Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 111, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 May 1916 — SOME TOWN, OUR TOWN; JUST LOOK AROUN’ [ARTICLE]

SOME TOWN, OUR TOWN; JUST LOOK AROUN’

Houses are Springin’ From the Groun’ —Folks Are Smilin’, Trees Are 4 Bloomin’; Things On Every ‘ Hand Are Boomin’ Hammers Tappin’, Saws A Buzzin’; Havn’t Got No Time For Fussin’; Aint No Time For Bein’ Tearful When It’s Easy to Be Cheerful; Grab a Rake or Hoe or Somethin’ and Help to Keep These Things a Humpin’. Some town, our town, Have you been around? To see the houses Spring from the groun’? There’s a dozen or more Right near a score To name them all Is quite a chore. And when we get in motion With full devotion, There’ll be many more Is our pet notion.

Some times a fellow just feels like getting right out and singing “Rolla Bola” because he’s so happy. The only trouble we have is that we don’t know the tune and have forgotten the words, but the above jingle suggests our reason for feeling like bursting out in song. Some one said last week that there were a dozen new houses now in course of construction in Rensselaer and that there were some real pretty things about town that it might pay to mention in the newspaper, everybody’s paper, that is, the paper everybody reads and enjoys. Well, we like suggestions and so the editor made a rather hurried trip over town and sighted a few of the evidences of progress. There were some houses well under way, some just getting started, some just being staked off, and others just having the ground cleared preparatory to action. The wheels of industry are grinding and Rensselaer is going to move up a few pegs this year and it is quite sure that it won’t be many years until we will get into the five thousand class, maybe more. The growth is steady, dependable, and it is accompanied by a pride of citizenship that stands out over and above the progress itself, it stamps Rensselaer with an individuality that makes visitors talk about us and causes them to take on the happy feeling that so abounds from humblest cot to the most palatial home. Our hurried tour of inspection took us across the Washington street bridge, past beautiful Milroy park with its splendid monument of our greatest soldier and we thought as we breezed past not only of the shaded and velvety green sward but of the old Milroy home, of the day that its owner with bouyant spirit paraded the streets of Rensselaer and with a drum wakened the spirit of patriotism and gave to the nation some of the best heroes of history. And we thought, too, of the Rensselaer girl, Miss Mary Washburn, whose art and whose love for her old home had made the splendid monument possible and we thought how nice it would be if others who had a kindly recollection of their old home would express their affection in some undying way.

The Milroy Park residential section has sprung up since the park was established. Dr. I. M. Washburn was the/frst to build there, then 0. F. Barker, Miss Maud 7 Spitler, A R. "Hopkins, C. W. Eger, F. M. Parker, Delos Thompson for his daughter, Mrs. Hugh Kirk, and the rebuilding of the former Kannal property by H. F. Parker. Only a short distance away are the new homes erected by A. F. Long for his son, George; S. C. Irwin, Orlie Clouse and two houses by Earle Reynolds. These are all in Fred Phillips Fair View addition. Ernest Lamson has a new house well along in the same addition and Earl Duvall has let the contract for a new house in the same addition. Just beyond and in the southwest corner of Mrs. Emma M. York’s property she is having a new house erected for tenant purposes. Just over on McCoy avenue and west of the W. R. Brown property, G. H. McLain is getting ready to erect a fine new residence. On South street, extending southeast from the Hugh Kirk residence, George Longhas a new house well under way. Plans are on foot to improve South street for two blocks, grading and macadamising it, constructing curbs and sidewalks. This is an improvement that might well

be continued all the way to Kannal avenue, thus opening up for sale and home building many excellent lots well located. Alex. Merica is building a fine house at the corner of Washington and Division streets. Hiram Day has built two new concrete houses, one on North Weston street just across the railroad and the other on East Pine street. The latter is of a bungalow type and is not yet completed. Vernon Hopkins is building a large and what will be a very fine house in the east part of town. On the same street and a short distance south A. F. Long is building a very attractive small house for renting purposes. Near by a man named Miller has completed and is now occupying a large house. Harry Magee has completed a substantial addition to his property. On West Jackson street Fred MoColly has begun a fine new residence, in the same block but facing West Harrison street Miss Mattie Hemphill has started the building of a fine new house. C. C. Warner will erect one just across the street and facing to the south.

_ On Wept Clark street Thorsten Otterberg and the Johnson brothers have a nice house almost completed and Mr. Otterberg and family are occulying it. A. Wartena has his new louse on Matheson avenue well under way. It is a fine house and will be modern in every way. On North College avenuga-stgnter of new houses ahverUeen erected in recent years, including the William Bringle, Albert Swartzell, George Mustard, J. C. Gwin and Mrs. Karsten iroperties. This year two more new louses have been erected there, one by Mrs. Mark Reed and the other by A. K. GodshalL All of these houses except the Bringle home occupy the addition opened up by Albert Swartzell. In the same block with these properties and facing Forest street, Fred Chapman has started the erection of his new house. Soon the erection of the new parsonage for the Presbyterian church will begin and along with that will come the moving and remodeling of the present manse, which will make a very good house. The big job, of course, will be the erection of the hospital building, and it is possible that a new hotel to cost something like $40,000 may be built. There is an endless amount of repair work, which includes enlarging a number of houses. Among these is the work just started or raising the James Clark property on Weston street and making it two stories. Several others are talking about juilding and among them is Attorney John A. Dunlap, who owns a lot adjoining the A. R. Hopkins property on College avenue. In this hasty review we have not touched upon some of the beautiful things in Rensselaer, among them the fine flower gardens being erected at the W. O. Rowles property and which will be covered in a special feature within a few days. Rensselaer needs some things quite badly to aid in its development but these things are coming quite rapidly. Now all that it needs is a new determination on the part of every citizen to make it the cleanest city in all Indiana. The rake, the lawnmower, the garbage wagon and the scrubbrush will help the city and all its people. There are a few piles of trash that should be cleaned up before long and if the lot owners do not voluntarily do it then the city should do it and assess the cost.

There are a number of old barns that could well be moved. There are comparatively few horses kept here now and consequently very little use for barns. Tidy garages are a big improvement. With the removal of the barns comes the necessity for better back yards and cleaner alleys and better trimmed trees and more flowers and fewer weeds and more landscaping. We’re a long ways from perfect but we’re on the way and if we all puli together we will have a little city so attractive that every person who visits it will want to come here to make his home. Along with the things mentioned that are contributing to this end we must mention Weston cemetery, the natural beauty of which has been so greatly improved by John H. Holden, the sexton. The cemetery trustees, E. D. Rhoades, A. F. Long and N. H. Warner, are deserving much credit along with the sextion, for they han planned and managed the whole thing with fine business judgment and good taste. Already Weston cemetery is abloom with bed after bed of tulips. Some three or four years ago the plan was adopted of putting out a flower bed on each lot if the owner would pay the annual sum of $5. Many did so and the money thus provided has let the cemetery association accomplish a great good. This year the beds were started early and tulips put out in each bed. The greenhouse is full of thousands of plants, carefully nurtured for the early spring

planting, and border plants will be put out within a few days -and other plants in succession. The plan to make a lagoon on each side of the concrete bridge connecting the west side with the old cemetery is to be carried out as fast as funds are available. The new addition r .o the cemetery is being made very attractive and many lots have been sold there and a number of graves have already been made in it. The terraces show a careful landscaping and the entire arrangement is commendable. Over to the south side of the old cemetery the underbrush has been cleared away, a river drive built and a number of lots sold. To complete the work there will be much filling to do and the dirt derived from the making of the lagoon will be used for the filling. If some person was charitably inclined they could make a donation to the cemetery and feel just pride in the manner of aid they had given to Rensselaer. Probably one of the. best things that Rensselaer ever did was to indulge in the extensive street macadamizing of nine or ten years ago. The result is passable streets in all parts of town. The new brick street, our fine lighting system and the wisdom displayed some years ago in building a fine court house all show the substantial attitude of our public servants in making improvements anc almost make one forget that taxes are a bit high. In conclusion let us remark that Rensselaer is some town, SOME TOWN, and we are going right to the front all the time and while we’ve run out of poetry and wouldn’t sing if we had to, we still feel almost happy enough to shout: “Hurrah for Rensselaer.”