The Garfield Gashouse Gang (Mr. McAllister's term) should also have a reunion.

 

Moline High 45th Anniversary in 2011

I remember when this was an entrance,

the aroma of cleaning compound

thrown on the floor

and swept up by kindly janitors.

One Moline alumnus had a great idea for the 1966 Class Reunion in 2011.

The Garfield Gashouse Gang (Mr. McAllister's term) should also have a reunion.

Admit it. You watched Jungle Jay

on WQAD TV.

Pathways to the Present

Denkman Library has been downgraded.
In the 1960s it was quirky, fun to use,
a time-warp full of antique books and librarians.

Julie Jensen McDonald published Pathways to the Present in 50 Iowa and Illinois Communities, 1977. The book began as a series of articles in the Quad-City Times. I will label posts with the book name when I borrow the content. If anyone has history books about Moline, I would love to borrow them.

The first settlers came to the Moline area in 1829.

A wooden dam was built in 1841, "across Sylvan Slough to Arsenal Island," providing water power for the future industrial city. (Pathways, p. 191)

Moline got its name from the French word for mill, Moulin. There was a red sawmill on the dam, so we could have been famous as the Moulin Rouge. Instead, we became the Moline Maroons. That hurt our self-esteem, especially since Bugs Bunny was known for saying, with disdain, "What a maroon!"

Moline's fame came from a blacksmith arriving in 1848 to manufacture his plow.
John Deere is still known for its quality. Many Moline alumni are associated with the company.

Deere Headquarters will never be dated.