100 years ago: Door-to-door mail delivery begins in O’Fallon. And it’s free

100 years ago, July 30, 1925

Free delivery of mail in this city will be established Saturday morning when the carriers make their first trip from the post office.

All the postal regulations have been complied with and Postmaster Lawrence was instructed to begin the service Saturday. The necessary mail boxes at street corners failed to arrive in time to be installed and the carriers will receive first-class mail and drop it at the post office for mailing, provided the necessary stamps are affixed. Carriers who have been selected for the mail delivery are Julius Schalter, Jr., for the north side and Wilbur Scott, who will take care of the south side.

The inauguration of free mail delivery necessarily makes some changes in the local post office, and there are several things that the citizens of O’Fallon must comply with in order to receive free service. Permanent residents receiving mail by carrier must have mail receptacles or provide door slots, and keep them in good condition so as to ensure safety of mail after deposit. These should be located on the front of the home or in the front door. All “drop letters” mailed for local delivery, whether by carrier or through post office boxes or general delivery, or for delivery on the rural routes, will after Saturday be chargeable at the rate of two cents per ounce or fraction thereof. This means that all mail that formerly was accepted at the local office, addressed to local people, at one cent per ounce or fraction thereof, will now take the two cent rate.

It will be well for all people who expect to have their mail delivered to inform all people with whom they intend to have correspondence of their street address, in order that this address may appear on their mail. If the public will co-operate with the post office force, the service will be greatly facilitated. It will take much time and work to get the free delivery started smoothly, and it is to the interest of all concerned to give Postmaster Lawrence and his assistants all the help they can.

This was the beginning of door-to-door mail delivery in O’Fallon. Before this, all mail had to be picked up at the post office.

75 years ago, July 27, 1950

A proposition of annexation of the Central Elementary School District No. 104 with O’Fallon High District No. 203, carried without a dissenting vote at a special election held Saturday.

Residents of the affected school district cast their ballot unanimously to become a part of O’Fallon Township High, the vote being 21 for and none against. Voters in the O’Fallon High district also turned in an affirmative vote to accept the annexation by welcoming No. 104 to O’Fallon. There only 14 voters went to the polls all of whom voted in favor of the proposition.

Central elementary school is located two miles west of O’Fallon and in the past nearly all of the eighth grade graduates selected O’Fallon High in furtherance of their education.

The vote meant that the territory of Central School District would become part of the taxing area of O’Fallon Township High School District 203, making Central a feeder district of OTHS while keeping its independence as a separate elementary school district.

50 years ago, July 31, 1975

Picket lines are up at all O’Fallon city offices as the result of a strike called by members of O’Fallon Laborers Local 670 who are employed by the city. The 15 laborers hired by the city went on strike Wednesday morning following lengthy talks Tuesday evening that left both sides far apart in a settlement.

As a result of the strike, operations at City Hall have been brought to a halt since clerks and City Clerk Robert Bode are honoring the picket lines here. Mayor Gary Mackey was caught by surprise when told that the city hall clerks were honoring the picket lines.

“It’s the first time they (the clerks) have done that. I’m quite surprised,” Mackey said.

However, later Wednesday morning clerks returned to the City Hall office to resume normal operations.

One of the clerks at City Hall commented that the “whole thing was kind of confusing. We didn’t know what to do at first.”

The question of whether burials at the city cemetery will be conducted has not been answered. City laborers are responsible for digging the graves. If graves are not dug by the laborers, funeral directors will have to hold the bodies at the funeral home until the strike has been settled.

Picket lines have been set up at City Hall, the city’s sewer plant, the city cemetery, the city garage and the new treatment plant construction site. Work was being done at the new sewer treatment plant on Rieder Rd. despite the picket lines Wednesday.

Construction foreman Gus Budina said the work was being done because boilermakers were on the job before the pickets went up at 8 a.m.

“They didn’t cross the picket line today. I don’t know what will be going on tomorrow. They’ll (the boilermakers) will have to check with their people,” Budina said.

The city and the laborers have been negotiating for some months. The contract between the city and the laborers expired on May 30 but a strike was being held off pending results of the negotiations.

The dispute centers around two issues - a pay raise and the accumulative sick leave of the laborers. The laborers are asking for a 45-cent an hour raise for each of two years while the city has offered 29 cents an hour for the first year and 31 cents for the second year. The city’s offer works out to a 5.5 per cent pay hike and the same was offered to the city laborers.

“That’s all we can afford and all we are going to offer,” said Mackey.

According to Mackey, laborers employed by the city currently make $10,940 a year. The raise offered by the city would bring the annual income up to $11,542. It would mean an hourly wage of $6.99 per hour.

Ron Elliott, business agent for the laborers local, said his people are ready to meet again whenever the city is ready.

“But they haven’t budged from the 29 and 31 cent an hour raises so I don’t see how anything can be accomplished until the city moves,” Elliott said.

However, Mackey said the city is strong in their position and the raises offered by the city are fair.

The second issue concerns a dispute over the accumulative sick leave. The laborers are asking that the sick leave by the laborer be paid to the widow. However, the city contends that payment can’t be made to the widow while the laborers say it can.

Delmar Koebel, city attorney for O’Fallon, said Wednesday morning that the state statutes give no authorization to cities the size of O’Fallon to pay the sick leave to the widow. Attorney for the Laborers International have told local laborers the state statutes do not prohibit the payment of the sick leave to the widow.

“I guess it comes down to interpretation of the statutes,” Koebel said.

Routine city labor work has been halted because of the strike. Street repairs and cleanup work will go unattended until the strike is over.

Mackey said the laborers have agreed to do emergency work, such as waterline breaks and sewer repairs when the need arises. Mackey said he is trying to find a way to have some of the work done while the laborers are on strike but would not comment on his ideas.

The mayor and city attorney were to have met Wednesday to talk about possible legal recourse the city may have since the picket lines are directly affecting daily city operations. The O’Fallon Police Department is the only city operation that has not been affected by the picket lines.