The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1937-10-21
W.R.C.Noted
Fiftieth Year
Last Friday
Mrs. w. H. Parker And Mrs,
D. r. Wolfe Two Remain
neg Charter Members
STARTED YEAR OF 1887
First Meeting Place In Pen
dergast Building-Pur-
chased Opera House

It's original work done with the
depleted ranks of the Grand Army
Of the Republic veterans, the Wo-
mems Relief Corps, auxiliary to B,
r. Palmer Post of this city, noted
its fiftieth anniversary last Friday.
It was on October Is, 1887, that the
local Corps came into being with
more than 30 charter members OF
which two remain, Mrs. w. H.
Parker and Mrs. D. r. Wolfe.
No longer may the women Of the
Corps care for the sick and needy
of veterans Of the G. A. R., for B.
r. Palmer Post is no more. The
passing recently Of both Henry
Fielding and Levi Smith whitfield
away the last of this city's Veterans
Of Americas Civil War.
Friday afternoon in a party ap-
propriatelv held at the home of
charter member, Mrs. Parker, and
simultaneously observing the birth
day anniversary of charter men,
Der, Mrs. Wolfe, about twenty-five
members of the w. r. G. honored
the 5Oth year Of their existence. An
informal afternoon in which they
pored over early records and re-
minisced about the work Of the
Corps was spent. A pot luck lunch
was served. Also attending among
the elder members was Mrs. ]. A.
Lockead.
The Women's Relief Corps was
organized as on Auxiliary to the G..
A. r. Post and the two organize
lions together enjoyed many good
times, Mrs. Parker said in an in
terview this week. Outstanding In
her memory Of the social times they
enjoyed was a pie supper. Grooming
tables supported nothing but pies,
but every kind Of -meat and fruit
pies the ladies could bake. When
the boys of the G.. A. r. put on the
feeds there were the campfires in
which army life conditions were
simulated. Hard tack, beans, eaten
off tin plates were the meagre
fare, Mrs. Parker said, and they
were followed with dancing part
les.
But there was work to do. too.
For weeks early in the 1905 the
ladies worked sponsoring suppers,
entertainments. and plays-one of
them was named the Census TAX
err" she remembered-to raise
funds to buy a flag. Costing seven
ty-two dollars the flag was silk,
and mounting it's standard top was
the Golden Eagle. The flag is now
the possession of the v. F. W., but
it was presented to the B. r. Palm
er Post in surprise ceremony in
May 1889.
Mrs. Parker remembered, too,
the work the Corps did in the fam
lilies of needy and sick Veterans.
One winter she recalled ladies of
the Corps were constantly attend
ing one family with personal visits,
clothing, fuel. The family was poor
and in sickness.
In sacred esteem the Post and
the Corps held Memorial Day. On
that day commemorating departed
comrades the whole community
would turn out in all it's horse and
buggy splendor. Children would
pick flowers on the prairie, and
great loads of them would be taken
to the cemetery to adorn the grav-
es. At noon the w. r. G. would
serve a picnic for those who had
come to attend. "They didn't go
fishing on Memorial Day Their" "
she added.
Humorously she recalled the
Corps buying uniform dresses. All
in dark blue, approaching the col
ors of the G. A. r. boys uniforms,
the only trimming was a white
braid. 'They were nothing but cal
ico," she said, land no one would
wear them now"
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