100 years ago: Hide-and-seek electricty wrecks havoc with newspaper production
100 years ago, April 8, 1926
O’Fallon’s electric power service and “trouble” have been playing hide and seek the past week much to the discomfiture of the public.
In other words, “now you have it, now you haven’t got it.”
The service is such that it is anything but reliable and those who have to depend on the “juice” are simply out of luck and “humor” also.
This issue of the Progress was published under extraordinary difficulty. In fact, for a time we were on the point of giving up all hopes of ever getting the edition off the press and into the hands of our readers.
The Progress is one of the local industries which depends entirely on Illinois Power & Light service as all the machinery is operated by motors. Trying to give the community a live, up-to-date newspaper with the aid of undependable electric service is a herculean task—one that gets on our nerves ever so often.
Trouble and the shutting off of our power service is getting to be a common occurrence and it is about time that the citizens demand an explanation from the corporation and ascertain the reasons for the intermittent service. In a move of this sort we know that the Progress would not be the only complainant as there are many other users of commercial electricity, not taking into consideration the private home consumers.
We can all expect an occasional break-down in our individual business plants and must make allowances for these but there is a limit and our electric service has just about reached this point when action on the part of the consumers becomes necessary. Seems that about every time a rain threatens or actually falls O’Fallon goes back to the tallow candle and all business ceases.
75 years ago, April 5, 1951
The Wolfersberger-Meyer Funeral home has added an inhalator to its ambulance equipment, L. M. Wolfersberger, operator of the firm, announced. The inhalator will be carried on the funeral home’s ambulance at all times.
Wolfersberger stated that the inhalator will be helpful as an aid for persons suffering heart attacks and from respiratory disease. He pointed out that it was not a resuscitator and does not take the place of artificial respiration in cases of drowning or asphyxiation. However, it can be used as an adjunct in such cases, Wolfersberger stated.
Back then, ambulance service provided by O’Fallon’s two funeral homes, Wolfersberger-Meyer and Schildknecht, was the only option for emergency medical transport.
50 years ago, April 8, 1976
An O’Fallon man was robbed of $75 by two robbers, one armed, last Thursday evening while he stopped his car at the intersection of Second and Vine Sts.
Jewell Germany III, 30, of R. R. 1, O’Fallon reported to police that he stopped for a stop sign at the intersection at 11:29 p.m. when a man approached his car and pointed a gun at him and told him to move over to the passenger side of the front seat.
Another man got in the car with the armed suspect and drove to an alley off Vine and Second where the two robbed Germany of $75, his wallet and car keys. The subjects fled on foot and threw the empty wallet and keys in a nearby lot.