Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-03-07
ANOTHER CHAPTER or "REMINISCENCES or THE LONG AGO


OF the Pioneers 1Dho L'Ued
the name of Gates, now living in Cal
ifornia, but who lived in Ottumwa
when boy-now 70 years of age
had recently sold an invention Of his
for $17,50O,000. I'm bound to nunt him
up, for believe he is my old boyhood
playmate, Rash (short for Horatio)
Gates-that would be about his age
now. Still, what's the use, might
pull Sans leg, as he, too, has some TO
spare (which calls for the facts or
another letter have recently received
from boy who stuck type on the
Courier when was foreman, who re-
quests me to send him "a keepsake
$500 will dol"
I'm sure you people have not Tor
gotten A. M. Ives. who was the county
superintendent Of schools, and was
never known to be without q short
stem clay pipe in his mouth. HE
started paper there in Ottumwa, IN
the second story Of brick on the cor
ner of Market and Second-oppos1te
the Courier corner, the Parks grocery
corner-seems to me the paper was
named esprit Of the Times" You
know he had a son, Harry. Well,
that same Harry Ives, with his two
sons, are here in Topeka, running one
of the largest and finest job printing
houses west of Kansas City, and they
are getting rich. Old man Ives came
here and lived with Harry short time
but died in 1898. He and his wife
separated-she going to California,
and is yet living.
Among the old time preachers waA
Rev. Robinson, the sturdy old Meth
odist, who had three daughters-one
minister, Dennis. Murphy, brother OF
Mike; one married Tob collars, son
Of old Daniel; not sure who the other
one married. They were related to the
Hammonds, of whom John had two
daughters, one of whom Mary, mar
ried --; the other, Helen, mar
ried Ed. Daggett Their brother, John,
became quite forceful lawyer.
OF the lawyers that recall, there
were Gus (Major) Hamilton (who
made his debut in modest semi
stovepipe hat), H. B. Hendershott,
VIM. Chambers, w. H. G. JaQues (wno
married Lawyer Williams sister,,
Judge Williams, S. e. Adler E. L. JOY.
] w. Dixon, Ed. H. Stiles( who is now
living in Kansas City, Mo-, and mas
held places of trust there-enjo a
good practice of his profession); VIM.
McNett, T. A. Fulton, D, A. Emery, E.
L. Burton (who became Judge on the
bench), Sam Summers, "A. w. CASTOR,
Eugene Fawct.- (smart as whip,
with the biggest nose ever saw on
any mans face,--he was county at
torney wnen D. H. Michael, Mr.. Mel
son and --- were county commits
sioners and was auditor, J. G. Hutch,
ison. Knapp. There are three others
whom can see plainly, but am sorry
that cannot now name them; Trim
BILE of Bloomfield, was another.
The first milk maid to serve to GUS
toners was Mrs Aumack, who drove
in from above Port Richmond, fording
the river at the rapids.
Another conspicuous and reliable
1townsman was Bill Bigem, who
startled the town as the first bill pos
ter in Ottumwa. He was an intense
democratic partisan, but that didn't
hurt any He pursued that adyoca-
ton of bill posting and politics about
ten years, and then went to braking
on the B. & M. railroad. You will re-
member how like joint snake those
old time trains were, when one had to
make flying leap from one car to the
other, can readily believe that Bills
job was no sinecure.
The old land mark, the Ottumwa
tavern, was successfully engineered
by Gurley Baker, the Eichelbergers,
Dick Warden, Joe Gump-I think there
were others, but don't recall them.
The gargoyles on the front of that old
mind. The Curlew house, built by DR..
Wood, who had a mammoth image OF
the Texas bird called the curlew, built
OF tin and mounted on platform
firmly fixed in the brick front. was run
by John Potter and John Carroll.
There may have been others, uut my
memory misgives me. A gang Of wild
boys labored nard in carting big loaG
of droppings from numerous chicken
houses and dumping 1t in the area
just beneath that bird image one night.
Maybe old John Carroll didn't rave
but I guess he did--in fact l know
he did-for he raved all over me, and
I was innocent. 1t was curious that
somehow they mixed me up In every
devilment in early Ottumwa excepting
murder and horse thieving.
l have just received glorious let
tiers from AL. Harrow; Wade Kirkpat-
rick; George Warden (my old boss's
boy; VIM. Cooper, Mr.. Slberell (son
of "old jake spoken of IN this in
stallment); Samuel Harper and old
John Newman's son, that freshen me
up and make me pretty chesty. They
satisfy me that at least am dishing
up stuff that some OF the old timers
relish, for which feel amply repaid.
Had I thought of it in time would
have asked you for a plat of Ottumwa,
so that could readily locate people
and things Of wnom and which l write
"a favor I have asked recently and
have no doubt you will cheerfully
grant Albert Harrow writes that l
am mistaken in saying that Jack