The Fort Dodge Messenger: Jan. 10, 1903

Duncombe Sun Goes Under

Has Yielded to the Force of Adverse Circumstances

Publication is Suspended.

Editor Stebbins Finds the Burden of Debt Too Great to Be Endured.

Word has reached the city that the Duncombe Sun, which was once one of hte luminaries of Webster County journalism, has ceased to shine, and that the genial talks of Sunrise Bill will hereafter be in vain. After a plucky struggle to keep up, Editor Stebbins has been obliged to yield to the pressure of debt, and his paper has discontinued publication.

All of Mr. Stebbins’ editorial brethren over the county will regret that the pressure of circumstances was too much for him to withstand. He had been giving Duncombe a good local paper, and no one is more sorry to hear of his misfortune that is the Messenger force. Mr. Stebbins still remains in Duncombe.

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Dec. 21, 1904

Sole Dray Line in the City

A.M. White Merges All Such Business of the City Into One Large Concern.

Many Horses and Men Employed

Has Just Bought Leamon Transfer Line and Possesses Forty Teams, and Wagons, and Has Large Corps of Assistants.

A.M. White, who recently purchased the entire business of the Baker Transfer Company, has just completed a transaction by which he also becomes owner of the Leamon Transfer line.

Mr. White, who has always been the leading transfer line owner in the city, now has every business of the kind in the city, in his possession and will conduct all of the dray business which the city has. This combined with the entire freight service of the town will give him an unusually heavy business.

With about forty teams and wagons it is not probable that Mr. White will be unable to handle his large business with the aid of a large corps of under workmen.

Mr. White has fine office quarters, and Miss Spayde, who has been doing the entire office work and collecting, will remain in the office and Miss E (there is a letter missing between these two: E a) Colwell will be employed as collector.

Mr. White’s many friends will wish him all success in his new undertaking.

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Dec. 20, 1906

Stop It!

What?

Mail order buying.

On December 24th The Messenger will begin the publication of a series of articles by Fort Dodge business men and all others indiscriminate of class setting forth facts and opinions on mail order buying that will interest every person who buys or sells. As told on the front page of The Messenger tonight, mial order houses are increasing their business in this locality by strides. If the pace keeps up it can mean nothing but the utter demoralization of trade. Every dollar that is sent to a catalogue house is a dollar lost in building up the community form which it is sent. Read what The Messenger will publish next week, ponder, reflect and when you have finished brood, ruminate and reflect again. By that time you will have arrived at a conclusion the essence of which is having learned “which side your bread is buttered on.”

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Dec. 16, 1905

Chief Tullar Sells Livery Business

His Stock of Horses and Rigs Sold to Charles Smith of Iowa Falls

A deal was completed last night by which Charles Smith of Iowa Falls becomes the sole owner of the livery barn of Chief of Police Tullar on First avenue south.

Mr. Smith is an old and experienced liveryman. He has been in the city for some time looking for a location and takes possession of the Tullar stables at once. Mr. Tullar states that he has found his duties as chief of police to great for him to give proper care to his business so decided to sell.

The entire stock of vehicles and horses except those kept by Mr. Tullar for his personal use were involved in the transaction. the consideration for the stock was $15,000.

(Editor’s note: The amount of $15,000 in 1905 would be equivalent to about $359242 today.)

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 22, 1903

Webster City Felt Shoe Factory Starts

After an Idleness of Three Months Caused by the Late Fire.

Thirty Hands are at Work

Capacity of the Factory is Six Hundred Pairs Shoes Per Day.

Webster City, Sept. 22. – After having been idle for a period of more than three months, the Northwestern Felt Shoe company’s plant resumed operations Monday in the old wholesale grocery building. The full force is not yet at work, as there is not enough material on hand, but it is expected that within ten days there will be thirty hands working.

The company has a large lot of orders ahead. There are now three traveling men on the road, Messrs. Kelly, Derr and Porter. The capacity of the new plant is 600 pairs per day, but Manager Coppenall says that they do not expect to run over 300 pairs per day this fall. He also says on account of the larger number of orders ahead it is likely that the plant will run until about the first of December. It is customary to close plants of this kind fully a month earlier than this.

The new company is nicely situated. At present it occupies only the second floor of the wholesale grocery building with an office down stairs. With the expansion which will be made in the spring, the company will occupy the whole of the building. F.S. Currie is in charge of the office, while Mr. Coppenall is managing the plant. The felt now being used in the shoes is all new goods. There was no felt saved from the fire which destroyed the former plant of the company. It is the purpose to work the new plant up to the full efficiency of the former factory.

The cutters, lasters and fitters began Monday morning and will get the raw material in shape for the full force within ten days. However, all the machinery is not in operation.

(Editor’s note: The fire occurred on June 16, 1903, and there was a problem with the former manager on Sept. 14, 1903.)

The Fort Dodge Daily Chronicle: Sept. 19, 1910

Free Want Ads For Present Week

Readers’ Attention is Directed to The Enlarged Classified Department of This Issue

This evening the first of the free Want Ads appear, and during each evening this week The Chronicle will given (sic) free service to any who desires same, merely for the purpose of demonstrating to the people of Fort Dodge more thoroughly than has ever been done before the benefit of the Chronicle’s classified department.

The number given today is a large one and if the reader will look over the same he may find some article he desires to purchase, or may find some one who is looking for some particular article which he has for sale. Read them every evening during this week, and by that time the habit will be so firmly fixed with you that it will be one of the departments never overlooked in reading the evening paper. There are hundreds of good bargains offered and there are a great many opportunities to dispose of certain articles.

During the present week, as has been announced in these columns in the past, a free service will be given to the people of Fort Dodge and vicinity. This offer is open to all, whether subscribers of the Chronicle or not, and is merely made to demonstrate the value of classified advertising. All ads received up to noon each day will appear in that evening’s issue of The Chronicle, but they must be forwarded by mail or brought to this office as under this offer we would be swamped if an effort was made to take the same over telephone. That a large number were received at this office after noon t0-day accounts for their non-appearance this evening, but they will be found under the proper classification on Tuesday evening and will be run for the remainder of the week unless the party inserting the same notifies us their wants have been supplied.

The Fort Dodge Daily Chronicle: Sept. 19, 1910

Wahkonsa Open to the Public

General Reception at the New Hostelry on Saturday Evening

Six Thousand People Inspected the New Hotel

Sunday Breakfast was the First Meal Served and the Patronage Was Satisfactory to Management

Saturday evening The Wahkonsa, corner of Tenth street and Central avenue was formerly opened to the traveling public, and Fort Dodge now boasts of the largest and finest strictly fireproof hotel in the state of Iowa.

General Reception Tendered

R.W. Johnston of Waterloo, lessee of the house and Manager Fred F. Coles, tendered a general reception to the public on Saturday evening between seven and ten o’clock in the evening, and it is estimated that close to six thousand people were conducted through all of the departments of the new hostelry and were agreeable surprised that such a handsome hotel had been opened in the city of Fort Dodge. All departments were open for inspection during the evening and the visitors were conducted from the basement to the fifth floor, practically all of the one hundred and forty-eight guest rooms being thrown open for the evening’s inspection.

American and European Plan

The Wahkonsa will be conducted on both the American and European plan, and the rooms, all of whch (sic) are outside, will range in price form $1.00 up without bath and $1.50 and up wiht bath. The dining room will be conducted on the European, table de hote and a la carte plan, club breakfast, 25 75 cents, noon luncheon 50 cents and table de hote evening dinner 75 cents. A la cart service together with the above will be provided at all meals.

Opening Patronage Good

The opening patronage at the Wahkonsa was saisfactory (sic) to the management and from the large number of traveling men who were in the city to spend Sunday but demonstrated that the openng (sic) of the new hostelry will make this city more than ever the stopping place over Sunday of the knights of the grip who are in this section of the state during the latter part of the week.

Reception This Evening

This evening R.W. Johnston and Manager Fred F. Cole will give an invitation reception at The Wahkonsa, over one thousand invitations having been sent out for the affair. Special music will be furnished during the evening by the Quist Orchestra and refreshments will be served to all of the guests of the evening.

(Editor’s note: In the first paragraph, formerly should be formally. That is one error I still see as a copy editor today. Also, the manager’s name is listed as Coles and Cole, so I don’t know which is correct.)

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 15, 1905

A Good Chance to Make Money

Fort Dodge Needs More Down Town Apartment Houses Local Man Talks.

Traveling Men Would Rent

Would Make This City Their Headquarters if They Could Get Apartments down Town – Like Flats Better than Renting Houses.

There is a good opening in Fort Dodge for a wide-awake business man said a citizen of the city to a Messenger reporter this morning. The opening is in building apartment houses. Fort Dodge is the only city of its size in the state that has not a large number of these buildings.

I have had any number of traveling men tell me that they would make Fort Dodge their permanent place of residence if they could secure a flat in an apartment building near the main part of the city, where they, with their families could live. Of course we have a few of these houses, but I think that there is room for about twice as many. There are plenty of forty dollar houses that these men can rent, but a travelling (sic) man and his wife do not care to go into a large house, where the family is small, and the husband is away a great deal of the time.

Other Towns Have Them.

Other business men are alive to this situation and you can’t drive through the towns of the state without being struck by the large number of apartment houses and all occupied. They have provided a good business proposition. Here is a chance in Fort Dodge for some keen business man to build several of these buildings and make money. The traveling men like Fort Dodge and would make their headquarters h ere if they could get just the kind of places to live in that they want. This is one thing that beyond all doubt, Fort Dodge business men should wake up to.

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 14, 1903

Webster City Man’s Furniture

Attached by Officers for Debts Owed.

George Mackown, Manager of Northwestern Felt Shoe Company, Has Disappeared.

Webster City, Sept. 14 – The household goods of George Mackown, the ex-manager of the old Northwestern Felt Shoe Company, were taken in possession Friday by the sheriff on an attachment to secure payment of a $1,000 note held by the Hamilton County State Bank. All the property in the house was removed, including furniture, carpets, bedding, cooking utensils and bric-a-brac. This was probably the finest and most luxuriously furnished house in the city.

Included in the seizure were the piano and angelus valued at $700 ($16,764 today) and two leather chairs that cost $150 ($3,592 today). Everything went to satisfy the claims against the missing felt shoe factory manager. The horse and carriages had already been taken by the authorities to satisfy other claims and nothing now remains in the residence on Willson avenue.

Meanwhile, Mackown continues to flit from corner to corner of the continent. Recent information just received here says that he is at present in British Columbia, attempting to start a shoe factory in that locality. Reliable information has been received in this city to the effect that Mackown was not in SEattle at the time of the mailing of the letter which came to his attorney in this city some time ago. The letter was sent from New York to the Pacific coast city and there remailed by a friend.