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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Bob Fallstrom for
4 his 60 years of dedicated service at the Herald & Review in
5 Decatur; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Bob Fallstrom was born in Dixon on December 5,
7 1926; he enjoyed sports, but his small frame wasn't very good
8 at playing any of them; he began calling scores into the local
9 newspaper in grade school and discovered that writing about
10 sports was a good substitution for playing; he began working at
11 the Dixon Evening Telegraph by the time he was a junior in high
12 school; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Bob Fallstrom was drafted into the United States
14 Army near the end of World War II in 1945; his proficiency at
15 typing got him sent to the Pentagon, where he worked in the
16 Adjutant General's Office and attained the rank of technical
17 sergeant; despite the U.S. government wanting him to stay after
18 the war, Mr. Fallstrom went home to Dixon and rejoined the
19 Telegraph; with his reputation as a savvy writer spreading, the
20 Decatur Herald offered him a weekly wage of $67.50 to go to
21 Decatur and write sports for them; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Bob Fallstrom started his career at what was then

 

 

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1 the Decatur Herald on January 3, 1949, when he was 22 years
2 old; by 1964, he became the newspaper's sports editor, a job he
3 also quickly assumed for the Herald's sister paper, the evening
4 Daily Review; he kept on in the post through the papers'
5 acquisition by Lee Enterprises and continued as sports editor
6 after the two publications merged into the Herald & Review in
7 1982; as sports editor, he ran himself and his staff ragged
8 covering college sports and 100 high schools; he continued
9 serving a sports editor until 1986, when he completely changed
10 gears and became the newspaper's lifestyle editor; he currently
11 serves as the community news editor as part of the lifestyle
12 section of the newspaper; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Although currently known at the Herald & Review as
14 a writer of stories celebrating shining, happy people doing
15 nice things, Bob Fallstrom was well known at the paper for his
16 shoot-from-the-hip, acid-dipped columns during his time as the
17 sports editor that stirred up a lot of reader wrath, something
18 that he loved; one of his more memorable stories involves him
19 being chased by legendary wrestler Andre the Giant after a
20 particularly incendiary column; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Bob Fallstrom was a co-founder of the Juvae Jazz
22 Society; he is one of the founders of the GM Square
23 Neighborhood Organization and has been a member of his
24 neighborhood for 50 years; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Bob Fallstrom is an avid collector of giraffe
2 ornaments, toys, and keepsakes, with approximately 75
3 ornaments in his collection; he enjoys listening to jazz and is
4 a passionate fan of America's music; he has also visited more
5 than 25 countries in the past 10 years, including China and the
6 continents of Antarctica and Africa; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Bob Fallstrom met his late wife, June, on a blind
8 date to see the circus in April of 1949; they were married six
9 months later and stayed married for more than 50 years until
10 her passing on October 23, 2000; together, they had six
11 children, Kristin Hargrove, Douglas Fallstrom, R.B. Fallstrom,
12 Jerrold Fallstrom, Rolf Fallstrom, and Erik Fallstrom; there
13 are also ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild;
14 therefore, be it
 
15     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
17 congratulate Bob Fallstrom for his 60 years of dedicated
18 service at the Herald & Review and wish him continued success
19 and happiness in his future endeavors; and be it further
 
20     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21 presented to Bob Fallstrom as a symbol of our esteem and
22 respect.