The Chronical Herald

Hoopeston, ILL., Dec 1, 1959

It’s All in the Past

Jack Allen’s Letter Causes Memory’s Lane to Vibrate

           Jack Allen, now living in LaGrange, who carries such tremendous store of the History of Old Vermilion within his mind and memory, should be serving as the Official Historian of Vermilion County at least of the north of Danville.

           Jack does not wish his name used in the Chronicle-Herald, but how difficult it is to keep it out.  You would not attempt to stage the play of “Hamlet”, would you and omit the character of Hamlet himself?

           This is much the truth about Jack Allen and North Vermilion. Jack is part of the scene.  He is of Hoopeston, Rossville, Newell Township and Danville.  He is intimately a part of each of these areas of our county.

           Yet, he has given strict orders to me not to use his name in the Chronicle-Herald, but here goes again.  I fear we will have to transgress and use Jack’s name again and again, or we will be forced to omit much valuable Vermilion County history and lore.

           Miller’s Concert Band

We mentioned, recently, the appearance of Miller’s Concert Band on one or more of the programs of the “The Old Settlers Reunion”, or  “Our Settlers” for short, at the Cissna Park and of Jack singing, as a solo with band accompaniment, “ In the shade of the Old Apple Tree”, which brought down the crowd, I might say, brought down the house, except for the  fact  that the immense crowd was seated in the part at the Cissna Park and not within doors, at all.    

           I started, in that article, that I have a list, which is more or less complete, of the good old songs of the 1880’s, and the 1900’s.

           Jack wrote to me recently, from LaGrange, that only four members of Miller’s Concert Band, which played on that occasion at the “Old Settlers”, are living today.  They are Ray Marvin, of the Chronicle-Herald staff and for about 4- 16 years city clerk of Hoopeston; Irving Smith, Los Angeles , George Fulett, dentist in Boswell, Ind., and Jack.  Time has taken its toll with the roster of the lovely old Miller’s Concert Band.

           This writer recalls many of the members of this fine old band, most of them older than himself and some of them married, with a family, when I was a frosh in Hoopeston High School.  I recall Bob Burke, who was with the Illinois Canning Co., later was right hand man for Moore & McFerren in their, at one time tremendously important and profitable box factory operations in Memphis, Tenn.  Later this operation did not prove so profitable as did sundry other Hoopeston enterprises, also, following   the initial King Midas success of the earlier Hoopeston business leaders when all they touched seemed to turn into pure gold.

           There was also Orrie Heaton, Reece Heaton, Robert McCaughey, Scott Ingle, Lawrence Allen, Ray Marvin, many others, members of this band.

           Jack Allen wrote he was the first freshman in the membership of the Sigma Chi Fraternity who was able to “make” the U of I band, the Glee Club and the Male Quartelet.  There were three seniors in the fraternity who belonged to one or more of these musical organizations but Jack was the first “Sig” frosh to “make” these groups

           Jack also wrote about Scott Ingle playing baseball at the University.   On Friday, preceding a  most important baseball game, with Notre Dame University, George Huff, always know as  “G” Huff asked Jake Stahl, the great catcher and batter of the U of I team, and great football player, too, what member of the baseball team should “pitch” against Notre Dame.

           Stah, an intimate, friend of Jack Allen and Bert (Happy) Adsit, as were all members of Sigma Chi Fraternity, without a moments hesitation named Scott Ingle, “the best pitcher I have ever warmed up to.” Scott was named by Huff to pitch against Notre Dame.  And what a game it was!  Scott shut out Notre Dame, always a dangerous competitor, 4-0, struck out 10 men and walked one man to first base!

           There were considerable comments about Ingle playing baseball at Illinois under the name of “Engle”, while he played in the band under the name of “Ingle”.  But Jack

says that Orville Davis, then editor of the Champaign Gazette, asked about the pitcher who had shut out N.D. and had blanked 10 batters who faced him.  Davis understood the name of Ingle as Engle and so used it.

           Incidentally, Notre Dame had won seven straight baseball games, before it faced up to Illinois and Scott Ingle.

           Jack met Mike Sexton, president of the then 3-1 league, when he heard Jack was from Hoopeston, who asked if Jack knew Scott Ingle. “One of my best friends”, replied Jack.  Sexton then told Jack he had offered Scott a contract to pitch for the Des Moines, Iowa, team, but that Scott had turned it down cold and flat.

           In Hoopeston, Scott Ingle was an intimate friend of Mac Wallace, Lou Dyer, Date Powell, Bert Cunningham, Harry Cunningham, Jack Allen, Ed Trego, Froggy Williams, Walter Williams, many other young fellows about town in Hoopeston many years ago.

           Doubtless, it would have been far better, if Scott had gone into professional, or “pro” baseball, instead of entering some of the financial deals which proved disasters for him.

           Ingle and Engle

           I have in my files, several copies of the “Illio”, the year book of the University of Illinois.  In the 1905 Illio, I found Scott Ingle listed as “Engle” in the official roster of the baseball squad and in the group pictures as “Engle”. At the same time in the same Illio, Scott was listed as a member of Sigma Chi fraternity as “Ingle”.

          Jack and Lawrence Allen are listed as members of the Glee Club and of the University Quartet in one or more of these ancient yearbooks which have come into my files.   Lawrence Allen was Student Manager of the Band and he and Jack played in the band for several years in the early part of the 1900’s.

Arthur Hall, the beloved “Artie Hall” was one of the football coaches and later became head football coach from 1905 until 1913 when he was succeeded by Robert Zuppke.  Hall was a partime coach, known as a Graduate Coach, but a might coach at that.  He was the Vermilion country product who coached the Illini in its winning game against the University of Chicago, under the mighty Amos Alonzo Stagg, on Oct. 15, 1916, in the first Homecoming game ever played in the United States and the first Homecoming (then spelled Home Coming) program ever held in this country.  Many “firsts”, In deed, have come from great Illinois campus.

           I also found, listed among members of Pi Beta Phi Sorority, the name of Edna Sheldon, Urban, who later became Mrs. Ed. F. Trego, and the cherished “Ted” Tergo of Hoopeston, and mother of Ed Tergo, prominent Hoopeston leader today.

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Transcribed by Mary

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