The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Compiled and Edited by Virginia Ross
Stronghurst Graphic, April 9, 1925
MAYOR FORT MARRIES: Charles, E. Fort, Jr., Stronghurst's popular village president , and Miss Dorothy Foster of Wapello, Ia., were untied in marriage at Burlington on April 2nd, From the Burlington Gazette: "At the parsonage of the First Presbyterian Church at one thirty o'clock this afternoon, occurred the marriage of Miss Dorothy Foster of this city and Mr. Charles Fort of Stronghurst, Ill. Rev. Archibald Cradle officiating. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Foster of Wapello, Iowa and a graduate of the Burlington Hospital Training school and is very popular with her friends and associates. Mr. Fort is a prominent young business man of Stronghurst.
While the lady whom Mr. Fort has chosen as his life companion is known to comparatively few of the Graphic's readers, "Chuck," as the groom is familiarly called by his friends, which means practically everybody in the community, is too well known to require any word here concerning the traits of character which he possesses. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Fort of this place and has for the past year or two been engaged in the ice business here, making his home with his parents. He is a graduate of the local high school and of Monmouth College, at which latter institution he specialized in vocal music and art in which he is especially proficient. Following his graduation, he engaged in the profession of teaching, holding principalships in various schools in other states.
When the world war broke out, he entered the Reserve Officers' Training School at Camp Custer, Mich. receiving a commission as 2nd Lieutenant after his term of training. He was then sent to Georgia where he was assigned to duty at Camp Hancock training troops for service during the remainder of the war. Since returning to Stronghurst, he has been engage in farming operation on the C. E. Fort farm adjoining the village and the management of the ice business which is an adjunct of the regular farm activities .Two years ago Mr. Fort received the honor of being elected to the office of President of the Stronghurst Village Board, a position which he has filled very acceptable to all concerned. Although importuned to accept the nomination for re-election this spring, he did refused to allow the presentation of his name for the office. He did consent, however, to become a candidate of the Citizen's party for the office of village trustee at the coming village election. Mr. and Mrs. Fort are now at home in their friends in the former J.T. Breen residence in Stronghurst which Mr. Fort purchased and furnished previous to his marriage."
DR. W. O. BUTLER HONORED: From the Wilkie, Sask. Press of Wilkie, Canada: A surprise banquet tendered to Dr. W. O. Butler on the occasion of his 75th birthday honored the former LaHarpe citizen and popular dentist well known to practically everyone in Hancock and Henderson Counties was held at the Prairie Lodge No. 57 A.F. & A.M. of Wilkie and was attended by over 30 Masons. Congratulatory speeches were delivered by a number of guests and a program of songs, etc. carried out in connection with the serving of the banquet which was held in the Rex Cafe. Of Wilkie:
SHE WON: First honors in the exclamatory contest held at the U.P. Church last Friday evening went to Miss Hazel Stine, a member of the Senior Class of the local high school who by virtue of the decision of the judges will represent the school in the declamatory contests held in connection with the coming Bi-County High School Meet at Alexis, Ill. and the County Meet at Media. Miss Hazel, who was the last of nine contestants to appear on the platform, won the decision by her rendition of "Lilac Time,"a selection well suited for the display of the elocutionary talent which she possesses. By a somewhat singular coincidence, Miss June Smith, who preceded Miss Stine and was eighth on the list of contestants, won second place with the selection, "The Big Lie." Third and fourth places were awarded to Miss Gladys Lant and Robert Mathers:
FREE ENTERTAINMENT DOWNTOWN: On Saturday evening, April 18th an open air entertainment under the direction of the business men of Stronghurst will be given from the band stand located on Broadway just north of the Main St. crossing:Features for the evening will include musical numbers, both instrumental and vocal, two reels of educational and two reels of comic moving picture film, addresses on community building, etc. It is proposed to rope off Broadway for a block north of Main St. in order to allow the use of both the sidewalks and the roadway for the audience. The canvass for the moving pictures will probably be stretched across the street just north of the band stand so that the pictures may be seen from either side of the street.
LOCAL AND AREA NEWS: J. I. Wolf and helpers are busy reshingling Mrs. Addie Cortelyou's house this week. Miss Evelyn Hartquist came home from Northwestern University for a vacation visit with her parents and friends. Glen Marshall, manager of the Stronghurst grain and Merchandise Co., reports having received a car load each of oil meal, molasses feed and coal the past week and some grain is beginning to come in. Bernie Breen is said to be seriously ill from tuberculosis at the Monmouth Hospital. Rev. Elmer J. Holt and family arrived from Canton, Ill. and are now at home in the Lutheran parsonage. Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Jones accompanied their daughter, Mrs. Mabel Sanderson with her young son, Keith, to Rochester, Minn. to consult the Mayo Brothers in regard to the condition of the child, who is afflicted with something in the nature of infantile paralysis. They returned home. The doctors expressed the belief that he will outgrow the trouble.
IT WAS BURNING: The beautiful home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Crenshaw in the east part of town came near being destroyed last Sunday morning. Only prompt action on the part of the volunteer fire department prevented the catastrophe. A little before 10 o'clock passers by discovered a blaze spreading rapidly from a spot on the roof on the south side of the house where a spark from the chimney had evidently fallen and ignited the shingles. An alarm was quickly turned in and within a few minutes a large crowd had gathered to render any assistance possible in saving the home.
When the firemen arrived, the flames were sweeping over nearly the whole south roof of the house and the situation looked serious. A lead of hose was attached to the hydrant at the corner of the street diagonally across from the Crenshaw home and in a few moments a deluge of water was being poured on the flames. This had the desired effect and within 15 minutes from the sounding of the alarm, the fire had been completely extinguished.
While the interior of the house was undamaged by the fire, the water which had been poured into the attic seeped through the ceilings and floors in a number of places requiring the removal of most of the carpets and furniture. Mr. Crenshaw says, however, that he does not believe the damage from water will be as extensive as would naturally be supposed since the ceilings, on account of their excellent nature, were able to withstand the effect of the soaking which they received and will probably only need repapering. Had the fire originated in the night, it would probably have gained sufficient headway before being discovered to make saving the home impossible. Much credit is due the firemen for the prompt and efficient service which they rendered, The value to the village of the water works system has again been demonstrated.
BIGGSVILLE BRIEFS: Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Gibb are the proud parents of a nine-pound boy that arrived at their home Saturday and has been named Donald Lee. A family supper was held Monday evening at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Millen. Those present were Steve Graham and son Steven, Mrs. Mary Sandy and little son Jack, Mrs. H. J. Millen, Misses Mary and Dorothy Millen, Mrs. Frank Lant and daughters, Helen, Ruby, Ruth, Jean and Mary Gail, Henry Collins, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Swedland and daughter Marie, Mr. and Mrs. Marion Cleek and little son Russell and Mr. and Mrs. Page Randall and children. (Doing family history? This list is a starter.) Mrs. Bert Liby returned home after spending the winter in California. Bert will make the trip overland in their car. The Junior Department of the U.P. Church with their leader, Mrs. Beth Glenn, held an outdoor picnic in the pasture west of town; some twenty of the society were present. Games were played and sandwiches and pickles were served. Dr. Alvina Mekemson has begun to enlarge and remodel her home on the north part of town; Clark Kelly is doing the work. Bob McDill expects to move his family into the Sam Holmes house in the near future. Bob has bought the barber business from Ed Parish.
MEDIA MEANDERINGS: Prof. Neil Ausmus was called to Camp Point by the death of his mother who has been in poor health for some time. The high school was closed Friday in order to show respect to Mr. Ausmus and his family. Miss Mary Dixon and her botany class visited the Monmouth greenhouse. Chas. Stanberry had the misfortune to hurt his back quite badly while working and lifting on a car in his garage.
MEDIA MEANDERINGS: John Drain has recovered from his recent injury by a fall to be brought home. Mr. and Mrs. Everett Lamb, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Lamb, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Murtland and William, Laverne and Dan Gilliland, Paul and Ward Gibson and Misses Francis and Mabel Drain attended the movies at Raritan Saturday night. Guy Garrett is recovering from an attach of tetanus. Miss Mary Anders is quite ill at her home northwest of town. "Wamp" Admire came up from Dallas City Friday evening and spent Saturday with his wife and baby daughter at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry White. The township assessor, M. D. Drain, has his books and is making the rounds assessing.
OBITUARY: J.C. COVERT: Mr. Covert, an aged and highly respected citizen passed away at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Dan Crist near Disco on Monday morning about eight o'clock. His wife preceded him in death several weeks ago. Funeral services were held at the Baptist church with interment in the Raritan Cemetery.
CHARLES RAMBO: Charles Rambo, one of the pioneer residents of Stronghurst, passed away April 7th at his home in South Bend, Ind. at the age of 87 years, 6 months and 15 days. Mr. Rambo and family moved to Stronghurst from Roseville, Ill, in 1888 and continued to live here until 1899 when they moved to Nebraska. After four or five years in the West, Mr. Rambo moved to South Bend, Ind. where he continued to live until the date of his death.
He was twice married: his first wife was Margaret Imel, who passed away Oct. 11, 1898 and his second wife, who survives him is Martha Garrett. Two sons and one daughter also survive, namely, M. G. Rambo of Roseville, Ill., and E. H. Rambo and Mrs. Elma Bellinger of Arcadia, Nebr. Another daughter, Mrs. Cora Belle West passed away a few years ago. Mrs. West, previous to her marriage, was a compositor in the Graphic office when the paper was under the management of Mr. J. F. Mains. The remains of Mr. Rambo arrived in Roseville and were brought to Stronghurst where they were interred in the local cemetery by the side of his first wife. A short funeral service was held grave side.
THEY CELEBRATED 35 YEARS: Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Brooks celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary under very auspicious circumstances at their home west of town last Friday, having invited in about a dozen of their friends and relatives to help them do justice to the occasion. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have been residents of this community practically all of their wedded lives, coming here when Stronghurst as a village was in its infancy.
Mrs. Brooks was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Wilson and her childhood was spent in the old Wilson homestead east of Biggsville. Mr. Brooks was a resident of Warren County and spent his early life near Monmouth. Since coming to this community, they have prospered and last year erected a beautiful and commodious residence on their farm. The house consists of eight rooms with practically all of the modern conveniences and it certainly is a home of comfort and contentment.
Three children came to bless this union: Russell, now principal of the schools at Benson, Ill., who came home to help celebrate the anniversary, Chester and Miss Ruth, both of whom are still under the parental roof.
A sumptuous luncheon was served at noon with Mrs. Johanna Wheeling as cateress. At the close, the wedding anniversary cake, bearing 35 candles, was cut and the pieces wrapped in pretty Japanese napkins and distributed among the guests. The friends assembled had contributed a sum for the purchase of a souvenir for the occasion and this was presented by Rev. J. A. Mahaffey with a felicitous reference to the success Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have made in life and in their fortunate and happy surroundings.
WEDDING BELLS: GITTINGS & DOWELL: A very pretty wedding was solemnized April 8th at 6 o'clock at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Dowell when they gave their daughter Dorothy in marriage to Mr. Cecil Gittings, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gittings of Lomax. The bride was becomingly dressed in a gown of blue Canton silk and was attended by Miss Jessie Gittings, a sister of the groom. Daryl Dowell, a brother of the bride, was the groom's attendant. A three-course dinner was served by sisters of the bride and groom immediately following the ceremony. Guest present were the following: Misses Hazel Hicks, Esther and Nellie Johnson, Lois and Thelma Person and Mr. Julius Lefler of Stronghurst; Mrs. Clara Coffman of Carman; Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Millen of Biggsville and the immediate families of the bride and groom.
April 15th-- GITTINGS & DOWELL: At 8:30 pm Miss Jessie Gittings and Mr. Daryl Dowell were married in Stronghurst in the I.O.O.F. hall under the auspices of the Ku Klux Klan with a large number of guest present. The officiating minister was Rev. W. H. Cross. (This is the first time I have a Ku Klux Klan marriage was mentioned in the paper. This column began with the 1895 Graphic The Klan held rallies here and ministers of all the churches offered prayers.)
LOCAL AND AREA NEWS: Joe Woodward and Abe Magee with their teams are working on the new road west of Olena. Note from Ed Logan: "We invite you to drive up and inflate your tires with the new air hose which we have installed for your convenience. If you need a new tire or repairs, may we serve you?" (Stronghurst was really "uptown" with an air station.) Ira Foote loaded his trotting horse, Peter Foote, in a truck and took him to Macomb where he will be stabled and trained for the coming racing circuit. A philanthropist whose name has been withheld recently made a donation of $2,500 in cash to the La Harpe Hospital. $500 is to be used for current expenses and the reaming $2,000 for the purchase of an X-ray outfit. ( $37,050 in today's values)
An example of real cooperation between town and country was afforded at Princeville, Ill. recently when a new auto chemical fire truck was purchased by the citizens of the town and the farmers of the vicinity through popular subscription. The cost of the equipment, which included three tanks, the necessary hose and ladders, etc., was $1988 ($29,464+ in today's values)