LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA

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TRADITIONS

Transcribed by Beverly Gerdts, submitted June 12, 2017

       Fredonia has many traditions handed down to us and it would be a shame not to pass them on and do our best to keep them alive. One tradition had it that, at one time there was seven saloons in Fredonia. If true, that may be the way our forefathers had of fighting drouth. We are much more enlightened now, and accomplish the same end by standing around cussing the weather man. Remember the song the kids used to sing when we had very dry weather:

O Fredonia land, sweet Fredonia land,

As on the burning soil we stand,

O look away cross the plains,

And wonder why it never rains,

Till Virgil doth his trumpet sound,

And says the rain has passed around.

        Mrs. Richard Kulp says her father, Webster Van Dyke, built a house across the street from Don Wagner, and had it almost finished when a severe wind storm came along and blew it down.

        Blaine Bliven tells of the time Lawrence Crull, Jess George and Walter James were shooting off firecrackers in the street in front of Ves McDaniels store on the southeast corner of the Mattie Diller lots, and threw a large firecracker along side the store and when it exploded, it knocked a lot of canned goods off the shelves. And stopped the shooting of the firecrackers,

        Herbert Crull tells us he operated his father's threshing machine steam engine when he was only eight years old. He had to stand on a box to reach the controls.

        From Robert Curtis of Raleigh, North Carolina, we get the interesting notes; Fredonia has always been interesting to me, it is in my opinion, a beautiful spot. For years it has never lost its impelling grip on me. I feel anyone who does not cherish his birth place, just has not had time to do so. I like to think of Fredonia as an im-...

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... portant place in the early days. When I was going to high school at Columbus Junction, I would sometimes ride to school on the firefly, on bad days. To me it still remains as beautiful spot, rich in history, covering people and events. The sand pit, Barkers lake, the old railroad water tank, the Firefly,- Hugh Newell and I used to unhitch our teams at noon and evening by the Firefly, when we worked in the field. I can see Mr. Gamble going up to meet it with his little hand cart, to get supplies for the Cooperative store. He lived a long and good life, along with many others who lived the good neighbor policy. It would be almost impossible to mention all of them and their good deeds. They shall always live in my memory.

        Mrs. Francis Jessup says, “My memories of Fredonia are not of any historical value, but pleasant to think about. Scarcely a day that we didn't meet or pass Ike Mickey, going to or from Columbus Junction, with his bandanna around his neck, and his unfailing salute “Hold your mules.”

        Mr. Gamble is clearest in my mind as George Goble would say, “We can't hardly find any like him these days.” Then Mr. Channing, whose ministerial appearance, made us a little awed. And his house and yard a picture of neatness.

        Another pleasant memory was buying a ticket from Jay Carr to ride on the train to Muscatine, to shop until time for the Firefly to bring us home. Often we would stop to leave something with Jane Bowman, and how long it would take a break away. My memory of Mr. Bowman is hazy, as he sat in the yard in later years.

        Closely associated with Uncle Rob and Grandma Newell, is Ves and Emily McDaniel. I remember her telling about running the dining tent at the Chautauqua. I remember the river flooding over the road. And driving old Grace over the old narrow bridge. And once, walking the railroad bridge, it still makes me shudder.

        Jess Knott says he remembers a Mr. Milhorn, who used to shear sheep, and it wasn't anything to see one or two sheep or hogs hanging in the trees in the yard. He lived where Jess now lives.

        Harold Edmondson remembers Ike Mikey, and says he was always afraid of him, as he nearly always had a snake in his pocket or hand.

        Mrs. Nellie Meeker has a pleasant memory of visiting with Mr. and Mrs. Reaney who lived on the Norris farm, and Mr. and Mrs. Lupton who lived on the Thomas Carey farm. The families always walked across the fields to spend an afternoon at one house or the other.

        Mrs. Gertie Dallemeyer remembers when Rev. Pusey was minister here, and his wife was a school teacher. Once when her nephew, just a young man, was teaching school here, there were so many older boys going to school they had about run him out. Mrs. Pusey was a husky lady of good stature, and asked to teach the next term, and was hired. And teach them she did! More to the surprise of the boys than any one.

        A nice letter from Mrs. Mollie Turkington, gives us many nice memories. In part, she says: “My earliest memories of attending church at Fredonia, was when the Hudlers, Maxsons, Luptons, Knotts, Johnson, Chapmans, Reaneys, Turkingtons, Edmonsons, Reeders, - Mr. Reeder was minister at that time. He was the one who married Samual Turkington and Lucretia See. She was the daughter of Micheal See, a Circuit rider, and lived in Grandview.

        I went to Fredonia church until I was married, by Rev. Chew, who was minister there at that time. I was also an occasional organist at that time, and played at children's day, and there was a choir at that time, Cora and Ida Jones, Grace and Alice Lupton, and Ava and Nina Maxson, and the Sterlings. Rev Walters and Rev. Bevens were ministers about 1870, as I am 87. I remember when we moved to Concord the Fredonia Cooperative store was organized, and Fred Bonnechson and George Lowe was on the board.”

        Mr. Thomas Newell recalls many interesting happenings: How the young Concord “Blades” used to race across the river bridge in their single buggy hitch (which, of course, was prohibited); Dr. Summers approached Fredonia wearing a plug hat, and driving his high stepping team. In my high school days uncle Rob was the key personage in my Fredonia contact. I remember Hank Wilson, J. R. ….

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… Kemp, the Bowmans, Adrian and Churney Reynolds, Tudor Lee who would cut your hair for 25 cents and had a very good looking daughter, who must have made some young man very happy. Another mark on the slate was some “musical” at the Methodist church at which I heard my first tenor solo- by a man whose name I can't recall, (the man was Walter James) and he was a very good singer I recall the time Oscar Crull started across the old river bridge with his threshing machine and the east approach gave way and let him and the machine crash through to the river bed below,and he was not even hurt. I remember Alonzo Kulp, John Lowe, Hade Littrel, and the contribution Fredonia made to the Sandy Grove baseball team. The Carey family from cream collectors to race horses and big scale farm operations. Mrs. Lew Dallemeyer stands out in my high school days as do the Dowson boys, Elmore Edmondson and a smart girl north of Fredonia, may have been a Blake, I know more people in Fredonia than I do in Boise, Idaho in this generation of shift and change.