Bisbee daily review., 1904-02-20
BOOMING THAT PAID
OHIO TOWN BeAuTIFIED AND BUILT
 UP BY ITS CITIZENS.
Originator of the Boom Tells How the Movement Was Started and What Was Accomplished When All Took n Hand In the Work.

! TOOK n Hand In the Work. You ask how we boomed our town
 said an Ohio man who haiis from one
 of the cleanest, neatest villages in the | Buckeye State. Well, 1 shall be glad
 to tell you and hope other towns may
 profit by it. My town has about 2,OOO | inhabitants and 400 or 800 buildings.
 Up to the time we began work. which was three years ago, at least half the buildings were unpainted. There
 wasn't what you might call a decent
 fence in front of any residence, nor
 could one find ten rods of good side walk. Hogs and cattle were allowed
 10 roam at large, the streets were full
 of holes, and our courthouse was a dis
 grace. It was what you might truth
 fully call a slipshod. ramshackle town.
 and it seemed as if everybody who
 could sell out was ready to do so and
 get away. There wasn't place in the
 town but that had gradually deterio-
 rated in value. and rival villages had
 drawn much of our trade.
 Well, it all began by my spea king
 to my wife and asking her to make a
 move in the matter. She got three or
 four other women interested, called a
 meeting. and committee was appoint ed. When they had got to work I called for q meeting of the men. and 1t was agreed that we should take hand and do something for the town. We first took hold of the streets and filled and graded them. That was done at public expense. as were also the repairs to the courthouse. Then we took. the sidewalks block by block. We got our lumber cheaper by contracting with one dealer, and the work was also done by one contractor. The next thing was the fences. and we pursued the same policy. The paint and oil were bought at wholesale and every citizen painted his own fence. One day twenty-twO women turned out and handled the brush all day long.
 "Of course we had a few Rip Van Wrinkles who wanted to continue their slumbers, but after few improve ments had been made they began walk ing up and doing their share. We started our work about the middle of April. Before snow fell we had made Q new town of it. Not a dwelling or fence was left unpainted. We had good walks. good streets, flowers and shrubs everywhere. and the railroad gave us q new depot of brick. The merchants woke up and began to put in plate glass fronts and to adver- ise, and all their lost trade came back md more with it.
 One of the things we did was to clean out all the wells in town There were nearly POO of them. and some of them had not been pumped out for twenty years. The year before we started in we had eighteen cases of typhoid fever. The year after we had not one single case. Some of the house holders had to run in debt to make their Improvements, but as an offset real estate is worth 9 per cent more today. Not only that, but several new business men and at least score of new families have come in, and we have got more new houses under way today than any other town of our size n the state. In place of the cows and logs we have flower beds and shrub Dery, and in place of weather beaten houses and decayed fences we look like l girl in her Sunday clothes. It took l lot of talking to get the thing started. md we almost had to use a crowbar on 'ome of the property owners. but we've got town now to brag of and are ,oing to keep it up and head the pro- ession." A B. LEWIS.