Iowa Old Press
Ireton Ledger
Ireton, Iowa
Friday, March 8, 1912
NEWS OF CRAIG.
Miss Louise Plueger was a caller to Hawarden, Wednesday.
Mr. Jobes of Melvin is visiting his son, Walter.
Joe McGrory took in the auto show at Sioux City Thursday.
August Ostertuhn and wife of Chatsworth called here Thursday.
Mrs. D. L. Graul was a passenger to Hawarden Tuesday.
Peter Homan and wife took in the show at Sioux City Saturday.
Nellie and Agnes Burnight were passengers to Hawarden, Monday.
Mrs. Alice Burnight was a passenger to Hawarden Saturday.
Dick Woodall of Struble is now working for his brother, Bert.
Mrs. Henry Thielen of LeMars is visiting at the Lewis Collman home.
Mrs. Onno Croon and daughter, Ella, were passengers to Hawarden Friday.
Henrietta Johnson and Mrs. G. A. Null were passengers to Sioux City Saturday
morning.
Herman Egebrecht is gone for a weeks visit with relatives at Cushing, Iowa.
Miss Grace Edwards and Harry Sewick of Ireton were callers in town Thursday
evening.
James Freders and James McMahon of Struble called here on business Tuesday.
Miss Blanche Edwards and Mrs. Lewis Graves, formerly Grace Jobes, were
passengers to Hawarden, Tuesday.
A big party was held at the J. Renken home Thursday evening, which was given
in honor of their son, Bennie.
Nels Croon and Herman Johnson returned home from the auto show Friday.
Mr. and Mrs. Ed and Charlie Johnson were travelers to Struble Friday.
Miss Burns of Hawarden, our music teacher, made her first trip here Tuesday,
she has eight pupils.
Mr. and Mrs. Jergen Renkin of LeMars were callers at the home of their son,
John, a few days this week.
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Graves of Melvin stopped over a few days on their wedding
trip to visit her brother, Walter Jobes.
AROUND ABOUT NEWS.
~A peculiar accident happened to Ben Fox, engineer on the Illinois Central,
last Friday. While making up lost time, one of the driving rods on the
engine broke, the force of the speed being so great as to drive it through
the floor of the cab breaking both legs of the engineer. He was taken to
Fort Dodge at once, where he is undergoing the best care at the R. R.
hospital.
~The time of the year has arrived when many immigrants are packing their
household effects and moving to other parts of the country. In former
years, South Dakota and the western states were the favorite resorts for the
movers, but this year, Minnesota seems to gathering in her share of new
comers. Fifteen car loads of immigrants passed through LeMars last week.
~Seeking her husband, who had gone out on the plains to attend cattle
suffering in the storm, Mrs. Joseph Sayler was lost. Mr. Sayler immediately
organized a rescue party, but the ranch woman had been swallowed up in the
thickest of the blizzard. Her frozen body was found lying on the
range.—Dalhart, Texas.
Alton Democrat, March 9, 1912
Gave Way to Despondency
Alton was shocked when the news reached town that Editor Kieffer of Remsen killed himself. The deed was committed on Saturday night or perhaps early Sunday morning. He was last seen at about ten o’clock in the evening and he seemed to be in good spirits. When Herman Koch, a printer employed by Kieffer, went into the shop Sunday morning to tend to the fires, he discovered blood on the office stove, which had dropped through the floor and ceiling overhead. When Koch broke open the door of the room over his office, he found the body of his employer in a chair, dead, blood still dripping from an ugly hole in the temple. The bullet, from a 32-calibre revolver, entered the right eye and came out at the top of the head. On the table in the room were found several notes. The one written to his old friend John Beely, a LeMars undertaker, read as follows:
John Beely: I feel that you are here on this sad mission. Tell them to put me into a cheap coffin and to bury me very soon. I know you are a Christian. If you can find a minister of the church to say a prayer at my coffin, please let him do it. The Divine Saviour on the cross pardoned the repenting sinner at his side, is there such charity on earth now?
You may wonder why that flag is with me. I love it, yes, I do love it. But I have betrayed it. I have it here to feel its touch which gives me courage in my work. It makes me remember the command of the great general who said: “If anyone tears down that flag, shoot him on the spot.” I must be shot. Farewell, God help me!
Another note read:
“I do not drink because I am thirsty, I do not eat because I have an appetite, I do it to keep up appearances.”
This note indicates that Kieffer was not enjoying good health as he had led his friends to believe. The last note written by the poor man, all alone in that little room, where he had been planning and getting things in shape for the awful deed for two hours at least was: “It is now 11:30, the deed must be done. It is yes—No. It must be yes. I need courage—I am strong. Good bye.”
It was known by Mr. Kieffer’s intimate friends that he feared insanity and the supposition is that this fear caused him to commit the awful deed. He was in comfortable circumstances and his family relations were most pleasant.
J. P. Kieffer, editor of the Remsen-Bell, was a successful newspaper man. He had a bright and active mind and always had his say in a fearless manner. He was a Democrat and was a power for the party in this section. Deceased was born in Luxemburg at Senningen in 1850. He came to America when a boy and landed in Dubuque. Later he moved to Bellevue where he engaged in the newspaper business. In 1882, Mr. Kieffer started “Der Herold” in LeMars which he published for two years. In 1887 Mr. Kieffer went to Remsen and started the German newspaper, “Die Glocke.” He later made an English paper of this and called it the Bell. In 1897 he sold the Bell to Ferd Richman of LeMars and went to Rock Island and later to Chicago engaging in the newspaper work in both cities. A few years lager he returned to Remsen, again became the owner of the Bell which later enlarged by taking up the Enterprise, the other Remsen paper.
Deceased leaves a widow and two sons and four daughters: George Kieffer of Soldier, Iowa; Eugene Kieffer of Milwaukee, Wis.; Mrs. Ed Lloyd, Mrs. Clarence Brotherton, and Mrs. P. Hughes, of Remsen; and Miss Anna Kieffer, of Hinton. The funeral services were held from the Kieffer home on Tuesday. The Bell-Enterprise will be published under the management of the son, Eugene Kieffer, who has just returned from Marquette University, Milwaukee, where he completed a course in journalism.
Alton Democrat, March 16, 1912
The Death Roll For A Week
Mrs. John Hentges, a LeMars pioneer, died at Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, March 9th. Death followed an operation. Mrs. John Hentges was born August 5th, 1850 at Bissen, Luxemburg. She came to this country in the Sixties and lived first in Caledonia, Minn. She was married at the age of twenty and came with her husband to LeMars, where she had made her home ever since.
The funeral Services were held at LeMars on Wednesday. Deceased is survived by seven sons—John and Edward of Chicago, Frank, Leonard and Romane of LeMars, Joseph of Watertown, Stephen of Yankton, and four daughters—Mrs. D. N. Hoffman and Clara of LeMars, Cecelia of Chicago and Clementine of Washington D.C. She is also survived by two brothers—M. Burg of LeMars and Frank Burg of Caledonia, Minn., and two sisters—Mrs. Mike Roeder of Granville and Mrs. Eugene Schwebach of Dell Rapids, South Dakota.
NEWS FROM ALL SOURCES
~Miss Kate Kaiser, aged 38, a prosperous woman of Remsen vicinity, committed suicide last week Thursday. She killed herself with a revolver in her room at the Nick Faber home. Miss Kaiser was a wealthy woman. She owned a fine farm near Remsen and had more than $4000 on deposit in one of the Remsen banks.
Hull Index
Hull, Sioux co. Iowa
March 29, 1912
Rock Valley News
Mr. and Mrs. D.J. Renshaw, C.W. Renshaw, Mrs. H.K. Hastings and Mrs. W.C. Leonard, received the sad news of the serious illness of their son and brother Leslie Renshaw at Monona, Iowa. They departed Monday morning to be at the bedside of one whose life is in the hands of the Almighty.
Arthur Warren was down from Hull Monday renewing old acquaintances.
Mrs. Jack Spurr, of Sanborn, visited at the home of her brother Bert Starr and family, between trains Monday.
Mr. A.F. Upham, of Atlanta, Missouri came Monday of last week for an indefinite visit with his daughter, Mrs. A.W. Hakes.
Peter McKallar returned Friday from Manhatten, Kansas, where he has been visiting with his nephew, John McKallar and family.
George Fahey, of Iowa City, a former resident of this city, came Saturday on business and to visit his daughter, Mrs. Ben Schemmer.
Miss Cora Roberts returned last week, from Farmingdale, South Dakota, where she has been visiting her brother, Grant Roberts and wife.
Monday, March 18th, a bright baby girl came to make its home with Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Aurit. Mother and child are doing fine. Congratulations.
Mr. J.R. Benson returned Monday of last week from Houston, Galveston and San Antonio, Texas, where he had been on a land expedition. He has since been on the sick list.
A petition is being circulated for the parole of Case Hoorn and Len Vander Lugt, who were sentenced to five years each in the penitentiary for breaking into a car of Merchandise which was left in the railroad yards at this place