The Prairie Landscape

The Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award - 2006


John C. Heider

Nominated By The Honorable William C. "Bill" Mitze


Monticello


John C. Heider

In his year and a half as a trustee on all-volunteer Piatt County Museum Board, retired educator John Heider has become an invaluable source for historic preservation in his county. Mr. Heider was the driving force behind the Museum's purchase of the historic Beef Barn from the University of Illinois. Thanks to Mr. Heider's efforts in promoting the project and getting other community members involved, the barn will be moved to the Museum. Mr. Heider has also taken on the project of restoring two abandoned rural cemeteries, working with his family to clear brush and weeds from the sites, map the gravesites, refurbish the monuments, and replace missing markers. Finally, Mr. Heider is assisting in the rehabilitation of a monument designating the location of a speech by Abraham Lincoln, an old grist mill that will be restored and moved to the Museum and a commemorative marker installed in its place at the original site of the speech.

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