Moline is my hometown. I was first interested in it's history in high school during the time that two historic buildings were burned down. They were both in poor physical condition and there was no funding to restore them. The Leighton Township Fire Department then used them as practice burnings. To me they felt like community bon-fires. The Leighton Township Library even sold doughnuts and drinks at the burning of the old church building (last used as the Library).

The entire community gathered to watch them burn, which made the burnings more like events for the community than tragedies.

On the opposite note, another old Moline "landmark" building, the old Meat Locker was looking like it was next. No one in town knew what was happening with the buliding, but everyone saw it being gutted out. It had a new owner, Don Scott. So, I went and investigated.

Along with making postcards.... It was essential that the community be involved in the town's life, so I helped gather people to help restore the building with Don Scott. Weeks after that, even more of the community gathered in the building to share stories, photos, and talk about the town that they call home. Preceeding these events was Pancakes and Postcards.

Postcards:

Communication with Moline through new postcards with related stamps and a pictorial cancellation stamp. A Temporary Postal Station was set up during the Friends of the Library Valentine's Pancake Breakfast. The Moline Post Office was able to use the pictorial cancellation stamp through the end of 2006.

Moline Public School Building Prints:

The public school building in Moline is part of the Wayland Public School System.  The school held approximately 200 students.  Due to water damage and lack of funds to keep the building in good repair, minor problems were left to grow.   Mold became a serious problem and the school was closed in September of 2003.  Students from Moline were transferred to other schools in the Wayland Public School System.  Now, the mold problem is under control, but the costs of re-opening the school are too high.  The building is in need of a new gym floor, new ceilings, and a good cleaning.  Even the playground is in shambles. 

It is believed that the building will re-open in the future, but by the time the space is needed, the damage could continue to snowball and make it overwhelming to repair. As for now, the student count for the Wayland School System is not high enough to justify spending so much money on Moline’s building and it will sit vacant for the years to come.

To view artwork made about these buildings, click one of the thumbnails above.