The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-12-31

the sale of these scaIps, and if some
of the counties adjoining don't have a
similar law, there wasn't anything in
the way from having wagon loads of
them shipped in from other counties.
| Your correspondent has known of this
| to occur in the years he was tramp
ing thru the west part of the Sixth
! district gathering up subscribers for
the Atchison Champion and Topeka
State Journal.
In the past few months one Smith
Center firm has shipped twenty one
carloads of poultry to eastern and
western markets. Smith county is a
| poultry raising center.
| Many travellers who use the auto.
mobile going from the Rock Island
town of Dresden to Oberlin, which also
carries the mail, will recall that about
half way. between these towns stands
the remains of one of the most pre-
tentious sod houses ever built in north
western Kansas. The crumbling one
story walls were still intact a few
years ago when your correspondent
made his last trip from Oberlin to
Dresden by this route. The old walls
indicated that the original sod house
was about 90 by 80 feet with an IL
on the SHE. It was in an early sum-
mer morning, and the whole scene was
| Joyous with the song of three meadow
/
The passengers asked the driver of
| the automobile to stop a minute and
permit them to listen to the song OF
| these beautiful prairie birds. This old
sod house had sheltered a farmer and
| his family in the early days when his
sturdy class were building a state
| Nearby stands his modern home, the
result of his staying qualities, his in
| dustry and energy. No doubt there
was as much happiness and love ex-
! r1fr Il Gnd 90
as there is today in the modern home
which succeeded it. In the early days
the old sod house and dugout were as
common as the frame and brick houses
are now.
! Five banks in Be1oit appeared to
| be too many in that $500 town. Two
| of them have consolidated, the Ameri-
can State and the Mitchell County
| State. There has been a thoro reor-
ganization. the name now known being
| the Guaranty State bank, with DR.. E.
N. Daniels president.
January 1, 1922, will mark a period
| of thirty-eight years since the first
| old settlers meeting was held in Ober-
lin. A number of the old timers who
had settled in the county prior to 1875,
| met at Chapman's hall in Oberlin and
| sat down to a sumptuous repast,
| quarter of buffalo meat being on the
| bill of fare. The officers elected at
| that meeting were: President. Van B.
Virgins; vice presidents, J. W. Allen.
| Warren Jennins, J. J. Koefer and
| Frank KimbalI: secretary, N. G. Ad-
| dleman: treasurer, George NJ. Miller.
| Every year since the old settlers of
| Decatur county have held a reunion,
| changing the time to early fall. An
| old history of Kansas says that the
| establishment of the county seat per-
| w Of nv a m
1S1, has caused efforts to be made
| looking ultimately to the erection of
| county buildings. On February IA,
1888, the board of county commission
ers rented Of r. A. Marks the Moody
and Burnett buildings for county pur-
poses, paying therefor rental of 5000
per year, Mr.. Marks was then Ober-
| Inns only banker.
The Cedar bank has been reorgan-
| lied. George Olson having retired. H
R. Hull. c. L. Cushing and H. A.
Bethke, prominent bankers of Kirwin.
Downs and Stuttgart, will operate the
new bank. Cedar was the first county
seat of Smith county.
In the list of Sixth district editors
1 longest on the job, ". L. Chambers, of
/ the Stockton Record, must not be
/ overlooked. He has been connected
with that paper for AZ years, and he
has made it one of the reliable and
dependable newspa pers Of the state
Il He has been more lucky than some of
the editors. He stuck to it, nor did
drought, hot winds nor grasshoppers
drive him away in the pioneer times.
He owns some valuable business prop
/ erty and 4 modern residence. and that
means a good bank account. The
i Stockton News was first established
in the county by J. W. Newell. Later
he moved If to P1aiuviIIe but a return
to the county seat was found neces-
= sary. Recently Chambers has taken
in his son as half owner of the Rec
= ord