USA > Iowa > Madison County > History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people, Volume I > Part 46
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My advanced age, more than three score and eleven, prechides the possibility that I shall be present at the centennial observance. 1 feel assured. however, that the historian of that occasion will find nothing which he will be loth to present to the public, should the lodge be as prudent and discriminating in the future as they have been in the past. To this lodge and its guests is thus submitted this brief history.
To the historian of June 8, 1954, I fraternally hand the pen which I now lay down, together with this resume of our first fifty years. Anticipating grasping his hand in fraternal greeting, may 1 not confidently and heartily congratulate him and the order that the honorable record of the half century he may review will be in no wise dimmed or marred by aught unmasonic. We therefore place this little sprig of acacia at the head of the grave of the fifty years now gone, not with regret or sorrow, but in the full confidence of hope that some weary brother, at the close of the next half century, sitting down to rest and refresh himself, may find this memento, fresh and blooming, not without interest to those who, through his efforts, review the history of Evening Star Lodge, No. 43. from 19044 to 1954.
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On Wednesday evening, November 11, 1914, before a large audience, the most worshipful grand master of lowa, Chas. W. Walton, dedicated the new Masonic Temple, a new brick structure belonging to the lodge, on the east side of the square.
Winterset Chapter, No. 180, Order of Eastern Star, was instituted October 23, 1895, with twenty-five charter members. The membership now numbers about one hundred. The lodge meets Thursday on or after each full moon.
Madison Lodge, No. 136, Independent Order Odd Fellows, was chartered July 19, 1865, and has a membership of about one hundred. It meets every Tuesday night.
Rock City Encampment, No. 65, was chartered October 21, 1874, with eleven charter members and now has twenty-six members in good standing. The lodge meets the first and third Thursday of each month.
Crown Rebekah Lodge, No. 360, was chartered October 23 1896, with twenty- one members, which has now grown to about eighty. It meets the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.
Lotus Lodge, No. 48, Knights of Pythias, was organized July 31, 1879, with thirty-three charter members. Its present membership is about ninety. It meets every Thursday night.
Winterset Temple, No. 105, Rathbone Sisters, was chartered August II, 1808, having sixty-one charter members, with seventy at the present time. The lodge meets every alternate Tuesday evening.
The last to appear in the field of purely fraternal organizations is Chapter A. . G .. P. E. O., which was granted a charter August 24, 1892, with eight charter members and has grown to a large membership. It meets every alternate Tues- day evening. The reader will notice the legend, "P. E. O.," is not self-explana- tory, for the reason that this is one of the secrets of the society.
This ends the history of the strictly fraternal societies, but there are a number of fraternal beneficiary societies that have done and are doing a great work in providing for widows and orphans of their deceased members, in the way of life insurance, as well as direct charity. The oldest in this class in Winterset is Lodge No. 71, Ancient Order of United Workmen, organized August 26, 1882, with about twenty charter members.
Next in point of time is Winterset Camp, No. 302, Modern Woodmen of America, chartered January 28, 1887, with nineteen members. Their member- ship now reaches 100. They meet every Monday night.
Auxiliary to the Modern Woodmen is Juniata Camp, No. 1428, Royal Neigh- bors of America, chartered March 10, 1899, with twenty-three members, now numbering fifty. The lodge meets every Friday evening.
Then comes Backbone Tent, No. 54, Knights of the Maccabees, organized in September, 1895, with eighteen charter members. They now number 100 and meet every Thursday night.
Winterset Hive, No. 32, Ladies of the Maccabees, was organized December 13. 1901, with twenty members. It meets the first and third Friday of each month.
Madison Camp, No. 100, Woodmen of the World, was chartered April 7, 1896, with fifteen charter members. It meets every Wednesday.
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Boxelder Grove, No. 72, Woodman Circle, was chartered May 25, 1904. with ten members.
Glencoe Castle, No. 16, Highland Nobles was chartered May 3, 1904, with eighteen charter members. It meets every Tuesday night.
Winterset Council, No. 219, Knights and Ladies Security, was organized February 1, 1895. with thirteen charter members. It meets the first and third Friday of each month.
CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
Winterset, in common with other cities, has a large number of clubs, some of them literary, some social and a few athletic, and it is surprising to note how many people there are who have membership in one or more of the clubs. The oldest club is the Current Topic Club, organized in 1891, by Mrs. D. D. Davisson, who was its president until her death in 1898. There were six charter members: Mrs. D. D. Davisson, Mrs. J. W. Cornell, Mrs. J. P. Steele, Mrs. Frank Payton, Mrs. Majors and Miss Flora Harris. In 1893 the organization federated with the other clubs of the state. The membership is now limited to twenty. This is one of the literary clubs and a course of study is followed each year, history, past and present, famous writers and other lines of study being taken up from time to time. The meetings are held each alternate Friday after- noon at the different homes.
The Women's Club was organized in January, 1899, and federated about a month later. The membership in this club is not limited in number. The object of the club, as stated in the constitution, is "to promote mutual growth and helpfulness and for combined work in our cause undertaken for the general good. The literary work shall be to review and discuss any subject of interest." Like the Current Topic Club, the meetings are held each alternate Friday after- noon, and once a year the two clubs hold a union meeting.
In 1892, Chapter A G, of the P. E. O. sisterhood, was organized here by Miss Marie Lyons of the Waterloo Chapter. and Mrs. Jennie Dean, of New Sharon Chapter. The charter members were Mrs. W. J. Dean, Mrs. Alice Welch, Miss Ella Nichols, Miss Gretchen Kreuger. Miss Effie Lyons, Miss Harriet Snyder, and Miss Bertha Wainwright. Different lines of work are under- taken by the P. E. ('s. To the library the society has given several chairs, a library table, a small table, a picture and $25 in cash. The meetings are hekl the first and third Tuesday evenings of the month and a literary and musical program is given.
The Country Club was formed here in 1903. The first year forty acres, in the Lucas farm northwest of town, were rented, but the following spring forty acres in the Stiles farm were rented and a nine-hole course laid out by Tom O'Neal, a professional player from Des Moines.
On March 1, 1909, W. J. Cornell, for the club, purchased of Rebecca Stiles, widow of Capt. Thomas W. Stiles, sixty acres on section 25, in Douglas Town- ship, in consideration of $5,000. The land seemed to have been made to meet every desire of the club. No finer golf links in the state are laid out, a typical club house and also a cottage and stable for the caretaker relieve the landscape.
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Several acres, beautifully wooded and made doubly picturesque by a limpid stream of water, sheltered on one side by rugged cliffs, are fitted into a park, which is reached from the club house by a path extending to a swinging or suspension bridge, which crosses the stream above mentioned. The Winterset golf links have an extended popularity and reputation and the Country Club's membership is "high class," in the business and social circles of the county.
Among the social clubs are the afternoon Whist Club of ladies and an evening Whist Club of ladies and gentlemen ; the Phi Kappa Thetas, the Bachelor Maid's Club, the Birthday Club, the Indian Club, the Jolly Owls, the Sewing Club, etc.
GRAND ARMY POST AND WOMAN'S RELIEF CORPS
In 1881 A. W. C. Weeks interested himself in the organization of a post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Winterset. He soon succeeded in enrolling the following twenty-three names of veterans who became the charter members of the organization: A. W. C. Weeks, G. G. Clark, J. R. Shannon, S. B. Cherry, H. M. Roberts, C. T. Jones, H. C. Price, Mel Stone, C. C. Goodale, J. M. Butcher, C. Danforth, S. F. Hughes, Samuel Myers, W. R. Shriver, M. Mc- Quinney, W. E. Shannon, C. H. Lancaster, Jesse McDaniel, T. F. Mardis, E. O. Burt, Joel Oliphant, H. S. Sprecher, S. R. Leonard.
The charter was issued August 25, 1881, with A. W. C. Weeks as post com- mander. The post was named, not in honor of Judge Pitzer, as is generally sup- posed, but of his son, Leander Pitzer, a member of the Fourth Iowa Infantry, who was killed at the battle of Chickasaw Bayou. The post was the fifty-fifth in the order of time of organization, hence the official title of the organization is Pitzer Post, No. 55, Department of Iowa, Grand Army of the Republic. The meetings of the post at first were held in Sprague's Hall, at the southwest corner of the square; from there it was removed to Mathes Hall on the east side, and then to its present headquarters in the northwest corner of the courthouse.
Mr. Weeks served for a number of years as commander, when he was suc- ceeded by D. E. Cooper. The following have been the commanders since then : L. B. Davis, Eli Wilkin, George Turbett, Frederick Mott, E. F. Connoran, T. C. Gilpin, E. R. Zeller, Ezra Brownell, William Brinson, John McAndrews, R. H. Cooper.
The G. A. R. and W. R. C. as organizations have achieved more than ordinary reputation from the fact that they have done much to relieve the needs of old soldiers and their families, and more especially for the very important work of promoting a patriotic sentiment in the community. On the 22d of February each year they make a special effort to instill a love of country into the lives of the school children and to them is due the credit for a continuous and proper celebration of Memorial Day on the 30th of May each year. Each year the business men of Winterset are called on for a small donation and these two or- ganizations do the rest. Decoration Day has been appropriately observed for so many years the whole county looks forward to it with more expectancy than that other and older anniversary. The 30th of May and the 4th of July have come to divide the honors equally, and neither date will lose its significance so long as the G. A. R. and W. R. C. survive.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
WOMAN'S RELIEF CORPS
By Jennie Lothrop Whedon (1911)
No organized body of women in the world equals the Woman's Relief Corps. It realizes and maintains that what it does is not a charity, but partial payment on an unpayable debt of justice and love. We are created to give, not to receive. Grand Army encampments every year thrill the whole country. Drum corps, brass bands, floating flags and silken banners appear everywhere; trailing lengths of special trains gathering from every city and town in the United States, filled with tens of thousands of prominent men and women, converge toward some given point, whose city has been twelve months preparing for its welcome; yet, we are frequently asked, "What is the Grand Army?" and "How did the Woman's Relief Corps happen to be organized ?"
The minuteness of a thing when created gives no sign as to what proportion and magnitude it may grow. No better illustration can be given of this accepted fact than the wonderful growth of the organization I have the honor to represent today. We know not when or where the first germ of the Woman's Relief Corps was implanted, nor how long was the silent creative power developing into life.
It might have been when the first cannon boomed at Fort Sumter, calling to arms the fathers and brothers of this generation. It might have been when the sacred feet of our forefathers touched the illustrious rock in old Massa- chusetts, charging its granite with an electric current of loyalty so strong and enduring that its impetus has never been stayed. It might have been way back when the morning stars sang together "in the beginning."
The War of the Rebellion, which has no parallel, was undoubtedly a part of God's fixed plan of action, and America the ordained tablet on which our Maker justly and wisely ciphers out the problems of history and humanity.
One great factor in this problem is the steady advancement of woman toward that wide plain of social, moral and ennobling influence to which she is rapidly tending. 'Tis to her warm sympathies and quick perceptions, together with the thrilling sense of that something indescribable which we call patriotism, that we owe today the organization we represent, and through which so much "good Samaritan" work is being accomplished. In the struggle of 1861 to 1865, men went forth to the battle front, leaving behind families without a protector and bread carner. They went forth to meet bullets and disease, suffering and pri- vation. At this time there came to the rescue of both the wounded soldier in service and his needy family at home, an angel of mercy. Woman, her heart tender, kind and loving, instinctively found ways of assisting to care for the sick and wounded in the hospitals and on the battlefields, while in the villages and cities she was active in relieving the wants of the war widows and orphans. All over the land were organized soldiers' aid societies, which were great sources of supply to the Christian and sanitary commissions, which in turn were under the Government patronage for collecting and distributing supplies. Large sums of money were raised and expended and countless lives were saved by this move- ment of patriotic northern women during this terrible war.
At the close of the war the Grand Army of the Republic organized to promul- gate fraternity, charity and loyalty, and labored hard to aid unfortunate com-
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rades, but so small an organization was almost powerless before the great de- mands upon its treasury.
As early as 1870 the records of the Grand Army of the Republic show that at the fourth annual convention, reference was made to the work of women in connection with the charity work of the order. Statements were made that there should be some recognition of the service of the loyal women. In several departments a "Clara Barton degree" had been established and at several subse- quent encampments the subject was continued and much discussed.
Ten years after the war this country faced a great financial panic. The vet- erans suffered greatly from failing health, wounds and other troubles which follow war ; everywhere was the cry for bread, while soldier widows hunted work in vain.
Again woman came to the rescue. Almost simultaneously, Massachusetts and Ohio offered assistance ; Massachusetts working under the name of the Woman's Relief Corps; Ohio under that of the Post Ladies' Aid Society. This was in 1878-79.
To Portland, Maine, belongs the honor of the first usage of the name of Relief Corps in 1869, under the name of Bosworth Relief Corps, No. 1, which is still in existence. Then at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in 1879, the Woman's Relief Corps was formed, and in 1880, the State Relief Corps of Massachusetts and New Hampshire united to form the Union Board of Woman's Relief Corps. In 1880, a resolution was introduced at the Fourteenth National G. A. R. Encamp- ment, calling attention to the importance of an official woman's auxiliary, and the committee was appointed to consider and report at the Fifteenth Annual Encampment. The committee's report was unanimously adopted, approving the organization of a National Woman's Relief Corps to be known as auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic.
In 1883, Commander-in-chief Van der Voort actively advanced this organiza- tion. In his extensive travels he urged upon all posts the importance of these auxiliaries, and called public attention to prominent women who would assist in organizing corps. He engaged the Washington National Tribune in the work and Kate B. Sherwood was made editor of the woman's department. Thus, under Paul Van der Voort, in Denver, in 1883, the Woman's Relief Corps was formed, working under the name, Union Board of Woman's Relief Corps of the Department of Massachusetts.
From this small band of workers has spread an order which according to the recent report of the national president, now numbers 164,225-an increase of seventy corps and 3,149 members since the report of 1909.
New duties come to us as we grow in strength, numbers and experience. For instance, the sending of over fifteen hundred dollars to beautify the graves of soldiers who lie in the southland; or the movement to reinstate delinquent post members, by the donation of money to the posts for the payment of dues for veterans who are unable to meet this obligation.
Then, too, at Christmas time the army nurses are not forgotten. Forty-six needy army nurses were each presented with $20, making $920 expended on those noble women. One of the proteges of the Woman's Relief Corps has been Memorial University, located at Mason City, Iowa. Founded by the Sons of Veterans, U. S. A., at national encampment in September, 1900, it is dedicated to the veterans and loyal women of 1861-65 as a memorial to the heroes and Vol. I-25
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heroines of the Civil war. This university was located at Mason City because of its nearness to the geographical center of the United States. In September, 1902, the Liberal Arts Building was dedicated and the institution was opened to both men and women. The property is valued at $180,000, is incorporated under the laws of lowa, governed by a board of regents of twenty-five members, assisted by an advisory board. Its especial educational features are the teaching of American history and Department of Applied Patriotism, which instructs the students as to their responsibility to state and nation.
Each corps sends annually a tax of five cents per member to support this university, so that we are doing something in an educational way to inculcate patriotism in the youth of our land. But the labor to which we point with greatest pride is the care of the Andersonville prison grounds. These grounds were of- fered for sale to the Government, but the offer was refused. so the Department of Grand Army of the Republic of Georgia, aided greatly by the Woman's Relief Corps, bought this Confederate prison, unwilling that this place, made sacred by human suffering and agony, should be put to common uses. U'nable to improve and maintain this property, and realizing that they must disband soon from weakness, the Department of Georgia offered to present the property to the National Grand Army of the Republic, who refused, for lack of funds. In 1895 the same offer was made to the National Woman's Relief Corps, who accepted the charge and nobly responded to its needs.
An additional thirteen acres was purchased that all the forts, rifle pits, earth- works and all grounds outside the stockade that had been used for prison pur- poses might be taken care of. This made 881/2 acres. Fences were built. Fine large entrances were put up, bridges built over the creeks, a good nine-room house was erected and a new stockade has been made on the line of the old one.
The history of Andersonville prison has horrified the world, for no tongue, pen or brush can ever picture the fearful and unutterable sufferings of the 35,000 men who were confined there. The lack of water was the cause of much disease and torture until in August, 1864. when God certainly answered the fervent prayer for water, for during a fearful electric storm a spring burst forth from the ground just inside the "dead line." affording great relief. The prisoners named it "Providence Spring." On Memorial Day of 1901 the Woman's Relief Corps dedicated a pavilion over the spring, bearing this inscription : "This pa- vilion was erected by the Woman's Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, in grateful memory of the men who suffered and died in the Con- federate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, from February, 1864. to April, 1865.
"The prisoner's cry of thirst rang up to heaven ; God heard, and with His thunder cleft the earth And poured His sweetest water gushing here. Erected 1901."
For the past five years the Woman's Relief Corps has annually set aside $2,000 for the improvement and beautification of these grounds. At Atlantic City, New Jersey. in September, 1910, the national president of the Woman's Relief Corps, Jennie Iowa Berry, turned over to the Government the deeds to .Ander- sonville prison property. Sixteen years of labor and study have been spent for
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the preservation of this historic place, so that today it is one of the beautiful and noteworthy points of interest of our land.
Turning to the work of the Woman's Relief Corps in Madison County, I must refer to Pitzer Woman's Relief Corps, No. 117. On July 19, 1887, twenty- one women met at the Grand Army of the Republic Hall over Tate's hardware store. The meeting was the result of a petition for the organization of a corps in Winterset: The post commander, L. B. Davis, called the meeting to order. Mrs. Minnie Wallace was made temporary chairman, and Mrs. Nettie Leonard, secretary.
The election of officers resulted in the choice of Mrs. Nannie Wallace for president ; Mrs. Nettie Leonard, secretary ; Mrs. Jennie Darnall, treasurer. On July 26th the officers were installed, L. B. Davis presiding. Thus P'itzer Woman's Relief Corps, No. 117, was organized, with forty-nine charter members. Of these forty-nine women, fourteen retain membership here now. They are Irene Connoran, Olivia Faurote, Ann Lafferty, Hattie Zeller, Eudora Benge, Josephine Krabiel Bowlsby, Frank Peters, Jennie Darnall, Jennie Whedon, Maggie Walker, Ella Knight, Mary Hutchings, Rachel Reeder and Huldah Shults.
Five presidents have been chosen by Pitzer Corps, one not serving her year out. They are Nannie Wallace, Irene Connoran, Caroline Murray, Maimee Miller and Jennie Whedon.
Four secretaries have served the corps: Nettie Leonard, Gertrude Young, Loraine Sumner, Rettie Greer.
Ten treasurers have handled our funds: Jennie Darnall, Rettie Greer, Sarah Wilkins (now department president of Oklahoma), Pauline Dabney, Josephine Bowlsby, Alida Hoff, Vinnie Hyder, Ida MeDaniel, Irene Connoran and Charlena Seidler.
Our roll shows 300 names on record. From our early days we have been a banner corps, numbering over one hundred in membership. To us, in June, 1910, came the highest honors that the Department of Iowa can pay-the be- stowal of the chief office of the state, department president, upon Pitzer Corps' president, Mrs. Jennie Whedon. The office of department secretary is held by Rettie Greer, present secretary of Pitzer Corps; thus Winterset has been head- quarters of the Woman's Relief Corps of lowa since June, 1911.
January 14, 1892, marks the organization of John Miller Woman's Relief Corps, No. 242, at St. Charles, with twenty-nine names on the charter. Pitzer Corps, under myself (you must pardon personal allusions at this point of this paper), organized the St. Charles Corps. In September, 1903, they entertained the district convention. The old records of this corps, prior to 1902, were de- stroyed by fire, so its history is incomplete. In October, 1903, they organized a corps at Truro, under the name of Jonathan Roby Woman's Relief Corps, No. 341. In June, 1904, they organized at New Virginia a corps known as Samuel Irwin Corps, No. 344. So I am personally proud of all three of these corps, who refer to me as their mother and grandmother.
At Macksburg we have J. D. Craven Woman's Relief Corps, No. 322, or- ganized April 2, 1898, with thirty-six charter members. This corps has built and paid for a hall of its own. The lower story is used for a town hall and has a kitchen. The upper story is used exclusively for lodge purposes, and besides
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the corps' meetings, it is rented to the Woodmen and Royal Neighbors of America. This corps also calls me mother, for I was responsible for its organization.
With the Woman's Relief Corps in 1888 originated the custom of placing across the breast of a dead comrade, a small silk flag, while on each Memorial Day 200,000 graves of soldiers are decorated with flags by this order.
The Woman's Relief Corps also has been for years presenting large flags to the high schools of each city in which the annual Department convention is held. Thus thirty-five states honor thirty-five cities annually with these handsome flags.
To the Woman's Relief Corps belongs the credit of our Memorial Day ob- servances to the memory of the unknown dead; also to the Woman's Relief Corps is due the beautiful service of strewing flowers on the waters of the ocean and inland streams, in memory of our naval patriots. The universal placing of flags upon schoolhouses is accredited to the Woman's Relief Corps, while Flag Day, June 14th, is an institution of the Woman's Relief Corps. Ilence one may readily see that while acting as an auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, the Woman's Relief Corps performs the never ending task of per- petuating the memory of the defenders of our nation, of rendering aid to the needy veteran and his family, and teaching patriotism to the children that they may swear allegiance to our flag.
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