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OHS Newsletter Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2003
In this issue: Officers and Directors 2003
Newsletter Editorial Staff
President's Message - Brian Keller It seems hard to believe but we are now entering our 15th year as a Society. It doesn’t seem that long that a few of us decided that it was time O’Fallon had an organization dedicated to the preservation of its history. Other groups at various times have jumped on the bandwagon (the more the merrier!) but it was our Society that, through thick and thin, carried the torch of history in our town. And that is still our mission today. Yet there remains much to do. While our goal is to preserve the past, we also must look to the future and carefully plot a course that will insure succeeding generations will be able to look to a strong Historical Society as a valued resource. Let’s dedicate our 15th anniversary year to doing just that. What can you do to help? Volunteer to work at the Museum or give a program at one of our meetings. Encourage others to join the Society or seek out historical artifacts for our collections. If everyone does a little, we all can accomplish a lot. We are deeply saddened by the loss of three of our members who recently passed away - our Treasurer, William A. Jenner, John Reed and Delbert C. Corbier. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families. 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. A special thanks to all who went that “extra mile” to help keep the museum open during my dad, Ralph Keller’s, recent illness. It’s the kindness and helpfulness of our volunteers that makes our organization strong! Special Thanks A special thanks to all who helped at the Museum and those who worked on the “Scale House” project. Thanks to those who have been working on the “Obituary and Marriage” project. Thanks to those who continue to bring us “treasurers from the past.” It is always fun to come to the Museum and find something “new.” Thanks to Brian Keller for putting up the Christmas tree and display! You did a good job, Brian! Programs There were no programs in August, September, October and November because we do not have a Program Chairman. If you would be willing to serve, please contact President, Brian Keller. We had our annual Christmas party in December. Exhibits and Collections - Brian Keller We didn’t get much accomplished in the past six months, but we did receive several interesting donations. Here’s a sampling – framed portrait of Marie Schaefer, large 1950’s school sports photos, Illinois Terminal Railroad reminiscences, W. R. Dorris’ banker chair, shoe last, WWII Italian typewriter, numerous different WWII copies of the Army Weekly and the Stars and Stripes, WWII civil defense well pump, seeders, 1951 wedding dress, OTHS reunion memorabilia, farm artifacts and much more. Many thanks to donors Dorothy Faulk, daughters of Alvin Fohne, Shirley Goodnick, Maurice Hesse, Edith Hock, Doris Johnson, Brian Keller, Joyce Lurtz, Arline Magee, Bill Peach, Kay Pearce, Gene Thomas, Rosemary Vink, Fred Wiechert, and O’Fallon School District 90. A special thanks to Le Yeager who is allowing us to exhibit, on indefinite loan, several pieces of vintage antique furniture and other items from his family. Library Committee - Doris Johnson I still continue to make scrapbooks for the Museum. Are you interested in genealogy? We have a lot of “helps” at the Museum: 1881 St. Clair County History Book, 1988 Volume I St. Clair County History Book, copy of the Schwarz Funeral Records 1902-1946, Shiloh Cemetery Book, and of course our copies of the O’Fallon Progress. Are you interested in genealogy? We have a lot of “helps” at the Museum: 1881 St. Clair County History Book, 1988 Volume I St. Clair County History Book, copy of the Schwarz Funeral Records 1902-1946, Shiloh Cemetery Book, and of course our copies of the O’Fallon Progress. If you know the dates, we can look up articles for you and make copies. We can also help you to get started in the history of your family. Are you interested in finding out more about O’Fallon history? We have books about the Fire Department, Independent Engineering, The Willard’s Stove Foundry, businesses in O’Fallon, and much, much more! We would love to have you come and spend an afternoon with us. We have a lot of new and interesting things to see, and it always “makes our day” when someone comes in and visits. Membership Committee - Carol Souza At the end of 2002 our membership was Family 22, Individual 41 and Life 46 for a total of 109. We have a new member, Larry Wernle, for the beginning of 2003. We lost 2 members by death in 2002, William Jenner and John Reed. Delbert Corbier passed away in Jan. 2003. Rock Spring Cemetery - Maurice Hesse The status of Rock Spring Cemetery has remained the same since our July newsletter. The Society continues to receive a $1,000 donation from O’Fallon Township and a $1,000 donation from the City of O’Fallon for the maintenance of the cemetery. It is still our goal to have the cemetery designated as a historical site and be annexed to the city of O’Fallon. An effort will be made to have the O’Fallon Park Board to sponsor the return of the John Mason Peck Trail. This trail was used by the Boy Scouts in the 1930”s and later years to earn a hiking patch. Since the cemetery is the only site remaining with reference to Mr. Peck, it would be appropriate to have the trail begin at the cemetery. It would also be a worthy project to re-install a sign that was lost or destroyed. This sign was erected on the north side of Route 50 near the junction of Route 158. This sign could also be erected at the cemetery since re-construction of the intersection of Route 50 and 158 leaves little room for placing a new sign at the intersection. Weighmaster Building (Scale House-Money Shack) - Bill Peach All of the windows of the Scale House have been installed and the outside painted, except for some touchup. The inside has been cleaned and will be painted when the weather gets better. I have a Warm Morning Stove at home, which will be delivered when the painting is accomplished. We are still looking for a scale. Thanks again for everyone’s help. Website News – Nancy Cole Well, the O’Fallon Historical Society website (www.ofallonhistory.org) is officially one year old! We continue to hear from folks around the country (and the world!) who have some connection to O’Fallon, and we have received many nice compliments on our efforts. Great strides are being made toward getting the Progress marriage and death index online thanks to some additional volunteers. When Carol Souza was forced to take an unplanned “break” in the action, Dorothy Faulk and Jean Marshall stepped in to lend a couple of helping hands to Ruth Grandcolas. It will not be too much longer before the entire index is available electronically. We are now referring people directly to the O’Fallon Public Library if they desire copies of the articles referenced. The index has been a very popular feature of the site. We have a backlog of photographs that are scanned and ready to go online, so that will be another area of focus during the next six months. Comment – Carol Souza I would like to thank those who have helped with the input of the obits and marriages to our website. Ruth Grandcolas who has helped from the beginning, Dorothy Faulk and Jean Marshall who came aboard this fall and thanks to Betty Klingelhoefer and Betty Lehman for doing proof reading. I would also like to thank Nan Cole for the beautiful job she does as Web Master. Our website gets an A+ and so does Nan. Oral History Committee-Charles & Mary Helen Bevirt No report. Looking Back - Doris Johnson Another O’Fallon building will soon be gone. The old Schildknecht building at 104 W. State Street, which has stood empty for many years, will soon be demolished. Philip and Katherine Schildknecht came from Germany and settled in O’Fallon in 1859. He opened a harness shop. His son, Henry, learned the trade and took over the business in 1879.
An article in the 1954 Centennial Book states:
Philip married Martha Whitehead and he conducted a grocery store at 102 E. State Street for many years. Charles worked for the postal service as a rural mail carrier and Claude was employed by Illinois Power. Olivia was an art teacher in the Maplewood schools and Maud was employed in St. Louis. Three of the daughters lived in the house for many years and in 1953 Olivia opened “Three Flowers Ice Cream Shop”. In 1951 Olivia sold her insurance company to Ray Schmidt. In May 2002 the Eichholz family, owners of O’Fallon Electric Company, donated the building to Main Street. The original plans called for restoring the building and using it for a Main Street office. The cost of restoring the building was prohibitive because the roof had leaked and there was structural damage. State funds were no longer available for Main Street. The building was sold to businessman, Ned Drolet, who owns the building at the corner. He plans to have the building torn down to make room for parking for his tenants and to install a small patio area. Main Street will use the money from the sale of the building to further the work of Main Street.
ATTENTION: Remember that dues are now due. Please fill out the application form and turn it in with your money or check.
We hope that you will take time to visit the Museum, bring your friends and relatives and when you find articles that have a place in O’Fallon history, we will be glad to give them a home. Our aim is to save O’Fallon history and we encourage you to help us.
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