Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 October 1874 — Remington Letter. [ARTICLE]

Remington Letter.

Mr. Llldd Hopkins has returned from his trip to the East. Sale bills and other job printing neatly done at this office. Lildd Hopkins keeps the best stock ' of boots and shoes in the town. Mr. Ralph Fendig is away this w T eek buying another stock of goods. Best Rio coffee down to 25 cents a pound at Hopkins’ corner store. Very fair sized turnips were sold in the place this week for sixty cents a bushel. Notwithstanding the droughty fall, growing wheat generally, looks nice in Jasper county. New styles of prints, dress goods, casimeres, jeans, flannels and yarn at Hopkins’ corner store. Mr. Samson Erwin is enlarging his blacksmith-shop on Front street with a brick addition in front. Charley Starr brings three wagon loads of groceries a week to this place. _ He reports a lively business this year. Hopkins has again invested money in a full line of groceries, and to suit hard times will sell cheaper than ever. Only two dollars will pay for The Union one year. It is the largest and best paper ever published in Jasper county. Pittsburg coal is hauled twelve miles in wagons from the railroad and delivered in Rensselaer for eleven dollars a ton. Mr. Noah Freeman of Winamac was in Rensselaer this week, hunting for the trail of a horse thief. He was off the track here. Parties in town or country desiring the celebrated Weed setting machine brought-to-their-houses for trialj-vHH-pleasc leave word at this office. Mr. R. F. Goddard is building a stone ice house, on Front street, north of Terhune’s wagon-shop, which Will be 18x24 in size, one story high. The Horse Fair last Friday and Saturday was a complete fizzle. There were no entries from abroad, and the attendance was not worth naming. It is a lot of personal property that Mrs. Lakin will sell on the 7th day„.of November, and not “public property” as was carelessly published last week. Notwithstanding the Independents and Democrats made a big break on the Ring in this county, Jim Malay’s little darkey is alive and happy, and still rides the cow to water. Mr. Willis J. lines and family moved away from here Monday. They have gone on to a farm in White county. They were good citizens, aud their reamval is to be regreted. : W, 8. Bedford has just received a large general assortment of envelopes, paper, pens, pencils, ink, notions, hosiery, etc,, and will sell them cheaper than any other house in town, Advertisements in The Union are read by more people than 'can be reached through any other paper in the county, hence they are more aud pay better returns to the advertiser for his investment. Hunters are. filling their game-bags with quail, cranes, prairie chickens, pheasants and ducks in this county. It is said that there are also a few deer in the neighborhood of the Kankakee • river, in the northern part of Jasper. Currens’ grocery is open with a fair stock of goods next door southwest of Fendig’s stone store. Charley Platt does the honors of the establishment with a grace all his own. Mr. Currens is a pleasant gentleman to trade with.

This locality is enjoying magnificent weather—just such soft, dreamy, voluptuous skies and atmosphere as poets love to imagine, and that would render Artists immortal could they only fix on canvass. The forests are truly gorgeous with color. Mr. Isaac V. Alter, the miller, will please accept thanks for a mess of new meal. Alter’s mill always does good work, as has frequently been -remarked m these columns, and the proprietor is one of the most liberalhearted gentlemen in the county. The M. JE. parsonage has been wheeled around from its site on Van Rensselaer street and moved over on Cullen street, fronting the M. E. Church, and is now undergoing repairs previous to being occupied by the family of Rev. Mr. Brooks, the new pastor. Norman Warner’s new tin shop corner of Washington and Front streets is furnished with the latest improved machinery and good stock ; with William Eger as presiding dignitary this insures first class work.— Call at Warner’s for stoyes, tinware, and articles belonging to that traffic - The public schools of Rensselaer will open next week. A corps of excellent teachers has been employed; two of the rooms have been neatly papered and one of them furnished with new seats and desks of the most approved pattern, and all the prelimjf inary arrangements completed by the trustees fora good-, cheerful'term.

The prices ruling for seasoned wood this fall range from $3 to $3.50 a cord. Fair quality cau be bought in quantities of five cords and upwards for $3.25. White and black oak are the principal kinds of timber used. The Iroquois river has not been so drifed up in twenty years—probably never—as it is this fail. From the Groom bridge to the Sand Ridge below Mr. Stott Grant’s, for about eight miles there is no water at all except a little supplied by the springs and flowing well at Rensselaer. All over the county there is a scarcity of water for hoube use and for stock. Unless rain falls soon and in large quantity there will be great inconvenience, if not actual suffering from this cause the coming winter. Among the improvement in Rensselaer this season, completed or begun, are a two story brick store front 20x21 feet in size dn Washington street by Messrs. F. J. Sears & Co.; a two story brick store 20x50 feet, on Washington street, by Mrs. S. A. Hemphill; a two story brick store on Washington street, 25x50 feet, by Messrs. Harding & Willey; a one story stone ice house 16x24 feet, on Front street, by R. F_ Goddard; a one story brick front 30x12 to blacksmith shop on Front street, by Mr. Samson Erwin; a one story frame dwelling on Van Rensselaer street, by Mr. J. Zimmerman ; a story and a half frame dwelling corner of Van Rensselaer and Angelica streets, by Mr. Ezra L. Clark; Mr. M. D. Rhoads has moved and remodeled his dwelling corner of Van Rensselaer and Cornelia streets; Dr. M. B. Alter is remodeling and enlarging his dwelling corner of Van Rensselaer and Harrison streets. In addition to these more important works, there have been stables and woodhouses built, and repairs made so that the aggregate imprt)vemen.ls within the corporation this year will not fall very much short of $20,000.

-Carpenters are in great demand at present. The champion clog dancer of Jasper county is Finley Anderson, who clerks for Chappell. U. 8. Senator D. D. Pratt and wife were in this place Morality. They are very social ami agreeable people. Mr. R. Ralph is building a shop on Railroad street, between Hathaway’s store and Gorkins’ barber shop. The Pittsburg, st. Louis & Chicago Railroad Company on Monday paid Mr. Charles 11. Price $3lO for the privilege of butchering three of his horses last summer. It is a mystery where all the freight goes that is being shipped over the railroad. F-huf regvrtar iieight-trains each wav pass here daily, besides one or more extra trains every day of the week. Fire has been destroying hay and doing other damage to farmers north of town during the past week. A great deal of liay was burnt—several hundred tons, worth thousands of dollars—but the exact amount is not yet known. It is reported that Mr. A. K. Miller, living four miles south of town, had his barn and all its contents burnt up one day last week. Among other things destroyed were, three fine mules, oats, hay, and his farni Implements. == . Mr. Al. J, Kitt is on the ground with his printing outfit, and expects to issue the first number of the Remington Record either the last of this week or the first of next. He brings with him a subscription list of 175 names from his home in Fulton county. This is a flattering compliment, and speaks well for his popularity where known. Remington.