USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume I > Part 48
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Mr. Beck is now living in retirement in Waterloo. He was married in 1853 to Albertina Shuler. Nine children have blessed the union. In speaking of his life, Mr. Beck says :
"The first big thing the year I came here was the Fourth of July celebration in 1856, held back of Charles Mullan's house. It was said that every house and cabin in the county was empty that day and all of the people were here. This could not exactly be true, for there were a few left in Cedar Falls. But you ought to have seen the picnic dinner we had. Everybody brought a basket filled. some bushel baskets. There were roasts of beef. piles of chicken, including prairie chickens and turkeys, stacks of pies, cakes and bread. There must have been nearly five hundred people present. The Declaration of Independence was read and there were toasts, responses and speeches and, in all, such a celebration as is seldom witnessed.
"One of the most exciting events of 1856 resulted from the county seat fight. We all felt good here over the result of the election, which determined Waterloo as the winner. But gall and wormwood would have been sweet as honey com- pared to this dose to Cedar Falls. Our up-river friends were in a state of chronic excitement from the time the election was called until the records were finally delivered in Waterloo. It looked sometimes as if they would have to be taken by force and all of our young men were ready for the fun. But they sub- mitted to the decision of the court and all trouble was averted.
"There were a great many strangers in town, here to look up investments or locations. They were continually coming and going and gave a lively appearance to Waterloo. I cannot recall a serious incident during the year, but memory dwells fondly on the jolly times which the boys had. An ox roast on the east side, not far from where the ice houses now stand, was the central attraction of the Fourth of July celebration in 1857. But there was an abundance to eat
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without the ox. In 1858 there were many exciting incidents connected with the high water. It was a year of flood. If I remember correctly, the first flood occurred in January following a thaw, the heavy snow melting added to the rains created a lively state of affairs. Then there was a freeze-up and a subsequent thaw, in April, I believe. The snow was deep and the rain fell in torrents. In June there was another flood, but July capped the climax. Water almost covered the face of the earth. There were a great many exciting incidents during the high water period and there was no lack of amusing ones. I cannot remember the particulars of any except the sad drowning of two young ladies which has often been described.
"The getting of the bridge excited much comment in 1859. We thought as much of it as the people do today of the Melan Arch bridge recently completed.
"The year 1859 was fair for business and the people felt good and showed it by the number and varieties of the parties and other forms of amusement. There was a New England festival, a New York festival, an Ohio festival, a German festival and many parties of less pretensions sandwiched between. Festival should always be read dance. The German festival was held in Capwell's Hall. They had the greatest time in the history of the town. Of all the men present at this festival, I alone remain. It would surprise people of this day who hold their big functions on a very light diet to have witnessed how solid the comfort was at the festival table of 1859. Tables were loaded with the best of everything eatable from meats down to delicacies.
"The most exciting time in the history of Waterloo was along in the early '6os, when recruiting for the army was the chief business of the people. I sometimes try to tell how it was and find that my listeners are incredulous, so I stop short. Think of three years of the tensest excitement. Always waiting for news from the front and glorifying at every victory. Other excitements pale before that.
"I do not remember of any excitement over a crime committed in the city earlier than late in the '70s. There were offenses of an ordinary nature com- mitted, but none of a really exciting character."
THE GROWTH OF INDUSTRY
The growth of the industries in Waterloo during the last decade has been nothing short of phenomenal. The influence of this beautiful city on the banks of the Cedar reaches far into the surrounding states, and is by no means confined to the Mississippi Valley. It is the fastest growing city in the Middle West and, for its size, no city in the United States can show more brilliant record. It is typically a manufacturing city in the heart of a rich agricultural region and is a good city to become identified with, either in its business, its industries or as a workman in its hundreds of institutions of labor. The three big trunk line rail- ways, the Rock Island, Chicago Great Western and the Illinois Central, together with the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Interurban, which latter affords con- nection with the Chicago & Northwestern and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railways, go far to encourage the growth of the business and manufacturing interests. The ideal combination of location, ample capital and transportation is the secret of Waterloo's rise.
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There are at present in the city over one hundred and fifty-one manufacturing establishments, employing from two to eight hundred men each. The chief article made in Waterloo, the product which has practically built up the largest fac- tories, is agricultural and farm machinery. This is the "heavy" end of the manufacturing interests. Manure spreaders, wagons, cream separators, gasoline engines, water tanks, corn drills, cream vats, cream storage coolers, creamery tinware, egg cases and other supplies, farm tools, feed grinders, feed cookers, silos, gas machines, steel tanks, harness and harness supplies, harrows and harrow carts, horse collars, milking machines, pumping outfits, steel culverts, threshing engines and wagon box manure spreaders are a few of the many articles manu- factured for farm purposes. The chief manufacturing concerns manufacturing this class of goods are: The William Galloway Company, Iowa Dairy Separator Company, Litchfield Manufacturing Company, Iowa Gasoline Engine Company, Iowa Tank and Silo Company, Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, Waterloo Tank and Silo Company.
The more important other articles made in the city, and which list will give some idea of the great variety of pro luce turned out. follow: Advertising novelties, all kinds of strap work, all kinds of gray iron castings, all kinds of brass and copper castings, aprons, art catalogs, automobiles, automobile forgings, auto trailers, awnings, baking powder, bank fixtures, blank books, boilers, boiler grates, bracelets, brackets, bread, breakfast bacon, brooches, brooms, buckwheat flour, buffets, builders' hoists, butcher supplies, calendars, candies, canvas goods, carpets, carved ornaments, car forgings, carbonated mineral water, carpenters' aprons, carriage forgings, caskets and burial boxes, cement coated nails, cement building blocks, cement brick machinery, cement brick and tile cars, cement tile machinery, cement drain tile machinery, chairs, charms, charging elevators, chemi- cal compounds, chicken coops, church furniture, cider, cigars, clothing cabinets, coal chutes, colonnades, columns, concrete sills, concrete lintels, concrete porch blocks and trimmings, concrete mixers, concrete block machines, concrete sills, caps and moulds, conductor pipes, conveyors, cooling rooms, coppers, corrugated cushions for egg cases, cornices, cupboards, desks, disinfectants, disinfecting machines, door frames, doors, dressing sacques, drip fluids, egg case fillers, elastic paints, emblem goods, engravings, excelsior, factory trucks, fire doors, fire shutters, floor, wall, hot and cold air registers, fly chasers, fly nets, fountain pens, furnace pipes and furnaces, fittings, garbage and ash cans, gasoline accessories, gasoline tanks, gloves, graham flour, granite brick, greases, hand loaders, hollow concrete building tile, horse collar pads, house awnings, house dresses, ice cream, ice cream cabinets, inks, interior finish, iron hitching posts and weights, jewelers' fixtures, jewelry, kimonos, lard, litter carriers, loose leaf devices, meat racks, meat blocks, metal roofing and siding, milk cans, mittens, models and patterns, mouldings, oil, gas and well drilling machines, patent wheat flour, pen clips, petticoats, pins, pickled pork, post mauls, porch swings, portable elevators, poultry chasers, pulpits, pump jacks, ranges, rings, refrigerators, revolving sand screens, roasted coffees, rugs, rye flour, salt cured meats, sash, weights, screen doors and windows, seats, sewer castings, show cases, sideboards, saddles, skylights, sleigh shoes, smoke stacks, smoke rooms, smoked hams, soda fountains, soft drinks, stack covers, stairs, stationary and portable wood sawing outfits, steel ceilings, steel boilers for power and heating purposes, stock dips, store fixtures, studs,
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stoves, stump pullers, sulkies, summer sausage, sweeping machines, tables, tank heaters, team and buggy harness, tents, tile and culvert elevators, tools, vertical and horizontal gasoline engines, stationary and portable, wagons, wagon covers, wagon end gates, water pails, Waterloo frankfurters, well casings, wood pre- servatives, wrappers.
Following is a list of the more important factories now operating in Waterloo : The Iowa Dairy Separator Company, the Black Hawk Coffee and Spice Company, the Creamery Package Company, Iowa Skirt Manufacturing Company, Chamber- lain Machine Works, Iowa Telephone Company, City Waterworks, Waterloo Saddlery Company, Crystal Ice and Fuel Company, Waterloo Glove Company, the Courier and Reporter, the Times-Tribune, the Allen Printing Company. Corn Belt Telephone Company, Sibert & Son, Waterloo Cement Block Company, Waterloo Chemical Works, J. H. Goswiller Cigar Factory, W. A. Welty Fountain Pens, Waterloo Artificial Ice Company, Waterloo Skirt and Garment Company, Water- loo Tank and Silo Company. Waterloo Sash and Fixture Company, Fisher Tent and Awning Company, B. F. Lichty Sons, sheet metal; Waterloo Auto Top Company, Waterloo Produce Company, Waterloo Ice Cream Company, Ideal Epworth Acetylene Company, Bovee Grinder and Furnace Company, Waterloo Brass Foundry, Waterloo Granite Brick Company. Waterloo Manufacturing Company, sheet steel goods; Sindlinger Sanitary Dairy Company, Waterloo En- graving and Service Company, Waterloo and Cedar Falls Union Mill Company, Western Harness and Supply Company, Herrick Manufacturing Company, re- frigerators ; Iowa Stove and Range Company, Waterloo Cleaning and Dye Works, Litchfield Manufacturing Company, Waterloo Casket Company, Iowa Gasoline Company, S. E. Jerald Sulky Company, Black Hawk Tent and Awning Company, Illinois Central Machine Shops, Interurban Shops. Matt. Parrott & Sons Com- pany, Waterloo Cement Machinery Company, Iowa Tank and Silo Company, Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, Nauman Company, lowa Dairy Separator Company, William Galloway Company, Kelly Manufacturing Company, Swift Manufacturing Company, Dart Manufacturing Company, Iowa Brass Foundry, Rath Packing Company. Citizens Sash and Fixture Company, Waterloo Register Company, Waterloo Beaver Rug Company, Ferguson Manufacturing Company. Concrete Stone Company. Cement Tile Machine Company, Waterloo Steam Boiler Works, Waterloo Cement Block Company. Waterloo Iron Works, Waterloo Canning Company, Citizens Gas and Electric Company, Waterloo Sash and Fixture Works, Waterloo Varnish Manufacturing Company, Star Foundry, and also Armstrong Manufacturing Company, Hawkeye Manufacturing Company. Central Ledger Company, and Corn Belt Telephone Company.
At the present time Waterloo manufactures one-fifth of the gasoline engines made in the United States. In 1913 there were 250,000 engines made in the country and Waterloo manufactured 50,000.
WHOLESALING
Keeping pace with the growth of the City of Waterloo and its industries, the wholesaling business of the city has progressed remarkably in the last few years. In the last year the wholesaling amounted to $8,000,000. A peculiar condition exists at the present time, in that the tonnage has increased while
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the amount of money has practically remained stationary. The decrease in prices has caused this condition. There are no larger losses than heretofore, but the book accounts are larger, due to the inclination of the farmers to hold their crops and livestock for higher prices and to use their credit with the mer- chants as much as possible.
Notwithstanding this state of affairs, Waterloo has held up well in wholesal- ing, as compared with the rest of the state. The volume of business has been sustained throughout and the territory extended all over this state and in the surrounding states with the exception of Illinois. It is said that wholesaling business cannot be extended cast until the western coast is reached and then the work has to be pushed castward. Three years ago there were 80,000 cars of goods shipped out of and into Waterloo. This number has had a slight in- crease every year since that time. There are numerous varieties of products included in the wholesaling business of Waterloo, but there is room for many more, which will undoubtedly be added within the next few years.
Among the more prominent wholesaling companies of Waterloo are: The Smith, Lichty & Hillman Company, the Black Hawk Coffee and Spice Company, Rath Packing Company, The Fowler Company, Central Supply Company, Wat- erloo Manufacturing Company, Cutler Hardware Company, the Waterloo Fruit and Commission Company, the Creamery Package Company, Waterloo Saddlery Company, the Waterloo Candy Company and the Black Hawk Fruit and Commis- sion Company.
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CHAPTER XVII
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
There is no profession, no trade, no enterprise, which did not have a beginning in darkness; there is no effort to which the forces and energies of mankind have been directed but that did not first combat the obscurity of ignorance, pardonable ignorance, it is true.
In this enlightened age of medical science one regards the early doctor as a person who had little knowledge of the profession, one who applied the home remedies of calomel, castor oil and blue pill with the abandon of a solicitous grandmother and one who wielded the lancet with artistic indiscrimination. However one regards the early physician, there must be taken into account the times in which he worked, in other words the scant knowledge of medicine and surgery which then existed in the world. Secondly, there was the physical condi- tions under which the first doctors worked. Thirdly, there was distinct character of disease among the early settlers, and lastly, the remedies with which the doctor had to work were scarce and many times not the best antidote for the ailment.
In the matter of world knowledge of medicine at that time it can safely be said that little or nothing was known in comparison with the present status of the science. In fact, medicine has made more rapid strides in the past decade than in the past century. In the early days of this state and county the doctors had strong faith in the use of the lancet, believing that by letting a copious amount of blood from the patient, the object of which was to destroy the tenement of the disease, a cure might be obtained. Then there was the Spanish fly blister, which was applied for all sorts of ills; there were calomel and blue pills as the universal internal remedies. During the convalescent period of the patient, if such a period were ever reached, gamboge, castor oil and senna were administered in generous portions to work out of the system the effects of the first course of treatment.
It would be difficult to describe in limited space just how far the step has been taken from these early theories to the present day theories. A glance at the daily newspapers and magazines will invariably prove by concrete instance the wonderful cures being effected today, both in medicine and surgery. Opera- tions upon the heart, upon the brain, upon the other delicate and vital organs of the body have become of daily occurrence, whereas a quarter century ago they would have been ridiculed. The day of serums has arrived and the disease is thus throttled in its inception. The present day doctor is a man of thought and initiative, striving only to assist nature.
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The physical conditions under which the carly doctor worked is another point in his favor. There were no roads, bridges and in many places not a marked path of travel. His trips were made on horseback through intense blizzards, soaking rains, bitter cold and in the face of the high winds which swept across the prairie. Ofttimes he slept in his saddle on his midnight jaunt to the home of the stricken family miles away. In reward for this tortuous service he received a very meagre fee and the fact is known today that in the majority of cases he received nothing. for the settlers as a class were too poor to pay for his aid. Then again. he received his fee in potatoes, apples, flour or whatever commodity the settler could best give him. These facts have placed the early doctor on the pedestal of fame, for it is upon his sturdiness and vitality that the whole medical profession is built.
The diseases common to the early settlers were distinctive. The rough life they led and the exposures they endured did not permit entrance to the many. ills and pains attendant upon civilization and large cities. Fevers and ague, with an occasional stomach ache, were the prevailing ills they bore. Accidents there were which required the use of splints of wood and bandages and, also, the early doctor needed a knowledge of obstetrics, although the latter was not invariably called into use. The hardy pioneer mother often endured the birth of her child without medical assistance. When sickness came to the family these Spartan mothers did not always summon the doctor, for he might have been miles away on some other call. A generous stock of simple remedies was in every cabin and these were used, and if it were nothing more than a cold among the children the application of hot lard and bacon rind and the internal use of quinine and onion juice completed the treatment.
FIRST DOCTORS IN BLACK HAWK COUNTY
The first doctor to locate in Waterloo was Doctor Mckinley. He came about the year 1853, but very little record has been left of him or of any other doctor who settled here in the early days. Edward Lichty, G. G. Bickley, O. Peabody, D. W., D. F. and Henry Crouse, Florence S. Gleason, P. J. Barber, W. O. Rich- ards, A. Middleditch, Willard Eddy, J. H. Crippen, O. S. Knox, J. M. Ball, H. W. Brown, S. B. Williams, B. Banton were other early physicians.
The first physician upon the ground at Cedar Falls was Dr. J. S. Keller in 1846. Drs. S. N. Pierce and Kerr were others.
The first physician at La Porte City was Dr. Jesse Wasson, the founder of the town. His history is fully given in the sketch of La Porte City.
BLACK HAWK COUNTY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
This society was organized August 4, 1876. The charter members were : J. M. Ball, S. W. Pierce, D. W. Crouse, S. Vandervaart, D. B. Colcord, William Robinson, O. S. Knox, J. M. Lanning, J. J. Wasson, H. W. Brown, D. W. Crouse, W. Eddy, G. J. Mack. The first officers were: J. M. Ball, president; S. N. Pierce, vice president ; J. M. Lanning, secretary and treasurer ; Drs. Ball, Pierce and Crouse, board of censors. The membership now is the same as the Waterloo Medical Society, with the following additions: Cedar Falls, F. H. Cutler, A. S.
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Hanson, George E. Hearst, W. L. Hearst, C. W. Knickerbocker, Ida M. Rhoades, Lillie A. Arnett, F. M. Mead, W. G. Mullarky, George P. Peebles, J. S. Stevens, F. L. Vanderveer, J. H. Van Dyke, Palmer M. Fenger; La Porte City, R. B. Fields and Doctor Alt; Gilbertville, R. W. Allen; Dunkerton, Doctor Buck- master ; Hudson, E. C. McMillan, R. H. Pyles.
WATERLOO MEDICAL SOCIETY
This society came into existence in 1900 and was fostered by the various doctors residing in Waterloo. The first president was D. W. Crouse ; vice presi- dent, H. W. Brown; secretary, J. E. O'Keefe; treasurer, G. H. Sumner. The association meets every two weeks in the Y. M. C. A. Building. The following are members at present: Drs. E. T. Alford, J. R. Allen, G. J. Bennett, C. C. Bickley, Cecil Bickley, G. G. Bickley, W. H. Bickley, W. M. Blowers, J. E. Brinkman, Harry Brown, G. Hardy Clark, Margaret Clark, E. I. Dunkelberg, R. A. Dunkelberg, B. C. Everall, E. B. Hadley, F. T. Hartman, D. C. Huntoon, E. T. Jaynes, E. H. Knittle, E. E. Magee, J. G. McAlvin, T. U. McManus, G. M. Nesbit, R. J. Nestor, J. E. O'Keefe, F. W. Porterfield, F. W. Powers, J. E. Ridenour, E. L. Rohlf, F. C. Sage, E. R. Shannon, H. W. Sigworth, W. B. Small, E. F. Stevenson, J. R. Thompson, T. F. Thornton, C. A. Waterbury, Judson Laughlin, I. S. Buzard, S. D. Smith, E. M. Gaige, A. A. Hoffman, R. E. Russell, J. A. Farnham.
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CHAPTER XVIII
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND CATTLE AND DAIRY INDUSTRY
The City of Waterloo is the Mecca of the West in the cattle and dairy industry of the United States. In the whole Mississippi Valley, and in fact in the entire country, Waterloo is a recognized leader in anything which pertains to stock, particularly dairy cattle and their products.
The development has been reached only in recent years, due to the influence of enterprising breeders located here. Because of the various influences, the Iowa State Dairy Association succeeded in securing an appropriation of $10,000 from the State Legislature in 1907. Two years later $7,500 was received from the Legislature. These appropriations made it possible for the organizations . to begin an active campaign among the farmers of the state for the importation and care of dairy cattle. Prof. Hugh Van Pelt was chosen state dairy expert and because Waterloo was located in the dairy center of the state the offices of the association were located here.
The Kimball Dairy Farmer generously offered the association quarters in its handsome building. The location of the quarters of the State Dairymen's Asso- ciation also proved beneficial to the dairy interests of Waterloo and vicinity. Among the other attractions was organized the Iowa State Cow Culture Club, with headquarters in the city. The organization had for its purpose the assisting and encouraging of small dairymen. Prizes were offered by the different asso- ciations for the best cattle, methods and the quality of dairy products. Every farmer was eligible to the different contests of this nature and consequently a large amount of interest was stimulated in the county.
DAIRY CATTLE CONGRESS
In 1909 the Iowa State Dairy Association decided that a dairy show would prove of large benefit to the farmers and breeders of the state. This idea was abetted by many Waterloo citizens. The advantage of such exhibitions in the larger cities in stimulating interest in this profitable branch of farming appealed to the Waterloo men and they spent time, money, brain power and energy in putting on the first show in 1910 at Chautauqua Park. The location of the show was fixed at Waterloo because of the numerous advantages of being situated in the dairy center of the state, as well as being in sympathetic touch with the citizens. From the first the idea was to make the show worth while, to eliminate the tinsel and carnival features common at many of the agricultural meetings, to bring in for exhibition the cream of the dairy cattle of the United States and Canada, to display the products of the creamery, agricultural imple-
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ments, and other articles allied with the dairying and farming interests. Promi- nent among the early workers for this exhibition might be mentioned: John Andrews, W. W. Marsh, Hugh G. Van Pelt, E. R. Shoemaker, William Galloway and H. E. Kiester.
The first show was a great success, the exhibits being held in the Coliseum at Chautauqua Park.
In the spring of 1911, when the state association board met to decide on a location for the second year, it was confronted with offers from various cities and towns. Again the offer made by Waterloo was much superior and was ac- cepted. Also, in 1911, a movement was put on foot to establish the Cattle Congress on an enduring business basis. Late in the year articles of incorpora- tion were prepared and filed with the county recorder. The object was set forth as follows: To conduct an annual exhibition of dairy cattle, dairy supplies and farm implements, and to promote the dairy interests in general. The cor- poration began business October 16, 1911, with an authorized capital stock of $25,000, divided into shares of $10 each. The first board of directors consisted of W. W. Marsh, John Andrews, E. R. Shoemaker, C. V. Simmons, G. E. Lichty, James Black, L. S. Cass, W. R. Law, Paul Davis, William Galloway and H. E. Kiester.
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