Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm Extractions from the Blakesburg Excelsior Wapello County, IA, Feb 1927. Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Martha Richards maseattle@copper.net Microfilm from State Historical Society of Iowa Blakesburg (Wapello Co, IA) Excelsior Newspaper, Jan 1, 1925 (missing issues Aug 6, 13;) Oct 8, 1925-Dec 25, 1930 Thurs Feb. 3, 1927 --Chas. VanCLEAVE spent Thursday afternoon with his mother, Mrs. N. B. VanCLEAVE. --Mrs. Frances WILSON and son Edgar spent Sunday afternoon with Bob and Jim WILSON --Ed BUCKINGHAM and wife spent Friday at the home of their son Frank in Moravia. Their little grandson accompanied them home for a weeks visit. CARD OF THANKS We desire to thank the kind friends, neighbors and relatives for their assistance and sympathy during the illness and death of our beloved wife and mother. Also for the beautiful floral offerings. N. P. PEARSON (sic) and Family. MORE LOCAL NEWS --Joe SCHOECH has been appointed guardian of Mrs. Malinda SAPP --Mr. and Mrs. Walter BARNES of Chariton were guests of Blakesburg relatives Sunday. --Dan POLLARD and wife came down from Moravia last Saturday for a visit at the Alex TUBAUGH home. --E. G. SCHAEFER and wife entertained Superintendent and Mrs. FARNSWORTH and daughter Marjorie, last Sunday. --Mrs. Ida PICKERELL, who has spent the past few months touring Oregon, California, Nebraska, arrived at the home of her son George west of town last week. Mrs. PICKERELL will return to Blakesburg about March 1st. RESOLUTION OF RESPECT AND SYMPATHY Whereas, God in his goodness has seen fit to remove from temporal life a beloved friend and neighbor of this vicinity and wife of our loyal member, Brother Pete PIERSON (sic). Be it therefore resolved that we as members of Hickory Flats Local No. 924 of F.E. and C. V. extend to the bereaved husband and family our heartfelt condolence in this, their time of sorrow. Resolved further that these resolutions be made part of the minutes of this local and that a copy be sent to the bereaved family and that copies be sent to the "Iowa Union Farmer" and "Blakesburg Excelsior" for publication. Mrs. Ethan MAJORS, Mrs. Carl BELLES, committee. Thurs Feb 10, 1927 PARAGRAPHS --Herman SNOW and wife and Herbert SNOW and wife of Ottumwa were here to attend the funeral service of the late Mrs. DeHAVEN Sunday. --Another old pioneer has passed on to her reward and she’ll be greatly missed by her friends, neighbors and acquaintances. We refer to Mrs. DeHAVEN. (SEE: Obituary "Death’s Toll" 10 Feb 1927) --Wm. BRAY, splendid citizen and prince of good fellows residing at Eldon some times, passed through town last Thursday enroute to his farm near Unionville. --The closing out sale of Frank A. NOLAND will be Tuesday, February 16, and A. W. McMULIN Wednesday, February 16th (sic) Sale ads appear elsewhere in this issue. (NOTE: Ads not available) --A good-sized crowd was in attendance at the Oscar HARVEY closing out sale last Tuesday and property brought...(rest of notice is missing) --The Excelsior is in receipt of a letter from our old friend Sander PIERSON, who resides at Mt. Vernon, Washington, in which he states that he and his family are getting on fine. Oliver PREVOR has rented Mr. PIERSON’s farm north of Blakesburg. --A sign on the door of CHIDESTER’s Cream and Poultry station last Saturday read, "We have quit business." We understand Harry finds trucking more profitable than taking care of eggs and cream this time of year and decided to close his place of business. Thurs. Feb 17, 1927 PARAGRAPHS --Mrs. Asa BERRY and daughter, Betty Ruth spent Saturday night near Highland Center, at the ROBERTSON house. --Rex McNURLAN has rented the rooms formerly occupied by DUBOIS as a shoe shop and will camp there until spring opens in good shape. --Miss Daphen DOTSON, Moravia, has accepted a Civil Service position for Stenographer in Washington D.C. She will leave for Washington in about one week. Miss DOTSON received her training for Civil Service while attending the Iowa Success School at Ottumwa. --Mr. and Mrs. Ecil (sic) BENSON returned last week from Des Moines where they have been attending a barber college the past two months. They take possession of the SHEEHY barber shop in March when an inventory of the stock will be taken. We understand the pool tables will be discarded and the place made into an uptodate (sic) beauty parlor and barber shop. The BENSONs are splendid workmen and they expect to operate a nice clean place and one that will be a credit to the town. Roy SHEEHY will remain with the new firm until early spring. LIKE HISTORY Denver Col., Feb 9, 1927 Dear Friend, I see in the items of your newspaper that I am about due a letter. Don’t think for one minute that I am not watching and reading everything in it, advertisements and all. I see in the last issue where you got back to 1899. I can remember so many of the ones you speak of. I do enjoy reading the names and occurrences that I knew of and about. I see where my old friend, Tip PHINNEY took first prize at the fiddlers’ convention. You tell him for me that if Uncle Hiram VanCLEAVE of your city were alive he could sit flat on the floor in somebody’s kitchen and play "Hell Broke Loose in Parmersville" all night and the present day fiddlers would quit and come dance to his music. Getting back to years ago in your city, Fred, my memory is still fresh when my father came from the Civil war in 1864. We lived there in town and I was only four years old. The first school house was a one-room log cabin about 14x16 feet square and stood across a big hollow, north of the old Baptist church, and as the population increased they moved the school into an old wagon shop that stood on the southwest corner of the second block north of State street on the right side and a teacher by the name of Mr. Samuel GASTON was in charge. Then they moved into a brick building one-forth mile west of this school in Monroe county and stayed there until they built where your present school building stands. The first hotel or tavern as it was called, was a long two story building of frame structure and stood just south of where Henry FRITZ built a house and was kept by a man that was always know by the name of Uncle Jimmie ADAMS and at that time the old regular stages run between Centerville and Ottumwa and always stopped at the tavern. This was back in the Sixties (1860’s). But the main corner built up where they are now and T. Chelton BOMAR built where the Blakesburg Savings Bank now stands, which was a hotel and store. This store front was set in about one and a half feet on a nice flat lime stone which made nice divan seats I well remember Uncle Jimmie GARLINGHOUSE who was always there and played marbles with the boys. One summer day when they were playing there were five men rode up and let their horses stand and got down and Uncle Jimmie let them right in the game and they played quite a while then got on their horses and rode away. Some one asked Uncle who those fellows were. Oh he said they were Frank and Jessie JAMES and Bob, Cole, and Jim YOUNGER. Talked just as though he had always played with them. The very same day they rode out to Corydon and robbed the bank and then went on home into Missouri. It was too bad that Mr. ABEGG tore down and changed this building and spoiled these seats were (sic) all the farmers rehearsed on Saturday afternoon. That is where they cut the brush, shaved the hoops, plowed the corn and cradled the wheat. I am getting up into the seventies (1870’s)here. Uncle Johnny ABERNATHY would plant 10 acres of corn with a hand planted a day and I would follow him barefooted with another 10 and Mose would come home from Chicago and declare we had played around all week. (This is as written) These were the days of armstrong farming. Fred if this old corner could only talk it could tell you all about it and if those old base rocks are around there yet you can see they are worn in like scoop shovels. They would come down on them so hard expounding and telling the other fellow how it was done. I will quit here but I hope you keep printing in your paper as you did in the last issue of what happened long ago. It is sure interesting for me. I had a long letter the other day from Frank THARP of Albia telling me all about old times and I sure enjoy any news from good old Blakesburg the home of my boyhood. Keep the news coming. Sincerely Yours, Fred HARDY. MORE LOCAL NEWS --Mrs. M. H. ABERNATHY and daughter Mrs. Ed STUTZ were Des Moines visitors last week. --A good sized crowd attended the closing out sale at Frank NOLAND’s last week. The property brought good prices. --Frank VANCLEAVE of Peoria, Ill., (was) a week end visitor with relatives (and) friends. Frank gets homesick for (the) scenes of his younger days ocasionally and pays the old town a visit. --Miss Bertha HOWK, daughter of (Mr?) and Mrs. H. B. HOWK, of near (Ottumwa?) was married Sunday afternoon January 23, at 12:30 to Mr. Glen OVERTURF, son of Mr. and Mrs. L. M. OVERTURF, of near Belknap. The ceremony was held at the home of the (Rev?) Luther W. CHILDS, who read the s(ervice?) in the presence of the bride’s parents. The bride wore a spring model fr(ock?)of silk blue flat crepe with trimmings of silver. After the service they (r??ed) to the bride’s home. Following congratulations, a dinner was served (to? for?) twenty-seven guests. Those present including the parents of the bridegroom Mr. and Mrs. . M. OVERTURF and family, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence SH(???), Mr. and Mrs. Mosie LEONARD and family, Mr. and Mrs. Willis LEONARD and family, Mrs. Catherine LEONARD.--Bloomfield Democrat. (NOTE: right edge of these notices is missing) Thurs Feb 24, 1927 Mrs. SCOTT spent a part of last week at the home of her daughter Mrs. John FISHER who is very poorly.