Moline Memories - MHS 66 Friends

Moline woman restores 1901 home

2012-01-29T16:33:00.000-08:00

Ball-Rosborough House

Moline woman restores 1901 home:

In the late 1800s, a stretch of Moline's 11th Avenue between 7th and 13th streets was dubbed Millionaire's Row, a reference to the magnificent homes that had been built on the bluff by well-to-do business and civic leaders, most of them associated with the John Deere family.

Several of the homes have been lost through the years, but a majority remain under the stewardship of thoughtful owners.

Among them is the 1901 Ball-Rosborough House, named for John Deere's nephew and the nephew's son, located on the corner of 11th Avenue and 13th Street. [C. R. Rosborough - grandfather of Jane Rosborough, MHS 66]

Current owner Jolene Keeney is no relation to the Deeres, but she is honored to live in the old home and intends to restore the turreted, Queen Anne-style brick home to showplace status.

"They (the builders) showed so much strength, love and commitment when they built these old houses, and it is an honor to carry on the traditions that were started here," she said one recent day while giving a tour of her home.

"It really is a family home. It feels so comfortable when my (grown) family and I sit down to dinner in the dining room," she said. "And the house just seems to sigh a relaxing sigh when my little granddaughter is playing with her toys on the huge front porch."

Keeney bought the property in 2008 when she was looking for a "new challenge." She already had re-done three homes, including properties in the Village of East Davenport as well as in Delmar and Bellevue, Iowa.

She wanted a place with "big trees, brick streets and a front porch." When she drove by the house at 11th and 13th, she said to herself, "there has to be something really, really wrong for me not to buy that house."

She was not disappointed. The house is structurally sound, and the slate roof, brick exterior and curved glass windows are in good shape. Inside, the rooms have never been altered for apartments, and the fine red oak woodwork has never been painted.

Although homeless people broke in during a couple of years when the home was vacant, they did no damage. A striking stained-glass window at the second-floor staircase landing remains intact, as do beveled glass doors and windows, two fireplaces with mirrors in the mantels and four sets of working pocket doors.

Among Keeney's first tasks were "a massive tree-removal project" in which she took down the lot's overgrown weed trees, leaving oaks, hickories and other desirables, and fixing a water main that burst 32 days after she moved in.

Still on the list: continuing to repair the wood porch, making storm windows, refinishing the wood floors, and removing old wallpaper and paint.

Being interested in history, Keeney has had great fun researching the life of the home's various owners, finding boxes of original building receipts in the attic and locating Bobby Jo Irish, a former owner and great-granddaughter of the original owner, who has shared stories and pictures of what the home looked like when she and her ancestors lived there.

The home was designated a Moline Historic Landmark in 1993. Keeney is working to have it listed on the National Register of Historic Places because its first two owners were important people in the history and development of Moline.

A downside, as is the case in many old homes, is the kitchen.

Years ago, kitchens were not the showy gathering place they are today; rather, they were where the help cooked meals, so there was no attempt to make them look attractive.

And this home's kitchen has the disadvantage of being split between the butler's pantry with the sink and another room with the stove and refrigerator. Although Keeney finds the arrangement "kind of awkward," she is going to leave it as is except for redecorating.

Other downstairs rooms include a 32-foot-long parlor, a dining room, a half-bath and a library.
The upstairs contains five bedrooms, a bath and a built-in closet.

And with all that, you might think there'd be no need for the attic, but you'd be wrong. The attic was finished to provide living space for the husband-wife housekeeping team that originally lived in the home.

There also are north-facing - that is, Mississippi River-facing - windows where Keeney often sits to enjoy the view (or fireworks), and a library in the turret with bookshelves curved to fit the room.
Does she ever get discouraged with all the restoration work she has to do?

"Oh no!" she said. "This is what I love. This is my fourth home and I'm not discouraged yet."

'via Blog this'

Historic homes of Moline lists the home here.

Zillow links the home here.

South Carolina - Hero's Farewell for John Baker

2012-01-28T05:51:00.000-08:00

Soldiers line the route of the caisson procession Friday that was part of a memorial service at Fort Jackson, S.C., for Master Sgt. John F. Baker Jr. The Davenport native earned the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of eight fellow soldiers in a 1966 firefight with the Viet Cong. The Interstate 280 bridge over the Mississippi River was named in his honor. Friends, family and fellow service members gathered Friday to remember the 66-year-old Baker who died Jan. 20 in Columbia after collapsing at his home. 'Nobody had to explain to him the meaning of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage,' said Army Lt. Gen. Robert Foley. 'These values were part of his basic character.' For a slideshow of Friday's ceremonies, visit
www.thestate.com/2012/01/27/2130998/baker-memorial.html#storylink=misearch.

QC Times

Friends, family and fellow service members gathered Friday at Fort Jackson, S.C., to say good-bye to Master Sgt. John F. Baker Jr.

The Davenport native earned the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of eight fellow soldiers in a 1966 firefight with the Viet Cong, and the Interstate 280 bridge over the Mississippi River was named in his honor. The 66-year-old Baker died Jan. 20 in Columbia after collapsing at his home.

"Nobody had to explain to him the meaning of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage," Army Lt. Gen. Robert Foley said at Mr. Baker's service Friday. "These values were part of his basic character."

Click here for a slideshow of Friday's ceremonies.

Mr. Baker spent much of his youth in Moline, attending Moline High School before enlisting in the U.S. Army to serve in the Vietnam War. He went on to serve 24 years in the military, later working as a computer analyst at the Dorn Veterans Hospital in Columbia, S.C.

His military awards included the Medal of Honor, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He was vice-president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and a member on the Nation's Monuments and Cemeteries Committee. He was a member of the VFW, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, 25th Infantry Division Association and the 27th Infantry Regiment Historical Society.

As a member of the National Infantry Association, Order of St. Maurice, he was a recipient of the Primicerius Award, which is the highest designation for those who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the Infantry.

The State in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this story.

Who Can Forget the Infamous Chase Down Fifth Avenue? Just for Fresh Doughnuts!

2012-01-27T05:09:00.001-08:00

Medal of Honor Recipient - John F. Baker

2012-01-23T06:27:00.000-08:00

Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. John F. Baker speaks Tuesday at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 25 union hall in Rock Island. He thanked them for helping build a monument near the Interstate 280 bridge, which was renamed Baker Bridge in his honor in 2010. (Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES)

QC Times

To his fellow military veterans, the unassuming 110-pound, 5-foot, 2-inch soldier named John F. Baker Jr. stood tall when it counted.

The only Medal of Honor recipient from the Quad-Cities died Friday evening in Columbia, S.C. Baker was 66.

Ray Hamilton, a friend and fellow Vietnam veteran, described Baker as an "extraordinary guy who carried himself as an ordinary person."

Family and friends shared their memories of Baker on Saturday, calling him a "quiet, wonderful man" who dropped out of Moline High School to join the Army during the Vietnam War.

Since earning the military's highest honor for valor in 1968, Baker has educated youth about U.S. military history and the importance of service.

In his later years, he had several heart surgeries, including one in July 2010. Hamilton of Port Byron, Ill., said Baker was in surgery just two days before he showed up at a ceremony in Rock Island when the Interstate 280 bridge was renamed the "Baker Bridge" in his honor.

"John was a fighter," Hamilton said.

He finally succumbed to his failing health Friday, when he suffered a heart attack and died en route to a hospital near his home in Columbia, S.C., his friend, Kevin Shwedo, said.

He died in the company of his wife, Donnell Baker.

He left a legacy of service on future Medal of Honor recipients, including fellow Iowan Salvatore Giunta.
"Sgt. Baker will dearly be missed," Giunta said Saturday. "He was a good man."

When President Barack Obama awarded Giunta, of Hiawatha, Iowa, the medal on Nov. 16, 2010, he was the first living soldier since the Vietnam War to receive the distinction.

Baker had advice for Giunta in 2010: "He's just got to play it cool," Baker said.

Giunta said Saturday that Baker's mentoring as a senior recipient "did mean a lot to me."

Gloria Helfrich of Bettendorf said she always considered her older brother a hero.

"When kids would pick on me, Johnny got all over them," she said. "From a young age, if something went wrong, he took over."

Baker was born in Davenport and spent much of his childhood in Moline.

Baker remained unassuming, even after winning the Medal of Honor, Helfrich said.

"He didn't make a big thing about people thinking of him as a hero," Helfrich said. "He didn't feel like a hero. He felt the medal belonged to everyone in the Army. He was just its keeper."

Baker has lived in South Carolina since 1992, but he has stayed in touch with the Quad-Cities Chapter 299, Vietnam Veterans of America.

Hamilton, who is a member of Chapter 299, said Baker visited the Quad-Cities last year to thank everyone who helped in the bridge renaming project as well as a monument in his honor erected in front of Jumer's Casino & Hotel in Rock Island.

"He was always gracious," Hamilton said.

Until he died, Baker remained heavily involved in the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which includes 83 living recipients.

His citation uses such phrases as "selfless heroism," "indomitable fighting spirit" and "extraordinary gallantry" to describe Baker, who was awarded the medal by President Lyndon Johnson after saving several soldiers while taking enemy fire on Nov. 5, 1966.

Shwedo said there's more to Baker's story than the one incident. He said Baker crawled through hundreds of yards of underground tunnels, pushing his way past scorpions and snakes to kill any hiding enemy soldiers and plant explosives to destroy the tunnels. He said Baker completed about 100 of those missions in Vietnam.

"I have not met very many people in life who performed that regularly and that routinely at that level of excellence," Shwedo said.

Funeral services for Baker have not yet been set. Dunbar Funeral Home of Columbia, S.C., is handling the arrangements.

Hamilton said Quad-Cities Chapter 299, Vietnam Veterans of America, will schedule a memorial service at a later date.

Read more: http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/local-medal-of-honor-recipient-dies/article_5109c3ac-4472-11e1-accc-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1kI8Urmen

Beverly Epplin Wagner

2012-01-21T17:50:00.000-08:00

Beverly Epplin Wagner and her husband Forest.

I ordered the book Greg Jackson put out for our 45th Class reunion...."The Class the Stars Fell On" and I am impressed with the content! I found it interesting to know the "sweethearts" have been married all these years...the talent our class had, Professors, Physics, theology, journalism, movie stars, etc. Also I noted how so many of us know our Savior, and how so many are tuned in to their families and children and grandchildren! Very refreshing....I'll always treasure this book!

John Baker, Medal of Honor Recipient: Rest in Peace

2012-01-21T14:20:00.000-08:00

John Baker was a good friend to members of our class, MHS 66.

John Baker, the Quad-Cities' only recipient of the congressional Medal of Honor, died Friday at his home in Columbia, S.C., friends said Saturday.

Ray Hamilton of Port Byron, a member of Vietnam Veterans of America/Quad-Cities Chapter 299, said he learned of Mr. Baker's death Saturday morning. He said funeral arrangements are pending.

The nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor was given to Mr. Baker, who grew up in Moline, for actions in Vietnam on Nov. 5, 1966, in which he saved the lives of several of his fellow soldiers.

Mr. Hamilton said he helped spearhead efforts by the Quad-Cities chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America to rename the Interstate 280 bridge across the Mississippi River for Mr. Baker. He said he first introduced the idea at a meeting in May of 2007.

"I said there's nothing to recognize Baker ever existed," Mr. Hamilton said. "We thought, 'Hey, the 280 bridge is not named. Let's go for it.' "

The bridge was dedicated in Mr. Baker's honor in 2010.

In a news release, U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Colona, called Mr. Baker a friend and role model.

"His exemplary acts serve as an embodiment of what the brave American spirit can accomplish," Rep Schilling said. "Sgt. Baker led an exceptional life, and he leaves behind an incredible legacy of courage and leadership. He will be sorely missed."

Bill Albracht was president of VVA Chapter 299 when Mr. Hamilton suggested renaming the bridge for Mr. Baker. He said that before the bridge was renamed, Mr. Baker's feelings about the Quad-Cities had been damaged.

"He was kind of feeling like this wasn't his home anymore," Mr. Albracht said. "We wanted to restore his reputation."

Mr. Baker was a humble man who said that while he was awarded the Medal of Honor, the medal was not actually for him.

"He always said the medal wasn't his. He was just a keeper," Mr. Albracht said. "It belonged to all servicemen, to all veterans."

Mr. Albracht said he last spoke to Mr. Baker in October.

"I didn't think about him every day, but now that he's gone, I'll remember him until the day I die," he said.

Mr. Hamilton said Mr. Baker never bragged about his service in Vietnam.

"He said, 'The instinct to survive is trememdous,' " Mr. Hamilton said. "He said, 'That's all I did. I just tried to survive.' "

---

Congressional Medal of Honor Society

BAKER, JOHN F., JR.

Rank: Sergeant

Organization: U.S. Army

Company: Company A, 2d Battalion

Division: 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division

Born: 30 October 1945, Davenport, Iowa

Departed: No

Entered Service At: Moline, Ill.

G.O. Number:

Date of Issue:

Accredited To:

Place / Date: Republic of Vietnam, 5 November 1966

Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. En route to assist another unit that was engaged with the enemy, Company A came under intense enemy fire and the lead man was killed instantly. Sgt. Baker immediately moved to the head of the column and together with another soldier knocked out 2 enemy bunkers. When his comrade was mortally wounded, Sgt. Baker, spotting 4 Viet Cong snipers, killed all of them, evacuated the fallen soldier and returned to lead repeated assaults against the enemy positions, killing several more Viet Cong. Moving to attack 2 additional enemy bunkers, he and another soldier drew intense enemy fire and Sgt. Baker was blown from his feet by an enemy grenade. He quickly recovered and single-handedly destroyed 1 bunker before the other soldier was wounded. Seizing his fallen comrade's machine gun, Sgt. Baker charged through the deadly fusillade to silence the other bunker. He evacuated his comrade, replenished his ammunition and returned to the forefront to brave the enemy fire and continue the fight. When the forward element was ordered to withdraw, he carried 1 wounded man to the rear. As he returned to evacuate another soldier, he was taken under fire by snipers, but raced beyond the friendly troops to attack and kill the snipers. After evacuating the wounded man, he returned to cover the deployment of the unit. His ammunition now exhausted, he dragged 2 more of his fallen comrades to the rear. Sgt. Baker's selfless heroism, indomitable fighting spirit, and extraordinary gallantry were directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades, and inflicting serious damage on the enemy. His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

---

John Baker was born in Davenport, Iowa and attended Moline High School from 1963 to 1966. At 5’ 1”, he was a gymnast before joining the army. He became a "tunnel rat" in Vietnam, a soldier who entered Viet Cong tunnels searching out the enemy and destroying their caches of war material. Baker made the military his career, retiring in 1989. He then began working as a computer analyst at a Veterans Hospital in South Carolina. In addition to serving as the Vice-President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, he serves as a member on the Nation's Monuments and Cemeteries Committee.

In 2008, the I-280 Bridge, connecting Davenport, Iowa with Rock Island, Illinois, was renamed the Sergeant John F. Baker, Jr., Bridge in his honor.^[1]

Baker entered the U.S. Army in Moline, Illinois, serving as a private in A Company, 2nd Battalion of the 27th Infantry, 25th Division. In Vietnam, Baker took part in Operation Attleboro which began in September 1966. On November 5, 1966, Baker and his unit were called to assist another squad who were taking enemy fire. En route, A Company began to take fire and lost their lead soldier. Together with two other soldiers, Baker took over the head of the column and assisted in destroying two enemy positions. They were moving to take two others when a hand grenade knocked Baker off of his feet.

Baker in uniform

With the two other soldiers wounded, Baker "single handedly" destroyed another bunker before recovering his comrades. Despite taking further fire from enemy bunkers and snipers, Baker continually fell back to replenish ammunition and take back several wounded. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor along with Captain Robert F. Foley, who also received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle. When awarded the citation, President Lyndon B Johnson stated:

“

The battlefield is the scarred and the lonely landscape of man’s greatest failure. But is a place where heroes walk. Today we come here to the East Room of the White House to honor two soldiers, two soldiers who—in the same battle and at the same time—met the surpassing tests of their lives with acts of courage far beyond the call of duty. Captain Foley and Sergeant Baker fought in the same company. Now, together, they join the noblest company of them all. They fought because their Nation believed that only by honoring its commitments, and only by denying aggression its conquest, could the conditions of peace be created in Southeast Asia and the world.^{[2]

  Medal of Honor
  Silver Star
  Legion of Merit
  Bronze Star
  Purple Heart}

Dennis Creen, Rest in Peace

2012-01-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

Dennis Eugene Creen, 63, of Moline, passed away peacefully at the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City, after a brief battle with leukemia on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church, Moline. Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory, 6601 38th Ave., Moline. Burial will be at National Cemetery, Arsenal Island, with military honors by American Legion Post No. 246. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Legion Post No. 246 or to the American Cancer Society.

Denny was born July 2, 1948, in Moline, to Eugene and Joan McClelland Creen. He married Gloria Faye Twete on Jan. 16, 1971, in North Dakota, while stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base.

Denny graduated Moline High School in 1967, before he enlisted into the United States Air Force. After being honorably discharged, Denny returned to the Quad-Cities area with his family. He retired from the United States Postal Service in Moline in 2006, with 29 years of service.

Denny spent much of his life dedicated to others. He was active in the local Dad's Club organization while his children were young and could be found at various sporting events either as a coach, player or fan. Denny was a proud member of National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 318, and held several officer positions over the course of his career. Denny served as a trustee and adjutant of American Legion Post No. 246 of Moline. Denny enjoyed playing with his grandsons, spending time with family and friends and golfing. Above all of these accomplishments, Denny was a beloved family man, especially to his three grandsons.

Survivors include his wife, Gloria Creen, Moline; daughter, Jodie (Dan) Wesemann, Moline; son, Chad (Steph) Creen, Denver, Colo.; grandsons, Connor and Parker Wesemann and Kellan Creen; mother, Joan Creen, Moline; brothers, Michael (Saundra) Creen, Whiteville, N.C., Steven Creen, Moline; several aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and close family friends too numerous to list but all greatly loved.

He was preceded in death by his father, Eugene, and many beloved aunts, uncles and cousins.

Online condolences may be left for the family by visiting his obituary at www.esterdahl.com.

Tom Getz, RIP

2012-01-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

Thomas G. Getz

January, 17, 2012 | Sign the Guestbook | Email AnnouncementMOLINE — Thomas G. Getz, 84, of Moline, died Sunday, January 15, 2012, at Trinity Rock Island.

Services are 11 a.m. Wednesday at First Congregational Church, Moline, with the Reverend Jacqueline Perry officiating. Burial is in Oakwood Cemetery, Geneseo. Visitation is 4 to 7 p.m. today at Trimble Funeral and Cremation Center, Moline. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Two Rivers YMCA, Quad-City Arts, or Boy Scouts of America.
Tom was born October 17, 1927, in Moline, the ninth of 10 children of Harry W. and Carolyn (Ainsworth) Getz. He attended Moline schools through his high school sophomore year and graduated from Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, in 1945. He graduated from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1950, with a degree in economics.

Tom married Karen F. Hartman on December 26, 1973, in Arlington Heights, Illinois. She died October 5, 2007.
He served as an ensign in the United States Coast Guard during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953, as a communications and deck watch officer on the 311-foot cutter Bering Strait out of Seattle. His ship worked the North Pacific to Japan route on ocean station duty and search and rescue missions.

Tom returned to Moline in February 1953, and was employed by Williams, White & Company. In 1957, he started working part-time at Moline Forge and was in charge of finance. In 1963, he became president of Moline Forge and was in charge of general operations while still remaining an officer in Williams, White & Company.
Tom was active in and an integral part of an almost unfathomable number of community organizations and causes.

He was long involved in the Two Rivers YMCA as board president and was later the chairman of its Board of Trustees. He was chairman of the 1968 campaign to raise over $2 million in capital funds to build the new YMCA on 53rd Street in Moline. He also received the YMCA’s Life-Time Achievement Award.

He was a past president of the Illowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Earlier, he had achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1943 and later he received the Silver Beaver Award and served as a vice president of Area 3 BSA.
Tom was also the first president of Quad-City Arts when it was founded in 1988 and remained as treasurer for many years. He also served as chairman of the Bettendorf Civil Service Commission, on the advisory council for the Quad-City Salvation Army, was past Commodore of the White Lake Yacht Club in Whitehall, Michigan, was named Boss of the Year by the American Business Women’s Association, served as co-chair for the Christian Friendliness Capital Campaign, and served on the Board of Trustees for Rivermont Collegiate School in Bettendorf.

He was a past board member of Augustana College. He also served on the Board for The United Way, where he served as chairman and was president of various committees. He was on the Board of the Forging Industry Association, the Illinois Humanities Council, the Quad-Cities Regional Economic Development Authority, Renew Moline, and First Federal Savings and Loan in Davenport. Tom was a past president of The Forging Industry Association, City Treasurer of Bettendorf for 10 years, and received the Distinguished Philanthropy Award from the National Society of Fund Raising Executives and the William B. Foster Community Volunteer Award by the Modern Woodman of America in 1999. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement’s QC Business Hall of Fame.
He was among the business leaders responsible for bringing about the I wireless Center, the John Deere Commons, and all of the development that has been built up in downtown Moline as a result of the public/private partnership between the city and Renew Moline.

Tom served as the Chairman of the Rock Island Republican Party and was always eager to engage in political debate with anyone at all, anywhere, any time, and under any set of circumstances at all.

Tom was a supporter of Skip-A-Long Day Care, the Renew Moline Boys and Girls Club, Junior Achievement and the former Quad-Cities Development Group. He was also a supporter of the Quad-City Arts Annual Festival of Trees, the Quad-City Symphony Orchestra, Arrowhead Ranch, the Family Museum and Putnam Museum.
In 2008, the Association of Fundraising Professionals Q-C chapter gave Tom the Distinguished Service to Philanthropy Award for his “exceptional generosity, his leadership and significant and lasting impact...on our community.”

Tom’s role in each of the civic groups enumerated above was never, ever that of a simple figurehead. He was always the person who quietly rolled up his sleeves, went to work, persevered, and got the job done.
For many years, Tom served as a member of the Distinguished Clown Corps in the Quad-City Arts Thanksgiving Parade. Although many of his grandchildren also served as clowns alongside of him on the parade route, Tom always had the most fun.

Following his wife Karen’s death, Tom established the Moline Fund in Karen’s memory in an effort to give children a chance to spend their summer months as Karen had.

Tom and Karen also owned Gendler’s Wine Store from 2001 to 2007.

Tom is survived by his children, Dr. Thomas Getz and his wife, Margaret Burrows-Getz, of East Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bettina (Tina) Getz and her husband, William Judge, of River Forest, Illinois, and Christopher Getz of Melbourne Beach, Florida; grandchildren, Meghan Metzger and her husband, Michael, of Washington, D.C., Lara Getz of East Grand Rapids, Eli Judge and Caitlin (Casey) Judge of Chicago, and Skyler Getz and Jacob (Jake) Getz of Grant, Florida; a sister, Carol Bartholomew of Del Ray Beach, Florida; too many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins to count; and his longtime assistant, Tiffany Erichsen. He was preceded in death by his wife, Karen, three brothers, five sisters, and his first wife, Diana Barrott Mannon, the mother of his three children.
The family invites you to share stories and condolences and light a candle in Tom’s memory atwww.TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.

From the Star of the Judy Marsh Dancers

2012-01-17T19:24:00.001-08:00

Judy Marsh is in the center.

"You did a wonderful job in putting this book together. The hours, effort and more hours you spent for all of your classmates is greatly appreciated by all and will not be forgotten."

Judy Marsh Ramsay

Linda Dahlberg Kauzlaurich, Karen Patronagio Williams, Judy Marsh Ramsey, Judy Anderson.

Order at this link.

Kym Dennhardt Whatley Just Got Her 1966 Reunion Book

2012-01-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

Kym Dennhardt Whatley

"Moline High School 1966 is a wonderful trip down memory lane. If you graduated with us, this is a "must have".

Kym Dennhardt Whatley

Kym's reunion nails:
The Class the Stars Fell On.

Order at this link.

Rick Santorum sweater vest has ‘power’ | TheBlaze.com

2012-01-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

The Moline Memories blogger in a power pose.

John Schneck and George Small demonstrated the irresistible attraction of the power vest.

Rick Santorum sweater vest has ‘power’ | TheBlaze.com:

While campaigning in South Carolina on Thursday Rick Santorum said his sweater vest is responsible for the momentum his campaign has seen of late. “It sort of took a life of its own … and the vest gave me this power,” he said, according to the L.A Times.

Maybe it does have special powers. Santorum is selling similar vests on his campaign site and as of today, Fox News reports it has brought in $100,000 to his election effort.

'via Blog this'

Two Discounts From Lulu for Ordering the 1966 Reunion Book

2012-01-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

This is the link for ordering the MHS 66 Reunion Book - full color inside.

Lulu offers discounts throughout the year.

Currently, if you put LULUBOOK305 in the window at the bottom, when the order is almost complete, you will get a 25% discount, through January 31st.

If you put SECONDHALF in that window, the second book is 50% off, through January 15th.

Lulu is print-on-demand, so the order is printed and sent directly to your home - or to anyone you select.

Current Lulu Discount

2011-12-30T08:48:00.001-08:00

Even More Corrections Made To the Reunion Book

2011-12-30T07:10:00.000-08:00

Notice the uncredited cameo.
Perhaps the oversight motivated the offended student to pursue liberal arts instead of science.
America could have had zip-loc bags and Google years earlier.
For want of a nail, a shoe was lost...

Here is the absolute latest version of the MHS 1966 Reunion Book. It is a free PDF download. John Robeson got me involved in Dropbox, which made the sharing much easier. Let me know if you want the free software, which is great for backing up files and sending large ones.

I have also changed the link on the left.

Corrections will be made every so often, so do not hesitate to send an email or FB message. I change the title page to reflect the date of the newest edition. This one is New Year's Eve, 2011.

I am looking into an e-book version right now.

---

Current Lulu discount:

Reflections on the Moline High School Graduates of 1966: The Class the Stars Fell On

2011-12-29T13:34:00.000-08:00

I finished our 1966 reunion book, so that got me thinking about being born in Moline and growing up there. Since I had no comparison, I took everything for granted. For instance, G. Lavern Flambo organized all kinds of entertainment that brought world famous performers to the Quad Cities. I tell college students about watching Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, and Louis Bellson perform. They say, "You did? In Moline?"Benny Goodman played at Wharton, so I walked over and had my program signed. Wasn't every small town like that? I saw Flambo at Melo Cream all the time. How much does a kid know?

I was a bit embarrassed that my father's business was downtown. Later I came to appreciate the charm of old downtown areas, which get better with age, if the citizens and corporations keep them up. Flambo had his hole-in-the-wall WQUA station almost next door to the doughnut shop. In the background is the spire of First Lutheran Church, the mother church of the Swedish Augustana Lutheran Synod.

Lago's and Whitey's are two examples of local businesses seldom equaled anywhere else. Classmates long to come back to both places, and other eateries they remember with fondness.

Going over the John Deere, Coolidge, and MHS yearbooks reminded me of how organized we were, how often we volunteered to help in various ways. Of course, many adults and parents made that possible. The money earned from manufacturing helped a great deal too, as everyone has learned too late.

The Moline Dispatch seemed to cover every cat-hanging in town, so we took that for granted too. This photo of Jackie Ozanne was one of many about our chem-physics class. Three of those students earned PhDs later - in rocket science, math, and theology. The last category was appropriate because the two teachers prayed the whole time that I would graduate.

I see pictures like this and remember the stories, pranks, and classes. The warm memories overlap because many classmates were my mother's favorite students in class at Garfield, so I knew even more from all classes from her observations about them. People contact me and say, "Your mother saved my life," or "She was my favorite teacher." George Small told me, "I became an engineer because your mother had us build a working model of the Panama Canal." But I tell my grandchildren, "Dairy Queen came from the Medd family, and the Medd brothers invented the Blizzard machine."

Each group photograph seems to include someone who died too young. Many are no longer in contact with the reunion committee or the rest of us. That is another kind of loss. Do the missing or silent ones have children, grandchildren, and photos of where they live?

At the 40th reunion, Bruce Johnson said during a talk, "Yes, the Class the Stars Fell On," a reference to a famous West Point class of future generals. One classmate said at the 45th reunion, "I love that designation, because there are so many achievers in one class."

I will have to name them all a little later, but here are a few who come to mind, in no particular order:

A rocket scientist.
The best high school tennis coach in the US.
A nationally known fiction and business writer.
A performer on Broadway.
An Iowa Rock N Roll Hall of Fame recipient.
Three university professors.
A minister and singer with a world-wide ministry.
Five PhDs.
Three from the same neighborhood who went to Yale graduate school.
Two psychologists.
A cardiologist.
A veterinary physician.
Several nurses.
Several lawyers.
Public school teachers.
At least one engineer.
A Viet Nam war hero who earned the Medal of Honor.
Many who served our military forces with distinction, one rising to the rank of full colonel.
Parents who stayed together, raised their children, and now enjoy the delights of grandchildren.

Final Version of the MHS Reunion Book:Free Download and Purchasing Information

2011-12-29T06:09:00.000-08:00

Free Final PDF Version of the MHS 1966 Reunion Book.

Everyone can download this free PDF and save it to the hard drive. Share it too. If you see a caption to improve or a name misspelled, let me know at gregjackson1948@qwest.net.

The full-color print version can be ordered here. The cost is $27.95 because the interior has to be all color or all black and white. I decided to make it color because many historic photos and all current photos are color.

Click here to order the printed version. There is often a sale on printed books, 20% or more off. Click on the main lulu.com address to find the discount - which is always a big headline. The book is printed and sent to your home, office, or dessert island.

The book happened because Kym Dennhardt Whatley insisted.

Moliners Paid for the Funeral of Charles Dickens' Son: Grave at Riverside

2011-12-26T12:19:00.001-08:00

Dr. Jamieson, Moline.

Mrs. Jamieson

Dr. Alexander Wallace Jamieson (1839-1889) met Inspector F.J. Dickens in an Ottawa, Ontario hotel. They struck up a friendship and Dr. Jamieson invited Francis Dickens to visit him in Moline, Illinois. Whilst in Moline Dickens read to the Jamieson children from his author father's works. The books are still in possession of the Jamieson descendants. Dr. Jamieson assisted in covering the costs of Dickens' funeral in Riverside Cemetery, Moline.

Photos courtesy of - Mr. and Mrs. Darrel (Betty) Hagberg, Moline.
Mrs. Hagberg is Dr. Jamieson's Great, Great Grandaughter.

---

David J. Carter Website

INSPECTOR F. J. DICKENS - of the NORTH WEST MOUNTED POLICE

Here is a unique tale from Canada’s historic North West. It is a tale within a tale for Francis Jeffrey Dickens was the son of a very famous father, the renowned English author Charles Dickens. Dickens Senior wrote many stories but the short life of third son, Francis Jeffrey is an interesting, little known story of adventures.

Francis Jeffrey was the fifth child out of ten as parented by Charles and his wife Catherine. He was born in London, England January 15, 1844. The previous Christmas had seen the great success of ‘A Christmas Carol’. As was his practice Charles while playing with his children, gave them nicknames and eventually Francis Jeffrey would be called ‘Chickenstalker’ which carried hints of another Christmas book ‘The Chimes’.

The moneyed English tradition of sending children away to boarding school at an early age held true with Francis Jeffrey and he was sent to attend an English boys’ boarding school in Boulogne, France. Within a few years he was writing from another school in Hamburg, Germany where he was unsuccessful in studying pre-medical subjects. Upon return to London he was employed for a time with his father’s magazine. It was reported that Francis was a bit hard of hearing and had a stutter on occasion.

In 1863 Francis went out to India to serve with the Bengal Police. Upon his father’s death in 1870 Francis Jeffrey returned to England. In October 1874 he obtained commission as a Sub-Inspector in the newly formed North West Mounted Police and sailed for Canada. He arrived too late to participate in what would become known as The March West of the NWMP during the summer of 1874. However he was posted to Fort Dufferin near the 49th parallel for the winter of 1874/75.

During 1875 he was stationed at Fort Livingston on the Swan River (Manitoba) and then at Fort Macleod. Both postings necessitated long hours in the saddle travelling the seemingly endless parkland then prairie. The following year all of the Canadian and American Great Plains were in turmoil after the massacre of Custer and his men at the Battle of the Little Big Horn by Chief Sitting Bull and his warriors. Both countries were on war alert as the aboriginal peoples far outnumbered the whites.

The following year 1877 Sitting Bull moved into the Cypress Hills under the watchful eyes of the NWMP at Fort Walsh and Wood Mountain. Bull and his people would remain in Canadian territory for almost three years. During 1877 while stationed at Fort Macleod, Dickens was present at The Blackfoot Crossing for the signing of Treaty Number Seven with the Blackfoot Indians.

In 1878 Sub Inspector Dickens was transferred to Fort Walsh where he overlapped with Sitting Bull. In 1879 Francis Jeffrey was still at Fort Walsh and during this year his mother died and was buried in Highgate Cemetery, London. (His famous author father had been buried in Westminster Abbey). In November 1879 NWMP Constable Graburn was murdered while attending to horses near Fort Walsh and this led to increased tensions in the area

In June 1880 Dickens was promoted to the rank of Inspector and was transferred from Fort Walsh to Fort Macleod. The following year ‘Chickenstalker’ moved to The Blackfoot Crossing on the Bow River about 50 miles east of Fort Calgary. He was involved with at least one confrontation with a brave who had stolen a horse. This incident was settled by the wise intervention of Chief Crowfoot and the support of NWMP personnel who forced marched from Fort Macleod.

Dickens remained at The Blackfoot Crossing during 1881 and the first half of 1882 and was well aware that vast changes were about to occur in the country with the westward progress of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. No longer would arduous, dusty route marches need to be made down to Fort Benton Montana Territory on the Missouri River to catch a paddlewheeler headed for Bismark, North Dakota to gain rail transport back to the east. During Dickens 12 years of service with the NWMP he never left the frontier.

In 1883 Dickens was transferred to Fort Pitt on the North Saskatchewan River and placed in charge of the small, poorly located fortification which lay on the main river highway supply route from Fort Carlton to Fort Edmonton. Ever since Sitting Bull had massacred Custer and the Seventh Cavalry in 1876 tensions throughout the whole region were high. Fort Pitt was in the heart of the most volatile regions where both Big Bear of the Crees and the Metis were in a state of unrest. There was also ongoing concerns that Louis Riel who had led the Red River Rebellion of 1870 would return from self-imposed exile in Montana to lead another uprising.

Inspector Dickens repeatedly warned of unrest in the area and in March 1885 it all came to a head with NWMP battles at Duck Lake followed by the burning of Fort Carlton then the Crees murdering priests and Hudson Bay Company employees and family members at Frog Lake. This site was 35 miles north west of Fort Pitt. Dickens sent out three scouts to reconnoiter. When they returned they were attacked by Cree warriors; one escaped unharmed, one was wounded - played dead then crawled to the ‘fort’, the other Constable Cowan was killed within sight of Fort Pitt then the warrior cut out young Cowan’s heart and ate a piece of it before the horrified defenders of the fort.

The NWMP detachment were outnumbered and outgunned 200 to 20. Negotiations led to the civilians agreeing to become prisoners of the Cree and Big Bear. The Chief gave Dickens and his men a short time to abandon the fort. This they did, and travelled amongst the ice pans in a leaky scow. Scouts from Fort Battleford reported that everyone at Fort Pitt had been massacred however after six days on the river Dickens and his men arrived at Battleford and received a hero’s welcome.

On November 2, 1885 eight aboriginal men were hanged at Ft. Battleford for their part in the uprising. Louis Riel was hanged at the NWMP barracks in Regina November 16. Dickens had left prior to the executions, travelled overland to Swift Current where he travelled by CPR to Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. He resigned in March 1886.

While in Ottawa he became friends with Dr. Alexander Jamieson of Moline, Illinois who was an admirer of the writings of Francis Jeffrey’s father, Charles. ‘Chickenstalker’ accepted Dr. Jamieson’s invitation to travel to Moline to give talks about his experiences in the Riel Rebellion of 1885. June 11 while sitting down to dinner prior to his scheduled speech, Francis Jeffrey took a glass of ice water, then clutched his chest in pain. He was escorted to an adjoining room but died of an apparent heart attack. He was 42 years old. The townsfolk of Moline made all the arrangements and carried most of the expenses of Inspector Dickens’ funeral and burial. In time a cement marker was placed at the grave and many years later a bronze plaque was attached to the original marker.

Since childhood David J. Carter has been a fan of Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’ and since 1993 has been carrying out research re: Francis Jeffrey Dickens.

In 2001 funds were generated (led in particular by Jean Carter and the Medicine Lodge Coulee Heritage Society) to cover the costs of an official NWMP headstone which was placed at the grave of ‘Our Mutual Friend’ Inspector F.J. Dickens of the NWMP. The headstone was carved in Medicine Hat by Michael Anctil. It was officially unveiled September 24, 2002 by an entourage of present members of the RCMP and former members of the RCMP representing The March West Committee. (Inspector Daun Miller-Co-ordinator.)

---

Manitoba History

In 1874, when Northwest Mounted Police Inspector Francis Dickens arrived at Dufferin, an outpost along the west side of the Red River near the Manitoba-U.S. Border, he was angry and upset, first because he had arrived too late to take part in the original trek west, and second because he would have to remain at what he considered one of the most unpleasant places in the entire British Empire. [1] George A. French, the first commissioner of the North West Mounted Police, described the site, where he would assemble nearly 300 people in preparation for a march into Canada’s far west, as a “small shanty town surrounded by a few brothels and grog shops.” [2] In his memoirs, a young NWMP recruit described Dufferin in similarly unflattering terms. “Dufferin ... was [he wrote] of small account ... a Government warehouse, a Hudson’s Bay Company Store, two whiskey saloons and a few log shanties, inhabited by half-breeds ...” [3] Contemporary photographs do little to alter these descriptions. They show a collection of unpainted buildings in a muddy, bleak, and untidy setting. Yet it was from this site that two major and very significant events in Canadian history not only began, but also ended.

A group of North West Mounted Police in 1874. Francis Dickens is standing second from right.
Source: Archives of Manitoba

---

Charles Dickens Website
Frank was third son of Charles and Catherine Dickens. He was born on 15 January 1844. Catherine had been"exceedingly depressed and frightened" during the pregnacy.
During his infacy Frank began to show what his father hoped was a real promise. As a boy Frank attended a private school in Boulogne, France with his brothers Alfred and Sydney. He left for Germany to study language but quickly abandoned his dream to become a doctor. He had thoughts of sailing to Canada or Australia to become a gentleman farmer. Dickens took him into the office of All the Year Round but Frank proved ill-suited to office work and journalism. Dickens then arranged a commission for him in Bengal Mounted Police. He sailed for India in January 1863. He was expecting to meet his brother Walter there but the time he arrived Walter had died suddenly of an aortic aneurysm in Calcutta. Frank acquitted himself well and remained in India for seven years. After his father´s death 1870, Frank returned in England squandered his share of Dickens´s money. He lost his Bengal appointment. His aunt Georgina helped him to get a commission as a sub inspector in the North West Mounted Police, Canada. He arrived in Ottawa in the fall of 1874. On 16 February 1886 he resigned from The Force. He died 11 June 1886 while visiting Dr. A.W.Jamieson of Moline, Illinois. His brothers wished the body to remain in Moline and be placed in a quiet spot in Riverside Cemetery.

The grave was marked by a simple block of marble with the inscription:

"In Memory of
Francis J Dickens
Third Son of the Distinguished
Author.
Born Jan 15, 1844.
Died June 11, 1886.
Take Ye heed. Watch and Pray. For Ye know
Not When the Time Is".

The Dickensian No. 410: Vol.82
---

Dickens of the Mounted

Friday, September 23, 2011
Klondike Friday: The Beginning of the NWMP

In my research on the North-West Mounted Police for the Klondike Gold Rush series, I recently bought an out of print book titled Dickens of the Mounted by Eric Nicol (who sadly passed away earlier this year at the age of 91). The book is fiction, but based on fact. Francis Dickens, son of Charles, was an Inspector in the NWMP for twelve years. Francis himself died in 1886 just a short while after leaving the police.

The book is very Flashman-esque. It takes what little is known about the real life of Dickens and proposes to be a book of letters he wrote back to England during his time in the NWMP.

His career was, shall we say, less than stellar and apparently his lasting contribution to Canadian history was that from then on the officer corps of the NWMP showed a ‘growing antipathy… towards Englishmen.’

The book is hilarious in places, poignant in others (Francis lived in his father’s shadow his entire life) and most importantly, in my opinion, a darn good historical read.

Francis Dickens joined the NWMP in 1874 (he secured his position as a Sub-Inspector through family connections while still in England – he had never been a police officer). He was slightly too late to take part in the Great March West which left in July. Dickens followed by train. There being at the time no Canadian train route, he had to go through the U.S. to St. Paul and then by stagecoach to Winnipeg.

The March West of the NWMP is one of the key pivotal points in the creation of Canada west of Winnipeg and in the creation of the Canadian identity (the police were sent to bring law and government to Indian lands, not the Army.) It is, naturally, almost completely unknown to any but the keenest follower of Canadian history.

Although Francis Dickens was too late for the March, he soon caught up and spent the remainder of his career in such outposts as Fort Pitt, Fort Walsh, and Fort MacLeod. (In Alberta, where I visited the historical NWMP fort in the spring). He was there for treaty negotiations with the Blackfoot, dealings with Sitting Bull after he and his people came to Canada following the Little Big Horn, met Louis Riel, and fought the rebels in the North West Rebellion.

In the book, he meets and comments on Sam Steele, James Walsh, Sitting Bull, Louis Riel and many other historic characters. Sam Steele, incidentally, was an important player in the Klondike Gold Rush being the NWMP commissioner at that time. One of the towering figures of Canadian history, he is (of course) almost completely unknown.

A laugh out loud incident happens in the book when Dickens meets the Governor General (and son-in-law of Queen Victoria) and the GG wants to speak to him privately once he realizes Francis is the son of Charles Dickens.
“I wonder, Inspector Dickens, whether you can recommend a good publisher back home?”
“A publisher, Your Excellency?”
“Yes. You see, I do a bit of writing myself.”

---

Famous Residents of Riverside Cemetery

Notice Dickens on the back cover of this excellent book.
If you want to know the beginnings of Moline, read this book.

The book sells for $20 and is available from these outlets:

Moline, Illinois:
Model Printers, 310 15th Street
Lagomarcino's Confectionary, 1422 Fifth Avenue
Trevor True Value Hardware, 2842 16th Street
Rock Island County Historical Society, 822 11th Avenue

Davenport, Iowa:

Lagomarcino's Confectionary, Village of East Davenport

Pretend you are going to Lago's for the book. Everyone will think you are a new-born scholar.

Christmas Pageants

2011-12-25T05:17:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the Christmas pageants, the scratchy costumes, slipping halos, and scene-stealing toddlers? Now our grandchildren get to show us those moments all over again.

Here Is an Old Fashioned ChristmasWith Santa and Ribbon-Tied Mittens: Kathleen Wilcox Kapetanakis

2011-12-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

Kathleen Wilcox posed with Santa. It looks like the Christmas of 1949. Do you remember mittens clipped on the coat, so they would not be lost?

Our mothers took the nursery rhyme seriously.

Three Little Kittens

Three little kittens they lost their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear, we sadly fearOur mittens we have lost.
What! lost your mittens, you naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
No, you shall have no pie.

The three little kittens they found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,Our mittens we have found!
Put on your mittens, you silly kittens,
And you shall have some pie.
Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r,
Oh, let us have some pie.

The three little kittens put on their mittens,
And soon ate up the pie;
Oh, mother dear, we greatly fearOur mittens we have soiled.
What! soiled your mittens, you naughty kittens!
Then they began to sigh,
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
Then they began to sigh.

The three little kittens they washed their mittens,
And hung them out to dry;
Oh! mother dear, do you not hear,Our mittens we have washed!
What! washed your mittens, then you're good kittens,
But I smell a rat close by.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
We smell a rat close by.

The Reunion Book Is Done. Order a Printed Copy or Check Over the Free Download To Help Correct Errors

2011-12-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

Ripped from the Pages of the

1966 Reunion Book

These true stories--and more--can be found in the Moline High 1966 Reunion Book.

This is the free download link. John Robeson got me interested in Dropbox, which allows free downloads, without the need to install the software. But the free software is great for sharing large files.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5009355/print_mhs66_adv_2011.docx

Please help with captions and mistakes. Send corrections to gregjackson1948@qwest.net or my main email address, which some of you know. It is the cox.net address.

This is where you can order the printed version, which I will continue to improve because of print-on-demand software.

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/martinchemnitzpress

The cost went up to $27.95 because the size doubled and it was far better with a full color interior. The book has 80 pages in it.

If there are photos from the reunion that you want added, send them to me with the caption. I can do that. I will make all the major changes and print a Christmas edition (see the title page).

Judy Marsh Ramsay gets the first copy because of all her work on the website. The website and Facebook were essential in putting together the biographies.

Kym and Josephine Schaeffer Johnson

Thank Kym Dennhardt Whatley for the project, because she kept insisting on a book, something we can keep. The website and book together will help a lot of people keep in touch and get to know each other again.

The reunion committee made the event happen.
Reunion committee members include, in front from left, Bill Serandos, Dave Coopman and Jim Kron; middle row, Karen Sommers, Judy (Marsh) Ramsay, Delma (Winter) Reakes and Barb (Warfield) DeSmet; and back row, Jayne (Johnson) McDermott, True Dee (Giacomelli) Sorgen and Darlene (Gabriel) Katherman.

Just in Time for Christmas, But Christmas of What Year?

2011-12-08T22:15:00.001-08:00

Sharlene Carlson and Jim Kron are in the foreground.
Bruce Johnson and George Small's hand are in the background.
Darlene Gabriel Katherman is sitting at the table.

I am finishing the reunion book. The version I post in a day or two will have the usual, expected glaring errors in it. Feel free to contact me at gregjackson1948@qwest.net.

I am spending some time noting who lives where, due to a lethargic response about bio information. That is time consuming but worth it. I am hoping that the listing of Facebook participants will encourage more classmates to be in touch with each other. I know it has made quite a difference among those who post, drawing us together again.

I like the idea of an annual, informal get-together. If we know a lot of classmates will be in town on a given weekend, resistance to travel will diminish, especially when fueled by a longing for Lago's, Whitey's, and other fleshpots of the QC area.

Those Were the Days, My Friend

Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And think of all the great things we would DO
Chorus:

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way
La la la la la la
La la la la la la

Then the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If by chance I'd see you in the tavern
We'd smile at one another and we'd say

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days
Oh, yes, those were the days
La la la la la la
La la la la la la

Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely woman really me?

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days
Oh, yes, those were the days
La la la la la la
La la la la la la

Through the door there came familiar laughter
I saw your face and heard you call my name
Oh, my friend, we're older but no wiser
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same...

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days
Oh, yes, those were the days
La la la la la la
La la la la la la

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/mary_hopkin/#share

Martha Getz Cogswell, MHS 66, Died Suddenly on November 22, 2011

2011-11-24T18:14:00.001-08:00

Martha Getz Cogswell

| Visit Guest Book

Martha Getz Cogswell passed away suddenly but peacefully on November 22, 2011, after a very brief bout with cancer. She was born June 16, 1948, in Davenport, Iowa - the youngest child of the late William A. and Kaye S. Getz. Marty grew up in Moline, Illinois.

She attended St. Katharine's School in Davenport, Iowa, before heading to Pine Manor College in Massachusetts and then onto the University of Colorado in Boulder. She graduated in 1970 and remained a Buffs fan for life. Marty moved to Colorado Springs in 1974 and has lived here happily ever since.

She is survived by her children and their spouses, Katharine (Michael) Courtney of Saratoga, California; Sara (Michael) Baker of Shawnee, Kansas; and Timothy (McKinzie) Cogswell of Las Vegas, Nevada, and by her beloved grandchildren, Madison and Chayse Courtney, Cohen Baker, Paizley Cogswell, and twin grandsons due this winter.

Marty will also be deeply missed by her siblings, Stephanie Sandell, Pamela (Rob) Garton and John Getz; her aunts and an uncle; dozens of lucky cousins, nieces and nephews; many cherished friends, and her good and faithful golden retriever, Bailey. Marty devoted generous energy to causes she cared about, including the Junior League, Penrose Hospital, the YMCA, the Pikes Peak Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Pikes Peak Library, the Olympic Training Center and, nationally, the Alzheimer's Association .

In 2008, Marty retired from Cheyenne Mountain School District 12, where she'd provided years of care and service to Cheyenne students, parents, teachers and administrators from her post at the district and high school administrative offices. An avid athlete, Marty walked vigorously, skied beautifully, and played tennis with disarming strength and grace. Many of those games were played at Cheyenne Mountain Country Club - a home-away-from-home where she made some of her closest friends.

Marty spent all the summers of her life on the shores of Lake Michigan. Her days there - with extended family, beach walks, sailboats, lucky glass, sunsets and thunderstorms - were among her happiest. She relished other travel, too - jaunts to visit pretty places and life-long pals and, most especially, to be with her children and grandchildren. They were her highest priority and greatest joy, and she leaves them awash in love and gratitude. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 26 at 5:00pm at Chapel of our Savior, 8 Fourth Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Penrose Cancer Center, 2222 North Nevada, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80907 or the Alzheimer's Association , Colorado Chapter, 455 Sherman Street, Suite 500, Denver, Colorado 80203.

Proud of Our Town and Our Veterans

2011-11-10T18:21:00.001-08:00

Kathy Wilcox Kapetanakis provided the Norton prints.
This is the Arsenal Clock Tower.

In reading over many biographies from our class I was struck by how many served in the military, some as a career, and worked at the Arsenal.

Many classmates are posting photos of their family members who served. The photo below expresses thoughts of many about those who were lost in warfare.

Message for Facebook Friends Who Are Not Registered on the MHS 66 Reunion Website

2011-11-09T21:48:00.001-08:00

Many of our Facebook friends are not registered on the MHS 66 Reunion website, which I used to contact people for the reunion book biographies.

This is the message I sent, with a slight change in the email address:

Hi. I am finishing up the third phase of our 45th reunion book. Most people would like updates about their classmates.

Please list personal and professional accomplishments you would like to have in the reunion book. If you have a favorite teacher or teachers from Moline (all levels), list two or three of them.

I will check the bios over for typos, but I will also provide an early free version to see on the Internet.

I am going to refer people to the reunion website for such things as address, phone number, and email.

The proof copy will have everything together, so we can all check for errors and better captions.

Please respond immediately. I will start putting part III together. My email address is

gregjackson1948@qwest.net

If you are getting this on your Facebook page, that means I am making sure you have a chance to respond. It is fun being in touch with each other. About 100 of us are on FB now, and I highly recommend it as a way to keep up with photos, memories, and messages. We have a lot of fun, daily.

I will put the final version of the Reunion Book together as fast as I can. But nothing is really final with Internet publishing. I will be able to fix the errors that pop up.

Ready To Finish Reunion Book with Phase III - The Reunion Biographies

2011-10-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

The last stage of the reunion book is an update on where we are as individuals. That will be up to each person to contribute.

I will contact each person through the reunion website messages, but you can also answer by writing to me at this email address:

gregjackson1948@qwest.net

What you contribute is up to you. Here are some ideas:
1. Personal and professional achievements.
2. Family information.
3. Favorite teacher or teachers in the Moline system.

I would like to list our own teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, business people, PhDs.

Do we have any great-grandparents?

I am going to put together a draft in a few weeks. Please check that for errors and omissions. The reunion book will be available to purchase in printed form or to download for free.

My Moline - A Song for Mixed Choirs

2011-10-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Kris Streed Crawford, Linda Nelson Pearson, Chris Jackson, Greg Jackson
enjoyed the gathering at Lagomarcino's.

My Moline

Apologies to George Hamilton IV, author of Abilene

Chorus:
My Moline, My Moline,
Humidest town I ever seen,
Folks down there don’t treat you mean,
In my Moline, my old Moline.

I Facebook alone most every night
Watch them cars drive out of sight,
Wish that they were carryin' me
To my Moline, my old Moline.

Men’s Chorus:
My Moline, My Moline,
Prettiest girls that we ever seen,
They no longer treat us so mean
In our Moline, our old Moline.

Lonesome city, no treats for me
Lago’s, Whitey’s, or Chicken Dee,
Told my spouse that I should be
In my Moline, my old Moline.

Women’s Chorus:
We often cry, again and again,
How about those Moline men!
We sigh about what might have been,
In our Moline, our old Moline.

Chorus:
My Moline, My Moline,
Humidest town I ever seen,
Folks down there don’t treat you mean,
In my Moline, my old Moline.

How I wish that day would come,
Take me back to hometown bums,
Take me where I come from
To my Moline, my old Moline.

Chorus:
My Moline, My Moline,
Humidest town I ever seen,
Folks down there don’t treat you mean,
In my Moline, my old Moline.

Jim Medd solo:
Dairy Queen, Dairy Queen,
Medd brothers discovered vaccine,
They invented the Blizzard machine,
In their Moline, their old Moline.

Chorus:
My Moline, My Moline,
Humidest town I ever seen,
Folks down there don’t treat you mean,
In my Moline, my old Moline.

Greg Jackson, Guy Johnson duet:
Franchise doughnuts rot the brain,
Krispy Kremes drive us insane.
Think we need a gourmet scene,
With Melocream, fresh Melocream.

Chorus:
My Moline, My Moline,
Humidest town I ever seen,
Folks down there don’t treat you mean,
In my Moline, my old Moline.

Future:
Outside my group home cold rain falls
Sit here drawin’ on the walls.
If I were home, I’d be so keen
Back in Moline, my old Moline.

Chorus:
My Moline, My Moline,
Humidest town I ever seen,
Folks down there don’t treat you mean,
In my Moline, my old Moline.

Seasonal verse by Barbara Dodd Hawotte:
My Moline, My Moline,
Best little town for Halloween.
Trick-or-Treat even if you're a teen,
in my Moline, my old Moline.

GJ - After working on some reunion photos, I fell asleep and dreamt that the group at Lago's was singing this, so I had to finish it. I always thought that the song Abilene cried out for a Moline version.

Kermit Wells Provided These Photos of the Moline Boys Choir, 1960

2011-10-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

In 1958, Salem Lutheran Church in Moline Took This Photograph of MHS 66ers. Known Facebook Denizens Are Highlighted

2011-10-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

The people I know to be on Facebook are highlighted. Marsha Anderson Harvey - I overlooked her the first time. She is on Facebook too. She is in the sixth row, her late brother Dean below her and a bit to our right.

Those Were the Days My Friend, We Thought They'd Never End. Ken Berry, Leonard Nimoy, and Andy Griffith

2011-10-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

Ken Berry had a hit show in Mayberry RFD in the late 1960s. He said Mayberry was just like the town he grew up in - Moline.
In Hollywood he was known as the nicest guy in show business.

Andy Griffith launched the pilot of Mayberry RFD with Ken Berry.

Weirdness: Leonard Nimoy encouraged Ken Berry to get into Hollywood when they were in the Army. Sgt Nimoy - can you digest that?

Ken Berry came to MHS during our senior year and appeared in the Line O Type.

A Modest Proposal for Annual MHS66 Gatherings

2011-10-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

Some of us were discussing future gatherings, assuming a big one for our 50th anniversary gathering.

I asked the reunion committee to consider an informal gathering on an annual basis. A number of people seemed favorably disposed.

Many of us were happy to have a time when we could plan some small-group activities, such as a trip to Lago's, golfing, and a solo walk along the river.

The reunion committee, energized by their wildly successful 45th events, could set a date for 2012, like the 60th birthday party. We could have a picnic or whatever else is simple to set up. That way, people could plan to see a lot of their friends at once, since many of us travel a long way to Moline.

This assumes that not everyone could make it each year. Nor would everyone be expected to attend. But - with a fixed date, we can make plans for that and quietly encourage friends and relatives to avoid marriages, reunions, and crises during that time.

The annual gathering can easily be promoted with this blog, Facebook, and the MHS66 website. We might keep better track of each other with annual events, too.

One of our servicemen noted that his group's annual events drew together a number of wives in friendships. My wife had a great time this year and would not miss Moline reunions for anything.

Objections?
I thought not.

Reunion Team

2011-10-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

Karen Sommers, True Dee Giacomelli Sorgen, Jayne Johnson McDermott,
Darlene Gabriel Katherman, Delma Winter Reakes, Judy Marsh Ramsay.

2011 Reunion Dinner

2011-10-14T04:57:00.000-07:00

Walt Karstens, Mark Bisbey, Stan Uskavitch, Brenda Gunnerson Uskavitch, Darlene Gabriel Katherman, and George Small's nose and arms..jpg
That could be Barb Warfield DeSmet's back.
Sharlene Carlson and Ross Blackburn are behind George's arms.

One from the 20th MHS66 Reunion, Plus One from the 45th

2011-10-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

Cindy Long, Jenal Venckus, and Judy Marsh Ramsay.
Note the reunion book.

Linda Dahlberg Kauzlaurich, Karen Patronagio Williams, Judy Marsh Ramsay, Judy Anderson.
The rough draft of the 45th reunion book is on the table.

Nails Illustrate The Class the Stars Fell On

2011-10-13T05:40:00.000-07:00

Kym Dennhardt Whatley had her nails done for the reunion -
The Class the Stars Fell On.

The Judy Marsh Dancers of 1954

2011-10-13T05:34:00.000-07:00

Ed Eden (left) Judy Marsh Ramsay and unknown.

Who can ~~forgive~~ forget our parents enrolling us in dance class and taking cute photos of us in precious costumes?

Some Friends Gather - Long Ago

2011-10-11T16:52:00.001-07:00

Cheryl Weime Dubbs, Karen Patronagio Williams, Steve Petersen, Paul McIntosh, Judy Anderson, Linda Salmon Musich, Linda Dahlberg Kauzlaurich, Judy Marsh Ramsay

More Pre-Reunion Dinner Photos

2011-10-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

Tom Gramkow was at Casey's.

Sassy Sue looked up and down the Mississippi River
for the Moline river-walkers.

Chris Jackson dressed for dinner,
waiting for the group to gather and go to party central.

Greg Jackson, ditto, at the Comfort Inn.

John Boland's Latest Book

2011-10-11T16:30:00.001-07:00

John BolandPublishers Weekly gave a starred review to my new novel, Hominid. It's at Amazon; official pub date is Oct. 15.

Publisher's Weekly Review of Hominid, A Novel by John C. Boland:

Hominid

John C. Boland. Perfect Crime (www.perfectcrimebooks.com), $15.95 trade paper (350p) ISBN 978-1-935797-16-6

At the start of this superior science fiction thriller from Boland (Out of Her Depth), archeologist David Isaac arrives on Chesapeake Bay’s Ewell Island, once occupied by people driven out of the Maryland colony in 1670, to help his mentor, Noel Sprague. Sprague, the expedition’s leader, hopes to unearth three coffins containing members of one of the island’s first families, who were suspected by their contemporaries of being Satanists. Tragedy strikes after Roberta Gerson, a well-liked young scientist “developing a specialty in Colonial village life,” is lost in a suddenly flooded excavation pit. When the receding waters allow Isaac to go below, he finds evidence that Gerson’s death was no accident. Meanwhile, a dogged investigator from the National Institute of Science probes the organization behind the expedition, the shadowy St. Leger Foundation. Boland’s taut atmospherics, especially in the scenes set on Ewell Island, are top-notch, and the evolutionary themes he explores are easily accessible to nonscientists. (Oct.)

Moline Memories - MHS 66 Friends: The Dairy Queen Legend Involving Moline: And My Small Part

2011-10-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

Anonymous [Jim Medd, MHS66] has left a new comment on your post "Casey's Gathering on Friday Night, September 30, 2...":

GJ,,
The Moline DQ references in this article, Mildred's ice creamery, was owned and operated by my grandfather and grandmother, CR and Mildred Medd. The store was across the street from Wheelocks Drug store and four doors up from present day Casey's! The first DQ store in Moline was opened by CR Medd in 1941 on 4 th Ave. This store set the standard for the famous flat top DQ store design. Medd's , Duke's, and Noble's were names spoken of often during the early years, not much on McCollughs!

The Medd brothers, Dick, Ralph, Ronnie, all from Moline, designed and have the patent on the Blizzard DQ machine and in particular the mixing blade. International DQ found out about the candied malts being made at the Moline DQ's when the brothers took the candied malt mixing machine to the St. Louis, Missouri DQ convention in the mid 1970s. IDQ signed agreements with the Medd brothers for the rights to use the machine, now being built by Duke and Sons, East Moline. Also, the first mint Dilly Bar came from a Moline DQ store in 1977/1978. Moline has history!

Jim Medd

Moline Memories - MHS 66 Friends: The Dairy Queen Legend Involving Moline: And My Small Part:

left to right - Homer Jackson, H. Noel, Candace, the Blogger, Gladys.
I date this around 1949, since I was born in late 48.

After a few years, however, Grandpa McCullough was still thinking about soft ice cream, and he convinced his son that they should find out whether or not the product would capture people's tastebuds. They asked one of their customers, Sherb Noble, if he would arrange a special offering of soft ice cream at his store in Kankakee, Illinois. With an advertisement of 'All you can eat for 10 cents,' the sale was held in early August 1938. Using an ordinary commercial batch freezer, the men put the soft ice cream into five gallon containers and then hand-dipped the product into 16-ounce cups. In two hours, Noble and the McCulloughs dished out over 1,600 servings. A short time later, another sale of soft ice cream was offered at Mildred's Ice Cream Shop in Moline. The response from the public was the same. With such overwhelming success, the McCulloughs began searching for the type of freezer that would make dispensing soft ice cream a reality. Funding Universe

---

Ice cream manufacturers have always known that ice cream tasted best when it was "soft frozen" at approximately 23º F. When ice cream was served at near 0º F, it would numb the taste buds, making the product less flavorful. Ice cream manufacturers also knew that if there was ever going to be a way to serve a "soft frozen" product to the public, a new kind of freezer would have to be invented.

In 1938, near Moline, IL, two ice cream manufacturers, J.F. "Grandpa" McCullough and his son, Alex, decided to find out how the public would react to a "soft frozen" ice cream product.

The McCulloughs enlisted the help of one of their customers - Sherb Noble who owned an ice cream retail shop in Kankakee, IL. They decided to have a sale. They called it the "All the ice cream you can eat for only 10 cents" sale. The sale was held on August 4, 1938. They dished out over 1,600 servings in about two hours, and people were lined up and down the block. The McCulloughs now knew that the idea of selling a "soft frozen" product to the public had a lot of potential. Now, all they needed was to develop a freezer that could continuously dispense a "soft frozen" product.

The solution to their freezer problem came when "Grandpa" McCullough saw an ad in the Chicago-Tribune which advertised a "continuous freezer that dispensed frozen custard". The ad was placed by Harry M. Oltz of Hammond, IN, who owned a patent on his machine. The McColloughs and Oltz got together and on July 31, 1939, signed the Agreement that would launch an industry.

The McColloughs obtained the manufacturing rights to the Oltz patent. However, the Oltz Freezer was crude and difficult to operate because it used ice and salt to freeze the ice cream chamber. The McCulloughs knew that a freezer needed to be built which would incorporate mechanical refrigeration. So, in the fall of 1939, the McCulloughs proceeded to have a prototype freezer built that would incorporate mechanical refrigeration.

In January 1940, the prototype freezer was ready and was installed in "Grandpa" McCullough's basement for testing. It was during this time that "Grandpa" McCullough discovered that "soft frozen" ice cream dispensed by this new freezer tasted best when it had only 5 percent butterfat rather than the standard 10 percent or more butterfat used for regular ice cream. In fact, this newly developed "soft frozen" product was not ice cream at all, but rather ice milk. The experiments also concluded that the new "soft frozen" ice milk would taste creamier, smoother, and would hold its shape best when served at 18º F.

By Spring of 1940, the McCulloughs had finished their testing and then ordered four freezers to be built to their new specifications. The first two machines were finished in May 1940 and were slated to go to Sherb Noble who had found a location in Joliet, IL, to start the new business which would serve the new "soft frozen" ice milk. The store was jointly owned by the McCulloughs and Noble but the new business could not open its doors until it had a name.

Since "Grandpa" McCullough had always referred to the cow as the "Queen of the Dairy Business," and consequently, referred to his "soft frozen" product as the "Queen of Dairy Products," it was decided to call the store and the product Dairy Queen. The Joliet store opened on June 22, 1940. The second store opened in Moline, IL, on April 1, 1941 and a week later, the third store (Sherb Noble's second) opened in Aurora, IL. World War II sharply curtailed the expansion of Dairy Queen. In fact, at the end of the war in 1945, there were only eight Dairy Queen stores in operation.

Today, there are over 5,600 Dairy Queen stores throughout the world. In addition to Dairy Queen soft-serve products, some Dairy Queen stores also offer the "Brazier" line of hot foods. However, Dairy Queen is still the largest seller of "soft frozen" dessert products in the world. (Source - Florida DQ)

---

In 1948, Axene arranged for 35 store owners and territory operators to meet in Minneapolis with the purpose of establishing a national organization. In December of the same year, the first official meeting of the newly incorporated Dairy Queen National Trade Association (DQNTA) was held in Davenport, Iowa. Organized as a not-for-profit corporation, with C.R. Medd as its first president, national offices were soon established in the city.

---

A very popular Dairy Queen treat today is the Blizzard Treat, which is ice cream with pieces of cookies, brownies or candy blended in. It has been a staple on the menu since its introduction in 1985, a year in which Dairy Queen sold 175 million Blizzards.[4]. The Blizzard was invented and copyrighted by Richard, Ronald, and Ralph Medd of Iowa. It is traditionally served upside down to prove the thickness.

This enlargement shows that while others were posing with a cone, I was pursuing it.

---

Brenda Roggendorf commented on your link:

"Hi Greg, H C Duke & Sons of East Moline are the makers of the Dairy Queen Machines. For years my son was one of the welders that helped make the machines. "

***

GJ - Jim Medd, MHS 66, worked at the family Medd-O-Lane. A classmate says he ran one before moving to Florida. Details are welcome.

We can be doubly proud of DQ's Moline connection and the Blizzard's origin in our fair city.

MHS Hall of Fame potential? I think so. Our family loves to go there and it is an American institution.

---

The pursuit of ice cream continues:

'via Blog this'

Flashback - 20th Reunion Photo from Judy Marsh Ramsay

2011-10-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

Ann Paschall, Jenal Venckus, Judy Anderson, and JoAnn Enburg.
The Oxford English Dictionary calls this a wedge of swans.

Dave Coopman Wondered Who Had the Fight Song First, Plus Fight Song Trivia and Bruce Harter, MHS66

2011-10-10T13:07:00.001-07:00

MOLINE NATIVE TAKES FLORIDA POST MOLINE CUBBAGE WANTED

Moliner gets job Cubbage wantedPosted Online: June 25, 1997, 1:00 am

By Leon Lagerstam

Staff writer

A Moliner got the job as school superintendent in Fort Myers, Fla., after all.

Bruce Harter, 49, an administrator from Corvalis, Ore., was chosen from amongfive finalists for the superintendency of Lee County Schools in Fort Myers, asreported earlier this month.

One of the finalists for the job was Diana Cubbage, who resigned as Moline'ssuperintendent in March.

Mr. Harter was born in Moline and grew up on 42nd Street and 20th Avenue. Hegraduated from Moline High School in 1966.

"Life is full of ironies and coincidences,'' he said in a telephone interviewearlier this week from Oregon. "Unexpected things happen all the time. It'sall about living in the world. For example, you never know when you might runinto someone from your hometown or bump into someone you used to know.''

Mr. Harter and Ms. Cubbage met briefly at a school board meeting in Floridaduring the hiring process.

"I threatened to sing the Moline Fight Song to her,'' he said. "She thoughtit was pretty funny because of how ironic it was we were both in therunning.''What would have been more ironic is if Mr. Harter would have replaced Ms.Cubbage as the Moline superintendent, according to Kathleen Trevor, whograduated from Moline with Mr. Harter and organizes the class reunions he hasbeen unable to attend.

"Bruce would have been a real asset,'' Ms. Trevor said Tuesday. "It's reallyour loss.''

His success doesn't surprise her a bit, she said. "Bruce's personality wasalways charming and outgoing. He was the kind of person who made you feel realcomfortable. He always involved himself in things and he treated everyoneequally.''After graduating from Moline, Mr. Harter attended Gustavus Adolphus Collegeand later the University of Michigan.He remembers Moline as a wonderful place to grow up and said the education hereceived prepared him well. "However, the only work I could find was paintingfire hydrants for the public works department in the summer of 1970,'' hesaid.

Instead, he became a teacher for an inner city school in Detroit. "I soonfound out I was in over my head and took a year or so off and worked inhospitals,'' Mr. Harter said.

He returned to education in Michigan, where he taught, coached football andwrestling, and eventually moved into administration. His career in educationhas taken him to Iowa, Colorado, California and Oregon. Florida is next.

He said he may have considered applying for the Moline superintendent positionif the timing had been different.

When Ms. Cubbage was hired about three years ago, Mr. Harter had been inCorvalis only a couple years and did not think the timing was right. It mightbe hard to be superintendent in your hometown, but it would have been fun, hesaid.

Instead, he will start his job in Fort Myers July 21. He was given athree-year contract with an annual salary of $100,000. He will oversee 51,000students attending 67 schools in the Lee County district.

Mr. Harter is married to Lee Anna Hedges, whom he met in California. They havethree kids, Dan, 20, Susie, 16, and Kyla, 8. Although his parents moved fromthe Quad-Cities to Arizona several years ago, he still has many cousins,aunts, uncles and friends in the Quad-Cities.

He said he's noticed wherever he's gone that young people always complainabout having nothing to do. "And nobody seems to want to be around theirhometown, until they realize the importance of the foundation it provides.''

Casey's Epic Gathering

2011-10-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

Cynthia Christopherson and Debbie Mitchell Gahan demonstrated a safe but effective form of lip-plumping.

Nancy Rokohl (?), Claudia Cunningham Greenleaf, Lane Gans, Sherry Greer

Ed Eden

Casey's Gathering on Friday Night, September 30, 2011

2011-10-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

Barb Warfield DeSmet and Rex Bullock

Darlene Gabriel Katherman and Mike Matalik

Mike Johnson (left) Josephine Schaeffer Johnson, and Jerry Lucas

Wilson Junior High Debuts on Moline Memories

2011-10-10T00:22:00.000-07:00

Front Row: Denise Hoover; Judy Marsh; Sue Dunlap; Jill Welch; Marie Holevolt.
Second Row: Susan Conrath; Linda Marks; Maryann Grimes; Carolyn Roberts; Bev Briesch
Third Row: Linda Mize; Linda Hensley; _________; Peggy Hoobler; Jackie Wood.
Back Row: Joyce Brown; Linda Walline; Judy Bergstrom; Dawn Woodard; Sherry Kelly; Barbara May; Cindy LaMarr; Sheryl Morris; Peggy Gillette; Cathy Combs; Janice Noble; Linda Marshall; Madolyn Lyman; _____; _____; Ann Irwin; ________.
Back Row right side - Ruth Durham, Marilyn Rue, Ann Irwin.

Standing on Ann Irwin's left is the teacher, Eileen German.

Hot Fudge Sundaes and Green Rivers at Lagomarcino's, Moline High 1966 Reunion

2011-10-10T00:18:00.000-07:00

Back row: Cynthia Christopherson, Alan Hoffman, Debbie Mitchell Gahan and her twin in the mirror.
Foreground, starting on the left: BeverlyEpplin Wagner's back, Kathy Colburg, Pam Nystrom Sims, Barb Dodd Hawotte,
and Kris Streed Crawford.

Linda Nelson Pearson and Chris Jackson's hands.

Beverly Epplin Wagner (l.) and Kym Dennhardt Whatley

We had a great time at Lagomarcino's - my first time inside. Fortunately there were no initiation rites to endure. This was a great idea, and I hope we have many more small group gatherings at the next one.

I am voting for a 65th birthday party in two years.

Second Version of the Reunion Book Published

2011-10-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Sassy Sue is the unofficial mascot of our class.

Order the Second Version of the Reunion Book Here.

Lulu.com changed their approach, so this is an e-book or PDF that will cost $1.24. The free PDF at Lulu.com is the old version, so do not bother to get that one.

Thanks to John Robeson, I have a way to link the second version for free.

Click on this Dropbox link for a free download.

This version has all the reunion photos that I had on hand. I am happy to include more if you send them to me or post them on my Facebook page.

I improved the captions, but we still have a few unknowns. Let me know and I will fix those captions.

The third version will include what you send to me to publish. I will send everyone an email via the reunion website. I will include those responses and improve the pictures and captions as much as possible.

I expect to finish this in about two weeks, depending on how fast people respond. If I do not hear from you soon, I will assume you do not want updates posted. Nevertheless, I can fix the final version easily, correcting errors and adding information and photos.

Homecoming: 1965 and 2011 - Lawrence Eyre and Lane Gans

2011-10-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

The thrones for homecoming king and queen were set up,
so Lawrence Eyre and Lane Gans sat down for a photo.

They closed their eyes and remembered being crowned 46 years ago,
the cheers and applause, the brightly lit auditorium.

Reprise: Moline Boys Choir

2011-10-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

Can you find Linda Nelson Pearson's son Troy?

Janis Clymer Lievens, MHS 66, Died October 5, 2011

2011-10-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

Janis F. Lievens
April 15, 1948 - October 5, 2011

Janis F. Clymer Lievens, 63, of Moline, passed away Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at her home.

Gathering of Remembrance for family and close friends will be 1-3pm, Sunday, October 9, 2011 at Homewood Manor Club House, Moline. Rafferty Funeral Home is assisting her family with arrangements.

Janis was born April 15, 1948 in Moline, the daughter of Everett and Bettie Peterson Clymer. She married Charles E. Lievens in 1969. He preceded her in death in 1994.

Survivors include her son, Christopher Lievens, Moline; grandchildren, Sunni Lievens and Stevie Lievens; mother, Bettie Marlier, Moline; sisters Pennie (Earl) Davis, California, Pamela Wenk, Las Vegas, Nevada; Jill Williams, St. Louis, MO and Kim Leiter, Grand Rapids, MI and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father and sister, Debra.

"A Teacher Affects Eternity; He Can Never Tell Where His Influence Stops.” Henry Brooks Adams

2011-10-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Bruce Johnson (l.), George Small (c.), and Jim Krohn
were part of the Garfield Gashouse Gang,
denounced by Mr. McAllister at John Deere Junior High.

I was talking to George Small, one of my more hilarious friends from Garfield and John Deere. I asked, "Have you recovered from the Panama Canal?"

Someone just posted the newspaper article in Facebook, where George and others were working on a mock-up of the Panama Canal.

George said, "Recovered? That is why I became an engineer. Your mother had us create this model of the Panama Canal and she explained everything, how the gates and locks and everything else worked. It was tactile experience. I told myself - this is what I want to do in life. And I became an engineer. And later, I got to see it myself. It was exactly the way we were taught and worked just as your mother told us. It was fantastic."

Robert Millman, Michael Rothweiler,
George Small, and the late Terry Carlson worked on the model
in this Moline Dispatch article.

Then George brought up my mother's ring with the rock embedded in it. She reversed it in her hand and used it to clonk students who were not behaving. "I remember your mother's ring."

One ring to rule George Small,
and in the classroom bind him.

I said, "My wife wore the ring for the dinner tonight."

George got more excited. "She has it? Where is your wife? Excuse me. I have to go see it."

I walked over in a minute or two. Chris told me that George asked her to clonk him twice on the head. He claimed that one crack in the ring probably came from his head. More than one of her students brought up "the ring" at various times.

George and I, not to mention many others, talked about the great teachers we had in the Moline system. They agreed that we got the benefits of a very large private school with the best teachers. They went out of their way to do things for the students, such as taking them on overnight trips.

People often bring up Mary Copeland, Liz Copeland's mother, as one of their favorite teachers. Steph Sundine told a reporter that she got into music through Mrs. Leland, the singing teacher at Garfield with the angelic voice. Many guys were in the Moline Boys Choir - Lawrence Eyre, Bruce Johnson, Greg Keller, John Robeson, and more. Their director, Fred Swanson, had a PhD in music.

Alan Hoffman, our PhD rocket scientist, was encouraged by Mr. Goar at MHS to study physics. That chem-physics class was a riot, in and out of class.

Rex Bullock, whose entire ministry has involved singing, mentioned the musical ability of Mr. Partridge at MHS. There was no field, vocation, or skill that students could not pursue. We had so much available that we took it for granted, but everyone agreed, "We were prepared for college and anything else we wanted to do."

John Robeson, PhD, the late Margaret Carr, and Jim Patronagio
showed off their skills in this Line O Type article.
Mary Parsons, Debbie Mitchell, Rosemary Flatley, Jackie Ozanne,
Dean Parker,and Lawrence Eyre are also mentioned.
The class crushed my science hopes but launched a career in writing song parodies.

Thank You, 1966 Reunion Committee

2011-10-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

True Dee Giacomelli Sorgen and Delma Winter Reakes stopped for photo-op at the reunion dinner. The Reunion Committee worked hard to make this a great experience for everyone. The same people have been working on these since the beginning, and we all appreciate what they do to bring us together from all over the US.

If we stay connected on social networks and plan ahead, we can increase the total turnout next time. Those who could not make this reunion were profoundly missed.

The party-crashers from other years added to the fun.

ChurchMouse, from Britain, Likes Moline Memories

2011-09-24T19:18:00.001-07:00

churchmousec (http://churchmousec.wordpress.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Moline Memories - MHS 66 Friends: Mike Collins - O...":

What a great blog -- hope you keep Moline Memories going after reunion. Have only tuned in today ...

Enjoy your 45th reunion. Have a great time next weekend!

Churchmouse

Mike Collins - On Enjoying Moline Memories

2011-09-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

Mike created this Barbie Jeep.

Mike and his son.

Michael Collins, MHS 68 commented on this link - The Importance of Being Earnest

This play was one of the thrills of my life. Jan and I were sophomores and got the prominent roles in the show. There I was with the ever talented Jim Thorell (he had just finished playing Emile Debach in South Pacific and his voice was incredible), the ever so beautiful Diana Robinson, Super talented Janine Lawson as well as Sarah Staack and my friend Jan Chandler whom I always had the greatest respect for. Thanks, Greg for giving it back to us.

***

GJ - I enjoy blogging about Moline, Mike. I am glad to see people looking back on the same happy memories. Recently, Larry Easter was kidding me about my singular lack of music talent, both instrumental and vocal. I could only agree, but look at all the opportunities they provided for those who could. The results are obvious - local productions, Broadway, opera, Whiffenpoofs, music ministry (not mine, but Rex Bullock's), and more.

Official Notice of the 1966 Reunion - From the Online Dispatch

2011-09-23T03:48:00.000-07:00

The Moline High School Class of 1966 45-year 'Rock and Roll' reunion will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at Casey's Tap, 1512 15 St., Moline, with a cash bar and snacks. Classmates are invited to The Rock Banquet Facility, 302 1 St., Coal Valley, on Saturday, Oct. 1, for social hour, 5:30-6:30 p.m., followed by buffet and music at 6:30 . Cost is $45 per person. Call True Dee at (309) 797-5025 for information or reservations. Reunion committee members include, in front from left, Bill Serandos, Dave Coopman and Jim Kron; middle row, Karen Sommers, Judy (Marsh) Ramsay, Delma (Winter) Reakes and Barb (Warfield) DeSmet; and back row, Jayne (Johnson) McDermott, True Dee (Giacomelli) Sorgen and Darlene (Gabriel) Katherman.

Nazek Fahmy Was Our Foreign Exchange Student From Egypt

2011-09-19T12:30:00.001-07:00

Chem-Phsics Class Photos from the Archives of Mary Parsons Caisey

2011-09-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

I remember when this photo was taken in class and finding out I was not named in the newspaper caption. When John and I connected again on Facebook, we discovered a common wedding anniversary, same day and year, different locations.

" It Was My Own Little Home -- And I Was Fond of It -- And I Went Away And Forgot All about It."

2011-09-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

Ratty and Mole finally arrive at Moley's home, in time for Christmas.

The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame, Chapter Five, Dulce Domum, Excerpts, Public Domain

We others, who have long lost the more subtle of the physical senses, have not even proper terms to express an animal's inter-communications with his surroundings, living or otherwise, and have only the word `smell,' for instance, to include the whole range of delicate thrills which murmur in the nose of the animal night and day, summoning, warning? inciting, repelling. It was one of these mysterious fairy calls from out the void that suddenly reached Mole in the darkness, making him tingle through and through with its very familiar appeal, even while yet he could not clearly remember what it was. He stopped dead in his tracks, his nose searching hither and thither in its efforts to recapture the fine filament, the telegraphic current, that had so strongly moved him. A moment, and he had caught it again; and with it this time came recollection in fullest flood.

Home! That was what they meant, those caressing appeals, those soft touches wafted through the air, those invisible little hands pulling and tugging, all one way! Why, it must be quite close by him at that moment, his old home that he had hurriedly forsaken and never sought again, that day when he first found the river! And now it was sending out its scouts and its messengers to capture him and bring him in. Since his escape on that bright morning he had hardly given it a thought, so absorbed had he been in his new life, in all its pleasures, its surprises, its fresh and captivating experiences. Now, with a rush of old memories, how clearly it stood up before him, in the darkness! Shabby indeed, and small and poorly furnished, and yet his, the home he had made for himself, the home he had been so happy to get back to after his day's work.

[ GJ - But Ratty refused to take a detour! He was too busy.]

Poor Mole stood alone in the road, his heart torn asunder, and a big sob gathering, gathering, somewhere low down inside him, to leap up to the surface presently, he knew, in passionate escape. But even under such a test as this his loyalty to his friend stood firm. Never for a moment did he dream of abandoning him. Meanwhile, the wafts from his old home pleaded, whispered, conjured, and finally claimed him imperiously. He dared not tarry longer within their magic circle. With a wrench that tore his very heartstrings he set his face down the road and followed submissively in the track of the Rat, while faint, thin little smells, still dogging his retreating nose, reproached him for his new friendship and his callous forgetfulness.

The Mole subsided forlornly on a tree-stump and tried to control himself, for he felt it surely coming. The sob he had fought with so long refused to be beaten. Up and up, it forced its way to the air, and then another, and another, and others thick and fast; till poor Mole at last gave up the struggle, and cried freely and helplessly and openly, now that he knew it was all over and he had lost what he could hardly be said to have found.

The Rat, astonished and dismayed at the violence of Mole's paroxysm of grief, did not dare to speak for a while. At last he said, very quietly and sympathetically, `What is it, old fellow? Whatever can be the matter? Tell us your trouble, and let me see what I can do.'

Poor Mole found it difficult to get any words out between the upheavals of his chest that followed one upon another so quickly and held back speech and choked it as it came. `I know it's a -- shabby, dingy little place,' he sobbed forth at last, brokenly: `not like -- your cosy quarters -- or Toad's beautiful hall -- or Badger's great house -- but it was my own little home -- and I was fond of it -- and I went away and forgot all about it -- and then I smelt it suddenly -- on the road, when I called and you wouldn't listen, Rat -- and everything came back to me with a rush -- and I wanted it! -- O dear, O dear! -- and when you wouldn't turn back, Ratty -- and I had to leave it, though I was smelling it all the time -- I thought my heart would break. -- We might have just gone and had one look at it, Ratty -- only one look -- it was close by -- but you wouldn't turn back, Ratty, you wouldn't turn back! O dear, O dear!'

Recollection brought fresh waves of sorrow, and sobs again took full charge of him, preventing further speech.

The Rat stared straight in front of him, saying nothing, only patting Mole gently on the shoulder. After a time he muttered gloomily, `I see it all now! What a pig I have been! A pig -- that's me! Just a pig -- a plain pig!'

Read this brilliant analysis of the author's life and his classic work.

Jack Sundine, Moline Daily Dispatch

2011-09-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

Jack Sundine was the editor of the Dispatch while we were growing up.

GENESEO, Ill. — Jack Sundine, 91, formerly of Moline, died peacefully on Friday, September 2, 2011, at his home in Geneseo, Ill.

According to his wishes, his body is being donated to the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. A private family gathering is planned.

Jack Sundine was born in Moline on April 6, 1920, to August and Florence (Rogers) Sundine. On March 30, 1946, in San Francisco, Calif., he married Patricia Niemeyer. That marriage ended in divorce. In 1988, he married Loretta Trainer, who preceded him in death in 1993.

Mr. Sundine graduated from Moline High School, attended Augustana College and graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism. After attending U.S. Midshipman School at Notre Dame and serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II, he retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of captain. He was co-publisher and editor of the Moline Dispatch Newspaper for 19 years, retiring in 1969. He lived in Florida for many years.

Mr. Sundine was active in many organizations in the Quad-Cities, including as president of the Moline Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Metropolitan Airport Commission of Rock Island County, chairman of the Rock Island County Cancer Society, chairman of the Illinois Public Aid Commission, vice-president of the Illinois Public Airport Association, senior professional member of the Illinois Aeronautics Board and member of the Illinois Human Rights Commission. He was also active in the ACLU and NAACP. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Moline for many years before moving to Florida. Throughout his life, he took an active interest in politics and current events. After retirement, he enjoyed freelance writing.

Survivors include a daughter, Stephanie (Victor DeRenzi) Sundine of New York, N.Y.; a sister, Jo Schneider of Austin, Texas; three granddaughters, Francesca MacBeth, Kate Laver and Stephanie Kruse; and four great-grandchildren.He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Jeanne Gorham, a son, John Sundine, and a daughter, Krista Kruse.

Online condolences may be sent at www.wendtfuneralhome.com.Read more: http://qctimes.com/app/obits/?section=profile&id=168860#ixzz1XuDfB5Bf

Pat Sundine was a pioneer in television for women.

Stephanie Sundine became an opera star and director.

Melo Cream Memories from an Employee

2011-09-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "View of Old Moline":

I enjoy reading what you post.

I grew up in Moline and worked at Melo-Cream at 16 (almost 58 now), as did an older sister Cindy and my Mother Donna when she was young. You had a picture posted, one of the girls looks like she could be my mom.
I remember all the pictures on the walls and how Homer Jackson would love taking them(pics). He took the workers to see Brigadoon , the one and only play I ever saw. He and his two hour naps "NOT MORE THEN TWO HOURS" he would say.

He always had the radio tuned to WQUA but when he went down for his nap some how the radio would get turned to KSTT. Homer loved his children and would brag (in a good way) about them. Through the years I have often thought of them and wondered how they are.

Homer would buy us work shoes and had air conditioner put in our apartments.

I'm rambling now but could go on and on. Thank You Homer

Susan Partlow Flanagan

***

GJ - How kind of you to post this, Susan. If you friend me on Facebook you can find a bunch of Melo-Cream photos in my albums. Dave Coopman will have a laugh about KSTT, because that was the cool radio station. It was a pleasure to know the WQUA announcers and Flambo.

Send more memories to post, Susan. I worked there too, but I think before your tenure. Dad was quite a character. He was very stingy and also very generous. He wanted people to be healthy and not suffer from bad, cheap shoes. I used to hear from classmates about what Dad was saying. I would ask, "My father?" He would ask me about everything going on in my adult life and not say anything. He didn't want to spoil me with his responses. But he would go on and on with others, I understand.

Adam Jones was a WQUA announcer, now famous with his wife for their liturgical ceramics business.

We Have Lost Someone Special in Norma Tunberg

2011-09-07T11:15:00.001-07:00

Norma Tunberg, Whitey's Ice Cream matriarch, was a Moline icon.

'We have lost someone special' in Norma Tunberg

ShareOriginally Posted Online: Sept. 06, 2011, 5:38 pmLast Updated: Sept. 06, 2011, 6:33 pmComment on this story | Print this story | Email this storyBy John Marx, jmarx@qconline.com

George McDoniel said one of his toughest challenges was finding different ways to say thank you to the late Norma Tunberg.

Mr. McDoniel, executive director of the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad-Cities, said Mrs. Tunberg and her late husband, Bob, were the most generous supporters of children with disabilities the area has ever known.

Mrs. Tunberg, of Moline, who owned Whitey's Ice Cream for 58 years, died Sunday at age 88. Bob Tunberg died in 1991.

Services are 10 a.m. today at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Moline.

"Norma and Bob spent a lifetime making sure children had what they needed,'' Mr. McDoniel said. "Every month in my 27 years, and I'm sure many years before me, support financially came from the Tunbergs.That commitment has been passed on to their sons, Jon and Jeff Tunberg.

"When I took the job I have now in 1984, I was told one of my toughest tasks would be finding new ways to say thank you to the Tunbergs. Few were as gracious and caring as Norma. Few were as sharp and understanding as Norma. What an amazing woman and an amazing family.''

For nearly six decades, Mrs. Tunberg helped build what was a corner ice cream store into several area outlets that have become one of the most successful businesses in the Midwest.

Mr. McDoniel, who knows a gem when he sees one, says Mrs. Tunberg was the model by which to live one's life.

"Norma and Bob -- and it took me years to be able to abide by her request to call her Norma -- were examples that success comes to great people,'' Mr. McDoniel said.

"Whitey's Ice Cream is the Quad-Cities. The Tunbergs are the Quad-Cities, not only because of their business, but of their commitment to their community. Norma set an amazing, well-rounded example as to how to live your life.''

Mr. McDoniel said an annual one-on-one conversation with Mrs. Tunberg covering an assortment of topics was something he looked forward to.

"It was a Christmas-time event I knew would brighten my day, my week, the season,'' Mr. McDoniel said. "It was like it always was, difficult to find a new way to tell Norma thank you for her generosity and her guidance. She was such an engaging, friendly person with an uplifting spirit. We have lost someone special.''

Despite a hectic schedule, Mrs. Tunberg always made time for others. She was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Moline, the Terpsichorean Dance Club and was a past president of the Garfield School PTA, John Deere Junior High PTA and Junior Women's Club. She loved to travel and exercise.

"Never once did she get caught up in thinking about herself,'' Mr. McDoniel said. "It was always for the good of everyone.''

Columnist John Marx can be reached at (309) 757-8388 or jmarx@qconline.com.

Share This Video

2011-09-06T21:43:00.001-07:00

Reunion Book - First Draft. Time To Send Reservations for MHS 66 Reunion

2011-08-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

Larry Easter (upper left) was in Linn County, after high school. I am posting this picture to help him remember to send his reservation.

The reservations should be mailed to the Reunion Committee, so they can get an accurate count for the festivities. We are looking forward to seeing old friends.

My wife Chris would not miss it for anything. She thinks the 1966 class is great. She often brags about it when she talks to her friends and relatives.

A lot of us are having fun on Facebook, keeping up daily contacts, admiring photos of grandchildren and pets.

I have a rough draft done of the reunion book. This way we can have a printed book to keep with photos and bios, past and present. The cover is better than I imagined, M madras on the front, a photo of the Mississippi on the back. The graphics I posted do not really show off how good it looks.

The current draft can be downloaded free here. Additions and suggestions are welcome.

The two biggest additions will be:
1. Current bios.
2. Reunion photos.
3. An improved list of accomplishments.
4. Better editing.

I am not going to publish more than you want in the bios. Contact information is best left on the reunion website, where people have to register to get at the list.

The best reunion photos are head and shoulder pictures, with readable name tags showing. Unlabeled photos are not much help. You can send me photos or I can get them from your FB pages.

The final edition can be bought as a printed book with a black and white interior, four-color cover. The PDF is available as a free download, and all color photos are the same inside. But there is no cover with the PDF, of course.

The only way to print color on the inside is to pay for all color pages, even when they are black and white. That is very expensive, especially since we were cutest in black and white, back in the 1950s.

Kym Dennhardt Whatley wanted this book done, so you can thank her for the constant urging.

Thanks to Print-On-Demand, the book can be edited and improved easily. I have done a dozen books this way, so it is second nature.

Successful Author John Boland - MHS 66

2011-08-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

John Boland
The October issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine leads off with my story "Swimming in Fog." They've posted an online excerpt, but believe it or not the magazine is still printed on paper.

Welcome to Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine!

www.themysteryplace.com

Some people treat crime like a game—but to win that game, you need an air-tight plan and the stomach to see it through. Just ask Yarnell, protagonist of R. T. Lawton's Holiday Burglar series, who makes a s-l-o-w getaway this month in "Labor Day." Of course, you also need to know what game you're in—...

Cover Done on the MHS 66 Reunion Book

2011-08-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

I set up the project, which makes it easier to revise and check on the PDF download.

Above is a thumbnail front cover. The madras may look familiar.

Y'all know what the high school looks like. We are a Mississippi River town, so here is the back cover, full size.

I Will Produce a Reunion Book for the MHS 66 Reunion: Helpers Welcome

2011-08-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Kris Streed practices nursing skills on a brave but terrified Patty Puck.

I heard that a reunion booklet was too much trouble, but some of us think a booklet is a valuable treasure to keep. The fact is, some of us will not be around for the 50th. We used to take that sort of thing for granted, but we have lost too many friends to deny reality at this stage.

The reunion website is convenient and many will enjoy that. The reunion committee chose a good tool for that, and Judy Marsh Ramsey has done most of the work to get that going.

I publish with Lulu.com regularly. I can produce a reunion book, the size of a paperback, with a four-color color cover, for a reasonable cost.

If cost is a problem, the book will also be available as a free PDF download.

The book can be revised, expanded, and corrected easily.

I am producing a dummy cover at the moment. I will also have some content done for the inside, reserving 50% of the space for a list of Dave Coopman's most recent books about the Quad Cities.

Those who want to contribute their stories and memories to the book are welcome to do so.

Time To Register for the MHS 66 Reunion: September 30th and October 1st, 2011

2011-08-04T05:56:00.000-07:00

Moline Sr High School
Class Of 1966

MHS Class of ’66

Believe it or not but it’s time for our “45^th” class reunion. You know you are only as old as you feel, so get ready to kick up your heels and have a great time with all of your classmates.

Our celebration will be on September 30^th and October 1^st, 2011. We will begin Friday at Casey’s Tap, 1512 15^th Street, Moline starting at 6:00 p.m. with a cash bar and snacks.

Saturday we will meet at The Rock Banquet Facility, 302 - 1^st St., Coal Valley. The social hour will be from 5:30-6:30, and a hearty buffet starting at 6:30; with music by “The Night People.”

Rock n Roll is the theme for our casual Saturday night event. So if you want to come in a poodle skirt or madras plaid you are more than welcome. We want this to be a fun night for all. The cost for Saturday night will be $45.00 per person. There will also be a 50/50 raffle.

If you are interested in a round of golf, details are listed below. Also, for those nostalgic at heart, a tour of the High School will begin on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Meet at the M.

For those coming from out of town, Kym Dennhardt Whatley has arranged a group rate at the Comfort Inn. Please call 309-762-7000 to reserve your room under the group name "MHS CLASS OF 1966".

Please don’t forget to send us yourupdated email and/or physical address. Our email address is: MolineHigh1966@yahoo.com We now have a really great website where you can create your own profile, enter pictures and connect with old friends. It is truly a great experience. Simply go to: www.MolineHigh1966.com and sign up today.

“We hope to see you all there”

Please mail back your reservation with payment to: Delma Winter Reakes, 2484 31st St. Ct., Moline, IL 61265 no later than September 1
_____________________________________________________________________________

Please send me ____ tickets for the “45^th Reunion – Make checks out to: Moline High Class of ’66

Name: ___________________________________ Maiden Name _____________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ___________________________________________________________________________

Golf Outing

The following locations have been arranged:

Friday Sept. 30^{th -}Hawthorne Ridge, Aledo, IL (309-562-5641)

Play your own ball:- 5 tee times starting at noon – every 8 minutes

Saturday Oct. 1^st - Byron Hills – Port Byron, IL (800-523-9306)

Scramble - 6 tee times starting at 11:06 a.m. – every 8 minutes

Questions? Contacts:

Tom Gramkow – 309-685-1700 tom.gramkow.bzyt@statefarm.com

Bill Serandos - 309-799-3274 wserandos@mchsi.com

Any Other questions email me at MolineHigh1966@yahoo.com

Judy

http://www.MolineHigh1966.com

Ingredients Matter - Melo Cream Doctrine

2011-06-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Three fathers: Homer Jackson, Greg Jackson, Martin Jackson. We let my wife pose for the calender too.
Martin and Tammy's son, Alexander, looks just like Martin in this pose.

Classmates still talk about Melo Cream doughnuts. When the Hasty Tasty bought out Melo Cream, to keep producing the same doughnuts, the first objection was the cost of the flour.

Doughnut flour can be bought from any wholesaler. My father insisted on a special flour from California. Shipping hundred-pound bags from California to Moline, Illinois, is rather expensive. Hasty Tasty was not amused.

We used the best chocolate for icing. Nibs were melted slowly, with vanilla icing added after. Chemical chocolate was available. Many companies use a form of carob. Remember the husks the pigs ate in the Parable of the Prodigal Son? They were carob. Pig food. We used rich, dark chocolate.

Two kinds of sugar can be used. Beet sugar and cane sugar are exactly the same in their chemical formulations. However, any baker will say, cane is better. A room of beet sugar smells funny. Not bad, just off. We used cane sugar always, and it cost more.

We added such things as pure cinnamon, nutmeg, and flavor enhancers.

Bread doughnuts were made with wet yeast, which we had to buy from Johnson's Bakery. We were too small to be a stop. Dry yeast works too, but wet yeast is better. We added eggs (not dried eggs) and potato flour to the mix. We even kept old dough in the freezer because a lump of old dough made a fresh batch even better. These were extra steps, but they added to the quality of the bread doughnuts.

The nuts we used were superb. We bought the biggest and best pecans and walnuts, not the crumbles. We got boxes of top quality coconut. Raw peanuts were the large size. We fried them, using them ground for Barlow doughnuts and peanut topped doughnuts. Going to the basement for supplies was fun. I could nick a warm danish from the cooling rack at the top of the stairs. Finishing that, I had coconut, walnuts, and pecans to enjoy while searching for that elusive pail of flour. "Have you found it yet?" Quick swallow - "Not yet. I'm looking."

Coffee was another opportunity to save a few pennies. We had a Maxwell House sign up, but we blended it with Yuban for better flavor. Instead of perking cheap coffee, we used a drip maker and the blend - gourmet coffee for 10 cents a cup. When the coffee was a little bit old, we threw it out and made more. More than once I threw it out as a customer protested, "I don't mind. I don't mind."

I am drinking my own home-made gourmet coffee now.

Perfectionism works well in making good food and deserts, but not in making a lot of money. Most people do not know the difference between the best recipe made with painstaking care and a mediocre recipe thrown together by an uncaring slob.

Many people are publishing essays that say, "Thanks for the life lessons, Dad."

I am simply saying, "You ruined me, Dad. I cannot settle for second best."

My father is on the far right, his brother a little bit to his left.
The shop was at 1313 - Fifth Avenue, near WQUA...forever.

Near the Historic Site of Melo Cream and WQUA: To Become Loft Apartments

2011-06-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Moline building to become loft apartments

Developer Mark Roemer plans to create loft apartments and retail space in the former Phillips mini mall in downtown Moline. (Jennifer DeWitt/QUAD-CITY TIMES)

A Quad-City developer has plans to bring a downtown Moline building back to life as loft housing.
Mark Roemer has a contract to purchase the former Phillips Mini Mall, located at 1320-1322 5th Ave. Through his Phillips Lofts LLC, he plans to convert the four-story building into 18 two-bedroom, market-rate apartments with 2,400 square feet of commercial space available on the ground floor.

“This is just a good project that I think will help Moline,” he said. “There is a lot of exciting stuff going on in Moline and I just want to be part of it.”

The Phillips Lofts project will restore the one-time Phillips furniture store and former furniture warehouse to an active use, said Ray Forsythe, the city’s planning and development director. “The good thing about Mark is he is already in downtown Moline and he knows the market.”

This will be Roemer’s fifth apartment project since 2002 in downtown Moline, where he owns about 44 apartment units with adjoining commercial space.

Forsythe said the Phillips building has sparked many inquiries from other developers over the years, but previously the owner, Roger Colmark, was not willing to sell. Colmark is the Sterling, Ill., developer who began restoring the historic John Deere House in Moline about 15 years ago, but was forced to abandon the project due to a foreclosure.

“Roger had the (Phillips) building full of John Deere memorabilia that he was going to use to fill the John Deere house,’’ Forsythe said. “Once he lost the John Deere house, he was willing to let go of that property and Mark seized the opportunity.”

Roemer said he hopes to close on the purchase in August and begin what will be a renovation of about nine months. He estimates he could begin leasing the lofts next April or May. He would not disclose a purchase price.

He said he knows demand is there from his other downtown properties. “We always have a steady stream of inquiries and a lot of times we do have a waiting list,” he said, adding he sees a lot of potential on the west end of downtown.

Roemer also is acquiring the 50-space parking lot directly to the west at 1312 5th Ave. to provide secured parking for the Phillips Lofts tenants as well as for some of his other downtown tenants. Any available spaces will be rented to the businesses that now use the lot, he said.
“Anytime you have cool loft-style living space that will attract younger people,” Roemer said, comparing the latest project to his Boston Lofts at 1441 5th Ave. He added that many of tenants are young professionals and downtown employees.

This is Roemer’s first project to involve tax increment financing, or TIF, and historic tax credits. According to Forsythe, the Moline City Council approved a TIF rebate of up to $240,000 at its meeting on Tuesday. He said Roemer will receive the rebate over five years from the additional tax increment the improved property generates.

The project also is in an Enterprise Zone, which allows for a sales tax exemption on all construction materials, he added.

The Phillips Lofts renovation comes as several other development projects are in the works in downtown Moline. They include the 69-unit Enterprise Work-Live Lofts at River Drive and 19th Street and development of a new Amtrak station, Forsythe said.

Moline Icon Dies - Thomas Lagomarcino

2011-06-14T21:08:00.001-07:00

Obituaries

Thomas Lagomarcino

Printer Friendly Page

June, 13, 2011 | Sign the Guestbook | Email Announcement

MOLINE — Thomas P. Lagomarcino, 95, of Moline, passed away Saturday, June 11, 2011, at Trinity Medical Center, Rock Island.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at St. Mary’s Church, Moline, where he was a life member. Visitation will be from 3 until 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Rafferty Funeral Home, 2111 1st St. A, Moline, with a Christian Wake service at 2:30 p.m. Burial will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery, East Moline. Memorials can be made to St. Mary’s Church, Alleman High School, Trinity Pathway Hospice or a favorite charity.

Tom was born December 7, 1915, in Moline, the son of Angelo and Luigia (Schenone) Lagomarcino. He married Elizabeth Pinch on August 27, 1949, in Chippewa Falls, Wis.

Tom was owner and operator of Lagomarcino’s Confectionery, Moline, with his sister, Mary, and brother, Charlie, and later his wife and children. Tom welcomed customers into Lagomarcino’s store with his smile, calling them “my friend,” treating them with sweets and entertaining them with Big Band music along with his witty and wise sayings. Many were reassured by Tom that, “there are no calories here, just energy units.”

Tom enjoyed boating, traveling and especially spending time with his family. The Rock River was a second home to Tom. He loved to take family and friends on boat rides, feed the ducks with grandchildren and relax at “camp” – his haven on the river. Tom enjoyed many wonderful trips with his wife, Betsy, especially to Italy where he had a chance to visit his “roots” and be surrounded by his beloved language.

Survivors and (spouses) include his wife, Betsy; children, Mary Beth Lagomarcino (Terry Otten), Moline, Tom (Sandy) Lagomarcino, Moline, Ann Lagomarcino (Brian Pyszka), South Bend, Ind., Paul (Valerie) Lagomarcino, Naperville, Ill., Lisa (Phil) Ambrose, Davenport, and Carol (Mike) Babcock, Bethalto, Ill.; 19 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

He was preceded in death by his stepmother, Carmella, brother, Charles, and sister, Mary.

Condolences may be left at www.RaffertyFunerals.com.

Dave Coopman's Quad City International Airport - The Perfect Gift for QC Fans, Moliners in Particular

2011-06-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

Those who want an important and fascinating book about aviation and Moline will love this contribution by Dave Coopman.

Three of his books can be found at this Amazon link:

David Coopman's books.

The ones listed are:

Quad City International Airport
Davenport's WOC AM-FM-TV
Rock Island County

He has also written about WQUA AM and KSTT AM.

Industrial Power
I grew up taking the Moline airport for granted. Little did I realize how the industrial power of John Deere gave us so many opportunities seldom afforded a town of equal size.

Also, our area had many pioneers who were willing to take advantage of the new technologies, and we benefited from that love of adventure. The Palmers got the area into radio at the beginning of the era, which led to President Reagan getting his first job in the Quad Cities. The Palmers were also far ahead of others in alternative medicine. Our chiropractors in Phoenix named their dog Palmer in honor of the doctor.

Dairy Queen and Chicken Delight were two far-sighted food franchises.

I never made the connection between Kris Streed's family and the airport. I knew her at MHS and Augustana, but we never stopped to talk about airplanes. She contributed a number of photographs to the book, because her father was one of the pioneers of local aviation.

The Moline Airport
Frank Wallace brought aviation to the Quad Cities, trained in flight by Wilbur Wright in France. Wallace Field was the first, on the Iowa side, in 1919.

Gus DeSchepper was trained at Wallace Field and helped start Franing Field and an airplane business there.

One of the most unusual pioneers was a Belgian priest who came to Moline to found Sacred Heart Church (below). Rev. John Culemans was trained by fellow Belgian DeSchepper and had his own plane. Father Culemans was instrumental in Moline buying the airport.

Richard Streed partnered with DeSchepper in the aviation business (p. 14).

The Moline airport was one of the first and a good stopping place on the way to Chicago or St. Louis. Charles Lindbergh stopped at Moline a few months after his historic flight, 1927. Augustana College held a inner in his honor and an enormous crowd of 50,000 gathered to see him off.

Deere Velie Connection
The Velie family was related to the Deere, so they had the capital to make carriages, cars and airplanes (p. 24).

We remember Velie for the Plantation restaurant at his mansion, but he is also known for his luxury car and airplanes.

Famed stunt pilot Vern Roberts (who inspired Lindbergh) became the manager of the Moline Airport in 1927 (p. 25).

Most of us associate Mosenfelder with men's clothing, but Gabe Mosenfelder was also one of the early fans of aviation. He flew for the Curtiss Flying Service, out of Moline.

Someone should be saying at this point, "They all lived?" This was a dangerous avocation in the early days and not always safe today. They were brave men. And one was a woman - Amelia Earhart visited Moline shortly before she went missing in 1937. That riddle has not been solved to this day.

Dr. Warren Streed, the dentist (Kris' father) is pictured on page 32. I recall from Facebook that he was a wing-walker, too. He is pictured in flight on page 34. He was a founding member of the QC Airmen's Association, pictured on page 35.

Great Historical Photos
Coopman is a master of historical detail, balancing the significant facts with the fascinating stories.

One great contribution is the ad for the Moline Airport Motel - "Nothing Like It Anywhere." It had six apartments and was heated in the winter (p. 40).

The growth of the airport, from grassy field to concrete runways, is another interesting aspect of the book, told in great detail, with many explanatory photos.

Moline became the main airport because statistics showed our city was the center of QC population (p. 57).

Many of us remember the excitement of going to the airport and watching aircraft take off and land. Air travel was still rather expensive and glamorous in the 1950s and 1960s. If we got to fly anywhere, we dressed up in our Sunday best.

Famous people appeared at the airport. I went to the Nixon rally there during the 1960 campaign. Reaching up through the forest of hands, I shook his, just before he went into the plane and left.

My wife, son, and I saw President Reagan at the Saginaw, Michigan Airport, inside a hanger, 1988. No one shook his hand that day, but we were very close, in the VIP section. My wife said, "Are we VIPs?" I led them in, saying, "Very Important Pastor."

JFK was also at the airport, as I recall. My family was not about to see a Democrat candidate.

Newest Version, 1985 to the Present
I thought the Moline Airport was quite spiffy when I got to visit it. My first flight was going to a bakers' convention in Boston. We flew a DC-3 to Chicago, a bone rattling journey. Then we got on a jet to Boston. My father never got over the speed of air travel. We were on the streets of Boston and he said, "We were in Moline a short time ago!"

My parents grew up on farms without electricity. My mother bought her first computer at the age of 80, after the prices went down. I wonder if any generation will see the same advances in so few years.

The latest version of the airport is detailed by Coopman, with many explanatory photographs. In 1988, President Reagan landed at Moline Airport and spoke at WOC radio (p. 104).

The official name is now the Quad City International Airport, a name earned by its prominence in the region and its direct flights to Europe.

Coopman has written a fine tribute to the pioneers who built and maintained their own planes, worked for a bigger airport, and made our little town a center of progress.

John Boland - Another Author from Moline High, 1966

2011-06-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

John Boland, MHS 1966.

I did not know John Boland at MHS. I think we had the same drowning class, and I recall his name showing up every time a writing award was given out. I tagged them for Facebook, and they appear on his FB page.

He just sent me two books he has written. They came today, but I wanted to mention his work before I reviewed some other Moline books.

He has been involved in journalism, business, and mystery novels or stories for many years.

His journalism is linked here.

His published short stories are found here.

His novels are here.

Some of his books are available at Perfect Crimes.

Many of us enjoy murder mysteries or think we might write one some day. I will write again when I have done some reading in Boland's books.

Our Historian, Dave Coopman, Publishes Another Book - QC Aviation

2011-05-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

Coop showed an intense interest in aviation in childhood.

History buff publishes book tracing airport's roots

Share11

Posted Online: May 07, 2011, 10:26 pm

Comment on this story | Print this story | Email this story
By John Marx, jmarx@qconline.com

In 1922, a group of flying enthusiasts were so taken with the sky that they leased 30 acres of cow pasture south of Moline to preserve as a landing field.

Franing Field would become the Moline Airport and eventually Quad City International Airport.

An interesting look at the 109-year history of the airport has been brought to life in "Images of Aviation: Quad City International Airport,'' by local history expert and author Dave Coopman.

Mr. Coopman, a former teacher and past president of the Rock Island County Historical Society, is the author of two books about local radio stations and two books in the "Image of America'' series published by Arcadia Publishing.

A 1970 St. Ambrose College graduate, Mr. Coopman also spent 27 years in industrial sales and management. He admits having a huge fascination with aviation, a love that began as a child with bicycle trips to watch planes arrive and depart at the Moline Airport.

Because the airport had a huge hand in the growth of the community and a story to tell, Mr. Coopman took on the challenge.

"As I'd mention I was putting a book together on the airport's history, so many people would tell me they also used to go watch all the activity, and everyone mentioned the old observation area in the terminal,'' Mr. Coopman said.

"The airport had an interesting history -- started by men who became enamored with flying following WWI, became one of the earliest airmail stops, almost went broke several times, was saved from folding by its purchase by the city of Moline, was the second largest WPA project in the state and won a multi-year battle over Davenport on where the air-carrier airport would be located. The airport's history would make in interesting story I felt should be documented.''

The book is a collection of photographs and images of people, planes and events that transformed the former pasture into today's modern airport. Quad City International is the third largest airport for passenger traffic in the state of Illinois.

"Highlights include images of the earliest days of the airfield and early airplanes,'' Mr. Coopman said. "There are photos from the Moline stops of the National Air Tours in the 1920s, the construction projects that turned Franing Field into the Quad City Airport; and the overall growth of the airport.

"Photos from a 1940 air show and the 1954 dedication of the new terminal illustrate the crowds of people that were as curious as I was with aviation," he said. "The biggest hurdle was trying to compress nearly eight years of bickering between the Illinois and Iowa factions over the airport's location into about 260 words.''

Mr. Coopman said the undertaking was not a one-man project; many people helped bring the 128-page book -- with more than 200 images -- to life.

"So many people helped,'' he said. " Kris Streed Crawford, granddaughter of Richard Streed who was in business with Gus DeSchepper, one of the originators of the Moline airport, and daughter of Dr. Warren Streed, an early aviator and former airport commissioner, provided the historical library with articles and scrapbooks.

"Cathy Rockau, marketing chief at Quad City International, who allowed me access to the airport's archives. Ken Roberts, whose father Verne Roberts was a test pilot for the Mono Aircraft Co. and former airport manager, supplied photos from his father's collection. Phyllis Shrader, whose late husband Dick, was long time city manager at United Airlines, provided articles and photos.''

Mr. Coopman said the Quad-Cities is filled with interesting people and places to bring to life.

"There are so many interesting stories about people, places, businesses and events around the area, and I'm just curious by nature,'' he said.

"I enjoy finding out the story behind the story. Many younger people just don't realize what a historically rich area this is. Maybe, in some small way, I can help inform them.''

Dave Coopman, MHS 66, Marks Birthday With Proof-sheets for His New Book:Quad City Aviation

2011-02-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

Dave was always the first one on the airplane ride,
which helped finance the QC Airport in Moline.

Today is Dave Coopman's birthday. Say hello to him on Facebook.

He mentioned that the proof-sheets for his new book on Quad-City aviation had just arrived. That always means more work, more corrections, but also the incipient thrill of a new book coming out.

We all have a great deal of respect for Dave's work in preserving Quad-City history. To master the details and present them in an interesting form is quite a challenge. Many historians are not up to the task. They preserve their notecards and print every single one of them, in the name of history.

Dave has given me a new respect for many different Quad-City pioneers and figures, and a much better understanding of our hometown area.

Look up his other books and order them. Each one is worth reading and keeping.

Nazek Fahmy (MHS 65) Writes about Egypt

2011-02-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

Nazek was our foreign exchange student. Everyone liked her. She just wrote to Mary Parsons Caisley:

It so happened that I left Egypt on the first day of the troubles to visit my daughter who lives in the Gulf with her husband and two kids. No one ever thought that the protests would take such a scale. The disaffections of the last ten years have been many, and although we are a bit dazed by what has happened, we are all proud of the young, secular Egyptians who started it all. I should be going home in two days--I have spent the last ten days worried about my husband and other daughter who were trapped at home in Alex. and like all other Egyptians, I have no idea what the future holds, but I will live and die in Egypt and pray to God that He will keep Egypt safe from harm.

Nazek Fahmy AFS, Class of 65

My Home Town Area Gave President Reagan His First Job - WOC Radio

2011-02-06T05:04:00.001-08:00

Reagan came back as president to pose at the WOC mike and broadcast.
Dave Coopman wrote about this event in his book on WOC Radio.

Dutch Reagan was born not too far from Moline - Tampico, Illinois, only 45 miles away. On this day, 100 years ago, it was also snowing furiously.

Reagan grew up in Dixon, Illinois and graduated from Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois, 1932.

WOC Radio, started by the Palmer (School of Chiropractic) family, hired him as an announcer. We take radio for granted now, but the Palmers were pioneers in introducing radio to the area.

Facebook is the technological rage now, and Moline High graduate John Getz plays the lawyer in the new movie about Facebook.

Tom DeSmet, MHS 66, Died on February 2, 2011

2011-02-04T03:38:00.000-08:00

Thomas DeSmet

February, 4, 2011 |
BETTENDORF — Thomas M. DeSmet, 62, of Bettendorf, died Wednesday, February 2, 2011, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City.

A Memorial Mass will be 11:30 a.m. Monday at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 1506 Brown Street, Bettendorf. Visitation is from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory Ltd., 6601 38th Avenue, Moline. Cremation rites have been accorded. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Tom was born March 2, 1948, in Moline, the son of Albert and Rachel (Vander Vennet) DeSmet. He married his “high school sweetheart” Barbara Warfield on April 28, 1973, at Christ the King Catholic Church in Moline.

Tom was a territory manager at Lifetouch for 23 years, retiring in 2005. He previously worked 17 years at International Harvester. Tom served four years in the U.S. Air Force. He was a 1966 graduate of Moline High School and graduated from Augustana College with honors. Tom was a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Bettendorf, where he was an usher at the 8:30 a.m. Mass, and enjoyed breakfast afterwards with friends. He was an avid fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears. Tom loved to travel with Barb, his family and the Lifetouch Alumni Club. He also volunteered for Meals On Wheels with his wife. Tom always looked forward to Friday pizza night with the gang and Saturday morning donuts will never be the same. His greatest joy of all was being “Papa” to his grandchildren. He was loved by so many and will truly be missed.

Survivors include his wife, Barbara DeSmet, Bettendorf, Iowa; daughter, Melissa (Scott) Schroeder, Coralville, Iowa, and their children, Madeline and Andrew; son, Michael (Trisha) DeSmet, Davenport, Iowa, and their child, Teagan; brothers, Robert (Janet) DeSmet, Davenport, Iowa, and Jim (Sharon) DeSmet, Dallas, Texas; sister, Andrea (Rob) Sullivan, Olathe, Kan.; 15 nieces and nephews; and 25 great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, stepfather, Herman Verstraete, sister, Joyce DeSmet, and two beagles, Babe and Betsy.

Online condolences may be expressed to Tom’s family by visiting his obituary at www.esterdahl.com.

Rex Benz in the New York Times

2011-02-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

"Rex Benz of Moline, Ill., did not let conditions stop him from his job search recently."

New York Times article:

ST. LOUIS — A sprawling winter storm stretching from the Southwest through the Midwest halted thousands of flights and created treacherous driving conditions on Tuesday, with blizzards dumping snow on ice-covered roads and knocking out power lines.

Missouri residents were hunkered down for what forecasters said could be the worst winter storm to hit the region in 30 years. A freezing rain fell here Monday night, covering the city in a sheath of ice before blizzard conditions arrived.

“We’ve seen tremendous amounts of snow since daybreak, already 6 to 7 inches in some portions of the state,” said Fred Glass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in St. Charles, Mo. “Were calling for 18 to 21 inches in Jefferson City. That would put this in the top two or there storms since we’ve been keeping records.”

Mr. Glass, who predicted winds of up to 40 miles an hour, added: “The last component of this storm is that the winds are really going to start cranking up and get pretty gusty tonight and tomorrow. That ice on the lines and on tree limbs is pretty heavy, and with those kind of winds we could see a lot of lines come down. So it’s likely we’ll see some power outages.”

By late morning, Ameren, a utility that services Illinois and Missouri, reported nearly 17,000 power failures in Illinois but only 135 in Missouri. Concerned about the storm’s severity, the utility’s Web site says it was in “storm mode” and had brought in more than 800 external linemen from as far away as Wisconsin and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, the ice storm prompted St. Louis Public Schools to cancel classes on Tuesday, and officials at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport said they had canceled more than 400 flights by early Tuesday morning.
Airports from Dallas to New York were scrambling. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was closed Tuesday morning. In Chicago, some snow had fallen overnight, but the worst of the storm was expected to hit on Tuesday afternoon. But more than 1,000 flights were already canceled at O’Hare in advance of the storm.

Road conditions were treacherous in the St. Louis area. Tim Hull, a captain with the Missouri Highway Patrol, said that black ice had already caused the death of a 55-year-old woman who was killed early Tuesday morning in a head-on collision after she lost control of her vehicle near Rolla, Mo., about 100 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Hundreds of schools in the Chicago area announced they would close early. Chicago election officials said early voting in the city’s race to replace Mayor Richard M. Daley would be suspended on Wednesday except for at one downtown location. In Springfield, both chambers of the state Legislature canceled sessions.

The National Weather Service early Tuesday predicted that Chicago would receive as much as 18 inches of snow. The combination of strong winds and heavy snow could cause prolonged power failures, the weather service said.

Mike Collins, MHS 68: The Broken Window Shrine, Theater, and Cars

2011-01-28T05:14:00.000-08:00

Mike broke this window as a child.
This is why it was never repaired...

In his own words:

"I was playing marbles with Jim Putnam and Harry Mahar on 11th Ave C when we decided to see who could throw a marble the farthest. My choice was over the house on 27th street facing 11th C. I was short.....I walked up to the guys house and knocked on the door to turn myself in, so to speak, and he didn't even know it had happened. He asked me what we should do and I told him to call my dad. After my dad showed up we went and bought a window and came back to replace it and the owner told us he wanted to do that himself and put the window in the garage. That was about 1960 I think.

Years later when I was living in Arizona , I was visiting and saw the man and his wife working in the front yard. I stopped and told him who I was and he and his wife got big smiles on their faces and he told me he never replaced the window because I had renewed his faith in the youth and wanted a reminder not to become angry over neighborhood kids anymore. He showed the window to his friends and church members and used it for a lesson/story. That was in 1976. I told him then it was time and I could do it for him and of course they wouldn't let me....

I was recently in the neighborhood with my son Joe, 12 years old, and told him the story, and then stopped to see if it was still broken."

Mike spotted neighbors of the original victim on this latest trip, who invited Mike and his son into their house for tea. They spent a long time talking about the neighborhood and the tale of the broken window.

Mike said, "It was a great trip and a chance to impart a little wisdom on my youngest son."

Drama and Communications
Mike was in theater as a child. Moline High classmates remember him in "The Importance of Being Earnest." He was also Von Trapp in "The Sound of Music."

He was also in Playcrafters and the Music Guild. He worked at the Apacheland Movie Ranch, doing stunt work and some small parts, including "one terrible B movie" he has not named.

Back in the Quad Cities he directed Crazy For You. He came down with Guillain-Barre, a neurological disorder causing extreme weakness, among other symptoms.

Car Restoration
Mike earned a communications degree while he was recovering from Guillain-Barre, graduating with honors from Illinois State, and did most of the master's program. That did not turn into a communications job, so he went back to car restoration work. Some of his work is pictured below.

Mike says:
"I did a 51 Frasier and a 36 Pierce Arrow before opening my own location. (photos of both of these are in my Facebook photos albums, I am currently working on a lounge interior in a 40's passenger train car and have a 68 Malibu to start on the end of February. I would like nothing more than to return to Moline, to do whatever work is available. I am hoping to get some more rod and classic interior work, but it is hard to do when out of that for so long."

Pierce Arrow interior work.

The Barbie Jeep.

Frasier seat, green cloth with chestnut leather.

Dad
Mike loves being a father again, coaching his young son's baseball and football teams.

Mike and his son Joe enjoy time together.
Mike's favorite job is being a father.

I-280 Bridge Over the Mississippi River - Mary Parsons Caisley Photo

2011-01-09T17:36:00.001-08:00

Moline Food Puts DC on the Map

2011-01-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

From CNN and Bernie Hanssen's tip

Pizza man's first day as a Congressman

A big crowd of supporters, including his wife, Christie, kids, and the new Speaker of the House, Rep. John Boehner, came out to celebrate the ceremonial swearing in of Bobby Schilling (wearing a red tie) to Congress. By Catherine Clifford, staff reporterJanuary 5, 2011: 10:51 PM ET

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- At the open house gathering to celebrate the official swearing in to Congress of Rep. Bobby Schilling in Washington, D.C., the pizza and ice cream were shipped in from Illinois.
The pizzas came in overnight from Saint Giuseppe's Heavenly Pizza, the shop that Bobby Schilling has owned for 14 years in Moline, Ill. Before deciding to run for Congress, Schilling was a pizza man. And lucky for supporters, there are pizza ovens in the historic D.C. office building, so the pizza was hot.

The ice cream, meanwhile, was shipped on dry ice from a local ice cream legend in Illinois, Whitey's. The owners of Whitey's Ice Cream weren't able to attend the party in D.C., but they wanted to show their support for Schilling on his big day.

For all of Congress, Wednesday was a big day. The 112th Congress was officially sworn in, giving Republicans a majority in the House, while Democrats maintained a slim majority in the Senate. Veteran Rep. John Boehner of Ohio took over the chamber from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
But it was an especially big day for the Congressional first timers: Ninety-four new House members took office.

"It has been really, really busy," said Schilling, standing in the hall of the House, waiting to cast a rules vote about 4 p.m. But "I come from the restaurant business; you're talking to a guy used to working 12, 14 hours a day." When there isn't time for a meal, the pizza man resorts to energy bars: it "keeps you so you are not going to pass out," he said.

In addition to the official swearing-in ceremony, a family photo with fellow Republican Boehner to commemorate the day, and his first votes as a member of Congress, Schilling was meeting constituents and new colleagues, and being interviewed by reporters. And if there weren't enough cameras swarming Schilling, there were plenty of kids underfoot: He has ten. And his chief of staff has four, with a fifth on the way. There were kids all over the office, ranging from toddler age on up.

Schilling's son Levi, 18, said coming to D.C. for his father's swearing-in had been a "whirlwind." He flew in on Monday afternoon and the "first thing we did was come to check out my dad's office, that was pretty cool," he said. Since then, the family has been exploring the city from Chinatown to the central train hub, Union Station. The whole experience has been a little strange, though: "I have always known my dad as a pizza guy," said Levi.

With limited seating available in the chamber for the official swearing-in, supporters, friends and family watched two TV screens in Schilling's still-being-set-up office.

Friends and supporters Tim and Gin Wray drove 14 hours from Illinois with their 13-year-old daughter, Sierra, to be there for Schilling's big day. Gin went to high school with Schilling in Rock Island, Ill., and has been helping Schilling's campaign. She has a full time job as a landscaping manager, but helped out with everything from fundraising to watching kids if necessary.

"He is a family man, a business man," said Gin. "To help him get elected and to help him stay elected, I will do whatever he needs me to do."

Small business owners have been especially supportive of Schilling. Not only is Schilling a small business owner himself, but his conservative political agenda favors smaller government, popular on Main Street.
At the open house, Dan Caulkins, the owner of several nursing homes in central Illinois, observed: "This room is really populated with small business owners."

For many newly elected members of Congress, having no experience in Washington was their ticket in.
"He is a fresh face. We share common ideology about the Constitution and limited government," said Caulkins, adding that Schilling is "very honest, open, and he is not a politician and not a lawyer."

Karl Huntoon, Distinguished Lawyer, MHS '68, Rest in Peace

2011-01-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

H. Karl Huntoon, 61, a proud Moline man who valued and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of his family, his friends, his clients, and his community, passed away January 1, 2011 at Trinity Pathway Hospice, Bettendorf, IA after a short battle with aggressive brain cancer.

A time to celebrate Karl’s life will be held Sunday January 9th, 2011 from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the Moline Public Library. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the H. Karl Huntoon Memorial Fund, care of The Moline Foundation, 817 11th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265. This fund will be used to continue Karl’s efforts to continually improve the library and the community. Private family burial will be in Moline Memorial Park. Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory, Ltd. Moline is assisting the family.

Karl was born December 19, 1949 in Davenport, IA to Harry Kline and Margit Anderson Huntoon. During the summer of 1970 he attended summer school at Dartmouth College where he met his wife of thirty eight years Andrea Dickgiesser. They were married July 29, 1972 in Woodbridge, CT.

He graduated from Moline Senior High School in 1968. He then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he received a B.S. with honors in Economics in 1972. He then received a Juris Doctor Degree from the College of Law at the University of Illinois in 1975. He was accepted to the Illinois Bar Association on October 15, 1975 and the Iowa State Bar Association on August 19, 1992. He was also admitted to the US District Court, Central District of Illinois and the US Tax Court. Karl practiced law for thirty five years in Moline concluding at Katz, Huntoon and Fieweger.

During his undergraduate years he became very active in Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He continued to improve Delta Upsilon by serving the Alumni Corporation of the Illinois Alumni Chapter, becoming President and serving in that role until 1980. In 1981 he was elected to the DU International Fraternity’s Board of Directors serving various roles including Chairman of the Board from 1988 to 1991. He also received many fraternity awards and honors including the Outstanding Alumnus Award, and the prestigious Delta Upsilon Meritorious Service Award.

Karl improved his profession with involvement with the Rock Island County Bar Association serving as Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President, and President. He was an Assembly member from 1994 to 1999 for the Illinois State Bar Association and also served as a member of the Real Estate Section Council from 1992 to 1999. He had been a member of Quad City Estate Planning Council since 1992. Karl strived to improve the future by being an Instructor of Business at Augustana College and was awarded the Outstanding Teacher Award for 1979-1980 and 1980-1981.

First Congregational Church of Moline was improved by Karl’s time as he was a Sunday School teacher for many years. He also served on the Board of Trustees and was elected chairman.

One of Karl’s greatest gifts to the improvement of the community was his dedication of ten years on the Library Board which included the fundraising and construction of the new Moline Public Library that opened in 2006. He served on the Moline Police and Fire Commission and the Quad City Arts Board.

He is survived by his wife Andrea “Anne”; two sons who were honored to have him as their father James (Molly) Huntoon of Pawley’s Island, SC and Mark (Sabrina) Huntoon of Bettendorf, IA; three grandchildren he very much adored; a sister Elizabeth Huntoon of Chicago, IL; and a very dear friend Truman Symmonds who helped him tirelessly during his illness.

Online condolences may be expressed to Karl’s family by visiting his obituary at www.esterdahl.com.

Celebration of Life:
Sunday January 09
2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Moline Public Library
3210 41st Street
Moline, IL 61265
(309) 762-0609

The Power of the Donut Shop

2010-12-21T15:31:00.000-08:00

Homer Jackson was the shadow manager of WQUA AM radio.

Don Nelson said to me on Facebook:

"Your dad was known as WQUA's shadow program director.......all he had to do was make a comment to Verne Flambo and 24 hours later.....it was policy."

Karl Huntoon

2010-12-20T05:25:00.000-08:00

Jan McKenzie - For those of you who know Karl Huntoon, please take a minute to think of him today, and maybe say a prayer for him and his family. Today is his birthday. He went into hospice care about a week ago. The chemo and radiation didn't seem to help. This picture is from a 2007 project called My Favorite Book. ...It's Karl with "A Prayer for Owen Meany".