm near Pecatonic and use the monies earned there to rebuild all the buildings on the farm they were buying. We moved to the 500 acre farm where I went to a one room school near Ridott Illinois. Can you believe it, we had an outhouse behind the house and no running water in the house. We finally had a bathroom and indoor plumbing after we build a new house on the 160 acre farm. We moved in around 1951 and what a change. All that work paid off!

Here we are around 1945 in front of the original house on the 160 acre farm. On the right, the new house in 1951, indoor plumbing and a bathroom!

Pecatonica

Pecatonica is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois. It's part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is located about 10 miles west of Rockford, along the Pecatonica River. The name "Pecatonica" is derived from the Native American word "peeketolika", meaning "crooked river".

Every so often we would get cleaned up and go to Pecatonica after the chores were finished on Saturday night to shop at the local grocery store. If we behaved we went to the 5 and 10 Cents Store to check out what was available and if we could afford it! Once in a great while we would actually go to a movie! We were thankful for anything we were able to do.

One summer my sister and I rode our horses to the rodeo in Pecatonica.

It was about six miles. We got there and on the fair grounds they were setting up the big parade, horses and riders would wind around in figure eights and so on, hundreds of riders.

I was around seven and Yvonne was about 15. We got to ride in the rodeo and then had to ride back to the farm to help finish the chores before dinner! What a life!

Wagner One Room School - Ridott - Grade 1 through 4th

My One Room School, Left Front Row

1946 - Charles Buntjer - Cover of Life Magazine

The Wagner One Room School in Pecatonica, Illinois, no longer exists as a functioning school. It's a historic building that was once a one-room schoolhouse, but it is now a part of a larger historic site. There are many one-room schools that still exist in America, though their numbers have dwindled significantly from 190,000 in 1919 to fewer than 400 today.

"Ridott il" is an Italian phrase that translates to "reduce it" or "lower it." It's a common expression used to indicate a desire to decrease something, whether it be price, volume, intensity, or other relevant quantities.

Some summers during the 1940s, we would go to Ridott on a Saturday evening and they would shut down the main street and put up a movie screen and setup a projector for us to sit on the ground and watch a movie. Were we excited. Even a store with rocking chairs for the local men to sit in and smoke and have a beer. The so called good old years!

Brookville One Room School - Grade 5 through 8th

The only photo of the one room school in Brookville. No records of the school even existing!

Brookville, Illinois is a small unincorporated community located on the western border of Brookville Township and Ogle County. It's situated just south of the intersection of U.S. Route 52 and Illinois Route 64, at an elevation of 781 feet. The town of Polo is about 7 miles to the southeast. Brookville Township had a population of 241 and 117 housing units as of the 2010 census.

Freeport

Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 census.

In 1869, a German immigrant named John Billerbeck established the Billerbeck Bakery, which distributed so many pretzels to residents that the local newspaper later dubbed Freeport the "Pretzel City". The city later capitalized on this nickname in 2003 by starting Freeport's first Pretzel Festival.

Lincoln Douglas Debate Square: In 1858 Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas held a series of debates as they campaigned for the U. S. Senate seat from Illinois. In these debates one candidate would speak for an hour, the second for an hour and a half, followed by the first with a half-hour rebuttal. Douglas opened and closed four of the seven debates. The second of these debates was held in Freeport, Illinois on August 27, 1858. At Freeport, Lincoln asked Douglas whether the people of a territory could lawfully exclude slavery prior to the creation of a state constitution. Douglas' answer became known as the Freeport Doctrine and was another in a chain of events, all "linked" to each other, which led to Lincoln's election as the 16th President and to civil war.

Two of my favorite aunts were my father's sisters. We thought they were so sophisticated. Liz and Fay both married Greek and Italian men and moved to the big city, Freeport. Fay and her husband bought and ran a Dry Cleaning business and made lots of money. They built a big house on a large lot in the best area in the city.

Liz was something else. Check out the photo of her taken in 1936. Her husband, Tony Agiou, was a big gambler. They bought property all over the area. They bought a big hotel in downtown Freeport. Liz said the hotel would be in her name as Tony gambled everything away. They bought a four story apartment building, and had the top floor apartment. Fantastic layout and furnishings. We would go to Freeport and visit the hotel and have lunch there, we felt very sophisticated. Tony showed us the safe and inside were many diamond rings and so on. Liz said one day Tony drove to the front in a new Cadillac. Next week he was walking. He eventually lost the apartment building but Liz still had the downtown hotel.

Forreston - New 1959 Buick

My Grandparents

Forreston is a small village in the northwest corner of Ogle County, Illinois, known for its agricultural heritage and friendly community. It's located about 12 miles south of Freeport and 20 miles north of Dixon. Forreston offers a mix of old storefront businesses, good schools, and affordable housing. The town also boasts beautiful parks and attractions like the historic Forreston Grove Church, and annual events like Sauerkraut Days and Christmas in the Country.

Every summer until maybe 1980 or so, Sauerkraut Days were celebrated in the summer. A small fair was setup with lots of rides for the children. There were huge cast iron pots on wood fires and lots of sauerkraut and German sausages in them.

My grandparents on my father's side lived in Forreston. The small town had two automobile dealerships. A Buick and a Ford show room across the street from each other. My father figured I was going to end up on the farm for the rest of my life and bought me the Buick, but my stepmother got me an interview in Freeport and I ended up in the computer business for the rest of my life. Sorry Daddy!

Chicago - IBM Programming Classes - 1959

In 1959, Chicago was the host city for the Pan American Games. The city also experienced a significant period of political and social change, including the election of Richard J. Daley as mayor. Queen Elizabeth II also made a brief visit to Chicago in July, marking her first major stop in the U.S. during her tour.

Can you believe one day on the farm shoveling cow patties and the next day in a high rise hotel and across the street the IBM building. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

Freeport - IBM Tabulating Machines - 1959

My first job was at Burgess Battery in the computer industry. The company produced batteries and later I found out they dumped the acids into the Rock River. After two years I moved to Rockford as it was a much larger city and many more opportunities. Plus, my sister and her family lived there so I had a great support group. Of course, in 1963 I was drafted into the Army and ended up in the computer installation of the Presidio of San Francisco, never to leave California.

Rockford

Rockford is a city in northern Illinois. Downtown, the Burpee Museum of Natural History features a dinosaur exhibit. Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum offers rotating exhibits in a Victorian home. Rockford Art Museum exhibits regional American works. The sprawling Anderson Japanese Gardens is across the Rock River. Northeast, Rock Cut State Park shelters muskrats, raccoons and waterfowl. Population: 146,120 (2023).

I moved to Rockford to work at a large manufacturing plant. My sister and her family had a new ranch house they had bought in Rockford. There was a screened porch overlooking the big back yard and I would come over and my sister, Yvonne and I, would sit on a couch and have coffee and of course, smoke cigarettes. We would gossip for hours, such good times to remember. Of course, this all ended when I was drafted in 1963 and ended up in San Francisco at the computer center of the Presidio.

Chicago to St. Louis

My sister and her husband were retired and were living in Tucson. She and I decided to fly to Chicago and rent a car and visit our relatives in northern Illionis and then drive along the Mississippi River to East St. Louis and ending up in St. Louis Missouri.

Galena

President Grant's House

Galena

Quincy

Quincy

Fort Madison

Quincy, Illinois is a city in Adams County, located on the Mississippi River. Known as "The Gem City," it's a historic city with a rich past as a transportation hub and a welcoming place for various groups. Quincy's population was 39,463 in 2020.

St. Charles

Shops - Over 125

Save Me!

St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It lies roughly 40 miles west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. Per the 2020 census, the population was 33,081. The official city slogan is "Pride of the Fox", after the Fox River that runs through the center of town.

East St. Louis

East St. Louis, Illinois, is a city in St. Clair County, located directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The city covers approximately 23 square miles and had a population of 27,006 in 2010. It's known for attractions like the Gateway Geyser, the Eads Bridge, and DraftKings at Casino Queen. East St. Louis has experienced periods of industrial growth and decline, including a significant population drop between 1950 and 2000.

Chuck's View of San Francisco

Can you believe my fantastic view of San Francisco from my apartment on the 28th floor of the Fox Plaza Apartments!

Created on 2025.05.05       Updated on 2025.05.05