Iowa
Old Press
Bellevue Leader
Bellevue, Jackson co. Iowa
September 23, 1929
RECALLS OLD TIMES AT COTTONVILLE
I would like to offer our expression of gratitude to the Legion
boys for the services rendered in cleaning up the old Cottonville
cemetery. Those boys who did service in Europe, some of whom may
have engaged in
stopping the onward march of the enemy into Paris and other
dangerous battles, are still showing their worth in the world in
time of peace as well as that of war. Hats off to the Legion. I
understand that the little church has crumbled to earth-that
building that in days gone by was filled to it's fullest capacity
on a Sabbath morning by as good a class of citizens as ever set
foot on American soil, is now only a memory. The country store
where my father conducted a general merchandise business from the
spring of 1864, when he returned home from the Civil War and from
the hospital at Chattanooga, Tenn., until 1865, when we moved to
Bellevue, has closed it's doors. The dear old home, that place
where I first saw the light of day, and where I spent 19 years of
my life, and that too, in the presence of a happy and contented
family, is now vacant. So you won't be surprised when I tell you
that I still have a warm spot in my heart for old Cottonville and
it's good people.
-Excerpt from a letter written to the Bellevue Leader by
Fred Purdy.
[transcribed by L.Z., November 2006]