Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-05-24

enjoyable evening. Mrs. Brown and
her daughters were in their best spirits.
1t being dark and stormy, and their
house about forty rods from the Motor
we had a TIME getting to the house and
this hard experience brought out the
following original article from one of
our members and was read at our last
meeting held at the residence of Mr.
and Mrs. Demarais where we had q most
delightful meeting. The letter reads as
follows:
VILLAGE OF PODUNK.
MAY 10Th, 1888.
Ny DEAR "BLIzzARD."
[ had the Honor of an invitation
from the Grand Rapids association to
attend an outing of theirs, which was
held at the residence of Mr.. Milton
Brown upon Wednesday evening May
ID, and contrary to my usual custom in
such cases, I accepted and went.
This association is composed of some
half dozen or more families, some one
member of whom, at some remote
period of their existence, resided in the
City of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, or
else their Father or Mother did, at
any rate, to be admitted into this Society
you have got to know something about
the geographical position Of the Rapids,
situate and being in the State Of Wis
consin, .. S. A.
However vague and indefinite this
qualification may seem to an outsider, it
is the only requisit necessary, the
open sesame to a full fiedged member
ship in good and regular standing
among the Brethren. Nothing avails a
man or woman, however remote or
ancient, his or her pedigree may be, if
it does not in its meaDderings return to,
or become impregnated with the
REMEMBRANCE AT LEAST, of Grand
Rapids, Wis.
This society therefore is pre-eminently
seclusive in it's membership, is very
justly proud of its great antiquity, (and
although all the members are Young)
yet do they fondly revive associations
of We olden times, and rekindle reminis-
cences Of the past, with the assurance
and gravity Of an actual participant, in
scenes and incidents, which occurred
before they were born.
Fortunately for US, yet certainly, at
the time, UNKNOWN to us-we MARRIED
into this society, in our blushingyouth--
in the springtime, of our somewhat
chequered career-and NEVER KNEW IT.
We know it now, and also, several
other things, which we didn't know
then-we expect to be forgiven for a
very great many of them, and not the
least, by far is the reckless manner of
our introduction-thu it is that FATE
TOYS with our most sacred feelings, and
thus is greatness thrust upon us
unawares.
We belong to this association by
reason of our assumed relation to one
whose ancestral strain runs back, and
is lost in the dim vista of the past,
made glorious, by achieyments, whose
remembrance personates the woof and
fibre of these self same Rapids ere the
white man called them Grand--and yet
we are only a sort of left-handed
member We feel our BY PROXY
relation, feel it deeply and so when
the Vice President hailed us with the
query-goest thou to Browns tonight?
in anguish of spirit we replied-we
goest.
Unwillingly we became a party to
the raid on Browns, we ambled through
the rain and sIush and mud-madly bent
on taking the 7:3O P. NJ, train, but
missed it-not the rain and slush and
mud-but the train, in fact we don't
believe now, that there was train at
half-past Z, at any rate we saw nothing
as we approached the Junction, except
two long streaks Of track, which the
President solemnly assured US
LED to Browns. If you ever decide to
90 to Brown $50 in the evenlng-go
when the shadows lengthen into the
twilight and the due is on the cabbage
or better still, if you must 90, go in the
rain-go in a crowd-(misery loves
company miss the half past train i
you can and wait an hour to see the
next train ''play circus in running
around the depot. It's pleasant to wait
more so if it rains-and the expect
ancy Of sometime getting there, when
once you decide to go to Brown's) is
almost overpowerirg.
Then again, its not far to Browns
Brown lives just this side of Minnehaha
near the Gas Works-just where the
Motor track turns-a little beyond 3Sth
Street-near siding where the MoteI
stops-always stop here when you &C
to Brown 's-Brown lives on the Hill
beyond, in an open feld-across two
ditches-then, lover the garden WALL
and you're at Browns.
We were mad and tired, wet ard