It can be relaxing, in these technology-driven days filled with drama and outrage, to escape to the past --- in this case to Wednesday, June 12, 1878, as reported on the local news page of The Chariton Patriot.
This doesn't mean life was easier 140 years ago --- just that it was different and that time has a habit of smoothing out the trials and tribulations. Nor do many of us have the skills or the patience to actually function during that era. How many farmers, for example, would be willing to trade in their tractors and combines for a team of horses and a Wheeler No. 6 combination mower and self-raking reaper, the "Boss" machine, advertised on Page 2 by Hollinger, Morgan & Deming.
"The wheat crop still looks promising," The Patriot reported, and "the growing corn looks fine all over this part of the country." So the outlook for a farm-based economy was a positive one.
The only agricultural cloud on the horizon involved locusts. "We are told by a number of people from the country," according to The Patriot, "that the timber in the groves and along the streams is swarming with locusts, and that they will undoubtedly do considerable damage to fruit and other trees."
There was plenty to eat, however. "The crop of cherries in Chariton is immense, and the delicious fruit ought to be cheap; vegetables of all kinds are plentiful and cheap in this market; new potatoes are plentiful in this market at 15 cents a peck."
Out in northeast Lucas County's Pleasant Township, "wild strawberries are very plentiful and the prospect is good for an enormous crop of blackberries."
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Speaking of Pleasant Township, the village of Belinda was thriving. "Dr. B.R. Prather has built an office at Belinda" and "Spiker & Byers have put up a warehouse in connection with their store."
H.C. Agan had just married Miss Jane Locke over at Marysville in Marion county and, according to the Patriot, had gotten "so excited over getting married that he forgot to put a collar on one of his horses when he went to Marysville to get married, and did not discover it until he had driven his team about 8 miles."
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The great disaster of the previous October had been a big fire that destroyed the brick South School, the first building on the current site of Columbus. "Work has commenced on the new school-house," The Patriot reported.
The Chariton Volunteer Fire Department had been organized the previous December, Old Betsy No. 1 as well as hook and ladder equipment had arrived and by now the members of the fire companies had received their uniforms and on Monday evening held a drill and parade.
"Chariton Fire Engine Company No. 1, Hook and Ladder and Hose Companies, headed by the Band, were out on 'dress parade' Monday evening, and looked as gay as a grass widow in their new uniforms. Chariton has splendidly equipped Fire and Hook and Ladder Companies, and we predict that if an opportunity ever offers itself, the boys will prove equal to the emergency. So far they haven't let a fire more than show itself until they were on hand in short metre and had it out. Our people should be proud of our fire department and encourage them in every way possible."
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Chariton always has tried to celebrate the 4th of July in a big way, but these celebrations sometimes were pulled together at the last minute. This year, "the citizens of Chariton and vicinity are requested to meet at the Courthouse on Friday evening next for the purpose of making some arrangements to celebrate the 4th of July. The band will play several airs in the Courthouse yard before the meeting organizes. Come out everybody."
The band --- the Chariton Cornet Band --- had given "one of its popular concerts at the Mallory Opera Hall on Tuesday evening last, which was well attended. The entertainment was a rich musical treat, the programme being one of unusual excellence.
"Misses Anna and Inez Waynick sang a couple of duets very acceptably, the first one eliciting an encore. Mrs. J.C. Mitchell's 'Greek March' on the guitar was gracefully and artistically performed, the fair artiste was the recipient of a shower of bouquets.
"The charming 'Little Blondes' in their duet elicited a rapturous encore. Mrs. Eugene R. Coleman's number was a song by Haas, 'Thro' the Meadows Green,' which was nicely sung and very favorably received. Miss Jessie E. Wilson's 'Grand Polka de Concert' by Vincent Wallace was a great success. Miss Wilson's ability to interpret music, her marvelous delicacy of touch, her fine artistic instinct and perception and perfect schooling render her playing faultless. Her performance was greeted with enthusiasm and in response to an encore she courteously and gracefully bowed her thanks.
"Mrs. J.A. Penick sang Millard's "What ere betide" with great taste and expression. This lady has a light mezzo-soprano voice, sweet and even in quality throughout, her intonations are true, her method beautiful, and her intelligence and musical perception are not the least pleasing traits of her many excellent characteristics.
"The citizens of Chariton ought to be proud of their very excellent band, and should on all occasions patronize them liberally." (The receipts amounted to $54.15, "which after deducting expenses --- $25.10 --- left the boys $29.05 to be divided among the 12 or 13 members.")
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The major criminal activity in town during the preceding week had been the disappearance of a considerable amount of cutlery from the northside hardware store of George W. Blake:
"Conductor Horner, of the C.B.&Q., discovered two men in a car loaded with wheat, at the depot, on Tuesday evening last and made them get out. Upon further examination of the same car he found two gunny sacks containing cutlery, which subsequently proved to be the property of Mr. Blake and which was stolen from his store on Monday night.
"The two men who were driven out of the car --- and who it is supposed perpetrated the robbery --- are described as follows: One was a man about 25 years of age, 5-feet-9-inches tall, weight about 170 pounds, dark complexion, full face, had on high-crown, round-top, soft black felt hat, long black frock coat, dark vest. The other about 5-feet-6-inches high, weight about 140 or 150 pounds, black felt hat with low crown turned in at the top, short black sack coat.
Five tramps were arrested on suspicion, but after being in jail a day or two were discharged, there being no evidence that they had anything to do with the robbery."
1 comment:
Frank, I appreciate much of your writing skills to reveal the past from your local area, many find a bond in similar local affairs of the past and this latest post was no exception. In all things most of us feel we are doing good work when it comes to donating our time, ability, and a sense of pride by the hours of volunteering we do to create what I believe is "community" or some sense of connectiveness of ourselves and our community that surpasses a lonely existence in a cocoon of only ourselves an immediate family. As memberships appear to be dropping all over the place in all sorts of organizations, I find it alarming no one wants to pick up the torch, or any torch for that matter. Those of us who spend countless hours doing thankless jobs to create a sense of place connected with the populations in which we live seem to be losing ground. It has all the earmarks of a dripping faucet, things you thought still existed seem to have been quietly shuddered as time has moved on. Locally I started in asking questions about things I knew had been a part of the community in which I had grown up in since I had recently moved back. I was alarmed by the losses. There were no Masonic orders left in my home town; no Eastern Star, no DeMolay, no Masons. Jaycees had recently disbanded, the local town baseball team had died on the vine when no manager could be found to replace the one who had recently become a new Dad. The two garden clubs that maintain the entrances to our community are slowly drifting into a group of graying an older folks prompting one of the two groups to pull out of their parent organization for lack of members and fewer dollars to work with. The local Questers group that had always maintained a membership of no more than twenty-five to keep it smaller and more intimate hasn't needed to impose this limiting factor for quite a few years. The Thursday night band concerts of my youth died when the city did away with the concert shelter and rarely do you see our local high school marching band, march, especially in Summer. Sports dominates our kids existence, calendar schedules of two working parents are dominated with schedules of who can be relied upon to deliver the kids to the practices and games while both parent work. At the same time we fill up more and more time for our kids with even more sports activities especially in the summer: golf, tennis, baseball, soft ball, volley ball, swimming, and the list goes on and on. Relationships between people are only those of competition and the demands coaches put on kids to practice all the time so they can "win" becomes paramount.
Contrasted with Germany, where high schools have no sports, if you want to play soccer you join a club outside the school. Classes have breaks so kids can socialize among their peers, classes start earlier and end by one in the afternoon, there are no school buses, you find your own way to school - walk, someone drives you, you catch public transportation or you ride your bicycle. Kids there go to school year round but have more time off throughout the school year, they actually learn to socialize not compete on every level of their existence! The end result is a better citizen who finds it important to work with others for the common good an thusly they support community groups an organizations!
Is it perfect? No, kids will be kids, but it certainly has lessons for us to consider if we are going to breathe life back into community and restore some of the losses that effect us in so many ways. Steve Hanken
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