State Senator Paul Faraci and Representative Mike Marron presented congratulatory resolutions to the Village of Westville from the Illinois General Assembly Sunday. They were speakers at the dedication of a coal miner artwork at the Westville Depot as part of the community’s 150th birthday.
Representative Marron reflected on days as a child when he would visit his grandfather or great-grandparents’ homes in the Westville area. Marron said he remembers watching the Westville Labor Day parade and realizing it was something big….
{AUDIO: ‘’And they were celebrating the fact that this is a blue-collar community, and it was their day – Labor Day. The men and women – the sons and daughters – the grandsons, the granddaughters of those immigrant families that were here that were working in factories – that at the time still mined coal in the area.’’}
And Representative Marron noted those people in the audience at the Westville Depot Sunday also have stories about the town….
{AUDIO: ‘’And if you put all of our stories together – my stories – your stories – the community stories —– that’s the story of the Village of Westville. And it’s a story about how poor immigrants from all over the world came here to do the jobs that the more affluent, rich people wouldn’t do. They were dangerous, dirty jobs. Many people lost their lives…but they did it because it presented an opportunity. It presented an opportunity they didn’t have in the place that they came from.’’}
(State Senator Paul Faraci, Gary Delhaye – chairman of the Westville Sesquicentennial Committee — Westville Mayor Mike Weese, and State Representative Mike Marron.)
There are activities going on everyday as Westville’s Sesquicentennial Celebration continues through Labor Day.
