Man who donated land for Bonner Heritage Farm dies at 90

One of Howard "Shorty" Bonner's visible legacies will be eight acres of his family's Lindenhurst farm, which he donated to Lake County Forest Preserve District so it could be used to educate the public about agriculture.

Bonner, 90, a former Lake County Farm Bureau president, died in a Waukegan hospital Friday. He lived his entire life in Lake County.

Gregory Koeppen, the farm bureau's executive director, got to know Bonner about 12 years ago through the organization. He said he saw Bonner a week ago in the hospital and found him "sharp as a tack."

Koeppen said he'll remember Bonner as a man with an outstanding personality who enjoyed community involvement.

"Just a man who always had a story to tell and a handshake to share," Koeppen said Sunday.

Bonner's great grandparents established the farm near Sand Lake Road and Route 45 in Lindenhurst in 1842. Bonner sold most of the 200 acres to developers, but donated the 8 acres and a cluster of buildings to the forest preserve district in 1995.

Called the Bonner Heritage Farm, the property has interactive exhibits and features a pump house, chicken coop, storage shed and hog house. There also is a 19th century outhouse.

Bonner moved to a 35-acre Antioch-area farm after selling the Lindenhurst land to the forest district.

It was at his new farm in 2003 where he hosted an auction of vintage tractors, which he collected over 40 years. He kept five tractors to mow about 8 acres of grass on his farm.

One of the tractors in the auction that attracted national attention was a parade-ready 1920 International Titan. All of the tractors were in working order.

Services for Bonner are expected to be private, said Koeppen.