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110th Anniversary: Coming Home
 Five years had passed since Lentroy last drummed with the Village Rhythms, but when Cunningham’s drumming group invited him to join them on stage at our 110th Anniversary and Homecoming celebration, the music came right back to him.
Lentroy was one of about four hundred former residents, current and former staff, and Cunningham supporters who returned to Cunningham Children’s Home on July 31 to celebrate 110 years of caring and witness the dedication of our new Residential Treatment Center.
More former residents attended the 110th than have been present at any previous Homecoming. The oldest returning Cunningham "kid" lived at CCH in 1928 and turned 84 in early August.
 During the morning Alumni Brunch, one resident from the 1930's recalled the hard work that was assigned to him as a "milk boy" – including milking the cows and tending the fields that supplied food for Cunningham kids during that time period. "All the hard work on campus, we milk boys did it," he said. Quickly, a woman who lived at Cunningham at the same time corrected him, saying, "Except the ironing!"
More recent alumni remembered Grandpa Oscar, the founder of Cunningham’s African drumming group, and shared happy memories of basketball games, annual “Christmas Videos,” and favorite house parents, teachers, and staff. The youngest alum to attend the reunion graduated from CIRCLE Academy in 2004, and the youngest person at the brunch was the five-year-old son of a former resident from the 1980’s.
 Several awards were presented during the Residential Treatment Center dedication ceremony. Beulah Schmidt of Delavan Illinois was presented with the “Friend of Children Award” in recognition of her commitment to Cunningham children and youth and major gift to the Lighting the Way Capital Campaign, which will create the Ed and Beulah Schmidt cottage within the treatment center.
Tom Powell, a former Cunningham resident who later became Executive Director, was presented with a plaque commemorating the creation of “Tom Powell Drive” on the north side of our main campus, in cooperation with the City of Urbana. Although he was unable to attend in person, former Executive Director Ed Odom was also honored  with the naming of the East drive, “Ed Odom Drive,” in cooperation with the City of Urbana.
Alumni were invited to browse through pictures from their years at Cunningham, tour their old home, and share their memories with a videographer. Current Cunningham youth helped to give tours of Cunningham’s existing cottages, while teachers, staff, and volunteers provided tours of Gerber School, CIRCLE Academy, the Illinois Building (formerly Illinois Cottage), and the Residential Treatment Center.
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