The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 21, 1903

Potato Famine Has Been Broken

And Joy Reigns in the Kitchens of Fort Dodge Once More.

Is Dry Enough to Dig Them

And As a Consequence Plenty of Mealy Tubers Come on Market.

Joy reigns supreme in the hearts of the Fort Dodge housewife today – the potato famine is broken.

After a week’s almost total absence, the ever edible tubers are again with us and once more occupy a prominent place on the boarding house table, as well as on the bill of fare of the ordinary home dinner table.

As has been stated, potatoes were off the market for a while last week, after the long continued rainy weather, and were hard to secure during the latter part of the week, but today murphies may again be had without any particular standin (sic) with the grocery man.

Beginning at a dollar a bushel ($24), the first of last week and steadily advancing until they could not be purchased for love or money, and closing the week at $1.25 ($30) potatoes were scarce all week, but the price has dropped to $1 today and dealers are looking forward to a further decline.

The return of ideal weather has besides saving the corn crop, brought about the return of the potato. The recent famine was due entirely to the rains, it being impossible to dig potatoes in damp ground, and almost similar conditions had prevailed in Minnesota, where Iowa receives most of her supply. Now that the ground is in condition to be worked, farmers are bringing many into the city and a car of Minnesotas was received today at one of the local commission houses, so that no one need be without potatoes today.

The crop is said to be bad in this vicinity this year, the wet weather having rotted many of the tubers, but a good harvest is looked for in Minnesota and the western states, so that the present figure of $1 per bushel can not continue long.

Tags: 1903

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 21, 1903

Monday Morning’s Police Court

The Usual Number of People Charged With Law’s Violation Before Mayor.

Charge Theft and Drinking

Man Fined $7.25 for Beating His Horses Unmercifully and Using Profanity.

A gray haired man over fifty years old was arrested by the police this morning upon information from the sheriff of Pocahontas county, who had warned local officers to be on the lookout for the man whose name was Frank Emmons who had absconded from Fonda, on last Saturday, having in his possession a large quantity of upholstering tools, leather and cloth furniture coverings which he h ad stolen from a furniture dealer of that place, leaving town upon the same day.

The supposition of the Fonda sheriff that Emmons had come to Fort Dodge was correct for three grips, containing the described articles were found at the American Express office this morning, and Emmons was arrested shortly after when he came after the grips. The Fonda officers have been notified and will come to the city tonight to conduct Emmons to that place.

Emmons seems peculiar as if he were not in his right mind. He explains the matter by saying that he is out on the road, got drunk, and just landed in Fort Dodge. The value of the articles stolen would amount to over $25 ($599 today). Emmons has two new suits of clothing and two pair of shoes in his possession but only sixty cents ($14.37) in cash.

Stealing a kit of tools from his employer an hour after he had received employment on the plea that he was hungry is the crime Jack Ryan will be charged with in police court Tuesday morning. Ryan, who is a stranger here got a job cleaning gasoline stoves from M. Rhyne, proprietor of a second hand store on first avenue south this morning, after completing the work and receiving his pay stole the tools, so it is said, that he had used to clean the stoves, Mr. Rhyne being too busy at the time to notice their absence.

Ryan was later in the day arrested for drunkenness and the tools, the missing of which Mr. Ryne had reported to the police, were found in his possession.

Elmer Porter, a teamster, also figured in police court this morning. Porter was charged with disturbing the public quiet and using profane language.

The charges were filed by Mrs. Richadr (Richard) Linthel, who lives hear Porter on the round prairie. Mrs. Linthel also testified that Porter was often guilty of mistreating his horses.

Porter was let off with the costs of the case or $7.25 ($174).

Tags: 1903, Emmons, Linthel, Porter, Rhyne, Ryan, Ryne

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.

Tags: 1903, Mackown

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 10, 1903

May Be The Stolen Horse

Possible Clue to Incendiary of the Ricke Fire

Horse Answering Description of One Stolen Being Held by Authorities in Omaha.

A horse answering exactly to the description of the one stolen from the Ricke livery barn on Saturday, the night when the stable burned, has been located in Omaha, where a man was seen driving the animal on Saturday morning, only a few hours after the fire.

Immediately upon the discovery of the theft, cards were sent thruout the county giving a description of the missing animal. Russell McGuire today received a letter from his brother, D.O. McGuire, stating that a horse in every particular answering the description of the one stolen from the Ricke barn, was seen on the streets of Omaha on Saturday morning.

The animal has been held and the matter will be investigated. Of course, the horse may be another, but horses which are just alike are very rare. If it is the same animal, the authorities are at a loss to know how it could have been tranoprted (sic) to Omaha so soon. It could not have been driven there in that short time, and it does not seem likely that it would have been shipped within so few hours, Ricke being positive that the horse was not taken out of the barn before the early morning when the fire occurred. For this reason the officers are not putting much faith in the hope that the animal and the man guilty of putting to death eleven dumb brutes by an awful torture, simply to steal a horse, will be secured by this clue.

However the horse has been held, and the particulars will be inquired into.

Tags: 1903, McGuire, Ricke

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 10, 1903

Comply With Fire Escape Ordinance

Nearly Every Building in the City is Now Protected Against Fire.

Four Buildings Without Them

Owners of Two Buildings are Fined for not Obeying the Law.

Inhabitants of Fort Dodge “sky scrapers,” need no longer have any fear of waking up in the middle of the night disturbed by the alarm of fire and finding that there is no other means of escape besides the burning stairway, or windows high above the street.

The city fire escape ordinance passed last April in accordance with the state law is now practically enforced in Fort Dodge. There are only four buildings in the city, which on account of their size come under the law, unprovided with fire escapes of sufficient size and number to allow the inmates in event of a fire a mode of escape.

Two of the delinquents, the Great Western Cereal Company and the Green-Wheeler Shoe company have been fined the amount provided by law, $1 and costs, $10 per week afterward until fire escapes are put up. The other delinqent (sic), the Midland life Insurance Co., which has been ordered to appear on charge of disobeying the law and the fourth owner, Harry Sanderson, who is prevented from putting  up the escape on his building until the permission of the government is secured, the escapes being placed on the west side of the Sanderson black which borders on the postoffice grounds. It is necessary to secure the consent of the government before the work can be done.

All of the Central avenue business blocks of three or more stories, with the exception of the above named, have complied with the ordinance and the contracts for the escapes on the shoe factory have been let and work will commence as soon as the material arrives. The Great Western Cereal Company had provided the mill with one fire escape but this has been considered insufficient, so that more will have to be put in. The work of doing this will begin Thursday.  The Midland Insurance company has ordered the material and will have the apparatus u p within a few weeks. As soon as government permission is secured the fire escapes will be placed on the Sanderson block.

The most expensive escapes not put in are those on the court house. These are of the nature of a steel stairway and cost $450. One escape is placed on the east and one on the soth (sic) side of the building.

The Des Moines Bridge and Iron Works has held contracts for the majority of the work. The contracts signed by this company here would run into the thousands. the cost of the fire escapes for a building varies from $80 to $500 depending on the number and kind used and whether or not a stand pipe is put in.

The ordinance was passed by the council in the early spring. Notices were served on property owners on April first that the escapes must be in by June 1, but delay in the carrying out of the contracts by the construction companies has caused a postponement in the enforcement of the ordinance.

Tags: 1903

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 10, 1903

Schnurr – Jankans Nuptials

An Interesting But Quiet Ceremony Takes Place.

Dr. W.G. Jankans and Miss Belle Schnurr United in Marriage on Wednesday Evening.

On Wednesday evening at 8 o’clock, attended by only a few intimate friends of the bride and groom, occurred the marriage of Dr. Wilber G. Jankans and Miss Belle Schnurr of Otho. The ceremony was performed by Rev. C.H. Remington, in the apartments of Mr. and Mrs. S.C. Johnson, in the Oleson block.

After the wedding a supper was served, following which Mr. and Mrs. Jankans left for the Central depot, where they took the midnight train for the east. They will visit various points of interest before returning to the city in about four weeks, among the places to be visited being the doctor’s old home in Virginia.

Both bride and groom are well known in the city.  The bride’s home is in Otho, but for several years she had made her home with her sister, Mrs. S.C. Johnson in this city. Dr. Jankans has been one of the most prominent professional men of the city, having been located here for over twelve years.

Tags: 1903, Jankans, Johnson, Remington, Schnurr

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 5, 1903

The Laboring Man Will Have His Day

Fort Dodge Will have a Big Celebration on Monday, Labor Day.

The Unions are at the Head

To Have Charge of Celebration and Expect to Have a Big Day.

Not only the workingmen, but the city in general, will celebrate on Labor Day, Monday. In the atfernoon (sic) business will be at a standstill, all of the Central avenue business houses having agreed to close from 12 until 5 in the afternoon. The furniture and hardware dealers will not open up after 12, and the lumber yards will remained closed during the entire day. Appointed as a committee by the labor unions of the city, L.E. Hurlbut called on all of the merchants this morning and found them glad and willing to sign the above agreement.

Being a legal holiday the saloons and banks will be closed and short hours will be in effect at the postoffice as follows: The general delivery will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The carriers will make a business delivery at 8 a.m. and the usual forenoon residence delivery and deliver mail at their windows from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Business collections will be made at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Nearly all the factories and shops in the city will shut down.

There will be no issue of the Messenger.

Everything indicates that Monday will be a day of great festivities for the labor unions. The elaborate program arranged by the trades and labor assembly will be carried out to the letter. The celebration will begin at 10 o’clock in the morning with a grand labor parade. Several thousand union men will march, and prizes will be offered for the best appearing local union. Hundreds of union men from surrounding towns will also be in the city, the railroads having made special rates to and from Fort Dodge.

All of the exercises will be held at the park and race track. A feature of the morning will be the address by M.F. Healy. The ball game between Fort Dodge and Waterloo in the afternoon will start at 3 o’clock. The diamond willl (sic) be on the race track in front of the grand stand. The judges stand and fence have been removed and the grounds put into first class condition. Music by two bands and the Oleson orchestra and a dance will also be among the attractions. the time in the afternoon will be well taken up with the various athletic contests scheduled. Liberal prizes have been offered to the winners of all the events. The day promises to be one long remembered by the union men of Fort Dodge and vicinity.

Tags: 1903, Healy, Hurlbut, Labor Day

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Sept. 3, 1903

Woolsey Pursues the Dog Thieves

Deputy Sheriff Does the Nick Carter Act and Returns Canine to Owner.

The Thieves Are Found

Emigrants Steal Prize Puppy from Farm House, But Are Caught.

Deputy Sheriff Woolsey is the hero of a dog story which runs as follows:

Wednesday afternoon a party of emigrants passing thru Iowa stopped in the vicinity of the Ben Eaton farm near Judd, intending to have dinner at that place. Finding no one at home, the family being in the field, the travelers possessed themselves of a small amount of corn, a fine bird dog, valued at $25 and then started peacefully on their way.

The dog belonged to W.J. Pressler, a farm hand who highly prized the animal and was greatly angered when returning from the field he found his canine pet missing. Some women who had been working in a field nearby, saw the abduction and informed the Eatons of the same.

Eaton and the dog’s owner immediately started in pursuit of the emigrants and caught up with them in the evening two miles from the poor farm. The campers, however, declared their innocence and would not produce the dog.

A warrant was then procured, from Justice Martin and Deputy Sheriff Woolsey and Russel McGuire, together with the two men, went out to where the purloiners of the pup had pitched camp. All denied that they had even seen a dog within the last three days, but Deputy Woolsey thought he detected a faint howl in the nearby woods. Finding a fresh path leading to where a dog’s vocal organs were apparently at work he came upon a small boy guarding the stolen animal. The boy admitted stealing the dog.

The men of the party were brought to the city where they plead guilty and were fined $1 and cost, amounting in all to $14.50. In order to raise this it was necessary for them to sell a pony.

It would be hard to tell which was the happiest, the dog or his master, Pressler when the brute was restored to its rightful owner.

(Editor’s note: Nick Carter is a fictional detective who first appeared in a dime novel in 1886.)

Tags: 1903, Eaton, Pressler, Woolsey

The Fort Dodge Messenger: Aug. 20, 1903

Sends Wolf Pelt by Mail

Lehigh Man’s Novel Plan to Pay His Taxes

Asks That County Treasurer Apply on His Taxes the Bounty of $4 Allowed for Skins

“Please apply enclosed wolf pelts on my taxes,” reads a communication from Lehigh received at the office of the county treasurer today.

The county auditor has them on his hands which have been transferred to this keeping by the county treasurer. The pelts are those of young wolves, and are worth $2 each, the bounty paid by the county. The name of the Lehigh man who has resorted to this novel manner to pay his taxes is withheld by the recipient of the letter.

The wolf pelts were wrapped in paper and sent by mail. The bounty of $4, however, cannot be applied to the taxes until the pelts are personally sworn to.

(Editor’s note: The wolf pelt bounty would be about $96 today.)

Tags: 1903