Industry (population 540) is located in upper-western Illinois in the southwestern portion of McDonough County. The town is situated about 10 miles to the southest of Macomb. Illinois Route 67 is the main roadway to and from town. The Grindstone Creek flows by the northwest side of town and there is a small lake just west of town as well.
The year 1846 saw the first settlers come to the area now known as Industry. The town was platted in 1855 and saw its first government formed in 1867. A school was established in Industry in 1866. More on the history of Industry can be found at http://www.macomb.com/~ilmcdono/townships/IndustryTown1885.html .
Regarding the photo to the right of this writing, submitted by Myrna Morrell courtesy of Kermit Short. Kermit says:
“I received this photo from Ted and Ellen Tingley. This is a photo of my Grandad, Claude Tingley, sitting in the back seat of car when he graduated from Industry High School, Industry, IL. The date is approximately 1910. He was born May 3, 1892 and died May 30, 1980. Grandad was the only member of his graduating class, the first graduate of this high school. In the front seat are the two members of the junior class at Industry High School, we think. Don’t know who the gentleman standing is. The Industry High School was on the north edge of town. Our Mother, Carol, also graduated from this school in 1938.”
Can you identify the persons in the front seat? If so let us know.
Industry Grade School Bldg 1906 (possibly HS too?)
“History of McDonough County, IL”,George W. Shadwick Jr. ,1968.Desaulniers & Co. Moline (John Bybee)
The history of the town’s high school is in need of research. It is quite likely that high school curriculum was in place by the late 1800’s. Industry High School served the community for over 100 years. Unfortunately, dwindling enrollment was among other reasons that a consolidation effort was started with the neighboring town of Rushville. This effort became a reality after the 2004-05 school year with the creation of the Rushville-Industry School District.
The high school for the new district is located in Rushville. We believe the former Industry High School building is now used as a grade school for the Rushville-Industry school system.
Can you help Myrna Morrell:
“I am seeking a photo of a girl named Nedra Shores who attended Industry Grade School between 1919 and 1926. Probably never went farther than 8th grade. Her parents were Ed and Lurlan (Kellum) Shores. She was born in 1913 and died in 1995. This was the mother of my cousin and she does not have a picture of her mother, so I told her I would see if I could locate a grade school photo of her. If you have any sources that could help me to locate this I would certainly appreciate it. Thank you for any assistance that you can give to me.”
Contact us if you can.
Industry High School Students 1914
Submitted by John Farr, Everett Farr in chair third from right (second row)
Industry High School Quick Facts
Year opened: late 1800’s
Year new building built: 1956
Year closed: 2005
Consolidated to: Rushville-Industry School District
Industry HS team nickname: up until 1956 – the “Indians”
after 1956 – the “Eagles”
Team colors: up until 1956 – Red & Gray
after 1956 – Kelly Green & Gold
School Fight Song: “We’re Loyal To You, Industry!”
(University of Illinois Fight Song Tune)
Words Submitted by Linda Greenplate Peak
We’re loyal to you, Industry!
Our love is for you, Industry!
We’ll back you to rate
With the best in the state,
For in you we have faith, Industry!
Rah, Rah. . .
So dare to be brave (“bold” after 1956), Industry
For the red and gray (“green and gold” after 1956), Industy.
So on with our true assistance,
On boys, for we insist on
Victory for you, Industry!!
Fling out that dear old flag of Red and of Gray,
Lead on your sons and daughters fighting their way
Like men of old, on giants, placing reliance
Shouting defiance
Oski, Wow, Wow
Of all the students bright that make up our band
For honest labor and for learning we stand
And unto thee we pledge our heart and hand
To labor long and true, INDUSTRY!
RAH ! RAH !
Athletics
The Industry High School Eagles were known for their competitive nature in spite of being often the smaller school on the court or field. Boys’ basketball and girls’ softball both had some great seasons. The boys competed in baseball, football, and track, while the girls competed in volleyball and track as well. School fight song is being sought.
Industry HS Athletes in Front of School 1916
Submitted by John Farr
Boys’ Basketball
Three District titles and a Regional title hi-lighted the Eagle hardwood court success. One of the Districts (1924-25) was significant in that it came when the District was actually comparable to a Regional. The coach’s names and better team records of the Industry Eagles boys basketball program as found on the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org) are listed below.
IHSA Postseason Basketball Scores is a website that lists all of the basketball scores for teams who participated in the IHSA State Tourney from 1919 through 1988. Scores from the years in which Industry won a District or Regional Tournament are listed below. For scores from other years click on the following link: https://sites.google.com/site/xtmi2000/
A photo of the Industry High School “Eagles” basketball team of 1916 provided by John Farr is pictured below as well. Players include the following:
Members of the team pictured above include (not in order):
First Team members: Price, Flack, Justus, Pennington, Russell, Duncan, and R. Graham
Second Team members: Frazier, Thompson, L. Graham, Runkle, and D. Pennington
1937-38 Browning District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Hersman 49-19
Semi-Final Score Needed
Title Game Beat Browning 32-30 (O/T)
Regional Scores Unavailable
1940-41 Coach Burdette Sullivan
1943-44 Coach George Bertolino
1946-47 Conference Champs Coach Gail Underwood
Industry HS “Indians” of 1946-47
Submitted by Neva Peak
The photo above is of the conference champs of 1946-47. Members of the team include:
Back Row – L to R: John Greenup, John Hamm, Max Toland, John Snyder, George McEntire, Coach Gail Underwood
Front Row – L to R: Bob Quigley, Bill Miller, Junior Lindsey, Lyle Snowden, Dick Underwood
1949-50 Coach Ed Johnson
1950-51 Coach Sarff
1951-52 Coach Daniel Faherty
1952-53 Coach Vern Chick
1953-54 Coach Joe Beja
1954-55 Coach Ray Morelli
1955-56 Coach Tom Zaborac
1956-57 Coach Kenneth Morgan
1957-58 Coach Charles Feller
1958-64 Coach Ron Johnson
1964-67 Coach Richard Roe
1967-68 16-11 Industry District Champs Coach Richard Roe
Semi-Final Beat Plymouth 52-27
Title Game Beat Augusta
Carthage Regional Tournament
1st Rd lost to Nauvoo-Colusa 57-48
Carthage beat Hamilton in title game.
1968-69 14-11 Coach Richard Roe
1969-70 13-11 Coach Richard Roe
1970-71 13-12 Coach Richard Roe
1971-72 20- 6 Industry Regional Champs Coach Richard Roe
Semi-Final Beat Table Grove VIT 63-39
Title Game Beat Macomb Western 57-48
Quincy Regional Tournament
Semi-Final lost to Quincy Catholic Boys 81-60
Quincy CB beat Augusta in title game.
1972-73 17- 7 Coach Richard Roe
1973-76 Coach Richard Roe
1976-79 Coach Bill Coultas
1979-80 17-10 Coach Bill Coultas
1980-81 Coach Bill Coultas
1981-86 Coach Mike Dickson
1986-87 13-13 Coach Richard Well
1987-89 Coach Richard Well
1989-90 Coach Dave Kreps
1990-91 26- 4 Coach Dave Kreps
1991-92 13-13 Coach Scott Bantz
1992-93 Coach Scott Bantz
1993-94 14-13 Coach Scott Bantz
1994-95 19- 9 Coach Scott Bantz
1995-96 Coach John Meixner
1996-97 15-13 Coach John Meixner
1997-01 Coach John Meixner
Girls Softball
Two Regional titles were the best seasons the Lady Eagles enjoyed. The coaches’ names and better team records of the diamond ladies are listed below.
1974-77 Coach Lynn Andracke
1977-78 Coach Cathy McMillan
1983-85 Coach Damaris Blansfield
1985-86 Coach Cinda Martin
1986-87 9- 9 Coach Cinda Martin
1987-88 8 – 6 Coach Cinda Martin
1992-93 Coach Nancy Wheeler
1993-94 Coach Chad Harrison
1994-95 Coach Pam Burnham
1995-96 14- 3 Regional Champions Coach Mary Quigle
1996-97 25- 8 Regional Champions Coach Mary Quigle
1997-98 CoachMary Quigle
Baseball
The boys’ baseball team at Industry High School did not win any IHSA hardware. However, they competed well and gave the hometown fans a great many good memories.
Team members of the 1924-25 photo above include (not in order);
Flack, Pennington, Russell, Price, Gunning, Leininger, R. Graham, L. Graham, Janes, Duncan, Young, Justus, Frazier.
1962-67 Coach Richard Roe
1980-86 Coach Mike Dickson
1986-88 Coach Richard Well
1992-93 Coach Scott Bantz
1993-94 Coach Jeremy Lehman
1995-98 Coach John Meixner
Boys’ Track & Field
One male athlete brought home a total of three medals from the IHSA State Track Meet. Steve Onion won all three of his medals in the “weighted” field events.
1945-46 Hancock County Champs Coach Gail Underwood
1946-47 Hancock County Champs Coach Gail Underwood
880 Relay Team – County Record – 1:39.2
Junior Lindsey – County Record in 880 – 2:09.4
Junior Lindsey – County Champ – Mile Run
Lyle Snowden – County Champ – 120 & 220 hurdles, High Jump
Keith Peak – County Champ – 220
1976-77 Steve Onion Discus 3RD Place
1977-78 Steve Onion Discus 4TH Place
Shot Put 6TH Place
Girls’ Volleyball
The Industry Lady Eagles flew high over the net in this sport. Several incredible seasons marked the mid-1990’s under the direction of Coach Cinda Martin Brodie. This was accomplished in a hotbed area for girls volleyball which included the seemingly always state-bound Colchester teams. The Industry girls faired well in posting six 20-win seasons and one 30-win season!
1982-83 11- 7 Coach Damaris Blansfield
1983-84 13- 6 Coach Damaris Blansfield
1984-85 10- 8 Coach Damaris Blansfield
1985-86 11- 8 Coach Cinda (Martin) Brodie
1986-87 14- 6 Coach Cinda (Martin) Brodie
1987-88 17-11 Coach Cinda (Martin) Brodie
1992-93 24- 7 Coach Cinda (Martin) Brodie
1993-94 24- 5 Coach Cinda (Martin) Brodie
1994-95 Coach Cinda (Martin) Brodie
1995-96 25- 4- 1 Coach Cinda (Martin) Brodie
1996-97 30- 4Coach Cinda (Martin) Brodie
1997-98 24- 9 Coach Pam Heaton-Burnham
1998-99 16-16 Coach Pam Heaton-Burnham
1999-00 22-11 Coach Pam Heaton-Burnham
2000-01 Coach Pam Heaton-Burnham
2001-02 16-16 Coach Pam Burnham
Football
Yes, this small town school had their own football team at one time too. The better records and accomplishments of the grid iron heroes of Industry High are listed below as researched by Tom Sikorski.
1924-25 6 – 3 Coach Driver
Schedule:
Beat Table Grove 34 – 0
Lost to Blandinsville 0 – 12
Beat Table Grove 34 – 0
Beat Colchester 1 – 0
Lost to La Harpe 0 – 12
Lost to Roseville 0 – 19
Beat Vermont 61 – 0
Beat Havana 21 – 0
Beat Beardstown 14 – 6
Members of the team of 1924-25 are pictured below. They are, not in order:
Industry High School’s Unbeaten Football Team 1946
Provided by Neva Peak
Front Row L – R: Bill Oster, Ivan Provine, Joe Quigley, Harold Dickason, Brad McEntire, Kermit Royer, Eddie Cobb, Kenneth Nell
Second Row: Keith Royer, Frances Moore, Roger Fulks, Bill Miller, Max Toland, Lyle Snowden, Jim Thompson, John Snyder, Junior Lindsey, Keith Peak
Back Row: Asst. Coach Lee Cammon, John Hamm, Eldon Wilson, Bill Quigley, Frances Archer, Bill Haffey, Dick Underwood, Don Shultz, Donald Snowden, John Greenup, Corky McEntire, Coach Gail Underwood
1946 Industry High School Football Schedule
Submitted by Neva Peak
As the above photo states, the Industry High School football team of the fall of 1946 was a special one. The team finished the season undefeated at 8 – 0 scoring 332 points while holding their opponents to a total of 33 points. As you can see on the schedule to the right, Industry’s defense posted 5 shutouts and were considered by many as the best small town high school football team in the state. The team featured the leading scorer in the state, Max Toland, who finished the season with 153 points.
The school’s enrollment in the 1946-47 school year was 101, with 57 of those enrolled being boys, 28 of whom played football. At that time Industry often benefitted by getting students from nearby Littleton, who would transfer to Industry for their senior year as Littleton High was but a three-year high school at the time. Coach Underwood attempted to schedule a game with nearby Beardstown and Farmington, also undefeated teams in the area that year, however his bid to do so was never realized.
1954 4-3-1 Coach Ray Morelli
1955 5-3-1 Coach Tom Zaborac
1962 5-3 2nd place Wilco Conference Coach Ron Johnson
1968 4-4 Coach Dick Roe
1970 5-2 2nd place (tie) Wilco Conference Coach Dick Roe
1977 5-3 3rd place Western Area Conference Coach Kent Tuttle
1978 4-4 2nd place Western Area Conference Coach Ralph Marshall
Industry last fielded its own football team in 1979
Seeking Further Information
We are seeking more information on the successes and achievements attained by the Industry High School students, faculty, and residents. We are looking for photos of some of the outstanding teams in Industry High School history. You can e-mail information to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net. You can also write to us at:
