The Fort Dodge Messenger: April 25, 1904

Interesting Sights at the Pottery

Improvement Has Been Made Over the Old Order of Things.

Filter Press Latest Thing

Description of Method of Making Stoneware – Rapid Work by the Men.

A large filter press has been installed in the pottery of the Fort Dodge Stoneware company. the functions of this press is to separate all the impurities from the clay. The clay when put into this press is in its ordinary state. During the process is it forced thru several fine screens by which all foreign substances are removed. Following this process the clay is placed in a large vat, with sides which allow water to pass thru while at the same time retaining the clay. The water is forced thru these sides by a pressure of one hundred pounds to the square inch. A peculiar and interesting fact is that when the water comes from the vat it is as clear as crystal, although it has been forced from clay.

When the clay is taken from the filter press, it is very stiff and has not a particle of water in it. It is then placed in another machine and mixed with a small quantity of water and stirred until the desired firmness and texture is reached, when it is taken to the rooms in which it is to be made into crockery.

The filter press is to take the place of a grinding machine which only grinds up the impurities and does not remove them. By the use of the new machine, in the future no rough surface or foreign substances will be found in the products of the Fort Dodge Stoneware Company.

After the clay has reached the room in which it is to be made into crockery it is worked by hand if it is to be made into jars. Then it is placed on a revolving board and to the eye of the spectator as if by magic a jar is seen to form without an apparent movement of the clay moulder’s hand. But if the moulder is watched closely it can be seen that he forms the clay by gradually forcing it into the desired shape.

The only things made by this process are the large jars and fancy wares, such as flower pots, etc. the small jars, milk pans, butter jars, etc., are made by machinery. The clay is put into a small mould and a large stick is dropped in the mould and the clay is quickly formed int he desired shape.

The jugs are made in two sections, the lower section being made a great deal on the same plan, the greatest difference being in the mold. After the two sections are made the two molds are fastened together and then placed in a dryer. After being in there for a given length of time they are taken out and the molds taken off and the handle is put on. They then are put in a dryer again and after being removed are glazed. The upper part of the jug and the inside is glazed with a mixture of Michigan and Alabama clay which gives it a brown color. The lower part is glazed with a white substance which makes the lower part of the jug a brown color. This process of glazing is called “slipping” by the employees of the pottery. Then the jug or other article is ready to be taken to the kiln to be baked.

About 800 jugs can be made by an expert jug maker in a day and he has three assistants who take the jugs to the dryer, get the moulds ready for him and put the handles on the jugs. An expert can make about 800 milk pans and butter crocks a day, while the larger crocks and fancy ware take much longer time to make.

A fact that seems marvelous is the very great weight of clay needed to make the different products. The clay in a thirty gallon jub weighs about 120 pounds and the jug completed weighs about the same.

A large line of sample goods is always kept on hand at the pottery and a very good display of them is made. A visit to the sample room makes a person think that everything that is possible to be made out of clay is made at the local pottery.

(Editor’s note: A recent Messenger article about the Fort Museum states that a replica of the showroom will be built at the museum to show off goods of the Fort Dodge Stoneware Company.)

The Fort Dodge Messenger: April 24, 1906

Cent. Ave. Cement Walks

Council Take up Matter Last Night – No Action Taken by The Body.

The project of cement walks on Central avenue which has been a contended point with the city council for several weeks was again brought up, when near the close of the regular council meeting, the body as a whole met in a grievance meeting.

A number of Central avenue property owners were present in the council room, and several offered objections. They state that cement walks are gradually coming to be the thing on the main streets and that in a short time they will be put in by all without the council taking action. the grievance meeting was closed after hearing the objections without action being taken. A member of the city council stated today that the probabilities were strong that an ordinance requiring cement walks on both sides of Central avenue would be passed at the next meeting.

The Fort Dodge Messenger: April 18, 1903

L.E. Armstrong Begins Drilling for Gypsum

Is Prospecting Land With View to Determining Location of New Mill.

Drilling for gypsum has begun on the land southeast of the city, which was recently purchased by L.E. Armstrong with the intention of establishing a new gypsum mill. Mr. Armstrong has not as yet prospected about thirty acres of the land purchased by him, and the work is now being carried on with the intention of finding the thickness and location of the veins of gypsum rock.

It is expected that the result of the prospecting which is now being carried on, will be to determine the location of the mill. The drilling is being done by Tom Irvin.

The Fort Dodge Messenger: April 8, 1903

Price of Shaves Has Gone Up

Climbs 5 Cents in Ladder of Prices as Result of Meeting of Barbers’ Union

New Rate Card Formulated

No Charge Will be Made by Barbers for Neck Shaves Under New Price System

Hereafter the Fort Dodge citizen who takes pleasure in reclining in the barber chair, while deft fingers remove the hirsute growth which adorn his manly cheeks, will pay fifteen cents for that privilege, instead of ten cents, as has been his custom heretofore. To counterbalance the increase in the price of shaves, the tariff on the neck shave is taken off, and the customer can have one when desired, without cost.

This is the most important action taken by the barbers union at their meeting on Tuesday evening, at which a new rate card was formulated. The new prices go into effect just as soon as the rate cards are printed.

The barbers also decided to close at 11 o’clock on Saturday night hereafter.

“The barbers raised the price of shaves because everything else has gone up,” said one of the barbers today. “It costs us more to live, and we have not been taking in any more than we did in the days when things were cheap.”

The prices as published on the new card, which was issued today, are as follows:

The Fort Dodge Messenger: April 2, 1906

Webster County Coal Mines Idle

Coal Barons as Well as People in the Grasp of the Shortage.

Not Fifty Ton in the City

“Only a Few Ton on Hand” say most of Dealers – About Two Hundred Men In This Locality Out – Ten Mines closed Down.

Fort Dodge is, or shortly will be, in the grasp of the coal situation. Pursuant to agreement made among miners and operators all local mines are shut down pending agreement at the joint conference of miners and operators in Des Moines.

Fort Dodge coal dealers who have been on the verge of a shortage for weeks, owing to the gradually tightening marking report today that that shortage in local conditions is practically at hand. One dealer stated to a Messenger reporter today that he did not think there were more than fifty tons on hand among the dealers of the entire city.

Each retailer when asked about his supply comes forth with the reply, “Only a few tons left” and in some cases, “All out” is given.

Orin W. Collins reports that his company is totally out. The Gleason company have a similar report, and McClure coal company, Parel Coal company, Townsend and Merrill, Butler and Rhodes, and numerous others say their supply is running low. Graig Coal company, John Amond and a few others have a fair supply on hand.

Fortunately the private coal consumption for the year is nearly done with and all the large consumers are supplied against emergency. Some two hundred men through the county are out of employment and ten or more mines are shut down.

The Fort Dodge Messenger: April 1, 1904

Will Be an Army of Unemployed

Estimated That Nearly 1500 Men May Soon Be Idle in Webster County.

Will Be Felt in This City

Most of Men Either Live Here or in Vicinity and Counties Tributary.

As nearly as can be estimated at this time, about 1,400  men will be thrown out of employment in Webster county alone if the coal strike continues for any considerable length of time. There are in all something like 600 miners and men dependent on the coal industry for employment. Besides these there are the men employed in the brick yards, the gypsum mills, and other like industries, which cannot be run without coal.

There is little coal ahead at any of these institutions, and if the prospects for a settlement of the mining difficulties do not look bright within a few days, there will be no kilns fired at the brick yards. In such an event, the kilns all being full, the yards must of necessity be closed down. This would throw 150 to 200 men out of employment here in the city of Fort Dodge. There are two yards at Kalo and four at Lehigh, employing at least 175 men. These would also be forced to quit work for the same reasons.

The stucco mills of this city, it is estimated, employ all the way from 300 to 600 men and should all the mills close down as a result of the strike, as they will undoubtedly be forced to do unless they are able to secure coal for their boilers and for firing their kettles, these men also will be added to the list of the unemployed, bringing the number up to nearly a thousand and a half in the county. The result of so many unemployed men would be greatly felt in Fort Dodge, as practically the whole county is more or less tributary, and more than half the men affected are actual residents of the city or immediate vicinity.

The Fort Dodge Messenger: March 29, 1904

The Niagara Cafe Will be Remodeled

New Front to Be Built and Many Changes Planned for Interior of Building.

The Niagara cafe is to be remodeled and made thoroughly up-to-date. The present front will be replaced by a single plate glass with a corner entrance. the partition will be taken out and the basement fitted up for a kitchen. Six booths will be built in the room, three on each side, finished in oak, where a private dinner may be served. Each booth will accommodate four persons. A table seating eight persons will occupy the center of the room. The lunch counter will be moved to the rear of the building, now occupied by the kitchen.

The Fort Dodge Messenger: March 26, 1903

H.A. Sampson is threatened with typhoid fever.

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Lester Heywood was in Fort Dodge over Sunday. -Manson Democrat

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The office of the Prusia Hardware company is being thoroughly cleaned and repainted.

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Marriage licenses were issued at the county clerks office Wednesday to the following persons: Frank Mars and Anna Jacobson of Boxholm, also to Fred B. Lynde of Stratford and Stella E. Eslick of Warner, Iowa.

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Charles Bobziene, a teamster, while standing on load of coal Wednesday, slipped and lost his balance from a sudden jerk of the horses. He fell to the pavement and sustained a severe sprain of his ankle.

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At a recent meeting of the base ball enthusiasts of Tobin college, Terry Doyle was elected captain and Alpha Butts manager. Captain Doyle hopes to have his line-up ready at an early date, so a schedule of games may be arranged.

The Fort Dodge Messenger: March 26, 1903

Will Open a Broom Factory

Fort Dodge Commercial Club Completes Arrangements With a Promising New Industry

Will Open Here on April 1

Factory is to be Operated by Brennan Bros., One of Whom Comes From Waterloo

Fort Dodge is to have a new factory by April 1. A Waterloo man haas decided that Fort Dodge is a better place to live, and as a result Brennan Brothers propose to come to this city to establish a broom factory.

One of the brothers makes his home in Waterloo. The other lives at some place near that city. The factory which they propose to put in will employ four or five men from the start, and it is expected that it will be gradually increased, as the out put for Fort Dodge brooms expands.

Brennan Brothers will probably secure one of the Laufersweiler buildings on First Avenue south, across from Sherman’s laundry, as the point in which they will begin their business operations.

The Commercial club, as a meeting held on Wednesday evening, talked over the broom factory proposition, and decided that it was a worthy enterprise, and should be extended the hand of fellowship by Fort Dodge industries.

The factory comes to Fort Dodge without a bonus of any kind. Its projectors are simply content to get into a bustling town and take their chances of the success which they are sure will come their way.

(Editor’s note: It’s interesting to see an article about a new business, and that the Commercial Club encouraged new businesses, much like the Fort Dodge Area Chamber of Commerce and the Development Corporation of Fort Dodge and Webster County do today. It’s also interesting that the newspaper noted that there were no financial incentives offered by the city, but the company just wanted to locate the broom factory here.)