Historic events in O’Fallon from 1907, 1948 & 1973

The O’Fallon city election of 1907 was apparently an intense affair. It was the second one after O’Fallon became a city in 1905 and featured a three-way contest for what was then a two-year mayoral term. Franklin T. Varney, M.D. ran on what was called the Petition 1 slate. Incumbent John Seddon ran on Petition 2, and Walter Rundle ran on the Socialist Party slate. The race, however, was really between Varney and Seddon. The Progress commented that it was “one of the hardest fought campaigns in the history of our city.” It would be Varney’s fifth and last unsuccessful try at the top spot. He ran for village president, one-year terms, in 1900, 1901, 1902, and 1903. The last he lost by 4 votes. The 1907 contest resulted in 227 votes for Seddon, 213 for Varney, and 26 for Rundle. Varney’s motto seemed to be “win at any cost.” Things took an ugly turn when George Beckmann said some things during the campaign Varney didn’t like. After the election, the doctor’s attempts to silence Beckmann landed him in court in Belleville, where he was found guilty of carrying a concealed weapon.

75 years ago, March 4, 1948: O’Fallon’s school band has the largest enrollment of musicians in the history of the organization, according to director George Barton. The regular band personnel is now 55, in addition to a beginner’s group of 32 grade school children.

50 years ago, Mar. 1, 1973: Open House. That could easily be the title to a photo of the old Jungle Club – Friendly tavern building on East State where wreckers are clearing the site. The O’Fallon Chamber of Commerce acquired the building in its effort to rid the downtown area of unusable buildings. C.J. Huller was awarded a contract for $3400 to wreck the building. The chamber has cleared the property of debt and plans to offer it as a business site. (The site is now home to Mandy’s Bar.)