The weekly Republican., December 14, 1911, Image 1

About The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922

Image provided by: Indiana State Library

                
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VOLUME 57
PLYMOUTH, INDIANA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14. 1911.
NUMBER 49.
1 Jt
WEEKLY
f0)IEO17 10211
CAN
ii
TALUS OF PAST
WAS EIGHTY-THREE TEARS
OLD MONDAY, DEC 11, AND
HAS CLEAREST
MEMORY.
EARLY DAY STORIES
Hardships of Marshall County Pion
eers and Thrilling Experiences
In Life of Our Oldest
Resident
Monday, Dec. 11, was the 83rd
birthday of Norman S. "Woodward
tne man who has been a resident of
Marshall county longer than anyone
else on earth.
"How does it feel to be eighty
three f " was asked by a reporter of
the Republican of Mr. '"Woodward at
hi3 home on Center street, in Plym
outh. "Oh, I have no reason to com
plain,' ' said Mr. "Woodward, referr
ing rather to all his past life than
to is present physical condition..
The, question was asked to get the
venerable gentl man to tell some of
the exciting experiences of his life
in the early days of the cpunty, and
of conditions" then uuder whieh the
pioneers struggled and fought and
won. It is well known that Mr.
"Woodward's mind is as bright as a
new silver dollar, notwithstanding
.his advanced age. His memory as
to persons, dates, conditions, and
facts of all kinds is one of the most
remarkable to be met with. Those
desiring data as to the early history
of the county seek Mr. Woodward
for the facts to be relied on; at
torneys frequently call upon bim to
get definite information on which
to base a lawsuit or decide an im
portant matter based on some facts
not of record and in the long ago. -Mr.
"Woodward will tell the given
names and initials of men who lived
in Plymouth back in the 30 's and 40 's
the first officers of the county, the
ings, in the city, the cemeteries
the firs toffieers of the county, the
politics, the money used, the mar
kets, and facts of every character.
"Virtus Semper Viret," (virtue is
always rewarded), is the motto on
the coat of -arms which hangs in
the sitting room of the "Woodward
home, and his life has proved the
truth of the motto. His modesty.
however, has heretofore prevented,
any publicity of his name or life or
bis present remarkable memory.
To Plymonth In 1835.
"I came to Plymouth May 1,1835
with my father and uncle," said Mr.
Woodward. "I was then only six
years old, but I remember every
thing as distinctly as though it were
yesterday. There were only five log
houses in the town, then without a
name. Chester Rose an a little
store on the site now occupied by the
Plymouth Inn. Grove Pomeroy bad
the hotel on the site where the Bee
Hive now is. In the hotel was the
post office, in charge of Wm. G.
Pomeroy. It was called the "Yellow
River post office. The mail came
once a week from Logansport, the
0
BRTHDAY
trip being made on horse back, the
mail carrier sitting on the mail bags
- His trip was from Logansport to
Niles, Mich.
"At that time the county was
unorganized and there were only a
. few whites among the many Indians.
"We went on up the Michigan Road
bout .five miles before coming to
the first house. Here lived Peter
Schroeder, later elected ai the first
probate judge in MarshaL county.
A half mile farther lived Adam
Vinnedge, the first county treasur
er. Botb these men were TThigs.
These people were eurious to see us
3 ws were Yankees. I was born in
"Vermont and njy father had come to
Indiana from that state. My uncle
aud my father traded a -wagon and
soma of their horses for eighty
ceres of Michigan Read Lands."
- "In Azzzi cf that ye-r wäj th
great Government land sale at La
Porte and uncle and father went
there to buy land. They went near
ly to" La Porte before they saw a
white man. At the Kankakee river
the bridge was gone all but the
stringers. Father and uncle had their
money in French francs and Mexican
dollars and it was quite a burden.
Theproblem of crossing the Kanka
kee on the stringers was a hard
one. My father got across with his
money, but uncle could not do it.
Father came back andgot uncle's
money and carried that across.
StilL uncle could not make it.
Father then saw a boat down stream.
Leaving the money on the bank he
went and got the boat and took
uncle across, they bought their land
at $125 an acre. Our home then
became the farm now located just
half a mile north of Brightside on
the west side of the road.
Trials of Pioneers.
"It is hard to make one of today
understand the hardships of that
time," said Mr.. Woodward. "There
was no food, no money, no market
for anything, if there had been any
thing to sell. My father went
twenty-one miles beyond Logans
port to Delphi to get grain ground
for corn meal. That was the closest
mill. Near there we bought some
white corn and had it .ground but
they did not bolt the meal then as
they do now, and mother had to sift
it. We had, some cows. Hogs ran
wild and fattened on the nuts in
the forest. These pigs were shot for
meat, and game of all kinds was
plentiful. Neighbors would kill a
beef at different times and divide
with each other, trading back and
forth."
, .
t"
lis .
NORMAN S. WOODWARD.
There was no market closer than
Michigan City, and to that place we
hauled our wheat. The price was 31
cents a bushel and later we got 40
cents. In a few vears there was a
mill at Bertrand, north of South
Bend, and people hauled their wheat
there to be ground.
The First Election.
"The first election was in the fall
of 1836 to organize the county.
They called the town Plymouth after
the New England Plymouth Rock.
All the people of the county voted
at Plymouth, though one could vote
at any place he could find a voting
place. I watched them vote. A man
would come to the voting place and
asked how he wanted to. vote. He
would tell the name of his candidate
and the vote would be written down
by the clerk. There were 83 votes
in Center township. In those days
it was about an even break between
the "Whigs and the Democrats.'
"A. L. Wheeler was the first man
to run a real dry goods and general
merchandise store. In the back part
of his store were pails of New Eng
land rum for voters. In the rum
had been imt some "black strap"
molasses, and all who wished, boys
as well as men, could go there and
drink. But there was never any
drunkenness. It seemed that the
human system needed whiskey to
kill off the malaria so prevalent in
those early days, and it being. pure
whiskey, did not affect them as now.
"The courthouse was at first a
small wooden buildir'g located where
Welcome Miller now resides on Michi
gan street. The' present site was
donated to the county and that is
the reason the building stands where
it does."
Early Cemeteries.
"On the present site of the "Wash
ington building was the first ceme
tery. "When they wanted to build
the school house, they moved the
bodies and made a new cemetery on
the spot now occupied by the Penn
sylvania depot. "When the railroad
came to Plymouth, it passed direct
ly through this cemetery and the
bodies were again taken up and
moved to the Stringer cemetery and
the present Oak Hill. My father
was buried in the cemetery when it
was located at tho Pennsylvania
depot site." " '
Becomes Gold Hunter.
In 18o2 Mr. Woodward joined the
thousands of our most daring men
and crossed the plains to California
to become a gold hunter. He with
others made a trip with wagon and
oxen. "We started in March," said
Mr. Woodward, "and on April 24
crossed the Missouri river. At Ft.
Carney we saw the first white people.
From ther it was 500 miles to Ft.
Laramie, the noit white settle
ment." One of the most thrilling sights
ever seen, was witnessed by Mr.
Woodward and his company while
crossing this plain. They encount
ered the migration a countless
buffalo from the south to the north.
As far as the eye could see was an
almost solid mass of the .animals.
Woe to the caravan that got in
front of them. It was necessary to
let them pass. "I bought two fine
black buffalo hides of the Indians,"
said Mr. Woodward. "They were
nicely tanned and splendid ones in
every way. 1 paid two cups f
sugar for them."
"In July we arrived at Sacra
mento City, and there or Jay street
I met Chas. Crocker, a Plymouth
man, who afterwards became a
millionaire gold miner." For about
two years yir. Woodward and his
companions prospected and during
that tine they "struck it rich" and
were able to come back home with
several thousands of dollars in
gold.
Back By Panama.
"Nobody trusted the banks in
those times," said Mr. Woodward,
so we all carried our money around
our bodies in belts. My companions
had arranged to come home by way
of Panama, and had chosen the
steamer "Yankee Blade' ' from San
Francisco. But before we started
we met asfriend who was also com
ing home that way and he advised
us to take the steamer "Sonora"
instead, because, he said, there is
going to be racing between the boats
and it is dangerous to go on the
"Yankee Blade." We took his ad
vice, and luckily so, for the "Yan
kee Blade" struck a rock and went
down with all on board that very
trip," - "-'
"Arriving at Panama the ship
came to anchor three miles out at
sea and the natives in boats came
and took us within ten fet of the
shore, where they stopped, and naked
natives came and carried us ashore
on their backs. There were 1400 on
the boat."
"The first seven miles of the way
across the isthmus was as fine as
paved road as I ever saw. Bolivar
had made it when the Spaniards
were in control, from the pebbles of
the sea shore. The railroad covered
only 25 of the 50 miles across the
isthmus, and we had to walk the
rest of the way. It rained contin
uously. Finally we came to the rail
way a little narrow gauge one, but
about 600 of us could not get on the
train. . The conductor promised to
come back the next day, however,
and take us. He came the third
day, and we were soon at the sea
shore. Here the hundreds of pass
engers went pell mell over each
other to see who could be the first
to the ship and get the best berths.
There was .no order or direction of
the pa sengers everybody took the
best he could get."
"An awful storm overtook our
vessel' off cape Hatteras : and for
many hours we saw our ship climb
up and down the monster waves, ex
pecting every one to go over her
and send us to the bottom of the
sea. She rode it out, however; but
even after repairs in dock, sprung a
leak on her next voyage and went
down with a third of her passeng-
ers."
In San Francisco Mr. Woodward
had met Henry Humrichouser, who
was to be his brother-in-law, and
they made the trip home together.
Mr. Woodward wasback to Plym
outh in 1854, and in sept. 1, 1855,
married Miss Elizabeth Humrichous
er, whom he had met while she was
visiting here from Ohio. In the
spring of that year he and H. B.
Pershing started a drug store, on the
spot where Tanner's drug store now
i stands. After a year at that he
sold to Mr. Pershing and started the
second bakery in Plymouth. It
was located 'on the lot where Fred
Shoemaker's store is . now. "One
of those who worked for me at that
time was W. W. Hill," said Mr.
Woodward. "But I wa not long
in the business for in March 1856
the whole town burned down and
my building with it. I lost every
thing in the store. After this I
bought the lot where the Star Res
taurant now is and opened a little
grocery store. In 1857 the Pitts
burg railway was being built through
and I sold much supplies to the
men. But the company went broke
Continued on Page 4.'
REED BETTER
SCHDOLHQUSES
SAYSWRS.HOLBY
INWOOD WOMAN TALUS TO
JTEACHERS OF CENTER TOWN
SHIP IN FOURTH INSTITUTE
HEATING.
PATRONS. AND TEACHERS
Both These Can Also Hake Improve
jnPnt In Sons Directions A
Valuath 'Paper
Given.
At the fourth institute of the
Center township teachers held Satur
day at the K. P. 'Hall Mrs. Frank
Holby, living north .of Inwood read
a very valuable paper on the needs
of the school.' This meeting was
what is called patrons' day, all the
patrons of the schools being invited
to come and tell their views on the
schools,, and especially how they
think the schools can be improved.
Mrs. Holby is a patron of the In
wood schools and is herself a former
school teacher. She read the fol
lowing paper: ' -
The needs of the school: - First
We neel more sanitary, buildings.
Many buildings .ar foo small xe-.
suiting in a crowded condition of
the rooms. W hile many of our
buildings are well lighted there are
many of them without proper venti
lation. It is a well established fact
that bad air is responsible for many
diseases, therefore our school build
ings should be furnished1 with a
good system of ventilation. Any
teacher will bear me out in the state
ment that under existing conditions
in three-fourths of our school build
ings that the air is decidedly foul in
a short time after the school has as
sembled and long before the rush
period it often becomes necessary
from a health standpoint, to raise
and. lower windows in order to get a
reasonable amount of fresh air, to
enable the children to continue their
work in anything like a proper man
ner. To do this, means that some
one is exposed to a chilling draught
with Tesultant cold, sore throat, etc.
Where windows must be used for
ventilating, they should be fitted
with a device that allows free cir
culation of air without draughts. Of
course, our health officers look after
the water supply1 so we care only to
mention that good, pure water is an
.essential.
I would put in a plea, from a
moral, as well as sanitary standpoint,
especially in schools that are crowd
ed as our centralized graded schools
are, for adequate toilets, fnrnished
with sanfitary hoppers and lava-'
tories, these rooms 'should be, at
recess time in charge of the janitor
for the boys and of tie lady teach
ers in turn, for the girls. Of coarse,
this means extra expense to our
school system, but could we as tax
payers, ask for a better expenditure
of our money, if judiciously -used
than in the endeavor to safe-guard
the morals of our children. Our
children are not only "the liUt?s of
our Nation" but they are our most
precious possession, so I say .God
speed the day, where more attention
is given -o this phase of school life.
Under the teachers' care, from
day to day, come from 30 to 40
punils from possibly as many homes.
The majority of these children ccme
from what we generally term, re
spectable homes. Yet, I believe I
am safe in saying that at least one
half of these children have very
little attention given them, as to
the use of' even well established
hygienic rules. They do not bathe
regularly, the teeth are neglected,
and in fact the conditions are such
that it is simply appalling to one
who enters the average school room
from the pure outer air, to be greet
ed with the stench ol body orders
which fill his nostrils.
, This condition exists in most of
the lower and elementary grades
and I ara sorry to cay Vnt cany
grown students are as careless as the
smaller ones.
This is due from a lack of interest
in keeping the body which is the
temple of the soul, in a proper con
dition, and if a teacher can imbue
her pupils with a proper regard for
these essentials of cleanliness, such
as proper and regular bathing, car
ing for the teeth and nails, etc. she
or he will have done something for
'those pupils which will benefit them,
long after they have forgotten im
portant historical and geographical
facts. I do not believe as a rule
that parents are .wilfully careless,
but many mothers have never been
taught the importance of these
things and really do not realize how
much they wrong the child by not
insisting on these things being done.
Given a wholesome schoolroom, pure
air and a clean body, the pupil of
average ability will do good work, if
he has a teacher who understands
how to direct his work. The stand
ard of efficiency in scholarship and
training is being raised all the time
and except in rare cases the teach
ers are well fitted for the work of
training the intellect, of the child,
provided they have the tact and in
sight necessary to deal with chil
dren, as children.
Ignorance of the working of the
child mind, and of the stages of
growth in body as well as in mental
development, is the cause of the
failure of many teachers to make
good. Many of our best teachers
today are not the ones who are the
most excellent scholars, but are those
who have made a study of the child
and have adapted the work to suit
the capabilities of the different in
dividuals so that each one learns.
Remember, I have in mind the
average child. Of course, In every
school some pupils are unusually
brilliant and others are naturally
slow, and it is a tactful teacher in
deed who can marshall her forces
of mind and will bring something
of benfit and interest to each one.
I would sav we need teachers who
from the standpoint of .honor, mor
ality and justice, seeing to it that
every child has a square deal, re
gardless of personal congeniality to
the teacher are models In these
-things . to every, child.
Next One of .the greatest needs
of our schools, is proper co-operation
of the parent and, teacher. Lack
of such co-operation is due to the
indifference of the parent or teach
er or both.
Many teachers imagine because
more parents do not visit the
schools, that it is a sure indication
of lack of interest in . the school.
Such may be the case, no doubt
often is so, but it is not safe to
consider it so, universally. There
are many reasons why parents do
not oftener visit the schools.
First of which, I believe is natural
timidity. Many people would enjoy
the visit if it were not for the fear
that they would be called upon to
make some remarks to the school.
This sounds cueerly, but, I have
known such to be the case. Then,
again, many stand in awe. if not fear
of the teacher and think! they would
not be welcomed. I have in mind
one teacher who, while outwardly
courteous, jnakes her patrons feel
uncomfortable and they soon realize
that their visits are looked upon as
intrusions. This is a rare occurence
for most teachers gladly welcome in
terested visitors. Often we find that
a courteous note of inquiry or of
explanation as to any deficiency or
delinquincv brings a hearty response
from mcst parents, for believe me,
the majority of parents are very
much interested in their children
and are willing to do anything in
their power for their advancement.
I only remember one incident when
a courteous note or friendly visit
failed to bring the proper response.
I had two children brothers, one 10
and the other past 8 who were In
the second grade. They were un
fortunately of the dull, slow class
but were in school with other chil
dren. I expended much energy and
patience on the two, giving them
much time that really belonged to the
other members of the class. . I final
ly concluded to ask the parents to
help them a little in the evenings.
I wrote a '-ery courteous, kindly
note, making known my wishes and
received in response This :
"We hain't srot no time to learn
our children. That's what youre
hired fur."
I ceased to wonder why it was so
difficult for the two little boys to
forge ahead and am much afraid
that their education was very meagre
for there was a lack of proper ef
fort as well as lack of intellect..
Often lack of co-operation Is direct
ly traceable to perverted ideas about
what is expected. Oftener by far, I
believe many parents would gladly
give any needed help if they eotld
do so. It is a notorious fact that
even teachers who fail to keep up
certain lints of work become rcsty
and often become perplexed over
what was at one time familiar to
them. Just so the parents who en
gaged in other lines of work, become
rusty and often cannot be depended
on in a crisis.
Every teacher should so conduct
himself that he can have the un
qualified indorsement of every pat
ron, and then there will be no
criticism of the teacher in the home.
This is essential to the well-being of
the pupil for if he hears uncompli
mentary remarks at home it destroys
the teachers' influence and his work
suffers in consequence. There are
many more needs of the school
namely better and larger .play
grounds, persistent drills in polite
ness, especially , impressing upon
boys their chivalrous and manly
duties to their sisters and other
girls, insist that every boy be a
gentleman and every girl a lady, re
specting the rights of others aa well
as to their own. The importance of
the teacher in maintaining his dig
nity yet unbending when it seems
best to do so under stress of circum
stances. Many more needs could be urged,
but I would sum up the needs of
the school under three general heads :
1. More Sanitary buildings.
2. More efficient, tactful, common
sense teachers.
3. More appreciative, loyal and
sympathetic parents.
Given these essentials, the pupils
of average health and intelligence
must turn out well in harmony for
would be working in harmony for
his advancement.
Christmas Stamps TJnmailable.
No adhesive stamps, or imitations
of stamps, of any form or design
whatever, other than lawful postage
stamps, shall be affixed to the ad
dress side of domestic mail matter;
but such adhesive stamps, provided
they do not in form and design re
semble lawful postage stamps, and do
not bear numerable, may be affixed
to the reverse side of domestic mail
matter.
All domestic mail matter bearing
on the address side, adhesive stamps,
or imitations of stamps, other than
lawful postage stamps, will .be re
turned to. the- sender if known, other
wise 'they will be1 forwarded, to the
Division of Dead Letters; '
The following countries refuse to
admit to their mails articles, bear
ing Christmas stamps no " matter
where placed:
Austria, Norway and Portugal.
Other foreign countries admit
articles bearing such non-postage
stamps providing they are affixed to
the back of article.
In all cases the name and address
of the sender should be plainly
written on the letter or package with
ink so that if the mail matter vio
lates this rule the mail may be re
turned to sender without the delay
and expense of sending it to the
Dead Letter office.
Assault and Battery.
Walter S. Bell of Inwood plead
guilty to assaulting Daniel Carlson,
and was given a fine, which with
costs amounts to $35.50.
Pell is a section man on the Penn
sylvania railroad and Mr. Carlson is
the section foreman. In some way
there was na religious argument up,
and a remark made by Carlson an
gered young Bell and he grabbed a
shovel änd struck his foreman down.
A deep gash was cut in his forehead,
and he was taken by his men to Dr.
Kizer who took some stitches in
the wound, and made the injured
man comfortable. This happened
last Thursday, and Tuesday the case
was brought before Justice C. P.
Holloway, and on being asked if
the charge was true, young Bell re
plied that it was, that Jie did take
the shovel and hit Carlson over the
head. It was thought advisable to
change the charge, to Assault with a
deadly weapon with intent .to kill,
but Mr. Carlson did not want this
done, and it was left with a fine as
above stated, which was stayed by
the young man's father, Fred Bell.
BARBER.
Joseph Mullet and Joseph Klein
dinst attended the Fat Stock show
at Chicago Friday and Saturday of
last week.
Wm. Stevenson was called to
Michigan Monday by the death of
hfs father.
On account of the inclement weath
er . Friday evening the Literary ex
ercises at the Schroeder school
house were postponed until Saturday
evening of this week.
Revival meetings are still in prog
ress. Good attendance and much in
terest shown, also a goodsiiumber of
accessions to the church.
Mrs. Clara Thompson of near Ar-
gos was in Plymouth Tuesday shop
ing and visiting with her cousin,
Mrs. Eva L Underwood.
LARGE STOVE
FACTORY BOS
HIGH
"PLYMOUTH ROCK RANGE"
PEOPLE MAKING BASE BURN
ERS, HOT BLAST AND CAST
RANGE STOVES.
FIRST SEEN AT SOCIAL
Presbyterian Ladies Use New Rasa
Burner To Heat Building Where
They Gave Dinner and
Bazaar.
The Plymouth Stove and Range
Company now have a full line of
heating stoves ready for the market.
Their success with the "Plymouth '
Rock Range" was largely "instru
mental in bringing cut this addi
tional line. A Plymouth Rock base
burner, a Plymouth Rock hot blast
and a Plymouth Rock cast range
are some of the new stoves to be
made and marketed in Plymouth.
The Plymouth Stove and Range
Company have been working for
some time to perfect the patterns
and secure the castings for these
new stoves and they announced to
day that they would have every
thing ready by January 1, when they
propose to begin A thorough selling
campaign throughout Indiana and
surrounding states.
The Plymouth Rock Steel Range
that they have been making for
about three years is a wonderful
success. There is probably no range
on the market that does the service
so completely as it does. It speaks
well for the manufacturers as well
as for the town, for every range
that goes out is a standing adver
tisement for Plymouth.
We congratulate the manufacturers
for their enterprise and predict that
all their dreams of a large stove
factory in our city will sometime
come true.
The "Plymouth Rock" base burn
er was on exhibition Friday night
at the Presbyterian Bazaar in the
old Allman room on Laporte street.
It furnished the heat for that large
room exceedingly well. Many com
plimentary remarks were paid it by
the many visitors on that occasion.
Its simplicity and neatness make it
one of the most attractive stoves on
the market.
Underwent an Operation.
Miss Esther 0Keefe, only daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. OTveefe,
underwent an operation at. Mercy
Hospital in Chicago on Monday
last. Mis OKeefe has been sick for
a number of years with a. disease
that baffled the physicians, and has
greatly hindered her ambition in
educational lines.. Last week she
was subjected to an examination,
with the result that the physicians
at the hospital pronounced her case
aS chronic appendicitus, and advised
an operation at once. In sixty
three minutes from the time she was
taken to the operation floor she was
returned to her room, and is now
getting along very well, with good
hopes of complete recovery. Dr.
Murphy was the operating physician
and Dr. Mix the attendant They
found the condition just as they
had decided it must be, and the
many friends of Miss O'Keefe,' as
well as of her parents, will be re
joiced that she will soon be home
well. Mrs. 0Keefo will go in a few
days to visit her at the hospitaL-
SUGO.
Mrs. Noah Marsh, Mrs. Ned.
Marsh visited with Herry BurcVs
Friday.
The Sligo people are sorry that
tt s Perkins family are moving out of
the neighborhood.
Three shredders have been in the
neighborhood this week.
Mr. and Urs. Rae Haring visited
with bis father over Sunday.
John Anderson u firing for Ilr.
Bender's shredder.
Will Ecpbart lost a teres Situs
dy ci-t. '