Ossian Bee, and that reminds that the business end of a bee has mighty fine points. Schmitz wears and tips glasses, runs his hometown and is a good fellow, and on top of all that who in blazes would want to own a car anyway."

H. A. Dessel, in conjunction with dealer Krysan of Calmar, held an automobile auction at the Dessel garage. The cars sold included these makes: Ford, Buick, Studebaker, Overland, Chevrolet, Reo and Maxwell.

Mayor Schmitz warned motorists that their machines must be equipped with two head lights, a tail light and a closed cut-out. Marshal Grimstad has been instructed to arrest all violators.

The city fathers passed an ordinance prohibiting indecent, immoral and suggestive dances in Ossian. All dance halls must close by 11:55 P. M.; jazz music is banned; girls, age 16 and younger, may attend only if accompanied by their parents; intoxicating liquors are barred from the premises; a policeman and a police matron, approved by the mayor, must be in attendance.

Marshal Grimstad exchanged shots with two burglars in the Frank Figge store. A total of seven shots were fired with the glass display cases being the only casualty—they were severely wounded to the amount of $150. Young Everett McManus, who had alerted the officer, was trapped in the store during the shooting. The prowlers escaped and were never apprehended.

After a series of four breakins in Ossian, bloodhounds were called in to track the burglars. The dogs were unsuccessful—failing as well, to track Marshal Grimstad and Pete Floistad in a test of their prowness.

The seven Cairns Brothers presented a four act comedy, "The Price He Paid", in their large tent theatre. This first performance, of the week's stay, was free to the public.

THE TENT SHOWS

Many traveling attractions visited our community in the early years. Recreation was limited, and itinerant troupes were assured of a warm welcome and often a lucrative booking. Too often, these shows were less than moral operations. It was not unusual for patrons to be short-changed, to discover their wallets missing, or for petty thievery to plague the community during their visit.

One outstanding exception to such contemptible behavior was the Cairns touring theater. This troupe consisted of seven brothers, their wives, and other family members. They played Ossian for several years, were always welcome, and made many friends among our citizens.

The Cairns Brothers played    at the    Ossian opera house as early    as 1915,    Warren Cairns, in their billings, was    termed    "America's leading trombone    soloist".    While, likley, this was an exaggeration, to my inexpert, untrained, young ears, his rendition of "Sliding Trombone" has never been excelled. We can still recall the melodious notes emitted by his horn when the Cairns band played prior to their stage performances.

The family traveled by private railway car with facilities for cooking and sleeping. One memorable year, my cousin, Bob Allen, and I, landed jobs as water boys for the troupe. Our duty    was to    carry water from the Meritz    residence    well, next to tent theater, to their    living    quarters on the railroad siding east of the elevator. This was a considerable haul for two rather scrawny youngsters carrying heavy water pails. We had to stop and rest several times enroute. The Cairns ladies invariable would sympathize with our labors, and usually say that the first two buckets were sufficient and the men could carry any additional supply, if needed. But, as might be expected, if any of the men were present, we were sent back for more. Bob tired of this chore, but I persevered, recruiting a buddy as his replacement, and was rewarded with free admission to all performances that week.

Many Chautauquas, tent theaters, and carnivals visited Ossian while we were growing up. I remember circuses performing on our parent's property on two occasions. One of these, playing on a lot near our house, suffered two memorable dis