Merle Eugene Makeever

1899 - 1977  (78 years)

• Name	Merle Eugene Makeever
  Nickname	Midge
  Birth	12 Mar 1899	Marseilles, LaSalle, Illinois
  Gender	Male
  Library book: Descendants of Benjamin Rice	340
  Death	16 May 1977	Newark, New Castle, Delaware
  		Merle Eugene Makeever Obituary The Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware) 18 May 1977, Wednesday, Page 61
  		Merle Eugene Makeever Memorial Service The Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware) 25 Oct 1977, Tuesday, Page 37
  Siblings	3 siblings
  1. Carl Raymond Makeever,   b. 26 May 1897, Marseilles, LaSalle, Illinois d. Jan 1985, Will County, Illinois
  2. Harry Donald Makeever,   b. 10 Oct 1900, Marseilles, LaSalle, Illinois d. 17 Feb 1994, Albuquerque, Bernalillo, New Mexico
  3. Howard Benton Makeever,   b. 12 Jul 1904, Marseilles, LaSalle, Illinois d. 23 Feb 1997, Largo, Pinellas, Florida
  Person ID	I31473	Nagel
  Last Modified	20 Apr 2018

  
  

  Father	Harlo Benton Makeever,   b. 20 Feb 1875, Marseilles, LaSalle, Illinois d. 15 Jan 1948 (Age 72 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Margaret Elizabeth Glass,   b. 20 Oct 1879, Birchtown, Nova Scotia, Canada d. 9 Mar 1965, Joliet, Will\Kendall, Illinois (Age 85 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Marriage	12 Mar 1896	Ottawa, LaSalle, Illinois
  		Harlo Makeever and Margaret Glass Golden Anniversary The Daily Times (Davenport, Iowa) 21 Mar 1946, Thursday, Page 11
  Family ID	F10078	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Reuberta R Christians,   b. 18 Mar 1902, Danville, Dodge, Wisconsin d. 14 Aug 1981, Silvis, Rock Island, Illinois (Age 79 years)
  Marriage	15 Jun 1922	Iowa
  Children	1. Donald Merle Makeever,   b. 20 Jan 1924, Waterloo, Black Hawk, Iowa d. 21 Aug 1999, Galesburg, Knox, Illinois (Age 75 years)   2. Caryl Jean Makeever,   b. 4 Aug 1925, Moline, Rock Island, Illinois d. 15 Sep 1997, Silvis, Rock Island, Illinois (Age 72 years)   3. Russell Charles Makeever,   b. 5 Aug 1927, Waterloo, Black Hawk, Iowa d. 27 Nov 1998, Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona (Age 71 years)   4. Gwen Lynn Makeever,   b. 16 Apr 1930, Waterloo, Black Hawk, Iowa d. 6 Jan 2001, Clearwater, Pinellas, Florida (Age 70 years)
  Family ID	F10989	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	20 Apr 2018

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 12 Mar 1899 - Marseilles, LaSalle, Illinois Marriage - 15 Jun 1922 - Iowa Death - 16 May 1977 - Newark, New Castle, Delaware  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Merle Makeever Basketball Merle "Midge" Makeever - 1918 Midge is shown here in his junior year. He captained the basketball team for the "Red and Blue." As always, Davenport High had a great team. Unfortunately, they ran into some real trouble owing to the fact that "many of our heroes believed that doing well in the gym was the only requisite to obtaining credits." And some of the best men were unceremoniously ejected from the team, leaving only raw material with which to work. Three starters, Wilbur (Bill) Huss, Hilmer "Pinky" Rodler and Robert (Bob) Schick, all vital parts in the Davenport scoring machine, were declared ineligible because of scholastic standing. They were replaced in the lineup by Bodine Higley, Edgar Frandsen and Lyle Lofgren. The high school did not have a baseball team in those days, so the better high school men played on various semi-pro teams in an inter-city league. Midge played second base for the Davenport "Overlands." Other teams included the "Locos" sponsored by the Davenport Locomotive Works, and the East Davenport Boosters. Makeever also played in a similar semi-pro basketball league while in high school with a team called the "Stephens Six." One of the boys he played with was Otto Vogel, who graduated from Davenport High in 1917. Vogel would go on to play baseball for the Chicago Cubs and then was head baseball coach for the University of Iowa "Hawkeyes" for 35 years!
  		Makeever's Jazz Band - Merle and Donald Makeever Makeever's Jazz Band - 1918 Makeever's Jazz Band was organized in the fall of 1917 by brothers Merle E. "Midge" and Harry D. Makeever, both members of the Davenport High School class of 1919. The band was known as "Harry Mac's Jazz Band" in high school circles. They were so popular that they practically played all the high-school parties during the 1917-1918 school year, including the Junior Red Cross dances. To celebrate George Washington's birthday, Merle and Harry hosted a "Washington Hop" on February 22, 1918, at the Pythian Castle hall. It was attended by 80 high school couples. The Makeever Jazz band furnished the dance program, which was the second of three in a series of dances the boys had planned, with the final one scheduled for the latter part of March. All proved most successful. On the following night, Saturday, February 23rd, the Harry Mac Jazz band played a very delightful program of dance music at the Hotel Blackhawk. The Washington's Birthday Dance was given by the social committee of the war camp service board for arsenal soldiers. A Red Cross lawn fete and dance was held Friday, June 14, 1918, at the Outing Club. Makeever's Jazz band was secured to provide the music.
  		Coach "Midge" Merle Makeever The Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) 31 Dec 1926, Friday, Page 11
  		Lt. (Merle) Makeever To Bring Four Aces Here The Daily Times (Davenport, Iowa) 26 Jul 1944, Wednesday, Page 11

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		Tri City Champions 1915 - 1916 Davenport High's basket ball team of 1916 copped the Tri-City title. In those days, the word basketball was usually written as two words. The team was coached by “Newt” J. Bornholdt, and managed by V. V. Allen. The “Wearers of the D” included Ernest “Ernie” “Abe” Abramson (Class of January ’17), Henry H. (Harold) “Benny” Bendixen (’17), Richard M. “Dick” Fort (’17), Walter Kelly, Lawrence Cecil “Pooch” “Brewery Face” King (’16), Harry Kipp, Carl R. “Mac” Makeever (’16, Team Captain), Merle “Midge” Makeever (‘19) and Otto H. “Birdie” “Otts” Vogel (’17, Team Captain-Elect). Some of the basketball "Wearers of the D” earned their letters in a previous season, and may in fact not have played on the team this year at all. The "scrubs" included Lynn C. Fulrath (’17), Leon C. Guldner (’17), Wilbur “Bill” Huss and Linden “Lin” F. Krasuski (’18). Dick Fort was one of the stars of the team, but even though he was only a junior, he had used up the allotted four years of high school eligibility for basket ball, so he would not compete on the team the following year at all. Fort was one of Davenport's greatest athletes, especially in football. Before finishing high school, he was recruited to play fullback for the Davenport Athletic Club, professional football team, in their initial season of 1916 and again in 1917 and 1919. The games were played at the old Three-I park in West Davenport. He also played for the Rock island Independents in 1916, as players often switched teams back and forth, even in the same season, whenever a better deal came along. His greatest thrill was playing with the D.A.C. in 1916 and defeating the Evanston Northends by the score of 3-0 when he sent a 43-yard drop kick from a tough angle spinning through the uprights. Fort was still playing football in 1925 with the Muscatine Independents. Dick also put in a year of school at Dubuque University in 1918. Several of the players likely left school before graduating including Walter Kelly, Harry Kipp and Wilbur Huss. Kipp may not have played much or at all in 1915-1916 due to "bad arches." Leon Guldner may have quit mid-season. However, the most famous of all these players was Otto H. Vogel. After high school he went to college at the University of Illinois. The big fellow won five “I’s” at the Urbana institution, and carried off the conference medal for all-around proficiency in athletics and scholarship in his senior year. He played tackle on the Illinois football team of 1920, but kept off the gridiron after that on account of his brilliant work on the basketball floor and baseball diamond. He played guard on the Illinois cage teams of 1921, 1922, and 1923, and center field and first base on the Illini varsity baseball team for the same three years, along with being a wonder at pounding the ball all over the lot. Doubles, triples and home runs were almost as easy as bunts for him, and he held the highest batting average of any college baseball player in his final year! After college he joined the Chicago Cubs for two years where he played 111 games as outfielder and occasionally third baseman, and finished his big league career by pounding a homer over the walls of the Giant stronghold. He was then hired by the University of Iowa in the fall of 1924. In the 1926 “Hawkeye” annual, a full page is devoted to their newly hired baseball coach. He would coach baseball for thirty-five years at Iowa finishing with a Co-Big Ten title in 1942 and a 15-2-1 record. He is considered one of the great all-around athletes to ever play at the University of Illinois. When times were tough at Iowa (1932-1933) and staff was cut, Coach Vogel helped by serving as line coach for the football team.
  		Merle Makeever Captain Elect Merle "Midge" Makeever - 1917 Sophomore Merle E. “Midge” Makeever (Davenport High School Class of ’19) was elected by the players at the end of the 1917 basketball season to lead the team the following year. Although we won no state championship in 1917 Davenport High had a real basketball team, nonetheless. The season was filled with disastrous injuries to the men, unfortunately, which held the team down from doing its best. On February 9th we played Muscatine and again gave them the axe. That game was held in connection with a World’s Independent Championship tilt between the Muscatine Independents and a team from Oswego, N. Y. We then played Maquoketa, who thought they had a world beating team until they met us. But our scanty garbed heroes tarnished their spotless record quite a good deal - score: 20 to 8. Maquoketa had a wild man named "Rich" who insisted upon pulling small town 30-yard dashes up and down the floor. The referee knocked the skids from under his ambitions by “canning” him. Then we met the farmer boys (DeWitt) who tried to commit suicide by bumping their heads into the wall and pouncing headlong onto the hard floor. After playing Rock Island, our tired, exhausted, and wilted team journeyed to Clinton the following evening, March 3rd, where we met defeat at the hands of the red and black. The size of the floor made it possible for the Clinton center to tip the ball through the hoop on the toss up. He was better at it than our center because he had practiced a great deal. Merle “Midge” Makeever was chosen on the All-Tournament First Team at Grinnell in the basket-ball sectional.
  		Merle Makeever WW I Draft Card Merle Makeever WW I Draft Card
  		"Midge" Merle Makeever Commission In Navy The Daily Times (Davenport, Iowa) 18 May 1943, Tuesday, Page 15