Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-12-11

OF the old ranchmen thought they would
emigrate TO Canada, but after going up
there and spending some money in looking
around they came back. Other people who
had taken homesteads near Lennon went
up to Canada to look around, but they
too came back, saying Canada didn't look
good to them ana settled on the land they
had taken up.
TN Lennon and the suburbs we have
over 200 children OF school age, which is
a pretty big number for a new town. The
school building is modern in every respect,
and there is a high school course of study
which graduates into any of the leading
universities. The town boasts of seven or
eight big general stores in addition to
numerous small ones. and they draw trade
from forty to seventy miles away, people
coming in to buy supplies for year at a
time.
"Automobiles2 You'd be surprised at the
number. Last summer an inventory was
taken OF the automobiles In the town, and
1t was either sixty-two or sixty-three. We
have an automobile stage line running from
Lennon to Bixby. The town came to be
settled In this way;
How the Town started.
About a year before the railroad went
through people heard It was going to pass
through that part Of the country some
where. and they made a rush out there
and lived in tents and temporary shacks
until the town was laid out by the land
company. When the sale Of lots took place
on october s. 1907, over $4,000 worth OF lots
were cold. The first building put up was a
general store, and then followed the three
bank buildings. Now we have lot of
ing plant which I now own was then To-
Gated at a little place called sim, where
II had been set up In log cabin. / wEs
not in Lennon at the start. but when
heard about II went up and bought the
plant from It's owner.
There 10 good advertising business out
there from provtng-uD notioeA When a
homesteadSr proves-up he has TO have his
application published thirty days In ad-
vance and the legal rate for this notice
Is $3.50 Sometimes these notices MI a whole
page In my paper The newspaper out there
Is usually about the first thing that strikes
town after the postoffiee. There arc any
number OF villages from fifty 20 800 or 800
Inhabitants that have their own newspa-
pers.
The county seat OF Perkins county is
Bison, and thereby hangs a tale Bison Is
about fifty miles from anywhere but II
IL about as near the geographical center
OF the county as you can get. Perkins
county. by the way, contains over 800
square miles, which means that II Is bigger
than some eastern states. In the January
following the sale OF town lots IN Lem
mon the fight took place for the location
OF the county seat. Lennon was on the ex-
IRENE border OF the county. but its public
spirited citizens knew OF no reason why Il
should not be the county seat Besides they
thought they could out-vote the rest OF the
county Well. they got a surprise. They
had no idea OF the numbers OF people that
had been coming IN 10 settle In the lower
part Of the county. Many OF them hadn't
been there long enough to have acquired
! the tight to vote. but this proved no hin
drance and In the voting Lennon lost by
just thirteen
Feeling ran high about that time and
there was talk OF many things that would
be done, and a contest was actually started
after the election, but the people or Lem
mon got together and decided that II they
kept up the fight II would make a sore
spot for years and possibly hurt the 'growth
and the business OF our town. go the contest
MAS abandoned.
The funny thing about the contest was.