FAMOUS QUAD CITIES PEOPLE
Barely three months after Col. Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic in his monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, brought his plane to Moline on Aug. 19, 1927, on a transcontinental goodwill tour. He was greeted by an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 at the then 5-year-old Moline airfield, now Quad City International Airport . Authorities estimated 150,000 people lined the parade route through East Moline , Moline , Rock Island and Davenport .
Along with John Deere, Black Hawk is probably the most famous Quad-Citian. War leader (but not chief) of the Sauk and Mesquakie (Fox) nations, he lived in the Indian village of Saukenuk in what is now Rock Island . Commissioned as a general, he fought on the British side in the War of 1812. After tribal leaders signed away Indian lands in most of Illinois in 1830, Black Hawk repudiated the agreement and moved back across the Mississippi , triggering the Black Hawk War of 1832. He was defeated, and died of a respiratory illness in 1838 at age 71. He was the great-grandfather of sports legend Jim Thorpe.
John Looney, Rock Island's version of Al Capone, made his living as a racketeer in the early 1900s, and used outrageous stories in the newspaper he owned to blackmail his opponents. Rumor had it that his mansion on the bluff overlooking Black Hawk Road came complete with escape stairs and bulletproof walls, but nothing noteworthy was found there after his death, although a tunnel led to a stone barn where he held cockfights.
Actor June Haver was born June 10, 1926, in Rock Island as June Stovenour. She made her stage debut at age 6 as a pianist. At 17 she signed a 20th Century-Fox movie contract. At one time she entered the convent of the Sisters of Charity in Kansas . She married actor Fred MacMurray, later of ``My Three Sons'' fame, in 1955, adopted twin daughters and never returned to acting.
Country singer Suzy Bogguss of Aledo won country music's Horizon Award in 1992. She earned a metalsmithing degree from Illinois State University in 1979 and began her professional career performing in various nightspots in the Quad-Cities and Peoria . Then she took to the road for five years, booking herself from Boston to California as she rose to prominence in the entertainment industry.
When his work came to the attention of Grant Wood, John Bloom was invited to study with the great Regionalist in the summer of 1932. There he met Isabel Scherer, a young artist from Davenport who would become his bride six years later. After his retirement in 1979, John Bloom devoted more time to woodcarving; Isabel Bloom's concrete garden sculptures have gained nationwide popularity.
An opera star from Davenport , Ms. Roberti reached the height of her operatic career in Italy , but frequently returned to make local appearances with the Tri-City Symphony. For her many contributions to Italian opera, the President of Italy conferred on her the title of Dame Margherita Roberti. She lives in retirement with her husband, Tom Nobis.
John Lujack, a Pennsylvania native, was an All-American football quarterback at Notre Dame in the 1940s and in 1947 won the Heisman Trophy and was named Athlete of the Year. After his pro football career with the Chicago Bears, he came to the Quad-Cities to sell cars, retiring from Lujack Auto Plaza in 1987.
A native of Rock Island and former Alleman High School athlete, Mr. Oliver played for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox, retiring from the major leagues in 1969. He had a .276 lifetime batting average, and hit 21 home runs in 1965.
Mr. Fleck, a native of Davenport , won the U.S. Open Golf Championship in 1955, beating the great Ben Hogan in a playoff. He later served as golf pro at several golf courses in California , Wisconsin and Illinois
Mrs. Stewart, from Kewanee, is a leading national columnist on etiquette and has directed etiquette books, articles, classes and seminars to all ages and social groups, including American corporations. In 1987 she was honored by Black Hawk College , East Campus, Kewanee, for her contributions to the college's library and instructional programs.
Current Dallas Mavericks basketball coach Don Nelson is a graduate of Rock Island High School. He played basketball at Iowa and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1962. He played 14 pro seasons, including 11 with the Boston Celtics, and played on five NBA champions. Since retiring as a player, he has coached several NBA teams. In 1986, while coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, he donated his playoff earnings to a Wisconsin farmer on the verge of foreclosure, and ran several fundraising tractor drives on behalf of Wisconsin farmers.
In 1987, Bonnie Bartlett, a former Moliner, won her second Emmy in as many years for her portrayal of Ellen Craig on TV's ``St. Elsewhere.'' Her father, E.E. Bartlett, was a businessman and a founder of Quad City Music Guild. She went from Moline High School to Northwestern University, where she met her husband, William Daniels, who also went on to TV and movie stardom. The couple lived in New York for 20 years, working in theater and television, before moving to California .
Legendary jazz cornetist Leon Bismarck Beiderbecke, who played hard in the Roaring '20s and died at the age of 28 in 1931, grew up in Davenport 's Gold Coast. The Kirk Douglas movie” Young Man With a Horn”' was based on his career. His meteoric career is commemorated with the annual Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival at the end of July on the Davenport, Iowa levee.
World-famous jazz drummer Louis Bellson has played with many of the world's top jazz musicians. While attending Moline High School , he won drummer Gene Krupa's nationwide talent search, which started his long career. He was the husband of the late Pearl Bailey.
Ken Berry, actor and dancer, is best known for his starring roles in television's "F-Troop" and "Mayberry RFD" He was a 1952 graduate of Moline High School .
William F. Cody became a Wild West showman following a career as a well-known Indian scout. He was born in LeClaire, Iowa.
Roger Craig, National Football League all-pro running back, helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles. Craig was an all-state athlete at Davenport Central, once gaining more than 350 yards in a high-school playoff game.
John Deere developed his revolutionary self-scouring steel plow in 1837, and moved to Moline to take advantage of the water power of the Mississippi River. Today Deere & Co. is an international leader in the farm-implement business.
Susann McDonald, internationally renowned harpist, began playing harp in the Tri-City Symphony when she was 13 years old, and still performs with the orchestra, now called the Quad City Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. D.D. Palmer formulated the theories of health and science which spurred modern chiropractic. He founded Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, the world's oldest chiropractic institution, 100 years ago.
The former president and actor began his professional career as a radio announcer in the Quad-Cities, at Davenport 's WOC in 1931. He was born in Tampico, about 40 miles east of the Quad-Cities, and grew up in Dixon, about 60 miles northeast.
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