In March, he sold the farm along the Lincoln Highway that he had bought from May Blachly just the previous September. Emil Wojahn of Chicago was the buyer. (I don't know what, if any, relation this Emil was to all the other Wojahns around Ainsworth.)
In April came the announcement that S.J. was leaving altogether — and in triumph, for he had landed a job as agricultural agent for Whiteside County, Illinois, at a salary of $4,000 per year, $1,000 higher than Lake County had paid him. The Crown Point Star alleged that Whiteside County farmers had been "pulling the wires to secure the services of Mr. Craig" because the quality of his work in Lake County had earned him a reputation that reached even to the far side of Illinois. The "great majority" of Lake County farmers, according to the Star, were "sorry to hear of his departure."
S.J. would leave Indiana at the beginning of May (perhaps thumbing his nose in the direction of Purdue University on his way out).
I suppose the news came as a relief to Virgil Mood. His status had been uncertain for the past couple of months, since apparently he had been anointed county agent by Purdue but moved about in the guise of "Emergency Demonstration Agent" while S.J. continued to play the role of county agent by popular demand. The Lake County Times was less than effusive in welcoming its new agricultural overlord:
The agricultural interest in the county deeply deplore the recent unpleasantness which Mr. Craig's removal has caused and they hope under the efficient dictatorship of Virgil Mood Lake county farming industries will go over the top as usual.
Sources:
♦ "County Agent Craig Leaves May 1st." Crown Point News (reprinted in Hobart Gazette 26 Apr. 1918).
♦ "Crown Point News." The Lake County Times 4 Apr. 1918.
♦ "Local and Personal." Hobart News 28 Mar. 1918.
2 comments:
Julius Wojahn and John are the same person. They just called him John sometimes. Julius was Emil's father and my great grandfather.
Thank you! I would probably never have figured that one out!
Post a Comment