Dunavant Depot Sold

  The Oskaloosa Independent, March 5, 1926

Dunavant, Kansas

The "irony of fate" is seen by some in the sale of the Kansas City — Northwestern railway depot at Dunavant, Jefferson County, which soon will be turned into a filling station to supply gasoline for the motor car which doomed the railroad to the junk heap. The sale of the depot, announced this morning by W.W. Hooper, is the first of any property belonging to the defunct company outside of Wyandotte County. Judge McCabe Moore, Kansas City, Kan., has sold some of the buildings in Wyandotte County. Mr. Hooper sold the Dunavant depot to E.L. Burdick of Nortonville. It is Mr. Hooper's understanding that Burdick will move the depot to Nortonville and put it into use as a filling station. Dunavant and Nortonville are connected by a hard surfaced road and it is believed the building can be moved by truck with but little trouble.

 

Mr. Hooper will leave tomorrow morning for a trip over the road. In each county through which the road passes Mr. Hooper will stop at the county seat and engage a local attorney to take charge of the disposal of the right of way. At Oskaloosa Mr. Hooper selected Horace T. Phinney. Other selections have not been made. However, wherever the company had a local attorney, that attorney will be given the preference, Mr. Hooper said. There is a blanket mortgage over the entire right of way and negotiations will be entered into with landowners to clear up this mortgage. Where the company holds fee simple title, the land will be conveyed by deed. Mr. Hooper expects to be gone several days. He believes it will require about eight months to wind up the affairs of the company. The rails are to be sold as junk. (Leavenworth Times)

 

An advertisement from the
Valley Falls New Era, Aug. 3, 1916

 This story appeared in “Yesteryears” in April 2015.

50,000 Old Soldiers (1890 Reunion)

 From the Meriden Weekly Tribune, November 27, 1890

The Tenth Annual Reunion of the Veterans at Topeka next month will be the largest and most important gathering of old soldiers ever assembled in Kansas. Judging from present indications, the committee estimates that fully 50,000 old Soldiers and Sailors will attend the Re-union.

 

Several hundred large tents are being put up on the State Fair Grounds, and the local committee are making preparations to receive and entertain their visitors in a manner every way worthy of the generous hospitality of our Kansas people. The camp will be laid out by States, and one day will be given to the formation of State Association and to Regimental Re-unions.

 

The President of the United States, Gen. Harrison, and other eminent soldiers and statesmen will be present and help entertain “the Boys in Blue.”

 

Col. Forsythe of the U.S. Army, with several troops of cavalry, artillery and infantry will participate in an exciting sham battle, bombarding and blowing up Fort Fisher at night.

 

The jollifications will commence on October 7, and continue four days and nights – mostly nights – when fireworks, sham battles, campfire stories, and foraging will be the order of exercises.

Gen. Alex. McCook will address the Re-union of the Army of the Cumberland.

• An interesting programme every day with cavalry and artillery drills, dress parades, &c.
• The Veterans wife and family will have special accommodations provided.
• Tents and Barracks, Wood, Straw, Water, Lights, etc., free including the freedom of the city.
• Half fare on all Railroads.

 If you have any doubts as to the foraging, address Maj. T.J. Anderson, President of the Committee of Forty-three, Topeka, Kansas, for further information.

 

This story appeared in “Yesteryears” in April 2012.

Automobile Ride, 1908

The Meriden Ledger, May 7, 1908 

1908 Rambler Touring Car

Dr. Marks, with three ladies and a gentleman, rode out over our roads one evening last week just at dark in his big Rambler automobile, it all lighted up to perfection. Telephone messages ran ahead of them announcing their coming and the farmers were out looking at a nice scene. Now if our horses will only behave themselves, let them speed away. 

This story appeared in “Yesteryears” in April 2013.

Atchison, Oskaloosa & Lawrence Railroad

From the Atchison Daily Patriot, June 3, 1869 

An election to take place on the 2d day of August, to determine the question of Atchison county subscribing one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the capital stock of the above named railroad; in fact, the question is, shall this road be built — for if Atchison county does not do its part, and do it now, this road never will be built. Leavenworth, foreseeing what our system of railroads will accomplish, if successfully carried out, is bringing to bear every influence in her power to delay, and if possible to defeat, the building of this road, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. 

As is known, Jefferson county has voted one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to each of these roads, and Leavenworth has succeeded in getting up litigation over the Jefferson county bonds, hoping thereby to delay, and finally defeat, both enterprises. 

Our Leavenworth neighbors are sore pressed, and men in such straights will make desperate efforts and take any risks.

The argument they use in Jefferson county, and particularly at Oskaloosa, is, that if the bonds to both roads can be defeated, they can change the terminus of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe road from Atchison to Leavenworth, and build by Oskaloosa, and thereby save to the county one hundred and fifty thousand dollars — as they will only ask that sum — and defeat the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe road, and kill off Grasshopper Falls as a rival of Oskaloosa. And, in order to make the dose palatable, they assert that Atchison never intended to help build the Atchison, Oskaloosa and Lawrence road, but only got that up as a trick to get bonds voted for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe road. By these means, they induced some of the people in the vicinity of Oskaloosa to join them in an effort to defeat the bonds to both roads. 

But since our county board has ordered an election in our county to aid this road the people of Jefferson county begin to see the trick on the other side, and the opposition to the bonds in Jefferson is fast giving way, and if Atchison county votes the bonds, all will be well, and both roads will go on in spite of Leavenworth. 

The Lawrence people have also been talked to by Leavenworth, and they are waiting to see what Atchison does. They promise to do as much, or more, than Atchison; and if they do the Atchison, Oskaloosa and Lawrence road can be put under contract at once, and built within the next year. 

 Shall we vote the bonds? By the terms of the subscription we issue no bonds unless the road is completed — and in my judgment we ought to vote the bonds. 

With the bonds, I believe the road can and will be speedily built, and will pay Atchison better than any of our roads. It will do us more good, because it does Leavenworth more harm, and their people see it, and hence their efforts to defeat it. 

More hereafter. 

        T. 

This story appeared in “Yesteryears” in April 1988.

Talking Picture in Oskaloosa Theater

The Oskaloosa Independent, March, 21, 1930 

W. A. Payne has equipment ready for DeLuxe. 

Hopes To Have Installation Completed by Saturday, the 29th, But Has Considerable Changing To Do. 

Oskaloosa will have talking pictures by Saturday, the 29th, provided installation troubles do not cause delay according to W.A. Payne, DeLuxe Theater owner. Mr. Payne has his “talking” equipment purchased and in his theater, ready to be put in. 

Considerable changes must be made, however, in the building, before successful operation. A sound-proof booth for the machines must be built and the walls and stage lined. The talking-picture machines are on the vitaphone principle. Disks which correspond exactly with the film rotate, like a phonograph; and a fader cuts one machine in and the other out, as the film goes from one picture machine to the other. An electric pick-up sends the sound from the disks through an amplifier into a speaker which throws the sound into the theater. 

There is only one way to get good results in talking pictures, Manager Payne says, and that is to try it out and correct the defects. Until the machines work to the satisfaction he will not start the talkies, but hopes to have things in readiness by next Saturday night. 

NOTE: Apparently he did not get satisfactory progress as it appears the talkies opened in Oskaloosa on April 4, 1930, with “The Phantom in the House.” That was followed on April 11 with “The Rampant Age.” 

This story appeared in “Yesteryears” in April 2015.

Special Notice, from the Barbers

The Valley Falls Register, March 26, 1886

We the undersigned Barbers doing business in the city of Valley Falls, Kansas, hereby give notice and mutually agree that on and after the first day of April 1886, we shall charge the following new prices for work:

• Shaving 10 cents.
• Hair cutting 25 cents.
• Shampoo 25 cents.
• Sea Foam 10 cents.
• Mustache dyeing 25 cents.
• Dressing hair 5 cents. 

No more tickets, will be issued nor, quarterly or yearly contracts made.

Signed:
McGinnis & Delorm,
Paul Krumery,
Geo. Lewis,
March 19, 1886


This story appeared in “Yesteryears” in April 2012.

The Threshing Crew, 1881

By Clara Agnes Luse Koenig, from the Luse Family History

The following is an excerpt from the Luse Family History and journal kept by Clara Agnes Luse Koenig, daughter of Allen Timothy Luse and Maria Allen Luse. Allen and Maria Luse came to Kansas in 1859, settling near Mound City, Linn County. They then moved several times in and around Jefferson County.They moved to a farm near Winchester in 1863, then to Nortonville in 1891. This was submitted by Linda Lloyd Kaiser, granddaughter of Clara Luse Koenig, Great Bend.

1881: This is the year my father and brother Charlie bought a threshing outfit which consisted of a separator and a ten horse power unit. This meant that the ten horses turned the power unit that turned the separator that threshed the grain. The power unit consisted of a circular middle section of machinery, cog wheels, etc., from which extended five removable levers to which the five teams were hitched. A platform was placed over the center machinery on which the driver stood with his long whip keeping the teams moving steadily around in a circle. A long rod was attached to this cogwheel machinery, near the ground, and was extended to other cogwheels on the separator. This was called the tumbling rod and was in sections. Driving the teams was a dizzy job as the platform on which the driver stood kept turning as the machinery turned and after hours of steady work relief was necessary.

Drawing of a horse-powered thresher from a French dictionary
(published in 1881) from WikiMedia Commons.

Bundle wagons brought the grain to the separator and tossed them onto the band shelf at the front end where a man with a band cutter, a large sharp knife, cut the bands on the bundles and shoved them over to the feeder. The man feeding the machine had to pull the bundle apart and feed it evenly into the feed cylinder for if too large a bunch was fed in, it might clog the cylinder and cause delay or even a break in the machinery. As the grain passed through the machine, the kernels were threshed out, the straw was carried on through and into the straw carrier at the back end. This carrier was an endless belt of canvas the full width of the machine, operated by a belt that moved it up and out. The grain flowed into a covered box and downspout on the side of the separator into receptacles. Father spread a canvas on the ground and then set his half-bushel measure under the spout to catch the grain. Father kept tally of the number of measures of grain on a tally sheet. When they threshed at home, I stood near Father and held a grain sack open so he could pour the grain in. All our grain was sacked, as grain-tight wagons were few and we had none. The straw carrier was stationary so there had to be pitchers there to pitch the straw away and build a stack. It was a very dusty job with chaff getting all through their clothes and the men all fought shy of being on the straw stack. It usually took three to handle it. It was a slow process all the way through and took thirty or more men to do the work. Father, Charlie, Will, Frank (brothers of Clara) and Jim McClure, a neighbor, was the crew that went along with the machine. Frank was band-cutter, Will was feeder, Father tallied and Jim was driver on the horsepower. Charlie was relief man to keep the machinery running or on errands.

There were not many threshing outfits around as they were quite expensive so they traveled all around over the country from early July until October. Separators were huge clumsy affairs and required two teams to move them, especially over rough roads that were common at that time. Moving from one job to another was quite a process, special care being taken in crossing bridges or fording small creeks. They had many funny experiences as they traveled from place to place threshing. The farmers’ wives had varied reputations as to feeding threshers and it sometimes took considerable ingenuity to make a job terminate or last long enough to get to a certain place for the next meal. The crew stayed with the machine all week, coming home for Sunday if there wasn’t repairs to make on the rig. 

The Rumely company was known for steam-powered threshers.
Photo from Jefferson County Genealogical Society Library.

One family was noted for being slack and dirty about the house, so they had a hard time getting threshers to come there. Finally Father couldn’t get out of it any longer and had to go there. They had quite a lot of grain and they had to stay for two nights. The boys insisted on sleeping out on the straw stack, but Father was the big boss and must have the courtesy of sleeping in the house. Well about ten minutes after he went to bed he found he was not alone, in fact a whole regiment of company had moved in to dine on him. He fought and killed relentlessly for a couple of hours then gave up, put on his clothes, stole out of the house and joined the boys on the straw stack. There was considerable activity around the house the next day and that night when Father was refusing to sleep indoors, they insisted strongly that he sleep inside so he finally went in to bed. He found the room had been thoroughly cleaned and not a bed bug showed up that night. It rained that night and the boys had to forsake the straw stack and sleep under the separator.

Horses thresh wheat in Denton, North Carolina.

The wife of the wealthiest farmer in the community was the stingiest provider and they hated to eat there. Threshing is hard work and the men always have enormous appetites, but one time she gave them mush and milk for dinner. Another time when they were eating, she came in with a pie and said, “Pie, pie, anyone want pie, if you don’t, I won’t cut it,” and never giving anyone a chance to say anything took it back to the kitchen.

It was always hot at threshing time and with a wood stove going in the kitchen they often set the table out in the yard where there might be some breeze. Then it took a couple of little girls with peach tree switches to shoo the flies off of the table during dinner. It took a mountain of food to appease their hunger and pies were stacked three deep on a plate and cut in quarters for a serving.

 

Horse-powered threshing on YouTube

Get updates about the 2020 McLouthThreshing Bee, September 18-20.

The McLouth Threshing Bee website has event information and updates.

This article appeared in “Yesteryears” in October 1985.