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Robert Bike

Robert Bike

Licensed Massage Therapy #5473
Eugene, Oregon

EFT-CC, EFT-ADV

Teaching Reiki Master

Life Coach

541-465-9486

Gift Certificates

Reiki
Private classes.
Biblical Aromatherapy
Therapeutic Essential
Oil Massages
Member
OMTA & ABMP
President of the Oregon Massage Therapists Association
2008-2010
& 2012-2013

I graduated from Freeport (Illinois) High School.
I'm a Pretzel!

FHS Reunions

Copyright 2002 - present

Latest Copyright
April 9, 2013

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Please help keep
this site free.
Buy one of my books, on sale below.

All sales go to help support this website.

Remarkable Stories,
Volume 1


by Robert Bike

Remarkable events have happened in Freeport and Stephenson County, Illinois, and remarkable people have lived there. These are stories gathered about people and events from 1835 through World War II.

By no means complete, these are overviews of lives and events which shaped our country and our world. From events in the lives of Tutty Baker, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Guiteau, Leonard Colby, Jane Addams and Bob Wienand come stories that will amaze you. Welcome to Volume 1 of our living history.

The author lives in Eugene, Oregon, and works as a Licensed Massage Therapist and Life Coach. An amateur historian, parts of these stories and many more appear on this website.

Buy now! Only 99 cents to download in .pdf format!

Want a paperback? List price $14.99, now only $11.99!

Biblical Aromatherapy

by Robert Bike

The Bible mentions about 232 plants by name, or closely enough to figure out what plant is meant. Of these, 24 are aromatic plants; that is, parts of the plants can be pressed or distilled to get an essential oil. Essential oils are the lifeblood of plants and have tremendous healing capabilities.

The healing power of plants is the basis for modern medicines.

Biblical Aromatherapy
discusses how the plants were used in biblical days and how you can use the essential oils from biblical plants.

Originally published in manuscript form in 1999, I completely revised the book and added illustrations.

To order Biblical Aromatherapy in paperback,
Click here.

List price $24.99; introductory offer $19.99


To order the pdf version and download to your computer or phone,

Click here.

The electronic version is only $2.99!

 

Publicity!

Olga Carlile, columnist for the Freeport (Illinois) Journal Standard, featured this website in her column on January 19, 2007.
Here is a jpg scan.

Harriet Gustason, another columnist for the Freeport Journal Standard, has featured this website twice. Click to see pdf of articles:
June 29, 2012
November 3, 2012

 

"My Life Purpose is to inspire my friends
and clients to achieve
success, health,
wealth and happiness
by empowering them
to reach their potential,
while living in harmony
with each other, animals
and our planet."
Robert Bike

Robert Bike, LMT, LLC

In 1954, Robert Koenig published a book of photos titled "Camera Studies of Freeport, Illinois" that showed parks, churches, schools, and civic, cultural, fraternal and eleemosynary institutions. Harry Herlin, a well-known Freeport photographer, took the photos. Most of the photos were taken between 1952 & 1954. Ruth Winn wrote the copy. Howard Scholes handled the layout and printing. The book was sold for $2.00 by the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. All proceeds went to the treasuries of the U. S. Grant Council, Boy Scouts of America and the Jane Addams Council of Girl Scouts. Accompanying each photo is a condensed, informative description written by well-known Freeport citizens of the era.

In August 2006, I went back to Freeport, Illinois, for my 40th high school reunion and took some comparison photos. I did not have a copy of the book with me, so I only took photos of what I remembered of the cover and photos of Freeport places that interested me, so angles of the 1954 photos will differ from mine. I also took some photos of Freeport in 2002, and any that are similar to the 1954 photos will also appear here.

All recent photos, except as noted, Copyright 2002, 2006 Robert L. Bike.
All 1952-1954 photos Copyright 1954 by Robert F. Koenig.

This is a page with lots of photos. It should load fairly quickly on broadband. If you are still on dial-up, order broadband now, as loading this page could take a very long time. All the links work, so if you get a red X instead of a photo, right click on the X and select "Show Picture."

 

Remarkable Stories, Volume 1 by Robert Bike

From events in the lives of Tutty Baker, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Guiteau, Leonard Colby, Jane Addams and Bob Wienand come stories that will amaze you. Welcome to Volume 1 of our living history.

Only $11.99 paperback; only $0.99 ebook.


This is the cover of the 1954 book. At the top is a block of W. American Street. Below the title are photos of the train stations. At bottom left is Stephenson Street looking east from Van Buren Avenue. Bottom right is the entrance to Krape Park.

This shows the full jacket cover. At the top left on the back cover and spine is the northeast corner of State Avenue & Stephenson Street. Below is the boyhood home of presidential assassin Charles Guiteau and more of the train station. At the bottom is a house on the southeast corner of Stephenson Street and Park Boulevard, and more of the view down Stephenson Street.

The 1400 block of West American Street in 1954.

The 1400 block of West American Street in 2006. The houses have been remodeled, the trees have grown, and the residents of the second house have parked their new car in the same spot. Photo by Brady Hutmacher.

The Illinois Central passenger station, served by the Land O' Corn. I rode that train to Chicago for my draft physical.

The building is still remarkably the same. It is now used by a business.

The Milwaukee Road's passenger station, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific. This was on their Milwaukee to Kansas City line and was served daily by the South West Limited. The circus trains used this station when they set up in Taylor Park. Do you remember the circus parades in downtown Freeport?

This building is now abandoned. It is boarded up, and even the tracks are gone. President Theodore Roosevelt arrived at this station on September 10, 1910, when he spoke at the Railroad Picnic.

Buildings on left are Ford Hopkins Rexall Drug, Angelos Restaurant, Read's, the tall Smith Building, Garrity's drug with the cupola. Note the trolley tracks running down to the steel bridge over the Pecatonica River. Buildings on the right are the State Bank building, Emmert's Drugs, a pastry shop, a record store, and S. S. Kresge.

View down Stephenson Street from Van Buren Avenue. All the buildings are still standing, except the Garrity Drug building which burned spectacularly in the 1970s. New businesses occupy the old buildings. All the businesses listed at left are long gone.

Entrance sign to Krape Park at the corner of W. Empire Street & S. Park Boulevard.

New entrance sign to Krape Park. The old one was destroyed by an automobile several decades ago.

Childhood home of Charles Guiteau, a lawyer with a history of mental illness who assassinated President James Garfield on July 2, 1881. His father, Luther Guiteau came to Freeport in 1833 & was appointed Postmaster by President Harrison in 1840. Luther was a businessman, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and for many years a trusted cashier in Freeport's Second National Bank. Charles' mother died when he was only seven years old, and he was raised by his sister Frances. Luther died in 1880. On June 30, 1882, Charles was hanged at the District of Columbia jail.

The Guiteau home at S. High Avenue & S. Galena Avenue is now missing its cupola, shutters, sun porch and upstairs porch railing.

House made from recycled brick.

The house at Stephenson Street & Park Boulevard.

Shelter house for ice skating.

Then and now.

Read Park pool.

New, improved Read Park pool.

 

Way back up to the top

The Polaris

Freeport in 2002

Freeport in 2006

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