Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 August 1906 — The Town Strategy Board. [ARTICLE]

The Town Strategy Board.

Don’t you recall how the town strategy board “back home’’ met nightly about the stove In the village grocery and told about the “awful winter’’ of 1845, or thereabouts? I can distinctly remember one of these tales. A fearful blizzard began at noon, October 15, 1846, and continued with slight interstices of calm and sunshine, until the following May. Everything was snow bound and the ice in the river froze so deep that the fish wore all the fins off their backs scraping against it. There were few spelling bees in the country school houses that winter and the marriage rate fell off 90 per cent. The thank-ye-ma'ams were as thick as sturgeon’s eggs on a caviar sandwich and because very little courting was done the heads of families made great savings in kerosene bills. Snow shovels, controlled by a trust, were only used as ornaments in the homes of the rich where the young ladies painted summer scenes on the blade and stood them in the parlor against he mantle. It was a FEARFUL froze in the refrigerators and butter and beer were kept 4n the range ovens for weeks at a time. Wells congealed and cellars had to be steam-heated to keep ma’s preserves from bursting. Milk froze In the cow’s udders and we went without ice cream throughout the long, lonesome days and nights of a calamitous season. But, praise be to Old Sol, the warmth came at last and by July 4 the old residents were as busy as ever passing the time of day ad asking each other: "Well, is this hot enough for you?”