New Ulm review., 1922-08-16
RRITORIAL Old
SETH. ] |. E|RS / PICNIC.
HELD Splendid PICNIC LAST
THURSDAY AT sIBLEY
PARK, MANKATo.
"REMINISCENCES BY SEVERAL
OLD SETTLERS ON DAYS
SPEAKING PROGRAM.

SPEAKING PROGRAM.
The annual picnic of the Territorial
Old Settler at Sibley Park, Mankato,
last Thursday was marked by beautiful
weather and an exceptionally fine at
tendance. The grounds presented d
beautiful picture at noon when the old
settlers and their friends were eating
picnic dinner at5the tables in the park,
with flags flying everywhere overhead.
A platform had been built, upon which
"a piano was placed and chairs for the
speakers and singers.
!. Judge Cray Presided.
The meeting was presided over by
Judge Lorin Cray. Rev. George F..
Armstrong Of Mankato gave the in
vocation. TheiG Garden City quartette
then sang, Sweet and Low
George NJ. Palmer was the first
speaker and he gave brief and inter
esting account Of his coming to Mime
sofa in 1868, from the state ofMaine.
He and an uncle drove from La Crosse,
Wisconsin, with a team of horses. He
went to Garden City and got a Job
in drug store there at the princely
salary of SIS a month, out@of which he
paid his. own. board. He was later
raised to So a month and then to
$12.50 a month and thought he was
getting pretty good pay then. Later
he clerked in q store, where he did
everything from the daily washing of
the kerosene lamps to packing butter,
the latter being rather ng-streaked
job as all butter of all ages and color
was packed In The same tub. If a
mouse happenedSSrbe in the butter,it
was thrown out and the rest packed.
It all went somewhere, don't know
where" said the speaker.
Business Now And Then.
/ Mr.. Palmer compared business
methods then with our present efficient
system and declared that if business
were to be conducted today in as lax a
manner as in the early days, Wessimply
could not live. The Wastefulne.s OF
those days would pauperize US now.
The greatest amusement in those
days was to get together a bunch Of
young folks for sleigh ride to some
spelling bee at some farm house, and
Mr.. Palmer spoke appreciatively of the
buffalo robe which was plenty big fol
two at such occasions.
Some Base Ball Game.
After the Garden City quartette
had sung, "Old Virginny," William
Hall of st. Cloud, Florida, one of the
old settlers in Blue. Earth county
spoke Of the old days. He came Il
Minnesota in 1851 and lived for asyeal
at st. Clair, and then moved to Sterl'
ing. Amongst other things, he told q
a base. ball game between Sterling an6
Vernon Center in the old days. The
Vernon Center boys, had made them.
selves q, bat, about four inches Longer
than the usual bat. Balls were really
pitched in those days, and Mr.. Hall,
who had been the Sterling pitcher
demonstrated the under-arm toss
showing how the pitching was done
But the big bat Of Vernon Center Was
impossible to. get by. "You tall
|about your Babe Ruth, who can make
40 home runs in season." said Mr.
! Hall. Why, that's nothing. The
/ Vernon Center nine with their home
made. bat made more than; 40 home
runs in that one camel" But fnall,
the bat broke and having only the one
| Vernon Center had to use the, common
willow bats Of Sterling. After that
1.-THE game was not SO uneven, but th'
] final score. was in Vernon Center
favor, 123. to 81. Those were days 0
Ireal base ball.
Showed Tax Receipt.
Mr. Hall held up a piece Of paper
(which he called "an old settler" I
Iwas tax receipt for s2 80 on 160 acre
of land dated Feb. II 1879.
{ III Mr.. Hall was young boy when b
elfrst came to Blue Earth and his play
mates were Indian children. In orde
Ito understand them, he had to lear
!. ttheir Language. The first house was
log house and they had no chairs fo
isome time. 81
Mr.. Hall spoke Of the progress Of th
7 Hast fewyears. Whensthe first meetin
: OF the old settlers club was held in th
i Sterling church fifteen years ago, thel
e was only one automobile. there. q
s stspoke Of 8 meeting in June when |, ,0(
-Iautos were parked at the place and Il
II people were listening by radio to-
q concert given at ST Paul. The speal
y Ter expected to seespeople come to .
settlers meetings IN aeropl planes soon.
= Poem on Indian Massacre.
j. !. D. Price Of Cambriia read 1 poe1
BY himself Oh {, The Indi,