USA > Wisconsin > Waukesha County > The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources; an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages etc > Part 62
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Walworth.
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413
HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
commit young criminals and various incorrigible boys to a reformatory institution of this kind. A glance at the above table will discover which those counties are. '
Up to 1871, when girls were no longer committed to this school, 129 of them were confined within its walls. They were taught the various household arts, and received the same course of mental and moral training as the boys.
The Industrial School has cost annually, the following sums :
1860, $4,953.81 ; 1861, $7,021.79; 1862, $6,370.84 ; 1863, $7,263.97 ; 1864, $12,456.53 ; 1865, $19,756.47 ; 1866, $24,026.14 ; 1867, $24,247.56 ; 1868, $26,741.83; 1869, $24,- 982.34 ; 1870. $32,103.04; 1871, $32,387.95 ; 1872, $36,538.71; 1873, $41,472.64 ; 1874, $48,453.02 ; 1875, $45,156.70; 1876, $48,148.49; 1877, $46,321.31 ; 1878, $48,721.45 ; 1879, $42,866.72. This makes a total charge to " current expenses " of $560,234.78, which does not include any expenditures for buildings, permanent improvements or real estate. This has been diminished by $116,049.50, paid by the different counties, at the rate of $1 each, per week, for the vagrants and incorrigibles, and also by the products of the farm and workshops. This total amount of "current expenses," $560,234.78, divided by the total number of commitments, 1,693, makes the total cost, per capita, a trifle less than $331, during the twenty years the in- stitution has been in working order.
The amounts appropriated by the State Legislature, for the different years, for " current expenses," are as follows :
1860, $3,500; 1861, $10,550 ; 1862, $6,500; 1863, $5,500; 1864, $12,004.50; 1865, $20,500; 1866, $16,000; 1867, $14,000; 1868, $20,500; 1869, $25,000; 1870, $37,000; 1871, $37,000; 1872, $33,450; 1873, $27,500; 1874, $31,000; 1875, $28,000; 1876, $28,000; 1877, $44,000 ; 1878, $35,000; 1879, $34,000; total, $432,004.50. The differ- ence between the total amount appropriated, $432,004.50, and the total amount charged to "current expenses " ($560,234.78), is $128,230.28. This amount has been paid by counties and earned by the inmates, their earnings, however, being exclusive of the valuable improve- ments made on the property, and the very large amount of food raised each year, upon the farm, for their support. The income from inmate labor is greater now than ever before, and is constantly increasing, and the appropriations from the State, outside of those for building expenses, are constantly decreasing.
The law provides that boys sent to the Industrial School for vagrancy, incorrigibility or vicious conduct shall be supported by the counties to which they are chargeable, at the rate of 1$ per week each. Thus the different counties sending such subjects have contributed amounts to the support of the institution as shown in the following pages :
414
HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
COUNTIES.
1861.
1862.
1863.
1864.
1865.
1866.
1867.
1868.
1869.
1870.
Adams.
$
cf
$
$
$ 7 00 $
52 00 $
52 00 $
52 00$ 34 50
Ashland.
Barron.
Bayfield.
Brown.
6 00
66 00
164 00
Buffalo
Burnett.
33 00
Chippewa.
Clark.
Columbia.
52 50
78 00
20 00
183 00
Crawford
Dane.
7 50
85 00 21 00
239 50
200 50
95 00 65 50
153 00
97 50
45 50
86 00
160 00
Dodge
21 50
3 50
34 00
68 50
Door.
Douglas
Dunn
Eau Claire
34 50
189 50
260 50
397 50
283 00
342 50
239 50
358 00
387 00
Grant.
53 00
52 00
20 00
15 50
Green. Green Lake.
13 00
52 00
52 00
80 50
60 00
150 00
154 00
167 00
Iowa.
51 00
30 00
51 00
188 50
369 00
517 50
572 00
482 00
310 00
Jackson
Jefferson
8 00
34 50
38 00
10 00
86 00
204 00
298 00
215 50
187 00
202 00
Juneau
75 50
103 00
174 00
96 00
206 00
126 00
128 00
La Crosse
23 00
La Fayette.
53 00
43 50
39 00
Lincoln.
Manitowoc.
39 00
160 50
145 00
241 50
324 50
260 00
229 50
195 00
203 00
127 00
Marathon.
34 50
Marquette
Milwaukee
380 00|
1552 00
532 50
35 00
99 50
178 50
180 50
226 00
203 00
152 00
Monroe.
Oconto
Outagamie
2 50
2 50
20 50
46 00
37 00
9 00
Pepin
Pierce
Polk.
Portage
Racine.
52 00
586 00
571 00
609 00
541 00
358 00
247 50 63 00
418 00;
291 00
241 50
Richland.
44 00
353 50
281 00
367 00
829 00
534 50
558 00
440 00
472 00
609 50
St. Croix
47 50
30 00
10 00
52 00
52 00
52 00
44 00
481 00
483 00
Sha wano
16 00
30 00
1 50
102 50
104 00
41 50
142 00
119 00
284 00
'Taylor
Trempealeau.
Vernon.
Walworth.
12 00
78 50
116 00
62 50
112 50
106 00
116 50
127 50
104 00
119 00
Washington.
13 00
18 00
900
103 00
104 00
56 00
25 00
52 00
45 00
Waukesha
19 50
86 00
26 00
66 50
338 00
262 00
184 50
199 50
188 00
148 50
Waupaca.
Waushara.
Winnebago.
65 00
97 00
52 00
68 00
76 50
337 00
546 01
730 00
Wood.
Totals
$590 50 $3250 00 $2504 50 $2325 50 $4097 50 $3751 50 53730 50 $4273 00 $4437 00 $5228 50
...
11 50
52 00
52 00
57 00
60 50
101 00
199 50
80 00
14 00
404 50
365 50
337 00
373 50
104 00
27 00
Rock
Sauk.
18 00
91 50
20 00
84 00
104 00
82 50
29 50
Kenosha
Kewaunee.
Ozaukee
Sheboygan.
Calumet
Fond du Lac.
George Lawsone WAUKESHA
417
HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
COUNTIES.
1871.
1872.
1873.
1874.
1875.
1876.
1877.
1878.
1879.
Total.
Adams
26 00
52 00
52 00
52 00
52 00
431 50
Ashland.
Barron.
Bayfield
Brown.
137 50
239 00
430 00
507 50
588 00
782 00
1076 50
1228 25
1461 25
6686 00
Buffalo
Burnett
Calumet.
104 00
104 00
104 00
78 50
244 00
260 00
310 50
202 50
374 00
1814 50
Chippewa.
Clark
Columbia.
208 00
172 00
210 50
323 00
303 00
295 00
261 50
166 75
257 75
2537 0
Crawford.
342 00
340 00
312 00
247 00
70 50
18 00
120 50
160 00
265 25
2408 75
Dane
208 00
246 00
414 00
557 00
459 50
324 50
199 00
244 50
416 00
4288 50
Dodge.
266 00
328 00
342 00
321 00
261 00
127 50
56 75
83 00
52 00
2095 25
Door
34 00
52 00
52 00
52 00
52 00
52 00
294 00
Douglas
Dunn
Eau Claire.
78 00
38 00 137 50
246 00
277 75
294 75
317 50
1351 50
Fond du Lac ..
494 00
842 50
1197 00
1423 50
1087 50
925 00
1038 25
1072 25
1448 00
12019 00
Grant.
156 00
161 50
208 00
200 00
247 50
270 50
415 75
426 25
468 00
2694 00
Green
5 00
110 00
226 00|
208 00
233 50
260 00
238 50
183 00
187 75|
1664 75
Green Lake
110 00
165 50
250 00
241 50
93 50
55 50
145 50
186 75
219 00
2182 75
Iowa.
143 00
104 00
70 50
56 50
52 00
52 00
89 50
187 75
208 00
3534 25
Jackson
83 00
33 00
Jefferson.
356 50
403 00
286 50
162 00
162 50
213 75
286 00
314 50
3813 25
Juneau
17 50
52 00
52 00
52 00
52 00
92 75
88 00
52 00
458 25
Kenosha
208 00
214 00
236 00
208 00
168 50
57 50
52 00
79 00
104 00
2235 50
Kewaunee.
52 00
103 00
160 00
252 00
550 00
668 00
574 50
564 00
432 50
3379 00
La Fayette
52 00
52 00
52 00
128 00
208 00
166 00
137 25
83 00
21 50
1035 25
Lincoln
208 00
265 00
198 50
156 00
35 00
27 00
117 25
173 00
156 00
3260 75
Marathon
52 00
52 00
52 00
52 00
245 50
Marquette.
29 00
52 00
52 00
50 50
183 50
Milwaukee.
260 00
366 50
435 50
151 50
640 00
985 00
1331 75
1321 25
1372 25
10402 75
Monroe
156 00
141 50
102 00
43 00
38 50
125 50
89 00
219 25
997 25
Oconto.
52 00
52 00
99 50
104 00
104 00
123 00
156 00
247 75
356 00
1323 75
Outagamie
5 50
60 50
184 50
371 00|
502 50
600 00
694 50
654 75
3190 75
Ozaukee.
26 00
52 00
52 00
52 00
87 25
269 25
Pepin
27 00
52 00
16 00
24 50
52 00
52 00
223 50
Portage
27 50
52 00
31 00
59 00
100 50
93 25
173 00
536 25
Racine.
209 00
308 50
296 00
335 00
332 50
205 50
288 00
544 75
522 75
6957 00
Richland.
34 00
52 00
21 00
46 50
45 00
73 00
673 50
Rock.
538 00
510 50
321 50
370 00
482 50
421 00
385 75
423 00
444 50
8385 25
St. Croix
27 00
14 50
24 50
52 00
52 00
52 00
509 50
Sauk.
409 00
334 50
249 00
213 50
119 00
76 00
52 00
68 75
148 75
4224 50
Sheboygan
230 00
248 00
263 00
300 00
205 50
163 50
119 00
112 00
51 00
2532 50
Taylor.
32 00
52 00
52 00
5 00
46 75
46 75
Walworth
80 50
89 00
161 00
242 00
295 50
288 00
251 00
251 75
334 50
2947 75
Washington
62 00
41 00
528 00
Waukesha.
194 00
349 00
329 00
273 50
223 00
186 00
272 25
138 50
129 75
3613 50
Waupaca.
57 50
167 00
138 50
103 75
146 25
357 25
970 25
Waushara
8 00
108 50
156 00
156 00
156 00
125 75
54 50
52 00
/ 816 75
Winnebago
774 50
750 50
587 50
564 50
443 50
336 50
477 00
611 00
480 50
6992 00
Wood.
91 00
119 00
104 00
104 00
96 75
104 00
618 75
Totals .
$6056 00 $7165 00 $8137 00 $8750 00 $8910 00 $8714 50 $10194 50 $11190 25 $12819 75 8116049 50
C
Pierce.
Polk
33 00
2 00
4 25
52 00
52 00
143 25
...
Shawano
Trempealeau
141 00
Vernon ...
....
110 50
111 50
261 50
1 50
345 50|
La Crosse
Manitowoc ..
3 00
418
HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
CENTENNIAL HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
The following is the text of an historical address, delivered July 4, 1876, on the occasion of the Centennial celebration at Waukesha, by Theron W. Haight of that village. It contains some reminiscences, political references and personal allusions, which are both pleasant and valuable, but some of which could not be used in any other manner by the historian :
" I do not need to say that what I have to offer to-day is the merest sketch of the history of Waukesha. To crowd the events of forty years into a paper occupying as many minutes in the reading, would be a feat as remarkable as was that of the monstrous genie in the Arabian story, who compressed himself within the limits of Solomon's vase, and, as I am not an adept in works of magic, I shall not attempt it.
" It would be an easy thing to devote an hour to speculations upon the old inhabitants of this region, who left their monuments in the shape of mounds bearing the likenesses of birds and beasts, scattered over the hills which look down upon our rivers or lakes, but I can only afford them this slight reference. It would not be difficult to consume much time in describing our immediate predecessors here, the Pottawatomie Indians, whose cornfields waved in the breezes from the west and from the lakes, for many scores of summers before the face of a white man was seen here. Within a few feet from where I stand, their corn rows are still distinguish- able, having been preserved by this beautiful growth of trees. But we cannot dwell, at present, upon the history and the fate of this people.
" The real history of Wankesha begins in the year 1834, when two brothers, Alonzo R. and Morris D. Cutler, with a ' hired man,' named Luther, having left their home in La Porte, Ind., and, having traveled on horseback down the shore of Lake Michigan, turned inland on reaching the Milwaukee River, and a few hours afterward were greeted with a view of this lovely valley, with a prairie stretching away at the farther side, while the foreground of the picture was filled by the oak openings, which, in those early days, gave the appearance of an English park, rather than of a country fresh from the hand of nature. The Indian villages were numer- ous here at that time. From Pewaukee Lake to Mukwonago, and probably much farther, the smoke from assembled wigwams was frequently to be seen.
"The young adventurers were warmly welcomed by the dusky sons of the soil, and imme- diately went to work. It was now in the month of June, but not too late to put in potatoes and buckwheat, and to thus ascertain the productiveness of the land.
" It cannot be doubted that the experiment was entirely satisfactory to Morris D. Cutler, at least, for he is still among us, hale and hearty after his forty-two years of sojourn in the val- ley of the Pishtaka. A short visit home was paid by the brothers in the ensuing winter and spring, and the year 1835 sees them permanently settled in a log cabin near the site of the pres- ent post office, while a few other adventurous pioneers, including John Mandeville, Dr. Corn- wall, Ira Stewart, A. C. Nickell and Isaac and Richard Smart and Mr. Sargeant, took up claims in various places from what is now Hickory Grove to Capt. Lawrence's farm. James McMillan erected his palatial mansion of logs, 16x24 feet, on the present site of the Catholic Church, and, being accompanied by his wife, did a hotel business on a scale magnificent for those days. Messrs. Stewart and Isaac Smart also had their wives with them in 1835, and in Pewau- kee, where a few claims had been made in that year, Mrs. Judson and Mrs. Nelson Olin accom- panied their husbands. In the same year, Messrs. Sewell Andrews and H. H. Camp looked up an eligible location in the town of Mukwonago, where they staked out their claims the next spring.
"It can easily be understood that the Waukesha County settlers of 1835 did not enjoy many luxuries, and that they were obliged to do without many things which their children would consider almost absolutely necessary to sustain life. Houses in those days, were not the com- paratively comfortable log cabins of which we may,still see now and then specimens on our country roads. The sides of those primitive dwellings were of poplar logs, and the roofs of
419
HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
poles, having a top covering of split-poplar saplings, and the furniture was of the same wood, roughly hewn with axes. The bed, where anything more luxurious than the bare soil was indulged in for sleeping purposes, was made of dried grass from the marshes. The provisions attainable here during the summer consisted chiefly of fish, with now and then a little wild game. For flour and pork a visit to Milwaukee was required, and Milwaukee itself was not very well supplied with merchandise of any kind. The settlers were under great obligations, however, to Solomon Juneau for his assistance, not only in 1835 but for several years succeeding. If they could not pay him for necessary provisions he trusted them, and thus they were enabled to tide over the period of scarcity until the time was reached when enough was raised by the settlers to supply their own immediate wants, and also to exchange for goods which savored more of luxury and refinement.
"The year 1836 was a very promising one for what is now Waukesha County. A settle- ment was established at Mukwonago by about a dozen young men ; Deacon Schuyler and his two sons located themselves at Delafield; Luther Parker made his residence in the present town of Muskego, bringing with him his bright-eyed, good-natured little son Charley, a boy of seven years old then, and now (1876) the acting Governor of Wisconsin in the absence of Gov. Ludington, while a few shanties were erected in the vicinity of Brookfield Junction, of which one was occupied, I believe, by Robert Curran. The population of Waukesha and vicinity was also increased by about a score more of settlers, among them Alexander F. Pratt, who ex- changed four city lots in Milwaukee with Morris D. Cutler for the farm down the river, which he retained for many years afterward. Of the other settlers who came here in that year, I believe that Sebina Barney is the only one still remaining among us. [Mr. Barney died in 1879.]
" From this time onward for six years the influx to this part of the country was steady and continuous, consisting almost exclusively of American immigrants from the Eastern States, including New York, men who came here with their families because it was evidently a fertile and pleasant farming country, and a good place from which to start the younger members of their households in the great journey of life. The daily routine of the inhabitants during these years was much the same with all. Fresh arrivals were welcomed from month to month, and the stranger was shown where he could best make his claim. The hut of poplar logs was gradually exchanged for a more substantial one of oak. The visits of the Indians became less frequent and less troublesome. Horses were introduced in the place, to some extent, of oxen. A thriv- ing hamlet had sprung up where the court house and Episcopal and Catholic Churches now stand, and the name of 'Prairieville' had been given to the little cluster of houses. A flouring and a saw mill had been built by John Gale, and the adjoining land laid out into village lots. It was time for changes to be made, and they were not long in coming. On the 5th day of April, 1842, the first town meeting was held for the town of Prairieville. The first name on the tally- sheet is that of Jacob H. Kimball ; the second is that of William A. Barstow, afterward Gov- ernor of Wisconsin. The twenty-third vote was handed in by Alexander W. Randall, Wiscon- sin's favorite war-governor at the beginning of the rebellion, and subsequently Postmaster- General of the United States. The next to the last ballot was cast by H. N. Davis, now State Senator from Rock County, whose son, Cushman K., has lately served a term as Governor of Minnesota. There were 112 votes cast in all. Joseph Turner acted as Chairman at the elec- tion, and Ezra S. Purple, as Clerk. The first Board of Supervisors, then elected, consisted of James Y. Watson, J. H. Kimball and J. J. Wright. Vernor Tichenor was chosen as Town Clerk.
"The town of Prairieville had become duly organized, and was in a condition to go alone, so far as local government was concerned. The southwestern quarter of what is now Waukesha County had previously organized as the town of Mukwonago, and in 1841 had been divided in the middle, the northern half being called Genesee, and the southern half retaining the old name. The northwestern quarter of the county had just been divided into the towns of Summit and Warren, the latter comprising Merton and Oconomowoc.
420
HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
"It was about this time that the movement began which resulted in making Waukesha County the center of theological instruction for the Protestant Episcopal Church in the North- west. The headquarters of the associate mission of that church for Wisconsin had been located at Prairieville by Bishop Kemper, then residing at St. Louis. Three enthusiastic young clergy- men, who have since attained deserved renown in the church, Revs. Messrs. William Adams, James Lloyd Breck and John Henry Hobart. had established themselves at Prairieville in 1841, and had worked, without intermission, for thirty miles in every direction to preach the Gospel to every living creature. It is not likely that their efforts were greatly appreciated at Prairieville itself, and they soon established the mission at Nashotah, which is still bearing wonderful fruit from year to year.
" In the mean time, other denominations had not been idle. The Rev. Burgess took charge of the interests of the Baptist Church at Mukwonago, and the Rev. Griffin in the north- ern part of the county. The Rev. H. N. Frink was an active missionary of the Methodist Church in the early part of 1840 and afterward. No doubt I might find records of other mis- sionary labors, by diligent search, but they are not ready at my hand for present nse. The lives of those men of God were not passed upon "flowery beds of ease" by any means, for they were obliged to travel on foot from settlement to settlement; to hold services in whatever barn, dwelling or other house might be most convenient, and eat and sleep as the dispositions of the church-goers might dictate. Their salaries were merely nominal, and the most that they received for their arduous labors was the feeling that they had performed their duty, as it had been given them to understand their duty. Their memories should be ever held in honor.
"One of the peculiar features of the population of Wisconsin in 1842 was its prevailing condition of bankruptcy. In looking through the Madison papers of that year, we find them crowded with notices in bankruptcy, and this portion of the State had its full share of cases. It seemed, almost, as though people in those days passed through the bankruptcy courts as a sort of initiation into Western life, and without much reference to whether previous debts of any consequence were hanging over them or not. The total of dehts from Wisconsin people wiped out by bankruptcy proceedings amounted to over $2,500,000, and the total aggregate of property available for the settlement of this enormous indebtedness amounted to just $2,913, or abou 1-10th of 1 per cent. Whatever inclination there may be toward repudiation among us more latterly, it can not be said that it is not a legitimate inheritance from the old settlers.
" With Joseph Bond and Andrew E. Elmore, at Mukwonago, and A. F. Pratt, A. W. Randall and William A. Barstow, at Prairieville. it need not be said that there was a good deal of interest in politics here in those days, and it was in the fall of 1842 that Mr. Elmore was first elected to the Territorial Legislature. He was a Whig at that time, though he soon became the champion, on general principles, of the famous semi-communistic doctrine embraced in the watchword ' All rights for all men.'
" David Bonham was at this time a very influential politician in the town of Lisbon, which had been settled largely by English families, and was appointed a Justice of the Peace. It was he who killed a man named Keene, a few years later, in a wrangle over a mill property, and for the commutation of whose punishment for this crime Alexander Randall was said to have forwarded a petition to the Governor, with a yard or two of names of citizens, which he had cut from a temperance petition and fastened to that on behalf of his friend. It may as well be stated here as anywhere, that Mr. Bonham was reprieved, and finally pardoned.
" Talbot C. Dousman was the political leader in the town of Genesee, then comprising Ottawa also, and accomplished more by his wit and humor than others were able to do by solid argument.
"The first Genesee election was held in 1841, when Tweedy, Whig, was candidate for the Council against Turner, Democrat. Dousman could find only one Whig near the polls, but managed to secure a large number of additional votes for Tweedy, on the ground that he was known to be a rascal, while Turner had only been in the country a year, and no one could vent- ure to predict how he might turn out in the end.
421
HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.
" All kinds of fun were current among the politicians in the early times, and the practica jokes engineered by Alexander W. Randall and Andrew E. Elmore are still conspicuous among the traditionary lore of Wankesha County.
"But the inhabitants did not give their whole time to joking by any means. In October, 1842, the first county fair was held at Prairieville, and its record shows that the agriculturists had begun to seek after excellence in methods of farming and in results. There were no.sec- ond prizes awarded at.this show, and I am inclined to think that, in many cases at least, there was but one entry in a class. It was a beginning in the right direction, however, and has made subsequent labors much easier.
"At this time, and for years afterward, the roads were execrable, if the Milwaukee news- papers of that era are to be trusted. The road from Milwaukee to Waukesha, and that from Mil- waukee to Mukwonago, received special attention from the editors, who showered epithets upon those supposed to be responsible for the bad condition of the highways, in a manner that the editors of thirty years ago were proficient in, but in which, of course, the editors of to-day never indulge. It is probable that the uproar created by the journals was the means of getting better roads after a season, for they are assuredly very respectable now.
" To complete my outline of Waukesha County in 1842, I will state that it was then the backwoods portion of Milwaukee County, but with fully recognized capabilities for growth and improvement ; sparsely settled by an energetic, good-natured and open-handed native American population, for the most part, though with an English settlement in the town of Lisbon, and a Scandinavian settlement about Pine Lake; having for its noteworthy hamlets, Waukesha, with about four hundred inhabitants, and Mukwonago, with perhaps half as many ; having little clusters of houses about the water-powers at Pewaukee, Delafield, Genesee, Hartland, Muskego, Menomonee and Oconomowoc, where mills were built, or expected to be built at an early day ; and having the appearance, in general, of just being on the point of emerging into the comforts . and conveniences of social life, after years of experience without them.
" At this time, the wonderful beauty of our scenery and fertility of our land, began to attract the attention of several different classes of people in addition to those already here. The followers of the French Communist, Fourier, were then exercising a very powerful influ- ence upon the progressive thought of the world, and their theory of association had captivated many of the foremost thinkers, of the younger sort, in America. Several communities, on Fourier's plan, had been established in the East, and several associations of European commun- ists had instituted a search through the West for places where their theories might be tested under favorable circumstances. One of these societies, organized in England with abont fifty members, fixed upon a half-section of land bordering upon Spring Lake, a little to the south of the village of Genesee. About thirty of the number came and made the settlement in 1843, under the leadership of Thomas Hunt, but after a year's trial the experiment was abandoned. It would have been a miracle if it had succeeded, since the members were all Londoners, and knew no more about farming than their neighbors did of Sanscrit. Although not directly successful, however, this society had a perceptible effect upon the politics of the county and State from that time forward.
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