The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Compiled and Edited by Virginia Ross
(Long letter from Mrs. Ruby Crenshaw Bell concerning her trip throughout Europe. If interested, read the microfilm at the library.)
DOWN IN DEFEAT: The Marshall-Putnam County Farm Bureau ball tossers proved to be too speedy for the boys from Henderson County, defeating them in the game which decided the state Farm Bureau championship by a score of 12 to 2, which was played at the Illinois Agricultural Association picnic held at Mt. Vernon, August 17th. The playing field was newly worked making it soggy and slow and in addition was rough which counted in large measure for the errors made. The condition of the diamond seemed to bother the Henderson boys more than their opponents and the game was lost before they settled to their task.
Outside of two innings, it was a good game but those two innings made a sad story. Three bases on balls, a man hit by the pitcher coupled with five hits and our error netted Marshall-Putnam ten runs and the game. They had gotten one in the second and made it a dozen with another one in the fifth. Henderson got its two runs in the fifth and ninth. In the fifth “Parson” Thompson for Marshall- Putnam issued two bases on balls which were followed by a hit by “Sandy” Pence scoring “Bill” Ricketts. In the ninth Dale Keener drove one into the bushes back of left field and scored a clean home run.
ORGANIZE AMERICAN LEGION POST: Being one of the three counties in the state having no American legion Post, a few of the ex-service men, assisted by the state organizer, W. C. Mundt, formed an organization with sufficient membership to obtain a temporary charter which was received Monday. The post is to be known as Stronghurst American Legion Post No. 656. The membership is increasing rapidly, and later an intensive drive to enroll every ex-service man in the county will be staged.
At a meeting in the office of States Attorney C. E. Fort, Jr. last Monday evening. L. E. McAndrews was appointed adjutant to serve until the election of officers to be held in the early fall. The American Legion does not confine its activities to ex-service men alone, but plays an important part in promoting the welfare of the community and the country. It has grown to be one of the largest ex-service men’s organizations in the country and has a membership of 70,000 in this state, all of which are active.
BETWEEN THREE AND FOUR THOUSAND ATTEND COUNTY PICNIC: The picnic put on by the Henderson County Farm Bureau and Chamber of Commerce at Wever Lake, Media last Tuesday proved an attraction for over three thousand people. The Stronghurst band furnished excellent music. The Lennox Quartette of Roseville, Ill., rendered several selections in the afternoon and pleased all who heard them. There were stands galore, aeroplanes, boating and swimming facilities, speeches, ball game, contest-everything to furnish a good time to all. In the ball game Warren County Farm Bureau boys defeated the Henderson farmers by a score of 4 to 3.
The weather was threatening during the ball game, but it held off until a short time after the game when it poured. However, most the crowd had left and the roads did not become slick until an hour of so after it had started raining. Those who lingered had some trouble getting home, but what may be termed the only serious result of the rain was the impossibility of holding the picnic in the evening.
The program of sports was a big feature of the day. In the hog calling contest, the tenor voice of “Bill” Stevenson of Biggsville was thought by the judges to be most appealing to the porkers in the back forty. The pulling contest for a five-man team from each township drew five entries. The Terre Haute team composed of C. C. Painter, Chris Brandt, Frank Myers, Joe Gustafson and S. P. Pearson won first prize by a pull of 1340 pounds as registered by the dynamometer which had been secured for the occasion. The Rozetta Township team took second with a pull of 1250 pounds, Lou Clark, Clint Welch, J. A. Britt, Claude Stubbs and Clarence Woods doing the heavy work. (Long list of foot race results.)
F. D. Baron of Cornell, executive committeeman of the Illinois Agricultural Association, told something of the accomplishments of organized farmers through their county, state and national organizations and made a plea for the assistance of every farmer in Henderson County in carrying on the work…John H. Camlin, President of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, followed with an interesting explanation of the work of his organization. A large amount of effort has lately been expended in locating factories in the smaller centers. Mr. Camlin considers the deep waterway project both through the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi as absolutely essential to the welfare of the Middle West and pledged his organization to assist the movement in every way.
INSPECTORS FIND TOMATO DISEASE: In a tour of the tomato district around Lomax by Farm adviser Walker, assisted by B.L.Weaver of the College of Agriculture, it was found that a number of fields are affected with fusarium wilt, a serious tomato disease…The growers in the Lomax district were much surprised to find their field affected and were much interested in the methods of control outlined by Mr. Weaver. Chief among these is the use of a wilt resistant variety such as Mariglobe which is very satisfactory for all purposes…
Another interest field seen on the tour is that owned by Page Randall who is conducting a fertilizer demonstration. He has plots planted side by side which have received manure, manure and acid phosphate, complete fertilizer and also a check plot which has had no food added. The vines on the well fertilized plots are showing better now and Mr. Randall will keep a record of the yield in order to get a comparison of the different treatments.
CHAUTAUQUA COMING TO TOWN: (In 1926 this how culture arrived in rural areas.) This year’s Chautauqua promises to be a grand success. Already enough tickets have been sold to give fair promise of a nice sum to be added to the new high school gymnasium fund. The program is of the usual Cadmean merit, varied and of the highest quality. It opens Sunday evening, August 22 and closes Thursday evening, August 26th. Afternoon programs start promptly at 3 o’clock and evening entertainments commence at 8 o’clock sharp. The program features DeWillo Concert Party, Charles Mitchell Mixer Co., Ferguson light Opera Sings, Lucille Elmore & Co (Frank Elwood Gordon, brilliant speaker), and The Mixer Players.
RAIDED: Tobias French, a farmer living two miles south of Kirkwood on the Smithshire road, is in jail as the result of a raid conducted by the Warren County officers last Friday. French is charge with illegal possession of intoxicating liquor. It is said the raid yielded 40 gallons of alcohol in five-gallon tins, 48-pint bottles of Sunnybrook whiskey and 24 quarts of whiskies of various brands. (He had quite a business!)
VOTE AGAINST IT! Twenty thousand members of the W.C.T.U. (Women’s Christian Temperance Union) in Illinois have received advice from Miss Helen L. Hood, state president, to ignore the Wet referendum to be placed before the voters of Illinois in November. The referendum, says Miss Hood is futile and unable to accomplish anything even if adopted. The W.C.T.U. in Illinois will follow the national policy of the organization to concentrate its force in the 20,000 cities and towns where it is organized on the single matter of electing dry members of the Senate and House of Representative. (Stronghurst had a group and Blanche Beardsley Keener Galbraith was a member.)
TAX SUPPORTED BANDS NOW LEGAL IN ILLINOIS: Taxation is support of municipal bands and orchestras is now legal in 26 out of 48 states in the Union as shown in a survey by the Conn Music Center at Elhart, Ind. Illinois is among the states that has passed this sort of legislation. Movement for similar legislation are now under way in Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky and New Mexico. Iowa was the first state to pass legislation providing for the support of municipal bands, this being largely due to the influence of Major G. W. Landers of Clarinda, Iowa whose efforts in behalf of this measure in his own and other states has brought him the title, “Father of Band Tax Law.”
NEWS OF THE COUNTY: RARITAN-Wm. Gearhart was operated upon for appendicitis at the Monmouth Hospital. Rev. Little, pastor of the Baptist Church, expects to preach his farewell sermon Sunday morning.
OQUAWKA-Judge J. W. Gordon returned home from a vacation trip through western Kansas. Clifford Essex received the work of putting in the foundation for the new town water tank. The tank will stand 75 feet high and will hold 40,000 gallons of water and will be located just east of the old one. Mr. Essex and his crew of men started on the concrete work. Master Keith Andrews who was taken to Burlington Hospital Sunday morning with a severe attack of appendicitis is somewhat improved and it is thought that they will not have to operate as it was feared at first. The melons are ripening fast now. Great truck loads are being taken from the fields every day. They are large and of a delicious favor this year.
LOCAL AND AREA NEWS: Gerald and Harry Magee are ill with summer flu at the home of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Abe Magee. A. H. Kershaw left for Florida to spend a couple of weeks in looking over that country. Dr. Hoyt of Raritan was a professional caller at the home of Mrs. Addie Cortelyou (now all her neighbors are wondering what is wrong with her). Mrs. Bert Putney of Kernan, Ill. is visiting at the home of her son Ernest and family and will attend the Henderson County Picnic at Media on Tuesday. E. A. Crapnell drove to Muscatine, Iowa to consult an ear specialist. Ed said that Henderson County was not the only place it rained that evening. Mrs. Gear Putney and niece, Miss Grace Putney arrived here from Kansas City, Kans. and expect to attend the Home-coming at Olena on Saturday. Atty. C. E. Fort and wife and Prof. Albert Nicholas and Miss Ethel Seaton of Little York left by auto for a few days’ vacation at Iron Mountain, Mich. Miss Marjorie Thompson entertained a number of friends last Thursday evening at a six o’clock dinner in honor of Miss Sarah McElhinney who will leave soon for Rock Island where she is to be supervisor of art in one of the schools there.
Lester McKeown, who is working at the Knutstrom garage, is suffering with a badly burned hand. Ralph Davies returned from Mazon, Ill. where he has been working on a farm for nearly two months. Upon the day of his return, he left for a three weeks’ vacation trip to Colorado. A. E. Moore received a card from T. C. Knutstrom who with his family are touring the West. He said that three inches of snow fell on Pike’s Peak this week. O. M. Roberts and wife returned from a two weeks’ auto trip to Kansas and Oklahoma with relatives and friends. They visited the 101 Ranch while in Oklahoma. He reports the corn crop badly damaged by hot winds in the section they visited. The P.M.H. Club met at the home of Lawrence Duncan Wednesday afternoon. Mesdames Dodds and Ingerson were the hostesses. A delicious lunch of sherbet, cake and lemonade were served.
Mr. S. P. Dahl enjoyed his aeroplane ride at the Media picnic on Tuesday. Mr. Dahl has ridden across the “big Pond (the ocean),” drove a horse and buggy, rode in an auto but thinks the air is the smoothest sailing he has ever tried. The pilot said he was the oldest passenger he had ever taken with him in any of his flights. Mr. and Mrs. James Mathers and son Robert returned from a three weeks’ auto tour of the East. They saw Niagara Falls, visited in New York and Washington, D.C., and took in the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. They report the exposition is noty et complete and that it will probably be some time before that is true. The local telephone operators enjoyed a picnic supper at the tourist’s camp at Crapo Park and later went to the Rialto theatre for entertainment. Those present were Mr. Elmo Yeoman, “Chuck” Davis, Mr. and Mrs. Drewis Kern, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gilliland, Misses Ethel Jenkins, Blanche Sullivan, Sarah Shaw, Hazel Stine and Roberta Denum. Lyman Taylor who has been bedfast for several weeks at the Shook rooming house, is able to be out of the house some now, but he walks pretty feeble yet. Hartquist Brothers lost a valuable steer by lightning. The animal was insured in the Farmer’s Mutual and the loss was settled the same day.
HENDERSON COUNTY BEEVES A FEATURE OF THE CHICAGO MARKET: Corzatt Bros. of Media made an outstanding sale of fat heifers at the Chicago market on August 10th when they cashed two loads at $10.50 per hundredweight, which was a high top on stock of this kind. The shipment numbered 49 head and averaged 786 pounds, being not only very heavy but notably smooth and thick meated.
The beeves were Southwestern branded Herefords which had been on the usual cornbelt feed for the past eight months. Although the sale was reported as having been made in competition with many light shipments of she-stuff in days run of 12,000 head, it was nearly $1.00 per cwt. above any other of its kind and only 35 cents under the extreme price paid for steers. It was considered by the market experts as being the best sale of heifers in some weeks, which is a compliment to the Corzatt Bros.
AEROPLANE BURNS: The LaHarper of last week bears an account of the destruction by fire of an aeroplane from the Lomax School of Aviation while taking up passengers at LaHarpe Saturday evening, August 7th. The plane was about three hundred feet in the air when the pilot sensed the danger and a speedy, but safe landing, was made at once. He and his two passengers had barely time to leave the machine before it burst into flames and was totally destroyed.
CARMAN CONCERNS: The Misses Celia Coffman, Marjorie Dannnenberg, and Edith Lord were Dallas City goers to take an examination in music which was held by Martin Bruhl of Burlington. Jake Cargill of Texas is visiting among relatives and friends. Mr. Paul Pendry was united in marriage to a Burlington girl on Tuesday at 1 p.m. and went on their honeymoon to Chicago the same afternoon.
OBITUARY- WM. W. PENDRY-Funeral services for Wm. W. Pendry who died at the Burlington Hospital Saturday night a 8 o’clock were conducted by Rev. J. B. Sible at the Carman Church Tuesday A.M. at 10 o’clock. Mr. Pendry was 65 years old and had been a patient at the hospital for about 2 months. He was born on December 25, 1860 on a farm two miles north of Carman where he lived until just a short time ago. He resided in Carman. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Cora Pendry, two daughters: Mrs. Fred Leiser of Carman and Mrs. Earl Bennington of Alton, Ill.; two sons-Wm. Pendry, Jr. of Carman and Paul Pendry of Burlington. On step son, Clyde Mead of Oquawka, and five grandchildren survive him.
BIGGSVILLE BRIEFS: Mrs. Carrie Graham returned home from a two weeks’ visit with her son Frank and wife at Bushnell. The Christian Endeavor Society of the Presbyterian Church enjoyed a lawn party last Thursday evening at the home of Miss Gladys Edwards east of town. L Japanese lanterns furnished the decorations and light. A program of track and literary events was enjoyed by the company present. Fred Anderson recently purchased the C. C. West residence in the east part of town.
LOMAX LINGERINGS: John Clark who has been quite sick for several weeks does not improve. Mrs. Mary Love and children left for their home at Ashdown, Ark. after a few weeks’ visit with home folks. Geo. Roth and wife are preparing to move to Missouri where they will make their future home. Ed Cluff of Longdale, Okla. and his son Ted of Omaha, Nebr. are here repairing their farm buildings and making calls among their old-time friends. Lomax Airway Co. will put on one of their air circus next Friday. With favorable weather stunts will be pulled off. Born to Wm. Bradford and wife Aug. 16th a daughter.
MEDIA RECORD IN GRAPHIC: HENDERSON COUNTY BIBLE SCHOOL-The Henderson County Bible School Convention will take place at Media United Church August 24. An interesting and instructive program has been arranged at which time reports will be given by different Sunday School superintendents and teachers of the county. Delegates are expected to register at 9 o’clock in the morning. Visitors will bring basket dinners and the Media ladies will serve supper at Wever Lake.
ROAD TO HARD ROAD: The road from Raritan north to Media Township line is oiled. State aid roads go under supervision of the county on Sept. 1st of this year. However, the road straight north of Media to the hard road is not state aid road. Why can’t we gravel the worst of this road through the creek bottom? There are many farmers who will donate a week’s work hauling gravel and also help to oil this road. There was a day when the saying,“If you build a better mouse trap than anyone else, the world will make a beaten path to your door.” That may still be true, but today you must also pave the path.