Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 21, Number 176, Decatur, Adams County, 26 July 1923 — Page 4

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT Published Every Evening Except Sunday by THE DECATUR DEMOCRAT CO. J. H. Heller—Pres and (len. Mgr. E. W. Kampe-Vice-Pres. * Adv. Mgr A. R. Holthouse—Bec'y and Bus. Mgr. Entered at the Poetoffice at Decatur, ludlaua, as second class matter, Subscription Rates Single copies 2 cents One Week, by carrier 10 cents One Year, by carri-r s fl 90 One Month, by mall 35 cents Three Months, by mail SI.OO Hix Months, by mall »>'» One Year, by mall One Year, at office »' ,(H (Prices quoted are within first and second sones. Additional postage ad ded outside those tones.) Advertising Rates Made known on application. Foreign Representatives Carpenter & Company. 122 Michigan Avenue, Chicago Fifth Avenue Bldg., New York City N. Y. Life Building. Kansas City. Mo. SOME PROBLEMS: — The following is from the Philadelphia Public Ledger, an old partisan republican paper: "Republican state and national committeemen and party workers meeting In the third of a series of Regional qonferences in Chicago Thursday came to the conclusion that the big party problem is that of dealing with blocs, groups and factions within the party. Enough leaked from the executive sessions to indicate a genuine fear of the rising radical tide in the midwest and northwest. It was borne in upon the minds of these Repuiblicans from seven states —lllinois, Missouri, Ohio, lowa, Nebraska. Kansas and Michigan—that the farmer is more than disgruntled. He is "sore” to the bone, as sore as a

mashed thumb or a bone felon, and is in a mood to rally to almost any standard through spite. The day the conference met wheat was selling below $1 a bushel for the first time in eight years. Hogs, around 11 cents in July a year ago, are no better than 7% cents now. Beef cattle may be a half cent higher in an uncertain market. Corn is up 20 cents over July, 1922, but the hogs, in which that corn goes to market as pork on the hoof uie down. The states hardest hit by a slumping market are the old Republican states of the upper valley. The strongest Republican argument for 1924 is that of a general prosperity. The farmer is not prosperious and knows it. With wheat returning less than the cost of production, talk of prosperity in the wheat states of Minnesota, the Dakotas, Nebraska, lowa, Illinois and Kansas has a hallow ring. These are all old line Republican states. In most of the seven states represented at Chicago that Republicanism is being tainted with a generous tincture of farm-born radicalism. While the rest ot the nation is prosperous the farmer is not. He is the Republican problem in the midwest and the northwest for 1924. With the farmer still paying ‘ wat prices" for almost everything he buys, his selling prices are the fly in the ointment of Republican prosperity arguments. The Republican job is to convince him that prosperity is coming, slowly, possibly, but surely, to the fields and feed pens. It is the farmet’s grouch that gives body anil subsUince to the radicalism and blocs of the upper valley.

This is the big day of the fair.

Thousands of the people of this and adjoining county and many from a distance are enjoying the wonderful program. We are sure you will all have a fine time for there Is much to see and you just can't hardly do it in one day. We hope you all like it so well you come back tomorrow and help make the finish a real one. The programs day and night are just as fine as they can be and we are willing to risk your judgment it you go and see for yourself. We extend n hearty welcome to all our visitots and we know they will be well treated by tii ir nu nnf on ent. A iei <'c'ituiin'ia 'n Dmatur would bring Hundreds ol folks here fnd every one o£ them would 'go

away with « kindly fooling for those who made it possible. Isn t that a good way to make a city popular? There are many real features about a free chautauqua ami a little interest manifested right now would assure It for next year. In the meantime don't tail to attend the Decatur Chautauqua next week. Its a wonderful program uud you will enjoy ’very afternoon and evening. Try It and see. A lot filled with weeds shows that some one is not taking the proper interest in his community. Let's < |ean them out of the way now and save a lot of trouble next month. By the way, there is an ordinance on the weed problem and it must be enforcedCut the weeds. Don't wait until tin y have gone to seed and every one in the neighborhood is mad about it. The People’s Voice Darwin linyo County. California July 10. 1923 The Decatur Democrat: A few weeks ago I wrote a letter, giving you some of my early recollections of old Decatur. I have been surprised over the interest expressed in these recollections; not only through my sisters and brothers in Decatur, but through letters. Some letters came from quite unexpected sources—all from native Decaturites. some living in other States—and 1 thank them for this expressed interest. 1 have been ■ waiting, hoping qtlter "children" of that period d’Oultl voice their recollections, but there is a great silence. Therefore I will begin another memory letter to you. hoping it will again give some one pleasure in reading it, by recalling the days of long ago. I finished about the old Nuttman and Crawford store corner. I will begin with the next building south. Remember, all the buildings on the east side of Main street (as it was then called) were frame, and you ascended a few steps from the sidewalk to enter the doors. The three

first buildings south of the corner were owned by Jonathan Houston, an eccentric individual. Honest and upright, but in the words of “Piggotty” "a little near.” In fact he was one of the characters of the town, and many stories of self denial are told about him. He really was a miser. Living miserably in an upstairs back room in one of his store buildings, freezing in winter, broiling in summer, eating the cheapest food he could find and of the poorest quality because he could buy it for a few cents less than the best. They used to say he bought cracked eggs because they were the cheapest of the cheap, but when he bought sound eggs, he had a board with a hole in it he carried to the store, and he would not accept an egg that would go through the hole in hig board.. He was humored in this as eggs usually sold for ten cents la dozen, and in the summer would often drop to five cents a dozen and remain at that price through “dog days.” Jonathan Houston was honest and upright in all things. He paid in cash for everything he used. It was himself he was hard and ungenerous with. He was always scrupulously clean. While the townspeople laughed "over his idiosyncrasies, they always treated him with respect recognizing sterling qualities they admired under his stingy traits. As a little child 1 refliember seeing him with his wheelbarrow picking up sticks and small boards from the streets and alleys and wheeling them to his room for stove wood. This, when the very best hickory, oak and ash wood, sawed and split for the stove, sold from $1.25 per cord to $2.00. In later years he owned some store rooms in Fort Wayne. He reserved some sort of a place |> sleep, in the back part, and 1 know there are a number of people living in Decatur now, who remember seeing Jonathan get off or on the Giand Rapids train to or from Fort Wayne, with two hig carpet sacks full of pieces of wood that he was carrying to the room he would occupy for the next few weeks. It would be a shame to refer to • these things were he living, but he j passed to the Great Beyond many , years ago. and leaves no relatives in the city, county or state, to be grieved or humiliated by these references ti unique character who did his part in the building of early Decatur, and as one of our pioneer tills, us he -el >nu in my iefte . | I do not know what businesses ocI cupied the ground floor of the Hous'(ton buildings originally. The earliest

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT, THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1923.

I remember was when Frank Miesse had a grocery in the first, veom south of Nuttman & Crawfords store, and then in the expression of that time, I was "a good sized chunk of a girl." The second Moor contained offices, doctors and lawyers, and the third floor the rooms of tbe Odd Fellows lodge. This was the only three story building in town, and the third story was built especially- tor the Odd Fellows. 1 do not know the date of the lodge organisation, but it was In the fifties at least. My parents were enrolled among the charter members. The second and third buildings had no center partition on the second floor, making one big room called •■Houston's Hall." Here the larger festivities of the village were held. Church festivals, oyster suppers, ice cream festivals and occasionally a "ball." but of the latter I know nothing except the name. But I remember the names of some of the belles and beaux of that period, and of later ai..o. And let me tell the young people of this day. they have nothing better in beautiful clothes according to this day and age. than the young people of that day bad. Some time I will write and tell you about the

SE R 1 C E .& II ‘ K|fl II I I II II Announcement 11 I I The Studebaker Corporation America, is pleased to announce to g | I I its customers, friends, and the public generally, its complete line of new g S I 1924 Model Studebaker Cars I1 I Avoiding the superlatives frequently used in automobile advertisements, the , | f ? Corporation desires to faithfully state the farts concerning these cars and the ? reasons why the public should buy them. I THE CARS almost ideal manufacturing conditions. In our judgment, it C-? f . , . , ~ , stands out as the greatest value and the closest approach to Q H , In , d t eS,sn ’ 2 Ua! ‘ ty ° f ma ‘ ena,s ’ stan f of Y orkmanshl P’ ynechanical nerfection in moderate priced cars yet produced. jt durability, refinements, performance, freedom from repairs, and price, the Studebaker 1924 Model Cars are distinctly the ' THE REASONS WHY greatest intrinsic values the Corporation has ever offered, ‘ s3*l Every improvement the sc/dy and of which have . With $»,000,000 of actual and $45i. 000.000 invested j ill been verified by engineering fcsts is embodied in these new care, 4n P lants ' Studebaker has ample physical facilities to manufacc| k S * ure mos t economically. The Eig-Six Studebaker' s org nization oi manufacturing executives, cn- & "X THE BIG-SIX LINE comprises four models, mounted OU gineers, metallurgists, chemists, inspectors, and skilled mechanics J the standard 126-inch chassis with 60 H. P. 3"sxs inch motor: - i s second to none in the industry. The design of Studebaker 7-passenger Touring Car - $1750 5-passenger Coupe -$3550 cars and the workmanship upon them conform to the highest 5-passenger Speedster - $1835 7-passenger Sedan - principles of engineering standards and mechanical practice ail pru',j o. tjixiory known to the industry. Refinements and a few minor mechanical changes.have been’ B HK m made in the Big-Six, which his established an Ea ile record Befit oi Alfiterials Used S for five years. Ourlarge production accounts for its low price, l Studebaker cars contain the/ncsl fredes of iron. J $ ■ It is a car of the highest grade, comparable to thcflest aceel, aluminum, tires, electrical equipment, glass, bearings, etc. || gS • ■ Th e Special-Six etter materials for automobile manufacture exist. Sheet || Tiircrrrni ctvirwr • , ii a aluminum has but one-third the tensile strength of sheet steel, I .* .-«leon«que M l y ..S tu <l c b.ke,u sts .b« t! , t d f „ iubxl ic,. j ■ , On the standard 1 17-mch chassis with 50 H.ft 3j/jxs meh motor: 1 2-passcnger Roadster - $1325 5-passcnger Coupe - $1975 , ®^, the manufacture of drop forgings, castings, stampings U’. 1 t I 5-passcnger Touring Car - $1350 5-passenger Sedan - $2050 the machining, assembling and finishing of motors, axles, « j K frames, transmissions, bodies, tops, etc., and the consequent BH Isa ■ 1 Radiator, hood. cowl, and body changes have been made in • ® Um “ ation of middlemen’s profits, coupled with lower over* 1 fl t the Special-Six, with minor mechanical changes and refine- head factory costs per car arising from quantity production and " rr.ents in the chassis. The Special-Six has for five successive *° W conu « e 7 ,al «»nses Studebakers costs are kept at an t years added luster to the name STUDEBAKER. It is one of low point possible of attainment only by manufa’c- / < g the most satisfactory and finest cars on the market, ft is a» with nhysnal and financial resources. H good in every respect as she Big-Six, except that it isomalles;, it n . and costs less to produce, and therefore sells for less., • Bodies Unexcelled f . «. The bodies of Studebaker cars are not excelled in quality of i 1 ”• -MgnVOUI materials and craftsmanship, by any cars on the market. The iM ■ F THE LIGHT-SIX LINE comprises four models, irtbuntedon Coupe and Sedan closed bodies are magnificent examples of ' ® 3 the standard 112-inch chassis with 40 H.P. 3 inch motor: the coach builder's art. ® O 3-passenger Roadster - $975 2-pass. Coupe-Roadster-$1225 __ . _ \ 5-passenger Touring Car - $995 5-passenger Sedan - S!SSQ Merit vV ins J 1 fl The sales of Studebaker cars for the past six years have shown n . No body or mechanical changes except refinements have each and every year a progressive increase. 81,880 cars were g been made in the Light-Six. Over 130,000 Li</ht-Sixes have sold in the first six months of 1923 as against 60,053 for the been produced 5n the new, modern Studebaker same period last year. Only products of merit can make such plant at South Bend, Indiana, under most economical arad growth. v The Studebaker Corporation of America J A* R. Erskine, President II H. F. KITSON GARAGE li 116 S * lst St Phone 772 ■' . , 1- _ ’ HI THIS IS A STUDEBAKER YEAR 111

amusements and dress of that early, early Decatur. I think It will surprise some of you. But now I must return to Main street. Succeeding Frank Miesse in the first Houston building, was Funke’s Dry Goods store, and 1 do not rememi|xr what succeeded them; but that Is getting down near the time 1 went uway to college and there are many in Decatur who remember from that time on. 1 cannot remember what business was in the next room. I think Mrs. Pierce had a Millinery store. Lou Simcoke had a dentist office upstairs. 1 remember the white oblong sign, with black letters (and a set ot false teeth paiuted small, in one corner) swinging above (he side walk, under the board awning. Then came Sam Bollman's Drug stme. That was the center ot the town's activities, as it housed the post office too. The stages started from here also, and there always seemed to be some one coining or going from Bollman's drug store. It was a sort of headquarters, too, for tbe doctors. I used to like to saunter past, rolling my eyes to see all I could, when going to Nuttman's store on an errand. Occasionally I was

fuge. or live rents worfh or two MOD ffwH 11 remove some fruil stato-an-M rnhtfr a* lone white I gaxed fascinated through the glass show Tase,^t’tM> l^9'>W 1 !? n ‘‘ y soaps, bOt*W ®f was quite a lot o? perfumed hair oil sold in tlwaeJi»’’»n,Ml.* )t M thut bad a fasdnaW for n 1 forgot Houston Miesse s grocery and Bolhnan'a, drujj ( storenow 1 am mixed! I,cannot, her whether m»r.tb or SOWth of the drug store, ° was Burn's harness thop. In those days jjfllr, bridles, hdlters,' saddles, etc., were made by hand These were, many ladies’ saddles jnade, is they were quite comnionlyiused.; My very ffurltest rtwollections of the post office was Rested in the rear of Sant-, Bollnian’s drug store and 1 think Mr- Benjamin Blossom the postmaster.,, fhiWren were never allowed t<| go ,to lh,e ; post offiqe except oil St. Valentine Day, and.t'ben we called irdqi fo’iir to six times that daf’to inqqbv there Was any’mail fcruia. - Before

"" S ' ‘"’'j I ',. '.hT’aud'w'' would have gone the last W • gqing to bed If Parental discipline had not prevented. Th- »r«, .!■>«■ »“ t,y ’ .......... - ~,..1..... x ..... d..k dews on each side doors. Symbol of a drug .-tor j „ much as the big oval at ‘J edge of ...nine 8±” : ,Ü big bSk U rs; and a pestle and mortar screwed to the top -sign of an apothecary's shop. In those days the' colored bottles and tlu . nlO rtar and pestle (often painted on the sign) were the symbols o a drug store, jink as a wooden Indian was the tobacconist's sign, and the read and white striped barber pole that of the barber. The post office was where the big stages stopped and left off mail and small packages. I used to like to go on an errand to the store “when the stage was due. Os course, this could only be in the sunimor when the stage got in by daylight. The Feit Wayne stages werp big leathern affairs, swung on heavy springs, usually heavily coated 1

with mud. Behind was a big "boot” where the baggage was curried un <| strapped in- Spring and fall when thu roads were very bad, the st a g w was often very late getting | n . r Starting soon after daylight from Ft. Wayne, it would often he eight in the evening before it reached Decatur. George Fetlek and Wiu. Blackburn drove the hack for years but I do not know much about It. I remember when "t’harlie" Miller drove the St. Marys hack to St. Marys, Ohio, ft was tri weekly. Since thinking it over, there must have 45een a double hack line to Decatur from Fort Wayne, as it was impossible to go and return the tame day. It must have been Fetick one day, and Black burn the next. Who knows the straight of this? Next to the post office came Meiber’s store, a double room Z I believe, dry goods and groceries. Years later it became "Gasts store,” Mrs. Gast and her son. Lewis. Then next south was the Meibers home, as 1 mentioned in a former letter, formally the Fetick Hotel. This brings me to the alley, and a good place to bring this letter to a close. Elizabeth Studabaker Morrison.