The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Compiled and Edited by Virginia Ross
Stronghurst Graphic: Oct. 2, 1924
THERE WAS A CRASH: Mr. Hugh Allison, one of Stronghurst's best known citizens, sustained a fractured wrist in an auto accident occurring in Burlington, Iowa on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Yaley and Mrs. Allison to Burlington.
He was crossing Jefferson Street from the north at the intersection of 3rd St. and had almost reached the curb on the south side when a car driven by Mrs. Maude Justice of the Carman neighborhood rounded the corner from the south and struck him and knocked him to the pavement. He was quickly picked up and carried into the Burlington Hotel and a physician summoned. After a brief examination, he was removed to the Burlington Hospital where he was found to be suffering from a fracture of the large bone in the left arm at the wrist. While the injury is a painful one, there are no serious results expected and the patient will no doubt soon be able to return to home. The result of the accident might easily been much more serious as the wheels of the auto missed passing over Mr. Allison by a narrow margin.
LAHARPE SCHOOL GIRL KILLED: From the Burlington Hawkeye: "Florine Slusher died in the hospital here(LaHarpe) late tonight from injuries sustained when she was struck by an automobile driven by Steve Eads, a commercial salesman from Peoria, yesterday afternoon as she was returning from school. Eads is near prostration. No blame is attached to him.
The accident occurred on Main Street shortly after school was dismissed. The little girl was crossing the street at a point where cars are parked in the middle of the thoroughfare and the driver was unable to see her until it was too late. According to spectators, the accident was unavoidable. The victim was rushed to the LaHarpe hospital and a surgeon called from Macomb."
Mr. Eads, the driver of the car which struck the little girl, is well known in Stronghurst where he has made regular visits for many years as the representative of the Oakford and Fahnestock Wholesale Grocery House in Peoria.
The distressing accident should serve as a warning to autoists in our own village as to the necessity of using the utmost caution in preventing accidents of a similar nature. The conditions here are such as to require more than ordinary caution since the rooms which are now being used for school purposes are situated on the busiest thoroughfare and where there are not even the safety zones provided in most cities for the protection of the ordinary pedestrian.
MARRIED 50 YEARS: On Oct.1, 1874 in the hotel at Monmouth, Ill., known as the Baldwin House, Rev. James, pastor of the M. E. church pronounced the words which united the life destinies of William L. Spiker and Emma C. Charter. On Oct.1, 1924, the 50th anniversary of the happy event was celebrated by about 150 of the relatives, friends and neighbors of Mr. and Mrs. Spiker at a gathering held at the Stronghurst M. E. Church:
The church was beautifully decorated with flowers and vines of the early autumn season including a rich profusion of marigolds of various shades and yellow dahlias. Streamers of yellow and white also added to the effectiveness of the decorative scheme.
Shortly after the noon hour Mrs. George Dixson, who acted as mistress of ceremonies, announced to the assembled guests that while there would be no repetition of the ceremony which had taken place 50 years ago, there would be a wedding procession formed to lead the way to the tables on which had been spread the bountiful feast prepared for the occasion. This procession was accordingly formed in the following order: The officiating clergyman, Rev. R. C. Myers; assisting clergymen, Rev. J. A. Mahaffey and Rev. H. H. Cross; Ring bearer, Junior Browning, a grand son of Mr. and Mrs. Spiker; The "Bride and Groom;" Maid of Honor, Mrs. Nancy Brown, a sister of the bride; Groom's attendant, Mr. J. E. Spiker, a cousin of the groom; Bridesmaids, Mrs. Martha Van Alstine, Mrs. James Shears, sister of the bride, Mrs. Chas. Charter, Mrs. RW. Milligan, Mrs. Moses Abbott and Mrs. Mary Miller; Ushers, Chas. Charter, brothers of the bride, Moses Abbott, R. W. Milligan and L. A. Wilson.
To adequately describe the feast is beyond the writer. Suffice to say the tables, beautifully decorated in yellow and white were ladened with a rich variety of the choicest viands and that the appointments and service were such as to leave nothing to be desired. The table allotted to the guests of honor was adorned with a beautiful heart shaped "bride's cake" surmounted by two diminutive figures of a bride and groom and sprinkled with candy roses. This cake was provided for the occasion by Mrs. Emma Kane of Smithshire, Ill, a niece of Mrs. Spiker.
Following the feast, guests assembled in the audience room of the church where all joined in singing "Auld Lang Syne." Mr. R. B. Chase of Galesburg, a son-in-law, made some remarks calling attention to some of the lights and shadows which must necessarily fall across the pathway of any couple who spend 50 years of wedded life together. Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Ivins sang a duet entitled, "Love Light of today," the words and music of which were composed by Mrs. Ivins. Rev. R. C. Myers, pastor of the church, gave a brief address and presented the happy couple with a purse containing gold pieces to the amount of $118. He then read an original poem (poem in this issue of the paper). The Spikers responded with their appreciation for the good will and esteem betokened by the gift. The exercises were brought to a close by the entire assembly joining in the song "Home, Sweet Home." (Long list of attendees follows; if doing family history, this is a treasure.)
Mr. and Mrs. Spiker have been residents of Stronghurst for the past 33 years, having moved here soon after the village was started. They had come from a farm in the vicinity of LaHarpe, Ill. where their four children were born: Mrs. R. B. Chase, Ernest, Roy and Walter Spiker, all of whom except the latter who lives at Los Angeles, Calif., being present at the celebration. In addition to the purse of gold, the couple was presented at their home a substantial sum of money from those who could not attend.
LOCAL AND AREA NEWS: Mr. Irvin Milliken has rented Mrs. Susie Baxter's house in the village and has moved in his family last Thursday. Ed Hardin left for his home at Lincoln, Nebr. after touring Illinois and Indiana and spending time in Chicago. Dewey Mudd has been engaged in orchestra work in Chicago. A.S. McElhinney returned from Kansas City bringing with him 40 head of Hereford yearling steers which will be fed on the Rankin estate farm east of Stronghurst. John Mudd has converted the barn in the rear of his lots at his home into a garage for his own use. Clint Burrell and family of Olena country moved back to Burlington last week where he has employment on the hard road. Miss Marie Mudd arrived home from Corpus Christi, Tex. where she closed a season's engagement with the Cademean Chautuaqua Bureau. Walnuts, hickory nuts and hazel nuts are quite plentiful in the woods near town and many are making trips there for the purpose of laying in a winter's supply. Mr. Roll Randall was in town taking orders for winter apples which he will begin picking and delivering in the near future. His orchard will yield a fair crop this season and the fruit is of very fine quality. Mr. and Mrs. Will Ogden left samples of apples that grew on their farm south of town. They are the Wolf River variety and are very large, weighing more than one pound each. They compare favorably with the large apples grown in the famous apple districts of Washington State. Ray Salter returned to the Burlington Hospital for an operation for the removal of his tonsils.
OVER IT WENT: Last Saturday afternoon Ira Peterson of the neighborhood west of Olena was driving to Stronghurst in his auto accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Gear Putney and the little daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John McCartney. The roads were very slippery from the rain and the car was not equipped with chains. While coming down the hill just west of Olena, the car skidded into the ditch, catching the occupants beneath it. All escaped injury except the McCartney girl who received several bad cuts and bruises. She was not seriously hurt, however, and able to attend school as usual on Monday. The car was quite badly wrecked.
CARMAN CONCERNS: Mr. and Mrs. Walter Burnett were movie goers to Burlington Sunday evening (this was news: they had a car and extra cash to spend on a luxury). Mrs. John Hunt of Burlington is visiting at her father's home and while there enjoyed a visit with her sister, Mrs. Thomas McIntire, who intends to leave for her home at Halfa, Iowa, the last of the week. The Ladies Aid will meet the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month and are now ready for work. Comfort tying and quilting seem to be the order of the day. Kenneth Mead and Carrolton Vaughn are remaining home from high school at Lomax this week on account of school closing down for small pox. There are four cases of it in the Calvin Williams home. Mr. and Mrs. John Seins are the proud parents of a son born to them last Tuesday; mother and babe are doing nicely. Mrs. W. J. Emerson, Mary Bradley, Ethel Smiddy, Ramah Hoover, Fannie Freeland and Georgia Boulyow of Lomax attended a meeting at the Rebekah hall. A new club house is being erected south of Shockokon by five gentlemen of Chicago, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Erwin H. Weiss of Burlington are the proud parents of a baby boy born at Mercy Hospital last Friday. Mrs. Weiss was formerly Miss Julia Huppert of this place. Miss Minnie Rehling entertained the Thursday Club with a two course luncheon consisting of chicken sandwiches, pickles, coffee, banana and pineapple salad, brick ice cream, devils food and angel food cake.(three course?) Guests were Mrs. Mae Emerson, Mollie Dowell, Mary Bradley of Lomax; and Mrs. Martha Mains and Mrs. Clara Coffman besides the members of the club.
BIGGSVILLE BRIEFS: Word came Sabbath afternoon of the death of Marion McVey, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank McVey, who has been cared for at the Burlington Hospital for some time with septic poisoning. Funeral will be held Wednesday at the M. E. Church. Mrs. James Alexander and two children, Jimmie and Helen, who have spent the past six weeks with her parents and other relatives, left last Friday evening for their home at Swift Currant, Sask., Canada. She was accompanied home by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Pearson who recently celebrated their golden wedding and smilingly stated that this was to be their honeymoon. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur McIntyre are riding in a new Ford recently purchased from Roy Mudd of Stronghurst. Rev. Paul Walsh moved his household goods to Burnside, Ill., where the family will reside for the coming year. J.A.Johnson, who was professor of the high school last year, moved his household goods to Galesburg for storage; he is now firing on the railroad. The South Henderson Club met at the home of Mrs. Jim Kilgore with a good attendance present.
INJURED IN THE FIELD: Harry Norvill was seriously injured Saturday while baling straw at the Lewis Cavins farm south of Media. When attempting to replace a belt which had slipped from position, he was caught in the belt and hurled upward catching one foot in a tractor which was being used to run the baler. Both bones of his right leg were broken and badly splintered. He was taken to Monmouth Hospital were X-ray picture was taken and the bones set. Those who saw the accident were amazed that Norvill escaped with his life. Physicians in charge of the case are trying to save the leg from amputation, but the outcome of their work is yet in doubt. Mrs. Norvill accompanied her husband to the hospital and remained with him over Sunday.
A CHARAVARI: Mr. and Mrs. T. R. Palmer were treated to a rousing old fashion charavari last Wednesday night by a large crowd of neighbors and friends of Mr. Palmer. The entire company was invited into the home and after listening to some music, they were accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Palmer to the Campbell restaurant and treated to candy. Their many friends wished the happy married life.