The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Compiled and Edited by Virginia Ross
Registrar for Daniel McMillan Chapter, N.S.D.A.R.1917
Stronghurst Graphi, Sept. 27, 1917:
HONOR SOLDIER BOYS: The Masonic and Eastern Star very pleasantly entertained the soldier boys who are soon to go into training at a banquet in the lodge room. A short, interesting program was provided. The assembly was called to order and opened by singing "America" which was joined in heartily by all 83 present. Next, Dr. R.I.Findley, W.M. addressed a few remarks to the boys and presented each with a comfort bag made and donated by the Eastern Star lodge. A quartette composed of Mrs. Ora Dobbin, Erma Kaiser, Kenneth Yaokam and W.C.Regan rendered "We Will Never Let Our Flag Fall."
Following this Dr. I.F.Harter in his ususal jovial manner told the boys the use of each article in the comfort bag. Miss Mary Dixson favored the audience with a solo, "Good-by Broadway, Hello France." Lastly, a fine luncheon was served composed of fried chicken, potato chips, Waldorf salad, orange ice, cake and coffee. All wished the boys God speed.
LOCAL AND AREA HAPPENINGS: A SECOND CALL HAS BEEN ISSUED: Twenty-nine more Henderson County men are to appear before the local board at Oquawka in preparatory to their departure for Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Ia., where they will go into training for the National Army. A special train will leave Oquawka on Saturday morning at nine o'clock conveying the men to their destination. (Men are listed-read the entire article on microfilm at the local library.) Francis Jaggers, Ruth Staley and Rhoda Anderson enrolled at Hedding College, Abingdon, Ill.
Guy Lamphere and wife and Tom Morgan attended the races in Peoria being held in connection with the National Implement Show. Roy Spiker is running a restaurant in Hartford, Wis. The crop of wild grapes is unusually abundant and housewives of the vicinity are using them in jelly making.
A large percentage of the juvenile population of the village is under quarantine because of the prevalence of what is pronounced to be whooping cough.
Last Sunday morning an auto being driven by W.J.Kemp and a motorcycle being ridden by Thomas. Woodall came together in a head on collision at the Watson Cemetery corner northwest of Stronghurst. The force of the impact threw the motorcycle back some 15-20 feet and hurled Woodall violently to the ground. He sustained a fractured thumb, a badly bruised ankle and other painful injuries from which he will be partially laid up for some time. The motorcycle was badly wrecked and the front end of the auto damaged to a considerable extent. Considering the force of the collision, Woodall may congratulate himself that he escaped without more serious injuries.
KILLED NEAR RARITAN: Lee Gearheart, a former resident of the Raritan neighborhood, who recently joined the U.S.Army and belonged to a company of cavalry stationed at Fort D.A.Russell near Cheyenne, Wyo. was killed in an auto accident about one half mile east of Raritan.
He had been granted a leave of absence for the purpose of attending the funeral of a relative and in order to look after the settlement of an estate. He had recently purchased a Ford car and on the day of the accident was out for a spin with his cousin, Raymond Gearheart, the son of Mr. and Mrs. J.Y.Gearheart of Raritan. The latter was driving the car when the accident occurred.
The two men had just left Raritan going east and when near the Livermore place situated a half mile form the village, Lee suggested to his cousin, who was driving, that they speed up. At the same time he reached over and pushed the accelerator lever down and took hold of the steering wheel. What then happened does not seem to be a matter of distinct recollection to the survivor, Raymond Gearheart. All he knows is that the car quickly overturned and that the found himself lying by the side of the road and his cousin was lying a short distance away from the wrecked car. It is supposed that the latter in taking hold of the steering wheel turned the front wheels of the car sharply to one side causing it to be quickly overturned.
Help was summoned and the injured men given medical attention. Raymond Gearheart's injuries were found to be of a not very serious nature and he was taken to his home. Lee Gearheart was taken to the home of his uncle, Burris Huston, where it was found that he was suffering from internal injuries which precluded any hope of his recovery. He passed away at noon within about an hour after the accident.
The deceased was a son of Sam Gearheart, formerly a citizen of the Raritan neighborhood and now living somewhere in the West. His mother died when he was but a child and he was brought up in the home of his grandfather, the late John M. Huston. He was 24 years of age, had been married and is survived by a son aged about 4 years. Short services were held at the Burris Huston home in Raritan and the remains taken to the home of his grandmother, Mrs. John M. Huston at Blandinsville. Funeral services were conducted at the Christian Church there and interment made in the cemetery at Liberty Church near Blandinsville.
1892 GRAPHIC A county prohibition picnic and convention was held here. The meat market at Media conducted by William Walters was destroyed by fire. John D. Smith became landlord of the Dixon Hotel in the village. Nat Bruen's race horse "Twinkle" won the 2:50 race at the Monmouth Fair.
CHANGES HANDS: Mr. L.M.Rhykerd who has been the successful proprietor of the Stronghurst Motor Co. Has been called into the service of the U.S.Army and owing to the uncertainty of the future decided to sell his garage and business on east Main St.
He has sold the building to Mr. Richard Gould who lives east of town and has also closed a deal with Mr. J.M. Johnson of Orion, Ill. where by the latter takes over the stock and business of the Stronghurst Motor Co. Mr. Johnson made a deal with T.C.Knutstrom whereby the latter sold to him the large new garage erected last year on Broadway and which has since been occupied by Knutstrom and McKeown.
Mr. Johnson gets possession on Nov. 1st when he will transfer the business to that address. It is his intention to conduct an up-to-date garage and he will also have the exclusive agency for the Ford automobile in this territory. He expects to remodel the front of the garage, putting in a glass front and also fit up a display room for the cars which the agency sells. He is an experienced garage men, having engaged in the business at Orion for a number of years. He expects to move his family here as soon as suitable arrangements can be made.
RETURNS TO SAME CHURCH: Rev. Abram Jaggers and family were tendered a reception by their many friends at the M.E.Church parlors Monday night. Owing to past experience, the members of the church were on the anxious seat regarding the Conference appointments and when the list showed that Rev. Jaggers was returned for a third year, they decided to celebrate. A purse of over $100 was quickly raised and presented the family by the treasurer, Mr. B.G.Widney.
The pastor thanked the assembly and assured them of his appreciation. Those in attendance where divided into three groups and tagged with red, white and blue ribbons, each group selecting a captain. Mrs. W.C.Ivins, Mrs. Geo Dixson and Mrs. W.C.Regan refereed with W.C.Ivins as time keeper; suggested stunts were performed by each group for which they were given credits according to the manner and time in which they were performed. The blue group was declared the winner with the prize being a pound box of animal crackers.
LETTER FROM CORPORAL JOE BAXTER: "No doubt you will be surprised to hear from me, but I haven't forgot the supper which the Red Cross put out when we were last there. Wouldn't mind sitting down to one like that again, but don't suppose I could do it justice as I have been on army rations so long. We are expecting to go to France any time now. There were only two boys from home transferred here with me from Camp Dodge, Harry Clark and Ernest Foote.
It is rather hard on these boys, but think they will stand it all right. I had a touch of it last summer, but must say that it was not like this as the training is much harder and different. You can rest assured that no one leaving the U.S. for parts unknown will not be physically able to stand the trip and exposure which they will experience. I have stood so many examinations in the last year that they don't need to tell me what to do anymore.
They sure put you through some test here and you are put through them every two or three weeks so they are sure you are able to do your bit. I think that next to the Red Cross the Y.M.C.A. does more for the soldiers than any organization. They furnish us with paper and envelopes free and have a large tent and tables with pen and ink and also sell stamps. They also furnish you with books and papers and all kinds of reading matter free.
They also have French classes which are free, aside from what you care to give them. You can hardly get into a French class on account of the large number of applications. I tried it myself and think I will make it in time to learn enough to be able to talk a little to the people on the other side. In regard to our training, first call is at 5:45 in the morning and you don't tell them that you don't feel like getting up.
If you are sick, you can answer sick call at 6:30 also mess at the same hour. At 7:15 comes the school call for non-commissioned officers, which is for 30 minutes. Drill call comes at 8 o'clock and lasts until 11; mess at 12 o'clock where we also get our mail, which everyone is anxious for. First call for drill in the afternoon comes at 1:30 and lasts until 4:30; then at 5:45 you answer your last call for the day in formation.
Then comes mess again at 6; call to quarters at 9:30 and taps at 9:45; and you must be in at that time unless you are on pass and which there are very few granted except on Sundays. We get Wednesday and Saturday off if we don't make a miss step during drill period or lack in "pep" as the lieutenant says. In case we do, we drill on those days the same as others. I mislaid my belt one morning and sure did get "bawled out" as they say in army slang. I can always find my belt now, even in the dark.
We have had six "shots" in the arm for typhoid fever, which sure makes you sick. Guess they would dope you up to make you bullet proof if they knew how. A company of infantry at war strength is made up of 250 enlisted men and 7 officers. A squad is composed of 7 privates and a corporal with a second lieutenant in command. They also have 3 sergeants.
Each platoon has three machine guns, carried by privates in 3 separate squads. Corporals and sergeants are armed with rifles and pistol and must know every part of the game or considered no good. This is only a small part of army life and if you care to know more from time to time, I will write and will also be glad to hear from you or any one else who cares to write."
AUTO STOLEN: Last Sunday evening Fred Johnson drive his father, P.J. Johnson,'s new six cylinder Buick automobile to Burlington and left it standing in front of a restaurant on Third St. while he was eating his supper. When he came out, the car had disappeared and up to the present time no trace of it has been found. It was a 1918 model purchased from Knutstrom and McKeown agency and the financial loss to Mr. Johnson will be considerable in case the car is not recovered which is now considered doubtful.
MARRIED IN GALESBURG: Chancey Mayfield, who is at presented located on the Claybaugh farm southeast of Biggsville, was married at Galesburg to Miss Ruth Brent of Gladstone neighborhood. The ceremony was performed at the M.E.Church parsonage by Rev. Dimmitt.
OLENA OBSERVATIONS: Mrs. Eugene Rodwell and Mrs. Powell of Oakland, Iowa, visited relatives locally. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gibson of Broken Bow, Nebraska drove overland in their Chevrolet car to see Illinois friends. Two threshing machines are working in the immediate area. A young daughter arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Black and has been named Wilda Irene. Mrs. Woodall is helping care for mother and babe. A young son is reported at the Martin Jacobs home in Ellison Valley. William Brown has moved from the village to the William Cole farm west of town. Harold Watson moved into the property he vacated. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lyons now ride in an up to date touring car. Mr. Elisha McCannon and family are enjoying a new Ford. Mr. John Peterson has purchased the house on Mrs. Charles Curry's farm and is moving it by sections on his land west of the village which will be occupied by his son Gear and family. Mrs. Pearl Leinbaugh has purchased property in Media and will locate there in early spring.
CARMAN CONCERNS: The Red Cross ladies meet every Wednesday afternoon at the I.O.O.F. hall to sew. Every available hand is needed and every mother, wife, and sister should gladly give some time to this work. Mrs. George McCannon was called to LeRoy, Mo., by the illness of her mother.
OQUAWKA OCCURRENCE: The boat, Helen Blair, that made regular trips from Burlington to Davenport all summer, broke down on its way to Burlington and went to Davenport for repairs so Saturday was the last day of the boat. Frank McOlgan took a car load of melons to Burlington and while the car was on the track there, it was broken into and about 100 melons stolen. Fred Saben returned to Colorado in his Overland car accompanied by Charles Bollman. Mrs. Anna Saben and daughter moved back from Colorado to her little farm near Gladstone; they had been gone for about one year.
HIGH SCHOOL BREEZES: Last Friday morning a pep meeting was held in honor of "Our Eleven" who were to play football at Ft. Madison the following day. The meeting was opened by a selection played on the Victrola. Next the song ,"O Stronghurst, O Stronghurst, " was sung by all the high school after which Captain Dale Stine explained in as few words as possible what the team intended to do the following day. The meeting was closed by another piece on the Victrola.
FOOTBALL GAME: The local high school team met the Fort Madison team on the gridiron in the Gem City and met defeat by a score of 39 to 7. These figures, however, do not tell the whole story of the game, which was a hotly contested one and won by the river city boys because of their heavier weight and the fact that they had a large number of substitutes to throw into the game where weak stops developed. The score at the close of the first half was tied at 7 to 7. As the Ft. Madison team claims the Iowa state high school championship for 1916, our boys feel that they have no cause for discouragement .
LOCAL AND AREA HAPPENINGS: Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Harden have moved from Bayard to Antioch, Neb. where Ed's firm will erect a large potash factory. A meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance Union will be held at the home of Mrs. B.G.Widney; a full attendance of members is desired. Miss Evelyn Carothers, who has been in Canada caring for her sister, Mrs. McCleary, returned and will take charge of the principalship of the local high school; her absence has been filled by Mrs. Pope. The Bert Moore family are moving into the property on Elizabeth Street recently purchased by Mrs. Penny; Waldo Johnson will move into their vacated property. J.F.McMillan is enjoying a week's vacation with friends in Fulton County; his place at the First National Bank is being filled by Mr. John B. Fort. Mrs. Grace Fulton of Pratt, Kansas is visiting relatives including her sister, Mrs. Nellie Cornwall, who will soon move to her new home in New York. Two auto loads of Woodmen from the local camp attended a big Modern Woodmen meeting in Burlington. Plans were formulated by which it is expected to add at least three hundred members to the order in the next six weeks. L.E. Lovitt, R.T. Painter and Roy Negley went to Macun, Canada to look after the threshing in that section and attend to other farming interests.
A man by the name of Phillips, employed near Gladstone, was killed near the Lone Tree Club house. He was walking on the railroad track and was struck by the passenger train known as the "Dolly." His home is said to have been at Yorkville, Ill. October term of circuit court for Henderson County will commence at Oquawka next Monday. The grand jurors from this township are Chas. Lyons and George Marshall and the petit jurors, Perry Cooper, P.D.Salter, J.S.Gilliland, Elzie Gilliland, G.Q.Fort and Ed Bowen. The docket is an unusually long one, containing 5 criminal cases, 35 common law cases and 37 chancery cases.
OBITUARY***JOHN GROOME***John Groome, son of the late Peter Groome, Sr., passed away at his home near Gravity, Iowa, last Tuesday following an illness of about a year's duration resulting from an injury received while moving a threshing machine across a railroad track. The deceased was born in Fulton County in 1856 and came to Henderson County with his parents two years later. His boyhood and young manhood were spent on the farm four miles southeast of Stronghurst.In 1879 he went to Kansas where in 1881 he married Emma Lewis of Halstead, Kans. Five years later they returned to Peoria County, Illinois. Mrs. Groome died about 21 years ago. In 1911 Mr. Groome went to Gravity, Ia., which has since been his home. He is survived by three sons, Oliver and John of Gravity, Ia. and Walter of North Dakota and one daughter, May, who is married and lives in Indianapolis. Two brothers and two sisters also survive, namely, Nate Groom of this place, Peter Groome, Jr. of Green River, Wyo., Mrs. John Voorhees of this vicinity and Mrs. Dennis Simonson of Kansas.The remains arrived in Stronghurst Wednesday night and were taken to the home of the sister, Mrs. John Voorhees, southeast of Stronghurst. Funeral services will be conducted there with interment in the Stronghurst Cemetery.