Bethalto's past comes alive in new book

Source: The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.新蒲崗迷你倉Aug. 19--BETHALTO -- People come and go, but memories of them linger, and thanks to one local effort some of those images are being captured for future generations.A new book on the Village of Bethalto makes its official debut at the Bethalto Homecoming on Labor Day weekend. It's a 128-page, pictorially driven tome that captures the history of a community platted in 1854."Images of America, Bethalto" is published by Arcadia Publishing and is part of its Images of America series. It sells for $21.99.The authors are former Mayor Steve Bryant, a Bethalto native, and the village's current assistant to the mayor, Jeff Allsman, an Alton-to-Bethalto transplant who quickly grew to appreciate the history once he dived in to this project in November 2012."It was a good learning experience for me and made it more pleasurable, getting to meet people who relived memories and enlightened me on things that happened in the community," Allsman said.The two men relied heavily on materials and volunteers connected to the Bethalto Historical Museum as well as contributions from individuals with long family ties, Allsman said."Some families have been here as long as the town's existed," he said. The village was incorporated not once but twice -- in 1869 and in 1873 -- a government oddity that no one could quite explain.The book offers chapters on how the village was settled, with reproductions of original plat maps; its growth; its schools; and its social nature. There is extensive coverage of the community as a milling, grain, coal mine and railroad town."Those are the first real industries that put Bethalto on the map," Allsman said.Bethalto was originally settled in 1804, officially founded in 1834 and was first known as Bethel, with the name eventually changed to incorporate letters from Bethel and nearby Alton to form the word "Bethalto."Much historical information was provided from Maridel Fowler, the widow of Arvel Fowler, who was curator of the museum for decades.Although Arcadia does make most of the mini storagerofit, the authors are donating their royalty percentage back to the village museum fund.The village purchased 500 books and is making them available at the Homecoming, Village Hall and the Bethalto Library.There are more than 200 pictures in "Bethalto," and they provide a fascinating peek at a bygone era. There are many family names that people will recognize today -- Klein, Prehn, Dettmers, Wiemers, Balsters, Seussen. The list goes on and on."I think it has a pretty broad appeal," Allsman said.The pictures really tell the story. Included are:- A tally sheet for the first election in 1869- Some of the old stores- Some of the earliest homes (although there is not total agreement, many believe it to be the Dodd House, which no longer exists and was on Mine Street along railroad tracks that are now the site of Erwin Plegge Boulevard. The property had a tree estimated at 200 years old that still stands.)- Scenes from the mines- Two big grain elevator firesThe research was aided by generations past, Allsman said."A lot of people from the '30s, '40s and '50s did a good job chronicling that time period."Other tidbits were picked up in unexpected places. Bryant, for instance, found a treasure trove of information in the attic above the firehouse and upstairs in an old drugstore on Central Street."Several of the photos used in the book, as well as several displays currently in the museum, were found in the historic Klein's Drug Store when I purchased it in the 1990's," Bryant said. "They are a part of my personal historic collection of Bethalto."The books arrived from the publisher on Friday and pre-orders are now available for pickup, though the authors plan to have a formal roll out during the Homecoming, where they intend to sign books as well."We expect the bulk of our sales will come at the Homecoming, when people come back to town," Allsman said.dgrubaugh@thetelegraph.comCopyright: ___ (c)2013 The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.) Visit The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.) at .thetelegraph.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage