Young Men Do Foolish Things

Marshal Fred Rose, Sr., wasted no time in tracking down the evil-doers responsible for the vandalism to the Hobart school, and the harassment of women and girls (a different doer of that evil).


From the Hobart News 3 Mar. 1921.
(Click on images to enlarge)

Commenting on the case, the Gazette printed this timeless lament:


From the Hobart Gazette 4 Mar. 1921.

The vandals' names were never revealed.


From the Hobart Gazette 11 Mar. 1921.

The $25 fine and costs, which latter amounted to $50 according to the News, added to the $50 in damages would total to about $1,626 in 2013 dollars.

As the "white mule" story (above) reminds us, older men also did foolish things … and illegal things.

Indeed:


From the Hobart News 10 Mar. 1921.


(Incidentally, I have no clue what "school problems" the East Ross Community Association meeting, mentioned to the left of "Young Men Do Foolish Things" above, intended to address.)


Sources:
♦ CPI Inflation Calculator.
♦ "Local and Personal." Hobart News 3 Mar. 1921; 10 Mar. 1921.
♦ "Local Drifts." Hobart Gazette 11 Mar. 1921.
♦ "Young Men Do Foolish Things." Hobart Gazette 4 Mar. 1921.

Hoodoo? We Do!

In spite of bad roads, the East Ross Community Association continued holding entertainments at the W.G. Haan school during the winter of 1921. (Also, the "Births" column brings news of some acquaintances, and I do not know where the Buchfuehrer baby was buried.)


(Click on images to enlarge)

I can't identify this "Mrs. O'Leary" who is promising to direct the upcoming play; the 1930 census shows a 64-year-old Margaret O'Leary living on the Sunderman farm in Ross Township, but she is listed as single. As for the play itself, though I can't find its text, other selections from its its author's body of work give you some notion of its tone.

The February 4 meeting felt the effect of the weather on the unpaved roads.



I don't know exactly what that reference to "Dinah and Sambo" means, but I fear the worst, and it may have involved blackface.

(Some sad news in this week's "Births" column about the former Carrie Zobjeck.)


Sources:
♦ 1930 Census.
♦ "Ainsworth Community Meeting." Hobart Gazette 11 Feb. 1921.
♦ "Ainsworth Community Meeting." Hobart News 10 Feb. 1921.
♦ "Births." Hobart News 3 Feb. 1921; 10 Feb. 1921.
♦ "Community Meeting at Ainsworth, Friday Evening, Feb. 4." Hobart News 3 Feb. 1921.
♦ "Local and Personal." Hobart News 3 Feb. 1921.
♦ "Play at Ainsworth, Feb. 18." Hobart Gazette 4 Feb. 1921.

Village Entertainment, 1920

So what kind of entertainment would a farming community organization produce for itself, on a Friday night in December 1920?


(Click on image to enlarge)
From the Hobart Gazette of 3 Dec. 1920.

A local orchestra … "W.W." might have been "Willing Workers," a Deep River church organization.

Next came recitations and songs. I wonder whether these were performed by children or adults? — perhaps both. Something like "Fritz and His Betsy Fall Out" doesn't seem suitable for a child to recite, but I certainly can imagine a man doing it. Interesting that a piece making fun of a German accent should have played well in a community with many German immigrants.

We all know the story of the Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, don't we?

The "Indian Songs" were taken from an "American Indian Operetta for Ladies" entitled The Feast of the Red Corn. (I have not been able to find out much about its composer, Paul Bliss, but if he was the son of the hymn-writer, Philip Paul Bliss, he apparently was not of Native American ancestry.)

"When the Frost is on the Pumpkin" and "Mister Hop-Toad" were poems by James Whitcomb Riley. He being the Indiana poet and all, I wonder if these folks thought the dialect in his poems was how they talked?

I can't find the text for "Cohen's Divorce," but based on this description, I'm afraid it was like Fritz and Betsy, only more so.

Chairs for W.G. Haan

The East Ross Township Community Association apparently started up with a meeting in Ainsworth in mid-October 1920 at which 61 people enrolled themselves as members. Regular meetings were planned for the first Friday of each month.

Straightaway the Association made plans to contribute to the new W.G. Haan school. The Gazette explained: "The township is installing a Delco electric light system in the school, and so the community has decided to help the trustee by earning at least part of the money needed to put chairs in the auditorium." The Association would raise funds by holding a box social on November 5, the first Friday of that month.

When the evening of the 5th came around, the W.G. Haan School auditorium was filled. "The community certainly was out in full force," said the Gazette, "and visitors marveled at the crowd." Several people made to trip down from Hobart, including James Chester, who acted as auctioneer for the box auction. Presumably it was a bring-your-own-chair affair.

Box suppers were auctioned off and eaten; and cake and ice cream were served — presumably supplied by Hobart confectionist Arthur Newman, who was singled out for special thanks in reports on the event.

After expenses, the Association had raised $170* and enrolled 34 new members (for a total of 95), so the social was not only fun but a success.

The next meeting was planned for December 3.

_______________________
*The far-seeing Hobart News reported on November 4 that $100 had been raised on November 5.


Sources:
♦ 1920 Census.
♦ "Box Social at Ainsworth." Hobart Gazette 29 Oct. 1920.
♦ "Box Social at Ainsworth." Hobart News 28 Oct. 1920
♦ "East Ross Community Association." Hobart Gazette 12 Nov. 1920.
♦ "East Ross Community Social a Success." Hobart News 11 Nov. 1920.
♦ "Local and Personal." Hobart News 4 Nov. 1920.
♦ "Local Drifts." Hobart Gazette 22 Oct. 1920.