The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Compiled and Edited by Virginia Ross
Stronghurst Graphic, May 19, 1921
TERRE HAUTE WINS MEET: Terre High School nosed out a winner by two points in the first annual track and field meet of the Henderson County High School Association held at Terre Haute, the total score of points being as follows: Terre Haute-44; Stronghurst-42; Biggsville-19; Media-2 and Oquawka-0. The struggle for first honors between the Terre Haute and Stronghurst teams was a close and exciting one and kept the interest of the spectators at a high pitch. The consistent all round work of the Terre Haute athletes, which enabled them to place in every event, won them the pennant; while the Stronghurst team led in the number of individual events won, they failed to place in either the 440 or 880 yd. runs and this weakness of the team in long distance runners proved fatal to their hopes of winning. The 50, 100 and 220 yd. dashes were won easily by Putney, the crack sprinter of Stronghurst and his fine lead-off in the relay supplemented by the good work of Gilliland and Sanderson enabled the local team to easily win that event. The pole vault developed into a long drawn out contest between Virgil Putney of Stronghurst and W. Painter of Terre Haute, resulting in favor of the former. In the running high jump W. Painter and Sanderson were closely matched, but the former cleared the bar at 5 ft. 6 in on the third trial after Sanderson failed. . .
SHIPPERS INVITED: Co-operative Livestock Shipping Association of Henderson and other Illinois counties are invited to a meeting of the managers, boards of directors and members of all Illinois co-operative shipping associations to be held at the office of the Illinois Agricultural Association in Chicago June 9 and 10th.
FREE DENTAL CLINIC: A free examination of the teeth of children of school age is being arranged by the Child Welfare Division of the Community club. The work will be in charge of local dentist and all children in Stronghurst Township or others whose mothers are members of the Community Club are urged to present themselves at a date to be arranged; a chart showing the condition of the teeth will be given each child on examination.
1896 GRAPHIC: A terrific storm of wind, rain and hail which swept over the country on May 16th did considerable damage in this vicinity. In Sherrard in Mercer County a new $3,500 church was destroyed and a man named Morris Evans was killed. Army worms were reported to be creating havoc on various farms in this vicinity. The contract to build a 28 by 36 ft. two story addition to the Stronghurst school building was let to J. W. Hicks. The consideration was $1,790 which price included both materials and labor. Peter Groome, Jr. had resigned his position with the Santa Fe at Media and gone to Newton, Kansas. The grocery firm of Davidson & Starkey in the village dissolved partnership. A Masonic lodge was instituted in Stronghurst on May 14th by Dr. W. O. Butler of La Harpe; it began with 23 members.
OBITUARIES: MRS. C. G. RICHEY: Mrs. C. R. Richey passed away at her home in Media Township on May 13th, her death being caused by heart trouble following an attack of gastritis. While her last illness was of but about a week’s duration, she had not been in robust health for the past year or more. Her many friends had hoped, however, for her complete restoration to health and the news of her death came as a sad blow to these hopes.
Mrs. Jessie Spears Richey, daughter of Alexander and Mary McElroy Spears, was born near Media, Ill. Dec. 6th, 1859 and departed this life May 13, 1921, aged 51 years, 5 months and 7 days. Being the youngest daughter of a family of ten children, four of whom still survive her, namely, Mrs. Thos. Pogue, Fairfield, Ia.; Miss Clara Spears, Knoxville, Tenn.; William Spears of Stronghurst, Ill. and Mrs. Olive Whiteman of Burlington, Iowa.
She was united in marriage to Clarence G. Richey Oct. 4, 1881 and to them were born seven children: Raus Richey, Stronghurst, Ill.; Mrs. Robert Clarke, Stronghurst, Ill.; Mrs. Charles Pogue, Stronghurst, Ill.; William Harold Richey, Prairie City, Ill.; Mrs. John Balridge, Des Moines, Ia.; Thomas A. Richey, Yuma City, Ariz.;; and Mrs. Waldo Spruitt, Traverse City, Mich. These with the husband, thirteen grandchildren and a large circle of relatives and friends mourn this deep loss. All the children mentioned were in attendance at the funeral which was held on May 15th.
Her whole life was spent in Henderson County near the place of her birth with the exception of three years they lived in Monmouth to give their children school advantages. She was a woman of great energy and took an active part in public affairs in the community and in war work. In her early life she confessed her faith in Christ and untied with the United Presbyterian Church of Walnut Grove, but when the congregation merged with that of Media, Ill., she transferred her membership to it in which connection she remained an active member, taking a leading part in the work of the church, especially of the Women’s Missionary Society in which she filled the office of president and treasurer, always holding an optimistic outlook for the work and was ready to back her words with deeds. She never failed to show her pastors her hearty appreciation by her presence and earnest prayers.
The funeral service was at home with interment in the Walnut Grove Cemetery.
***DR. J. A. BAILEY*** Residents of the community were shocked on Tuesday evening when word circulated that Dr. J. A. Bailey had dropped dead on the farm one and half miles west of Raritan where he and his wife have been living for the past few years.
Dr. Bailey had hauled two loads of oats to Stronghurst during the day and after returning from the second trip in the evening was engaged in removing the harness from one of the horses when he toppled over on the straw in the stall and expired within a few moments. No one else was about the stable at the time, but a few minutes later John Hunt of Raritan, who was employed on the farm, came in with a team from the field where he had been working discovered the still warm body lying in the stall. It required but a brief examination to discover that life was extinct and it was decided that the county coroner should be notified. This was done and a jury of the neighboring farmers was impanelled to inquire into the cause of death with the verdict being that Dr. Bailey had suffered a stroke of apoplexy and that death had resulted instantaneously.
The deceased was 68 years of age and was for many years a practicing physician at Olena and Biggsville, Ill. He retired from active practice several years ago and had recently given his attention to the management of the farm in Raritan Township. He is survived by his wife, the former Miss Fannie Cortleyou of Raritan Township and by one son, William Bailey of Burlington, Iowa and one daughter, Elizabeth Bailey, who has made her home in California for several months past. A short funeral service will be followed by interment in the Biggsville Cemetery.
***CHARLES A. LANT*** Charles A. Lant passed away at his home in Media Township, three miles north of Stronghurst following an illness of about three days from pneumonia. Mr. Lant was born and spent nearly his entire life on the farm which he occupied at the time of his death. His parents were George D. and Sarah (Gibson) Lant and he was born on Oct. 2, 1850. He attended the public schools and later assisted his father in the management of the farm, remaining under the parental roof until he was 29 years of age when he married Miss Jessie L. Burrell, a native of McHenry County, Ill. Following marriage Mr. Lant lived on a rented farm for four years and in 1882 bought his brother’s interest in the home place in Media Township and built a residence thereon in which the family has since resided.
The deceased is survived by his wife and five children, namely, Mrs. Ruth Browning, Nellie Lant and Margaret Lant –all of the home, and Ross C. Lant of Burlington, Iowa and Paul D. Lant of Flint, Mich.
Mr. Lant was a public spirited citizen, interested in all matters pertaining to the welfare of his community, both in secular and religious affairs. He was a trustee of the Olena United Presbyterian Church for many years and when that congregation disbanded transferred his membership to the Stronghurst U.P. Church. Funeral services were conducted at the Olena Church with interment in the North Cemetery at Olena.
POLL TAX NOTICE: At a regular meeting of the Commissioners of Highways of Stronghurst Township a poll tax of $2.00 was assessed on all able bodied men in Stronghurst Township between the ages of 21 and 50. This tax must be paid by the first Monday in June to either C. H. Curry, Treas. or D. Prescott, deputy. The only persons exempt from this tax are paupers, idiots and lunatics.
PLENTY OF ICE: Ed Fort and Sons wish to announce to their patrons that notwithstanding the shortage of the ice crop in this locality last winter, they have made arrangement where by they can supply all demands for ice from either town or country customers during the coming season.
MEDIA MEANDERINGS: Little Elizabeth Kimble celebrated her sixth birthday May 10th with about 20 of her little playmates and friends. Time was spent playing games after which Miss Faye Mills played a march on the piano and the little ones marched into the house where they were treated to ice cream and angel food cake by her mother and grandmother, Mrs. Valenstine. Emmet Davenport of Oquawka has been doing some plastering for Tom Howell the past week. Sam Mathers recently purchased a fine new Buick touring car from T. C. Knutstrom of Stronghurst. NO.5 stopped to let a number of passengers off Saturday night. Gail Heaps has been suffering with an ulcerated tooth. Mrs. George Wever of Kirkwood is helping care for the infant child of Mr. and Mrs. John Wever, who has pneumonia. Raritan home talent will give a play at the academy tomorrow night. Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Wax accompanied her brother, Clyde Warren, to Burlington where he took the train for his home at Rockport, Mo. Mrs. Grace Kimble had her home wired for electric lights. (Today, we do not realize how this changed ordinary family life; electric lights created a whole new world in which one could actually see what they were trying to read or eat.)
GLADSTONE GLEANINGS: Mrs. Dr. Keener of Altona, Ill. visited her sister, Mrs. Taylor Galbraith. Misses Vinnie Colley and Ula Milligan went to Normal, Ill. to help care for the little ones at the Baby-fold there. Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Tribler expect to move to Glasgow, Ill the first of June and want to sell their house here. Patrons' Day was observed at the Gladstone High School last Friday with a large crowd present for the short program. The new bank cashier began his duties; he replaced Mr. Tribler. High school commencement exercises will be held at the M. E. Church with six young ladies receiving their diplomas. Two bunches of carrier pigeons were released at the depot Sunday morning; a good sized crowd was there to see them fly away.
BIGGSVILLE BRIEFS: The evening of May 21st the ladies of the Community Club will conduct a miscellaneous food sale in Hazen's garage with the proceeds being used to defray local expenses for the Chautauqua which begins June 19th. The Presbyterian people are busy in preparing the garden and papering the parsonage-getting things ready for the new minister, Rev. Baker from Mt. Zion. Mr. and Mrs. Clark Kelly are the happy parents of a baby girl that arrived at their home last Saturday; she has been named Elizabeth Jean. The High School play, "Bird Haven," tells the story of birds who are friends of mankind; it will be staged outdoors. Mrs. Jim Gibb has been confined to her bed with rheumatism.
SOUTH COUNTY NEWS: In Carman a siege of measles has laid hold of the teenagers in this township; no serious cases have been reported. A dinner will be given on Decoration Day for the benefit of the cemetery. In Decorra a dance was given at the Marion Kemp home with a large crowd attending. Chas. Anderson from Dallas City is helping at his farm.
PLANNING FORDECORATION DAY: At a meeting at the Community Club it was decided to observe May 29th as Memorial Sunday and ask the pastors of the various churches to arrange a union service to be held either in the morning or evening at a church selected by them. Memorial Day, proper, May 30th will be observed with suitable exercises at the Lyric Theatre. Committees on speaker, finance, music, children training, flags and program were appointed and Rev. V. A. Crumbaker was selected chairman.
LOCAL AND AREA NEWS: J. H. Voorhees had a shipment of sheep and hogs on the Chicago market. A. L. Bennington of Dallas City has been awarded the contract for building Terre Haute's new $36,000 ($428,040 in today's values)high school building. The annual Junior-Senior banquet of the Stronghurst High School will be held in the dining room of the U. P. Church. Window glass of all sizes is available at Worley's drugstore.
Buy a pail of fancy 4k. herring at Lovitt's grocery. Mrs. Ivabelle Stewart, county chairman of Household Science, has appointed Miss Martha Davis as representative at the Girls State Fair School with Miss Maxine Lovitt as alternate. Mr. and Mrs. Karl Kennet are the happy parents of a young son born May 12th. Miss Julie Barnes of Rock Island, formerly of this vicinity, will travel abroad with friends this summer and visit the battlefields and other points of interest in Europe. Harold and Lyle Waymack, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Waymack of Raritan, who enlisted in the Coast Artillery at Burlington, Iowa in Jan. 1920, are making their first visit with home folks. The stockholders of the Monmouth Stone Co. had a business meeting and banquet at their quarry near Gladstone and served more than a hundred invited guests. Emmet Cleveland, son of Dr. and Mrs. Cleveland of Raritan, is reported to be in a very critical condition in a Denver, Colo hospital where he was taken sometime ago to receive treatment for lung trouble resulting from his being gassed while in service overseas. His recovery is despaired of and his mother has been called to his bedside.
Miss Ella Ahlers has been employed again as a teacher at Avon, Ill. where she conducted a very satisfactory school in 1919. Hays Douglass, a 17 year old Aledo boy, broke his arm for the fifth time while cranking a Fordson tractor. Bert Waggoner of Burlington has leased practically all the islands in the Mississippi river between Burlington and Dallas City with the intention of turning them into a big hunting and fishing preserve.
STOLEN CAR RECOVERED: O.J. Sanderson's big Hudson touring car was stolen sometime last Friday night or early Saturday morning of last week from the garage on his farm just south of Stronghurst. On the Sunday afternoon following, Mr. Sanderson received a telephone message from Kirksville, Mo. stating that the authorities were holding a car which a young man calling himself Will Wood had been attempting to dispose of and which they were convinced belonged to Mr. Sanderson.
He discovered that it was missing from the garage sometime during the day, but supposed that his son James had taken it in the morning to go to Macomb where he was entered in a contest in the neighborhood High School track meet held that day. When his son returned in the evening, Mr. Sanderson learned that the former had gone with some other parties in another car and knew nothing about the missing Hudson.
As the car was insured against theft through the B. G. Widney agency here, the latter was immediately notified and messages were sent out to the principal cities and town in this section of the country for the authorities to be on the look out for the stolen car. The Kirkville officials had, however, not received any notice in regard to the theft and the recovery of the car and apprehension of the man in whose possession it was found came about through their own initiative.
The Kirksville Daily News said that young Wood attempted to trade the car to a representative of the Kirksville Motor Co. late Saturday afternoon for an Oakland roadster and that he gave his name then as Walker and said he was from Chillicothe, Ill. and was on his way to California with his mother, sister and grandmother and that they had decided traveling by auto was too uncertain and had concluded to complete the journey by train. They told him that he might trade the car off for a smaller one. Under close questioning, however, he became entangled in his statements and finally admitted that he stole the car at Stronghurst that it belonged to Mr. Sanderson.
He was turned over to prosecuting attorney Higbee of Kirksville and on Monday morning arraigned before Judge Cooley on the charge of stealing an automobile and on his plea of guilty was sentenced to the Jefferson City penitentiary for a term of two years. (Those Missourians did not mess around; justice was swift!) It appears that while the car was stolen in Illinois, the law provides that in cases of this kind a man may be tried in any county or state where arrested, which accounts for the quick administration of justice in this case.
Young Wood's home is said to be somewhere in Missouri, but he had for the past year or more worked for various farmers in the vicinity of Stronghurst and is quite well known to may people here, most of whom believed him to be honest and upright.
Mr. Sanderson went to Kirksville in company with the adjuster for the company in which his car was insured and returned to Stronghurst this morning with the car, which apparently had suffered but little damage while in Wood's possession.
CELEBRATES 83rd BIRTHDAY: On May 16th Mr. H. M. Allison, one of Stronghurst's most respected citizens and who has been prominently identified with the progress and development of this section of Illinois during the past 60 years or more and one of very few survivors of Henderson County's band of Civil War veterans, celebrated his 83rd birthday.
About 25 friends and neighbors gathered at the Allison home on Mary St. where a sumptuous dinner was provided from baskets which the guests brought with them. Several hours were spent in social intercourse and exchange of reminiscences of bygone days. Although the affair was a surprise, the welcome which the guests received from this hospitable home was none the less cordial and sincere.