The usual morning practice here is to arise, make coffee and then sit down at a computer with the world instantly accessible at my fingertips. And not think a thing about the miraculous nature of the whole thing.
But this morning I happened to read a brief news item in The Chariton Herald of June 27, 1901, regarding the venerable Addison Ross Byers, patriarch of Lucas County's Byers family, and his relationship with an earlier technological innovation --- the telephone --- that got me wondering what the venerable Mr. Byers would make of a laptop.
This is Mr. Byers' tombstone in the Strong (sometimes called Belinda) Cemetery up near the Lucas-Marion county line. I think I'm going to have more to say about A.R. before the week is done, but here's the paragraph that sent men down this obscure trail this morning:
"A. R. Byers, a pioneer auctioneer living near Belinda, was a pleasant caller at the Herald office Monday. Mr. Byers cried his first sale in Iowa five years before the Civil War and, excepting the time of his service as a soldier in the war, he has auctioneered more or less for over 40 years. When he first saw this community, ox carts were the popular means of conveyance when he wanted to visit with his friends at any distance; now he and wife can have a pleasant chat any time of the day with a son in Des Moines, one in Chariton and another in Lucas, also friends anywhere in this part of the state, by stepping to his telephone."
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing the story about someone in Strong Cemetery. I have several relatives buried there (from both my grandparents families) and it’s a special and very small final resting place.
Post a Comment