A request of Fred Francis was for his name to be engraved on the exterior of his home. Thanks to the Woman’s Club and the Ponders of Lacky Monument, that request became a reality. Shown, from left, Harvey Ponder, Woman’s Club President Becky Bengtson and Chad Ponder. [Submitted photos]

KEWANEE — A long-forgotten wish buried in Fred Francis’s will has finally come to fruition, thanks to the Kewanee Woman’s Club and Lacky Monument.

Francis’s desire might have remained forgotten if not for careful reading of the will by Rene Verstraete, a member of Friends of Woodland Palace and a tour guide for the home. An avid reader on the subject of Francis, Verstraete discovered the overlooked detail a couple of months ago.

Francis’s will contains several requests, but three specifically addressed Woodland Palace and the land he left to the city of Kewanee, Verstraete said. Francis wanted the property turned into a park for residents, his home maintained and preserved as a museum and the forgotten desire to have his name engraved on the southeast corner of the house along with his birth and death dates.

Verstraete said it is easy to see how the engraving request might have been overlooked, since Francis’s family contested the will and the legal battle dragged on for some time. Once Verstraete realized the request had never been fulfilled, he turned to the Kewanee Woman’s Club for help.

Back in 1963, the Kewanee Woman’s Club, under the leadership of Rosemary Kuster, spearheaded the restoration of Woodland Palace and secured its place on the National Register of Historic Places. Verstraete wondered if, 62 years later, the current club might want to bring that effort full circle.

As part of Friends of Woodland Palace’s ongoing fundraising and awareness campaign, Verstraete gave a presentation to the Woman’s Club at its September meeting, said Club President Becky Bengtson.
Bengtson said the pitch was a general request for money, time or both. After the meeting, member Carol Hultman approached Bengtson with an idea: the club could afford to fulfill Francis’s request by paying for the engraving.

“We thought we could do it,” Bengtson said, noting that the current membership numbers are just a fraction of the 1963 organization, but the idea of helping with the Francis home appealed to them.

Chad Ponder of Lacky Monument prepares to remove the template and reveal the finished work.

Bengtson, Hultman and Marci Carlson visited Lacky Monument to present information about the project. Less than 24 hours later, the company called Bengtson back with surprising but welcome news: Lacky would do the engraving for free.

Bengtson said the company’s owners, the Ponders, were not only interested in the history of the house and its innovations but also wanted to give back to a community that has supported them over the years.

“We were so grateful,” Bengtson said. “That’s a tangible thing we did, but it didn’t cost us anything.”

In order to remedy that and to continue supporting Woodland Palace, the Woman’s Club is planning a soup supper at the Elks Lodge in February. More information will be released early next year.

The finished product fulfills Fred Francis’s request to have his name engraved on his home.

Verstraete said the engraving project was completed Friday, Nov. 14. It took two workers, Harvey Ponder and his son Chad Ponder, two hours to finish. Using a template and a sandblaster, they etched the name of Fred Francis into the arch of the home, along with the dates Jan. 21, 1856, and Dec. 22, 1926.

Francis died at age 70, and after more than six decades, a group of community members came together to honor his final request.

Editor’s note: The photos and video of Chad Ponder of Lacky Monument revealing the engraving were provided by Rene Verstraete.