James L. Fyke
Eureka, IL 61530-1404

Thank you for visiting my web page.
 
 I am the pastor of Harristown (IL) Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), where I have served since May 1995. HCC is a small, rural, friendly congregation located on the northwest corner of the Decatur metropolitan area. The congregation was originally established in 1861 and lost at least two of its members in combat action in the Civil War. Its church building was eventually situated along the mainline of the Wabash Railroad (now the Norfolk Southern), a few miles north of Abraham Lincoln's rustic residence on the Sangamon River in Macon County.

I was elected to the Woodford County Board in 2006 and serve as the chairman of the Conservation, Planning and Land Use Committee, vice-chairman of the Judicial Committee and as Deputy County Liquor Commissioner. I was also  named by the Board to be its representative on the Woodford County Board of Health.

I also work part-time as an electronic pre-press technician and graphic designer for Eureka Printing and Stationery Co., a full-service commercial  printing company serving Woodford County. I work with Adobe PageMaker, InDesignCS2, PhotoShopCS2, Acrobat,  Microsoft Office Suite, FrontPage, Windows 95/98/NT/Me/2000/XP and a host of browsers, system utilities, and other miscellany.

In my spare time, I assist my son-in-law with his weekly publication, the Woodford County News Bulletin.

In an earlier time, I was the United States Marshal for the Central District of Illinois. I was appointed by President Ronald W. Reagan and served from February 1982 until mid-October 1994. Prior to my service as Marshal, I was an Associate Professor of Police Science at Illinois Central College, Director of Security/Chief of Police at Kent State University, and Chief of Police for the City of Inkster, MI, among other things.

I also have served as a substitute school teacher for public schools in Woodford County, IL, for about five years. Most of my school work involved Lowpoint-Washburn Junior/Senior High School at Washburn or Eureka High School at Eureka, though I occasionally substituted in area grade schools and have even "subbed" for a kindergarten class. I also assisted the Lowpoint-Washburn Community Unit School District 21 with its technology program, serving as a troubleshooter, trainer, and webmaster from 1995-1999.


I serve as the Vice Chairman and as Publicity Chairman, Webmaster and Precinct Committeeman for the Woodford County, IL  Republican Central Committee. Check out the Central Committee's webpage when you have a chance. It also provides a listing of County Officials, phone numbers and other information.

I also serve as the President of the Woodford County Historical Society. I invite you to check the Society's webpage. My wife, Karen, is the Secretary of the organization. We are also founding members of the Harristown Historical and Genealogical Society. We also belong to the Decatur Genealogical Society, the Marion County Historical and Genealogical Society, the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society, and the Jefferson County Genealogical Society.

I also serve currently  as Chairman of the Ronald Reagan Trail Association. Visit our website at www.ronaldreagantrail.net.

My principal hobbies are reading, music and genealogy. I use Family Tree Maker 16.0, and subscribe to a couple of on-line genealogy services and mailing lists. I am especially a fan of RootsWeb's no-cost searchable databases and mailing lists. 

My wife, Karen, is the retired Library-Media Specialist for District 21. We have three living children, eight grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Thank you for taking the time to drop by this site.


Links and Directories
Here are some links for a variety of sources which interest me. I hope you find them useful, informative or at least entertaining.

 

 

  
 
 
 

 

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