COMPTON – Every 25 years for as long as anyone can remember, Compton has had a celebration to honor the village and all of its residents, current and former.

This time around, Compton is observing its sesquicentennial, in other words, its 150th birthday.

“It’s pretty awesome Compton is turning 150. We’re super excited about the celebration. It means a lot to me as the mayor,” said Compton Mayor Candy Jonsson. “I love the small town of Compton. It’s a great place to raise your kids. This celebration is a chance for residences or former residents to get back together and visit. There isn’t too many visiting your neighbor type of opportunities in this day and age.

“In Compton, we do visit our neighbors. That’s what getting together for this celebration is all about.”

The one-day celebration is Saturday, July 19. Activities will kick off at 9 a.m. and will continue throughout the day.

There will be a craft show from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. before kid’s activities such as face painting, bounce houses, basketball, petting zoo, sack races, cake walk, dunk tank, and Bingo start at 11 a.m. and sprinkle through 4 p.m. There will be a 50/50 drawing at 8 p.m. but tickets will be sold through the events entirety.

There will also be bike decorating and a parade as the decorating begins at 10 a.m. and the parade will take place at 10:30 a.m.

There will be a special history and artifacts presentation and display from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and the opening of the time capsule.

“The time capsule is a huge thing. We’re going to open the time capsule from 25 years ago,” said Compton Community Club President Emily Kofoid. “We did the capsule different this time because when we went to open the one from 50 years ago, 1975, at the last celebration in 2000, 25 years ago, it was waterlogged, and we couldn’t see or read anything in the capsule. Nothing could be saved. In 2000, we decided to put the items people wanted in the capsule inside a box and it has been safe in a house in Compton.

“We’re going to open the capsule from 2000. There are letters from residences. Many still live here. If they wrote a letter to a loved one or to themselves, those will be available at the Village House of Praise.

“You don’t have to live in Compton to add to the capsule. You can address letters to yourself or to someone else. I have letters from the capsule we opened 25 years ago. I wrote one to myself. Nothing came true. I said I wanted to live in the city and be a politician.”

There will be envelopes, paper and writing utensils at the Village House of Praise for adults to write letters for the capsule and for kids to add to the kid’s capsule.

Kofoid added the time capsule brings joy and memories every time it is opened. As well as a reminder of the importance of a small community.

“I think a lot of the reason my husband Kyle and I came back to Compton after college and living in DeKalb for a few years was to raise our children in a smaller community,” said Kofoid, who is the executive director at the Graves-Hume Public Library in Mendota. “We wanted to be in a village or a town where the people are celebrated. We’re here for the people and the relationships and friendships we’ve built.

“Also, the history of Compton is special. My family has many generations who all lived in Compton. I know there are other families who share this as well. It’s awesome to have those connections in this village and to keep them going.”

The Mendota Lions Club will be serving corn dogs from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The Paw Paw Lions Club pork chop dinner is from 4:30-6:30 p.m. and will feature two boneless pork chops, baked potato, baked beans, apple sauce and a roll for $15.

Only 60 of the original 300 dinner tickets remain.

The band Free Beer & Chicken will play from 6-10 p.m. You are asked to bring your own seating and drinks.

Sunday morning there will be a church service held at the Compton Park, which by that time will be in tribute to former Compton Mayor Donald “Doc” Swope, who passed away in 2024.

“He ran the town for many, many years. He was a great asset to the town. He knew everything about everything,” said Jonsson, who succeeded Swope as mayor in 2017. “All you had to do was ask him and he had the answer to your question when it was about Compton.

“We had a plaque made for him. We’re going to dedicate the park to Doc Swope. With everything he did in town, it only seems right for us to dedicate the park to him.”