BUSTED AN EARLY TRUST

RIGGLE, PARKINS, ROCKAFELLOW

Posted By: David (email)
Date: 1/12/2005 at 10:53:38

The Chariton Leader, Chariton, Iowa
Thursday, September 12, 1907

At the Old Settlers meeting at Derby, last week, PROF. RIGGLE acted as
Marshall of the day. JOSEPH PARKINS attended the reunion of the 34th
regiment at Grand River on the first day, but was present, Friday, and
enlivened the occasion with his experiences. In his talk A.J. IRWIN
eulogized the honesty of the first settlers, and said that locks and keys
were things unknown and unnecessary. The only think they took which they
did not hold title to was timber and that was a religious necessity and he
honored them for being able to look out for themselves. In the first
settling of that part of the country the land sharks got in and cornered all
the timber and left none for improvement and fire wood. The sharks wouldn't
file on prairie land at all but decided to form a timber trust. It was then
that many of the settlers went in and busted the trust and in after years
the sharks came out to view their possessions of barren hills and bald knobs
they felt as badly as did John D. Rockafellow (sic) when a fine of
twenty-nine million dollars was taxed up against him.

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In another column of the same date:

Talk about doing things! Last week the 34th Regiment of Iowa Volunteers
held its reunion at Grand River, a small town of about 400, and they put up
the best entertainment the regiment had ever enjoyed on a similar occasion.
Everybody took a hand and each individual was a committee of one to see that
it was a success. $800 was contributed by individuals for incidental
expenses, and the stand privileges netted about $200 more. At least $1,000
was expended to show a local welcome to the veterans.
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Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert
January 3, 2005
iggy29@rnetinc.net