Iowa
Old Press
Iowa Recorder
Greene, Butler, Iowa
January 3, 1906
THE HAWKEYE STATE NEWS OF THE WEEK CONCISELY CONDENSED
Large Crop of Early Apples - Coroner's Jury Imputes Carpenter's
Death to Poison - Infant Dies After Drinking Butter Coloring -
Lock Step Dropped.
The semblance of the early Iowa apple is the striking feature of
the wholesale and retail market. Besides breaking all records for
quantity the crop this year is of usually excellent quality. The
apples are of large size, juicy and what the wholesale commission
men call clean; that is, free from worms. "For the first
time in my experience," said a well known commission
merchant," the Iowa apple is being shipped to New Orleans
and Texas points. Our correspondents write us that their orchards
are hanging so heavily with the fruit that it is
necessary to pick a portion of the yield before ripening in order
to insure that the tree will have strength enough to mature the
balance.
Finds Poison Killed Him
The coroner's jury in the case of Winfield Carpenter brought in a
verdict in Iowa City declaring the decedent "came to his
death from strychnine poisoning, the poison having been
administered by some person or persons unknown." Dr.
Rockwood, the university of Iowa chemist who examined the coffee
left in a jar by Carpenter, found it contained no poison. The
stomach of the dead man, however, caontained considerable
strychnine. The suspicion against the widow is lessened by the
discovery of the purity of the coffee.
Butter Coloring Kills
The 2-year-old son of Frank Kreb is dead at Olin as the result of
drinking butter coloring which had been purchased by his parents
for he dairy, and the neighborhood is aroused to a hight pitch of
indignation. Farmers who have been using the coloring claim they
will demand an investigation by the grand jury of
Jones county against the manufacturer of the preparation. The
child secured the fluid while left alone in the house for a few
minutes and died in terrible agony.
Suicide Due to Bank Failure
The third death as a result of the failure of the First National
Bank of Grinnell occurred when James Jackman, a highly respected
retired farmer of Poweshiek county took his own life, hanging
himself by a rope in his barn. He had deposited $5,000 in the
bank some time ago and lost it all when the bank failed. He had
been brooding over the loss and this is thought to have
occasioned the rash act.
Prison Abolishes Lock Step.
As an experiment Warden Hunter of teh Iowa State penitentiary has
abolished the "lock step", and hereafter the prisoners
will march in military style. It is the intention of the board of
control to ulitmately make the Anamosa institution a reformatory
for criminals, while the penitentiary at Fort Madison will
continue to be a prison. Men who seem to be
"reformable" will be sent to Anamosa.
Child Burned to Death
Mabel Rhode, the 3-year-old daughter of August Rhode, was burned
to death at Mason City while playing with matches. Seh
accidentally set her clothing afire. While the flames caught her
dress she ran into the home, setting it on fire also. Neighbors
arrived in time to save the house from destruction, but the
little girl was burned so badly that she died a few hours later.
State Items of Interest
-Kingsley is to have an open house.
-A vaudeville theater is planned for Waterloo.
-A cornet band has been organized at Eddyville.
-A two-headed calf is a curiosity at Blanchard.
-Humeston Congregationalists will erect a new church.
-Waterloo's semi-centennial will be celebrated Sept. 12 to 17.
-Harry K. Eads, for sixty-four years a resident of Burlington, is
dead.
-David Gillian, despondent, committed suicide at Blanchard by
shooting.
-Plans have been laid for a home for the aged at Clarksville to
cost $7,000.
-The fire at Highland Center destroyed a portion of he Buckner
& Rawlin's general store.
-Godfrey Phillips, near Burlington, was so severely bitten by a
rattlesnake that his life was despaired of for some time.
-Three hundred dollars in gold and silver coin was unearthed on
the D.K. Shalling farm near Waterloo. The money was buried thirty
years ago and there is already prospect of a contest as to its
ownership.
-Just as the funeral services over the remains of Harry Salisbury
were to about to be held at his home in Red Oak the Maccabees, an
order of which he was a member, demanded an autopsy because of
evidence of murder. The funeral was carried out, but after the
firend left the open grave the body was raised and sent to Des
Moines for chemists to examine. Salisbury was found in a shallow
creek below a bridge twelve feet above the water. No bruises gave
indications of violence and there was no water on his lungs. A
woman during he night heard voices saying: " I fixed him and
he won't bother me any more."
-E. Gross, a Burlington cashier, was fined $5 and costs for
keeping his store open on Sunday. The Clerks' Union announces it
will complete the closing of all stores.
-Patrick O'Reilly of Akron was killed while playing ball. In
sliding to second base he struck his head on the iron stake which
held the bag in position, fracturing his skull.
-Tama has been suffering with a siege of chicken thieves.
-Rattlesnakes are numerous in the vicinity of Winterset.
-The old school house at Chelsea is to be remodeled for a hotel.
-Numerous burglaries of residences are reported from Red Oak.
-The races at Davenport netted the Miles Track Association
$8,000.
-The losses sustained by the recent fire at Glidden aggregated
$20,000.
-Chas. W. Smith, for sixty-three years a resident of Burlington,
is dead.
-Albert Langwell of Wellman was seriously hurt in a runaway
accident.
-The Woodbine City Council refused to grant a license for a
bowling alley.
-Fire in the Northwestern yards of Missouri Valley did damage
amounting to $2,000.
-As a result of numerous night depredations Grinnell's night
watchman has resigned.
-Woodbine Presbyterian will build a new church, plans for which
are now being drawn.
-George Young of Dubuque, aged 24, was drowned while swimming in
the Mississippi river.
-George and Oliver Roth, were killed near Glenwood while driving
across a railroad track.
-Duluth, Minn. Methodists will call Rev. M.S. Rice of Iowa City
to the pastorate of their church.
-Miss Etta Bishop, one of the victims of the train wreck near
Pueblo, Colo., was a former resident of Waterloo.
-There is a war among the ice cream dealers of Creston and the
price has dropped 15c per quart.
-J.C. Smith, the confessed murderer of Mrs. Mary Canaday of
Buxton, will be hanged at Fort Madison, Dec. 5.
-Frank Young, a farmer, was killed near Washington, while at work
filling in a bridge. A log fell on him, breaking his back.
-Engineer Hindman of the ill-fated train which was wrecked in
Colorado, was formerly a resident of Marshalltown.
-Edward Kelly, a C.B. & Q. brakeman, was killed at Creston.
His foot was caught in a frog and he fell underneath the moving
cars.
-Joseph Francis, the 17-year-old boy who was shot while taking a
dummy package supposed to contain $1,600 of "blood
money" from Jacob Feldner, near Holly Springs, made a
complete confession that he devised the blackmailing plot.
-Strychnine was found in the stomach of Winfield S. Carpenter,
"weaver," who died suddenly of convulsions in a boat
house on the Iowa river near Iowa City. An examination of the
contents of his stomach was made by Dr. E.W. Rockwood, chemist of
the University of Iowa. Rockwood also found traces of some drug
not yet fully identified in a jar of coffee, left by Carpenter.
Carpenter's son, James, 16 years old, swore that his mother gave
a specially made coffee to his father when Carpenter left home in
the morning of his death bound for a woodchopper's camp. The
youth soon changed his story to agree with his mother's evidence.
She testified that she gave her husband coffee from the same pot
which contained that drunk by herself and the children, who were
not poisoned. The widow says her husband had threatened to commit
suicide. "I would be the happiest woman in the world if God
would only let me hate that man, but God knows I still love him,
love him better than life." Uttering these words Mrs. Ailene
Brookfield broke down and sobbed when the sheriff of
Greene county traced her to her hiding place in Des Moines and
established the fact that she had not been murdered by her
husband. This clears up a supposed murder mystery that has been
agitating the residents of Greene county. July 21 Mrs. Brookfield
disappeared from her home, and her husband, too, was missing for
several days thereafter. Their five little children were left
alone, and speculation in the neighborhood was rife as to what
had become of the woman. When bloody clothing was found in a
secluded spot on the Brookfield farm the idea that a murder had
been committed was accepted. Broofield reappeared at his home and
a mob was quickly organized. He would undoubtedly have been
lynched but for the prompt action of the sheriff. He insisted
that he didn't know what had become of his wife. He admitted that
he had quarreled with her over another woman, had deserted her
three months ago, and returned on the day she disappeared.
-Champlin Bros' large livery barn was destroyed by fire in
Clinton. The horses were saved, but many fine buggies burned. The
loss is $40,000, with small insurance.
-Silas Hopkins, a Davenport colored man, was fined $5 and costs
for shooting a squirrel out of season.
[submitted by C.J.L., August 2003]
Iowa Recorder
Greene, Butler, Iowa
January 31, 1906
John Luchtenburg of Ripley township was taken before the
commissioners of insanity last Saturday and found to be insane
and will probably be taken to the hospital for treatment.
[submitted by C.J.L., Oct. 2003]