Johnsburg is the town just to the south of us here in Spring Grove.
It was settled by people from the Eifel region of Germany in the 1840s and named after its church, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. At one time, there was another small community to its north named Sunnyside which annexed Johnsburg and then changed its name to Johnsburg.
Every September, the community holds a big Saufen and Spiel party.
Tom Waits wrote a song "Johnsburg, Illinois 1982" about his wife who grew up there.
Two notable residents of the Johnsburg were Chuck Hiller who played MLB with the Giants, Mets, Phillies, Pirates with a lifetime .243 batting average, played in the 1962 World Series, and then was a coach on three MLB teams and minor league coach for many years.
Clay Guida is a UFC fighter.
We often go to the Saufen and Spiels which are a lot of fun and every year, of course, it is the St. John's Parishfest with New Odyssey playing. We were just at it August 12th.
For many years I deejayed St. Patrick's parties at Tom's Cafe in town.
A Great Little Town. --DaCoot
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