Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-08-06
ADDRESS BY DR..
BRYON ROBINSON
Delivered on the Farm Where
he was Born a H0lIandale,
Wisconsin.

We publish this week DR.. Byron
Robinson's 4th of July address de-
liVered on the farm where he vas
born TAT Hollandale, wisconsin, 30
years ago. He chose for his subject
Progress" which will speak for it
self.
| appreciate the honor Of this home
coming to observe the celebration of
Holandafe's prosperity. over 90
wears ag1, my father, William Robin
son, settled in Moscow township 1t
was practically wilderness. Land
was 81 an acre and thousands of acres
10 spare. The nearest railway station
was Milwaukee to which he hauled
his grain with yoke of oxen. In
dians rode over the country on ponies.
The deer deyoured the crops. The
wolf and the rattle snake infested
the country. Game was abundant.
My father built his first house, in
partnership with Mr.. Taylor, on what
is now the Adamsville road some 20
rods from the Pecatonica bridge. 1t had
not been built very long when while
haying with load on the hayrack a
prairie fire swept the country, the
flames consuming almost everything
but the iron in the wagon and the
house. He finally rebuilt on the To-
cation now occupied by his son.
Joshua's present residence. Hardly
can the present generation conceive
of the condition of this region so years
ago as the main landmarks are swept
from view. Almost every original
pioneer settler of this immediate
neighborhood is dead. Practically all
have passed to the unknown. The
deprIyations and loneliness of our
early pioneer settlers cannot De ap-
preciated by US Among the terrible
events of the early pioneer settler of
Iowa county was the intense cholera
scourge of about 1850. My father in
formed me that the cholera was SO
violent and fatal that sometimes
death would occur to hours after
being attacked and that they wound
the body in the bed sheets with i'm
mediate burial. Since those days DR..
Robert Koch, of Berlin, Germany. dis
covered the germ that causes cholera
and medical science has been enabled
by quarantine TO prevent cholera cpl
denies The history of the events of
this region for the past so years has
been replete with stirring times that
tried mems souls. The terrible civil
war arose and passed in favor of
mans liberty, and our pioneers
aided in it's success. The panic of
1873 came and went, but remained
vivid in our memory. y
The change of this past so years
may be well illustrat ed by the method
of lighting. My father was a great
reader and when small boy l OBJ
served that his lamp was mountain
lamp" that is stone with a depreS-
sion in it which contained oil and a
wick. The tallow candle was used
with delight. We all appreciated the
introduction of kerosene oil and now
glares before this the third generation
from the early pioneers the electric
light From the ''mountain lamp" to
the electric light was half a century.
The early pioneers were men of Drawn
and brain. Their life furnished many
individual characteristics and anus
ing anecdotes. In the odd events of
those early days whiskey played an
ample role.
In 80 years the appearance of the
country has wonderfully changed. In
my early boyhood have heard nightly
the lone howl of wolves so close that l
was afraid they would enter the house.
The deer ran in herds over the hills
and grain crops suffered from his
browsing. On the west end of my
fathers farm was an Indian slaughter
ground for deer. The deer bones and
flint arrow-headS were scattered
abundantly over the ground. | col