Earl Miller -- 1330 E Grove Street

 

Earl Miller came to FG from Heyworth where his family had a large hatchery business, called Mother Miller's Chicks. As a young man he started his own hatchery business in Bloomington and called it Mid Oak Poultry Frames Hatchery. The Hatchery was a large three story brick building at 201 E Grove Street (it is a parking lot across from the McBarnes Building now) with the latest modern equipment for hatching eggs. He also had an experimental farm outside the city with a staff of experts. They were developing ideas and practices for increasing the production of chicks and eggs.

 

Earl married Esther Larsen around 1919 and although he had been living in Bloomington for a few years, moved back home to his parents home with his wife. Sadly, Earl and Emma lost the only child that resulted from their marriage, and in 1926 Emma died very prematurely. 

 

Earl remarried a year and a half later, to Myrtle Balmer, and they made their home at 1330 E Grove Street, in the home that was built there for them. They had six sons, who all grew up in that house. Along with six sons in the house, the 1940 census indicates that they also had two maids!!