Ida County IAGenWeb

(MVE = Maple Valley Era, Ida Grove, Iowa, IGE = Ida Grove Era, Ida Grove, Iowa, P = Ida County Pioneer, Ida Grove, Iowa)

P 1-1-1891

Joe Berger made himself famous at a shooting match in Battle Creek on Christmas day, where he shot 10 straight live pigeons and won a prize of $10.00.

Santa Claus came on foot, the absence of snow gave his reindeer a rest.

P 1-15-1891

Column heading. . . local gatherings, things caught, culled and coolly collared.

Not so many gunny sacks coming to town now. It must be too cold for refreshment.

P 1-22-1891

Wonder what the matter is with the weather signal flags; I haven’t seen them displayed for quite some time.

MVE 2-5-1891

Alfred Jacobson & Hilda Nilsen were married by Squire Pettit on Sunday at the courthouse. The young man was invited to the wedding by Constable Froitt and given the choice of marrying the girl or going to jail to await the action of the next term of court on seduction charges.

MVE 2-5-1891

Ladies’ Aid society of the Baptist Church will give a weight social at the home of R. P. Walrod on Friday evening, February 6th. Everybody most cordially invited for supper. Gentlemen are to pay 25¢ per 100 lbs and 5¢ for every additional 10 lbs. for ladies’ weight.

MVE 2-12-1891

Masquerade dance given Friday evening. Everyone full of fun and enjoyment, when a break in the music came and all was still, in walked old mother Flanagan leading her husband and carrying her carpet sack and from all appearances had not been to a ball for some time judging from the size of her “Grecian bend”. Nevertheless, she was a great hit. When dancers unmasked at 11:00 P. M., the old woman was none other than Jim Krick impersonating his favorite character.

MVE 2-26-1891

“The Colored Man” will be the subject of discourse at the Presbyterian Church next Sunday morning. “The Hope of all Nations” will be the subject that evening.

P 3-15-1891

Wils Bender had a live calf tied in the back of his butchery. The boys around town whispered, “calf” in the butchery and everyone went all over thinking, “calf” which comes in a gunny sack.

MVE 3-19-1891

Street commissioner is on a rampage after the owners of broken sidewalks with a sharp stick.

MVE 4-9-1891

Spring has arrived, boys playing marbles.

P 4-16-1891

Little Ralph Heilman created great excitement by appearing in his first pair of trousers last Monday.

MVE 4-23-1891

Rats are too numerous in town for the comfort of our citizens and scores are caught in traps and turned loose to be slaughtered by delighted boys and terriers.

P 7-3-1891

A writer in “Dumb Animals” says that whenever a horse balked, he lifted its forefoot and struck the shoe with a few blows from a stone, and that always worked.

P 7-24-1891

Rev. C. C. Marston preached Monday evening at the Baptist Church on the “Difference between Religion and Animal Excitement”.

P 8-7-1891

Owing to frequent moving around to the many different places in which the boys congregate to enjoy their beer, they have rechristened the occasion and now instead of the old name “calf” it is known as the merry-go-round.

P 9-4-1891

One day last week Dr. Heilman removed a 30’ tapeworm from a 14-year old boy.

MVE 9-24-1891

A calf which some of the “boys” aged from 20 to 50 had secreted as they supposed last Thursday night was led to the slaughter by a different gang and when crew #1 went for refreshments, lo, the stall was empty. Numerous youths who had been watching the spot from a safe distance say that the air was lurid for a time.

MVE 11-26-1891

Tea party at Mrs. Tremaine’s 40 guests were each given a bulb to plant.

MVE 12-10-1891

Sometime ago a baby was born here with 5 fingers and a thumb on one hand. The superfluous finger was amputated.

MVE 1-7-1892

Party at Wm. Wilcox’s, men bring material for a necktie, women bring hat frame and material. Men to make women’s hats, women make men’s ties. Prof. Yates awarded paper-cutter. . .1st place prize for hat trimming. Fred Sears. .ABC mug, learn the ABC’s of hat trimming. E. J. Bardwell. .hatchet, no success as hat-trimmer. Emma Schiller, Maggie Quail, Carrie Johnson, each got 2 after-tea sets besides ties.

MVE 1-21-1892

—42 on Tuesday.

MVE 7-28-1892

Chas. Havens came from Battle Creek to have pteryguim removed from eye.

P 8-26-1892

Rathjens found a large tarantula in bananas, now on exhibit in his store.

MVE 9-15-1892

Common sense social at Geo. B. Johnson’s. Tested 5 senses, premium to the one making the most correct answers.

MVE 9-22-1892

Hand organ man in town Tuesday.

MVE 10-20-1892

Ora Johnston last week while threshing had a kernel of barley driven into his ear and through the eardrum. No danger to his hearing, kernel removed and nature will repair it.

P 11-25-1892

Ferd Brechwald bet $64.00 with a traveling man that he could take him to Ida Grove from Holstein in a horse and buggy within 59 min. He made it in 54 min. 20 sec.

MVE 2-9-1893

To the public. . .those who have been so busy and have made themselves so very interested in my family affairs of late would do me a great favor by attending to their own business. I think that my husband and I are capable of attending to our own family troubles. And those who have taken such an active part are my family’s greatest enemies and those who have let my family matters to take care of themselves I consider my friends. Mrs. M. R. Karterman.

P 3-30-1893

It is a great comfort to know a woman is worth more after she is dead than a man. At least a woman’s skeleton sells for more.

MVE 6-8-1893

Jefferson Davis died 4 years ago, his body is now moved to Richmond from New Orleans.

P 6-8-1893

Edwin Booth died at age 60.

MVE 6-29-1893

Where do all the flies come from:

The toper makes the blue bottle fly;

The stern father makes the gad fly;

The cyclone makes the house fly;

The blacksmith makes the fire fly;

The driver makes the horse fly;

The carpenter makes the saw fly;

The grocer makes the sand fly;

The boarders make the butter fly.

MVE 7-13-1893

Strangers should be warned against going too near growing corn during this great growing weather, because there is danger of personal injury.

P 8-10-1893                 (From P 5-13-1875)

Painted on wagon cover in large black letters, in town from Delaware County:

Where shall we go

And how shall we fare

No one will know

And damn few will care.

MVE 8-31-1893

We will venture that no town in IA as 2 men who aspire to the honor of newspapermen and yet know so little about spelling or grammar as the pencil-pushers of Odebolt papers.

P 9-14-1893

Johnstone, the great mind-reader, made a drive through town this afternoon, blindfolded. A committee was selected to drive through the streets of town and hide a pin for Mr. Johnstone to find. This committee drove around different blocks in the city and hid the pin in a lumber pile at the Green Bay Lumberyard. Mr. Johnstone was in the back part of Simon Drugstore while the committee was driving. When they came back he was blindfolded and taken to the carriage. He took the lines and drove over the same route that the committee had chosen. He got out of the carriage in front of the Savings Bank and grasping Dr. Heilman’s hand rushed down to the lumberyard and in a few moments had found the pin. He was nearly exhausted from the effort. This is one of the cases where one can scarcely believe his eyes.

IGE 8-30-1894

Mrs. F. L. Hadlock and her daughter, Mrs. C. C. Williams, had a “fad” party, each lady guest wore an emblem suggesting her fad or hobby. Other guests had to guess what the fad was.

IGE 10-4-1894

That sticky substance over the surface of the ground last week was mud. Some of our oldest inhabitants remember several such visits in the past.

IGE 12-13-1894

The old saying, “Winter’s fog will freeze a dog.” has not yet come true for dogs as of last week but no dog can tell what is yet in store for it.

IGE 1-3-1895

Prof. Gould, (old homestead) tells of New England home life before, during and after the war, plays and tells stories, piano, organ, guitar, banjo and mouth organ.

P 4-12-1895

Poetry in response to Rube Wasser’s contest, best 6 lines on his $3.00 shoes.

1st Place: Mrs. A. B. Chaffee

What profit hath man while hunting for goal

If he gain the whole world but lose his own sole

No danger in this loss, if you heed our advice

And buy shoes of Wasser, cheap only in price

They are stylish, neat-fitting, well-made and will wear

The best shoe ever sold at $3.00 a pair.

2nd Place: C. J. R. McDonnell

Of all the shoes that fit the feet

For country, town or city street

Rube Wasser keeps the best supply

With prices just right for you and I

And if you don’t believe this is true

Just call and see his fine $3.00 shoe.

3rd Place: Mrs. F. R. Moorehead

As woman’s love is lasting and true

So is Rube Wasser’s $3.00 shoe

For beauty and style, for polish and make

They surpass anything for sale in the state

They will fit anyone with 5 toes on their feet

And surprise you with comfort while walking on the street.

4th Place: G. C. Hubbard

R. S. Wasser, that ‘half-sole’ man

Has adopted a plan unique

To advertise his $3.00 shoes

With which none can compete

For pointed toes, for dudettes and dudes,

No place in town can equal Rube’s.

5th Place: R. L. Pritchard, age 14

At Wasser’s you will find on view

A handsome, neat $3.00 shoe

It is firm and soft and stylish too

In workmanship ‘tis good and true

And you can nothing better do

Than purchase this $3.00 shoe.

IGE 8-8-1895

Dr. R. M. Getman had a cataract removed at Cedar Rapids.

IGE 8-15-1895

John & Arthur Johnson and Alfred Anderson, south of Odebolt, were struck by lightning.

IGE 8-22-1895

A. C. Fish has a trio of live monkeys in his store window.

P 9-19-1895

City fathers placed a barrel of ice water for drinking purposes in several places on Principal Street for fair visitors.

P 10-8-1895

First frost dates:

1886: 9-29                    1892: 10-14                  1898: 9-30                    1904: 10-5

1887: 9-23                    1893: 9-24                    1899: 9-28                    1905: 10-9

1888: 9-27                    1894: 9-10                    1900: 9-16                    1906: 10-10

1889: 9-16                    1895: 9-23                    1901: 9-19                    1907: 9-24

1890: 9-12                    1896: 9-18                    1902: 9-12                    1908: 9-27

1891: 10-6                    1897: 9-17                    1903: 10-4

IGE 11-28-1895

W. F. Meyer will visit Woodbury County skunk farm, to see how to manage, etc. He has several tamed, and plans to raise them in spring.

IGE 12-5-1895

Trained dog show on Saturday, free parade of 25 dogs. . .At Williams Opera House.

P 12-12-1895

Battle Creek bloods had genuine possum supper Friday evening. Toothsome quadrupeds so suggestive of moonlit nights and real n****** shipped from AR to grace the occasion.

IGE 1-2-1896

Washington Press. . .Last spring, T. T. Kelley distributed perhaps 10 bu. of pipe cob corn among some 24 farmers not far away to try. It was a success in every case. James Lukavsky shelled 1,000 ears of it and on Saturday sold 10 bu. of corn for $2.00 and got $2.50 for the cobs. IL raises it extensively. We now make molasses of the cobs, coarse carpet for office floors and it also makes an attractive wall covering.

P 1-9-1896

A. C. Fish has a genuine Egyptian mummy worth $3,000.00 in his window on Main Street.

P 1-16-1896

Stag party, plenty horse (Ottmer Sacquety)

P 1-23-1896

Negro log cabin in A. C. Fish’s window.

P 2-6-1896

Group Grant farmers bringing hogs to town in wagons, 3 of them raced into town, Mayor Burns saw them and fined them $5.00 each.

IGE 2-27-1896

Dr. Conn has added an illuminating battery to his office and laboratory that is really a wonder. You swallow a little bulb attached to a greased string, the doctor turns the button and is able to see what you had for breakfast.

IGE 3-14-1895

Seven Boye children sent by city, 3 to Davenport and 4 to Sioux City to be adopted by branch of Christian home, mother relinquished custody.

P 4-12-1895

Hansen millinery, week before Easter, Lillian Russell and Tribly hats.

P 4-19-1895

Frank Burns sold his horse Almont Bashaw to Manchester man.

IGE 5-23-1895

Odebolt ladies with bloomers on bicycles. .from Pioneer

So far as we have investigated the subject, a bicycle dress for ladies is a two-legged dress similar to a pair of pants only a little more so. It is rather full about the hip pockets and a trifle loose in the region where a man usually strikes a match, while the bottoms around the ankle is tied to keep the mice out. This kind of dress cannot be put on over the head. The wearer must sit on the floor and put it on as she does a pair of stockings, one foot in each skirt. She must also be sure to get the right part in front and should remember and not get too happy imagining she is a man.

P 5-24-1895

Newfoundland pup driven by Barney Hester’s son.

Shetland stallion driven by E. B. Curry.

IGE 7-11-1895

Members bike club give parade tomorrow evening, Japanese lanterns furnished.

IGE 7-18-1895

During the past week an odd-looking craft has been standing at the rear of Basssett’s Carpentry Shop. At first it was only a pair of threshing machine trucks but on them was soon erected a frame about 20’ long, about 8’ wide and 7’ high. This was encased and covered and fitted out with a door and windows. On the inside were placed 8 bunks something like those in a sleeping car, a neat dressing room placed in one corner and a good-sized refrigerator built underneath. Although the thing attracted considerable attention and a 1,000 questions were asked about it and more lies told concerning it than we would like to be responsible for. Everybody wanted to know the name of it. Some said it was the Gothenberg camping wagon, others called it the U. S. ditching outfit and still others something else. The truth of the matter is this. J. W. Reed ordered it built for a camping wagon to take his family with J. T. Hallam and family across the country to Spirit Lake to spend the hot weather. The wagon was so commodious and pleasant that several others were invited to join. Accordingly, they start for the lakes tomorrow morning, the party consisting of Reeds and son Roscoe; J. T. Hallam and Bernie; R. S. Wasser, Mrs. E. J. Bardwell, Miss Julia Jacob and Lena Quail. The house is very lightly built and aside of the trucks weighs only about 1,000 lbs. and with an entire load will not weigh more than 3,000 lbs., hence one team moved it with 11 occupants very nicely. The party will do their cooking outside of the wagon in nice weather but during bad weather, they will have enough room to cook, eat and sleep. They will occupy it not only coming and going but also at the lakes.

IGE 7-25-1895

At T. Wilkinson’s farm, which is 6 mi. south of Ida Grove, they were digging a well and found a mastodon tusk 7’ long at a depth of 32’.

IGE 8-1-1895

To drive off fleas, use 5¢ lavender oil mixed with an equal amount of water and spray the resulting mixture on the walls.

P 11-26-1896

Vice-President Adlai Stevenson is traveling on an eastbound trail through Ida Grove to his home in Springfield, IL from a Sioux City visit with his sister Mrs. R. H. Brown. The number of people here upon being told the Vice-President was on the train, asked, “Who is the Vice-President?”

P 1-14-1897

This section was visited by the far end of a blizzard on Tuesday night, where the snow fell to a depth of several inches without drifting much, and made for good sleighing.

P ?-??-????

Andrew Jackson, colored but all-around hustler, works at the Farmer’s home motel.

P ?-??-????

Nose parties are among the latest fads. Girls are all concealed behind a curtain into which small slits have been cut; each girl then puts her nose through a slit and the young men select their partners for the evening based on their nose. There is a great advantage over the old game of selecting partners based on their feet. Then the girl would wiggle her toes a little, stand in some manner, who understood the pre-arranged signal, could recognize her. No girl, however accomplished she may be, can wiggle her nose or arrange it in the slit so the lover can detect it with unerring certainty.

P 1-21-1897

It is reported that at the latest meeting of the K. of L. of this city a prominent and heretofore highly respected member was expelled, upon conviction of having flagrantly violated one of the basic laws of the order. The name of the order in full is Knights of Leisure and it meets at Bleakly & Shearer Grocery. The member who was expelled has been caught in the very act of helping his wife do a washing and work on the part of any member is one of the things that won’t be tolerated by the order.

P 2-4-1897

Edison’s latest invention, the magnescope, shows the Corbett & Mitchell fight or a barn fire reproduced on canvas.

IGE 2-11-1897

Danbury reduced teacher pay to $32.50/month, and the pay of the board to $20.00.

P 2-18-1897

Peter Weisensee made an instrument cross between a guitar and a harp, and the end result resembles a lyre.

P 3-25-1897 (3-21-1897?)

The production of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” will play at the Williams Opera House on 3-21 (3-25?)

P 4-29-1897

The Class of 1897 has the class colors of  pink, silver and gray and the motto, “Virtue is our anchor.”

IGE 5-6-1897

Kegrice wound and started an 8-day clock 2 weeks ago on Monday and it stopped on Saturday at 5 P. M. There were 317 guesses as to when it would stop, the winner had their choice of articles in his front window, he took cloc ????? ???? ???

IGE 5-20-1897

Former residents of Cedar County picnicked in Moorehead Grove on Thursday.

P 6-10-1897

The weather for the past three weeks was quite cool, with occasional frosts.

P 7-15-1897

James Panchier was at 2nd & Main for the past month, with a razor and knife grinding machine, and he had good business.

P 7-22-1897

Father Kelly has 100 variety trees at his home as well as roses at the college grounds.

P 8-5-1897

Lemon Bros. Circus came to town, with 20 or more cars. .toughest gang camp followers. .from start to finish mob a troop of unmitigated scoundrels. .parade. .sham. .menagerie, fraud. The best part was watching them load and go to MO.

P 8-??-1897

The Gospel Wagon arrived yesterday and three occupants gave a concert and exhortation on the street last night.

P 8-??-1897

Those young lads who used the sidewalk for a cesspool the other evening would do well not to fill it to overflowing hereafter.

IGE 8-19-1897

A contortionist gave an exhibition on the street last evening, and accompanied by a young lady who favored the audience with several songs. Hat passed. (The meaning of the last sentence is unclear.)

IGE 8-??-1897

Boys gave girls a return picnic, and because of bad weather it was held at Elma Furniture. 30 ladies ate. . .100 buns, 6 gal. of lemonade, 20 cans of baked beans, 5 gal. of ice cream, fruit and cake. There were songs and dancing, games and races. Each girl received a silver teaspoon with her name engraved on it.

P 8-19-1897

A diving horse platform will be erected at the Buena Vista County Fair from August 25-27. The platform will be 30’ high, with an inclined walk to the platform, 10’ long, 3’ wide enclosed by a railing and the platform will be the same width and 10’ long, with a drop at the east end. There will also be a pool 12’deep, lined with canvas, that takes 36 hours to fill.

P 8-??-1897

Howard Easton has a 15-month old colt sired by the Barnes horse “Britton”, and will be trained to perform alone, with no rider, driver, or harness.

IGE 8-26-1897

New celluloid eyeglasses, just the thing for threshers and horsemen. C. A. L. Jensen.

IGE 9-2-1897

Woodward Enterprise. . .John Thomson of Messenger at Ogden candidly believes that hogs in southern KS gather mud balls on their tails of such size as to pull the tail down, thus tightening the skin on the porker until he can’t shut his eyes to sleep and dies of sleep deprivation. John has rather strange ideas.

IGE 9-9-1897

Wm. Bender had a narrow escape with a rather unreliable horse; it went through the gate before he got it completely open. Rather than keep it or sell it to someone else, he killed it.

IGE 9-23-1897

A horse kicked V. O. Bell on the right side of his face, and broke both his jaws. Dentist Clark made a plate with which he fastened the splintered jawbones together.

IGE 10-7-1897

It has been so hot and dusty during the past few weeks that the farmers have had to soak their hogs so that the cracks in their backs would hold swill (Unsure of this word’s definition.)

IGE 10-??-1897

D. P. Green the other day showed us a curiosity in the way of an ear of corn of which every kernel was embedded with husks the same as complete ears usually are. The specimen was grown in MS where he says a distinct variety of corn is grown of which this is not an uncommon occurrence.

P 10-21-1897

The Hester boys have a two-seated carriage of oak, ash and hickory to drive behind their team of Shetland ponies.

IGE 11-4-1897

680 Texan razorback hogs arrived Saturday evening consigned to Wm. Pilcher and others.

IGE 11-11-1897

The 4th sermon in the series on The Pilgrim’s Progress will be given Sunday evening at the Presbyterian Church.

IGE 11-??-1897

Milton Rupert husked 615 bu. of corn over 5½ days.

IGE 12-16-1897

Reno dog show intelligent, sleight of hand. (Meaning of the preceding sentence is unclear.)

IGE 12-23-1897

There was a weasel in Tom Freeney’s chicken house; slaughtered 19.

P 1-6-1898

Leslie King filled the ice house, and invited workers to the Geo. King home for dinner; 26 men and boys. . .

P 1-6-1898

New Year’s dance at Turner’s, with 25 couples meeting at Williams Opera House; Bertha Wilcox managing Unity Hall, with 12 couples.

P 1-??-1898

A. C. Fish had a habit of getting up in winter at about 2:00-3:00 A. M., when he fixed fuel, and at 5:30 A. M. he pressed the switch to turn on the lights and went back to bed. On New Year’s morning he got up as usual, fixed the fire, but when he pressed the switch, the lights went on, so he thought it was late and got everyone up to attend breakfast. Then the lights went out so he looked at his watch and saw the time. The lights had been on until 2:10 A. M. because of the New Year’s party at Williams Opera House.

IGE 2-10-1898

Leather covered mittens. .19¢ at Simon’s

IGE 2-24-1898

Fleece-lined underwear. .$1.75 at Simon’s

P 2-24-1898

Francis E. Williard, the President of the W. C. T. U., died shortly after 12:00 A. M. on the morning of 2-18-1898 at the Empire Hotel in NY. Miss Williard had been ill for about 3 weeks. In her death, the case of temperance will lose its most earnest, active and able champion of humanity, and a devoted friend the world over. The funeral will be held today at Ida Grove. .memorial service at the Methodist Church, with Rev. House presiding.

IGE 3-10-1898

W. H. Barnes 2 diving elk, Ring and Ringlet; 2 horses, Johnnie Jr. and Black Prince.

IGE 3-24-1898

A minister of a poor parish needed new hymnals and agreed to let a patent medicine firm put an ad in the books to pay for them. When he looked at the new hymnals, he was relieved to see no ads, and told the congregation to sing hymn #169 and heard people singing, “Hark the herald angels sing/Johnson’s pills are just the thing/The angel’s voice meek and mild/2 for men and 1 for child.”

IGE 2-10-1898

Wheeler Ranch in Odebolt sold an 1897 to W. P. Adams, men worked in the fields to do no chores, others un-harness, etc.

P 3-31-1898

Robert & Chas. Mercer to Vermillion to train horses, couple of John Somers.

P 4-20-1899

Recommend that Iowa St. be opened to intersect with ½ section of King’s Mill Road and that part of the latter be closed from Bassett Corner to the intersection with Iowa St.

P 4-27-1899

King’s Mill lost only 2 planks in the flood.

P 4-??-1899

Frank Holder got a contract to excavate the Catholic Church’s basement and start.

P 4-??-1899

The Fair Association bought part of James Burrows’ land and part of the railroad’s land north and east, 30 acres bought for $2,500.00

P 5-4-1899

Dr. Holiday’s body was buried at Arlington because of quarantine and will be shipped back here next winter.

IGE 5-17-1899

Courthouse fence torn down, build cement walk to the south, east and north.

P 5-25-1899

J. G. Mehring put in a 12’ wide cement walk with Britch, Hester, J. Rathjen and Blackman.

IGE 5-25-1898

Battle Creek Land & Implement Company’s deed tract west of town, with plenty of trees.

P 6-1-1899

Ladies of Ida Grove meet at C. R. Blackman’s to organize a society to build and maintain a walk to the cemetery.

P 6-8-1899

E. V. Cole sold a hotel to W. I . Ferguson, Flandreau, SD for $10,000.00

P 6-??-1899

City authorities of Ida Grove, notify people and then sent men around with lumber and nails to repair defective sidewalks and charge property owners. .Galva.

P. 6-??-1899

New well NE pump house, 25’ deep, brick and cement sides, cistern, shingle roof on top. Bottom of well 12’ below Odebolt, located about 30’ from nearest water in river. Found piece of wood 23’ below surface in well.

IGE 6-8-1899

9th annual alumni banquet at Grand served by the ladies of the Presbyterian Church.

Chicken salad. .cheese straws. . .veal loaf. .bread and butter sandwiches. . .olives. .pickles. .ham. .Saratoga chips. .wafers. .strawberries. .tea wafers. .angel food. .devil’s food. .pineapple sherbert. .coffee. .fruit. .salted almonds.

P 6-15-1899

Street Commissioner Smith lowered crossing to grade in front of the Williams Opera House, 3rd & Main St. last week and a veritable “shoot the shoots” is the result.

P 6-22-1899

Large welcome arch at Battle Creek Firemen’s Tournament painted by J. T. Montgomery, B. C.

P 6-??-1899

Class of 1899, graduated 9 at Williams Opera House.

P 6-??-1899

School Board donated $25.00 to the class for the purchase of a memento to place in Dewey.

P 7-13-1899

Picture class and Wm. Opera decorated stage.

P 7-??-1899

C. H. Weaver is to build a new school at Odebolt similar to Dewey.

P 8-11-1898

R. J. Pierce of Central Telephone Station is about the proudest man in the city. Telephone Company has placed a private office in his building for use of their customers. It is a solid oak box about 7’ high by 4’ square with plate-glass windows on two sides nicely draped with yellow silk and instrument in interior of wood trimming similar to that of the office with a neat oak table and the transmitter can be adjusted to suit all sizes. The office is double on all sides, thus ensuing privacy.

IGE 8-18-1898

The Sauer Bros. received a carload in Lake City wagons. Axles made with what is known as coach trusses, practically unbreakable. Bottom of box made with quarter sawed wood, so no splinters result when shoveling into the wagon.

IGE 9-29-1898

G. W. McWilliams surveyed the Wheeler farm west of Odebolt and divided 106 ac. into lots.

IGE 11-3-1898

New telephone instrument and switchboard at Pierce’s does away with the continual ring of the bell.

IGE 11-10-1898

Iowa Telephone Company tender newspapermen and chairmen central committee free use of phones at 7:00 P. M. on Tuesday evening until 7:00 A. M. Wednesday morning for the election.

IGE 11-24-1898

No deer in county for years.

IGE 1-26-1899

The Union Gospel will hold services at the Presbyterian Church, the Church of God, the Baptist Church, and the Church of Friends.

IGE 2-2-1899

Lumber hauled to the new town of Schleswig, Morgan twp., one mile SW of present Hohenzollern.

IGE 2-23-1899

Surveyor McWilliams making map of Ida Grove, all streets, water mains, hydrants, fire lanes, lots and blocks, town, all additions and a map of Ida County.

P 2-23-1899

Noah Bartholomew, Des Moines, sent a calendar with pictures of his pointer and pedigree.

P 3-2-1899

The high school now has a new Kingsbury piano.

IGE 3-2-1899               (3-9     3-23      3-28      3-30      4-9)

Art. Prison life of E. L. Oviatt, captured on 11-22-1863

IGE 3-9-1899

W. P. Adams Adams’ Ranch pays $18-$24 per month for help.

P 3-9-1899

Anna Burns, first Postmistress appointed by President McKinley.

Art. . .death of Hattie Dawson, age 29, teacher, Christian scientist, no doctorate or medical degree.

IGE 3-16-1899

Will deKay taken to Clarinda, last 15 years had worked at print offices.

IGE 10-13-1898

This summer several rabbits lived in a burrow on the schoolhouse hill. A little black dog would come up in the evenings and try to catch them. One evening after chasing them in vain, he left and returned with a greyhound and resumed chasing the rabbits hoping that the greyhound could catch them.

IGE 10-??-1898

Try Fred Lainson’s hot. .clam bouillon, clam chowder, beef tea, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, lemonade.

IGE 10-20-1898

Grace Fibbs invited guests Friday evening, and told them to bring a pumpkin. They brought small ones only to find out that they were expected to sit on them.

IGE 10-27-1898

See Farquhar’s line of kangaroo, horsehide and donkey shoes for men.

IGE 11-3-1898

Company of 3 boys invited girls to a party, and the girls had to find out where the party was. (E. C. Mills)

IGE 11-24-1898

A number of best ladies met at Simon’s to organize ein deutches kaffe kranzen, object to further social intercourse between ladies of the organization.

P 12-1-1898

Family of George W. Cooper quarantined with diphtheria, seven children.

P 4-6-1899

If it takes April showers to bring May flowers. .it will be safe to say that April snows will keep cold noses.

P 4-??-1899

Last Easter Sunday most severe any experienced in Ida County, bitter cold, roads impassable, snow and frozen clods. .cold driving snow all day, ground frozen 4-5’.

P 6-8-1899

Chas. F. Cunningham, colored, recently moved to Ida Grove.

IGE 6-8-1899

Wax figure of Jesse James in town over Friday night, costs 10¢ to view.

P 6-15-1899

New peaches on market in Ida Grove.

P 6-??-1899

New town of Schleswig blown away by storm.

P 6-22-1899

Derksen, baker, cut the price of bread; 1½  lb. loaf costs 5¢

P 6-??-1899

Grape crop mostly killed over last winter.

IGE 8-17-1899

Elmer Somer’s pacers, Iowa Kid, Precarria, Byrnes and C. R. Blackman’s Nettie Spokane; E. F. Crockett’s Davy Crockett were taken to Carroll to race by Chas. Mercer.

P 8-24-1899

Ringling Bros. Circus at Carroll, C. N. W. Railroad offered fare of $2.50 from Ida Grove to Carroll, includes admission and show.

IGE 8-31-1899

Book agents may be killed from Oct. 1st to Sept. 1st.

Spring poets may be killed from March 1st to June 1st.

Scandalmongers may be killed from April 1st to Feb. 1st.

Umbrella borrowers may be killed from Aug. 1st to Nov. 1st and Feb. 1st to May 1st.

While every man who accepts a newspaper for 2 years and upon being presented with a bill says, “I never ordered it.” may be killed on the spot without reserve & relief.

IGE 9-14-1899

Ringlet, one of the elk owned by Will Barnes, was sent to Ida Grove to Williams Park to recuperate from distemper.

IGE 10-19-1899

Seats near stand erected for William Jennings Bryan’s speech collapsed from not being well-staked down when erected. Robert T. Mein made his famous “There goes the Democratic platform.”

IGE 10-26-1899

J. M. Krick has had a great deal of enjoyment out of his show window during the past few days. Nearly everyone that passed by stopped and examined the articles displayed therewith including a bridle pit used by Jesse James at the time he and his gang passed through Ida Grove in 1879.

P 11-2-1899

Ringlet and Punch, elks, spend the winter in Sioux City (Ring drowned.)

IGE 11-2-1899

Halloween. .boys carried telephone poles up to the schoolyard and placed them in promiscuous profusion. Company had just painted them that evening.

IGE 11-9-1899

Presbyterians served a chicken pie supper at Williams Opera House on Election Day evening, made $65.90

IGE 11-23-1899

A lecture by Gen. John B. Gordon on the last days of the Confederacy.

IGE 12-7-1899

Sophomore class gave a conundrum social at the Williams Opera House, proceeds to buy a bust to decorate the Assembly Room.

P 12-7-1899

Kid Peacock, the Champion Bantam Weight of Indiana and Mert Payette, the Champion Bantam Weight of IA face off at Williams Opera House on Friday. Cost to enter is 35¢.

P 12-21-1899

Scots reunion.

IGE 11-2-1899

A tramp ran into a print office and said that a man had just swallowed a 2’ rule and was dying by inches. The editor started out to learn the peculiars of the death, and meeting a doctor told him about the case. He said that was nothing and how he had a patient who swallowed a thermometer and died by degrees. A couple of bystanders then chipped in. One said that it reminded him of a fellow down in KS who swallowed a pistol and went off easy. The other said he had a friend in NJ who swallowed a pint of applejack and went off in good spirits. We once heard of a man that ate some horsemeat and died of nightmare. . . .exchange. That reminds us of the time we asked an old German if his son who had swallowed a tape measure had died by inches and he replied that his “son had vent out in the alley and died by the yard.”