WATSEKA — Clara M. Schlotman, 95, of Watseka, died Wednesday (Jan. 24, 2001) at Magnolia Wood Nursing Home, Watseka.
Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Saturday at the Segur-Knapp Funeral Home, Watseka.
Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the United Methodist Church in Sheldon. Revs. Joe Scheets, Karen Martin and Hubert Lytle will officiate.
Burial will be in Sheldon Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Iroquois Memorial Hospice; United Methodist Church, Sheldon; or to the donor’s choice.
She was born March 30, 1905, in Sheldon, the daughter of Nathaniel and Margaret McCarty Light.
Her husband, Daniel F. Schlotman, whom she married Aug. 20, 1927, in Watseka, died Nov. 6, 1981.
Surviving are two daughters and one son-in-law, Phyllis Kingdon of Watseka, Marcia and Francis Sowers of Kentland, In.; six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Five brothers and four sisters are deceased.
She was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Watseka.
Source
This was on a laminated bookmark given by the funeral home and had the twenty-third Psalm on the back. It is probably the same one that was published in the Watseka Times Republic.
Last Thursday evening was perfect for the annual Garden Party held at the Dan Schlotman home and sponsored by the ladies of the Sheldon Methodist Church. One hundred and seventy-five guests gathered for an enjoyable program of music which had been arranged for their pleasure and entertainment.
The air was warm, the moon high, together with soft lights, throughout the garden, made a very inviting place to spend an evening. Small tables each decorated with miniature bouquets were scattered around the lawn, at which the guests were seated as they arrived. Large baskets of flowers were placed around the garden. The following musical program was given:
Vocal solo: Clara Ingalls. Piano solo, Patricia McCarty. Vocal solo, Mrs. Naomi Darrough Piano solo, Phyllis Schlotman. Vocal solo, Helen Bussert. Piano selection, Mrs. Ima Silvers. Several numbers by the Tonett Players, Marcia Jones, Marcia Schlotman, Joanne Courtright, Jo Ellen Kusch, Mary Jo and Sharon Trummel. Tuba solo, Irvin Hollingsworth. Trio, Mrs. Mabel Nichols, Miss Helen Bussert, Irvin Hollingsworth.
At the close of the program refreshments of sandwiches, cookies, and coffee were served.
Source
Unknown newspaper, but probably Sheldon Journal, Aug 1943
Miss Clara Marie Light and Dan Schlotman of Sheldon were the principals in a quiet wedding solemnized at the Methodist parsonage in Watseka at 4 30 o’clock Saturday evening, August 20, 1927, by the Rev. Stanley Ward pastor of the M. E. church of that place.
The bride is the youngest daughter of Mrs. Margaret Light of this place. She is a graduate of the S. C. H. S. class of ’25 and last year was a most successful teacher near Gilman.
The groom is a graduate of the Sheldon High School and attended the U. of I. He is the son of Oscar Schlotman residing south of town and for the past several years has assisted his father on the farm.
The many Sheldon friends of Mr. and Mrs. Schlotman join in wishing them much happiness in their wedded life and extend congratulations and best wishes.
Source
Unknown paper, but probably Sheldon Journal, marriage date was 20 Aug 1927
SCHLOTMAN-LIGHT
Miss Clara Light and Dan Schlotman, both of this place, were quietly married at the M. E. parsonage in Watseka at five o’clock Saturday evening by the Rev. Stanley Ward, pastor of the church.
Sheldon friends extend congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple.
Source
Unknown Newspaper, probably Sheldon Journal, marriage date was 20 Aug 1927
Honored at a meeting of the Sheldon, Ill., camp, were Neighbors Genevieve Keller and Clara Schlotman, pictured at right, left and right, respectively, when they were presented their coveted gold 50-year membership jewels. A detailed account of the meeting may be found in the Illinois camp news section of this issue of the Royal Neighbor.
Source
Unknown publication, unknown date, the even took place on 21 Apr 1972.
Present Fifty year RNA pins to Sheldon two
SHELDON — Benevolence Camp 521 of Sheldon met in the library hall on Friday, April 21 with vice oracle, Mrs. Charles Burton, presiding.
Eight members of the Stockland Camp were visitors and were welcomed by receiving the grand honors. They were Mrs. Curtis Sever, Mrs. Evelyn Beall, Mrs. Mildred Coryell, Mrs. Ruth Bury, Mrs. Bertha Handy, Mrs. Alice Whitesel, Mrs. Edith Sullivan, and Mrs. Vic Gillan.
The password was collected by Mrs. Larry Hartlep, marshal and Mrs. Burl Houston, assistant marshal. The opening and closing prayers were given by chancellor, Mrs. Albert Whaley. The odes were sung with Mrs. Joe Keller at the piano. Mrs. Emmett Bigger, the recorder, read information received from the head camp at Rock Island.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of 50 year pins to Mrs. Joe Keller and Mrs. Dan Schlotman of Sheldon by Mrs. Joe Turpin. She read two poems entitled “Friendship” and “Old Friends.” A humorous article, “Remember When” was read by Mrs. Albert Whaley.
Grand Honors were given to the two new 50 year members and also to the other 50 year members, Mrs. Edythe Newman, Mrs. Charles Burton, Mrs. Louie Poster of Sheldon and Mrs. Bertha Handy and Mrs. Edith Sullivan of Stockland. They all were presented with a corsage form the Sheldon camp.
Meeting close in usual form. Games were played with all winning prizes and a potluck lunch was enjoyed by those present.
A 1912 fashion illustration shows the type of thing Clara and Mirla might have worn around the time they met. [Pinterest: Queen PoohBear]
My great-grandmother, Clara Schlotman, recorded some stories on a cassette tape for me in the Summer of 1999. One of the stories she told me started with her family’s move from their rented farm in Concord Township, Iroquois County, to the village of Sheldon, Illinois.
At that time, in about 1912, Clara’s father, Nathaniel Light (1857-1916) was in failing health. He had been diagnosed with Bright’s Disease and found himself unable to do farm work.
Nathaniel moved his family into town where they ran a restaurant. I believe they lived above the restaurant, which was located in downtown Sheldon. It was there that my grandmother met Mirla Dibble.
"There was a little girl that lived in the apartment not too far down the street from where we were. So, I walked to school with her. I learned the city by walking to school with her. She was real nice. Her name was Mirla Dibble. She wasn't well. She was a very frail little girl, and she didn't live maybe ten years later."
Clara Light Schlotman (1905-2001), Summer 1999, remembering her childhood in Sheldon, Illinois in 1912
Mirla E. Dibble was born in 1906 in Wells, Fairbault County, Minnesota. Her parents were Louis Orrin Dibble (1875-1930), a native of Minnesota, and her mother was Emma Eugenia Tiedt Dibble (1870-1967), from Wisconsin. Both Louis and Emma came from German immigrant parents. The couple married in 1898 in Minnesota and had seven (known) children there:
Melville Earl Dibble (1899-1899)
Laverna Belle Dibble Marshall (1900-1994)
Infant Twins (1902-1902)
Lura Dell Dibble Penticott (1903-2004)
Mirla E. Dibble (1906-1929)
Cherril Louis Dibble (1908-1980)
At some point before the 1910 census, Louis Dibble moved his family to Sheldon, Iroquois County, Illinois. They were enumerated in Sheldon village where Louis worked as a dredgeman in the ditching industry.
By 1918, the Dibbles had moved to Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana where they lived at 308 Grant Street. Louis registered for the draft that September and reported that he was working as an engineer for the Inter State Public Service Company.
At the time of the 1920 census, the family was still in on Grant Street in Crown Point. Louis was a laborer and Emma worked as a waitress. Eldest daughter Laverna was by then Mrs. Roy Marshall and living on East Grove Street back in Sheldon, Illinois. At home in Crown Point, Lura Dell was sixteen and had a job as a stenographer in a law office. Mirla and Cherril attended school.
At some point after 1920, it seems that Louis and Emma divorced. Louis later remarried and died in 1930 from a heart attack.
The Dunn Hotel
A C. R. Childs photo postcard from 1912 showing the Dunn Hotel in Sheldon, Illinois [eBay]
On 29 July 2022, Stella Cyr, the granddaughter of Laverna Dibble Marshall responded to a post in “History of Sheldon, Illinois (Iroquois County),” a Facebook group I am admin for, by Georgia Potts about the Dunn Hotel in Sheldon, Illinois:
“Believe this is the Hotel my Grandma Laverna (Dibble) Marshall worked at as a teenager. Met my Grandpa Roy Marshall and they married in 1918. At one time, I knew the ladies name who ran it. Dad (Francis Marshall) talked about it.”
Stella Cyr, 29 July 2022, speaking about the Dunn Hotel in Sheldon, Illinois
The uncommon Dibble name caught my eye and I asked if she was any relation to Mirla. She told me:
"Myrla Dibble was my Grandma Laverna’s younger sister. As a young woman, Myrla went to Chicago to stay with Luradell (another sister). Myrla was found deceased in a alley-side street wearing Luradell’s fur coat. Believe she is buried in Crown Point, Ind. and haven’t researched the actual site to know her age when she died but believe she may have been in her 20’s. I’ve never seen any pictures or obituary for her. As with many families, the history is lost when you don’t asked questions of your elders."
Stella Cyr, 29 July 2022, speaking about her grandaunt, Mirla Dibble
Death of a Jane Doe
A search of Newspapers.com in the Chicago Tribune for 1929 quickly yielded small bits of information about Mirla’s sad end. The following appeared on 17 March 1929 on page two:
“Young Woman Falls Dead at Montrose and Sheridan,” Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, 17 Mar 1929, Sunday, Page 2 [Newspapers.com]
Young Woman Falls Dead at Montrose and Sheridan
An unidentified young blonde woman in a fur trimmed caracul coat and black satin dress collapsed on the curb last night at Sheridan road and Montrose avenue and died. Her body was lifted into a cab by Sergt. Paul Winton of the Lincoln park police and taken to Lake View hospital.
An ad for David Adler in Chicago from 1928 showing Caracul (Lamb) Fur Coats trimmed with fox and baum marten. Mirla was wearing her sister Lura’s fur coat when she died. [Newspapers.com]
A circa 1929 black satin dress showing the style Mirla Might have been wearing the night of her death [Etsy: Fashion History Museum]
Lake View Hospital where Mirla’s body was taken in a cab by Sgt. Paul Winton of the Lincoln Park Police. This building was demolished in the 1970s [ Chuckman’s Photos]
Mirla Identified
It took only one day for the following to appear in the Chicago Tribune:
“Identify Body of Girl Who Died on Street,” Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, 18 Mar 1929, Monday, Page 4 [Newspapers.com]
Identify Body of Girl Who Died on Street
The body of the blonde young woman who collapsed and died Saturday night at Sheridan road and Montrose avenue was identified last night as that of Miss Mirla Dibble, 22 years old, of Crown Point, Ind. Her sister, Mrs. Laura Rick [sic., should be Rich], 825 Buena avenue, identified the body.
SHERIDAN & MONTROSE
Mirla’s grandniece, Stella Cyr, told us that Mirla was staying with her sister. Here is a map showing how close the location of Mirla’s collapse at Sheridan and Montrose was to Lura’s 825 Buena Avenue home:
825 W Buena Ave, Chicago, IL 60613 to Sheridan & Montrose, Chicago, IL – [Google Maps]
I found these IDOT Chicago Traffic Photographs on the website of the University of Illinois Chicago. They show the intersection where Mirla collapsed as it looked in 1936, just seven years after the event.
Sheridan Road; Montrose Avenue. Looking west.Sheridan Road; Montrose Avenue. Looking northwest. Sheridan Road; Montrose Avenue. Looking north.Sheridan Road; Montrose Avenue. Looking west.Sheridan Road; Montrose Avenue. Looking north. North Sheridan Road at West Montrose Avenue. Photograph was taken at 5:15 PM. N. Sheridan Road at W. Montrose Avenue. Photograph was taken at 5:25 PM.Traffic Intersection at N. Sheridan Road and W. Montrose Ave. [CARLI: IDOT]
What happened to Mirla?
Mirla’s death certificate and local research would likely yield more information. For now, here’s what we know:
At the time of her death, Mirla was twenty-two years old and had blonde hair. She was staying with her sister, Lura, and was working as a “beauty operator.”
Mirla collapsed on a Saturday evening and was wearing a black satin dress and her sister’s fur coat. She was unidentified, which means she was probably alone.
We don’t know why Mirla was at the location where she collapsed. It could be that she was on her way somewhere — to a party or a dance or a friend’s house? Or, she could have been headed home. She might have been walking or had caught a bus or cab.
Mirla’s cause of death is unknown at this time. Her childhood friend, Clara Light (by then Schlotman), remembered her as a frail and sickly girl. Mirla’s father died of a heart attack at a fairly young age. Perhaps a congenital heart ailment was to blame for Mirla’s sudden death.
At Rest
Mirla’s body was identified by her sister Lura on Sunday night, about one day after her death. At that time, her name was Lura Rich, but I have failed to find information about her husband.
I have not been able to find an obituary for Mirla in the Chicago Tribune or in other online newspapers.
Mirla and her mother, Emma’s gravestone at Maplewood Memorial Cemetery [FindAGrave: Indiana Bill]
Three days after her death, Mirla was buried at Maplewood Memorial Cemetery in Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana. Either O. H. Jordan Company or W. A. Feguersa was in charge of the arrangements. Mirla rests beside her mother, Emma, who died in 1967 at the age of ninety-seven.
After sharing my article on Facebook, I was given some new information.
“I have a picture and the children of Louis & Emma were written on the back, including the twins. I had asked my Dad and Uncle but apparently that information was not shared with them by my Grandma, they knew nothing about the twins or the eldest son. Louis Dibble did ditch digging, in fact most of the ditches in Sheldon were dug by him and there were pictures of his machinery. Louis & Emma did divorce and Emma moved to Crown Point. Grandma Laverna stayed in Crown Point during at least 2 of her pregnancies as my Uncle Everett and my Dad were born there. Grandpa Roy was in WW1 at the time.”
“Louis Dibble remarried to Josephine Wojack (Iroquois, Il), and had something to do with the Nest (bar/night club) located on the South side of the Iroquois River in Iroquois, Il. I was always told that Louis Dibble was running from the copers (police) and died as a result of an automobile accident. He was 54 years old. Louis and his 2nd wife, Josephine are buried at Prairie Dell, West of Iroquois, graves located just West of the old Church. Also told he and another person were bootleggers thus the police chase.”
Stella Cyr, 1 Jul 2022, speaking about this article in the Facebook group “History of Sheldon, Illinois (Iroquois County)”
I attempted to research Louis’ death and troubles with the law but found nothing online. Local research would surely yield some information about it. Given this new information, Louis’ cause of death cited in the article, which I found in a family tree on Ancestry.com and was unsourced, should be considered possibly incorrect. And, my conclusion that a heart condition may have been the cause of Mirla’s death is now in question. UPDATE: Georgia Robertson has told me that her mother said that Mirla had heart problems. So, her death was likely due to a heart attack.
Another development is that we now have some photos of Mirla thanks to Georgia Robertson, who is another grandniece of Mirla’s. She also shared a memorial booklet which provides Mirla’s birth date – 19 September 1906.
The photos here were taken with a cell phone. I used an AI program to sharpen the portrait of Mirla, but the others are untouched.
A portrait of Mirla which looks like it might have been a senior portrait – circa 1925 This has been sharpened using an AI program.
In loving remembrance of Mirla E. Dibble Born Sept. 19, 1906. Died March 16, 1929.
‘Tis hard to break the tender cord When love has bound the heart, ‘Tis hard, so hard, to speak the words “We must forever part.” Dearest loved one we must lay thee In the peaceful grave’s embrace. But they memory will be cherished ‘Til we see thy heavenly face.
Two more photos of Mirla shared by her grandniece, Georgia Robertson
My great-grandmother, Clara Marie Light Schlotman (1905-2001) had a short career as a country schoolteacher in the mid-1920s. After talking to her daughter (my grandmother) in 2021, I did a little research and was able to put together this information.
After graduating from Sheldon (Illinois) High School in 1925, Clara Light attended Mrs. Brown’s Normal Training School for Teachers in Homer, Illinois. She was one of about forty students that summer. The students gathered at Mrs. Brown’s home for a group photo, shown below
Mrs. Lucy Brown is seated, fourth from the right. Clara Light is standing to her right, wearing glasses.
Mrs. Brown
From 1917 until about 1931, Lucy Stewart Brown offered training for aspiring teachers. At that time, there was no requirement of formal training to start teaching school. But the better one’s education, the better the salary one could command. Her school seems to have filled a niche for those who wished to teach with more than just a high school education but didn’t have the means or inclination to attend a university program. (This information is from a dissertation written on one-room schoolhouses and from the Facebook page for the Homer, Illinois Historical Society.)
Mrs. Brown’s payment was tied to her students’ success with obtaining certification. If a student failed certification exams after two tries, they owed Mrs. Brown nothing. But, if they passed, they owed her $25 from their first paycheck. (Carol Erb told me this. See next section for more information)
Mildred, a fellow student
Mildred Wilson in 1925
Also at Mrs. Brown’s school that summer was Mildred Wilson, later Mildred Hall.
In 2021, I conversed with her daughter, Carol, on Facebook. She identified her mother in the photo as the girl in the dark dress in the group to the far left. Before passing in 2009 at the age of 102, Mildred told her daughter that…
“…the classes were held in the old high school — that was the upper story of what is now considered the Homer Opera House at the corner of Rt. 49 and First Street in Homer. Her words were that the days were long, hot, and brain-taxing.”
The Homer Opera House today — The second floor was used as Homer High School from around 1914 until 1928. Mrs. Brown’s students also used the space for their training in the summer of 1925. Photo from a post by the Homer Opera House’s Facebook on 2 Feb 2018.
When asked about living arrangements, Carol remembered her mother telling her that…
“…there were some small houses across the street from the Brown home that the girls in the classes lived in during the week and probably most of them went back to their homes on weekends.”
She also said that the boys lived in the unfinished upstairs of the Brown home.
Clara Light, Country School Teacher
Her first job was near Gilman, Illinois. The name of the school was the Brooke School.
Note: Nana remembered the name of the school because, after the death of Aunt Nona’s first husband, Albert Diefenbaugh, Aunt Nona worked as a housekeeper for Ed Brooke who lived near Gilman. They were eventually married. Aunt Nona was Grandma Schlotman’s older sister.
Brooke School was located 1.9 miles ESE of Gilman (40.753925, -87.957260), northeast of the intersection of County Roads 900E and 1700N.
Nana said that Grandma lived with a family from the school through the week and would go home to her mother’s house in Sheldon on the weekend. Her brother, Darwin “Dobby” Light would drive her most of the twenty-two plus miles to her destination, but would let her out at the point that the paved road ended. Grandma would then walk the rest of the way. The roads, being dirt, could be very muddy and unpleasant to navigate.
Nana also said she remembers that most of the students Grandma taught were of German descent — that there was a German settlement in the Gilman area. This jives with the photos I found of some of Grandma’s students. One is of Margaret Habben. The label says that she was Grandma’s “7th Grade girl.” Another photo shows, “Gerhard giving Nero a ride in the wagon.” He was Margaret Habben’s younger brother.
It’s unclear at this point when Grandma began teaching. If the summer school was enough to prepare her to pass the examination required for her teaching certificate, she probably started at Gilman in the fall of 1925. That would mean that she taught two seasons.
In July of 1927, Grandma was hired to teach closer to home. She was to begin at Clark School, 2.7 miles north of Sheldon, for the 1927-28 school year. Her marriage to Grandpa in August permanently terminated her teaching career, as married ladies were not allowed to teach in Iroquois County at that time.
Questions
Do we have her teaching certificate?
Which family did she live with during the week? It might have been the Habben family. Where did they live?
