Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 110, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 May 1919 — VETERAN TAKES EXCEPTION TO INDIFFERENCE OF YOUTH [ARTICLE]

VETERAN TAKES EXCEPTION TO INDIFFERENCE OF YOUTH

“The first hundred years are the most nerve-racking," said an old time Rensselaer resident this morning as he stopped pushing the family lawn mower through a bounteous crop of its last years growth, long enough to telFiis it is fifty-two years this month since he became a resident of Jasper county. We suggested to him that he is entitled to join the old settlers association, but with a sigh akin to despair he said: “The old settlers association is all right, lot of good people belong, but there is an awful lot of skeptics among the more ’youthful citizens, who came into this county without a sitch of clothes to their back, reaping the fruits of the pioneer’s toil and hardships. These young scions mean well, but they do not often understand and often question the veracity of the early settler when he takes the time and patience to explain how it was in those days. For instance I told Skile Jones once how it was I hauled poles from the river timber, with which to fence the farm, for thirty days continuously in the month of February, 1869, how I wallowed through snow drif ts and ate my lunch of rabbit ham to do this, and do you know, to this ’ day he contends I didn’t do it?There’» nothing to this old settler business. The people think you are lying about it. Bill was awful handy, could prove most anything by him; but poor Bill is gone and now Skile has moved to another county to be an old settler some time. Maybe he’ll get his’n for doubting me.” And then the old man. mowed on;