Peoria AFSCME Local reaches T.A. with PHA, Library

Peoria's Local 3464 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees had a good month in May

First, the union reached a Tentative Agreement with the Peoria Housing Authority, where AFSCME represents 18 workers, four of whom were on the bargaining team along with a staff representative from Council 31 and Local President Anthony Walraven.

“It’s a substantial contract,” Walraven said, “– the best wage increase in decades plus a signing bonus and more days off – without concessions.”

A ratification vote is expected this month.

Elsewhere, 3464 is close to settling a grievance with the Peoria Public Library about a long-standing past practice permitting workers to make up as much as two hours per week as long as their total hours remain unchanged.

When workers were prohibited from using the opportunity because of “new policy” management announced, the union filed a grievance and said they were willing to negotiate.

“It was not in the contract but largely understood by management and the union,” Walraven said. “But our position was it was something the library couldn’t unilaterally change.”

A Tentative Agreement for a Memo of Understanding or side letter was reached, and union approval is pending while language is being finalized.

“It’s important to show the value of a contract beyond percentages of wage increases,” Walraven said.

Novel by area author captures struggles, spirit of working-class neighbors

Although characters in Michelle Teheux’ 378-page “Trailer Park Rules” face various crises, the Loire Mobile Home Park isn’t exactly “Dysfunction Junction.” Seven of the eight people here are ordinary folks coping with common hurdles in the human race.

Regular working-class Americans, they defy flawed stereotypes without drifting into fantasyland. The obstacles are familiar, from unplanned pregnancies (in and out of marriage) to navigating inadequate help from food stamps, Medicaid, etc., and corporate consolidations affecting small-town drug stores, local newspapers and, yes, even trailer parks.

The people:

Jonesy is a struggling newspaperman dealing with hedge-fund bean-counters and dabbling at writing fiction;

Angel is a single mom with a TV-addicted adolescent, responding to a failed relationship by turning to a narrow-minded version of faith;

The African-American Jackson family has twins and embittering circumstances, having exhausted college aid and struggling to pay student debt and child care while working at a factory with lousy health insurance;

Darren is an ex-rocker now unable to work, much less play, with a bad back requiring pain-killers;

Kaitlin is a good-hearted but manipulative former stripper who works at a convenience store as a cover for now being a “kept woman” thanks to a local businessman;

Not a trailer-park resident, her “sugar daddy” Nathan is an arrogant/ignorant and oversexed company exec who takes Kaitlin for granted;

Shirley is a senior widow whose pharmacist husband died almost broke, left wondering how a comfortable wife and mom can retain bits of her middle-class lifestyle in her situation;

Nancy is their manager: exploitative, vindictive and judgmental, a conceited and clueless gossip who sees herself as dedicated to justify her crappy job, then as a martyr to economic factors beyond her ken, despairing in desperation to try telemarketing to avoid homelessness.

 

Told through an omniscient narrator, the book is structured as brief chapter each focusing on one tenant, their pasts and presents, with changing challenges.

Besides realistic yet colorful characters who could be neighbors, friends or family, the novel’s storyline is first-rate. The pleasantly unpredictable plot is a lively read: sometimes silly, sad or surprising, and always

A skilled wordsmith, Teheux is a longtime writer who’s busy online, a former reporter and editor at the Pekin Daily Times and author of previous titles released under pseudonyms. This is her first book she credits herself.

Some memorable lines leap out:

■ “That was the way of it everywhere, wasn’t it?” Jonesy thinks, later drinking whiskey and cola and adding. “Every sip tasted of disappointment.”

■ Kaitlin summarizes her woes as a “trifecta: an IOU, an IUD and a DUI.”

■ “Believing you’re the master of your own fate is validating for the wealthy but demoralizing for the poor.”

 

“Trailer Park Rules” is available as a paperback online and at Barnes & Noble, and an eBook came out in recent weeks. Teheux will be signing copies of her novel at Peoria’s Barnes & Noble from 2- 4 p.m. Sunday, July 14.

DEMOCRACY, now more than ever

As Independence Day, Pride month and the first 2024 presidential "debate" occurred this month, it’s hard not to think of the lyric from many blues and country songs: “You don’t miss the water ’til the well runs dry.”

This year's 4th of July was in the center of a pivotal moment. We’re still drinking from the spring of democracy. Danger lurks like a stroll through Death Valley.

As Anne Applebaum writes in the cover story in the June issue of The Atlantic, “Democracy is losing the propaganda war,” and it’s not just Russia coming back to interfere with disinformation spreading like cicadas. It’s also Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in a Red Sea Conspiracy, according to Seth Abramson, author of the book “Proof of Conspiracy.”

The results could be not just victory for one presidential candidate, but the loss of the democratic republic many Americans take for granted.

We could die of “thirst”

The jeopardy can’t be blamed solely on some voters being convinced that the nation can only by “saved” by a strongman. It’s also people who should know better, from long-time politicians to business leaders, all of whom see opportunities, not threats.

As made obvious by Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago in April –when he told oil executives he’d dump federal support for wind farms, electric vehicles and other programs opposed by the fossil-fuel industry in exchange for $1 billion – some big shots in Big Business may think it’s profitable to take part in such a financial arrangement: Give up democracy for more tax cuts, de-regulation and friendlier judges to let corporate crimes go virtually unpunished.

Such transactional compromises are illusory. Such leaders wouldn’t be accountable, so they’d be untrustworthy. Even a benign, “benevolent dictator” could unleash unintended consequences.

And elected officials who refuse to accept election results, juries or common values betray more than their oaths of office. They empower aspiring tyrants and – more importantly – enable the destruction of democratic norms. Further, such politicians tolerating hints of violence erodes what’s left of civility, encouraging authoritarians – for what? A campaign war chest? A job in what’s left of “self-government”?

Two observers separated by centuries offer insights about where we are and what we have.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, reflected on pivotal moments in our history, from the American Revolution and the Civil War to the Great Depression and World War II and wrote, “Our country once again faces a pivotal moment. The crises facing us are enormous. The consequences if we fail are unthinkable.

“As the nation moves rapidly toward oligarchy, the billionaire class exerts enormous influence over the economic and political life of the nation,” he continued. “While the rich become much richer, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and real, inflation-adjusted wages for the average U.S. worker have actually declined over the last 50 years. Never before have the 1% done so well, or enjoyed so much power.

“We cannot simply turn away.”

President Biden’s popularity has slipped, Sanders conceded, some because of attacks about inflation, which is a global phenomenon, some because of his policies concerning Israel and the war in Gaza.

“But let’s be clear,” said Sanders, Biden’s former opponent for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. “Biden is not running against God. He is running against Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in American history whose second term, if he is re-elected, will be worse than his first. And, on his worst day, Biden is 1,000 times better than Trump.

“And there’s one other thing,” he added, “– retaining our democracy.”

Is democracy worth retaining?

About 190 years ago, French political scientist, historian and diplomat Alexis de Toqueville traveled the United States and wrote “Democracy in America,” marveling at a system set up to serve everyone.

De Toqueville wrote, “Democratic laws generally tend to promote the welfare of the greatest possible number; they emanate from the majority of the citizens, who are subject to error, but who cannot have an interest opposed to their own advantage. The laws of an aristocracy tend, on the contrary, to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of the minority.

“No political form has hitherto been discovered which is equally favorable to the prosperity and the development of all the classes into which society is divided,” he continued. “The only means … of inculcating the notion of rights, and of rendering it palpable, is to invest all the members of the community with the peaceful exercise of certain rights. Democracy brings the notion of political rights to the level of the humblest citizens, just as the dissemination of wealth brings the notion of property within the reach of all the members of the community. This is one of its greatest advantages.”

If U.S. democracy is applied and enforced properly, “everyone is personally interested in enforcing the obedience of the whole community to the law,” de Toqueville added. “Those who design to attack the laws must consequently either modify the opinion of the nation or trample upon its decision.”

So, in 2024 – with hindsight and foresight – what’s needed? What’s next?

Sanders put it concisely: “During this pivotal moment, we must do what Americans have always done when change is needed: We must stand together, organize and fight for the country we know we can become.”

Unpopular change to Post Office stopped – for a while

The U.S. Postal Service is temporarily freezing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s plan to drastically change mail-delivery processes, notifying Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) that USPS won’t consolidate distribution centers at some 60 locations before next year.

Seemingly, his statement answered a letter from Peters and 25 other Senators objecting to “Delivering for America,” a nationwide restructuring of the postal processing and delivery network.

DeJoy wrote, “In response to the concern you and your colleagues have expressed, I will commit to pause any implementation of these moves at least until after Jan. 1, 2025. Even then, we will not advance these efforts without advising you of our plans to do so, and then only at a moderated pace of implementation.”

Critics from unions and management, plus customer advocates and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have said the cost-cutting “modernization’ proposal was illogical since it would slow delivery times and perhaps affect not just timely arrival of medicine and other important items, but mail-in ballots.

As USPS outlined in dozens of public hearings, the plan would have transferred mail processing to distant facilities. DeJoy had previously announced moving work from Peoria and Champaign to suburban Chicago, Springfield to St. Louis, and Rockford and the Quad Cities to Des Moines.

“It’s good news [because] the plan’s not going to work,” commented Bud Toft, President of the Heart of Illinois Local 854 of the American Postal Workers Union. “It would consolidate everything and make everything take longer. Congress is right to be fed up with it.”

In a prepared statement issued by U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood (R-16th) and Eric Sorensen (D-17th), they said, “The Peoria Processing and Distribution Center provides essential services for residents in the communities we serve, and any action that would jeopardize local jobs or diminish customer service is unacceptable. We are pleased that the USPS has committed to pausing any potential changes through 2024, but we will continue to work to protect Peoria and downstate Illinois jobs and ensure smooth operation of mail services in Peoria and Central Illinois.” 

Sorensen and LaHood in February criticized the plan, as have Illinois’ U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and Illinois’ U.S. Reps. Mary Miller (R-15th) and Democratic Reps. Nikki Budzinski (13th), Sean Casten (6th), Bill Foster (11th) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th).

It’s no wonder it provoked a backlash. For centuries, the U.S. Post Office has delivered not just mail but a connection between Americans. Its workers now go door-to-door to 41,704 ZIP Codes in the nation six days a week, almost uniquely unifying the country. An essential service, it’s popular – 91% of Americans have a favorable view of the agency, according to Pew.

Elected 10 years ago, the 65-year-old Peters thanked DeJoy but said he’s not satisfied with the half-measure.

“I appreciate Postmaster General DeJoy’s efforts to work with me on this issue,” Peters said. “However, I urge the Postal Service to pause and reverse local transportation changes in addition to facility changes until we have more information about their effects. I will continue to push for a comprehensive study by the Postal Regulatory Commission to ensure any changes implemented do not impact mail delivery. It’s absolutely critical that we understand the full scope of these changes, as well as their impact on service and communities, before moving forward.”

DeJoy is a major Republican campaign contributor installed as head of USPS by President Trump in 2020.  A former CEO of XPO Delivery, a private, non-union package service that competes with the Postal Service, DeJoy reportedly wants to have the Postal Service stress package delivery and de-emphasize its top money-maker, first-class letters and cards.

Toft said the 10-year, $40 billion scheme may have a motive besides efficiency.

“DeJoy’s basically trying to privatize the Postal Service,” he said. “He wants to sway public opinion.

“[Then] it would get rid of jobs and workers, wouldn’t recognize unions and pay minimum wage,” Toft continued. “Meanwhile, he’d put ‘cluster boxes’ in neighborhoods to make you go get your own mail. People would have to be their own letter carriers.

“He’s got to destroy it to make people mad.”

Indeed, the plan does seem to fit a pattern.

At an appearance at the University of Toronto in 2011, political activist and author Noam Chomsky summarized the typical process for taking public services and making them private.

“There is a standard technique of privatization,” Chomsky said. “Namely, defund what you want to privatize, like when [U.K. Prime Minister Margaret] Thatcher wanted to defund the railroads. First thing to do is defund them, then they don't work and people get angry and they want a change. You say ‘Okay, privatize them’.”

Answering the question “Why now?” – after months of criticism – is just speculation. It could be political or transactional.

Possibly, enough opposition finally accumulated to force DeJoy to reconsider. In April, Peters, Chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, held a hearing that blasted the plan. Weeks later, DeJoy on May 7 announced that work in Iron Mountain, Mich. (Peters’ state) would move 116 miles south to Green Bay, and Peters spoke to DeJoy the next day. The letter of opposition to DeJoy from 26 senators came May 9.

Or it could be DeJoy’s way of letting Peters take credit for something that was going to happen anyway after Peters was behind bipartisan postal reforms in 2022 that benefited USPS by saving the service about $49 billion over the next decade.

Regardless, Toft said, “Congress is going to have to make it stop. Permanently.”

 

Behind the headlines

The partial success of the grassroots mission to eliminate massive restructuring of the U.S. Postal Service flew under the radar for days.

Scouring sources for updates on the status of the controversial plan on May 14, one post was found on the web site of Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). It claimed to have gotten Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to back off the plan – which had already started implementing changes to Peoria, Milan (in the Quad Cities) and other Illinois cities.

However, there was no USPS confirmation, so Congressional aides were contacted that morning about 10:30. That afternoon, the pause was verified by Congressman Eric Sorensen’s office in Washington, D.C.

It took about 24 hours for Rep. Darin LaHood to approve wording for a joint statement with Sorensen.

Another day later, the story was out – at least a rewrite of Peters’ original post.

This is partly “the rest of the story.”

Future investments: Greg and Jodi Peine quietly make a difference in kids’ lives

Greg Peine isn’t the kind of person likely to have much media coverage, like, say, old news, new restaurants or some celebrity’s visit to town.

Instead, the 76-year-old retired Caterpillar engineer behind the scenes donates time, money and interest in Peoria schoolkids.

Publicly unheralded, Greg and his wife Jodi privately have seen the challenges of education, especially for the underserved, and stimulated creative ways to offer resources – some maybe unorthodox – that can be sparks to ignite a fire for learning.

His generosity has helped the Peoria Park District, Peoria Public Schools, and Friendship House with funding for resources in or out of classrooms, or for after-school programs.

Over coffee, Greg is hesitant and humble in conversation, but he shares a commitment to having a positive effect on children’s needs.

“It's about encouraging opportunities,” he says, “– opportunities they wouldn't get without a little help. We'd like to give them a chance to be able to compete globally.”

Locally, he continues, “we need things on the South Side to let kids be the best version of themselves. In a way, it's a vineyard ripe for the picking.”

Greg says he realized that there’s little reading material in a lot of homes – few magazines, newspapers or books – so he helped set up a program letting kids pick a book to take and read and keep – “up to five a year,” he says – and build a library at home.

Hedy Elliott, a teacher at District 150’s Lincoln School, said, “They gave to Manual for new steel pan drums, to Lincoln for STEAM club [for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math], to the park for STEAM at Proctor Center, to Friends of Proctor for a photography club for adult literacy / GED students.

The Peines even funded tulips for Proctor and Lincoln,” Elliott added.

Julie Craghead, Education Manager at Proctor Recreation Center on South DuSable Street, said, “When Greg and I first imagined this addition to the after-school program, we agreed that one of our main goals would be to get the kids exposed to as many experiences as possible that they might not otherwise have.

“We have been able to create experiences across the scientific disciplines during our after- school program as well as adding these experiences to our summer-camp programming,” she continued. “We are able to embrace a STEAM-based, student-led, and hands-on approach to learning. As an after school program, we are here to support the learning they receive at school. We give homework support daily and tutoring to the students as often as possible.”

Craghead, who also coordinates Proctor’s Summer Camp and DREAM² (DREAM squared) after-school program, said, “We updated our computer lab and are able to support the students of PPS 150 by making their online learning plans available to them during program time. We also offer online learning to parochial school children.

“We will soon be adding an online reading program to be used throughout the year to help boost students’ reading levels. This is very important, as so many students are below their current grade reading level, especially after COVID. We have seen benchmark data that shows steady improvement in reading and math – especially in the students who are in attendance four or more days per week.”

So far, statistics are encouraging.

“Our data from our grant report last year showed a year-long average improvement in benchmark scores of 8.9 points in ELA [English/Language Arts] and 15 points in math,” Craghead said. “This year, at mid-year, we are showing an average 8.75 point increase in ELA scores and 9.9 point increase in math. We have one family in attendance whose overall school attendance has improved – to nearly perfect attendance (from almost none the year of COVID and about 50-60% the year after).

“We are looking for more ways to keep more concrete data, and are currently working with the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria, who have offered to help us with data-collection support. Currently we are collecting for the SEL [Social Emotional Learning] programming.”

Stanton Hangen, the Family/School Liaison out of Manual High School, has seen more than 90 children participate in a variety of activities the Peines have underwritten, ranging from experimenting with fire, learning about ultraviolet light and engineering a domino robot, to making soap, and working with circuit boards, magnetic tiles and drones, according to reports.

A few miles away at Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service in the Riverside North/Averyville neighborhood, more than 130 K-8 students are active in robotics and drums the Peines funded.

“Learning songs, timing, patience and rhythm are all some of the benefits of our program,” according to a report from Friendship House President and CEO Marcellus Sommerville, who added, “We have seen a great impact with our students' behaviors/learning styles.”

Summarizing key outcomes – encouraging friendships, improving physical and emotional health, and increasing intelligence – Sommerville added, “We are looking forward to continuing our programs with the gracious gifts donated by the Peine family.”

Most children are enjoying the experiences, but fun doesn’t mean frivolous, said Garry Moore, the Quest teacher and former news anchor who’s also known for his appreciation for and talent with drums.

“I discovered a poster that says, ‘Making music makes you smarter’,” Moore said, “and studies show how learning music – reading music, playing music – helps develop areas of the brain that boost cognition and problem-solving.”

There’s also the aspect of culture particularly important to African American kids, he continued.

“Our music was lost or appropriated or co-opted or diluted,” Moore said, “and any effort to re-ignite or reaffirm that is edifying. The young need to be strengthened at their core, helping their self-esteem – who they are.”

For Greg’s part, he’s uncomfortable with recognition, but concedes he wouldn’t mind help, especially in quantifying results.

“I feel a little better about things having impacts on others,” he says, adding, but “I like the metrics, what we got for that effort – how many kids, hours, projects – beyond anecdotally. Work is being done to quantify in an online dashboard report more useful metrics in support of [anecdotal] results.”

Technically incomplete perhaps, the anecdotes sure seem inspiring.

 

Other voices –

“Our community would benefit from more generous and arts-supportive people like Greg and Jodi Peine, who see the intrinsic value of the arts.” -- Mary Jo Papich, longtime music educator and recipient of the 2024 Legacy of Leadership Award from the Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation of Central Illinois

“I can’t begin to tell you the incredible things we have been able to do for the past two years here at the Proctor Center as a result of the Peine’s generous support. Our community is lucky to have someone who not only recognizes a need, but also takes action to fulfill that need.” -- Julie Craghead, Education Manager at the Peoria Park District’s Proctor Recreation Center

 “I’m forever indebted to Jodi and Greg Peine for their classroom support.” -- Hedy Elliott, teacher at District 150’s K-8 Lincoln School

An ‘Everyman’ - AND exceptional

 You know what a once-in-a-lifetime achievement is?

An achievement.

Days ago, the Peoria Riverfront Museum announced a new initiative, “Peoria Sports Legends,” with help from former Journal Star colleague Kirk Wessler, who led the Peoria Journal Star's sports department.

So it’s a new time to recall greater Peoria’s place in sports, and that should include those overlooked while stars like baseball’s Jim Thome and Joe Girardi, basketball’s Shawn Livingston and Curley “Boo” Johnson, and others less familiar are honored.

Like Clarence “Pants” Rowland, who I first wrote about 12 years ago.

One hundred and five years ago, the National Pastime was tainted by Chicago’s talented White Sox losing games for money. But few realize that the corrupted “Black Sox” had been shaped in part by a one-time Peorian with no major-league experience: Rowland, who used his savvy and small-town manners to win a World Series and influence professional baseball for decades.

Born in 1878 in Wisconsin, Rowland grew up in Dubuque, Iowa, where as a youngster he reportedly earned his nickname from someone teasing him for wearing baggy hand-me-down trousers. A young catcher, he organized a sandlot baseball team, a semipro club, and in his twenties persuaded the Illinois-Iowa-Indiana (“Three-I”) minor league to give him a franchise in Dubuque.

Pants apparently never played in games (except as a pinch-running player-manager, he said), but he managed minor-league squads in 17 summers, compiling a .496 winning percentage – including with the 1914 Peoria Distillers, when they finished 2^nd with an 81-56 season after two years of 56 and 57 wins.

“An amiable, gregarious gentleman,” according to New York World-Telegram sportswriter Joe Williams, Rowland also ran “a pleasant taproom in Peoria.”

Indeed, city records from 1914 show Rowland working in the Distillers’ office in the Jefferson Building, at Lake View ballpark on NE Adams and Grant (now owned by the Peoria Park District), and at 324 SW Washington, which may have been the tavern, an apartment, or both. The White Sox noticed.

According to the New York Times, Three-I League president Al Tierney said Rowland was “one of the most businesslike managers in baseball, and, given a fair chance, would be certain to make his mark in the major leagues.”

Others said it was Rowland’s taproom.

“Ban Johnson, president of the American League, and Charley Comiskey, [Sox] owner, patronized his place on hunting junkets during the winter,” Williams wrote.

Comiskey – who’d also helped Rowland stock his Dubuque team years earlier, hired Rowland as Sox manager in December 1914, after the Sox finished in 6^th place.

“Certainly, it was the most daring experiment a club owner ever made,” Williams recalled. “Astonishingly, it proved to be a stroke of genius.”

And how. Directing the 1915 Sox, rookie manager Rowland piloted the team to third place – the highest the club had finished in eight years. That quieted critics who sneered at Comiskey for “digging a manager out of the bushes.”

With Rowland’s advice, the Sox rebuilt, finishing 3^rd in 1915 and 2^nd in 1916. By 1917, Pants’ core included “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, “Happy” Felsch and Buck Weaver, and they won 100 games and the pennant. Eight of Rowland’s stars later would be implicated in the Black Sox scandal, but Rowland became the first skipper in the 20^th century to win a pennant without big-league playing experience.

Despite his leadership, Rowland wasn’t fully accepted. Some blamed his quiet, humble demeanor and others an “even-handed approach to management” that avoided controversy.

“Rowland was a true leader,” the Associated Press said. “He never bawled a player out for a mistake or tried to rile his players hoping for a better effort. He cajoled and jollied his men.”

In the 1917 World Series, the team defeated the New York Giants – managed by legendary John McGraw – four games to two.

“About all Rowland had to do was to make out the batting order and name the starting pitcher,” Williams wrote, “although when he had to make pitching changes or send up pinch hitters, it seemed that his judgment was every bit as sound as that of other managers held in greater awe.”

In fact, says baseball historian Bill James, Rowland was an early advocate of platooning – playing right-handed batters to face left-handed pitchers, and vice versa.

“If you look at the Giants’ lineup,” James notes, “it’s basically a right-handed-hitting lineup, so that may imply that Pants Rowland in 1917 was selecting his starters with recognition of the platoon advantage.”

The White Sox Encyclopedia reports a World Series incident that exemplifies a modest attitude that encouraged some to attack Pants, described as “diplomatic to the extreme”:

“Always the gentleman, manager Rowland extended his hand in friendship to Giants manager John McGraw following the last out,” it’s written. “[He said,] ‘Mr. McGraw, I’m glad we won, but I’m sorry you had to be the one to lose.’ McGraw frowned: ‘Get away from me you damned busher!’ Such was the level of respect.”

In 1918, Jackson, Felsch and other stars were pressed into service for World War I, and the Sox finished 6^th; Rowland was fired on New Year’s Eve, replaced by player/coach “Kid” Gleason for the infamous 1919 season.

Pants stayed in baseball, managing in the minors and becoming an American League umpire for five seasons.

However, umpiring “went against his grain of conviviality,” the New York Times reported. “His suit was the administration of affairs and managing men.”

So he did, leaving umpiring to manage the Southern Association’s Nashville franchise.

Then Rowland became a top scout for the Chicago Cubs in the 1930s, working as a scout and administrator for the Cubs until 1944, when he became president of the Pacific Coast League for 10 years. Rowland then returned to the Midwest, where he resumed duties with the Cubs as an executive.

He “served the Cubs for almost as long as [equipment manager Yosh] Kawano in a variety of jobs,” wrote Chicago sportswriter Jerome Holtzman, “ranging from scout to vice president and unofficial assistant general manager.”

Rowland died at the age of 91 in Chicago on May 17, 1969, an honorary vice president of the Cubs (who were in first place that day). And Rowland’s MLB record of 339-247 gave him a .578 winning percentage, just behind McGraw’s .586.

Let’s hope at some point Pants – a Peorian, if briefly – is remembered at the Peoria Riverfront Museum – located one block from Rowland’s tavern.