Iowa Old Press

Davenport Democrat and Leader
Davenport, Scott, Iowa
March 3, 1927

WASHINGTON IOWA
NEWS AND COMMENT
By Barbara Miller
Conducting the Column Founded and Written for Several Years by Her Father, the Late ALEX MILLER

    Washington, Ia., March 3 - Mrs. Mary Smith is here from Glascow, Mont., to visit her cousin, Mrs. John McCall. She came last Thursday, and Mrs. McCall says she is going to try and keep her a couple of weeks longer. They have a lot to talk about. This is the first time they have seen each other for 40 years, except for one night that Mrs. McCall spent with her in Wyoming. If they can boil 40 years down so they can talk it over in three weeks we will say they are pretty good. We know some women who can spend that long on what happened in 15 minutes. Mrs. McCall and Mrs. Smith were girls together in Randolph county, Missouri. They went to school together and grew up together and were married together and then they separated. So now that they are together again they are having a wonderful time.
    Harry Dye was in Wednesday morning from near Ainsworth and he came in to see us and this time we were in our office where we belonged. The other day when he told his wife he was coming in she told us he was kidding so we went on home. But this time she wasn't here and he just came in all by himself and found us. We are glad he came; he is a Democrat and we did not know that. Nothing tickles us more than to find out that there is another Democrat in Washington county that we did not know about. We thought we knew them all a long time ago, but every day or two we find out about another one and we guess there must be quite a bunch of us round here after all, half a dozen anyhow. Come in again, Dr. Dye, and bring all your Democrat friends.
    Mr. and Mrs. Dick McMillan left yesterday morning for home. They live at Genoa, Neb., and have been here visiting Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Gibson for 10 days. Mrs. Gibson is his sister. He lived here until he was 18 or 19, so he has lots of friends here. On their way home they are going to stop at St. Jo and Kansas City.
    The regular D.A.R. meeting was held last night with Mrs. W.R. Mount. It was quite a large meeting, with 20 or 25 there. They had a short business meeting and then a program. We thought they told us Miss Etha Dawson had given a drum recital, and that excited us. We thought maybe she was going to join a fife and drum corps, and we were excited. But then we found out that it was a review of the book, "Drums" that she had given, and not musical at all. Or is a drum musical? Then Mrs. Kurtz and Mrs. Shaver reviewed the D.A.R. magazine.
    We have a copy of Kessinger's "Midwest Review" for March and in it is a very interesting and well-written article on "Europe's Message to the Mid-West."  The writer of the article is Wanda Neiswanger, Fred's daughter. She is teaching at the Illinois State Normal school and she contributes to the magazine quite regularly. Wanda is talented all right, and she is making good and we are glad of it.
    Washington is certainly on the map, with Wanda Neiswanger writing for magazines, and Smith Brookhart broadcasting, and everything. We even have a representative in Nicaragua. Paul Putnam, son of Mr. and Mrs. A.E. Putnam, is a lieutenant in the marines and he has been ordered to Nicaragua. This is his first taste of foreign service and he is all pepped up about it. He graduated from Washington high school and then went to Ames before joining the army.
    Otto Dankwardt has moved into the old Chilcote place out near the ball park. Chick Dennison has been living there until this spring.
    Mr and Mrs. Jim Zeck celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary today, and they celebrated for fair. Their son, Ralph, and his wife planned a surprise party for them and it was a huge success, from all reports. The guests were people of Mr. and Mrs. Zeck's age, old neighbors from out in Jackson township. They were invited to Zeck's house for a dinner at noon, and Mrs. Ralph Zeck and her sister, Mrs. Jack Westphal, prepared and served a very nice two course dinner. After dinner they visited and talked over old times. And all the guests are anxious for their own 40th anniversaries, to see if they will have as nice a party as the Zecks. There were about 25 there.
    Mrs. Elmer Carmichael met sudden and tragic death yesterday afternoon at their home south of town. She seemed to be in her usual health, and was talking to a visitor, when suddenly she excused herself, saying she did not feel well and must lie down. Her husband went to her to find what was the matter, and she replied that she did not know, but her head hurt. He brought her cold cloths, and in five minutes it was all over. The cause was given as hemmorhage of the brain.
    Cyntha May Johnson was born in Nemeha county, Kansas, and she came to this county when she was 7. She has lived here ever since. She was married to Elmer Carmichael in 1899. Their only son, Clarence, died five years ago. She is survived by her husband and four brothers, none of whom live in the state. She was 44 years old at the time of her death.
    Funeral services will be held Saturday morning at 11 o'clock in the Methodist church. Burial will be in Elm Grove cemetery.
    Rollie Optenberg is first junior vice commander of an organization which we do not know much about, and we don't think other people do either. It is the "United States Blind Veterans of the World War." He is also a member of the executive committee. At their meeting in Baltimore last year he invited them to hold their convention in Muscatine this year, and they are going to do it. He is now making arrangements to have them brought to Washington by automobile. The convention will be held in August. He recently received a picture of their orchestra, and of a group of the members playing cards. They used a special kind of cards with raised characters.
    We have found about another industry in Washington which we never heard of before. It is O.P. Hicks' apiary, at his home on West Second street. He has 60 beehives, and last year he sold a ton and a half of honey, and he could have sold four tons if he had had it, but he didn't, so he couldn't sell it naturally. This ran the bees short of honey to live on, so all winter he has been feeding them sugar and water. In all he has fed them 400 pounds of sugar. He is going to get his hives shaped up for spring very soon now.
    Mrs. Missouri Elizabeth Wells, widow of the late C.R. Wells, died today at her home here. It was her wish that no obituary be given. She was born in 1851. A private funeral service will be held from the residence Friday at 2 o'clock.