Archive for the ‘Otho’ Category

17
Aug

Telephone Line Finished

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The Fort Dodge Messenger: Aug. 17, 1906

Telephone Line Finished

The New Selective Farm Line South of City Finished Yesterday — First of Kind Outside City

The final work in establishing the new selective farm telephone line, southeast of the city, was completed late yesterday aftrnoon (sic), by the Iowa Telephone company. It is the first line of the kind to be established out of the city by the Iowa company, and is the beginning of a series which will radiate into the country in various directions. It is a result of the work of L.A. Townsend, special solicitor for the Iowa Telephone company, out of Des Moines.

The line extends from Fort Dodge to a point between Kalo and Otho. It is strictly a party line, and is composed of two wires, with five telephones on each wire. It is what is known as the metallic circuit line, which provided for each party of it long distance telephone service. On calling into the central office in the city the service is the same as though the telephone were in Fort Dodge, with the advantage of long distance service.

23
Feb

Midget Passes Away at Otho

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The Fort Dodge Messenger: Feb. 23, 1906

Midget Passes Away at Otho

Iowas Smallest Baby Dies After Only Couple Days of Life.

The little baby boy born to Mrs. and Mrs. John Ford at Otho pased (sic) away Thursday. This little child was born Monday and only weighed one and a half pounds. The child was heralded as the smallest child born in this state. it was never strong and at no time was there any hope entertained that the child could live.

The funeral occurred the same day as tis death and only a short service was held. The mother’s condition is yet bad and for this reason the services were very brief.

The exact measurements of the midge was not taken, so it will never be known. The child, however, was not very much smaller than the ordinary small baby, but had apparently no flesh. Its weight was below the two pound mark, which in itself is a record.

(Editor’s note: I’m not sure why they termed the baby a midget, since he died shortly after birth and I doubt that condition could be recognized that soon, especially with the state of medical knowledge at the time. I could be wrong. But it’s interesting to see how much knowledge has been gained in just over 100 years – babies of this weight are not routine, but they do live, often with no permanent damage from premature birth.)

9
Jul

Otho Township People Celebrate

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The Fort Dodge Messenger: July 9, 1904

Otho Township People Celebrate

This is the Day Given Over to Commemoration of Arrival of Pioneers.

Event Takes Up Whole Day

The Old Settlers Will Be Joined by the Younger Generation in Celebration There of the Days of Auld Lang Syne.

Today at the N.H. Hart home southeast of Otho, will occur a birthday party that will also commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of a band of pioneer settlers in Otho township. The read date of the arrival of the party was in June, but owing to another social event which occurred in the neighborhood on that date, the present gathering was postponed and is to occur on July 9, the birthday of N.H. Hart.

This party of early settlers arrived in Webster county in June, 1854, when the present city of Fort Dodge consisted of only four or five little log houses and this place as the county seat had scarcely received consideration. These settlers came to Webster county at a time when it required nearly every man in the county to be present at a “house raising.”

Beside the old settlers whose names appear below there will be many of the younger generation present, the children, grandchildren and other relatives of those named, who have come into the world at far more recent dates. The gathering will be largely in the form of a family reunion, as all present will be related either by blood ties or marriage.

The event will take up the entire day and will be entirely of a social nature. A big dinner will be one of the important events of the day, and the old timers will spend the remainder of the time in chatting of the early times when “forty miles to mill” was a short journey.

The old setters expected to be present are:

O.P. Fuller, Mrs. D.F. Claflin, F.B. Drake, G.D. Hart, L.W. Hart, Williams, Iowa.