Class of 1921: Alice Paine

Alice Paine was another farm girl, living west of Ainsworth. Her parents, Albion and Ethel, had bought the old Bullock homestead in 1913.


(Click on images to enlarge)
Images courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.

The family came here from Iowa, where Alice and two of her brothers had been born. Her youngest brother was born on their new farm in 1915.

I've been following the Paines since they got here, so I don't have a lot to add — just a few random things I find in looking over my notes:

• Just a few days after moving into their new home in April 1913, Ethel Paine "suffered a slight concussion of the brain by accidentally striking her head against a nail in the wall." She recovered.
• Later that month, they ran the following ad in the News: "Wanted — To do dressmaking by the day. Inquire of A.D. Paine. Phone 1607-R 1." I must admit I'm not sure whether they were seeking to hire in a dressmaker, or someone in the house wanted to hire out as one.
• In the summer of 1914, Albion set about "making alterations to the [former] Bullock farm, including plumbing and hot water heating system, and hydro-pneumatic water system" that was unusual at the time, though the report did not say why.
• On a cold day in January 1916, bad things happened to Albion:

  Saturday morning, while A.D. Paine was on his way to the milk stand, his horse became frightened and ran away, throwing him out on the hard gravel road, rendering him unconscious for the time being. Dr. Brink was called and found Mr. Paine suffering from a slight concussion of the brain, a severe laceration of the scalp, one thumb fractured and one dislocated, besides being hurt internally about the left chest, and also suffered from a wound in the hip. While Mr. Paine is in a serious condition, he is resting easy.

  Within about a week he was able to leave his bed and get around a bit.
• That summer, Albion lost his older brother Henry, who had moved to Gary in its early days, "started in the hardware business, and continued until 1912, when he sold out." Suffering from ill health, Henry had gone to Florida, accompanied by "Dr. Mayo, the famed specialist" — but in vain, it seems.
• Farmers meeting in the Hobart Public Library in March 1917 heard that the Paine farm was to be the site of an agricultural test in the coming season — different varieties of oats, including some not usually grown in the area, would be planted on the same farm under the same conditions to test their performance.
• Health problems continued to plague Albion and Ethel over the years: for her, an attack of appendicitis in 1916, followed two years later by a "serious operation" at Wesley Hospital in Chicago, performed by Dr. Davis of Chicago and Dr. Brink of Hobart; she did not return home until November, and even then she was not fully recovered, but hopeful. As for Albion, Christmas 1920 brought him such an attack of rheumatism that he was confined to bed for nearly a month; in March 1921, still suffering, he traveled to Chicago to consult a bone specialist, who advised that Albion must have a special brace for his back, and must remain in bed until he got it.

On a happier note, in May of 1917 Alice Paine (along with Grace Nelson) completed the eighth grade in the little two-room wooden schoolhouse at Ainsworth. From there, I suppose, they both went to Hobart High School.

What little we see of Alice's personality in the 1921 yearbook suggests an old head on young shoulders — a good thing for a future teacher.






Sources:
♦ 1920 Census.
♦ 1930 Census.
♦ "Additional Local." Hobart News 20 Jan. 1916.
♦ "Funeral of Henry A. Paine Held Sunday." Hobart News 20 July 1916.
♦ "Local and Personal." Hobart News 30 May 1918; 18 Nov. 1920; 10 Mar. 1921.
♦ "Local Drifts." Hobart Gazette 30 Apr. 1915; 28 Jan. 1916; 28 Jan. 1921.
♦ "Meets With Accident." Hobart Gazette 21 Jan. 1916.
♦ "Personal and Local Mention." Hobart News 9 Apr. 1913; 23 Apr. 1913; 18 May 1916; 14 July 1914.
♦ "Ross Township Commencement." Hobart Gazette 18 May 1917.
♦ "Under the Knife." Hobart Gazette 7 June 1918.