The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1881-05-20
Reminisenees of ElnporIa.

Judge L. d. Bailey, an "oid timer"
editor of the Lawrence Daily Tribune,
was present at the opening of the Hotel
Coolidge, and furnished his paper with
a glowing account of that affair. The
Judge was resident of EmpoFia pre-
yious to our admission as n state and
while here was struck with the
great change which had taken place
since the early days, and this brought
on him the mood for "reminiscences.
We quote from the Tribune:
Tribune readers will pardon me for
writing SO much in regard to Emporia,
for / feel a sort of paternal interest IN
her history. I first saw the infant town
in August 1857, when she had but four
buildings of any size in the center OF
her mile square of vacant lots. These
buildings were two small one-story frame
stores, q two story frame hotel,
two-story frame printing office,
both of the latter unfinished, barely
weather-boarded and rooted in, and both
still standing and in use, though pushed
back from their respective corners.
have lived in Kansas more than twenty
four years and dealt largely in real es-
tate, while the laying out of new towns
has been the rage, and yet l never own
ed town-lot in but three towns IN my
life, namely Emporia, Lawrence and
Lyndon, all three the prosperous
county seats of three great counties.
EmpOria was my first love and cannot
look upon her wondrous growth with
out a feeling of pride bordering on en-
thuslasm. I have still another reason for
| rejoicing in her prosperity. l made
1 of fhiV.Rl her hahRlf
| that doubtless seemed extraYagant to
those who heard it, but is now justified
| by her splendid growth. l will tell the
story of that prophecy and close this
letter already too long.
1t was on the 4Lh of July 1853. We
had made great preparations TO celebrate
| the nations birthday, and Hon. Martin
F. Conway was TO deliver the Grafton.
| We knew there would be a very large
crowd in attendance, for it had been
| we'll advertised and there was to be q
| free dinner for all corners! Free din
ners in those days were sure to draw.
| Mr.. Conway came the day before hand,
/ but he said he had prepared no adj
dress not expecting to meet more
/ than a hundred or two in so small a
place, and we were afraid the intellectu-
al part of the feast would fall below the
expectation of the audience. 1t occur
red to me to write something to pass for
poetry, which would flatter the vanity
of each locality represented, and
tend to conciliate good feeling towards
the town, which was not then, but hoped
to become, the county seat, so wrote al
midnight column or two of doggerel
entitled "Words of Welcome or some
thing of the sort, had it handed up tC
me as president of the day. and read il
from the platform as an anonymous pro
duction, just seen for the first time. II
took very well, for the audience had nc
time to criticise, and were too good ma
tured to do so. II dwelt upon the triall
and sufferings of the Kansas pioneer, and
then drew hopeful prophetic picture O
the future after this manners:
s'Hope tells q fatt ering tale,
Shall well repay, for all our tolls and tears
that after years,
Shall stand state in freedoms sisterhood;
| Then shall Emporia, so Hope whispers still
Grown with her dwellings ali this goodl.
? hill;
Here shall proud Commerce hold;
Here Industry walks hand in hand with Art
Here star-eyed Science fix her chosen at,
Humanity here find sure retreat;
Hero pure Religion fans her holy fires,
= Here rear temples, here erect her spires,
Y To point the hayward heart the narrow roa
That leads TO happiness and leads to Cod
The Emporia of to-day more than ju;
: titles the hopeful prophecy of twenty
( three years ago. The new congregations
/, church Or. Cordley's) is an ornament I
the city, and the new Methodist church
now building, will probably be sti
: dral and Convent, the new railroad d.
pot, and half hundred new dwellin
G houses keep up the boom.
4