1917: O’Fallon soldiers training for WWI receive Victrola, records from home

In October 1917, many young men from O’Fallon were training — or soon would be training — at Camp Taylor in Louisville, Ky., for service during World War I.

Concerned that the boys needed something for amusement in their “new and strange quarters,” the O’Fallon Woman’s Club decided to send a Victrola record player down to them. But a record player needs records to play. So, an appeal went out to all “talking machine” owners who wished to “lighten the tribulations of the boys who have left their homes to offer their services to the U.S. government.” If they had records to spare, they were supposed to drop them off at Nold’s Drug Store at 2 S. Lincoln where they would be boxed up and shipped to Camp Taylor. A nice present from home during difficult times.

75 years ago Oct. 15, 1942

At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the O’Fallon Rotary Club, it was unanimously decided to dismantle the iron piping of the tennis court in Community Park and add it to the scrap to whip the enemy. The court was installed some years ago by the Rotary Club for the benefit of the young tennis players in the community. Seldom used in the past several years the directors decided to contribute the material to the scrap drive now in progress and sponsored by the schools.

50 years ago Oct. 12, 1967

A cost of some $48,000 was given as the preliminary estimate for extension of the O’Fallon water line from the east city limits to Troy road. There are 12 property owners along the proposed line who will be asked to share the cost of this line with the city of O’Fallon. City Attorney Henry Schwarz said the city’s water committee met with the property owners and efforts are being made to determine how each property owner would be charged. The pipe would be 10-inch, but the property owners would just pay the cost of a 6-inch, with the city paying the difference.

This story was originally published October 12, 2017 at 8:49 AM with the headline "1917: O’Fallon soldiers training for WWI receive Victrola, records from home."