OUR TOWN: Graduation edition
By Brian Keller
With high school graduation being this Saturday in O’Fallon, we’ll commemorate the event by looking back 100 years to the O’Fallon High School class of 1908.
A bit smaller than the class of 2008, the graduates of that year included Anna Schachner, Mattie McLaughlin, John Zapf, Gilmore Darrow, Fred Poser, George Mantle, Adolph Budina and Dave Lawrence.
Six boys and two girls. A bit lopsided unless you look at the year before when the graduating class consisted of seven girls and one lonely (or perhaps lucky) boy.
Back then, the high school was not yet a township high school (the OTHS designation wouldn’t come until 1920) and the course consisted of only three years. The class of 1916 would be the first to graduate from a 4-year course.
A graduating class of eight was beginning to get a bit repetitive by 1908. The classes of 1906 and 1907 had the same number. And the class of 1909 kept the tradition going by having eight, as well. The next year’s class decided to be different and have ten for ’10.
The motto for the class of 1908 was “The doors of wisdom are never shut.” The Progress noted at the time, “They realize that they only have commenced to learn, and before they make a real success they must graduate from the University of Experience. They will now enter the latter institution and we predict for them a useful career as students.”
Baccalaureate services were held May 31 at the Evangelical Church and commencement exercises June 3 at Wachter’s Hall. We’ll revisit both next week.
Looking back in the pages of The Progress:
Tiley was the originator of the Forty-Niners who, for the 1932 Home-coming, staged a reenactment of pioneer days in the west. The cast iron staff will be dedicated to the memory of the Civil War veterans and the Grand Army of the Republic. 50 years ago, May 15, 1958. Nineteen-year-old airman James O’Brien of Newark, N.J. and his 17-year-old bride of just a few days were in O’Fallon Friday en route to Lackland Air Base, Texas when their car broke down. Later, Chief of Police James Tiley found the car in the 500 block of W. 4th street with the windows and glass dash broken.
Upon questioning, O’Brien said he became angry about the car and used his newly acquired air pistol to shoot out all the windows. After investigation, he was released and he and his wife went, according to the police report, “clanging out of town.”
