McHenry County Fair honors Don Peasley
It was Don Peasley Day Aug. 1 at the McHenry County Fair — fitting since Peasley has been involved with the fair since its inception.
Peasley, with his ever-present camera, sat on a fair bench that bears his name inside building E. It is next to the McHenry County Historical Society’s exhibit titled “Don Peasley: Historian, Journalist, Photographer.”
Society Exhibit/Collection Coordinator Kira Halvey, with the help of many volunteers who sifted through about 5,500 negatives shot by Peasley over the years, compiled the exhibition. The sampling is divided into pictures from the fair, as well as the state and county farm bureaus; miscellaneous topics that include the Woodstock Square, local churches and schools, food, farms and prominent people; and biographical/family pictures.
Peasley has four children: Mary, Mark, Chuck and Sarah; two grandsons, Peter and Chris Beverwyk; one granddaughter, Victoria Sisk; and one great-granddaughter, Veda Beverwyk. His wife of 66 years, Fran, died earlier this year.
Peasley, 89, arrived in Woodstock in 1947 and became managing editor of the weekly Woodstock Journal and its sister papers the Hebron News and Huntley Review. But insufficient advertising revenue to support it and its larger rival, the Woodstock Daily Sentinel, proved its undoing. Owner John Strohm sold the paper in 1950 and Peasley was out of work … albeit temporarily. He worked in communications at Illinois Farm Bureau from 1950 until the organization moved from Chicago to Bloomington in 1961. Peasley said 100 radio stations, including WGN’s Orion Samuelson, aired his reports.
Peasley established a public relations firm in 1961, which he maintains to this day.
Peasley was born Dec. 5, 1922, on the family farm near Stronghurst, Ill. Throughout the years, Peasley has established a close relationship with agriculture. Through stories and photos, he chronicled major changes affecting the agricultural community in McHenry County. He helped edit and produce the monthly Farm Bureau publication from 1947 until its close in 2002.
Peasley started covering the county fair through his work with the Woodstock Journal in 1947. He has been closely involved throughout the past 65 years. But he never expected to have a day named after him.
“It’s flabbergasting,” Peasley said with a grin.