Who was Marie Schaefer?

Marie Schaefer was born on a farm three miles south of O'Fallon on November 22, 1900. She attended grade school and high school in the O'Fallon School District. She received her education and teacher certification from Illinois State University at Normal and started teaching fourth grade at the age of 19. Her first class in O'Fallon had 50 students. She taught grammar and writing from 1921 to 1925 and language arts from 1925 to 1963. Her teaching career spanned an amazing 44 years. In 1964, O'Fallon School District #90 named the present building in her honor. Marie Schaefer passed away on January 29, 1989. She was 88 years old.