Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 December 1908 — BIG DREDGE FINISHES THE IROQUOIS WORK [ARTICLE]

BIG DREDGE FINISHES THE IROQUOIS WORK

Reaches Lower Terminus and is Set Out of the Channel. Considerable Hand Work Will be Required.

The big Sternberg dredge reached its lower terminus as defined in the specifications last Friday night and preparations were at once begun to get the big boat out of the channel. This was accomplished by digging a large hole on the north side of the river and after Setting the boat into that removing the dam from the channel. This required all day Saturday and until Sunday noon, at which time the big boat rested snugly in its winter quarters and the water that was backed up to keep it afloat in the channel was rushing down stream. The location of the dredge Is about a quarter of a, mile below the farm residence of W. S. Grant. The dredge during the almost three years since it was set afloat above the Pullins bridge has been in charge of Henry Shortz, who has worked for C. H. Sternberg & Sons for the past seven years. He manipulated the crane during almost all of this time and is one of the ablest all around dredge men in the country. His close attention to the work has not altogether agreed with him and he is; suffering from a weak back that has caused him to decide for the present, at least, to give up' dredge work, and he will go to a farm he bought some two years ago near Charlotte, Mich. Mrs. Shortz has been there for some time, and he will start overland from Russel;:er, probably Tuesday morning, driving ite m

of good colts he purchased several months ago. Mr. Shortz liked Rensselaer and said to a reporter for the Republican that he felt very grateful to the citizens and business men of the town for many accommodation* he had received during the time he had been here. He will give farming a thorough try-out and If he don’t like it, he expects to again get into the drdege business. He was assisted during the last few weeks by Chris Riddle and Chas. Wood. The former will live here with his mother for the wipter probably and Mr. Wood went to Fair Oaks this morning to take up his winter residence. Although the dredge has completed its work the ditch is far from completed, as there are various high places and many ledges protruding from the banks through the sections where the rock was encountered. This work will be completed under the direction of B. J. Moore, who had the rock blasting sub-contract, and it will probably require tte greater part of next summer with a fair sized number of men to get it all down to specifications. The big ditch when completed will have cost something like $120,000. The case that is now awaiting a decision in the circuit court is a remonstrance against a petit'on to extend the ditch from the place where the dredge now stands to a point, below Brook. '