Melville Herbert HODGE

HODGE, HURTT, SELINE, HARRISON

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:06:47

9 January 1896 ---- 15 March 1986

Services for Melville H. Hodge, 90, of 2421 2nd Ave, Rock Island, the city's first park and recreational director, will be 3 p.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church, Rock Island. Burial will be in Rock Island Memorial Park. Visitation is 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Knox-Larson Funeral Home, Rock Island, Memorials may be made to his church, First United Methodist.

Mr. Hodge was born in Eagle Grove, Iowa. He married Esther Hurtt in July 1924 in Hooppole, [Hoople] N.D. He was a member of Rock Island American Legion Post 200, Illinois State Athletic Officials, Rock Island Rotary Club and the Retired Teachers Association. Survivors include a son, Melville Jr., Saratoga, Calif.; a daughter, Marian Seline, Sacramento, Calif.; six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

The Dispatch --- Moline, Illinois
17 March 1986

****

Melville H. Hodge, who had served as director of the Rock Island Playground and Recreation Commission from 1926 to 1956, died Saturday at Franciscan Medical Center.

Funeral services for Mr. Hodge, who was 90, of 2421 22nd Ave., Rock Island, will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church, Rock Island, with the Rev. Robert Mushrush officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Knox-Larson Funeral Home, Rock Island. Memorials may be made to the church, or to the Rock Island Park and Recreation Department, designated for Mel Hodge Park.

Mr. Hodge was born Jan. 9, 1896, in Eagle Grove, Iowa, the son of Herbert and Florence Harrison Hodge. He moved to Fargo, N.D., where he was active in the YMCA. He married Esther Hurtt on July 9, 1925, in Hoople, N.D. He graduated from Springfield College, Springfield, Mass., where he captained the hockey team. He received a Bachelor's degree in physical education in 1918. He later coached and taught physical education in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Minneapolis, Fargo and Evanston, Ill., before being appointed to the Rock Island directorship.

Mr. Hodge was superintendent of the former Rock Island Playground and Recreation Commission, now the Rock Island Park and Recreation Department , for 30 years. He retired April 15, 1956. He began his career April 15, 1926. Mr. Hodge was a pioneer in the public recreation field, having come to Rock Island from a similar position in Evanston.

Mr. Hodge was instrumental in organizing softball teams in Rock Island. He began with 40 teams and expanded the program to include 115 softball and baseball teams in 1956. He also began the Uniform Boys Baseball League in 1926. Mr. Hodge expanded the city playground program from three to nine locations during his 30 years of service. He originated the Rock Island Horse Shoes Club, which consisted of older men as participants, but by 1956, Hodge reported that interest in the sport had waned. He also organized the Rock Island Playcrafters, now a separate unit from the Park Department. When Hodge arrived on the job, Rock Island had only one ice skating ring. He was instrumental in increasing that number to four by the time of his retirement.

Mr. Hodge was developer of the annual Park Lantern Parade. The Lantern Parade began with 152 lanterns and youngsters in Longview Park. When Hodge retired, the annual event was seen by 6,000 to 8,000 spectators in the Rock Island Public Schools stadium, with about 1,000 young people participating. Another major project for Hodge was the annual Marshall Dramatic contest, an amateur dramatic venture.

During his years as park director, Hodge expanded the park program to include such events as a pet parade, decorated vehicle parades, playdays, treasure hunts and ice skating meets. He organized the East-West End Industrial Bowling League, and helped start the Women's Bowling League. He inaugurated baseball and tennis school instruction in the city. Mr. Hodge was also involved in staging a full evening of entertainment regularly for the unemployed during the depression years in the early 1930s.

Mr. Hodge was a member of the Rock Island American Legion Post 200, the Illinois State Athletic Officials Association, the Rock Island Rotary Club, and the Retired Teachers Association.

Surviving are his wife; a son, Melville, Jr., of Saratoga, Calif.; a daughter, Mrs. Marian Seline of Sacramento, Calif.; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

He was superintendent of public recreation in Rock Island. Mel Hodge Park was named after him.

Rock Island Argus - Rock Island, Illinois
Monday, March 17, 1986