p 5 - Dale's father, George Alan Fiers, was born September 20, 1874, in Iroquois County, Illinois, the third of Lewis and Mary's four children. He was a self-made man with an extraordinary work ethic and an unfailing sense of humor, although there were times when he was given to moods of melancholy as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. George was of modest stature, standing 5'7". He was known as a devout churchman, a great square dancer, and an excellent carpenter whose innate trustworthiness led his friends to describe him as "straight as a die." His grandson recalled, "George was a real charmer with a magnetic personality. Everybody liked to be around him when he was on key. He was always the life of the party." During the years prior to his marriage, while living in Iroquois, he worked as a section hand on the Kankakee & Seneca Railroad for eighty-eight cents per day. To supplement his income, George also worked part time as a hired hand on a farm near Iroquois - where he met his future wife, Leah Honor Grubbs.
