Mexico weekly ledger., 1914-07-16

DAYS 10 make a single trip.
su, soon the social activities Of
md usp Of Mexico took on a more
desnite form. and interesting incl
aen,s began 10 occur as a result Of
,he,r intercourse. The tavern, owned
nv Iudre Fenton and located where
IKemner's saloon formerly stood,
was the center OF the ac-
~,iv,t,es and the meeting place
for -ylllaso. eosslps.~ Here they
sal on The long porch, talking
polI,ics. smoking. drinking and play
inc cards. The tavern keeper had
also built a wall for the PLAYING OF a
game called "hves"- something quite
like modern hand ball-and this was
the gambling game for drinks. In
such a place as this II would be nat
ural 10 suppose that things were not
aIways the most peaceful and II so
happened that IN March 1871 the
first crime occurred In our city Of
Mexico. Tho incidents connected
with this are very interesting and
center around the names Of James
Hall and Samuel Dingle. The two
men quarreled and both because Of
anger and the influence OF liquor,
Dinelo was instantly killed by bis
opponent in one Of the rooms OF this
tavern. Hall was confined in the
sherin's house for a few days but
later. while making the journey Ia
the Columbia Jail, he escaped from
the officers and nothing more was
/ ever heard OF him.
This event caused a great deal Of
excitement in the town. but IL made
the tavern no less popular with the
men. and they continued to congre-
gate here for their social life. Satuf-
day of each week was a special flea
ture.p for on this day the weekly
horse-races took place. The track
was laid out along Promenade street
extending from Washington on the
west to the beginning OF the slope
towards the Military Academy on the
east and every Saturday in season.
able weather. the men gathered here
to watch the races. Frequently the
end OF the matter was a fight. or a
series of them. but very rarely proved
serious since only FISTS" were used
as II was also on a Sat.
urday of each fall that the marksmer
met to shoot for beef and this too wal
an exciting time. The shooting
ground was usually Just east Of Won,
neman's greenhouse, a place very
remote and but OF The way at that
time The story Is told OF n man who
was once outlawed for concealing 4
brace in his sleeve whilo pretending
to shoot "off-hand,"
Such. in general. we're the relations
and activities OF the mon but what
Of the women? What vas claiming
their attention durlnR these vears
prior to The Civil War and what mari
did they have In tho DEVELOPMENT and
early history OF our cityY The home
Is always the transmitter Of the
womanly influence IN anv community
and a glimpse into the home life oI
our early families Will serve to show
the aggresslveness and worth NJ our
early mothers. They had no socia,
center, as did the men but each
woman had her little realm-ber
home and family 10 occupy her time
and attention. The ~ a
household in those DAYS was oulte
different from what II now Is and tho
woman who had the suneryision NJ
such had VERY LITTLE time for c,,hs
and parties Families usually wera
large and required a great deal Of
work. All their clothes were made
by hand from the cloth woven Nv 70
men in the home. In some cases
cloth and even the finished garments
were brought here from Hannibal ~
means Of ox-teams. but for the most
part the ONE in each home were
responsible Tor all the cloth used by
ahIo & i, amy lney were
since mr. W W ,v1Tau,
lished a carding factory here in 1S44
and this saved them much time and
iaoor' But the weaving and
-preven, ~ snairs ala not
ting or ~on'sn from Wis
occa.,onanm . social gathering
hhNy tIEdllH-