PEORIA MAGAZINE April 2022

Marketing Manager Nathan Kress talks with an employee on the shop floor

The Village of Brimfield sits in western Peoria County

C O M M U N I T Y S P O T L I G H T

BRIMFIELD BECKONS This Peoria County community packs a punch beyond its population

BY STEVE TARTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY RON JOHNSON

I f you ask Dan Fishel what he likes about Brimfield, the mayor has plenty to say. Just don’t call him when he’s rooting on the Brimfield High Lady Indians. The quiet l itt le community of Brimfield, population 771, isn’t so quiet when a high school basketball championship is on the line. Indeed, the girls got a proper send-off from the local fire department, which escorted them out of town, sirens blaring, as they left to put a proper cap on their dream season. “That’s standard,” said longtime resident Carroll Carroll, who also serves as president of the Brimfield Area Historical Society. “The town is very friendly. You feel like you have a lot of neighbors here.” Holly Johnson, Brimfield’s clerk for the past 22 years, concurred. Looking up from her work at the compact village hall, she laughed about life in a

small town. “It’s a blessing and a curse. Everyone knows each other’s business but when you’re in need, there’s always someone to help you.” Fishel, mayor for the last 14 years, also enjoys that local camaraderie but recognizes the chal lenges a small community must deal with in the 21st century. “We’ve lost a little population in the last 10 years but we have opportunities for growth,” he said, referring to the possibility of new housing subdivisions on the village’s eastern border. Brimfield lies 18 miles west of Peoria, 25 miles east of Galesburg, making it a two-way commute community along nearby I-74, but it’s not always necessary to leave town for work, notes Fishel. “Kress Manufacturing, our largest employer, has done a tremendous job over the years. The village definitely benefits from the workers they bring in,” he said.

The Brimfield Schotol District ranks as the second largest employer, Hines Brothers Trucking the third. The local educational system is “a great asset for the community,” said the mayor. “The high school is just short of being brand new.”

Kress Corporation is the major employer in Brimfield

As for Kress Corporation, a family owned company located in Brimfield since 1965, business is booming. Rita Kress, owner and president, oversees the firmwith 180 employees that makes

68 APRIL 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE