The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1897-06-17
As his father states, .he had troub-
le enough during his life, and he was
not altogether to blame"
OLD SETTLERS.
Seventeenth Anniversary at Peter
CORES Farm.

Seventeenth Anniversary at Peter
CORES Farm.
The Seventeenth annual gathering
of the old settlers of Willow Lake and
Shutdown townships, occurred at the
beautiful farm home of Mr.. and Mrs.
Peter CORES last Thursday. The
crowd was not as large as it might
have been, undoubtedly owing to the
threatening weather and light rain
that fell in the morning. This, at
first, seemed to have the effect of adj
journing the picnic, but about ten
o'clock the clouds cleared away, and
the sun came out, and patriotic old
settlers started for the CORES farm
determined to enjoy as much of the
pleasure as could be derived out of
the crowd present.
Mr.. and Mrs. CORES, assisted by
their children, had made all arrange
ments for the affair. The grove just
north OF the large residence, had been
cleaned and put in first-class shape,
while all available barn room had
been made by turning their own
horses out to pasture. The big barn
on the east of the house was being en-
larged and the uncompleted addition
served as protection to additional
teams that arrived.
One old settler had arrived early.
He had a benign countenance, with
gray whiskers, shaven on the upper
half of his face, hair gray, wearing
the easiest kind of footwear. He was
the President of the Old Settlers AS
ISOLATION of those two towns, G. w.
Whelan. He has resided in Willow
Lake for ~ years, coming there when
there we're but very few people in that
section. He went through all the
hardships of the early pioneer, and
has arrived at that period of life when
he can rest as he pleases and enjoy
life in his own sweet way. Over 70
years have passed by since he first
saw the light of day, and as he re-
marked to GAZETTE reporter, II be-
lieve that the last q years of my life
have been as pleasant as any. I am
glad that I live in Redwood county,
and am glad that l am a pioneer.
The hardships that I have endured
make my later life all the more pleas
ant" Mr.. Whelan cannot hear very
we'll, and he walks with a feeble step,
but his characteristics of old age are
respected by the neighbors and their
children.
At II o'clock Thursday all present
INDUCED in a basket picnic at the
grove, excepting those not having
baskets, land they we're invited into
the residence of Mr.. and Mrs. CORES,
where dinner was served. Over 100
people we're served at the tables in the
residence and outdoors, and the bill of
fare included chicken, ham, weiner
wurst, potatoes, garden truck of all
kinds, several kinds of cake, as many
different kinds of pie, and the tea and
coffee at the bottom of the bill. Two
days before Mrs. CORES and Miss
Josephine CORES assisted at the
Starken-Altermatt wedding, where
800 people were cared for, and re-
turned home only to commence prep
arations for the picnic. The work
done was remarkable.
After dinner the crowd adjourned
to the grove, where platform and
seats had been arranged by the proper
committee, and where the program of
the afternoon was carried out. The
first of the program was song by the
choir-Misses Callaghan, Annie and
Caroline Tonak, and Messrs. Callaghan,
Louis Onstad and Emil Tonak, with
Miss Eta Baker of this city at the
organ. Then came a five minute
speech by Judge Baldwin, who spoke
of the early days of the county, when
in order to drive through the section
where he was then and to Marshall, he
and D. L. Bigham found it necessary
to be guided by the compass, because
there we're no roads and no land marks
by which to be guided. He spoke of
his settlement in Waseca county in
1859, when he was obliged to go bare
foot for six months a year, and eat
cornmeal. He raised some wheat one
year, and with a neighbor hauled it to
the mill sixty miles away, tit requir-
ing all day to go to the mill,) getting