Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 June 1917 — GOSSIP by OUR CORRESPONDENTS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT INTEREST YOU [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GOSSIP by OUR CORRESPONDENTS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT INTEREST YOU

GIFFORD Albert Akers spent Sunday in our burg. Mrs. Della Reed was a Rensselaer goer Saturday. Mrs. Eva Caster was a business visitor at Hebron Friday. Mrs. Elma Ballard of Medaryville spent Sunday with Mrs. Mary Obenchain. Mrs. Stella Snow and children spent Sunday afternoon with Mrs. Lizzie Swisher. Robert Hilton and family spent Sunday with Theodore Smith and family at Moody. Harry Reed has sold out his big ditching contract and has settled his mind to raise pickles and cabbage. Mrs. Anna Hall, Mrs. Alva Hall and Miss Vesta Jones called on the former’s mother, Mrs. ERen Swisher, Sunday. Mrs. May Smith of Laura spent over Saturday in Hebron, her daughter May returning Sunday with her to spend the day. Mrs. Cora Eldridge of McCoysburg called on Mr. and Mrs,, Charles Scott Friday. Their little daughter has improved nicely. Mrs. Jgnnie Wells of Hammond spent the past week with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Myers, her brother Lee returning home with her to visit a few weeks. Squire Dingee Pickle company has begun to put up its pickle tanks here. There is quite a bunch of pickles being planted this season.

JACKSOX TOWNSHIP, NEWTON COL NTT It looks like a regular old-time huckleberry crop this season. Uncle James Blankenbaker is visiting his son Walter in Wabash county. Clare Vestal, Ed. Huntington and George Shupe are recent additions to Uncle , Sam’s army from this section. Now just stand aside and watch the village “board of stategy” take the German submarine to a wellmerited cleaning. The present increase in the acreage of corn and oats in northern Newton county, over last year, amounts to hundreds of acres. If present indications may be relied oh Newton county will harvest the biggest oats crop in yedrs. Corn has been held back by excessive moisture and cool weather. Alf. Brown of east Beaver township is recovering from a bad case of what appears to be barber’s itch. For two or three days last week his condition was quite serious.

Ten million soldiers the first haul of Uncle Sam's net. Gott; I am gefrightened, Bill, when I gon l templationist what our olt man will do to you in dot schweed pye unt pye. . Miss Hazel Kennedy, youngest daughter of Joseph Kennedy of Mo? rocco, and Victor Borklund of Brook were married recently. Both bride and groom are held in high esteem by a large circle of acquaintances. Speaking of the destructive . submarine, the American mole is entitled to recognition, we think, along this line of endeavor. Moles,

farmers say, are* rapidly increasing, and unless something is done to discourage the activities of these little animals they are bound to become a serious menace in timeespecially with reference to the corn crop. Mrs. Jennie Conrad, owner of “Oak- Dene Farms” in Lake township. has just issued an attractive little booklet treating on her herd of Spotted Poland China hogs. Mrs. Conrad, according to this booklet, took personal charge of her present holdings about thirty years ago, and during that time she has erected numerous sets of farm buildings, dug miles of ditches and built hundreds of miles of fencing. Continuing, the booklet states that prior to the year 1873 Mrs. Conrad’s estate was a part of Beaver Lake, covered with water in places to a depth of ten feet. During that year the Big Ditch was completed and the restraining dam opened in the presence of a great assemblage, thereby releasing the waters of Beaver Lake, which rushed into the Kankakee; and this well-known spot, home of myriads of wild fowl, with islands harboring horse thieves and fugitives from justice, was completely wiped off the map, an epoch in the history of Indiana. Oak Dene Farms contain 5,000 . acres. How many of us ever stop to think of the great influence of early training? This matter was forcibly brought to our mind the other day while in conversation with a man of much more than ordinary intelligence and one who seldom airs his grievances. “Do you know,” said this man, “that I have a sort of insane dislike- for Sunday school? Well, I have, and I’ll tell you why. When I was a boy my parents made me attend Sunday school sorely against my will. This would not have been so bad perhaps had it not been that unfortunately I had for my teacher an old flint-faced down-

East Yankee, who evidently felt that everything not having a de» pressing effect upon the mind was necessarily wrong. God, how I learned to hate that man! I shudder even now when I think of those countless wakeful nights, due to nightmares engendered by f his Sunday morning remarks. As I remember it now, there were three bible stories in which the old man seemingly took a special delight—the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the den of lions, and Jonah's encounter with the whale. Ordinarily he would assert that the whale swallowed Jonah, but. at times he would become muddled and insist that Jonah swallowed the whale; but, poor fellow, I never held that against him, as his last assertion in this connection always appealed •to me as being about as likely as the first. It beats all,” said the speaker, “what a great amount of harm people will do in this world through occupying positions for which they are wholly unfitted. Now. if I had for my teacher in Sunday school an intelligent, warmhearted person instead of old flintface, my life no doubt would have been far happier and more useful withal.’’

FAIR OAKS Health generally is quite good in our village. James Clifton suffered a nervous breakdown Wednesday morning. . Cottage prayer meeting was held at Abe Bringle’s Wednesday evening. t News is scarce this week. Most everybody in these parts has a po-

tato patch and a bean patch this year. See? Bert Warren and family visited relatives over Sunday at Hoopeston, Illinois. s Miss Fawn Casey left here Thursday for Tennessee to visit her sister indefinitely. J. R. Kight of Thayer is here doing some carpenter work for his brother, Ike Kight. \ Crops are generally looking fine, but owing to so much rain some fields are getting quite weedy. We, still get a good-sized rain •every day or so. The last one was Wednesday, and there was quite a high wind accompanied it with some electricity, i . ' , Mrs. N. A. McKay got a letter a few days ago from her'* son Frank of v. Buchanan, Michigan, stating that their babe was seriously sick with cholera-iiifantum. and for her to come,/ She left Tuesday morning. ' / > The high winds of last week did considerable damage’ to corn ip several fields where it wag up big enough to plow, whipping it and blowing the dirt away from it until it was covered soot looked as though it would have to be planted over, but is now beginning to show up again. The sand was drifted along the fences to the depth of 2 it, feet. . \

FOUR CORNERS Ed Hight, the telephone man, has sold out to Lon Neese, who has taken possession. Orville Fisher and family of Wheatfield Center visited with home folks Sunday. This part of Jasper is getting more rain than is needed. A little more sunshine would suit better. The San Pierre-Wheatfield baseball team cross bats at Knox with the team of that place tomorrow. Mr. and Mrs. Wing of Tefft are the sole owners of a new tenpound girl, who made her arrival known Monday. Mr. Emmett of Medaryville, who had the contract for the erection of Dr. Solt’s house, at San Pierre, fell from the building Monday and died from the effects of the fall Monday night. Miss Jennie Stocker and Miss Effie Fisher of Lajibrte came Sunday, the former for a few weeks’ visit with Mr. and Mrs/ Roy Blue of Wheatfield, and* the latter to visit her brother Warren, who has joined the colors. „ The mother of Morris McCollough of Tefft, who came a few weeks ago on a visit, died Saturday forenoon. Saturday night the remains were taken to Richmond, her former home, for burial. William Meyers has purchased a new car. While he drove a Ford we could call him “Bill,” but now he has one of those shift-gears and high-priced cars and we will be obliged to call him Mr. Meyers of near Wheatfield.

The “dry at home and wet away from home” want the county commissioners to widen the turns and put in a turn-table at Kersey, so when they go to Demotte to fill their radiator they can get home without getting in the ditch. Harry and the Review editor have kissed and made up. John ■purchases a daily and Harry runs an ad. in the Review; he has paid the price. Love beams forth in every glance. They remind one of the old song/ entitled “Brother, Dear, the Battle’s Over.” Click, the barber, who tried to enlist on several occasions to fight the Germans and was refused, has shown his determination to have a scrap so enlisted for the matrimonial war. May he come out second best is our wish. He was married Monday to Miss Cora Harrod of Wheatfield.

Click Hamilton, the Wheatfield barber, who recently took unto himself a helpmate, was reminded Friday night that he had not lived in Wheatfield in vain, when nearly 150 of his friends came with good wishes, ice cream and cake, and for awhile at least Click and his bride w r ere made to sees tfiat it was good to be at home among friends. May they go down life’s pathway clickety-click with'a dozen little elicits at their heels, is our wish.

The ball game Sunday,-. San Pierre-Wheatfield combination vs. Knox, resulted in an 8 to 8 score and a call-off game. The San Pierre-Wheatfield combination after seven innings had been played came to the front with a rush and swept Knox off their feet.' A dispute over one score gave the Knox team 1 an excuse to quit, which they did in grand style. A part of' the Wheatfield boys played their first game Sunday for this season and When they strike their stride will take a back seat for no team in Northern Indiana.

A report of the pole raising at Tefft last week and mention of the •program might be stale news were it not for the account given in the publication of \the Review, which made mention of the speech as a “talk” by Lee Glazebrook, when, in fact, we heard more than a dozen men congratulate Mr. Glazebrook on his speech and some declared they never, heard a better one. Not a superfluous word, not a sentence that did not carry conviction as to loyalty, patriotism apd love of country. The committee did. well in selecting Mr. Glazebrook. Do yon use the want ad. columns of The Democrat? If not, try an ad.