Mary Parsons Caisley - MHS 66 - Happy 49th Wedding Anniversary - Married on the Fourth of July!

Don and Mary Parsons Caisley, their son Chuck.

On their 45th anniversary, they posted their wedding portrait too.

Watching the Weekly Favorites on Moline Memories

 They were not from Moline, but we have aged with them.

We watched too much TV, our parents said, while watching TV.

I enjoy looking over the most watched for the week list in the left column, finding out which posts have suddenly gained attention. The all-time most viewed are at the bottom of the blog page.

Often one post will be viewed for the week because that person just passed away. My father used to read the Moline Dispatch and rattle the pages, saying in shock, "He was my classmate!"

I thought, long ago, some children and grandchildren might ask, "What was it like growing up in Moline? Did anyone famous come from there?"

The software that mapped the origin of readers often glowed for that spot called Hollywood, where we had three celebrities working or retired there.

I used to walk by the Bartlett Insurance Agency in downtown Moline, near Melo Cream. I never thought, "Maybe one will star on TV and be married to another star forever." No wait - "Maybe the family will build a beautiful addition on our new (in the 60s) high school."

Perhaps someone will win the Medal of Honor, someone I knew in school. No, too rare for that to happen.

 Downtown Moline in the 1950s. "Sir, Moline was a small town, as I have said, but there were those who loved her."

Bonnie Bartlett

 John Baker, Medal of Honor.

Legendary Locals - By David Coopman - "Coop"

 Legendary Locals of Moline, Illinois, by David Coopman

I cleaned up my bookshelf, sending many to friends, neighbors, and Waste Management, Inc. I kept Legendary Locals of Moline, because that is endlessly fascinating.

This is David Coopman's fourth book about the Quad-City Area, cities surrounded by farmland and flood waters. So many greats have come from this area that my wife responds to news about inventions and achievements this way, "I know, another Moliner."

Not always - but often. The computer was invented at a Rock Island roadhouse.

QC Online

"The research, going over old advertisements and meeting people who made the station what it was, is special," he says. "It never fails -- when I go to check a fact that I'm expecting to take 15 minutes, it always takes me three or four hours. It's been that much fun researching this book."

Lagomarcino's had to be in the book, but what about the Mayor of the Lutheran Holyland - Perryville, Missouri - Debbie Mitchell Gahan?

 

 Eyre is in the book for tennis, but added poetry to his resume. Publish or perish applies to tennis professors too.

Which class should have the most legendary honors, you dare ask? The Class the Stars Fell On - 1966.

Rest in Peace - Donald E. Coberly

Donald Coberly

April 26, 1948-May 31, 2019

KEITHSBURG — Funeral services for Donald E. Coberley, 71, of Keithsburg, will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at Van Hoe Funeral Home Ltd., East Moline. Burial will be in Rock Island National Cemetery. Mr. Coberley went home to be with the Lord on Friday, May 31, 2019. Visitation will be 4-6 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.

Don was born April 26, 1948, in Moline, the son of Jasper and Delia McLey Coberley. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1967-1973 as a communication technician with rank of petty officer. He was stationed in Kamiseya and Hakata, Japan, and Galeta Island, Panama Canal Zone. He married Connie Haney on March 23, 1974, in East Moline. He retired from John Deere Harvester East Moline in 1997, after 31 years of service. After retirement he worked for Illiniwek Forest Preserve for 14 years and then went to Ohio State Park for an additional seven years of service. He enjoyed playing the banjo, fishing, camping and playing golf. He loved spending time with his family.

Survivors include his wife, Connie; children, Stacie Coberley (Bob Kadel) Taylor Ridge, Julie Coberley, Hampton, and Michael Coberley (Laura Yates), Seaton; 15 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and sister, Frances (Brent) McNelly, Xenia, Ohio.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Memorials may be made to the family.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.vanhoe.com.

Professor and Coach Lawrence Eyre Publishes a Book of Haiku Poetry

 The book is available here at Amazon.

He's Back

 Successful Tennis Programs - Lawrence Eyre.

Eyre returns to guide Maharishi tennis

• Scott Jackson
• • 
    

FAIRFIELD — It had seven years since Lawrence Eyre had been the head coach of the program he had turned into a statewide high school tennis powerhouse. 

In those seven years since Eyre's retirement, the Fairfield Maharishi tennis program had gone from a program that won the Class 1A boys state tennis triple crown (state champions in singles, doubles and as a team in the same year) to a program that could not produce a girls team in 2018 or a boys tennis team this spring.

Eyre returned after seven years away from the program he established back in 1988 this past spring, taking over as the head coach of the girls tennis team. The Pioneers returned to competition with enough athletes to put together a team that went 4-2 in duals and had its top player, Olivia Goodale, coming within one win of a spot in the Class 1A girls state single tournament.

For Eyre, a return as Fairfield Maharishi head girls tennis coach is chance to grow the love of the sport for generations to come.

"By the time I got back, it was pretty clear that we didn't have a lot of kids that were learning the sport. I'm really committed to teaching the next wave of kids," Eyre said. "We didn't have enough kids for a girls team last year. We didn't have enough kids for a boys team this year. We should have enough for both teams to compete next year, even if they're small squads. That's our goal to start and we want to keep the pipeline flowing from now on."

While the numbers have been down, there were kids that Eyre found willing to stick with the sport. Goodale, for one, refused to give up playing Pioneer tennis despite going through a pair of winless seasons as a sophomore and junior, including last year spent competing with the boys program.

"I was terrible when I started out. I got beat every single time as the fifth player in singles as a freshman, then had to go through even more setbacks playing for the guys last year," Goodale said. "It's all about having the breakthrough on the court. That moment this year when I got that first win is by far the best moment I've had.

More here...

 Lawrence and Laurie Eyre

Jackson Wedding - Jackson Family Reunion

Josephine and Benjamin VanPool

I performed the marriage yesterday, which was held at an outdoor chapel in our area. Both families worked on the arrangements, which was a lot of work. Ben's family and friends were there. The Jacksons came in force. Josephine's mother's family also came. In addition, there were friends from the independent Lutheran church that I looked up when the newly weds (Martin and Tammy) moved to the Bentonville area.

At the reception and afterwards, Chris and I got together with my two brothers and sister, spouses, and two nieces. That was a lot of fun. Though they are deeply involved in family histories (D.A.R.) - I hastened to point out that a cousin we all knew passed away two years ago. I do obit searches all the time about Lutheran leaders and authors, so that was only natural to check on. There are classmates and friends of friends, all that.

The top row are the four siblings.
Our father and his brother took over a Melo-Cream Donut Shop. His grandchildren are all concentrating on their favorite health food. Roughly, 1975. Dad got Hawaiian shirts for us to wear!

 Little Ichabod (Marty) foreshadowed his son's looks and grin. His son Alex escorted his mother to her seat at the wedding, then ran around the outside perimeter to get his grandmother Chris and escort her. The audience enjoyed the sprint immensely.

 My sister Candace and our cousins.

Martin and baby Josephine

 Josephine and Danielle - always having fun together.