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OHS Newsletter Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2001
In this issue: Officers and Directors 2001
Newsletter Editorial Staff
President's Message - Brian Keller It's a privilege to once again serve as our Society's President. Many thanks to the outgoing President, Maurice Hesse, who stepped in at a difficult time and did an exceptional job. If you stop and think about it, we are fortunate to have a great museum housed in such an imposing historic structure. We are accomplishing our mission of preserving the history of O'Fallon in ways we could only dream of when we first started out in 1988. And if we don't do it, who will? We do it all with dedicated volunteers. Want to help out? There are many ways you can. Just stop by the museum and we'll put you to work! And while you are there, pick up one -- or more -- of our 2001 calendars with old pictures of O'Fallon schools and churches. They're only $10 and the proceeds benefit the Society. For all of you who continue to support our cause, thank you! Because of you we can proudly say that we have one of the finest museums around and the best free tourist attraction in O'Fallon. Past President's Message - Maurice Hesse Thanks to all who have helped in any way to support our Society and Museum. The 2001 Calendar sale is underway. Since this is our only fundraiser for the year 2000, let's make it another successful project. We have asked city officials to annex and maintain the Rock Spring Cemetery. The city boundaries surround the cemetery. The Properties Committee of the City Council has referred our request to the Cemetery Board for a recommendation. Our Society is thankful that O'Fallon Township officials included in their budget $1,000 for the maintenance of the cemetery for the past year. The Society also received a $200 donation from Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Rogier for the cemetery fund. Rose and Tom Brennan continue to give excellent service in maintaining the cemetery. Special Thanks We would like to thank everyone who has helped at the Museum. Especially Ralph Keller who opens the Museum every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. We would also like to thank everyone who has donated items for display. Thanks to Brian Keller for the nice Veteran's display. We now have quite a few items of our own to show. Thanks to Brian and Ralph for the nice Christmas display. Thanks to Betty Klingelhoefer and Joyce Lurtz for our 2001 calendar. It is really a nice keepsake! Be sure to buy one. Items of Interest In August Main Street in O'Fallon buried a "time capsule" in the parking lot next to the Caboose and we contributed a history of the Society, copies of our newsletters, a membership list and a picture of the ribbon cutting that formally opened the Museum. The capsule is to be opened in 100 years. On September 17, 2000 Brian Keller and Maurice Hesse attended the rededication of the John Mason Peck sign on the former Shurtlef College campus. Brian gave a 5-minute talk about John Mason Peck. On September 18, 2000 some members of the Class of 1941 came to visit the Museum after their class reunion. On October 28, 2000 Main Street had a Pumpkin Patch celebration in the parking lot. At least 87 children and parents visited the Museum for "trick or treat" candy. November 8, 2000 Girl Scouts and their leaders from Troop 163 at the Marie Schaefer School visited the Museum. November 10, 2000 Albert Ogle, formerly from this area, visited the Museum. The Ogles were some of the first people to settle in the O'Fallon area and he was looking for information about them. December 10, 2000 Mrs. Mabel Peach, mother of our member Bill Peach, had her 100th birthday and the Society made her an Honorary Member. December 19, 2000 we celebrated our Christmas party. Programs August 15 Greg Zelinski, Commander of the Col. Frederich Hecker Camp No. 443 gave an interesting talk about the Civil War, the Grand Army of the Republic and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. He and his wife dressed in Civil War clothing. September 19 Ralph Lurtz showed slides he had taken while he was stationed in Europe during the Korean conflict over 40 years ago. We all enjoyed the "trip". October 17 Betty Klingelhoefer gave an interesting talk about St. Clare's Church. November 21 No program. We discussed ideas about what we can do to help the Museum. December 19 Christmas party. Exhibits and Collections - Brian Keller The last half of 2000 saw some spectacular acquisitions come through the doors. Here's a sampling: WPA cook's uniform, 1987 OTHS class jacket, St. Clair County flag with tassels, 1888 O'Fallon Ordinance book, 1876 St. Clare RCC communion certificate, Vietnam era army uniform, 1930-40s school autograph books, hornet's nest (what kind of museum would be without one?), WWI army memorabilia, WWII USMCR footlocker created from a Japanese crate, poster display of OTHS class of 1945, old church pew, old Sears heating stove, two original barber chairs from Beckman's barbershop (really nice), 1891 Bridge Beach & Co. (St. Louis) wood burning cast iron stove (what a beauty), quilting memorabilia, scrapbook of O'Fallon Boy Scout Troop 35 and an original WPA poster. And remember, this is only a partial list! Many thanks to the following who donated items: Virgil and Rose Bachelor, Claude Barrow, John Bode, Robert Bode, Robert and Meredith Brown, Ruth and Kevin Brown, Jack Canterbury, Betty Carroll, Nancy Shaw Cole, E & J Printing, First Baptist Church of O'Fallon, Thomas Gordon, Ben Hamm, Dan Hance, Hearts 'n' Hands Quilt Guild, Maurice Hesse, Doris Johnson, Donald Joseph, Norma Keller, Arline Magee, Bill Peach, Helen and Elvert Perkins, Lorraine Poelker, Lois Mae Rachell, Leslie Schau, Ted Shekell, LaDoris Sturman, Terri Svendsen, Karen Titter, Bob Wessel, Fred and Mary Wiechert, and Norman Williams. Big or small, we appreciate it all! We're still working on organizing our collections. It will take time but we're making progress. We finally completed the transfer of our newspaper collection to acid free boxes, though. We are currently working on installing a barbershop display on the first floor. Many thanks to Maurice Hesse who donated a typewriter that has been very useful. During November, we featured our annual Veteran's Day display -- our collection of military items has grown considerably this past year, thanks to generous donors. For December, we will have our Christmas display, which will last into January. As always, many thanks to our small but dedicated staff of volunteers (Ralph Keller, Doris Johnson and Edna Wright especially) who keep our musuem open on a regular basis. Library Committee - Doris Johnson I keep adding to the scrapbooks at the Museum. Have you had a chance to look at some of them yet? There are a lot of interesting things to learn from them. I have done research for the O'Fallon Historical Commission on the Stephen Brown house, the Charles Hertig house, the Nix house, the old City Hall, St. Clare School and Rectories. I have also done research for Albert Ogle (the Ogle family), Ella Buzzard (Angelo Harrigan, her relative killed in a mine accident) and the old Schildknecht building across the street from Main Street. Oral History - Mary Helen and Charles Bevirt We visited the Nursing Home and interviewed Margaret Schuetz Yaeger. We also went to visit Betty Klingelhoefer so that she could tell us the history of St. Clare Church. She had given the talk at the meeting but it wasn't taped at that time. If you didn't get to the program, be sure to ask to listen to the tape. It was very interesting. We wish you all a Happy Holiday. Membership Committee - Carol Souza Our membership as of December 2000 is 107. We have 20 Family, 44 Individual, 40 Life and 3 Honorary Members. New memberships since our last newsletter are Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Campbell and Mr. and Mrs. Walter Johnson. We lost one Honorary member, Josephine Lillie. We also lost member William Lehman. Our sympathy goes out to those families. Mrs. Mabel Peach has become an Honorary Life member and we wish her a wonderful 100th Birthday Year. Her birthday was December 10, 2000. Memorials - Brian Keller In July through December 2000, memorials were given in memory of John Monken, Bill Lehman and Josephine Lillie. Calendars - Betty Klingelhoefer We are again offering a historical calendar of "O'Fallon - Through the Years" 2001. This issue features pictures of first churches and schools of O'Fallon and presents a pictorial story of our past. The calendar should prove interesting to members of the various churches and would serve as an unusual Christmas gift. We hope you will order one for yourself and tell your friends and members of your church groups about them. We are again requesting a donation of $10 each. For further information or to order them, please write to the O'Fallon Historical Society, Box 344, O'Fallon, IL 62269 or call 618-624-8409 on Wednesday, Friday or Saturday 1-4 p.m. We will be happy to deliver or mail your order. Thank you. Looking Back - Doris Johnson The Stephen and Lizbeth Brown home at 212 W. Washington was built by Ernst J. Tiedemann, patriarch of one of the O'Fallon original families. Mr. Tiedemann was a surveyor and he participated in the survey when O'Fallon was platted in 1854. He also owned a mercantile general store in O'Fallon. Members of the Tiedemann family lived in the home until shortly before the house was sold to the Browns. It is an Italianate style home of the Victorian era. It was in very bad shape when they bought it in the early 1970s. The house has 10 rooms, including an upstairs ballroom and an attic. There are marble and soapstone fireplaces and the floors are Arkansas yellow pine. The gutters are wooden, lined with copper, and there is a long copper bathtub framed with walnut. The two-story brick house is one of the few old brick homes built in O'Fallon. ATTENTION: Please remember to stop in to visit the Museum. We are always getting in new things to see. Bring friends and relatives. Our hours are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 1 to 4 P.M. Have a HAPPY HOLIDAY! |
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