Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 34, Number 177, Decatur, Adams County, 27 July 1936 — Page 25

1836 - 1936

s of V Century In Mams County

CITY IS NAMED FOR STEPHEN DECATUR

evelopmentJJf Agriculture In County Detailed

intv Agent Outlines togress Made In Past, ’oints To Problems )f Farmer Today By L. E. ARCHBOLD County Agricultural Agent) is a growing appreciation he part of both rural and titpeople of their interdependand need for co-operative effThe jointly planned CentenCelebration is tangible evie of this kind of thinking. ie hundred years ago our rich cultural lamp was largely a led area. Such rural homes as ii existed were largely on u self lining basis. Clothing was spun; meats were home d homes were hand made i the logs at hand; in fact, ex- ' tor salt, gun powder, lead.; iron, the rural population was ; contained. adually. as the years passed, picture changed, until at the ent time, the farmer is the prof of raw materials that are eesed in our cities and towns, the earlier days, preparation . the soil, planting, harvesting, the breeding of live stock was Iby a rule of thumb methods. ( jtaily it became apparent that cientific approach should be v e to tnese many and varied dems. To meet this need the till Land Grant Act was passin 1862. Under this and subseit acts were established our I grant colleges, experiment ions, and extension services as know them today. First Institute hr earliest form of extension I Ike was the Farmers' Insti- ; Records indicate that the first Hers' Institute in Adams Counwas organized in Berne more! I forty years ago. Today Bev- 1 Farmers' Institute organizaare functioning in Adams tty: Union. Root, Kirkland, roe. St. Marys. Hartford Town-1 s. and Berne. Gradually people ■ in to feel that one meeting a r in which new methods of culture were discussed was not, ugh. In 1915 Congress passed | Smith-Lever Extension Act. th permitted the setting up of tent county agent work to "conof the giving of instructionj , practical demonstrations in 1 Mture and home economics ■ Persons not attending or rest-I tin said colleges in the several j Bumties, and imparting to k persons information on said lects through field demonstra- • publications, and otherwise; this work shall be carried on •och maner as may be mutualfreed upon by the Secretary of ktilture and the State agriculII college or colleges receivthe benefits of this act.” * County Agent’s office was "P in Adams County in the “pc of 1915. a matter of "»■ the work at that time was personal; in the meantime, t ' le var * 0u s projects become well organized, unty Program Committee Adams County Agricultural « ra ® Committee — namely: A W. Busche, Benjamin D. ln George M. Krick, County Wntendent C. E. Striker, and * Agent Archbold — point"that agriculture In the JL’’ uite diversified and rec--Brthat ln setting up the w our7 iD . ch ' de as man y PhaSur People's activities and in- “ as p °nsible. They pointed ty his gave a greater possiiehin» reaC h |ng the moßt People- ' more people would give Et p' l ° PPOrtUnity t 0 Bell the m n Bon ideas and methods. pointed out that du,’ ? ,llatntainin g or ad--1 homo ~J >reßent status in farm ® aj ” fe Upended primarily ' nta »ung or increasing soil pr °ductivity. They HI m , d ttlat as the foundaaud u° r activity we push limlg lwdn SUmeß ' Our ma J° r teed rk that w C °, r 1 n ' they suggested ids ano ° U d tend to increase H a fonnd 6 ? 06 qUalit y- As res an , dation stoik of brood 1 stable horses, and the < ,O h go °d work stock is inthey recommended that

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Agriculture Lawrence E. Archbold Lawrence. E. Archbold. Adajns county agricultural agent, is general chairman of agricultural exhibits during the Decatur Centennial. In addition, Mr. Archbold haw written an interesting history of rural Adams county. the Gold Medal Colt Club work be given every opportunity to develop. “The committee, realizing that farming is an activity built largely around the home and family, recommended that the women's projects he given every possible inducement for growth and development. They further recommended that boys’ and girls' club work be built somewhat along the lines j of adult interests.” Adams County Crop Improvement Association 1 Heeding the recommendations 1 of the Program Committee that we do some work that would tend to increase the corn yields and feed- : ing quality and feeling the need of an organization to help handle agronomy programs, the Agent on February 26 asked the following '■ men to meet with M. O. Pence, a--1 gronomy specialist, and himself: ' Otto Hoile, Victor Bleeke, John E. Heimann, and John Schenck of Decatur; Benjamin D. Mazelin and Franklin C. Mazelin of Berne; LeI land Ripley of Monroe, and Ralph S. Myers and Harve Ineichen of . Geneva. In the discussion with these men 1 it was decided to set up an organI ization known as the Adams Counity Crop Improvement Association; |so that any agronomy problems could be handled in an organized way. It was decided that the county would be divided into four districts: the first district to contain Preble, Root, and Union townships, the second, Kirkland, Washington, and St. Marys: the third, French, Monroe, and Blue Creek; and the fourth. Hartford, Wabash and Jefferson. The following officers of the association were elected: Benjamin D. Mazelin. president; Otto Hoile, vice-president; and John E. Heimann, secretary-treasurer. Upon the suggestion of the Agronomy Specialist they decided on three major lines of work for the current . year; namely: the Five-Acre Corn Club Project, Four Heads Livestock 9 H. P. Schmitt H. P. Schmitt is general chairman of all livestock exhibits Tor the Centennial. Plans are being made to hold the most elaborate livestock show ever held in Decajtur, including dairy cattle and horses.

Centennial Edition

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Distinguished Record Made By Late R. K. | Erwin, Local Jurist ’ ■ From a farm in Union town : ' | ship, Adams County, -o Chief 11 j Justice of the Supreme Court 11 | of Indiana was the record made I | by the late Richard K. Erwin, j | in his rather brief span or life, | | a leader of men because of | i great natural ability. He was born July 11, 1860, j ; | educated in the township I ' | schools and later in Methodist | | college at Fort Wayne. Admit- | | to the bar here, his ability was | j at once recognized and he be- } | came active in politics. He was | | elected to the legislature and I | served with much credit, wid- I | ening hI s acquaintance and ! | making a reputation as an ora- I ■ | tor. In 1900 he was elected judge ■ | of the 26th judicial circuit and | after retiring, located in Fort 1 | Wayne where he practiced un- | tfl 1912 when he was elected | [ to the supreme court. Three ' | years later he became chief l | justice and held that position j | until his death a year or two | i later. |l The Erwin family is one of | | the oldest of this county, the j | grandfather of Judge Erwin i | coming here as a young man. j He was born in Pennsylvania I i | in 1788 and was among those I | who produced a farm from the | Hoosier wilderness. David Er- I win, father of the judge was 1 | born in 1817 and also knew | many of the hardships of pion- j | eering. Judge fTlwin married ) ' Luella A. Wass, daghter of one 11 the best known Union township | ( families, and to them were born | | three sons and two daughters. I I A brother, Dore B. Erwin, lat- I' I er also became judge of the Ad- j | ams circuit court and another ! brother, Daniel served two [ terms as sheriff. Corn Variety tests to be carried on under the direction of the Agronomy Department, and sponsor ; a beys' one-acre corn club. Through their efforts thirty mem-; bers were enrolled to do five-acre work. The table on page 26 indicates the names of the contestants who finished and medal awards: : One year’s work in a project do- 1 es not furnish a basis from which j to draw definite conclusions, but the indications are that the best ; yields with open pollinated strains I are obtained where a man has foil- ■ owed the recommended practices (Continued On Page 26)

Story Os Sixteen Other Towns Bearing Name Os Decatur Told By Newspaper Columnist For Decatur Daily Democrat ~ Indiana City Ranks Third In Population

HERE THEY ARE 1. Decatur, 11l 57,000 2. Decatur, Ala 16,000 3. Decatur. Ind 6,000 4. Decatur, Ga 6,000 5. Decatur, Tex 2,205 6. Decatur, Mich 1,270 7. Decatur, Neb 657 8. Decatur, Ark. 424 9. Decatur. Miss. 319 10. Decatur, la 300 11. Decatur. 0 297 12. Decatur, Tenn 265 13. Decatur, Wash 57 14. Decatur, Va 53 15. Decatur, Ky. 40 16. Decatur, Mo. 17. Decatur, Pa. Decaturville, Tenn 315 Decaturville, Mo 50 (Editor’s Note: The author of this story has written the same type of feature for 107 big city dailies, from coast to coast in the past year. He is a former columnist on the Macona, Ga., Telegraph and News.) By KEN KIMBEL Mr. and Mrs. Indiana Decatur, I x%gnt you to meet your family, the 16 other Decaturs that dot the map from Pennsylvania to Washington and south to Texas. Maybe you have never heard of them—with the exception of Decatur, 111., but you can bet your boots that they have heard of you, read with special interest news accounts from the city and all respect Decatur in Indiana for the progress you have made. Ninety-three thousand persons live in Decatur, but only 7,000 make their home in Indiana. The others are found in our many name double towns. The clerks in our local postoffice

Decatur, Indiana, Monday July 27, 1936.

Commodore Stephen Decatur ... ■■.- A ''4. ! v Above is a likeness of Commodore Stephen Decatur, one of the most inspiring and picturesque figures in American history, for whom Decatur was named. The article by Arthur R. Holthouse elsewhere on this page gives many of the interesting highlights in the eventful life of the patriotic hero —facts which every Decaturite should be familiar with and take pride in knowledge.

know all about 14 of the others for we are always getting their mail. It is rubber-stamped, "Missent to Decatur, Ind..” and put back on the train to travel to this or that other Decatur for which it was intended. But, you want to know something about your name-sakes, so let me tell you: One of these Decaturs is completely owned by two men and was founded by a man from Decatur, Illinois. Another Decatur is located on Decatur Island, one of the San Juan group over which England and the United States almost went to war. The Decatur in lowa is 60 miles

south of Des Moines, with a population of only 300, the Burlington > railroad calls it “Decatur City.” Decatur Man Starts One Missouri has a Decatur in Cole county in the very center of the state, but there is no postoffice, • and no population is listed for it. i Its mail comes from Russelville. Older people in the little hamlet . believe that the name of the place was given in by a Mr. Pratt who came from Decatur, 111., about 80 . years ago and built a water-power corn mill there. Missouri also has a “Decaturville” about 25 miles south of its Decatur. Its population is now about 50 persons. It has a postofflce

two general stores and two corn mills. Decatur, Neb., with a population of 657, is 18 miles from the nearest railroad. It is about 55 miles north of Omaha in Burt county. Ohio's representative in the 17 cities is in Brown county, 50 miles east of Cincinnati, and 10 miles north of the Ohio river. Its population is 297, and it is eight miles from a railroad. Another ‘‘Ville.” Tennessee’s Decatur is 10 miles over the mountains to the nearest railroad, half-way between Chattanooga and Knoxville. The county seat of Meigs county, it has no (Continued On Page 28)

SECTION FOUR

Account Details Highlights, Events In Hero’s Career

Congratulates “A Great City” j, •• . ’ w WRP* Hll!! Sen. Frederick Van Nuys ‘‘The services of a community are not measured by its population but by the spirit of those who reside within it,” says Frederick Van Nuys in a letter to Mayor Arthur R. Holthouse, published in full elsewhere on this page. He states that Decatur ranks as one of the great cities of our state. SAYS DECATUR - IS GREAT CITY Senator Van Nuys Points To Significance Os City As Cultural Center Pointing out the significance of Decatur as a center of cultural and communal activities for the surrounding territory, "Senator Frederick Van Nuys, of Indiana, in a letter to Mayor Arthur' R. Holthouse, congratulates Decatur upon the Centennial occasion. “Decatur ranks as one of the great cities of our state" says Senator Van Nuys.” The Senator's letter in full follows: June 25th, 1936

Dear Mayor Holthouse: I desire to join with the people of our State in congratulating the I citizens of Decatur upon the foundi ing of your community. Decatur, for the past hundred [ years, has served as a center of I the cultural and communal activities for the surrounding territory: and it is communities such as Decatur where are fostered the staunch pioneer and American spirit which has made our Nation what it is. The growth of our small cities is a picture of the growth of the United States. The services of a community are not measured by (Continued On Page 30) Free Acts ii ; J L /js** B1 * '* Herman J. Yager Horman J. Yager of Yager Bros, furniture store, is chairman of the free act committee for Decatur’s . j Centennial. The committee has ob- ,' tained three outstanding acts to ..perfor mduring the entire celebraI tion.

Civic, Religious, Social, Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural

Brilliant Naval Officer Never Lost A Battle In Eventful And Short Life By ARTHUR R. HOLTHOUSE Commodore Stephen Decatur, for whom Decatur was named, is one of the most gallant heroes in American naval history and author of one of the most stirring patriotic phrases ever coined. Hero of the battle of Tripoli, commander of the ship “United States, in the war of 1812 and the man responsible for the establishing of commerce in the Mediter- ] ranean. Commodore Decatur is al- ' so equally famous for his Toast: “Our Country. In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be right; but our country, , right or wrong.” It was at a banquet in Norfolk, Virginia, in April, 1815, where Decatur spoke these words, leaving I to the world a keynote of an ideal I that made him one of the most | famed characters in naval and AmI erican history. Admired By Rugg The fame and popularity of Decatur, was known to Samuel Rugg, ■ a native of New York state, who ; came to Indiana in 1832 and wax I dominant force in the founding of i our town and the naming of it in i 1936. Then too, human nature was ■ about the same one hundred years I ago as it is today—there were hero 1 worshippers—and Decatur, in all t probability was Rugg's hero, so a new village found itself named) | tor him. The Mentor Magazine, in a biography of Decatur, gives some i very interesting facts of his life. The father of Stephen Decatur, also named Stephen, was a native ' of Newport, R. 1., and a captain in the United States navy. Stephen Decatur, Jr., was born at Sinnepuxent, Maryland, on January 5, 1779. He entered the American navy as a midshipman in 1798 on board the frigate United States. A I year later he was promoted to lieuI tenant and in that rank saw ser- , vice) in the short war with France. In 1801 Decatur sailed as first | lieutenant of the Essex, one of , Commodore Dale's squadron to the Mediterranean. As a result of a , duel with a British officer —wffich I resulted fatally for the Englishman —Decatur was sent home sot 1 a time. In 1803 he was back in the i Mediterranean in command of the . Enterprise. He distinguished himself almost immediately. Congress Thanks Decatur Conceiving the daring idea of recapturing or destroying the frigate Philadelphia, which had been captured by pirates and lay in the I harbor of Tripoli, in February, 18i 04, he manned a little boat called the Intrepid, with seventy volun- | teers and braving the enemy, he reached the Philadelphia, set it afire and got away, with the loss of only one man. For this gallant achievement Congress voted Decatur thanks and a sword. He was also commissioned a captain. Decatur was engaged in all the attacks on Tripoli from 1804 to 1805. In the war of 1812 the ship which he commanded, the United States, captured the British yessel, Macedonian, after a desperate struggle. In 1813 he was appointed commodore to command a squadron in New York harbor, which was blockaded by the British. In 1813 he attempted to get to sea to break the blockade with the United States, the Hornet and the Macedonian, which had been by this time converted into an American ship. A superior British squadron forced Decatur to run into the Thames, and he lay off New London for several months. He sent a challenge to the commander of the blockading squadron to come on and fight, but the challenge was not accepted. Unable to get to sea. two of the ships were dismantled, and Decatur returned to New York, where he took command of a squadron destined for the East Indies. In the frigate President he put to sea on January 14, 1815. The blockading British squadron pursued the ship, and after a desperate run(Continued On Page 30)