The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-10-17
EARLY IOWA REPORTERS.

EARLY IOWA REPORTERS.
An article in the news columns of
Tie Gate City of Thursday told of the
beginnings of the Christian Orphanage
at Council Bluffs. The institution,
which has grown to large proportions
and has done an exceptionally great
and useful work in the world, came
into being largely through the efforts
of newspaper reporter. The facts
in the case as to the latter's connec-
ton with It are briefly stated in the
following paragraph from the article:
"a drinking man committed suicide
leaving a wife and six little ones. Rev.
Lemen preached the funeral of the
man, and two weeks later the funeral
of the baby Rev. Lemen took col
lection for the poor woman and organ
lied committee for the care of the
poor. A Mr.. Clark, not church mem
Der. Nonpareil reporter, took great
interest in writing up the work of
Mr.. Lemen and TO Mr.. Clark the work
of starting the Orphanage was
largely indebted"
The writer well remembers Clark,
the reporter mentioned above. He
was then a young man who had come
west few years previously to grow
up with the country. He was from a
country neighborhood in an interior
county in Pennsylvania and was as
fine specimen of an eastern tender
foot" as could be found anywhere. In
the late 7D's he was engaged as re-
porter on the Nonpareil of which the
writer was then editor Clark soon
"got on to" the ways of the west, but
not until he had suffered considerably
at the hands of the practical jokers
of Council Bluffs He was quite cred
ulous at first and was in consequence
RECALLED with all sorts of fairy tales
For one thing he was persuaded to go
armed whenever he ventured outside
the city limits. lest the prairie chick
ems should bite him, The late John
B. Atkins. of Council Bluffs, well
known to number of Keokuk people,
set up that job on him. 1t was treat
to hear Atkins descant on the fierce.
ness of prairie chickens, particularly
the roosters among them, which, he
alleged, would attack people with
out the slightest proyocatioE. Clark
swallowed the story in good faith and
later convulsed the printers in the
Nonpareil office by repeating it and
telling OF the precautions he intended
to take when he went into the coun-
try.
Another early Iowa newspaper re-
porter was the late A. r. Hubbard, at
the time of his death and for num-
Der of years previously mail messen-
ger at the state house in Des Moines.
He was the immediate predecessor of
Clark as reporter on the Nonpareil.
The Nonpareil in those days nad only
one reporter and he was city editor
as well The writer picked up Hub
bard at a time when the latter was
down and out He had been a man
of some distinction, but had met with
reverses and was glad to get work as
a dav laborer. Before beginning
reportorial work on the Nonpareii he
was engaged in handling freight
transferring 1t from one set OF freight
cars to another-on the old U. P.
transfer platform in Council Bluffs.
1t was the custom in chose days TO
break bulk at the eastern terminus of
the Union Pacific. All freight arriv-
ing over the Union Pacific and all
freight destined for that road was
transferred at the Bluffs Hubbard's
most peculiar Characteristic was his
sensitiveness to impressions. II ever
there was mind reader he was one
He could attend a public gathering and
absorb its prevailing sentiment as ac-
curately as If he had personally inter-
viewed everyone present. He was not
spiritualist or spiritist. but he could
put his hands on table and make it
dance at will. Sometimes the table
would insist on dancing against his wfll
and thus interfere with ais work On
such occasions the writer would
march him around and around Baylis'
park at all hours of night until nor
NAL conditions were restored. On sew
eraI occasions the table turned, as 1t