She’s a staple of downtown Warrenton.

Every day, people can drive by the old building that served as Darryl Hicks’ law firm and see the white car with the “AM CHAT” license plate sitting outside in her unofficial reserved parking spot on Booneslick Road.

That car belongs to Alouise Marschel who was chosen as this month’s Hidden Hero by The Warren County Record.

That AM CHAT, by the way, isn’t because Alouise likes to talk. It’s simply her initials and the French word for cat.

“I couldn’t have it in German because it was one letter too many,” she said. 

“I’m thinking, I see Alouise at all these chamber meetings and I thought chat meant just because you were so involved in chatting with people,” Warren County Record Publisher Tim Schmidt said.

Schmidt presented Alouise with her superhero cape to thank her for the work the 80-year-old has done for the Warren County community.

And Alouise has been involved with just about every group in the county.

“If there’s been a group or community event, you’ve kind of had a hand in it all,” Schmidt said.

That includes both the Warrenton and Wright City chambers of commerce, the Warren County Relay for Life, Warrenton Alumni Association and Warrenton Downtown Association. You’ll often find Alouise attending the numerous fundraisers that many of the groups hold each year, such as the Wright City Blue and Gold Banquet, Warren County BackStoppers Auction, WISE Foundation Red and White Dinner Auction and many more.

“I just learned to be a part of it and give back,” Alouise said. “Just the support from the community and to be involved with the community.”

Volunteering wasn’t something Alouise grew up doing.

“I didn’t until later in life,” she said. She said she started volunteering “20 or 30 years ago.”

“It just happened,” she said. “Things were going on and I joined.”

That included going to local sporting events.

“I always saw Alouise at all of the sporting events,” Schmidt said. “She was always one of the first people in the stands.”

She also attended the musicals, concerts, “whatever the kids did,” Alouise said.

Alouise isn’t from Warren County. She grew up in the Hillsboro area of Jefferson County. 

But she’s been in Warren County since 1958.

“We had a water issue and dad was tired of fighting the water,” she said. “So we ended up here.”

She then spent 49 years working for attorney Darryl Hicks, and continues to go into the office every day even though Hicks died in June 2023.

“I had worked for a different attorney and then he needed a secretary and I needed a job,” she said.

Alouise has experienced a lot thanks to her involvement in the community and has seen numerous changes throughout the decades. And Alouise is still keeping up with the community, taking a lot of the interview to discuss with Schmidt current issues, starting with the possible Hookah bar that could be on its way to downtown Warrenton and the new Hampton Inn that will be built along Veterans Memorial Parkway.

The once rural community is now seeing a population boon that doesn’t show any signs of slowing.

But she also said it was exciting to see the changes.

“Everybody fought the courthouse but it was to the point where you’d get a new employee, they’d bring in more electric, I mean it was unsafe and it just wasn’t functioning and there was nobody there to take over like in St. Charles,” she said.

And it was more than just buildings that she’s seen change.

“Now streets have names,” she said. “We used to not have to know them by names but now have to know them by names.”

People, she said, used to just give people the landmarks.

“You know, so and so lived there and now they go live on Market Street or something.”

But for Alouise, it’s still a great community.

“It’s just being able to do something and give back,” she said.

The Warren County Record routinely accepts nominations for Hidden Heroes. The next recipient will be honored in May. Nominations can be made online at warrencountyrecord.com/hiddenhero.