Lieutenant Harry B. Liggett, Company A, 122nd MG Battalion, 33rd Division, Infantry. Distinguished Service Cross, France. The Distinguished Service Cross ranks second only to the Medal of Honor. Liggett earned the DSC on October 10, 1918, at Bois de Chaume, France. Leading his platoon under heavy shell and machine-gun fire, Lieutenant Liggett launched an attack on two enemy machine-gun nests. Accompanied by one soldier he silenced the fire from one nest with rifle fire, and directed the fire of his platoon so that the other nest was destroyed. He was severely wounded in this action.

machine gun nest at Bois de Chaume, France, 1918
This photo from the New York Public Library collection shows a German machine gun nest
in the Bois de Chaume. Harry Liggett earned his Distinguished Service Cross
taking out a nest like this one, perhaps even this very one!

The only other DSC winners from Freeport are Charles A. McCoy and Fred R. Wilkins, both also in WW I. Freeport's John McAllister Schofield won the Medal of Honor in the Civil War. All listed their home towns as Freeport, Illinois.

Charles McCoy was a Corporal in the 26th Infantry. He earned the DSC on October 5, 1918 at Verdun.

Verdun, 1918
This photo from the New York Public Library collection
shows U.S. troops at Verdun, France in 1918.

Fred Wilkins was a Private in the 132nd Infantry. He earned his DSC on July 4, 1918, at Hamel, Belgium.

Hamel, Belgium, 1918
This photo from the New York Public Library collection
shows a variety of scenes from Hamel, Belgium.

John Schofield was a Major, 1st Missouri Infantry. He earned the Medal of Honor at Wilson's Creek, Missouri on August 10, 1861 for conspicuously gallant conduct in leading a regiment in a successful charge against the enemy.

The death of General Lyon at Wilson's Creek, Missouri, on August 10, 1861.
This postcard shows the Death of General Lyon
at the battle at Wilson's Creek, Missouri,
on August 10, 1861.

Harry Ludwig, Navy.

Merton Rogers, Army.

Reint Sluiter, Infantry.

Paul Smith, Aviator.

Charles Taylor, Lieutenant, Aviation.

Harry E. Wheat, 3rd Instruction Company, Signal Corps, Radio School, Franklin Cantonments, Camp Meade, Maryland.

Listed as Alumni in the 1919 Polaris

Esther Albrecht, Leona Allen-Springman, Barbara Anderson,

Mabel Ballschmidt, Dorothy Bauscher, Margaret Beardsley, Jerald Bigelow, Lucile Bookman, Jeanette Bowler, Martha Brockmeier, Donald Burns,

William Calkins, Ruth Capron, Fern Clarno, Harriet Cox,

Estella Davis, Lawrence Dippell, Margaret Doyle,

Mildred Edler, Valda Eels, Ethel Eels, Noel Elvey, Robert Elvey,

James Fitzpatrick, Torrey Foy, Lorene Frank, Dorothy Fuller, James Fulwider

Ruth Gasser, Isabel Gugger, Julius Guhl

Lloyd Haase, Winnifred Harea, Grace Hartman, Wilhelm Heeren, Oscar Hill, Emil Hoefer, Karl Hoffman, Margaret Hookstra, Helen Hoy

Oliver Jastram, Marjorie Johnson, Imogene Jungkunz, Stella Jury-Korthmeier

Orrin Kohl, Myrtle Karlen-Fritz, Leo Koehler, Russel Knoble, Kenneth Knowlton, Grace Kuhneke-Lapp

Marjorie Lacy, Russell Liole, Bee Langenstein, Harry Liggett, Harry Ludwig,

Frances Manchester, Kathleen McCoy, Gertrude McDermid, Elizabeth McNary, Eva Murdaugh, Mabel Murphy,

Helen Palmer, Helen Phillips, Dorothy Place-Cobb, Lucretia Porter,

Nellie Resh, Merton Rogers, Russell Ryan, Ruth Rubolt,

Helen Sage, Alice Shafer, Marie Schlenk, Irene Schofield, Doris Schumaker-Waldecker, Margaret Schulte, Myrtle Shearer-McGrath, Earl Sinclair, Reint Sluiter, Lucile Smith, Paul Smith, Hazel Snyder, Ruth Stewart, Nathan Studebaker,

Mary Taft, Charles Taylor, Etta Tisdell, Esther Trollope,

Marjorie Ullman,

Wescott Walker, Rachel Walters, Helen Wells, Harry Wheat, Julia Wheat, Ruth Wicks, Royal Wilds, Naomi Winters, Margaret Wilson,

Pearl Yeager, Wilson Young

Basketball State Champions

The Freeport Boys basketball team was the Illinois 1915 State Champions.

Top row: Coach D. B. Daugherty, Chester Langenstein, Glen Holmes
Second row: Torrey Foy, Oscar Hill, Leo Koehler, Manager Julius Guhl
Bottom row: Russell Mulnix, Paul Gilbert, Herbert Biersach

In the Quarterfinals, the score was Freeport 41, Granite City 20.
In the Semifinals, the score was Freeport 38, Carbondale 14.
And in the State Final, the score was Freeport 27, Springfield 11.
Freeport was coached by Dan Daugherty. The team's final record was 18-2. There were 567 students in the four classes that year.

The leading scorer for the State Tournament was Torrey Foy. Leo Koehler was third, and Oscar Hill was fourth.

Four Freeporters made the All-Tournament Team:
Torrey Foy, Freeport, 5-8, Sr.
Oscar Hill, Freeport, 5-7, Sr.
Leo Koehler, Freeport, 5-8, Sr.
Chester Langenstein, Freeport, 6-0, Sr.
Edward Sternaman, Springfield, 5-5, Sr.

Koehler also made the All-Tournament team in 1914. Freeport finished second in 1914, finishing 17-1, its only loss coming in the title game.

Freeport General Hospital in 1915

Freeport General Hospital in 1915.

Superba Theater

Freeport's Superba Theater, which opened in 1915. It closed in 1928.

The Arcade

Many members of my family worked at the Arcade Manufacturing Company. This view is looking northeast. The elevated Illinois Central tracks are shown at the right, with the overpass shown going over S. Arcade Avenue. East Shawnee Street goes between the tracks and the factory, the only entrance into the Arcade subdivision. S. Hancock Avenue is to the left, in front of the Arcade. Some of the buildings are still standing as a part of Modern Plating.

Knowlton Park