Who's Who in Iowa

comprising most of the best breeders, formed a corporation and sold stock in the company to breeders and they secured the right to erect a large live stock sales pavilion on the fair grounds. Part of the building was arranged for public sales and a part for pens and stalls for different kinds of stock ready for sale. It was a unique adventure for that day and drew great crowds of buyers and spectators, and it brought splendid stock for long distances for sale under the best conditions. The best auctioneers were employed. The opening sale was held for three days, and on those days stock to the amount of $57,044 were sold. These were all registered cattle and the average price was $221.96. This plan was continued for many years and it maintained this success to the end.

There have been many newspapers, and a great many more newspaper men, in Jasper County, during the years which count up to almost a century since the first printer "pulled" the first sheet on his old-time hand press, and then scattered the papers over the county. The list is too long to even give a verified list of the long roll of editors, and the variation in editorial ability has been too great for this writer to give the list or to evaluate the work of the several writers. About the first authentic information which this writer has comes from the pen of A. K. Campbell, a man who came from Ohio to Newton about 1857 for the purpose of forming a partnership with his brother Frank T. Campbell, to purchase the Jasper County Weekly Express from J. B. Besack. Frank Campbell soon sold his interest and entered on a political life, but Angus continued with the paper (part of the time with J. R. Sage for a partner) but sold the paper in 1877 to Ralph Robinson. The latter continued the paper as the Newton Journal for many years, but finally sold to Frank Boyden, who changed the paper from a weekly to a daily.

The paper finally came into the hands of J. R. Rhodes, who consolidated it with the Daily News, and he has since published it. He has erected a fine building and greatly increased the equipment. Space will not permit me to even give a bare list of the several publishers of Newton and the other towns, but I cannot omit the name of "Tommy" Rodgers, who commenced editorial work by publishing a daily paper during the Civil War and continued most of the time until about 1925. Few men among local editors have been loved more than T. M. Rodgers.

Most of the towns in the county used to have one or more newspapers, and some of them had quite able editors, but the trend of the times has wiped most of them out. Newton still has three plants. Monroe, Baxter, Colfax and Prairie City each have one.

Public Schools

No town would think any such write-up as this at all complete if the schools were not mentioned, and certainly the Newton schools are worth mentioning. In 1877 the Newton schools began to work according to a regularly prescribed course of study, with graduation on completion of the prescribed course. Since then a class has been graduated every year, and the total number of students graduated from 1877 down to the present time (including the class of 1940) is 4,004, and that is a good big class for our schools to turn out, even if it has taken a good many years to do it, and even though we have had to erect some good buildings at great cost, and to employ a good many high-class instructors to do the work. These 4,000 well equipped young people are well worth the cost.

During these years there have been many superintendents in charge of our schools but there is no room here for a detailed account of the work of each of them. cannot refrain, however, from saying something about two of these men. E. J. H. Beard was a thorough school man, and the board liked him so well they kept him in the place for about 20 years. Mr. Beard had done similar work in some of the best schools of the state before coming here. Finally advancing age caused his withdrawal.

B. C. Berg has been at the head of our schools for more than twenty years and the people are all thoroughly convinced that there are few better school men than he, and school men all over the country evidently think the some-judging by the work which the teachers' conventions-state and national-give him to do. Newton has six splendid school buildings of large size and adequately finished and furnished.

Factories

Jasper County has long been known as one of the more important manufacturing counties, and Newton has been called "The Work Shop of Iowa", for many years. One of the first concerns which might legitimately have been called an industry was the Tilden Manufacturing Co., of Kellogg, which was incorporated in 1879. The process which was the base of this industry was the manufacturing of sugar and syrup out of vegetables and during one year the company produced 140 acres of sweet corn and 50,000 pumpkins, besides sweet potatoes. The people of Des Moines thought so much of the prospects of this factory that they induced the concern to move its office to that place.

There were many other small industries in different places in this county-mostly dairies. Then there was the Potato Digger Factory, at Prairie City-originated when that section was one of the largest producers of potatoes in the United States. The factory has done a fine business for many years and is still in business.

Early factories in Newton were the planing mill and the barb wire factory which were owned for a good while by Col. Manning, the Randolph Stacker Works, of about 40 years ago, the well refrigerator, used by a great many people before the electric refrigerator became common, the Wind Power Motor Co., originated by Basil Miller, but now operated by Edwin McCardell.

But among the early factory men of Newton we should probably give the first place to George W. Parsons.

His fertile brain first brought out the principle of the Parsons Band Cutter and Self Feeder. Everyone knows what this machine is-and especially everyone in Newton, for it brought us the first big factory; it made the work of the farmer much easier and safer at threshing time; it profitably employed much local capital and it gave good employment to hundreds of Newton working men; it caused the erection of many Newton buildings and homes. George W. Parsons also invented the Parsons Trenching machines. Newton is indebted to him for a great deal of its prosperity and we all are glad to admit it.

When Parsons had perfected his great machine, he went to Fred L. Maytag, as the one Newton man whom all considered to be the one to manage the business of the organization. Mr. Maytag was raised on a form about 15 miles north of Newton, but when he had reached manhood and wanted to go into business for himself he came to Newton. Mr. Maytag was undoubtedly one of the ablest managers of big business in the state. He made a success of two business concerns in Newton and when he took the management of the Band Cutter and Self Feeder business it was seen at once that the right man for the place had been chosen. And all through the history of that organization and later of the washing machine factory Mr. Maytag showed conclusively that he knew just what to do, both in good times and hard times. Without F. L. Maytag Newton would now be, in all probability, just an ordinary Iowa county seat town. He built our great factory buildings; he erected the magnificent Maytag hotel and office building of which our people are so proud. He gave to many Newton men and women many thousands of dollars both while living and by his will. He and the concern of which (page 607). Next page.