Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 60, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 December 1908 — A “MERRY” CHRISTMAS. [ARTICLE]

A “MERRY” CHRISTMAS.

An automobile party of five men reached Rensselaer at 3 a. m., Saturday morning in a big seven passenger Stearns $5,500 car. The party was from Crawsfordsvllle, and were bound for Chicago, so they stated. They had perhaps a little too much Christmas on board, as they left Crawfordsville sometime Friday afternoon and got off the beaten track for Chicago over about Remington, and went to Goodland, which accounted for the long time it took them to reach Rensselaer. One of the front springs under the machine was broken when they arrived here and they laid over for repairs. ’ Just where the spring broke they did not know, they said, as they were not in proper condition to know. Had the other front spring have broken also and the front end of the auto dropped down on the -steering gear, they would likely have known for a moment at least when it broke, for they could then not have controlled the steering of the car and would likely have landed in the ditch with the 4,000 pound car on top of them. The party put up at the hotel here and a new spring was ordered by the Rensselaer Garage Co., by telegraph. It came in on the milk train Saturday evening and was soon put in place and the party went on their way about 8 o’clock Saturday evening. The party registered here as J. C. Allrey, Ching Lowe, Pat Honelahan and C. F. Dewey, es Crawfordsville, and M. Brooks of Lafayette, none of which names were likely their correct ones.