Maurice Staub (1926-1980)

Note: This is a work in process. There are probably a few errors. Photos will be added!

On June 25, 1926, Robert Maurice Staub was born near Clarksville, Illinois. He was the fifth of nine children of Joe and Annette Staub. As a young child, he was struck with polio. He attended grade school in Clarksville, though the disease delayed his early education by a year. He attended Marshall High School where he was on the track and field team.

Maurice graduated from MHS in 1945 and enlisted in the Navy, but the effects of his childhood bout with polio resulted in a medical discharge and a very short military career.

After leaving the Navy, my understanding is that he worked for a short time at Velsicol Chemical Corporation in Marshall and perhaps for the interurban railroad, though I have no documentation of his work from 1945 to 1949.

In the fall of 1949, Maurice enrolled in a 36-week program DeForest Training School (DTS) in Chicago. Founded in downtown Chicago in 1931 by inventor Dr. Herman DeVry, DTS prepared students for technical jobs in electronics, motion pictures, radio, and television. (In 1953, DTS moved to a new campus on Belmont Avenue and changed its name to DeVry Technical Institute.)

Maurice graduated 3rd in his class from DTS on May 5, 1950. After a brief trip with classmates Don Carter and Bill Cavitt to Cavitt’s hometown of Texarkana, Texas, Maurice returned to Marshall and set up a radio and television in a building on 13th Street owned by his sister Agnes and her husband A.R. “Dutch” Miller. By June, however, he opened a shop in downtown Marshall, at 112 North 7th Street.

By August, 1951 he had teamed up with Bill Taylor (husband of Maurice’s cousin Josephine) to form Staub & Taylor Appliance, located first at 107 North 7th Street and, by August, 1952, at 611 Archer Avenue. Eventually, the business moved to its final home at 618 Archer (the only one I remember).

In 1952, Maurice married Phyllis Hammond at St. Mary’s Church in Marshall. After a honeymoon in California where his older brother Lawrence and his family lived, the couple returned to Marshall.

For a short period in 1953 and 1954, Maurice and Phyllis moved to Charleston, Illinois to open a second Staub & Taylor Appliance store, but by the summer of 1954 they were back in Marshall. In relatively short order, they had five sons by Maurice’s 33rd birthday.

On May 7, 1960, Maurice’s father, Joe Staub, retired from Moorman Manufacturing Company after 34 years and Maurice joined Moorman’s as his replacement. Maurice continued to work for Moorman’s until his death.

The 1960’s brought two daughters to the couple and brought their total brood to seven.

While Maurice continued to work at Moorman’s, he held other jobs to keep food on the table. At one point, he held at least two side jobs, as a meter reader for the City of Marshall and a bartender at American Legion Post 90.

For many years, as might be expected with 5 sons, Maurice coached Little League Baseball teams. He was an avid golfer.

Maurice and Phyllis divorced in the late 1970’s.

Maurice died on October 10, 1980 at Union Hospital in Terre Haute. He was 54 years old.

Happy birthday, University of Illinois

Although it doesn’t look a day over 149, today the University of Illinois celebrates its 150th birthday. 150 years ago today, on February 28, 1867, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation creating the Illinois Industrial University, known today as the University of Illinois.

The University today launched its Sesquicentennial Celebration, with events planned go on for the next fifteen months. Festivities began this afternoon with a celebration at the University’s Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana.

Let’s all join in celebrating the 150th birthday of our premiere state university.

Marching Illini visit the Loop and play the Three-In-One

I was sitting in my office overlooking Monroe and Dearborn Streets at noon today and suddenly heard the sounds of a marching band. I looked out the window and saw the Marching Illini assembled about a block away at Madison and Dearborn. After listening several pieces, including “Illinois Loyalty,” from my 19th floor perch, I wandered down to street level to catch the rest of the performance, including the “Three-In-One” in the video above. You can also see and hear the video on my YouTube channel.

The band director said that the “Three-In-One” was first played in 1926 and that this year marks its 90th anniversary. The entry for the Marching Illini on Wikipedia states:

The musical portion of the Three-In-One consists of three distinct Illinois pieces: “Pride of the Illini,” “March of the Illini,” and “Hail to the Orange.” “Pride of the Illini,” written by Karl King with words by Ray Dvorak expressly for the Illinois Bands, was published in 1928. Harry Alford’s “March of the Illini” was also published in 1928, but was used during Chief Illinwek’s performance from the beginning in 1926. ″Hail to the Orange″ was written by Harold V. Hill with words by Howard R. Green in 1910. The three pieces were eventually combined into a medley and given the title, “Three-In-One.” The “Three-In-One” drill and music are an important part of the University’s heritage.

Enjoy the performance, but please excuse my off-key participation in the singing of “Hail to the Orange.”

Supermoon over Evanston

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The largest supermoon in nearly 70 years lit the cloudless sky over Evanston Monday night, November 14, 2016. The world is being treated to supermoons in 3 successive months this fall, but the November supermoon tops them all.

Due to the elliptical orbit of the moon around the earth, its distance from our planet varies. A full moon is characterized as a “supermoon” when its orbit brings it closer to the earth and it therefore appears at least 14% larger than a typical moon and 30% brighter. Tonight’s moon is about 30,000 miles closer to the earth than usual. The moon’s orbit has not brought it this close to earth since 1948 and it won’t be this close again until November 24, 2034.