press releases
April 28, 2025
Whiteside County Fair Press Release
25-01
For further information, contact:
Todd Mickley, Director of Publicity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MORRISON — The Whiteside County Fair is extremely excited to announce that we will have Full Throttle Monster Trucks back again on THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2025, and you will get to see the famous BIG FOOT truck at this year’s fair.
Monster trucks have been a favorite form of entertainment and excitement for decades. Since the 1970s, forms of monster trucks have raced, done tricks, and smashed several cars. Make sure you don’t miss this exciting night of entertainment at the Whiteside County Fair. You will get to see several trucks in front of the grandstand at 7:00 p.m.
The Fair opens on Tuesday, August 12th and concludes after five fun-filled days on Saturday, August 16th.
Please continue to check the Whiteside County Fair Facebook page and website at
www.whitesidecountyfair.org for updates.
White Oak in Whiteside County Designated as Legacy Tree
The iconic White Oak at the Whiteside County Fairgrounds in Morrison is the Natural Land Institute’s July Tree of the Month through their Legacy Tree Program
Rockford, IL – Natural Land Institute (NLI) is pleased to announce the July Tree of the Month is located at Whiteside County Fairgrounds, which contains a natural landmark: an ancient White Oak (Quercus alba) that has graced the land for more than three centuries. The tree is 90 feet tall, has an average crown spread of 103 feet, and a trunk circumference of almost 170 inches.
White Oak is the official state tree of Illinois and a keystone species providing life for an amazing diversity of creatures. This tree’s age is not a guess as retired Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologist, Randy Nyboer, took a core sample of the tree. The core is a thin circular cut into the tree by a special tool called an increment borer. The core sample, which does not hurt the tree, documents the rings in the wood: each ring corresponds to a year’s growth of the tree. This tree’s report, with some extrapolation, would add up to 308 this year!
Photo submitted of an unidentified man standing next to the oak tree at the fairgrounds.
This tree was growing in the shadow of Rock Creek for almost a century before Illinois became a state and well before the United States gained independence. The local region was mainly prairie but the creek provided a bit of a fire break that allowed some trees to survive in its shadow. Prairie fires regularly raged across Illinois, maintaining our state’s “Prairie State” motto and suppressing woody plants including trees. Luckily, as the town of Morrison was settled and the Whiteside County Fairgrounds created, this tree was spared and then celebrated as a landmark on the site.
White oak has deep rounded leaf lobes about equal to the indentations/sinuses – this leaf shape allows for ideal and efficient sunlight penetration into the canopy so the tree can maximize its photosynthesis. The foliage emerges silvery to pink in spring and turns wonderful shades of red (from burnt red to almost maroon red) in the fall. The mast of acorns of this species are a top food source for wildlife while the foliage host to an amazing array of insects. The acorns start to germinate immediately in the fall but wait until spring to send up new growth. Squirrels know this and often cut the emerging root from the acorn in the fall to ensure it as a food source to be retrieved later.
“The 153rd Whiteside County Fair opens August 13 and continues until August 17, 2024 so we recommend you stop by and pay homage to this Legacy Tree while you enjoy this County Fair,” said Alan Branhagen, NLI Executive Director. “If only this oak could speak of all the seasons it has witnessed – I’m sure it would have some stories to tell! We hope to collect acorns from this magnificent tree and offer them to our membership at a later date. We guarantee the tree will have good genes and pass along a legacy of one of the finest trees in our region.”
Natural Land Institute launched the Legacy Tree Program in January of this year. It includes recognition of one tree a month that may be the largest of its kind, or have historical or cultural significance. Anyone may nominate a tree on private or public land from NLI’s 12 county region. Other components of the program, a list of the 12 counties, the online nomination form, and the tree of the month since January can be found at: https://www.naturalland.org/nlis-legacy-tree-program-january/, or by emailing info@naturalland.org .
The Natural Land Institute, an accredited land trust, is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit land conservation organization based in Rockford, Illinois and has protected 18,000 acres of natural land in Illinois since 1958. NLI’s mission is to create an enduring legacy of natural land in northern Illinois for people, plants and animals. For more information or to donate: www.NaturalLand.org or call 815-964-6666.