1958 Letter from Village President

To the Residents of Midlothian,

As the President of the Board of Trustees and the Village of Midlothian, I am proud to send you this report of what your local government has been doing during the past year.

Midlothian continues to grow in population and in importance in this southwest portion of Cook County. It is fast becoming a significant shopping center; a village of homes with ample school and recreational facilities; a village with improved roads, plenty of water and adequate sewers; a village protected by a top-notch volunteer fire department and an efficient police force.

Significant I think, is the work of all members of the Board of Trustees who devote their time and energies without remuneration to the welfare of the residents of Midlothian. We have a strong board – ready to work together after decisions have been made – but unwilling to act without full discussion and careful planning.

I hope you will all study this report and make use of it.

Respectfully submitted,

Henry J. Milen
Village President

1958 Village of Midlothian Board

President - Henry J. Milen

Trustee - Ch. Finance – John F. Goonrey

Trustee - Ch. Public Safety – Vernon G. Swillum

Trustee - Ch. Building – Walter B. Samet

Trustee - Ch. Roads and Drainage – Fred Massat

Trustee - Ch. Water and Sewer – Roy Steffen

Trustee - Ch. Public Relations – Wilbert E. Scharlau

Clerk - Nelle E. Burton

Treasurer – Glen L. Pyles

Police Magistrate – Louis Sannito

Attorney - Walter B. Briody

Engineer - Raymond W. Robinson

Chief of Police – John A. Ward, Jr.

Captain - Anthony Dell

Lieutenant - Walter Pence

Sergeant - Dominick Chiaro

Chief of Fire Department – Frank J. Wiswell

Chief of Fire Prevention – Charles N. Anderson

Superintendent of Public Works – William E. Bay, Jr.

Building Inspector – Martin Steinhagen

Zoning Board Chairman – John S. Knight

Zoning Board Secretary – James N. Lesparre

Police and Fire Commissioners – Charles B. Largen, James M. Kennedy, Louis M. Kalis

Health Officer – Carl E. Smith, M.D.

Civil Defense – Louis M. Kalis

Library Board Chairman – Albert Clifton

Business Office (Office) Manager – Kay Skedd

Business Office Relief Clerk – Laurane Tull

Secretary - Elaine Hoeltgen

Introducing The Village of Midlothian History Blog

One of the most challenging hurdles to overcome when faced with continuing to transcribe historical and/or official documents into a digital format is the human capital expenditure.  Even with typing skills in the 90’s or even the 100’s, the actuarial formulas guiding our “Economy” continue to churn out a “too expensive” conclusion for this particular side of life.

I am hoping those that come here seeking historical-based knowledge about Midlothian, Illinois will be patient with the time frame involved with this type of a project.  I cannot update it on a daily basis and when I do update it, there will be multiple entries due to help coming in from a variety of sources with the same erratic schedule issues I face.

I have had the honor and priviledge to interact with so many amazing people here in this Village and the surrounding communities and hope this effort serves this community well.  It really is a Village built on pride…

Pride in a good day’s work for a good day’s pay…

Pride in having time to indulge in a little bit of fun because the tasks and chores can wait just a moment or two longer because there’s still enough daylight to get a game of baseball or soccer in or maybe a visit to the playground…

Pride in maintaining and celebrating traditions both old and new…

Pride in how their community looks…both inside and out…

Pride in how their community interacts with the rest of the world…

And to think you won’t even have to take my word for it…unless you want to, of course, since I don’t own the copyright on this stuff anyway.  It just happens to be public records I thought would be of value to the community while saving them a few tax dollars in the process by doing it for free.  

Warmest wishes,

Valerie Martin