The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Compiled and Edited by Virginia Ross
Registrar for Daniel McMillan Chapter, N.S.D.A.R.1919
Stronghurst Graphic, July 24, 1919
JUBILEE AT OAK GROVE FARM ON AUG. 28TH: The Henderson County War Service League has plans well under way for the staging of a grand peace celebration to be held at Oak Grove Fruit Farm near Gladstone on August 28th. The various townships chairmen and their committees are now at work arranging the details of the big gathering, which is expected to establish a record for such occasions. With the program incomplete, assurance is given that some of the best speakers the people of Henderson County have ever been privileged to listen to will be in attendance and that the other features will be on a scale of magnificence hitherto unap-proached.
Each township will be given a part to prepare in carrying out the general scheme and the friendly rivalry thereby engendered will result in making the occasion one of worthy of the cause commemorated. The general committee is at work on plans for a grand parade and review of all the returned soldiers and sailors of the county. While the celebration has been planned to fittingly commemorate the advent of peace and the return of our Henderson County heroes from the battle fields and the camps and military and naval stations of Europe and America, the League officials have another object in view, namely, the creation of a fund to be used for the erection of some suitable memorial in the county to commemorate the sacrifices made the heroism displayed by your solider and sailor boys during the war.
NEW HENDERSON COUNTY CORPORATIONS: Certificates of organization of two Henderson County enterprises were filed in the circuit Clerk office: the Media Farmers' Grain Co. and the Henderson County Public Service Co. The former has capital stock of $25,000 with 87 stockholders, who are (for the most part) farmers in and about Media. The directors are the following: One year-Davie Gibb, J.Y.Gearheart and S.E.Corzatt; two years-Jake Livermore and Paul Van-Arsdale; three years-Edwin Voorhees, Wm. Voorhees and Cornelius Schenck. The purpose of the company is to buy, sell and deal in grain, seeds, feeds, livestock, farm products and implements, lumber, coal, etc.
The Henderson County Public Service Co. has a capital stock of $10,000 with stockholders D.W.Lee and Bessie Lee of Biggsville and C.R.Pendarvis of Media-they compose the board of directors too. The company plans to run lines for conducting electrical current from Monmouth to Biggsville, Media, Raritan and Gladstone.
READY FOR THE BIG PICNIC? The stage is about all set for the big I.O.O.F. Picnic which is to be held here Friday and Saturday of this week and with favorable weather, there will no doubt be a throng of visitors for the two days carnival. A number of the concessions have been encamped in the village for several days waiting for the picnic to open.
The "Merry-go-round" arrived on Wednesday and its installation has been about completed. A perusal of the program will convince the reader that thrills of various kinds will not be lacking as far as the amusement end is concerned and also that something unusual in the way of oratory may be expected. Interest in the address on the League of Nation by Hon. Wm. E. Mason, Illinois congressman at large will be rewarded as Mr. Mason has expressed the purpose of his address is to analyze the subject and will, no doubt, be one well worth listening to by both the defenders and the critics of the now famous covenant.
July 26, 1894 Graphic: The arrest of a rather notorious character of the village by the name of Belle Moss and her revelation of the names of those who had been implicated with her in disgraceful conduct was a sensational feature of the week's happenings. At a dance held at the home of Fred and Andrew Lindstrom near Decorra a young man by the name of Gus Adolfson was killed as the result of being struck in the breast with a stick of wood said to have been thrown by Swan Swanson. The latter was arrested and on recommendation of a coroner's jury was bound over to the grand jury. Frank Colling was thrown from a buggy and suffered a dislocated wrist and fractured arm when the horse he was driving took fright on Broadway railroad crossing and ran away. The protracted drought was seriously affecting the growing corn and hope for anything like a fair crop had been abandoned.
NEW GARAGE BUILDING: The big unsightly livery barn on the east side of Broadway, midway between the State Bank corner and the railroad, which has for so many years been a familiar subject of vision to Stronghurst citizens, is soon to be torn down and a handsome and commodious garage constructed of tile and concrete erected there by the owner, James Sutliff.
The new building, which will be strictly modern in all its details, will have a 50 ft. front on Broadway and will extend almost to the alley in the rear, a distance of 122 ft. A show room 50 x 24 ft. with large plate glass windows on the west and south, will occupy the front end of the building. Next will come the work shop 50 x 32 ft. while the remaining space of 50 x 66 ft. will be used for car storage. Fire proof tile walls will separate the show room from the work shop and the latter room, the storage area. The entrance to the garage for cars will be on the south side of the storage room, the vacant lot adjoining the premises on the south, which Mr. Sutliff recently purchased, being utilized for a driveway.
Door large enough to admit cars will be cut in the walls between the storage room and shop and between the shop and the show room. This arrangement will make it possible to avoid having the appearance of the front of the building detracted from by a large entrance and render the general effect more pleasing to the eye. The improvement is one which will add greatly to the appearance of the block.
AUTO ACCIDENT: while returning to Stronghurst from a trip in the country in their Ford car, Mr. and Mrs. A.L.Beaver met with an accident which resulted in Mr. Beaver having both bones of his left arm fractured near the wrist.
They were coming down the hill about a half mile from town on the road leading into Stronghurst from the north when Mr. Beaver, who was driving the car, attempted to turn to one side to avoid some deep dust in the track. The sudden turn of the steering gear caused the car to skid and it turned over in the roadway on the driver's side. Both the occupants of the car were riding in the front seat and when the car turned over, Mr. Beaver suffered the injury mentioned. Mrs. Beaver escaped with only a few slight bruises. The car was but slightly damaged by the accident. Mr. Beaver was brought to town and his injuries attended to by a physician. He is able to be about, but will probably be obliged to carry his arm in a sling for some time to come.
PARK RULES: The play ground equipment which has been installed in the Stronghurst village park was placed there for the use of the children and for use only on six days of each week. The use of it on Sunday either by children or by older persons is in direct violation of the rules established by the committee and cannot be permitted. (Sunday was church day-not play day in 1919.)
The park itself is not under the control of the playground committee and is free to everyone every day in the week. The playground equipment is under the control of the committee and while they trust that the request that the rules which they have established will hereafter be respected, they wish it to be understood that other measures will be resorted to if necessary to enforce them. (Today, we must understand that having play ground equipment and encouraging children to play on it was a revolutionary idea. The committee had hired a woman from Texas to direct the activity so it would be structured to benefit of physical and mental ability of children So in a sense, they were on the cutting edge of child psychology.)
DROUGHT IN THE WEST: George W. Barnett, who recently returned from a visit of several weeks with relatives at Buffalo, Wyo. reports that conditions in that country have become very serious on account of the continued drought. He says that there was but little snow in the mountains last winter and that the supply of irrigation water is, therefore, used up while the unirrigated section is a veritable desert. The first crop of alfalfa, he says, was fairly good, but other crops are practically a failure. Thousands of head of cattle are being shipped out of the country to other states were feed for them is available.
NEWS OF THE COU-NTY: GLADSTONE GLE-ANINGS-Mrs. Stephen Welters and two daughters of Kansas City are visiting Mrs. Amy Lewis and family. George Meers received his honorable discharge at Camp Grant. This township still has two boys in France: Ernest Watson and Guy Parkins. The young ladies class of the M.E. Sunday School gave an ice cream, cake and peach social on the church lawn this week and made $20(this would be worth $259 in 2007) for the church. Douglas McCabe, one of the soldier boys, came home and was welcomed by folks and friends. Mrs. C.Rosling sold all her household goods at public sale at her home; she expects to go to Canada next week. She will make her home with her daughter, Mrs. Brown. Robert Duvall, son and daughter from Conway, Iowa, visited at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.L.Duvall. A ball game on Sunday between a colored nine from Burlington and the hometown team resulted in a score of 7 to 17 in Gladstone's favor. Chaut-auqua will begin August 3rd
CARMAN CONCERNS: On July 20th Mrs. I.V.Jones celebrated her 64th birthday anniversary at her home with her children who brought well filled baskets. The tables were set out on the lawn and the afternoon was spent in conversation and music after which family pictures were taken. Those present where as follows: Mr. I.V.Jones; Mr. Victor Logan and wife of Lomax; Mr. Paul Jones, wife and six children of Durham; Mr. Ralph Jones, wife and four children of Lomax; Mr. Ivan Jones, wife and two children of Lomax; Mr. Caleb Gittings, wife and two children of Mt. Union; Henry and Germand Carman and Mr. James H. Gardner, a friend from Colorado. It was day to be remembered for all the family present. Rev. Ben Johnson and wife of California are visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Johnson. He will occupy the pulpit Wednesday night at the M.E.Church. Mrs. Ad Rebel of Chariton, Iowa, is visiting her brother, Tom Dixon and family and her sister, Mrs. Mary Ann Parry, who is quite poorly .
LOCAL AND AREA HAPPENINGS: R. E. Morse has sold his farm to R. N. Marshall and purchased a quarter section near Galesburg. The village of Biggsville now has electrical energy for light and power purposes from Monmouth, the "juice" being turned on for the first time last Saturday evening. Frederick Salter after 10 months army service overseas preceded by several months of training in a camp in the Southwest arrived home after being discharged at Camp Dodge, Iowa. The 440 acre farm near Lomax owned by W. Z. H. G. and F. C. Crane was sold to Kirkwood parties for $75,000. The greater part of the farm has been owned by members of the Crane family since 1835 when it was entered by Michael Crane, grandfather of the gentlemen mentioned. Mrs. Ruth Wilson went to Ames, Iowa for a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Steffey. T. J. Shaw has purchased from O. J. Sanderson the residence on Mary Street where P. W. Wallin now resides and which was formerly owned and occupied by J. W. Stine. Mrs. Flora Salter is leaving for the Pacific Coast; she will visit Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento; she intends to spend the winter with relatives in the latter mentioned city.
Although three cars of road oil have been applied to the streets of the village within the last few weeks, the dust nuisance is far from being abated. The prevailing opinion seems to be that the oil was hardly worth the expense incurred. Harry Rich, the vaudeville performer whose show appeared at the Lyric Theatre last Friday and Saturday evenings, furnished some free thrills for the crowds on the street each evening before the show proper by his daring acts on a trapeze some 60 or 70 feet high erected on the top of the Grandey store building. Harold and Howard Weddington, the Stronghurst twins who have helped sustain the reputation of American valor in Europe as members of the A. E. F. and who have kept the Army paymasters in a state of perplexity because of their close resemblance to each other, arrived home safely.
Under the caption "A Devil of a Note" the Henderson County Journal says that while about 20 people were attending church services in Oquawka last Sunday evening, several hundred were disporting themselves in the water at the local bathing beach-a case of cleanliness in proximity to if not exactly next to Godliness.
T. J. Hunter, Stronghurst's veteran business man and undertaker, passed his 73rd milestone of his life's journey last Saturday. He has for several months been confined to his home by failing health and his many friends made his birthday the occasion for remembering him with a post card shower and gifts of fruit and flowers.