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My oldest first cousin, Russell (Coonie) Alleman Jr., passed away on July 13. Our grandparents were Amos and Bertha (Kessler) Alleman. My father, Walter, and his father, Russell (Pat), were brothers.
Coonie loved to laugh, always smiling and happy. I have fond memories of growing up with him in Tonica. Our families would get together several Sundays a year for dinner.
Coonie could drive cars when he was very young. After dinner, we would take his cousins out in his dad's Model A coupe with the rumble seat. We always went out east of Tonica on the gravel roads. Coonie was an excellent driver. I remember we would be going at what I thought was a high speed when somehow, he could turn that Model A right around in the loose gravel, and in seconds, we were travelling back in the opposite direction. It was a real thrill to be sitting in the rumble seat when this happened. Then Coonie would drive us back into town slowly and take another group of cousins out for the same ride. Our parents never knew about what dangerous happenings were going on with their children.
The day after Coonie died, I was at the Peru Auto Electric Shop in Peru. Several men were outside the shop and knew I was Coonie's cousin. They all agreed no one knew Model A cars like Coonie did. At the Methodist Church in Tonica at Coonie's funeral, his Model A car friends lined their coupes up by the church, then followed Coonie to the Tonica Cemetery. When they left the cemetery, each one gave Coonie a final salute by honking their Model A horns as they drove off.
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My heartfelt thanks to the Carl Sauder family for continuing to host the Standard Tractor and Truck Pull after the tragic loss of their son, husband and father Dave. The Standard Fire Department receives the money from the pull.
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Question: "What year was the District of Columbia established as the permanent capitol of the United States?"
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"Women bear rule over king and beggar alike." Judah 15.5, Apocrypha, Patriarchs.
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Illinois Farm Bureau's mission is to improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life. Farmers are all the same in some ways. We all need to ensure future generations will have the freedom to raise food for our growing population. U.S. government spending is currently 2.15 percent of the budget, of which 1.62 is for nutrition, 0.19 for crop insurance, 0.15 for conservation, 0.15 for commodity programs and 0.04 percent for other programs.
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"To be credible, we must be believable, we must be credible, we must be truthful." Edward R. Murrow.
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A couple were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary with friends when a genie appeared and said, "I will grant each of you one wish." The wife said, "I want to travel the world." Poof! She was showered with plane tickets. Seeing his wife's wish granted, the husband said, "I want a wife 30 years younger." Poof! He was 90.
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Answer: The District of Columbia was established as the permanent Capitol of the United States by the Residence Act in 1790.
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Thank you for reading. Gone farming.
Darrell Alleman can be reached at news@putnamcountyrecord.com.
Darrell Alleman can be reached at news@tonicanews.com.