Gregg Andrews - "City of Dust" - Ilasco, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 40.266 W 091° 18.575
15S E 644987 N 4392619
Quote from a book about this immigrant town that made cement....
Waymark Code: WM11PFM
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 11/26/2019
Views: 4
County of quote: Ralls County
Location of quote: MO-79, marker next to bridge, Ilasco
Author: Gregg Andrews
Book: City of Dust
Published: 2002
Quote:
"We came here in large numbers from nearby farms and faraway
villages of southern and eastern Europe to build industrial America. We did
our job well. Through blood, sweat and hard work we laid claim to the
dignity of human labor and produced great commercial wealth for the nation.
Out of shared struggles, we learned from each other and created a spirited
community that mourned its losses and celebrated the great achievements of its
people. We have left in this special place a rich history that cannot be
forgotten."
Gregg Andrews
Author - City of Dust
Other text on marker:
ILASCO
ILASCO was created in 1903. Large numbers of Romanian,
Slovak, Italian, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Polish, Croatian and other immigrants
joined native-born residents drawn here by jobs at the Atlas Portland Cement
Plant. ILASCO through its churches, schools, folklore, languages,
fraternal societies, cuisines and daily life, left a rich working class
cultural heritage that made it unique in Missouri. The community's name is
an acronym for some of the cement manufacturing ingredients (Iron, Lime,
Alumina, Silica, Calcium and Oxygen), ILASCO was converted into a company town
in 1921 and dissolved in 1963.
Ilasco Historical Marker
Dedicated October, 1999"