Elizabeth Slade Knew Our Old Courthouse as a Place of Many Community Gatherings

By John Wilkins Roberts

From the Oskaloosa Independent, August 25, 1960

Elizabeth B. Slade brought to the Old Settlers reunion a well-organized account of her recollections of social events which were held in the courthouse during the ’seventies and ’eighties before Oskaloosa could boast another gathering place of equal size. Within two months of her 92^nd birthday Mrs. Slade retains in a remarkable degree her exceptional ability to speak from a public platform.

At a shady spot in the park Saturday, Aug. 13, she addressed an audience of fewer than a dozen persons with stories of the courthouse when it was new.

Jefferson County courthouse, 1870s.

Banquets were held in the long corridor of the first floor, the banqueters being served from adjoining offices. Upper floor was all one big room, it was provided with a stage and there were held political conventions, public addresses of many kinds, dramatic performances, costume parties, public dances. This last-named item had to be discontinued when it was found the building would be damaged.

Related in detail was Mrs. Slade’s recollection of the dramatized version of “Ten Nights in a Barroom” in which she played the part of “Little Angel” when she was about eight years of age. So successful was this tear-jerking drammer that it had to be repeated to satisfy public demand.

Mrs. Slade was fourth child and elder daughter of William and Martha Chandler Blevins. He was born in Ireland; at Ft. Leavenworth in 1854 became master of a wagon train whose crew went to build Fort Riley; later was with troops sent to quell a Mormon uprising; became a trail scout whose function was to “direct traffic” of the wagon trains across the prairie-Indian country. At Plum Grove he made his headquarters with J.H.C. Hopewell, a settler of 1854; met the daughter of a Hickory Point neighbor, Richard Chandler. At the Osawkee sales of Delaware lands in 1857, Blevins bought the acreage adjoining the new town of Oskaloosa which was to become the Blevins family home. That home, often remodeled and beautified, yet stands. A portion of the original house built on this Blevins estate yet remains in 1960, particularly the small window frames of the old kitchen. Here William and Martha went to housekeeping in 1860. Came William N., James, C and John M., then Elizabeth and Sara Esther (Hannsen).

Oskaloosa Grade School, District No., 29, 1922-23, First- and Second Grades

Teacher: Mrs. Elizabeth Blevins Slade

Girls: Violet Thompson, Leona Grant, Martha Brown, Helen May, Juanita Duffield, Doris Ratliff, Louis Shaw, Agnes Guest, Sylviamae Rice, Pauline Laster, _____ _____, Marie Stevens, Mrs. Slade with hands on Mabel Brown and Alice Daniels, Ida English, Leopa Gaines, Emma Lou Todd, Clasteen Holland, Roxie Lee Nichols

Boys kneeling: John Rice, Robert Barr, Roger Simon, Frankie Daniels

Boys seated: James Brown, Marvin Icks, Joe Godwin, Blair Howard, Lewis Metzger, Funston Inverarity, Richard Sutton, William Leech, Philip Inverarity, Harlan Brown, Jim Cotton, Edward Bell, Ben English

Elizabeth tells this of her own schooling: A year or two at the school on Herkimer street, then at the township school and the Marvin College preparatory department (on Madison west of Liberty), a year in Julius Cook’s upper class at the frame schoolhouse (north of Leavenworth and east of Union), thence to Sisters of Bethany, the Episcopalian college at Topeka, where she graduated. In California, seeking employment after the tragic death of her husband by drowning, Elizabeth Slade secured a California certificate, taught at Santa Maria. Returning to Jefferson County she began that long term of teaching in Oskaloosa public school which lasted more than 30 years and during which she started on their academic way scores and scores of children who yet remember her with deep affection.

But beside Elizabeth’s class room work she had the imagination, the energy and willingness to work to do many kinds of creative undertakings. These paragraphs will mention only her relation to Old Settlers reunions.

The Jefferson County courthouse was destroyed in a tornado, May 19, 1960.

The Old Settlers reunions began with the first year of the century, August 1901, and have continued with only two interruptions due to stringencies of the war years, so that the reunion just completed [in 1960] was the 58^th in series.

Old Settlers' parade, circa 1900.

In 1904, the “Old Settlers Central Union” was organized with an established membership, fees and dues; a leather-bound volume having 360 pages 12 x 18 in size was printed with suitable form for record of visitors. First entries following “Constitution and By-laws” are names of 156 registrants at the “4^th Annual” old settlers, Aug. 1904. First name in the list is that of James C. Blevins. Elizabeth was not old enough to “belong” (at the outset forty years was the minimum) but it is likely she was there, helping with one of the elaborate parades of those early years which involved nearly the entire community, both old and young. For many years thereafter, Elizabeth did creative work, both in the parades and the platform programs, usually by way of presenting groups of school pupils in some unique manner.

From the Oskaloosa Independent, May 26, 1960

This bound record of old settler visitors has been kept in the vault of clerk of district court. When that vault was cleared on permanent records after the tornado [May 1960], Mrs. Myrtle Kimmel “rescued” the old settler record and it is yet in her possession in her temporary office at the Ratliff building. Since the 40^th reunion, registration has been made on 5 x 8 cards, which are kept a the Independent office.

This story appeared in “Yesteryears” in October 1986.