USA > Indiana > Lake County > Reports of the historical secretary of the Old settler and historical association of Lake County, Indiana, 1906 - 1910 > Part 2
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Accidents are almost constantly occurring and the
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county is now so populous with its growing lake shore cities that no record can be made of many of them. Most of them illustrate the claim that loss of life very often re- sults from persons being where they ought not to be.
On Saturday, August 11th, 1906, two were drowned in the evening, one a boy of eleven years of age, in the Gras- selli canal, the other a young man of seventeen in Lake Michigan, off the Lake Front Park in Hammond. The Globe journalist says: "The breakers were running high and the undertow on the beach was exceedingly strong and dangerous." This young man went far out and could not return.
Many nationalities are represented in this county, and religious services have been conducted in several languages, but so far as known the first "Welsh service" was held at . East Chicago, September 3, 1905. The following is from the Globe: "Sunday afternoon the Welsh people of the city gathered at the Congregational Church to participate in a religious service conducted in their native tongue. The church was filled with the Welsh people and many of their friends. The service was unique and greatly enjoyed by all. Bismark Davis conducted the service. He was assisted by two ministers who were Welsh by birth, Rev. Jones, pastor of the Hammond Baptist Church, and Rev. Wil- liams of the Congregational Church of Bremen."
A very destructive fire broke out in East Chicago, Octo- ber 14, 1905. It was Saturday night. All business in- terests were supposed to be safe till Monday morning. Suddenly the fire alarm startled the sleepers. Fires started at three places, Larson & Johnson, at Moon & Hale's ice
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house and coal sheds and at Black Brothers. This is called the most destructive fire that has come upon that city.
The losses estimated at nearly $11,000. On some of the property destroyed insurance was carried, something which most business men consider it prudent to do.
There have been several fires in the county this past season, barns have been struck by lightning and burned.
MARRIAGES.
A few marriages have taken place this year that seem to require a place on these records. Mr. M. A. Halsted, more than eighty years of age, who had lived with one wife more than fifty years, was married to Mrs. Cross, a widow, a former resident near Lowell; and Mr. Amosa Edgerton, also over eighty years of age, was married to a compara- tively young woman.
Announcements have been received also of the marriage of Miss Lula Pearl Nicholson, a great granddaughter of that pioneer, Richard Fancher, whose name was given to the Fair Ground lake; and also of the marriage of the younger daughter of our secretary, Miss Maude Hill. Of other marriages that may have been, announcements have not been received.
One more for this record.
Married June 27, 1906, in the Presbyterian Church building, by Rev. E. R. Horton, Mr. Clayton Dyer Root and Miss Grace Hill, a kindergarten teacher of Englewood.
THE NEW BANK BUILDING.
The building now occupied by the First National Bank of Crown Point was erected in the year of 1905, although not ready for occupancy until January, 1906. On the day
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pening, January 20th, very many citizens, men and en attended, souvenirs were distributed.
he building is larger than the Commercial Bank build- but is of much the same style in its architecture. The is two stories, with office rooms on the second floor. le east end also are some second story rooms connected the bank rooms, but above the bank proper there is no d story, and the light comes in from above. Besides main office room of the bank, which is quite large, are two reception rooms, one on each side, also a s' room, and a well furnished directors' room. The en- nside finish of the bank is of nice material and work- hip. The woodwork is all of mahogany. The stone are evidently expected to endure for more than one ration, if no earthquake or cyclone comes.
ONE OF OUR CITIES.
lready in the last few years we have seen in our ty three real cities spring into existence, almost as enly as the fabled Minewa of the old Romans is said ive sprung ready armed from the brain of their Jupi- One of these, East Chicago, properly now the most ing, in that it contains Indiana Harbor, has, as all now have, its bright and its dark sides. The East ago Globe lately mentioned its five large industries, g employment to 2,625 workmen, distributing among each month about $100,000, the largest of these being .nland Steel Mills, employing 1,500 men. The other are: The American Steel Foundries, B. cement works, Standard Forging Company and the Ward-Dickey Company.
ts churches and its schools are flourishing, and its
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saloons are very numerous, over seventy, it has been re- ported, in Indiana Harbor.
There is no space in this report to do more than glance at the dark side. The East Chicago Globe, by no means a sensational paper, says: "Shocking conditions found within our midst have just come to light through the reports pub- lished in the Indiana Bulletin of Charities and Correction. Probation Officer T. A. Muzzall, related his experiences while attending to his duties in our own city." Cruelty, feeble mindedness and drunkenness are in the report.
According to the assessment of the year 1905, the city valuation of East Chicago given in an official statement of Auditor W. L. Allman, amounts to $3,318,682.
The auditor's report gave the number of "1,276 persons assessed for poll tax."
The members of the St. Paul's Swedish Lutheran Church of East Chicago celebrated their fifteenth anniver- sary on November 22d, 23d and 25th, 1905. On Wednes- day evening the 22d was held a mission festival, on Thurs- day evening their historical celebration, and on Saturday evening a concert.
Again, and for the eighth time, the citizens of East Chi- cago were invited to assemble for the dedication of a school building. The day was Friday, the month April, the year 1906. The building was the new Mckinley, called a mag- nificent building by the school superintendents of Ham- mond and of Whiting, and by the county superintendent.
The exercises were "elaborate" and occupied two hours. It was stated that East Chicago then had forty teachers and paid out each month $2,115.
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Another destructive fire occurred at Creston. On Fri- day morning, March 23, 1906, the grain elevator of J. E. Love was set on fire, according to the published statement, by a passing engine, and between two and three thousand bushels of grain destroyed. An effort was made to save some of the grain by letting it out upon the ground and hauling it away with teams. It took time to get the teams to the grain pile, and then the intense heat prevented any success. So the loss of the grain was total. There was some insurance, on both the grain and building.
GARY. A NEW PROSPECTIVE CITY.
According to the Chicago Tribune of January 30, 1906, a tract of fifteen hundred acres of land between Lake Mich- igan and the Calumet River was purchased by two rail- roads the day before for about one million of dollars. It was soon announced that stel mills would be located on this land lying north of Tolleston and work actually com- menced in the early summer. The city to be built was named Gary, and on June 29th it was published in the Gary paper called the NORTHERN INDIANAN, that about one thousand men were then there at work, and that on Pros- pect avenue were then located the firt inhabitants, number- ing five hundred of the real town that was established. The historical secretary has received from the publisher the Gary paper, called the NORTHERN INDIANAN, "Vol. I, No. 1, Gary Indiana, April 27, 1906." The paper is large, nearly 24 inches by 17, eight pages, well printed. It says that the city will have the largest steel mills in the world, to employ 15,000 men.
Of new enterprises in the county the National Brick Company is one not to be overlooked. Much building was
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done east of Maynard by this company last summer, and this year the manufacturing of brick is going on.
In Crown Point Crowell & Lehman have formed a company and are manufacturing concrete blocks for build- ings, and erecting some houses with their blocks. Whether they will to any extent take the place of brick for building remains to be seen. Bricks have been used for buildings for thousands of years.
An honor to a Hanover Township girl. A scholarship by the Valparaiso college was offered to the pupil obtain- ing the highest grade in the examinations for graduation from the common school course in the schools of Lake County. Nearly two hundred eight grade pupils were com- peting. The highest per cent., 93. and 3-10 (93.3) was at- tained by Veronia Kretz of Hanover, a girl fourteen years of age. The next in grade were Harry Price of Ross Township and Margaret Ludwig of St. John Township, each of them reaching 92.8 per cent. It is said that this Hanover girl has always been at the head of her classes in school work.
Slowly the Gifford railroad is coming northward. The Lowell Tribune contains an interesting account of a "free- ride" excursion over the road on Saturday, June 23, 1906, the account written by O. Dinwiddie of Plumgrove. The terminus of the road at that date was near the center of O. Dinwiddie's farm, where about 170 men, women and children went on board the train and at the Range Line about 130 more, making 300 to cross the river, these repre- senting besides Eagle Creek Township, Crown Point and Lowell, Leroy and Hebron. The train wentsout h to Mc- Coysburg and returned, Mr. Gifford himself being on board, and the excursion was largely enjoyed.
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As ice in these days seems to be for many a necessity, and as the mildness of last winter prevented the filling up of the ice houses of the county as usual, buildings have been erected this year, for the first time, I think, in this county, for the purpose of turning water into ice in the summer time. The Lake County Ice and Cold Storage Company of East Chicago commenced operations early in July of this summer, their machinery having a capacity of 2.5 tons of ice every 24 hours. "The freezing process re- quires 48 hours," says the Globe, and its details are cer- tainly of interest.
The brewing company of Crown Point are also making their ice this summer and supplying the town.
The Hammond Pure Ice Company also commenced work this summer.
Among the 85 cities in this State of Indiana in 1905, Lake County has three of them. Among the 345 incor- porated towns of 1905 Lake County has four, and now, in 1906, we have at least six incorporated towns.
A new bank, The Citizens' German Bank, was opened for business at Hammond, about June Ist, 1906, thus mak- ing for Hammond four banking institutions.
On Monday, August 13th of this year, 250 men com- menced work on the foundation walls of a new building erected by the Universal Portland Cement Company of East Chicago.
Several small srawberry beds in gardens have been quite profitable. As one example, Mrs. Henry Griesel had last summer a small bed of eleven rows, twenty-four hills in a row, from which she sold eight dollars worth of ber- ries at ten cents a quart, good quart cup measure, besides supplying her family twice a day with all the berries they
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cared to eat. She had three varieties and her berries lasted from June Ist to about July 8th.
A productive and profitable apple orchard in the edge of town is owned by Mr. Koupal.
Some home manufacturing has been done the past year in the line of woolen work. A group of women and girls about twenty in number, have earned quite a good living in their homes, making for a Chicago house what are called facinators. It is light work and not difficult to do. Indus- try is needful to make it profitable.
The shirt factory, so-called, has been going on through the year. This gives employment to about twenty young women.
There is also a small group of artists, in good circum- stances, who do remunerative work in painting on china- ware. Their work is beautiful. I have seen specimens of ware as painted by Miss Bessie Rose and Mrs. John Leh- manan d can speak well of it as truly nice work.
The Crown Point Shirt factory may be called a Jewish industry, but making no discrimination in regard to those who are employed. It is said that about twenty Jewish families are now quietly settled in and around Crown Point, having as yet no synagogue, but endeavoring to keep the old Jewish law free from all persecution on account of their faith or practice.
Besides the fortnithly musicale which has been in exist- ence for someyears , new interest has this year been taken in vocal music, resulting in the formation of the Crown Point Choral Class, its origin, it is understood, due largely to that public spirited woman, Mrs. J. W. Youche. This choral class has been instrumental in bringing before the citizens of Crown Point some excellent noted musicians.
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The teachers institute this year made quite a departure from the practice of former years, in bringing before the teachers and the community a good representative of southern university conservatism in the person of Prof. Robert Allen Armstrong.
PERSONAL.
August 8, three weeks ago, I had a short, pleasant visit with two of the very few remaining pioneer children wl:o can remember their first experiences in the western wilds These were Mr. J. Kenney and his wife, who was a mem- br of the Woodruff family, the one who will be 83 in No- vember, the other now 76. By some means the early his- tory of these two pioneer families has not been gathered as fully as it should have been. In the "Sunday Schools of Lake," page ten, can be found a mention of the jour- neying of the family of Charles Kenney in January, 1838, from the State of Maine, in a wagon drawn by four horses. To make that journey now, one would take an automobile. The changes which Mr. Kenney, a youth then, has seen between the four-horse team, which was several weeks on the road, and an automobile, are many and wonderful. I am glad that he and his wife and I, and a few more of us, have lived to see this day. Other pioneers came here in vehicles drawn by horses or by oxen, but none from a greater distance than the Kenney and Woodruff families of Orchard Grove.
August 14 had a pleasant visit in town with Mr. John Bryant. Another visitor from the West, Mr. Frank Larabe. Also Mr. Alfred Frazier. Among other visitors to the county this summer are Harper Maclaren and wife, his wife a daughter of Mr. Perry of Crown Point, himself a
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son of the founder of Le Roy. He has been absent from he county about twenty-seven years and finds changes ere, but not such great changes as he has seen in Kansas, where he lives. A few years ago a wild region, and now elephones all over it, even as in Lake County. He himself, counted, as he says, a small farmer, has raised this year bout 8,000 bushels of wheat, has forty-nine head of horses, and has had twenty-two in the harness every day, running four-horse teams and one six-horse team. Four of his six ons aid him in his farming work. Lake County boys have nade active men somewhere. Mr. MacLaren reports hav- ng seen at his county seat 60,000 bushels of wheat lying on the ground at one time, in one huge pile, and at Mullin- ville 40,000, for want of elevators or cars in which to store t. We surely know nothing of wheat raising here. One of their machines, he says, has the record of having hreshed 3,004 bushels in one day.
August 15 I met in Crown Point James Rosencrentz, from Nebraska, who also had been absent twenty-seven years. Like Mr. Maclaren, he had been a student at the Crown Point Institute, at the same time with Miss Inez Wilcox, now Mrs. Gibson of Tolleston. Another visitor vho met the Secretary in Crown Point August 24 was Mr. 3. H. Sanger of South Omaha, Neb. He is a son of Ross Sanger, and grandson of the pioneer H. C. Sanger.
Among no doubt many birthday celebrations of children nd young people, there is one so noteworthy as to find a lace in these records. August 17, 1906, was celebrated the eventh anniversary of the birth, August 10, 1899, of Eleanor Dinwiddie of Crown Point. The noteworthy fact is that as
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an only daughter of an only daughter she is the great-great- granddaughter of Henry Sasse, Sr., who was, so far as is known, the first Lutheran or Protestant German pioneer in Lake County. She ends, for the fifth generation, the Sasse line. She is also a great-granddaughter of that well- known pioneer in Eagle Creek, J. W. Dinwiddie. It is to be hoped that she will do credit to her ancestry.
This year of 1906 will be memorable not only for the commencement of work at Gary, but as the great year for building or laying down concrete sidewalks. Also it has been in Crown Point an unusual year for the erection of dwelling houses.
The building of a roundhouse by the Michigan Central Railroad Company at what was once the noted Gibson Sta- tion is likely to render that spot a center once more and now of a thriving business community. It is safe to pre- dict that never more from Gibson or Tolleston will a thou- sand bushels of huckleberries be shipped in a season.
In closing this rather lengthy report of a busy year, the Secretary does not think any apology is needed in regard to its length, but he would quote in his behalf the follow- ing words of a thoughtful man: "The collection and pres- ervation of perishable memorials of local and antiquarian his- tory is one of the most praiseworthy of literary tasks." An editorial in the East Chicago Globe, speaking of the value of these reports presented by your Secretary annually since 1875, closes with this statement: "Rev. T. H. Ball is no doubt doing a work which future generations will appre- ciate." I hope they may ; but I hope our citizens, when this report comes to them in book form, will show a financial interest therein.
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THE FULLER FAMILY.
A paper, by Miss Vada McNay. James Fuller, his wife, d family, consisting of nine boys and one girl, started om Ohio in the autumn of 1839. He brought with him s goods in one four-horse wagon, then known as the nnsylvania wagon, and a two-horse covered wagon, so nine head of cattle, and a saddle horse. The manner which they obtained their butter while traveling is in- resting. The boys would milk the cows in the evening d the milk was then strained and put into the churn; the morning this was repeated, and the next night en they stopped, the butter was churned. Thus every y the churning was done without any effort on their rt.
James Fuller rented a small house, which stood in at is now the southeast part of Lowell, during the first nter, that of 1839. In the spring of 1840 they moved out two miles east of Lowell. The same place is now own as the Pat Buckley Farm. James Fuller bought nsiderable land. At that time land was only $1.25 per re. The nearest school was about a mile and a quarter om their home. Crown Point was the nearest town and icago was the grain and meat market. But there were railroads at that time.
The children married and settled in this and other ates. One by one they have fallen from the ranks of e old settlers, until there are but three of the sons living, e at Shelby, one at Crown Point, and one in Texas. At present time there are living, but scattered over the antry, three grandsons, sixty-six grandchildren, eighty- great-grandchildren, and at least forty-five great-great- andchildren.
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THE DEER STORY.
The summer of 1850, or possibly a year or two later, was very hot and dry. The marsh fires had consumed the marsh grass, thus leaving the marsh bare. In the carly fall and winter heavy rains set in followed by cold weather and a great frecze-up. The marsh became a mass of glare, slippery ice. As was the custom, the farmers hunted in the winter.
In the winter of 1850 the Goodrich boys, Aaron Fuller, and several others, camped on the Kankakee marsh. They succeeded in killing eight or nine deer in one day. This created the desire of the neighbors to go deer hunting. So the next day all the men from the surrounding country went deer hunting. Soon, from all directions, could be seen the frightened, slipping, half running, bawling deer, pursued by barking dogs, and eager men with guns, toma- hawks, anything with which they might kill the deer. The deer collected on Salie Island, an island of about nine acres. But the great deer slaughter occurred on Eagle Island.
For weeks afterward the frightened deer were seen running northward. Since that time the deer have not been so plentiful, and at the present time, 1906, there are no wild deer in this county.
Notes-Miss McNay, the author of the foregoing paper, is a quiet young girl, having not much experience in writ- ing, but willing to add something to the family facts and traditions which this association is endeavoring to pre- serve. All of these traditions its members consider valu- able. Her mother is a descendant of Mr. James Fuller, the pioneer, which gave to the daughter access to tradi- tions and to the facts of the Deer Story, which others did not possess.
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Miss McNay, it was hoped, would obtain some definite, Ithough of course only estimated figures, from her kins- an, in regard to the number of the marsh deer that col- ected on the islands, but the only living witness hesitated regard to any estimated numbers, further than "hun- reds." How many of the poor, frightened deer fell in hat great "slaughter" on Eagle Island will never be nown, but it was for Lake County a fearful destruction f wild life, as for once those beautiful animals found hat their usually true and trusty feet could no longer take em out of the presence of danger. They fell by scores f not by hundreds, and their life and beauty have gone rom our groves.
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HISTORICAL SECRETARY'S REPORT.
1906-1907.
1 commence gathering and arranging the items of this, our thirty-second year, in the pleasant month of Septem- ber, the beginning of the glowing autumn of 1906. As the public school of Crown Point opens, the bareheaded school- girls, as blithe and gay as ever, again appear upon the streets. Besides bare heads, arms bare to the elbows is this year the style, and brown from exposure and stout from use those arms appear. Health is a blessing and strength is a blessing for which, as well as for life con- tinued, hearty thanks should be given to God.
We commence this associational year with thousands of children attending our public schools, children that need good home and school training, that they may be a bless- ing to the land and to the world; we commence the year in the autumn time with fruit very abundant in the county, with good harvests, with prosperity among the farmers, and with about forty automobiles owned in our cities and towns, when seventy years ago there was hardly to be found a single buggy. Just seventy years ago this summer of 1907, then June or July of 1837, the Historical Secretary took his first view of the beautiful prairies of Lake County, coming here from City West with his father in a one-horse buggy, quite surely the first one that made wheel marks in the sand around the head of Cedar Lake. Now in this year, beginning with three cities, six towns, forty automobiles and other corresponding improvements and luxuries, rail- roads and telephone wires nearly all over the county, the events as recorded are the following :
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SOCIAL EVENTS.
First in the order of time, after our thirty-first anniver- sary, came the two large family gatherings, the thirteenth anniversary of the Dinwiddie Clan, and the Dickinson Re- union, both on the same day, Saturday, September 1, 1906; the former at the home of O. Dinwiddie, the latter at the residence of T. D. Dickinson, both well attended.
At Crown Point on the evening of the same day, Sat- urday, September 1, according to the Lake County Star, "H. E. Sasse, a member of Crown Point's Bachelors' Club, gave a lawn party to about sixty guests."
Also at Crown Point on Tuesday evening, September 4, invitations having been sent out by Mr. O. G. Wheeler and wife and daughter, about one hundred guests met at their home for a musical entertainment, given in honor of a former Crown Point boy, now Professor Clarence Krin- bill, grandson of one of our early settlers, George Krin- bill, Sr. The program was arranged by Miss Myra Wheeler and Professor Krinbill and was carried out by him as pianist, assisted by an accomplished violinist, Miss Gambrell. The instrument on which she played was said to be four hundred years old and to have cost one thou- sand dollars. After the instrumental music, cake, coffee and lemonade were served, followed by some vocal music.
THE ODD FELLOWS.
On Saturday, September 22, 1906, was held in Crown Point, on the public square, the first annual meeting of the Lake County Odd Fellows' Association. This is called Dis- trict No. 45, and in the county were reported seven lodges, located at Crown Point, Whiting, East Chicago, at Ham- mond two, and at Lowell, and at. Hobart, with a reported
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