100 years ago: Sheriff serves warrant on O’Fallon home brewer and his brother
Looking back at stories that appeared in the O’Fallon Progress 125, 100, 75, and 50 years ago:
125 years ago, Oct. 27, 1899
“The D. L. Social Club of this place gave one of their very pleasant social dances at Wachter’s Hall last Friday evening, about a hundred being present.
“The occasion was the opening event of their social season which lasts through the winter and spring. These dances are always looked forward to by lovers of the dance with pleasant anticipations, and last Friday’s event was one of the best. All who were present report a very pleasant time.”
100 years ago, Oct. 23, 1924
“Deputy Sheriffs Meder, Ahrens, Breisacher and Stevens, armed with a search warrant, slipped into Booster, west of here last Saturday afternoon and arrested Jess Conklin following a raid which was made on his home.
“Conklin was bound over to the county court under bond of $1000 in each of two cases of violating the dry law. The search warrant was sworn out in Justice Wangelin’s court by the State’s Attorney H. C. Lindauer, which was applied for after the attorney’s office had received complaints against the Conklin home.
“The officers who searched the place found 36 quart bottles of home-brew, a crock for making home-brew and a capping machine. These were confiscated to be used as evidence when the case is tried.
“The officers also visited the home of Elmer Conklin, a brother, at Booster Station, but nothing was found in violation of the dry law.”
(Booster was the area around Hartman Lane and Booster Road in west O’Fallon.)
75 years ago, Oct. 27, 1949
“The O’Fallon Choral Singers, a group of O’Fallon’s best musicians, will present a full evening’s entertainment of music and song on Friday evening, November 11, in the high school gymnasium.
“This musical treat will be for the benefit of the new disaster unit of the O’Fallon Fire Department. The firemen will have charge of the arrangements.
“The Choral Singers will be assisted by Mme. Albertina Flach Weygandt, harpist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. She will render several solos during the evening. Delbert Corbier is president of the O’Fallon Choral Singers.
“Mrs. Theodore Warma is accompanist and J. E. Hinchcliffe, Sr., conductor. Ray Richardson, chairman of the arrangements, states that the firemen, the Choral Singers, and Mme. Weygandt all desire to make this one of the outstanding musical events of the year.”
50 years ago, Oct. 24, 1974
(O’Fallon Progress Editorial)
“Last weekend was an ironic one to say the least. On Saturday afternoon, an outstanding O’Fallon educator and former city official, J. E. Hinchcliffe, Sr., died.
“The next day, Sunday afternoon, LaVerna Evans, another exceptional educator from O’Fallon, was honored by having the newest O’Fallon Grade School named after her.
“For 20 years, Mr. Hinchliffe was Superintendent of Schools in the O’Fallon Grade School district. He left such an impression through his dedication and service to the people of this city and to the people he served that the first new “open space” school built in this district was named after him.
“Mrs. Evans, who has been a teacher for the district since 1928, has made a similar dedication to service in this community and was so deservedly honored Sunday afternoon at the second open space school to be built in this district. It is also worthy to note the outstanding idea of the O’Fallon Grade School District Board of Education to name the schools after honorable, living educators from this district.
“The district took similar action in naming the junior high school after a fine teacher of 30 years, Marie Schaefer, and the third grade school in the district after the late Estelle Kampmeyer.
“Too often are schools named after individuals who are dead and had no real impact upon the community where the school is located. Although it is still an honor to have a school named after you, the honor and appreciation is not known by the person whose name will appear on the building if the person is dead.
“Mr. Hinchcliffe and Mrs. Evans were dedicated public servants to education. Their actions and work in this community, which totals practically 100 years, will never be forgotten. As long as the names of these two people stay embedded in the concrete of these two respective schools, so will the memory of their service and dedication live on throughout the history of this community.”
(At the same time Hinchcliffe was superintendent of the grade school district, he was also the superintendent and principal of O’Fallon Township High School.)