The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-09-27
VILLAGE OF BIG PEOPLE.
Remarkable Tendency of the People
Of Servia to Obesity.

Wabash Special to St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
With a population Of exactly 206, Servia,
a village in the northeastern part of this
county on the line OF the Chicago q Erie
Railway, has twelve men who weigh more
than 2r pounds and some of them tip the
beam at very nearly 300. The names, occu-
paIions and weight of these corpulent deni-
zens of the quiet hamlet are as follows:
Frank Hockensmith, railroad man, 2S8;
Homer Sims, sawmill hand. 30; Rudy Mid
gardener, 2i5; John Myerhoffer, saw tier,
zlS; James Sims, teamster, 2l2; Chris Stel-
lar. grocer, 80; Frank Ward, barber. 2ol:
Henry Aughinbaugh, farmer, 24; John Mid
dleton, farmer, a2.
Nor is this remarkable tendency to obesity
In the community confined TO the men. The
stranger who visits the place cannot but
be impressed, as he strolls down the single
business street from the station, with the
extraordinary number of large women. A
count of noses among the feminine portion
OF the community who carry more than the
average of adipose reveals no fewer than
80 fe a5S Whe Som nw0ir esRPantr VIII bo ra n from fora
bids the publication of the names of the
ladies Of superfiuous flesh. The town has
two hotels. and the landlady at each cara
vansary serves as a most attractive adver-
tisement of the quality and quantity of the
daily bill of fare, since each calls for 200
w niSiinan wne snert she steps upon the scales.
gent inhabitants of the place fails TO dis
cover an explanation of this popular in.
c~lination to fleshiness. The doctors around
SA0t a4hiO ~ SIC HaN@At
because that beverage is VIGOROUSLY bad.
and not enough of the same is drunk to
stitution. The air is the same as that
inhaled at Bippus. Bolivar and Spikerville,
all within a few miles Of Servia, yet In
those towns the lean predominant to such
an extent that one of Servia's t~wo-hundred-
Founders would be viewed as a freak were
he to visit these places. The boys and girls
are their parents, and the number of plump
and pleasing maidens who are getting OIL
rapidly toward the two-hundred mark is
But while Servia's inhabitants as indi-
viduals grow large of girth and lusty. while
the heavy tread Of the citizens as they roll
Earth. groan. the town itself shrinks. Its
population, 300 a year or two ago, is now
dvindling to 200 and bids fair to fall below
1t. Though the aggregate weight of the
town on the scales may equal that of two
years ago, 1t is numerically declining. Pos
sibly on the Malthusian theory of popula-
to eat per capita as their number dimin-
ishes. and in eating more thrive the bet
ter:
the occasional s%quabbles that occur in the
community, the people are impervious TO
the exciting influences which set the world
topsy-turvy has much to do with their ro-
tundity of person. Each day of the year
is like the one that precedes and like the
one which follows II. The country round
about is fertile, the farmers in the neigh
borhood are thrifty and the resident of the
village who can't get from the world the
living that 1t owes him is no true Servian.
With plenty to eat, enough clothing to keep
him warm and a roof to protect him, both
ering himself little concerning the news
from outside his township, working just
enough to afford an appetite and a perfect
digestion, small wonder that the men of
Servia. are great men and occupy a larger
space in the community than those of any
other tow in all the broad land.
There is. no occasion to organize don't
worry clubs in Servia. The inhabitants
pnyor Lee r,nod the daGni4ian nf tha xr1rJ II 80
any man in the mad whirl of business and
social life In a large city separate him.
self completely from business cares and
locate in Servia; let him adopt the mode
of life of It's inhabitants and no matter
how acute his attack of nervous prostra-
ton. no matter how thin and dyspeptic he
may be, he will inevitably pick up in flesh
and If he become a genuine Servian in his
habits. tastes. diet, vocation and accom-
~plishments. he may be sure that with entire
mental relaxation will come physical bulk
and IL he can't attain to the magnitude OF
Mr.. Hockensmith, with his 2ss pounds, he
can rival Mr.. Aughinbaugh. with his paltry
POI.