Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 26, Number 213, Decatur, Adams County, 8 September 1928 — Page 36

Editor's note: The following interesting story is reprinted from the files of the Daily Democrat: (By French Quinn) The other evening, Judge J. T Merryman and the writer were driving over our own beautiful town and had pretty well covered every street, when we parked the machine and commented upon the improvements that we had noted and the changes that had taken place during the many years of our residence here. The beauty of the homes, the well kept lawns, the landscape and other gardening. the miles of modern pavements, the excellent lighting system, our public buildings, the municipal plant, the factories, old and new, all came in for review and while it may be true that the judge and the writer may have been happily prejudiced yet the sum total of our comments were that our beloved town was a mighty fine place and that congratulations were due its citizens, living and dead, who had made it all possible. During the conversation the writer asked the judge what in his opinion —taking the town as a whole in one mental picture—was the most striding thing in the picture? Promptly

f i The Mutschler Packing Co. Offers aready Cash Market to the livestock Raisers in this Territory / x..-. Lifc MH ■ . '■ / • ? J The Mutschler Packing Company is always in the market for livestock, cattle, sheep, hogs, and we pay the highest market prices. We ask you to get in touch with us or one of our stock buyers or call our office, when you want to sell. ’ Pork and Beef Packers Sausage and Ice Manufacturers Covering a wide territory of about 70 miles square, our fleet of trucks makes daily deliveries of fresh, wholesome meats, cured and prepared in our sanitary and modern plant, under government inspection and in the individual Mutschler way. ' < Our organization joins in extending a welcome to the Old Home Week visitors. FOR THE BEST OF MEA TS MUTSCHLER’S. /

How Decatur Got Her Shade Trees

came the aimwer,"The beautiful maple Hhade trees that line every street.” In our opinion that answer admitted of no convincing negative argument. The shade trees of Decatur ARE beautiful. Every street hae its full quota. The trees seem to be of about the same diameter and age, and that fact was commented on. Promptly again the judge answered, “Do you know who in the main is entitled to the credit for the initiative in this universal tree planting?” The writer admitted his ignorance. "Well, this is the story,” said the judge, “along about the year 1875 Decatur had a couple thousand inhabitants, a good many fair to middling residences and a few very good ones, a host of vacant lots and these residences and vacant lots mixed np indiscriminantly, all her miles of streets wore mud—plain mud —which accounted for The fact that even the lawyers wore boots, miles of so-called sidewalks, made out of boards laid sideways, step on one end and the other end flew up and hit you on teh nose, no street lights—lanterns had a ready market —and every night darkness lay upon the face of the deep and during the day the sun burned over the city for there

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1928.

was no shade save for a few noble forest elms that had still been spared —the slaughter of those- gigantic elms is an almost unforglveablo offense. Such was the Decatur in '75. "Decatur was a town not a city, had a town government, three trustees, a town attorney and a marshal. The Hon. R. S. Peterson at that time was the town attorney. Mr. Peterson was one of the leading lawyers of the town and was a man of vision ami good judgment. He loved the trees; he saw a great lack and he drew up a resolution, presented same to the town trustees, which resolution was afterwards incorporated into a-town orinance, to the effect that all property owners were called upon to plant shade trees in front of their several lots, no matter whether the lots were improved or vacant. Under the lead ership of Mr. Peterson the citizens of the town obeyed this ordinance almost universally and in most instances planted maple trees, although a number of cottonwood trees were set out that ultimately gave way to maple.” The writer insisted to the Judge that that was a most interesting story. We both registered the opinion, which

wo believe most every one will back up, that Judge Peterson had done a most worthwhile thing. Many streets in the towns of New England are bordered by noble elms, the streets of lower California have their palm and eucalyptus, the southern cities have their magnolia but to our mind the maple trees of Indiana have them all beat and our little town ranks high in this regard. It therefore seemed to us that it is a great honor to be the father of such an idea and that Mr. Peterson builded better than he knew and that in ail the years to come these trees should be loved and guarded and remain "a thing of beauty and a joy forever.” Geneva Youth Plans To Attend Wittenberg Clarrell Cl»ew, of Geneva, is among the students receiving permission to i enter Wittenberg College this fall ! Freshmen were, expected to report at the college today and for four days, they will have the campus to themselves and will be entertained, in- I strutted and prepared for their re- ■ spective college careers. Other class- ; men will rJport on Sept. 11. School work will begin on September 13. The college expects to hold its Arts College enrollment to approximately 1,000 students.

VALVE-IN-HEAD / Fp — See The New Line of BUICKS JI J During Old Home Week — at the W. D. Porter Garage North First Street Welcome to Home Comers and Visitors Means Buick Company DECATUR _ INDIANA i * 5 I I Greetings j 3H . — S —■ I’ 1 Jfi E cxten d to you people of Decatur and ’ ’ Adams county a most sincere and friendly ly,greeting on the occasion of your great homecoming celebration. This sentiment, we arc sure, is that of all citizens of Bluffton and Wells Jfi county —your well wishing neighbors. yj £ z *o jfi Our annual Free Street Fair will be held 1 during the last week of this month-from Sept. || 25 to Sept. 29, inclusive. Come to Bluffton pl and enjoy it with us. We welcome you most cordially. ? Jfi I [ ] S' i* i | | Bluffton Evening News j g WELLS COUNTY’S FAVORITE NEWSPAPER | I J