 |
||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
OHS Newsletter Volume 6, Issue 2, July 2002
In this issue: Officers and Directors 2002
Newsletter Editorial Staff
President's Message - Brian Keller The hot lazy days of summer are here but, as always, your Society is hard at work preserving O’Fallon history. Since the last newsletter, we’ve made significant progress on the Scale House (aka Weighmaster building or Money Shack). Bill Peach lead a work crew-Joyce and Ralph Lurtz, Brian and Ralph Keller, Carol Souza and Fred Wiechert- who scraped and painted 3 sides of the building. Bill also replaced the north windows. Many thanks to all! We hope to soon have a 2nd door and the rest of the windows installed. There’s still a lot of work to do but it is starting to look sharp. Also, the Woman’s Club donated $400.00 to the restoration effort. We are very grateful for their support! Incidentally, we’ve received some good press coverage about the Scale House recently. However, there seems a tendency to refer to it as a railroad scale house. It wasn’t. To set the record straight, it was a public scale brought into existence by O’Fallon ordinance. It was near the railroad but not operated by it. Joyce Lurtz coordinated this year’s fund raiser-a bakeless bake sale. With over $1,000 raised, it was a great success. Thanks to Joyce and her committee and all who generously donated to the cause. Proceeds will be used to upgrade our museum exhibits and spruce up the building’s interior. I also want to take a moment to thank O’Fallon Main Street and the director, Christine Back. They have graciously included us in many of their plans and press releases, including Main Street night. Thanks for remembering us! But nothing we do would be possible without our dedicated staff of volunteers. Unlike some organizations, we have no paid employees. We do what we do out of civic pride and the sheer joy of it. We can always use more help, though. Why not spend some time at the Museum to help out or just stop by and say “Hi!” You will be warmly welcomed. Special Thanks A special thanks to all who have helped at the Museum, the members of the Woman’s Club who donated to our “Scale House” fund and all of the people who have scraped and painted on that project. Thanks to those who donated to the Bakeless Bake Sale. Thanks to Nancy Cole and those who are putting the obituary and marriage information on the web site. Programs January 15 Discussed plans for the New Year. February 19 Two representatives of the O’Fallon Grade School talked about the Grade School Bond Issue. March 19 Homecoming slides. April 16 Saw an “I Love Lucy” tape featuring William Holden. May 21 We listened to a record that included Stanley Kimes, a baritone and former resident of O’Fallon. June 18 We watched a tape of the O’Fallon Centennial parades and rodeo filmed by James Keck of New Jersey. Exhibits and Collections - Brian Keller There never seems to be an end in the interesting items that find their way through the Museum doors. Keep it coming! Here’s a sample of some of the items we received the past six months: 1968 O’Fallon Homecoming Hope Chest (Lane cedar chest), large collection of old 78 rpm and LP records, old stereo record player, O’Fallon Creamery milk bottle, leather-bound 1893 Chicago World’s Fair picture book inscribed “Mrs. C. T. Smiley”, original program of D. W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation”, numerous military uniforms and clothing. A 1927 bronze medallion commemorating Lindbergh’s Atlantic flight, 1928 & 1927 OTHS class rings, old St. Clair Co. deputy sheriff and O’Fallon police badges. 19th century valentines, numerous photos and picture postcards, memorabilia from the family of William Housam (O’Fallon last village president and first mayor) and much, much more. Many thanks to our generous donors who include: Harriet & Chuck Baker, Sandy Bennett, Elizabeth Carson Bird, Beni Funk Bowman, Eric Bugger, City of O’Fallon, Joyce Ebert, Faith Lutheran Church, Maurice Hesse, Lois Hock, Doris Johnson, Brian Keller, Joyce Lurtz, Arline Magee, Verna Mehrtens, O’Fallon Senior Citizens Club, O’Fallon Township, Bill Peach, Evelyn Riebold, Gloria McCord Snow, LaDoris and Lavern Sturman, Terri Svendsen, Everett Truttmann and Edna Wright. Also, a special thank you to Maurice Hesse who presented us with his marvelous history of the O’Fallon High School – “OTHS A Century of Progress 1901-2001.” A lot of work went into it and we are grateful to have a copy. (Copies are also available for reference at the O’Fallon Public Library and the O’Fallon Township High School.) We recently purchased a 17” TV, VCR and an AV cart. It will help tremendously with the presentation of some of our programs and will allow us to show some of our historic films on tape to our museum patrons. Also, the stereo record player, a gift from Edna Wright, has helped many a long afternoon go by to the strains of old music. Library Committee - Doris Johnson I continue to add to the collection of scrapbooks at the Museum. There are scrapbooks about organizations, schools, fires, railroads and streetcars, churches, O’Fallon businesses and many, many, more! Come and find out more about O’Fallon history. I have done research on the Rasp and Wisnasky families for Bob Levoy, the Bamrich family for Cheri Bamrick, Fay Veesart for Barbara Stout, Owen and Laura Mae Peach for Jo and Larry House (Carol Souza and Cindy Davis did also) and John Aljets for Sharon Krege. (The money earned from this project is turned over to the treasurer.) Membership Committee - Carol Souza Our membership as of July 8, 2002 is 106. We have 21 Family, 40 Individual, and 45 Life memberships. New members since our last newsletter are: Christine Back, Gary and Kathy Holtgrave and John West (liaison for the city.) Memorials - Bill Jenner Memorials were given in memory of Arnold Joseph by Doris Johnson and in memory of M. Berberick by Norris Beckman. Rock Spring Cemetery - Maurice Hesse The O’Fallon City Council has not taken any action in regards to annexation of the Rock Spring Cemetery and so no action has been taken on the recommendation of the O’Fallon Historical Preservation Commission that the cemetery be designated as an historical site. The City Council did donate $1,000 for the maintenance of the cemetery. The O’Fallon Township officials also included $1,000 in their budget to be used for maintenance. The Society appreciates these monetary donations to the Rock Spring Cemetery fund. Weighmaster Building (Scale House-Money Shack) - Bill Peach I would like to thank everyone for their support to help save this building and the volunteers and members who helped make all of this possible. I would also like to thank the Woman’s Club for their donation. We have a new shingle roof, thanks to a construction business, with input from a lumber company. Three sides of the building have been scraped of loose paint and painted. Two new doorframes and one door are to be installed on the north side. Windows have also been replaced on the north side. We are also working on windows boarded up on the south side, which will be replaced. There might be the possibility of a similar building to be acquired that has a scale in it. Hopefully, if we are lucky we can make these connections. Ways and Means Committee – Joyce Lurtz When we started discussing a fundraiser, Doris Johnson suggested a Bakeless Bake Sale. Wow! Did that sound good to me! I’m not a good cook or baker, so if I can stay out of the kitchen, I’m happy. We collected $1,070, so I’d say a lot of cooks, even good ones, were glad to avoid baking. I want to thank everyone who donated to help refurbish the Museum. Also, a special thanks to my committee – Sara Mae Hinchcliffe, Jean Jenner and Carol Souza. Website News – Nancy Cole At six months of age, the O’Fallon Historical Society website (www.ofallonhistory.org) is growing fast, thanks to the hard work of many of our volunteers. Our home page counter now numbers well over 1800 visits since we opened the doors, so to speak. Carol Souza and Ruth Grandcolas are neck and neck in a race to the middle of the alphabet in transcribing Doris Johnson’s death and marriage index to the O’Fallon Progress, with Carol starting from the Z’s and Ruth from the A’s. If your passion is genealogy, or even if you’re just a little curious about who made the paper, be sure to take a look to see if your relatives are listed yet. If not, they will be soon. Since the debut of our site we have heard from friends, both old and new, in 21 different states, Australia, and Europe. A single message, like this one from Idaho that appeared in our guestbook, makes the whole effort worthwhile. “I was so delighted to find your website. My grandmother, Jessie Lora Shelton, and her twin sister, Bessie Dora Shelton, were born there on July 7, 1884 to Andrew and Caroline Party Shelton. I’ve always wanted to visit your town.” Over the next six months, we will continue to add to the Progress death and marriage index. Work will also continue on the expansion of the Photos and O’Fallon Businesses sections of the site. Oral History Committee-Charles & Mary Helen Bevirt On June 30, 2002 we visited Charles (Boots) Distler, age 85, at the O’Fallon Health Care Center. His wife, Helen, his brother, Donald (Beef), and his wife, Alice, were also present. Charles and Donald are grandchildren of John and Sarah Distler who lived in the first house built in O’Fallon. Charles and Donald’s parents were Charles and Mabel (Parker) Distler. They had 8 children: 5 boys and 3 girls. They lived on Fourth Street across from the old Methodist Church. Charles started to work in St. Ellen Mine when he was about 17 years old. He earned about $7 a day. He was working about 200 feet down and about 6 miles back (around Glen Addie) when he was covered with coal and his back was fractured in 2 places. He was in the hospital for 5 months. Later, when he was better, he went back to work in the mine. He worked in the mines for 26 and ½ years. He worked in the mines for 26 and ½ years. He later worked as a janitor at the high school for 20 years. When he was a young boy he helped oil the streets in O’Fallon with a team of horses. His first car was a 1929 Chevrolet that he bought used for $125. He and Helen have been married for 63 years. Looking Back - Doris Johnson
The foundation for the present church started in March 1890. The Neo-Gothic structure has brick buttresses, and pointed-arch stained glass windows. It was built around the old church so the members would have a place to worship while the building was being constructed. The old church was then dismantled. The Church was dedicated on Oct. 23, 1895. The tower was added in 1899. The church and the tower cost $35,000 and the membership of the parish at that time was 70 families. On Sunday May 19, 2002 the O’Fallon Historic Preservation Commission presented the St. Clare Catholic Church with a Landmark Plaque. Father Jim Dieters accepted the plaque.
ATTENTION: Please remember to stop in to visit the Museum. We are always getting new things to see. Bring your friends and relatives. Come and see our new television and VCR and listen to some of your favorite recording stars – Tennessee Ernie Ford, Frank Sinatra, the Dorsey Brothers, our “own” Stanley Kimes and others.
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
The St. Clare Catholic Church at South Oak and West Third Streets has been a landmark in O’Fallon for many years. The first church was built in 1862. It was 56 by 36 feet and the membership was 40 persons.
