March 29, 2006

Another Set of Stories from Grandpa Raabe

This was all written by my Grandpa.


JANUARY 15, 1991


I AM INSERTING THIS PARAGRAPH ON FEBRUARY 27 TO CONFESS THAT WHAT I THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE AN ESSAY ON LIFE IN FT. JENNINGS IN THE EARLY 1920'S HAS BECOME A MELANGE OF LIFE THERE AND PERSONAL ANECDOTES.


I WAS BORN ABOUT 5AM ON A MONDAY NOVEMBER 30, 1914. MY BROTHER KENNETH WAS UP EARLY TO RUN HIS TRAP LINES, AND HAS ALWAYS SAID THAT HE DID NOTICE A LITTLE EXTRA ACTIVITY THAT MORNING AS HE LEFT THE HOUSE, BUT DID NOT GIVE IT MUCH THOUGHT. HE WAS ONLY MILDLY SURPRISED WHEN HE RETURNED HOME WITH HIS CATCH TO LEARN THAT I HAD ARRIVED. I WONDER IF HE EVEN KNEW I WAS ON THE WAY!!

AT TIMES I REMEMBER SO MANY GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE EARLY YEARS OF MY LIFE AT HOME AT FORT JENNINGS, OHIO, THAT I FEEL COMPELLED TO RECORED SOME OF THEM FOR MY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. THESE MEMORIES WILL BE MOSTLY ABOUT THE YEARS FROM 1920 TO 1929, ALTHOUGH I WILL INCLUDE SOME STORIES HANDED DOWN TO ME BY SOME OF MY OLDER SIBLINGS OR MY PARENTS. FT. JENNINGS IS ALMOST LIKE A MECCA TO ME AND I STILL MAKE A SPECIAL EFFORT TO DRIVE THROUGH THERE SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR. I THINK THERE ARE SOME OTHER SURVIVORS OF THE "GOOD OLD DAYS" WHO DO THE SAME. MY SISTER RUTH AND HER HUSBAND GUS PROBABLY GET THERE MORE OFTEN THAN I DO. MY SISTER ALIDA GETS THERE ONLY WHEN ONE OF US TAKES HER, MAYBE ONCE A YEAR. WHENEVER ANY OF WE "OLDER ONES" GET TOGETHER, WE SPEND AT LEAST SOME TIME JUST REMEMBERING. ASK ANY OF THE GRAND CHILDREN ABOUT FT. JENNINGS. PAUL MILLER WAS BORN THERE, BUT MOVED WHEN HE WAS TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER. HE WILL MOSTLY RECALL THE DAYS WHEN HE WAS SUCH A FREQUENT VISITOR THAT HE STARTED CALLING HIS GRANDMA "MOM", THE SAME AS GEORGE AND I. I WOULD REMIND HIM THAT SHE WAS NOT HIS MOTHER ANS SHOULD BE CALLED GRANDMA BY HIM. I AM SURE THE FLORSTEDT GRANDCHILDREN ALSO HAVE THEIR MEMORIES, BUT THE CHILDREN OF MY SIBS WHO ARE YOUNGER THAN FLORENCE AND EDITH MAY NOT FEEL THE SAME. BOB FLORSTEDT HAS REMINDED ME, IN A RECENT LETTER, OF AN "INCIDENT" THAT HE RECALLS CONCERNING ONE OF HIS VISITS TO FT. JENNINGS. I REMEMBER THIS, BUT HAD FORGOTTEN THE OTHER PRINCIPAL INVOLVED. BOB AND I WERE WALKING BACK TO TOWN FROM THE STONE QUARRY AND CAME ACROSS A DEAD SKUNK THAT HAD BEEN HIT BY A CAR. BOB SAYS, AND I REMEMBER THIS WELL , THAT I REMARKED THAT A SKUNK SKIN WAS WORTH A LOT OF MONEY. WHEREUPON , WE HUSTLED BACK HOME, GOT THE COASTER WAGON, AND WENT BACK TO RETRIEVE OUR SKUNK. HE SAYS, AND I SUPPORT HIM ON THIS, THAT WHEN WE ARRIVED AT HOME MY MOTHER SAID THAT WE HAD TO GET RID OF THAT THING RIGHT NOW, AND WE DID. ONE OF THE FIRST OF MANY MONEY LOSING DEALS IN BOTH OUR LIVES, NO DOUBT.

MY MEMORY GOES BACK, I SUPPOSE TO ABOUT 1920 WHEN I WAS SIX YEARS OLD, ALTHOUGH I SEEM TO REMEMBER THE DAY WHEN MY OLDEST BROTHER, ELMER RETURNED FROM WORLD WAR I. HE HAD WITH HIM A GERMAN ARMY HELMET WHICH WE LATER USED AS A PROP IN MANY SNAPSHOTS, SOME OF WHICH STILL MAY BE FOUND IN AN OLD COLLECTION WHICH I HAVE SOMEWHERE. WE HAD A FLAG ON A SHORT POLE STICKING OUT OF THE ATTIC WINDOW AS I RECALL, OR WAS THAT FLAG JUST PUT THERE ON THE MEMORIAL DAYS THAT FALL WITHIN MY MEMORY?

WE LIVED IN A RATHER LARGE HOUSE AND THERE WERE QUITE A FEW RESIDENTS AT ANY ONE TIME, ALTHOUGH I NEVER DID LIVE THERE WITH MY TWO OLDEST SISTERS, FLORENCE AND EDITH IT SEEMED TO BE SUCH A PEACEFUL TIME TO ME, BUT NOW I HAVE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT IT WAS NOT ALWAYS PEACEFUL FOR OUR PARENTS. NEVERTHELESS, I WELL RECALL HOW MY MOTHER WOULD BE SINGING SOFTLY TO HERSELF AS SHE WORKED. I CAN ALSO REMEMBER HOW MUCH I LOVED HER.

MY MEMORY IS NOT ORDERED CHRONOLOGICALLY. PERHAPS I CAN EDIT THIS TALE AT SOME TIME AND MAKE AN EFFORT TO ARRANGE IT SO, ALTHOUGH I DOUBT THAT THAT IS IMPORTANT. FT. JENNINGS WAS SITUATED ALONG THE AUGLAIZE RIVER ABOUT THIRTY MILES (BY ROAD) DOWNSTREAM FROM WAPAKONETA, WHICH WAS A MAJOR INDIAN TRADING POST IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY. THE AUGLAIZE WAS USED AS A LINK BETWEEN WAPAK AND DEFIANCE BY THE INDIANS BEFORE THE SETTLEMENT BY THE WHITES SINCE LAND TRAVEL THROUGH THIS REGION KNOWN AS THE "BLACK SWAMP" WAS DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY IN THE WET PERIODS. DURING THE WAR OF 1812 A COLONEL JENNINGS FROM KENTUCKY ESTABLISHED A FORT AND THEREBY GAVE THE TOWN THAT SPRANG UP ITS NAME. THE FORT WAS GONE WHEN I CAME ON THE SCENE, BUT EVERYONE IN THE TOWN KNEW THAT IT HAD BEEN LOCATED RIGHT WHERE THE KING BROTHERS HAD BUILT THEIR BARN. THAT DIDN'T AROUSE MUCH OF A FEELING OF HISTORY IN YOUR YOUNG MINDS THEN. IT WAS JUST ONE OF THE FACTS OF LIFE.

ACROSS THE RIVER FROM TOWN MY FATHER OWNED SOME PASTURE LAND. PROBABLY ABOUT 50 ACRES, WHICH A "RUN", AS WE CALLED IT, ROUGHLY DOWN THE MIDDLE OF IT. THIS RUN WAS ACTUALLY A SHORT CUT THE RIVER HAD ONE TIME ATTEMPTED TO TAKE, OR PERHAPS IT WAS THE ORIGINAL COURSE OF THE RIVER. IT WAS ABOUT THIRTY FEET WIDE AND FILLED WITH WATER FOR MOST OF ITS LENGTH, BUT AT THE HEAD IT WAS QUITE NARROW AND EASILY CROSSED ON FOOTSTONES THAT HAD BEEN PLACED THERE FOR THAT PURPOSE. EASILY CROSSED, THAT IS, DURING THE SUMMER WHEN THE RIVER WAS LOW. AS THE WATER ROSE IN THE AUGLAIZE IT WOULD REVERT TO COURSING THROUGH OUT RUN AND CUT OFF PART OF THE PASTURE—THAT PART WHICH WE CALLED THE ISLAND. THIS PASTURE, AND ESPECIALLY THE ISLAND, WAS A FASCINATING PLACE TO PLAY, AND THERE WE SPENT H OUR UPON HOUR. IT WAS WOODED ALONG THE RIVER BANK AND IN OTHER PARTS AS WELL, AND HAD A GOOD SIZED AREA OF GRASSLAND FOR THE COW. WE FISHED IN BOTH THE RIVER AND THE RUN. WE ALTERED THE PLACEMENT OF THE STEPPING STONES TO DAM UP THE SMALL FLOW OF WATER THAT CAME THROUGH AT LOW WATER IN THE AUGLAIZE. WE MADE PATHS THROUGH THE HORSEWEEDS THAT GREW IN ABUNDANCE IN SOME AREAS. WE WERE INDIANS OR PIONEERS IT PLEASED US AT THE MOMENT. WE HAD NO CONCEPTION OF TIME, AND HAD NO NEED TO SINCE THE CLOCK ON THE CHURCH RIGHT ACROSS THE RIVER WAS WITHIN EASY HEARING STRIKING EVERY QUARTER HOUR, JUST FOR US. WHEN IT RANG FOR MEALTIME, WE KNEW WE HAD TO HEAD FOR HOME ON THE RUN.

OF COURSE, THE PASTURE HAD ANOTHER PURPOSE—WE DID HAVE TO SHARE IT WITH THE COW. WE DID THIS AMICABLY, ALTHOUGH SOME CONFLICT WITH FAUNY, THE COW, AROSE OCCASIONALLY. LEADING THIS COW ALONG THE ROAD AND OVER THE BRIDGE TO AND FROM THE PASTURE WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST JOBS ASSIGNED TO GEORGE AND HOWARD IT WAS LARGELY ROUTINE, ALTHOUGH ON OCCASION FAUNY WOULD DECIDED THAT SHE DID NOT WANT TO CROSS THE BRIDGE. I SUPPOSE ALL COWS CAN BE BULLHEADED AT TIMES. THEN ONE OF US WOULD PULL AND THE OTHER WOULD PUSH WHICH WOULD FINALLY RESTART HER. HOWEVER, THERE WAS ONE TIME WHEN WE GAVE UP AND TIED HER TO THE FENCE ALONG THE ROAD AND WENT HOME WITHOUT HER, TELLING MOM THAT WE COULDN'T GET HER TO CROSS THE BRIDGE AND LEFT HER THERE. WE WERE DISAPPOINTED WHEN WE DIDN'T GET SYMPATHY—ONLY STRICT ORDERS TO GO BACK AND GET HER "RIGHT NOW".

I GUESS ALL OF THE OLDER SIBLINGS HAD TO MILK THE COW AS THEY ACHIEVED P ROPER AGE, ALTHOUGH HELEN, GEORGE AND I NEVER GOT TO THAT PLACE, SINCE THE COW WAS DISPOSED OF IN TIME TO SAVE US. RUTH LIKES TO TELL OF ONE OF HER EXPERIENCES RE MILKING. IT SEEMS THERE WAS AN OLD WHITE DOG IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT HAD TAKEN A LIKING TO HER AND EXPRESSED HIMSELF BY FOLLOWING HER TO THE BARN WHENEVER SHE WENT A-MILKING. ON ONE OCCASION, AS SHE WAS ARRANGING THE STOOL SHE FELT SOMETHING WARM ON HER LEG, AND LOOKED DOWN TO FIND THAT OLD WHITE DOG HAD PISSED ON HER. SHE SAYS SHE BECAME SO ENRAGED AT THE DOG THAT SHE KICKED IT AS HARD AS SHE COULD, WITH THE RESULT THAT (THE) DOG NEVER CAME WITH HER AGAIN TO THE MILK SHED. I WONDER IF THAT DOG BELONGED TO OLD POTHAST WHO LIVED A SHORT BLOCK AWAY AND WALKED PAST OUR HOUSE FOUR TIMES A DAY TO HIS JOB AS JANITOR OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

POTHAST LIVED ONE BLOCK NORTHEAST OF US AT THE CORNER OF MAIN AND THIRD STREETS. EVERY SPRING WHEN THE SAP STARTED TO RISE IN THE TREES HE WOULD GET PERMISSION FROM MANY OF THE PEOPLE LIVING IN THE BLOCKS NEAR HIM TO TAP THEIR MAPLE TREES. HE ALWAYS TAPPED OURS, BUT I DON'T THINK WE WERE EVER REPAID IN SYRUP. CAN'T REMEMBER HIS FIRST NAME!!

UNCLE ARNY OWNED THE ELEVATOR, ONE OF TWO IN TOWN, BUT WHEN WE SPOKE OF THE ELEVATOR IN OUR FAMILY WE DID NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHICH ONE WE MEANT. I AM SURE IT WOULD BE TOO DANGEROUS FOR CHILDREN TO PLAY AROUND AN ELEVATOR, BUT WE DID NOT ALWAYS GET CHASED OUT, BECAUSE OUR UNCLE OWNED IT. UNCLE ARNY ALSO OWNED AN OLD BARN A BLOCK FROM OUR HOUSE IN WHICH HE STORED BAILED HAY. IT WAS OUR WONT TO REARRANGE THESE BALES SO AS TO CONSTRUCT A NETWORK OF TUNNELS THROUGH WHICH WE WOULD CRAWL, THEREBY RISKING SUFFOCATION IF THEY HAD EVER COLLAPSED ON US. UNCLE ARNIE WALKED TO WORK AND PASSED OUR HOUSE EACH MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT. I LOVED UNCLE ARNIE UNCLE ARNIE WOULD ALWAYS GIVE ME A NICKEL IF I WERE OUT BY THE SIDEWALK AS HE CAME ALONG. FOR SEVENTY YEARS I THOUGHT I HAD BEEN THE PRIVILEGED ONE, UNTIL ONE TIME WHEN I WAS 76 YEARS OLD I LEARNED IN A DISCUSSION WITH MY SISTER ALIDA THAT SHE SHARED IN THOSE NICKELS ALSO AND THOUGHT ALL OF US HAD LEARNED TO WATCH FOR HIM COMING DOWN THE STREET! WHEN UNCLE ARNIE DIED SCHOOL WAS DISMISSED THE DAY OF THE FUNERAL AND MANY PEOPLE AND KIDS WERE LINING THE STREETS AS HIS REMAINS WERE TRANSPORTED FROM THE CHURCH TO THE CEMETERY. INCIDENTALLY, THAT CEMETERY WAS DONATED TO THE TOWNSHIP BY ONE OR ALL OF THE RAABE BROTHERS IN 1900 OR THEREABOUTS WITH THE PROVISION THAT ALL RAABE'S COULD RIP THERE, FREE OF CHARGE!

WINTER WAS A TIME OF GREAT ACTIVITY FOR THE YOUNG OF FT. JENNINGS. ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING EVENTS OF THE YEAR WAS THE FIRST SNOWFALL. THAT MEANT WE COULD GET OUR OUR SLEDS, EVEN THOUGH ENOUGH SNOW AND COLD TO MAKE USE OF THEM WAS PROBABLY SOME WEEKS AWAY. OUR CASTING HILL HAD A SMALL POND IMPOUNDED BY THE DIKE OVER WHICH THE ROAD INTO TOWN PASSED. WE NEEDED NOT ONLY SNOW, BUT THE POND MUST FREEZE SOLID AS WELL BEFORE WE COULD USE THE SLEDS. THIS WAS IN BEN MIEHLS' PASTURE. OUR OTHER COASTING HILL WAS THE RIVER BANK BEHIND HEINEY'S BUTCHER SHOP. SINCE THAT TOOK US DOWN ONTO THE RIVER ITSELF, IT WAS LATER IN THE WINTER BEFORE WE COULD USE IT. BESIDES, WE HAD SOME LIGHT ON THE HILL IN BEN'S PASTURE FROM AS STREETLIGHT FOR NIGHT COASTING. AFTER THE RIVER FROZE SOLID IT WAS TIME TO GET OUT OUR ICE SKATES. THIS COASTING AND ICE SKATING WAS SO POPULAR THAT MOST OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE FROM 6 OR 7 YEARS OF AGE UP TO PROBABLY 20 OR 30 WOULD BE OUT. LOTS OF ACTIVITY AND LOTS OF FUN!!! WHEN WE GOT SO COLD THAT WE COULD NO LONGER STAND IT WE WOULD REPAIR TO HEINLE'S RESTAURANT AND STAND BY HIS STOVE. HE MUST HAVE BEEN A GOOD NATURED MAN, SINCE I DON'T THINK HE PROFITED BY LETTING US WARM UP!! OTHER NIGHTS A HUGE BONFIRE WOULD BE FED BY MANY OF THE SKATERS FROM THE PLENTIFUL DRIFTWOOD ALONG THE RIVER BANKS. WHAT GREAT FUN!!

ANOTHER POPULAR SKATING PLACE WAS ON ONE OF THE PONDS FORMED WHERE CLAY WAS EXCAVATED TO FURNISH RAW MATERIAL FOR THE TILE MILL. ONE POND MUST HAVE FURNISHED GOOD CLAY TO A GREATER DEPTH THAN THE OTHERS WITH THE RESULT THAT ITS CATTAILS ONLY GREW AROUND THE EDGES, LEAVING AN EXCELLENT OPEN SPACE FOR SKATING. AGAIN WE LOVED THE NIGHT SKATING WITH A BONFIRE! MORE ABOUT THE TILE MILL LATER.

ONE OF THE FAVORITE WINTER PASTIMES WHEN CONDITIONS WERE RIGHT WAS TO HITCH A RIDE BEHIND A FARMER'S HORSE DRAWN WAGON OR SLEDGE AND BE PULLED ON OUR SLEDS INTO THE COUNTRY UNTIL WE MET ANOTHER FARMER COMING TO TOWN. WE WOULD THEN DROP OUR END OF THE ROPE WHICH WE HAD LOOPED OVER SOME PART OF THE WAGON, GET OFF AND RUN AFTER THE INGOING WAGON AND HITCH ON TO MAKE THE RETURN TRIP. IF PERCHANCE OUR LOOPED ROPE DID NOT SLIDE AS PLANNED AND FREE OUR SLED, IT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO RUN RUN, RUN TO CATCH IT AND FREE IT AND THEN RUN, RUN, AGAIN TO CATCH THE RETURN TRIP WHICH BY THAT TIME WAS WELL PAST US ON THE ROAD TO TOWN. IN THOSE DAYS THE TRAFFIC ON THE ROADS DID NOT BELT THE SOW, AND SINCE SALT HAD NOT YET BEEN INVENTED, IT REMAINED PACKED IN A SOLID SHEET UNTIL WE HAD A FEW WARMS DAYS TO MELT IT. MANY TIMES THE FARMER WOULD RUN HIS HORSES ON THE OUTGOING TRIP WHEN HIS WAGON WAS EMPTY, JUST TO SEE IF HE COULD THROW US OFF OUR SLEDS, AND HIS LAUGH WAS LOUD AND LONG IF HE SUCCEEDED. IF WE FELL OFF OF COURSE, OUR SLED WOULD AUTOMATICALLY BECOME DETACHED FROM HIS WAGON AS WE RELEASED OUR HOLD ON THE END OF OUR ROPE. IT WAS AN INGENIOUS ARRANGEMENT AND WE ALL LOVED THE RIDES.

ONE WINTER WHEN WE HAD HAD A PROLONGED FREEZE, WE TRIED TO SKATE TO DELPHOS, KNOWING THAT WE COULD GO UP JENNINGS CREEK TO THE MIAMI ERIE CANAL. HOWEVER, THE CREEK WAS VERY POOR SKATING AND WE HAD TO GIVE UP AFTER GOING AN ESTIMATED 3 TO 5 MILES. I BELIEVE I REMEMBER THAT GEORGE BROKE THROUGH AND GOT WET FEET.

WHAT WAS FT. JENNINGS LIKE IN THE 1920'S? THERE ARE SO MANY CHANGES THAT I CAN'T RECALL ALL OF IT AT ONE SITTING. WE KEPT CHICKENS AND A COW, AS DID OTHER FAMILIES IN TOWN. WHEN OUR COW WAS DRY WE WOULD BUY MILK FROM BEN MIEHLS, THE BANKER. AND WHEN HIS COW WENT DRY HE WOULD BUY FROM US. RUTH THINKS SHE WAS THE LAST OF THE CHILDREN TO MILK, AND I THINK SHE IS RIGHT, ALTHOUGH I HAVE NOT CHECKED THAT OUT WITH HELEN. GEORGE AND I NEVER DID. WE DID INHERIT THE CARE AND FEEDING OF THE CHICKENS AND IN PAYMENT WE COULD KEEP WHATEVER WE GOT FROM THE SALE OF EXCESS EGGS. DURING THE WINTER THERE WERE NO EGGS LEFT OVER. I BELIEVE I REMEMBER THAT RALPH WOULD EAT 5 OR 6 EGGS AT BREAKFAST, AND I GUESS GEORGE AND I WERE POWERLESS TO PREVENT IT! THOSE CHICKENS WERE OUR FIRST BUSINESS VENTURE, AND IF RALPH DID EAT UP A LOT OF THE PROFITS IN THE WINTER TIME WE COULDN'T HAVE HAD IT BETTER, SINCE DAD BOUGHT ALL THE FEED. WHEN IT CAME TIME TO SELL SOME OF THE OLD HENS, WE HAD A REAL BONANZA! THE CHICKEN COOP WAS ABOUT 30 FEET FROM THE CORN CRIBS. BOTH WERE SURROUNDED BY FENCE TO KEEP THE CHICKENS WITHIN THEIR DOMAIN. THE CRIB WAS SET UP ON BLOCKS TO PREVENT EASY ACCESS TO THE RATS, SO THAT THE CHICKENS COULD ALSO SCRATCH AROUND UNDER IT. RATS AND CHICKENS SEEMED TO CO-EXISTS OK ALTHOUGH WE WOULD TRAP RATS REGULARLY AND WOULD SOMETIMES GET ONE THAT SHOWED EVIDENCE OF HAVING BEEN ATTACKED BY A CHICKEN. AT LEAST WE TOOK IT TO BE SO, SINCE THEIR EARS HAD NOTCHES IN THEM WHICH WE ATTRIBUTED TO A PECKING CHICKEN!

RATS WERE ONE OF THE BANES OF FT. JENNINGS. WE KEPT TRAPS SET FOR THEM MOST OF THE TIME. THEY WERE IN THE CHICKEN COOP, THE CORN CRIB, THE BARNS, THE HARDWARE STORE, THE OUTDOOR TOILET, THE BASEMENT OF OUR HOUSE, THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON. I REMEMBER ONE TIME WHEN THEY MUST HAVE THREATENED TO TAKE OVER THE WHOLE COMMUNITY AND A RAT KILLING HUNT WAS CALLED. MANY SCHEMES WERE HATCHED TO KILL THEM AND LARGE NUMBERS OF THE MEN AND BOYS TURNED OUT TO MAKE THE EFFORT. THEY DID GET A LOT OF RATS, BUT I'M SURE THEY DID NOT WILL A LASTING BATTLE.

WE HAD A LARGE GARDEN PLOT, WHICH REQUIRED ATTENTION FROM ALL OF THE FAMILY IN SEASON. PAY WAS NEVER OFFERED OR EXPECTED! I NEVER HAD AN ALLOWANCE (ANT I PRESUME NO ONE ELSE HAD EITHER) UNTIL I GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL. ALL I EVER NEEDED MONEY FOR WAS A CANDY BAR, AND THEN I WOULD TO TO MOTHER FOR A NICKEL. IF PERCHANCE SHE DID NOT HAVE ANY CHANGE, I WOULD GO TO DAD—ALWAYS WITH HESITATION, EVEN THOUGH I KNEW HE HAD NEVER REFUSED.

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

I REMEMBER ONE WINTER WHEN WE HAD A HIND QUARTER OF BEEF IN THE ATTIC. IT IS TOLD THAT DURING CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS THAT WHOLE THING WAS EATEN. HOW MUCH DOES A QUARTER WEIGH? PERHAPS 150 LBS? DURING WORLD WAR I SUGAR WAS RATIONED, I AM TOLD. SINCE MY DAD OWNED FARM LAND AND GREW SUGAR BEETS, AND FARMERS WHO DID THAT WERE ALLOWED EXTRA SUGAR FOR THEMSELVES, I REMEMBER SEEING A 100 LB BAG IN THE ATTIC. FOR OUR FAMILY THAT WOULDN'T EVEN BE CLASSIFIED AS HOARDING!

BACK TO HEINEY, THE BUTCHER...HIS REAL NAME WAS HENRY VON LEHMDEN. MY MEMORY DOES NOT COME UP WITH ANY NON-GERMAN NAMES IN FR. JENNINGS. THER WAS STECHTSCHULTE, OSTENDORF, SCHIMMOELLER, VON SOSSAN (WE CALLED THEM SOO-SOUR), KRIETEMEYER, KOHL, WREEDE, BAUGH, MOX (FROM MACHTS), SCHUERMAN, AND EVEN JUST PLAIN “GERMAN”. AGAIN, BACK TO HEINEY. AS CHILDREN WE DELIGHTED IN GOING TO HIS SHOP WITH ORDERS TO GET A BEEF TONGUE. HEINEY WAS NOT A TALKATIVE MAN, AND WE ALWAYS HOPED HE WOULD NOT HAVE ANY. IN THAT CASE HE WOULD JUST SHAKE HIS HEAD, AND WE WOULD GLEEFULLY TELL EACH OTHER AT HOME THAT HEINEY DID NOT HAVE A TONGUE. IF HEINEY HAD THE CUT OF MEAT MOTHER HAD ORDERED HE WOULD NOT RESPOND, BUT WOULD JUST GO AND GET IT. I DON'T THINK HE WOULD EVEN ASK HOW MUCH WE WANTED. I GUESS HE KNEW HOW MUCH OUR FAMILY NEEDED. HE WOULD CUT IT, WRAP IT, AND THEN HE WOULD UTTER THE ONLY WORDS OF THE ENTIRE TRANSACTION TO TELL US HOW MUCH IT WAS. HEINEY DID HIS BUTCHERING IN THE BACK ROOM, WITH A LARGE SLIDING DOOR THAT STOOD OPEN IN THE SUMMER. WE COULD THEN WATCH THE WHOLE PROCESS THROUGH THAT DOOR, AND MY MEMORY RELATES ESPECIALLY TO PIGS. PERHAPS I ONLY WATCHED ONCE, BUT AS USUAL WITH EVENTS THAT ARE CLEAR IN ONES MIND, IT SEEMS I SAW THIS PROCEDURE MANY TIMES! HE SHOT THOSE PIGS IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR FOREHEAD WITH A 22 RIFLE. THEY WOULD STIFFEN MOMENTARILY, AND THEN DROP IN THEIR TRACKS. HE NEVER MISSED SINCE THE SHOT WAS MADE FROM A DISTANCE OF APPROXIMATELY SIX INCHES. THE NEXT STEP WAS TO WINCH THAT HOG UP TO A VERTICAL POSITION WITH A ROPE LOOPED OVER ITS REAR LEGS. THE THROAT WAS CUT AND THE BLOOD WAS CAREFULLY CAUGHT IN A LARGE BASIN FOR USE IN MAKING BLOOD PUDDING. THAT PARTICULAR DISH WAS NEVER SERVED IN OUR HOME, BUT IT WAS EATEN BY MANY OF THE OLD GERMANS. AFTER DRAINING THE BLOOD THE CARCASS WAS LOWERED INTO A LARGE TANK OF BOILING HOT WATER TO LOOSEN THE HAIR SO THAT IT COULD BE SCRAPED OFF THE SKIN. THEN IT WAS CUT UP AND CLEANED SHORTLY AFTER THE BLOOD STOPPED RUNNING. HEINEY'S SHOP WAS SPOTLESSLY CLEAN, AND BUTCHERING CONTINUED THERE UNTIL SANITARY LAWS MADE IT MANDATORY THAT ALL BUTCHERING BE DONE ELSEWHERE. NONE OF US EVER GOT TO GET TO INSPECT “ELSEWHERE” FOR CLEANLINESS!!

ED BIEDENHARN WAS THE TELEGRAPHER IN TOWN. HE WAS EMPLOYED BY THE TOLEDO, ST. LOUIS, AND WESTERN RR, ALSO CALLED THE “CLOVERLEAF”, I THINK BECAUSE IT WAS ACTUALLY AT ONE TIME THE CLOVERLEAF DIVISION OF THE NICKELPLATE RR. I HAVE OFTEN WONDERED HOW MANY TELEGRAMS HE SENT OF A PERSONAL NATURE. HIS MAIN OCCUPATION, I THINK, WAS TO HANDLE RR BUSINESS IN FT. JENNINGS AND MONITOR THE TELEGRAPH, JUST IN CASE SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH FROM THE OUTSIDE. HE WAS A CONGENIAL MAN WITH NO CHILDREN OF HIS OWN, BUT DISPOSED TO LIKE THEM ANYWAY. FT. JENNINGS DID NOT HAVE VERY MANY NON-FARM RELATED OCCUPATIONS. IN FACT, I CAN NOT THINK OF A SINGLE ONE THAT WAS COMPLETELY DIVORCED FROM THE FARM, UNLESS IT WAS THE TELEGRAPHER.

THE RAILROAD STILL HAD A PASSENGER TRAIN ONCE A DAY IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. MORNING HEADING TOWARD TOLEDO ABOUT 9 AM, AND EVENING ARRIVING FROM TOLEDO ABOUT 6 PM. GEORGE MANAGED TO GET THE PAPER BOY CONCESSION FOR THE TOLEDO BLADE FROM THE HOFFSTETTER'S, SO THAT WE HAD TO MEET THE EVENING TRAIN. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IT ALWAYS STOPPED, AND WE HAD TO BE ACROSS THE TRACKS FROM WHERE WE LIVED BEFORE IT GOT THERE SINCE ALL ACCESS WAS FROM THE RIGHT OR NORTH SIDE. THERE WOULD OFTEN BE PASSENGERS, BUT OUR INTEREST WAS TO RUN UP TO THE BAGGAGE CAR AND GET THE BUNDLE OF PAPERS. THEN WE WOULD REPAIR TO THE STATION HOUSE WITH THEM AND FOLD THEM IN A LITTLE SQUARE SO THAT WE COULD THROW THEM ONTO PORCHES FROM THE SIDEWALK. BY THE TIME THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED THE PASSENGER TRAIN HAD DEPARTED AND A LONG FREIGHT TRAIN ENDED ITS PATIENT WAIT ON THE SIDING DOWNSTREAM AND WITH GRADUALLY INCREASING SPEED WAS THREATENING TO CUT US OFF FROM THE REST OF TOWN. THE PRESSURE WAS AMPLIFIED IN WINTER SINCE IT WOULD BE DARK BY THAT TIME AND WE WERE IN FEAR THAT A BUM WOULD DROP OFF THE TRAIN AS IT APPROACHED THE STATION, PERHAPS TO BLUDGEON US AND ROB US! MANY TIMES WE WERE FACED WITH THE PROSPECT OF RUNNING ACROSS THE TRACKS IN FRONT OF THE SLOWLY APPROACHING FREIGHT, ENTAILING OUR JUDGMENT OF WHETHER WE COULD STILL MAKE IT OR NOT. FOR YEARS I HAD DREAMS OF CROSSING THE TRACKS IN FRONT OF A TRAIN. THERE WOULD BE PLENTY OF TIME TO MAKE IT, BUT SUDDENLY MY LEGS WOULD BE COME HEAVY AS LEAD AND I COULD BARELY STRUGGLE OVER. I NEVER GOT HIT BY THE TRAIN, BUT ONLY BECAUSE I AWAKENED IN TIME.

AUNT HANNAH LIVED JUST ACROSS THE STREET AND DOWN ONE HOUSE WITH HER SPINSTER DAUGHTER, ALIDA. AUNT HANNAH WAS JOHANNA BAUGH. SHE AND ALIDA LIVED IN A SMALL HOUSE THAT HAD FEW CONVENIENCES. THEY WOULD BE AT OUR HOUSE PERHAPS ONCE A WEEK TO HELP WITH CLEANING. GOOD COOKIES WERE AVAILABLE AT AUNT HANNAH'S PERIODICALLY, ALTHOUGH I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW WE KNEW JUST WHEN TO GO OVER, SINCE I NEVER DROPPED IN ON HER UNLESS COOKIES HAD JUST BEEN BAKED! ALIDA WAS ALMOST AS SLIENT AS HEINEY THE BUTCHER, NEVER ANSWERING TO ANY QUESTION UNLESS AUNT HANNAH WAS NOT PRESENT. AUNT HANNAH WOULD ALWAYS QUICKLY SAY, “YES, ALIDA WILL HAVE THIS OR THAT”, OR “NO, ALIDA DOES NOT DO THAT OR THIS”, ETC. ALIDA NEVER BECAME VERY TALKATIVE, ALTHOUGH AFTER AUNT HANNAH PASSED ON, IT BECAME NECESSARY FOR HER TO ANSWER FOR HERSELF. HOW WELL I REMEMBER THE SMALL HALF GALLON KEROSENE CAN SHE WOULD BRING IN TO THE HARDWARE FOR REFILL FOR THEIR COOK STOVE. WE USED A ONE GALLON CAN IN OUR HOUSEHOLD.

HELEN HAD A DIMPLE. MAYBE IT WAS THERE FROM BIRTH, BUT I WAS CREDITED WITH GIVING IT TO HER WHEN SHE WAS CATCHER IN ONE OF OUR BALL GAMES AND AS THE HITTER I SWUNG AROUND TOO FAR AND HIT HER CHEEK WITH THE BAT. I REMEMBER IT AS QUITE A FRIGHTENING BLOW TO ME, ANDI THINK SHE WAS MORE THAN A LITTLE DISTRESSED BY IT ALSO. I THINK SHE STILL HAS THAT DIMPLE!

GEORGE AND I WERE JANITORS AT THE CHURCH DURING ONE PERIOD, WHEN WE WERE ABOUT 11 AND 13 YEARS OLD. I THINK THIS OCCURRED DURING THE WINTERTIME, SINCE MY MOST VIVID MEMORIES CENTER ON GETTING UP AT 4 AM ON SUNDAY MORNINGS TO GO START UP THE FURNACE AND GET THE CHURCH HEATED FOR THE SERVICES. THERE WERE MANY SUNDAYS WHEN THE CONGREGATION COULD NOT REMOVE THEIR COATS UNTIL THE FINAL AMEN MADE IT UNNECESSARY. HOWEVER, OUR LABOR RATE WAS SO LOW THAT WE WERE ABLE TO HOLD ON TO THE JOB. OUR OLD CHURCH SURVIVED UNTIL 1990 WHEN IT WAS DEMOLISHED. THE WINDOWS SURVIVE IN A CHURCH AT ELK RIVER, MINNESOTA.

A WORD ABOUT OUR DRESS CODE. ALTHOUGH HOW I DRESSED WAS UP TO MY MOTHER AND WAS OF VERY LITTLE CONCERN TO ME, I DO REMEMBER SOME OF THE CLOTHES WE WORE. THE BOYS WORE KNEE PANTS AND LONG STOCKINGS DURING THE WINTER EXCLUSIVELY. THESE KNICKERS WERE BUTTONED AT THE BOTTOM JUST ABOVE THE KNEE AND MET OR OVERLAPPED THE STOCKINGS AT THAT POINT. I THINK THE STOCKINGS MATCHED THE MODEL T FORD IN ONE RESPECT, AND THAT WAS YOU COULD WEAR ANY COLOR YOU LIKED AS LONG AS IT WAS BLACK. THE UPPER PART OF OUR ATTIRE IN WINTER WAS A WOOL SWEATER, HEAVY ENOUGH TO KEEP US WARM MOST DAYS, BUT SUPPLEMENTED BY A HEAVY COAT WHEN IT BECAME VERY COLD. I FONDLY REMEMBER THE ONLY SHEEPSKIN COAT I HAD FOR ITS UNMATCHED WARMTH. IT WAS DARK BLUE CORDUROY LINED WITH A REAL SHEEPSKIN. IT COULD HAVE BEEN FROM ONE OF THE KING BROTHERS SHEEP FOR ALL I KNOW. ALMOST EVERY WINTER NOW I LOOK LONGINGLY AT SHEARLING COATS (AS SHEEPSKIN IS NOW KNOWN), BUT DO NOT BUY DUE TO THE PRICE--$700 OR SO—AND THE KNOWLEDGE THAT IT WOULD BE TO WARM FOR MOST OF MY ACTIVITIES IF I DID HAVE ONE. THEN AS SUMMER CAME ON OUR DRESS WOULD CHANGE. FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS A MATTER OF PRESTIGE AMONG US TO WHO WOULD FIRST SHED SHOES. THIS HAD TO BE DONE OUT OF SIGHT OF MOM WHEN IT WAS EARLY, BUT AS IT WARMED UP SHE GAVE PERMISSION AND THE REST OF THE SUMMER WAS SPENT BAREFOOT. HOW HOT WERE THE SIDEWALKS AND HOW THE GRAVEL ON THE STREETS DID HURT AT FIRST!! SOON, HOWEVER OUR FEET TOUGHENED UP SO THAT WE COULD RUN AND WALK WITHOUT PICKING A PATH. WE STILL WORE KNEE PANTS, BUT ONLY FOR SUNDAY, I THINK. FOR PLAY IT WAS OVERHAULS OR COVERALLS. THEN THERE WAS ALWAYS THE HOPE OF ACHIEVING THE SUPREME AMBITION(CLOTHSWISE). THAT OCCURRED WHEN WE GOT OUR FIRST LONG PANTS. I DON'T REMEMBER MY AGE—PROBABLY ABOUT 10-12—DON'T REMEMBER THEIR COLOR, BUT I SURELY DO REMEMBER LOOKING DOWN AT MY FEET AND GLOATING IN MY GLORY. SINCE THOSE WERE DRESS PANTS AND IT WAS SOON BACK TO OVERHAULS AND BAREFEET. HEADGEAR IN WINTER WAS A WOOL STOCKING CAP, AND IN SUMMER A GENUINE BROADBRIMMED STRAW HAT. GETTING A TAN IN THE SUMMER CAME WITH THE SEASON, BUT WAS NEVER SOUGHT AFTER. IN FACT I THINK WE WORE ONLY LONG SLEEVED SHIRTS IN ORDER TO KEEP THE SUN OFF OUR ARMS. AND I DON'T RECALL EVER SEEING ONE OF MY SISTERS LYING OUT IN THE SUN.

A WORD (OR MORE) ABOUT THE SALOON. HEINL'S RESTAURANT WAS A SALOON BEFORE PROHIBITION ALONG WITH DICKMAN'S A BLOCK AWAY. HEINL'S NEVER RETURNED TO BEING A SALOON, AND DICKMAN'S NEVER CEASED BEING ONE EVEN DURING PROHIBITION. BOTH SURVIVED AS RESTAURANTS, BUT WE ALWAYS CALLED DICKMAN'S THE “SALOON”. THEY SERVED NEAR BEER, A NOT VERY POPULAR SUBSTITUTE, AND DELICIOUS SHREDDED BEEF SANDWICHES (ALTHOUGH I DID HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR CHUNKS OF FAT). AS A CHILD, HOWEVER, I WAS NOT ALLOWED IN THE “SALOON” VERY OFTEN, AND USUALLY WENT TO HEINL'S MORE RESPECTABLE ESTABLISHMENT. IN THE 30'S AFTER REPEAL, I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING IN FORT JENNINGS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS UNTIL LEAVING FOR THE WAR, AND THE “SALOON” WAS AGAIN IN FULL BLOOM. I CAN REMEMBER THE CARD TABLES BEING IN USE DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS WHEN SOME OF THE FARMERS HAD TIME ON THEIR HANDS TO COME TO TOWN. ONE OF THE REGULARS WAS JOHN WREEDE, AND I REMEMBER HIM FONDLY. ALSO HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF HIS OLDEST SON, FRANCIS, WHO WAS KILLED IN WORLD WARE II BEFORE I WAS DRAFTED. ONE OF MY BIGGEST FRIENDS FROM FT. J.

FT. JENNINGS HAD A TILE MILL, OPERATED IN MY TIME BY IKE FOSTNAUGHT. IKE HAD LARGE BLACK EYEBROWS AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT OF HIM AS A BIG MAN. MANY YEARS AFTER LEAVING FT. JENNINGS I AGAIN SAW IKE IN HIS OLD AGE, AND COULD HARDLY BELIEVE HOW SMALL HE LOOKED! CLIFF FOSNAUGHT WAS ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS, AND THE TILE MILL WAS A FAVORITE PLACE TO VISIT. I CAPITALIZED ON MY YEARS AROUND THAT TILE MILL, WHEN, IN MY FRESHMAN YEAR IN ENGINEERING AT OHIO STATE, I WROTE A PAPER FOR MY ENGLISH CLASS ABOUT MAKING TILE. IT GOT ME AN “A” AND I WROTE ALL OF IT FROM MEMORY WITHIN AN HOUR OR LESS. I CAN REMEMBER AN OCCASION WHEN IKE FOSNAUGHT SHOWED US HOW HE COULD CATCH AND KILL BUMBLE BEES (YELLOW JACKETS TO YOU) AS THEY CRAWLED OUT OF THEIR NESTS IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND. AT JUST THE RIGHT MOMENT HE WOULD GRAB THEM AND SQUEEZE THEM SO THAT THEIR STINGER WAS UNABLE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH HIS FINGERS. ON ANOTHER OCCASION CLIFF HAD BUILT WHAT HE CALLED A KILN (AFTER THE KILNS WHERE THE TILE WERE BAKED). IT WAS A SMALL OUTDOOR STOVE. THERE WE MADE POTATO SOUP WHICH I THOUGHT WAS WONDERFUL. ALSO THERE WE COOKED SOME SQUAB, WHICH CLIFF FOUND IN AN OLD BARN DOWN THE ROAD AT A PLACE CALLED THE SUGAR CAMP, I THINK. I WONDER WHY IT HAD THAT NAME. THAT WAS THE ONLY TIME IN MY LIFE I EVER ATE SQUAB. I LOVED TO VISIT THE FOSNAUGHTS, AND, SINCE THEY HAD 5 OR 6 CHILDREN, SOME OF MY OLDER SIBS ALSO HAD GOOD FRIENDS THERE.

SHELBY HARRIS LIVED JUST OUT OF TOWN ABOUT HALF A MILE ON THE RIVER ROAD TOWARD KALIDA. . THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE ROAD LEADING NORTHEAST OUT OF TOWN PAST HEITZMAN'S THE STREETS IN FT. JENNINGS DID NOT RUN NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST, AS THE MAIN STREET (THAT WAS WATER STREET) WAS ROUGHLY PARALLEL TO THE RIVER AND RAN SOMEWHAT NORTHEAST-SOUTHWEST. ALL OTHER STREETS WERE LAID OUT PERPENDICULAR OR PARALLEL TO WATER STREET. SHELBY HARRIS PROBABLY WAS A FARMER, BUT I REMEMBER HIM FOR ONE OF HIS OTHER OCCUPATIONS. HE OWNED AND OPERATED A STONE WAGON—AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT I WOULD CALL IT. I REMEMBER IT WELL BECAUE HE WOULD LET ME RIDE WITH HIM AND HOLD THE REINS OF HIS TEAM OF HORSES. THIS STONE WAGON WAS BUILT ABOUT LIKE THE MODERN FARMER'S GRAIN WAGONS, EXCEPT IT WAS MADE OF WOOD. HE USED IT TO HAUL CRUSHED STONE FROM THE QUARRY TO THE CONSTRUCTION SITE. HE COULD THEN PUT DOWN A LAYER BY PARTLY OPENING THE CHUTE BUILT IN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE WAGON. THE TIME I DROVE HIS TEAM WE TOOK STONE OUT OF TOWN ACROSS THE RIVER, TO THE FIRST ROAD TO THE LEFT, WHICH WENT PAST AUNT HANNAH'S FARM, THEN PAST THE JOHN WIEGING FARM AND ON EAST PAST KORTIER'S. THIS WAS A MUD ROAD UNTIL SHELBY AND I GOT ON THE JOB.

ALL OF THE COUNTRY ROADS OUT OF FT. JENNINGS, EXCEPT FOR THE STATE ROADS TO DELPHOS, OTTOVILLE, AND KALIDA WERE ONE LANE GRAVEL OR ALLWEATHER AND ONE LANE MUD. THE MUD ROAD WAS A FOOT OR MORE LOWER THAN THE GRAVELED LANE, BECAUSE OF THE GRAVEL BUILD UP. IN THE SUMMER WHEN IT DRIED UP THAT MUD WOULD TURN TO A THICK LAYER OF DUST UNDER THE WHEELS OF VEHICLES THAT HAD TO TURN DOWN ONTO IT WHILE PASSING THEIR CONTEMPORARIES, AND I STILL REMEMBER HOW SOFT THAT DUST FELT TO MY BARE FEET. I CAN ALSO RECALL ON ONE OCCASION WHEN RALPH WAS DRIVING OUR CHALMERS AND TOOK TO THE MUD ROAD IN AN EFFORT TO PASS THE CAR AHEAD OF US. THE OTHER DRIVER WAS AS YOUNG OF HEART AS RALPH, AND A RACE ENSUED, WHICH I THINK WE LOST, SINCE THE MUD ROAD DID NOT GIVE VERY GOOD FOOTING (OR WHEELING). I'LL BET RALPH NEVER LOST VERY MANY RACES! RALPH LET ME TAKE THE WHEEL OF A MODEL T FOR MY VERY FIRST EXPERIENCE AT DRIVING A CAR, THEN TOLD ME TO LOOK AT SOMETHING IN THE FIELD OFF AT THE SIDE. WHEN I TURNED MY HEAD TO LOOK I ALSO TURNED THE STEERING WHEEL AND NEARLY WENT INTO A LARGE DITCH, BUT HE WAS EXPECTING THAT OF ME AND SAVED THE DAY.

AT ANOTHER TIME EARLY IN MY LIFE BEHIND THE WHEEL—ALSO IN A MODEL T-- I RAN OFF THE DIKE LEADING UP TO A LITTLE BRIDGE ON THE ROAD PAST JOHN WIEGING'S HOUSE, JUST PAST FRANK WIEGING'S. HOWEVER, I TURNED THE WHEELS IN TIME TO KEEP FROM GOING ALL THE WAY DOWN, AND WOUND UP WITH THE REAR WHEELS DOWN THE SIDE OF THE DIKE AND THE FRONT WHEELS HEADING BACK ON TO THE ROAD. IN THIS POSITION A MODEL T CAN (AND DID) RUN OUT OF GAS, SINCE GASOLINE DOES NOT RUN UP HILL, AND THE MODEL T DID NOT HAVE A VACUUM TANK. A VACUUM TANK WAS THE PRECURSOR OF THE FUEL PUMP, AND SERVED THE SAME FUNCTION. ALL MODEL T OWNERS KNEW THAT A VERY STEEP GRADE WOULD HAVE TO BE TAKEN IN REVERSE SO THAT GASOLINE COULD REACH THE CARBURETOR!! FRANK WIEGING PULLED US OUT WITH HIS HORSES AND WE WERE OFF AGAIN. I THINK GEORGE WAS THE MENTOR THAT ALLOWED ME TO DRIVE THAT TIME. MUST HAVE BEEN IN 1925 OR SO.

I CAN WELL REMEMBER THE SPEED LIMIT SIGNS THAT WERE POSTED ALONG THE DIKE LEADING INTO TOWN FROM ACROSS THE RIVER. 8 MPH!! NEVER GAVE IT A THOUGHT THEN, BUT THEY MUST HAVE BEEN DIRECTED AGAINST THE YOUNG BLOODS WHO WOULD RACE THEIR HORSES THROUGH TOWN. I THINK THE SPEED LIMIT FINALLY GAVE WAY TO THE AUTOMOBILE AGE, BUT DON'T KNOW JUST WHEN. MAYBE THEY JUST TOOK THE SIGNS DOWN AND FORGOT TO CHANGE THE LAW. OR MAYBE THE LAW WAS CHANGED AND NOBODY BOTHERED TO REMOVE THE SIGNS. AT ANY RATE I THINK THEY MUST HAVE STILL BEEN POSTED UNTIL ABOUT 1925 OR 1926.

DON'T THINK I HAVE DESCRIBED OUR RECREATIONAL SWIMMING FACILITIES AS YET. WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THREE EXCELLENT SWIMMING HOLES. NUMBER 1 WAS RIGHT IN TOWN JUST BELOW THE HIGH BANK OF THE RIVER WHERE THE FORT HAD ONCE STOOD, IN AN AREA THAT NOW BELONGS TO THE KING BROTHERS AND WAS USED AS PASTURE FOR THEIR SHEEP. THIS WAS WHERE THE SMALL FRY SWAM, USUALLY IN THE SKINNY DIP MODE, AND IN FULL SIGHT OF THE ROAD OUT OF TOWN. THE WATER WAS PROBABLY ABOUT 3 OR 4 FEET DEEP ON THE NEAR SIDE OF THE RIVER, AND THEN BECAME SHALLOWER AS ONE WALKED TO THE OTHER SIDE. I REMEMBER THAT IN MY EARLIEST YEARS I NEEDED TO BE CARRIED ACROSS THE DEEP WATER ( I WAS EVIDENTLY LESS THAN THREE OR FOUR FEET TALL AT THAT TIME) AND PUT DOWN IN THE SHALLOWS, SINCE I COULD NOT SWIM. THE NEAR BANK WAS ONLY 4 OR 5 FEET ABOVE THE WATER, AND WAS PURE MUD. NO SAND OR GRAVEL. WE WOULD PICK A SPOT WITH NO TREE ROOTS, WATER IT WELL AND MAKE WHAT WE CALLED A SLIPPERY ASS. THE TERM WAS APT, SINCE WE THEN PROCEEDED TO SLIDE DOWN IT ON OUR BARE BOTTOMS, IN THE SAME WAY THAT CHILDREN OF THIS DAY FIND THEIR FUN ON THE SLIDES AVAILABLE TO THEM IN THE PARK, EXCEPT THAT IN MOST CASES TODAY'S CHILDREN ARE WEARING PANTS.

SWIMMING HOLE NUMBER 2 WAS UPSTREAM A COUPLE OF MILES AT BARNEY CALVELAGE'S QUARRY. THERE WERE SEVERAL OF THESE QUARRIES IN THE RIVER NEAR FT. JENNINGS, WHERE IN EARLIER DAYS LIMESTONE HAD BEEN QUARRIED FROM THE RIVER BED, LEAVING AN AREA VARYING FROM THE ORIGINAL DEPTH OF THE RIVER BED TO PERHAPS 6 OR 7 FEET WHERE THE PUMP HOLE HAD BEEN LOCATED. I SUPPOSE ANYONE KNOWS WHAT A PUMP HOLE IS, BUT JUST TO MAKE MY STORY LONGER, I WILL TELL YOU THAT IT IS THE DEEPEST PART OF A QUARRY (MADE SO INTENTIONALLY) WHERE THE WATER MAY COLLECT SO THAT A PUMP PLACED AT THAT SPOT WILL KEEP THE REST OF THE OPERATION DRY. I NEVER SAW ONE OF THOSE RIVER QUARRIES IN OPERATION, BUT I CAN SEE IN MY MINDS EYE THAT THE WATER FLOW WAS DIVERTED TO ONE SIDE WITH A DAM. I ALSO KNOW THAT WHEN THE RIVER WAS IN SPATE, THE WHOLE THING WOULD RAPIDLY FILL UP AND COULD NOT BE WORKED AGAIN UNTIL THE WATER SUBSIDED. THEN IT WOULD REQUIRE SOME DAYS OF PUMPING BEFORE WORK COULD RESUME. THESE WERE SMALL QUARRIES. I RECALL WHEN THE FT. JENNINGS QUARRY (CONSIDERABLY LARGER THAN THOSE LOCATED IN THE RIVER BED) UP BY THE CEMETARY WAS PUMPED OUT AND RETURNED TO SERVICE. IT WAS IDLE AND FULL OF WATER FOR MANY YEARS AFTER A BLASTING ACCIDENT TOOK THE LIFE OF AN EMPLOYEE. THE PUMPS WORKED THERE FOR MANY WEEKS BEFORE THE WATER LEVEL RECEDED INTO THE PUMP HOLE. THE WHOLE TOWN TURNED OUT AT THAT POINT SINCE MANY FISH RECEDED INTO THAT SPOT ALONG WITH THE WATER AND COULD BE SCOOPED OUT BY HAND OR IN BUCKETS OR BY WHATEVER MEANS AVAILABLE. A LARGE TANK FILLED WITH WATER AND FISH WAS HAULED AROUND TOWN OFFERING FISH TO ANY RESIDENT WHO WANTED THEM. NO LOAVES OF BREAD, BUT MANY FISHES WERE LEFT OVER, AND THOSE WERE THEN DUMPED INTO ADAM REKART'S QUARRY JUST SOUTH OF THE JENNINGS CREEK ON THE WAPAK-DEFIANCE TRAIL ROAD. BACK TO BARNY CLAVELAGE'S SWIMMING HOLE. 50 OR 60 YARDS DOWNSTREAM A PUBLIC ROAD FORDED THE RIVER. I THINK THAT ROAD IS STILL THERE, LEADING DOWN TO THE RIGHT BANK OF THE RIVER, BUT HAS BEEN UNDER CULTIVATION FOR MANY YEARS APPROACHING THE LEFT BANK. I WONDER IF IT IS STILL A LEGAL ROADWAY, OR IF SOMEONE HAS BOTHERED TO HAVE IT OFFICIALLY VACATED. THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT SWIMMING HOLE, AND AT TIMES EVEN HAD A DIVING BOARD. MANY SUMMER EVENINGS DURING THE HOURS BEFORE DARK THERE WOULD BE A CROWD OF SWIMMERS, SOME OF THE SMALLER ONES WITH INNER TUBES. THOSE INNER TUBES WERE SO SKINNY (MODEL T SIZE WAS 30 X 3 ½) THAT WE HAD TO DOUBLE WRAP OURSELVES JUST LIKE YOU WILL WRAP A RUBBER BAND AROUND A PACKAGE TWICE TO MAKE IT FIT. IT WAS HERE THAT I FIRST DARED TO SWIM A FEW STROKES WITHOUT A TUBE, BUT ONLY AS A LAST RESORT WHEN NO ONE ELSE WAS STILL USING A TUBE!!

SWIMMING HOLE NUMBER 3 WAS 5 OR 6 MILES FARTHER YET UP STREAM, BUT WE WENT THERE AS WE GOT OLDER AND HAD A FEW MORE CARS AROUND FOR TRANSPORTATION. ONE MEMORABLE PICTURE IN MY ALBUM SHOWS A GROUP OF US IN A MODEL T DELIVERY TRUCK ALL SET TO DRIVE UP TO THIS SPOT, KNOWN AS LONG'S SWIMMING HOLE. THIS WAS THE BEST HOLE OF ALL. CLIFF LONG WAS ONE OF OUR COUSINS AND HAD REALLY SET UP BUSINESS. HE CHARGED A FEE TO DRIVE DOWN TO THE RIVER AND HAD BUILT A SMALL POP AND REFRESHMENT STAND ON THE BANK. ALSO, IF MY MEMORY SERVES, A BATH HOUSE FOR CLOTHING CHANGES. HE ATTRACTED CUSTOMERS FROM DELPHOS AS WELL AS FT. JENNINGS. WE NEVER SWAM SANS SUITS THERE, AS WE DID AT THE OTHER TWO HOLES IN OUR YOUNGER DAYS.

LET US TALK ABOUT TRAPPING. MOST OF THE FARM BOYS AND MANY OF THE TOWN BOYS DID A LITTLE TRAPPING IN THEIR LIVES. MY EXPERIENCE CONSISTED OF TWO YEARS WITH BOB SCHUERMAN, ANOTHER TOWN BOY. SEASON STARTED ON NOVEMBER 15, SO TI BEHOOVED US TO GET OUT AT MIDNIGHT ON THE 14TH TO SET OUR FIRST TRAPS. HOWEVER, BEFORE THAT DATE ARRIVED, WE NEEDED TO PREPARE. WE HAD TO FIND A SUPPLY OF TRAPS, GET A FLASHLIGHT OR TWO, SCOUT OUT THE RIVER BANK FOR MUSKRAT DENS AND TRY TO ANTICIPATE ANY OTHER NEEDS. THERE WAS DANGER OF OUR RATS BEING STOLEN FROM OUR TRAPS IF WE DID NOT GET OUT EARLY IN THE MORNING, SO WE MET AT 4 AM AND RAN OUR TRAPS WITH A LANTERN AND FLASHLIGHTS. IT WAS FROM THIS EXPERIENCE THAT I LEARNED TO SKIN AN ANIMAL. THIS WAS A SELF TAUGHT ART AS WERE SO MANY OF THE THINGS WE DID AS CHILDREN AROUND FT. JENNINGS. OF COURSE, WE GOT A CONTINUAL STREAM OF ADVICE FROM THE OLDER KIDS. WE BECAME FAIRLY EXPERT AT SKINNING A MUSKRAT, SINCE THE PRICE GOES DOWN FOR EVERY HOLE ONE CUTS IN THE HIDE. I THINK WE COULD SELL THEM FOR ABOUT 85 CENTS TO 1.25 AT THAT TIME. IN RECENT YEARS WHEN I HAVE ASKED TRAPPERS WHAT THEY COULD GET, I WAS AMAZED TO FIND THAT INFLATION HAS APPARENTLY PASSED THEM BY.

MY FATHER STARTED SELLING MODEL T'S IN 1921, WHEN I WAS 7 YEARS OLD. I GOT THIS STORY FROM MY UNCLE RUDOLPH: MY FATHER TALKED TO HIM ABOUT SELLING MODEL T'S AFTER FORD MOTOR COMPANY HAD APPROACHED HIM AND OFFERED HIM THE FRANCHISE. UNCLE RUDOLPH'S ADVICE WAS TO SIGN UP, BUT MY FATHER TOLD HIM THAT HE WAS INTERESTED BUT THEY WERE JUST A PILE OF JUNK. UNCLE RUDOLPH TOLD HIM “WHAT DO YOU CARE? THEY'RE SELLING LIKE HOT CAKES!” AFTER DAD DID SIGN UP, I AM SURE HE NEVER AGAIN REFERRED TO THEM IN SUCH UNRESPECTFUL TERMS. ALL OF US GREW UP DEFENDING FORDS AGAINST ALL COMERS!! THESE AUTOS ARRIVED ON THE CLOVERLEAF PACKED INTO BOX CARS (AND THE OLD BOX CARS WERE MUCH SMALLER THAN THOSE IN USE TODAY). I CAN REMEMBER SEEING THE CHASSIS' STACKED AT AN ANGLE CROSSWAYS IN THE CARS WITH ONE SET OF WHEELS AGAINST ONE SIDE NEAR THE ROOF, AND THE OTHER SET ON THE FLOOR AGAINST THE OTHER SIDE. THE BODIES WERE SHIPPED SEPARATELY. I DON'T RECALL WHETHER THE ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS WERE INSTALLED IN THE CHASSIS' OR ALSO CAME IN THEIR OWN BOX. FINAL ASSEMBLY WAS DONE IN THE SIDE ROOM OF THE HARDWARE STORE!!


MARCH 29, 1991, AND I AM GOING TO PRINT THIS SO THAT I CAN FORGET IT FOR A WHILE THIS IS LINE NO. 605


IT WAS ABOUT 1920 WHEN MY FATHER RECOVERED A STOLEN CAR. THE DETAILS ARE VERY HAZY IN MY MIND. HOW WOULD ANYONE RECOVER A STOLEN CARE IN FT. JENNINGS? JUST SHOWS HOW EXCITING LIFE COULD BE IN A SMALL TOWN IN 1920, I GUESS! THIS AUTOMOBILE WAS A BUICK, PROBABLY ABOUT A YEAR OLD AT THE TIME. I REMEMBER IT AS A ROADSTER. THE SHERIFF DID NOT BRING THE PROPER AUTHORIZATION ALONG WITH HIM WHEN HE ARRIVED TO TAKE THE CAR BACK TO OTTAWA, SO MY FATHER REFUSED TO TURN IT OVER TO HIM. THE RESULT WAS THAT THE SHERIFF NEVER CAME BACK AND SAID BUICK REMAINED IN OUR POSSESSION FOR SOME YEARS. I THINK DAD EVENTUALLY TOOK LEGAL TITLE TO IT AND SOLD IT. AT THAT TIME, ONE COULD GET LEGAL TITLE TO A CAR BY MERELY FILING A SWORN STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP WITH THE CLERK OF COURTS. WE OFTEN RESORTED TO THAT WHEN TRADING IN A CAR FROM A PARTY WHO HAD LOST THE BILL OF SALE.

BEING A TOWN BOY, I NEVER REALLY PARTICIPATED IN ANY FARM WORK, BUT FT. JENNINGS WAS SO CLOSE TO THE FARMS AROUND THAT WE OFTEN SAW WORK IN PROGRESS AS PART OF OUR DAILY WANDERINGS IN THE SUMMER MONTHS. AND SO IT IS THAT I CAN DESCRIBE THE FOLLOWING THRASHING SCENE. THIS TOOK PLACE ON MY UNCLE ARNIES FARM AT THE CORPORATION LIMITS ROAD TO OTTOVILLE. CHARLIE BROEKER WAS THE FARMER THERE. THE THRASHING MACHINE WAS POWERED BY A STEAM ENGINE, AND THE TRANSMISSION CONSISTED OF A FLAT BELT. V-BELTS WERE UNKNOWN AT THAT TIME. THE WHEAT WAS STACKED IN LITTLE ROUND PILES OF SHEAVES ABOUT 3 OR 4 FEET HIGH, AND THESE WERE THEN GATHERED UP OUT OF THE FIELD BY SEVERAL FARMERS DRIVING A TEAM OF WORK HORSES PULLING A FLAT BED FARM WAGON. THE WHEAT WAS THEN BROUGHT OVER TO THE THRASHER WHICH PROCESSED IT INTO WHEAT AND STRAW, SPITTING THE STRAW OUT OF A LONG STOVEPIPE TYPE OF ARRANGEMENT WHICH COULD BE DIRECTED THROUGH A LIMITED ARC AROUND THE AREA. USUALLY THIS STRAW WAS PILED INTO A LARGE STACK OVER AND AROUND A SMALL SHED, PRESERVING AN OPENING INTO THE DOORWAY OF THE STRUCTURE UNDERNEATH. THIS MADE A COZY WINTER HOME FOR THE COWS WHEN THEY TIRED OF THE SAME OLD QUARTERS IN THE BARN DAY AFTER DAY. MOST FARMS WOULD HAVE ONE OF THESE STRAW STACKS OUT IN THE COW YARD BEHIND OR AT THE SIDE OF THE BARN.

ONE COULD TAKE A HANDFUL OF WHEAT AND EAT IT IF ONES TEETH WERE UP TO THE TASK AND IF ONE COULD KEEP FROM SWALLOWING THE CHEWED WHEAT LONG ENOUGH, IT WOULD TURN INTO A GUM THAT COULD SUBSTITUTE FOR THE REAL THING, ALTHOUGH NOT HAVING A MINTY FLAVOR.

THIS MAY BE THE END.

ONE MORE STORY THAT HAS JUST COME TO MIND. THIS IS ABOUT THE ICE HOUSE THAT SAT ON THE RIVER BANK JUST ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE HARDWARE AND ABOUT 100 YARDS BACK. I DON'T REMEMBER WHEN IT ACTUALLY HELD ICE, BUT FOR ALL THE YEARS OF MY YOUTH IN FT. J. IT WAS THERE AND STILL DEEPLY FILLED WITH THE SAWDUST WHICH HAD ORIGINALLY BEEN INSULATING THE ICE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS. THIS SAWDUST WAS PERPETUALLY DAMP, EITHER FROM THE DAYS WHEN IT HAD ICE IN IT, OR FROM A LEAKING ROOF. AS FISHERMEN, WE WOULD GO THERE TO DIG WORMS AND ALSO TO FIND SOME GRUBS, WHICH WE CONSIDERED THE FINEST OF ALL FISH BAITS.

Posted by Cynan at March 29, 2006 08:21 PM
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