Illinois Valley Scene from Granville, Illinois • a5

5 ILLINO IS VALLEY SCENE PRINCETON BY KEVIN HIERONYMUS PRINCETON Cindy and Don Hamilton hav- walked in your shoes, but a good chance they fixed them. For 31 years, the Hamiltons have operated Princeton Shoe Repair on North Main Street. On Friday, they fixed their last set of shoes, closing their doors for good. Due to health concerns and trying to keep up with the times and new equipment, Cindy said it was time to hang up their shoes. decided we just wanted to have a house that we were going to stay in and hopefully relax some and been looking forward to retire- Cindy said.

the last couple years, tried to train some people, because we want to leave the town and surrounding communities with nothing. really been huge on our heart not to do The Hamiltons just run a business. They made it a place where everyone felt wel- come, customers and kids alike. came over and did homework with my kids and ran around. They had somewhere to hang Cindy said.

helped with homework. They had somebody to talk to you. kind of more than And they made many lifetime friends along the way. really means Cindy said. buried a lot of our customers over the years and attended many funerals.

The custom- ers become your family. a very extend- ed family and we all care about each other and really met a lot of wonderful Don began working at the leather store on the north end for Jim Rahn. He was asked if he would like to do shoe repair and learned the tricks of the trade, pulling apart and putting the machines together. The Hamiltons purchased the business from Gary Lenox in July of 1989, starting at 923 N. Main St.

In 1992, they moved a few doors down to 909 N. Main St. and have been there since. been on the block for Cindy said with a laugh. been a legacy.

I know any other way to say it. When we opened, we think about it being a career. realize it was a career. Now realizing it was. really sad for us to lose and not being able to do this.

We definitely will be missing all of our customers as they will miss Cindy said she begin to count the number of shoes they have repaired over the years. For 3-4 years, they ran a regular route picking up shoes around the Illinois Valley and shoes at nursing homes to serve residents. They repaired more than just shoes, weird Cindy said, including baseball gloves and other sports equipment, zippers, sad- dles, golf bags, boat covers, tarp straps for truck drivers and front covers for jeeps. mother, Donna, had a clothing boutique, Way, out of their building and they ran an antique store, Wild Horse Trading Post, with Dee Wild Horse Wright for about a year there. Unable to pass their business on, the Hamil- tons are referring their customers to shoe repair stores in Ottawa and Peoria.

Pausing momentarily as another train ran by on the north end, sounding its horn, Cindy said, going to miss that And all of their faithful customers will miss them. been blessed to have each and every one of them. had really awesome custom- ers and made a lot of Cindy added. Things will become much quieter for the Ham- iltons starting Saturday. There will be no more shoes to repair and Don will now have the time and space to have a craft room to work with his grandson.

Princeton Shoe Repair closes its doors SPRING VALLEY SPRING VALLEY St. Mar- Health in Spring Valley, a member of SMP Health System, and Illinois Valley Community Hospital (IVCH) in Peru received approval on their proposed affiliation from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board (IHFSRB) on Nov. 1. With this authorization from the state, St. and IVCH have commenced their integration planning process, which includes the creation of a new Board of Directors.

The board will provide oversight and guidance to the newly combined integrated health system that will also be known as St. Health. After the affiliation is com- plete, IVCH will be known as St. Health Peru. St.

Mar- Hospital will be known as St. Health Spring Valley. are honored to have such ded- icated community leaders represent- ed on the Board of Directors of St. said Aaron K. Alton, president CEO SMP Health System.

leadership will be invaluable as our hospitals move forward together to care for commu- nities across the Illinois The following members were appointed to the new St. Health Board of Directors by the SMP Health System Board of Direc- tors: Aaron Alton, president and CEO, SMP Health System. Jim Clinard, principal, director of engineering, Chamlin Associ- ates. Chris Cyr, president, Cyr Finan- cial Wealth Advisors. Terry Judd, board member, SMP Health System and SMP Health Min- istry.

Jim Loveland, plant manager, Maze Nails. John McCormick, president and CEO, Eureka Savings Bank. Joyce McCullough, president, Miller Group Media. Tim Muntz, president and CEO, St. Health.

Kris Paul, faculty (retired), Illi- nois Valley Community coln College. Dave Sickley, principal, D.J. Sickley Construction Company. Rick Twanow, MD, family physi- cian (retired), St. Health.

The board new terms will take effect Jan. 1, 2021. St. Mar- and IVCH intend to finalize their affiliation by the end of this year. Once the affiliation is complete, the combined entities will conduct a thorough assessment of facilities, the services provided and the needs of the community.

It is anticipated that the full integration of the two orga- nizations will take one to two years. St. and IVCH move forward with integration planning Don and Cindy Hamilton, owners of the Princeton Shoe Repair in Princeton, pose outside their store at 909 N. Main St. in Princ- eton.

The building has been added to the National Registry of His- toric Places. Shaw Media Scott Anderson.