Earl T. Gerding

Class of 1938 After graduation from Ottawa Township High School, Earl Gerding entered the University of Illinois in Champaign, graduating with honors in 1943 with a degree in Architecture. He entered the service during World War II as an officer with the 1901 Engineering Aviation Battalion stationed in the South Pacific. He held the rank of Major and was in charge of repairing runways and hangars that had been destroyed by bombing. After WWII, he began his architectural career with State Architect Louis Gerding before opening his own architecture office in Ottawa in 1962. He designed many buildings throughout the State of Illinois and in Ottawa, including among others, the original portion of the Community Hospital of Ottawa (now OSF St. Elizabeth), the Central Police and Fire Station in Ottawa, the Shannon Building at Ottawa Township High School, Reddick Public Library, McKinley Grade School, the original Central School (initially a junior high), Easter Seal Treatment Center (now Starved Rock Regional Center for Therapy and Child Development), LaSalle County Title Company both on Court Street and also on Etna Road, the Ottawa Dental Lab, LaSalle County Farm Bureau, the Waltham Presbyterian Church, the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, and numerous private homes in Ottawa. He is a co-founder of the Ottawa Historical and Scouting Heritage Museum, and was on the Boy Scout Board.