USA > Indiana > Rush County > Centennial history of Rush County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 39
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perintendent A. L. Gary were the judges, and despite the fact that the Thomas side was numerically less than the McClannahan cohorts, "a decisive victory" was an- nounced in favor of Mr. Thomas's team. During the win- ters of 1901-02 there was organized at Rushville a debat- ing society which took the classic name of Zetaphotonian, which held meetings every Thursday evening and con- tinued active for four or five years. Nor must mention be neglected of the Rushville Opera Company, an inter- esting coterie of local amateurs, who in January, 1890, gave renditions of "The Little Tycoon" and "Pinafore" at the Grand Theater in Rushville. In June, 1891, the organization of the Citizens Band, a musical combination which attained considerable fame in its day, was com- mented on with enthusiasm. In January, 1893, consid- erable attention was attracted to a debate held at district school No. 9 in Rushville township between picked teams of the teachers of the county on the question, "Resolved, That the services of the statesmen have been more con- ducive to the welfare of this nation than those of the sol-
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diers." In February, 1894, announcement was made of the organization at Rushville of a new social and literary society which started under the name Les Beaux Esprits. And thus the time passed. one social endeavor after another, even as it is today. In many a precious old scrapbook, sacred relies of a generation that has passed, there are preserved school reports, programs of enter- tainments, amateur play bills and the like which form most interesting reading today. One such scrapbook has pasted in it ornately printed monthly school reports of the Rushville graded school in 1853. when George A. Chase was principal, and of the later Rushville Academy during the winter session of 1854-55. George A. Chase. principal ; also a bill carrying the program of an "exhi- bition" of the high school department of the Rushville graded school of that period, the same carrying the names of many youngsters who in their turn became leaders in the community life. Then there are in this same serap- book several of the play bills of "The Amateurs," a local dramatic club, of much fame during the latter '50s and early '60s. One of these, date of May 4, 1859, indicates the versatility of the thespians. presenting, as it does, three plays-"The Omnibus," a one-act "laughable farce:" the "great tragic drama in two acts" of "The Seven Clerks, or the Three Thieves and the Denouncer," and "the laughable and side-splitting farce in one act, 'Boots at the Swan.'" "Admission, 25 cents: children under ten years of age. 15 cents." The manager of The Amateurs was William M. Thrasher and the acting stage manager was JJ. L. Youse. The cast included the names of J. W. Ellis, N. E. Conde, JJ. H. Mauzy, Master H. Sex- ton, Master A. B. Furgason, Miss Doggett, Miss Poe, Miss Furgason, Miss Patterson, S. C. Campbell, E. H. Perkins, J. W. Manzy, T. II. Hibben, B. W. Morgan, Miss Sexton, R. L. Smith and Mrs. Doggett. Then there is a bill of the spring exhibition of Fairview Academy, June 11, 1858, the "order of exercises" showing a most ambitious pro-
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gram undertaken by the members of the class, numbering about forty. The program of the annual exhibition of Flat Rock Seminary, July 8, 1859, indicates an equal degree of ambition on the part of the thirty or more mem- bers of the class of that year. A bill of the annual exhi- bition of the Rushville Select School, June 30, 1859, is equally interesting in the range of subjects presented by the twenty-three members of the class. Another bill of the Amateur Club, the cast much the same as that given above, shows that "the evening performance will com- mence with the minor drama, entitled 'Box and Cox, or a Romance of Real Life,' to be followed by 'The Idiot Wit- ness, or a Tale of Blood,' a melodrama in three acts; the whole to conclude with the laughable farce of 'The Wid- ow's Victim,' in one act. Doors open at 6 o'clock, cur- tains rise precisely at 7." Then there is a "Program of the order of exercises for the celebration of the Fourth of July at Rushville on Saturday, July 3, 1858," the same surrounded by an elaborate border of the florid typog- raphy of the period. H. G. Sexton was the marshal of the day, and the assistant marshals were Col. A. Posey, J. Carmichael, J. Moffett, J. McMillin, J. Hamilton, C. S. Donaldson, J. Dogget, J. S. Lakin, M. Sexton and L. Maddux, the printer's taste for brevity probably being responsible for the clipping of these gentlemen's names to the mere initial. A notable paragraph of this program set out that "the committee appointed will call on each family in town, and at a point designated on those of the county, to receive their provisions, and it is expected that each family will have their provisions ready by half past seven o'clock, with their names on their baskets. This committee will take charge of the provisions and deliver them to those to whom they belong. After dining the committee will again take charge of the baskets and de- liver them at the point at which they were received in the morning." Certainly a most comprehensive arrangement.
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It is worthy of comment that baseball got a pretty early start here, and as a social diversion has managed to maintain its own down through the years. In August, 1869, it was announced that "Little Rushvillians have organized a baseball club under the title of 'Dirty-feet.' We understand they are going to play the 'Barefeet' of Milroy a match game for the championship." In the is- sue of the paper carrying that announcement it was noted with every evidence of grave concern that "Rushville presents a great deal of room for moral improvement and the more the question of temperance reformation is agitated the better it will be for the public and the place." In August. 1870, there was a story concerning a "cham- pionship " baseball game between the Connersville Quick- steps and the Rushville Whitecaps, the former winning by a close score. While treating of organizations of a social and cultural character the fact ought not be over- looked that the Sunday schools were a considerable factor in the social life of the community even at an early day and that many of the most successful pienics were held under such auspices. On October 31, 1867, the news- papers carried an announcement of the organization of the Rush County Sabbath School Union, the membership of which was composed of the Sabbath school teachers of the county, the organization having been effected by the election of the Rev. John Wiseman, president : Mir. Fos- ter, corresponding secretary : C. Booth, recording secre- tary: V. B. Bodine, treasurer, and eight vice-presidents and a board of directors. Occasional references to this union in the newspapers during the years following show that it long maintained a useful existence. The beginning of the Young Men's Christian Association work that for- merly was carried on in Rushville dated from a meeting held at the Christian church in the middle of February, 1874. C. W. Mock was appointed chairman of the meet- ing and S. W. McMahan, secretary. A traveling organ- izer of the Y. M. C. A. explained the objects of the asso-
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ciation to the assemblage and a commitee was appointed to effect an organization. This was about the time of the beginning of the great temperance reform agitation, which swept over the country during that period and all agencies for good were active in that behalf. Luther Benson, author of the once widely read book, "Fifteen Years In Hell," who was born in Washington township, this county, was then making a country-wide campaign narrating the story of his vivid experience as a drunkard and his local campaign in this behalf was not without effect. As one of the papers said in 1876, in reviewing one of his addresses, "Mr. Benson fairly took his audience by storm. From the first word to the closing sentence the entire assemblage listened with rapt attention. The speech was a succession of beautiful word paintings. The descriptive powers of the speaker are of a high order, while his portrayal of the woes of intemperance seems to be clothed in words of fire. He used neither notes nor manuscript and spoke in a rapid off-hand manner, with frequent flashes of eloquence." In April, 1879, the papers made much of a temperance revival that was on in the county, and it was noted that 1,200 persons had taken the pledge to abstain from alcoholic drinks.
CHAPTER XVII
SIDELIGHTS ON RUSH COUNTY HISTORY
Among the "sidelights" on the history of Rush county that have been revealed during the period of re- search covered in the present compilation none is more illuminating than that reflected from the time-stained pages of the Rush County Public Library Association's minute book. dating back to the fall of 1823. This book, which was presented to the Rushville public library by Miles S. Cox in 1911, is regarded as probably the most precious possession of the library and is a real and ines- timably valuable relic of the days which witnessed the beginnings of a social order hereabout. The first entry in this old book. which, happily, is in an admirable state of preservation. is that of November 8. 1823, and the last, May 18, 1839, the minutes thus covering a period of more than fifteen years: the last page of the book carrying a record of the election of Robert S. Cox. grandfather of the donor, to the office of county librarian. The pages of this book indicate more convineingly than a mere mon- ument of stone would have done that even in the busy days which marked the creation of a town on the spot which so short a time before had been but a continuation of the "forest primeval" there were those here who had thought of something more than the material side of things, and were endeavoring to foster and promote a taste for literature in the backwoods settlement and to create in the minds of the settlers a further desire to en- conrage the good, the beautiful, the true in the upbuilding of the social fabric. It is significant that the record shows that Dr. William B. Laughlin was the head of this little library movement here in the then wilderness, even as he had been found to have been the leader in nearly all
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the movements of that time which had to do with the ad- vancement of the common good. This community cer- tainly owes much to Doctor Laughlin.
The opening minute in this precious old book is as follows: "At a meeting of the trustees of the Rush County Public Library elected pursuant to statute on Saturday, the 8th day of November, 1823, present Will- iam B. Laughlin, president ; Peter H. Patterson, Stephen Sims, Reu Pugh, John Alley and Charles H. Veeder, trustees. On motion it was resolved, first, that the pres- ident and members be qualified as the statute directs: Whereupon the oath as prescribed by statute was admin- istered to the members respectively. On motion, Re- solved, that a librarian, treasurer and clerk be elected as officers for this institution and voted for by ballot. Reu Pugh was elected treasurer; John Alley, librarian, and Charles H. Veeder, clerk." On further motion Peter H. Patterson, Horatio G. Sexton and Reu Pugh were chosen a committee to draft rules for the direction of the asso- ciation, and Treasurer Pugh was required to file a bond as treasurer and further "that the president draft and that the clerk attest an order on the agent to pay over to the treasurer all the monies that may have accrued on the ten per centum appropriated out of the sale of town lots to this board, and that the treasurer present said order to the agent of this county." It then further was ordered that the treasurer "purchase with the monies that he may receive on the foregoing order the following books or so many of them as that amount of money can purchase, on the cheaper terms, towit: Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, Smith's Wealth of Nations, Goldsmith's Abridgements of Greece, Rome and England, Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric, Society and Manners in America, Life of Gen- eral Marion, Knickerbocker's History, Spectator, Tom Jones, Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry, Chateubriand's Travels, Woodfall's Junius, Peter Pindar, Peregrin Pickel and Salmagundi." The minutes then noted ad-
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journment to "the first day of January next at 4 o'clock p. m., at the school house in Rushville," and were signed by W. B. Laughlin, president, and attested by Charles H. Veeder, clerk. It will be recalled that Mr. Veeder was the first postmaster of Rushville. The final entry in this book which had been so carefully preserved in the Cox family until presented to the public library, is dated May 18, 1839, and notes that "now comes T. A. Knox and sur- renders his office as county librarian; thereupon the board of trustees appoint Robert S. Cox county librarian, and he is hereby ordered to take charge of the books now in said library, and to give notice in the Rushville news- paper to all persons holding books in their hands belong- ing to said library to return the same to librarian as soon as practicable ; and said Cox is hereby authorized to call on T. A. Knox, former librarian, and receive any amount of money that may be in his hand as such librarian. On motion the board adjourned to meet on the 4th day of July next at 1 o'clock, p. m., at the library room in Rush- ville." This last minute was signed by Jesse Morgan, president. and G. B. Tingley, secretary pro tem.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Rushville and Rush county are proud of their excel- lent public library which is housed in the court house, occupying commodious quarters on the ground floor and quite apart from the well equipped law library attached to the Rush Circuit Court on the third foor. But there has not always been a public library in the city. The illuminating "sidelight" above thrown upon the effort here in an early day to maintain a public library is only a sidelight. It shows that as late as the fall of 1839 there was such a library, but no light is thrown upon the even- tual fate of the institution. Probably with the passing of the generation which maintained it the institution gradually fell into decay and thus passed out, at least the library has no further records covering its period of use-
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fulness. The library idea, however, never quite died out and it is known that there were not only private loan li- braries maintained in Rushville from time to time, but that in other years before the present method of distri- bution had been devised following the creation of the In- diana state public library commission twenty years and more ago, township libraries were maintained in some of the townships of the county, a portion of the local school fund being found available for this purpose. The "trav- eling library" inaugurated by the state commission now supplies the need for books in communities not otherwise provided and schools, clubs or other organizations "of five or more members not having access to a public li- brary" may borrow the traveling library books. Some information regarding the status of the public library in Rushville prior to the establishment of the present library in 1909, is gained from a search of the newspaper files. In November, 1857, a call is made for a meeting of the McClure Library Association of Rushville at the library room, at which business meeting "arrangements will be made for the opening of the institution." In December of that same year mention was made of a meeting at which a movement was inaugurated for the revivification of the Working Men's Library Association, it being noted that P. A. Hackleman, Esq., and the Rev. Daniel Frank- lin "lectured" on the importance of persons having books belonging to the association returning the same before the next meeting. Evidently there had been a circulating library which had loaned itself out of books. The Working Men's Library Association apparently took a new lease on life, for in 1860 there is mention of the con- tinued weekly meetings of the association and of ad- dresses made at such meetings. In October, 1873, prob- ably anent the opening of the fall term of school, a news- paper inquiry is made as to "what has become of all the township libraries in Rush county. A section of the school law requires that 'at commencement of each school
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term, at each school house in their respective townships, the trustees shall cause a notice to be posted up, directing where the township library is kept and inviting the free use of the books thereof by the persons of their respective townships.'" In 1877 mention is made of the "Murdoch Reading Club" and in August of the same year a sug- gestion is made that a Rush county historical society ought to be organized with a view to the opening of a local museum for the preservation of relies of pioneer days. In April of that same year (1877). under the heading "Public Library, " it was announced that "on the 7th inst. a committee consisting of Rev. J. W. Connor, Miss Anna Caldwell, Mrs. R. O. Moffett and Messrs. Marshall New- house, A. Barnard and Greeley Mauzy was appointed by the Y. M. C. A. to consider the question of establishing a public library and reading room. Last Saturday evening the committee submitted its report, recommending the appointment of a committee of five to solicit one hundred donations of $5 each from citizens for the purpose of fitting up the lower floor of the Christian church in Rush- ville for a reading room and laying the foundation of a public library." the further announcement being made that the church had tendered the gratuitions use of its room. It is known that for some time a small library was thus maintained, but the books after awhile got seat- tered and there was no sufficient organization to keep up the library and it was dropped, as had been its predeces- sors. This must have been along in the early '90s, for a newspaper mention is made on November 11, 1890, of a benefit musical entertainment to be held for the purpose of raising a fund for the benefit of "the public reading room." The private circulating library, however, seems to have been maintained intermittently. In May, 1897, under the heading "People's Library." there was news- paper mention of the fact that "the members of the Peo- ple's Library will always find a nice line of books for their reading at Poe's jewelry store. One of the best
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features of this plan of circulating library is that new books are placed on the shelves every three months and thus one has the advantage of recent publications." And the private circulating library was about the only avail- able medium through which the people of Rushville could obtain books without buying them outright until the movement inaugurated by the local chapter of the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution led to the establishment of the present public library more than ten years ago.
The public library which is now maintained in ad- mirable quarters on the ground floor of the court house, readily accessible to everyone in the county, has long proved itself an invaluable agency in the extension of the social and cultural life of the community. The nucleus of the library which had been created by the Rushville chap- ter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was taken over by the city under the terms of a special ordi- nance in 1909, and in the following year a small levy was assessed for maintenance and support, the same now amounting to $1,600 a year. Miss Mary Sleeth, the pres- ent librarian, was appointed to this position in the begin- ning and she has ever rendered faithful and intelligent service. In 1913 Miss Sleeth was given an assistant in the person of Miss May Young, who was succeeded by Miss Edith Wilk, and the latter in turn by Miss Jennie Madden, the present assistant librarian. Mrs. John Moore, who was regent of the local chapter of the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution at the time the library movement had its inception in that body, was of great service in getting the movement under way and was ably assisted by Mrs. A. L. Gary, the latter of whom has been retained as a member of the public library board ever since it was created. The library board as at present con- stituted is as follows: President, Mrs. Jessie E. Gary; vice-president, J. H. Scholl; secretary-treasurer, Mrs. Blanche Abercrombie; E. B. Thomas, A. M. Taylor and Mrs. Mary E. Morgan. When the library was created as
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a general public library it had but about five hundred vol- umes on its meager shelves, these mainly having come through the "book shower" inaugurated by the Dangh- ters of the American Revolution. Today there are more than six thousand volumes on the shelves, and in addition to this there are fifty-nine newspapers and periodicals furnished for the convenience of readers. Books for out- side reading are provided on call to the public schools in the county, which have no libraries, these books remain- ing in the schools during the progress of the term : clubs also are served with books on call, and when necessary drafts are made on the resources of the state library for collections of books to supply such needs. The last an- nual report of the librarian covering the period ending June 30, 1920, showed that there had been 4,585 patrons of the library during the year, and that 29,652 books had been loaned. In connection with the library a rest room for the women of the county is maintained in the court house by the Rushville chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the convenience and comfort of the same has long been proved by the constant use to which it is put.
THE RUSH COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA
For years Rush county has supported a Chautauqua that has done much in a cultural way. This association is the outgrowth of a chautauqua movement started here by the late W. O. Headlee, then county superintendent of schools, who at his own expense in 1905 as an adjunct to the annual meeting of the county teachers' institute in that year provided during the week of August 12-20 (1905) an attractive program of instructive and enter- taining features selected from among the leading chantau- qua numbers of that day. This meeting proved so popu- lar that Mr. Headlee maintained a similar course running parallel with the county teachers' institutes until his death, after which a formal organization was effected for
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the continuing of the annual chautauqua. The articles of association of the Rush County Chautauqua, dated August 2, 1909, set out that "the purposes for which it is formed are to support and maintain in Rush county, Indiana, entertainments for a period of ten days or longer each year for the moral, intellectual and physical improvement and uplift of the people of Rush county." These articles were signed by Lincoln Guffin, president ; Alfred E. Martin, secretary, who, with Charles H. Par- sons, Frank E. Wolcott, Raymond Hargrove, Will Bliss, Thomas M. Green, John B. Winship and Joseph H. Scholl, were directors of the association. In one of the early programs of the association a tribute was paid to W. O. Headlee, founder of the movement, the same quoting him as having said, "The Rushville chautauqua stands for the higher things in the life of today in which all good people are interested. It bids all good causes welcome." And that has been the animating spirit of the association through the years since then. As Mr. Headlee said, "This assembly is a protest against the waste and worry, the haste and tension of the times, as manifested in this com- mercial age. We invite busy people to come and camp on our beautiful grounds, breathe the wholesome air and build themselves up in body, heart, soul and brain." And that invitation still is extended. After awhile the chau- tauqua association was able, aided by voluntary contribu- tions, to erect a coliseum at the city park with a capacity of 2,500, in which the annual assemblies since have been held. The association has conducted its affairs without desire for profit, but so popular have the annual pro- grams proved that it always has a little fund to carry over to the next year, a mutually helpful institution for the good of the community. The present president of the association is Hugh Mauzy and the program commit- tee is composed of Ernest B. Thomas, John A. Titsworth, Anna L. Bohannon, Chester M. George and Joseph H. Scholl, the first three named of whom have acted on this
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committee continuously for ten years or more, a review of the successive programs through the years revealing the fact that Rushville and Rush county thus have been provided with the best chautauqua entertainers that have arisen during that period. As Miss Bohannon wrote in the foreword accompanying the program on the tenth anniversary of the association's work, "the worth of such a meeting in our community cannot be computed. The greatest good is often not seen on the surface. The under- lying feature of a chautauqua is character building, both of persons ad communities. It is essentially an educa- tional, uplifting influence." And that is what this asso- ciation has proved to be in Rush county.
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