(Continued from pg. 5) …adopts it must be at once classical, of sound judgment, untiring energy, a kind philanthropist and an indefatigable worker. Day and night he must be ready to respond to the calls of the sick and distressed, and his reward is not always money, but his work of silent charity lends an additional charm to a profession that cares for the whole human race. One of the scholarly representatives of the medical profession of Norton is Dr. Haworth. Graduating at the regular school of medicine in 1895, he came to Kansas and located at Norton three years ago, and enjoys a successful practice. Dr. Haworth is a splendid type of the able practitioner, fully abreast of his profession as to the latest discoveries and scientific methods that in any way enhance the efficiency of practice.
FULCRUT & RHOADES:
One of the most attractive stores in the town of Norton is that of Fulcrut & Rhoades. The stock is all new, clean and up to date and everything indicates that it is directed by men of ability and experience. They carry a complete line of dry goods, hats, caps, notions and furnishing goods, displayed in a very neat and attractive manner. Mr. Fulcrut was for a number of years in the dry goods business in this city, and Mr. Rhoades conducted a shoe store in this place previous to his connection with Mr. Fulcrut. These gentlemen commenced business together on the 1st of January of this year, and by virtue of their past record for fair and honorable dealing we predict for them a well-merited success in their new enterprise.
B. HINSDELL.
A very important enterprise now going on in Norton is the poultry, butter and egg depot conducted by Mr. B. Hinsdell, who engaged in this business in 1895. He ships this product both east and west, and has built up a thriving trade. He reports shipments last year aggregating 25,000 pounds of poultry, 31,200 pounds of butter, and 1,956 cases of eggs. He also makes and handles egg cases, and supplies merchants from Oberlin, Kansas, to Republican City, Nebraska, on the B. & M., and from Prairie View to Colby on the Rock Island railroad. He has used six cars of lumber in the manufacture of egg cases in the last year. He reports a good business and is well pleased with the country, both from a business and health standpoint.
THE GRIER HOUSE, C. L. BOWERS PROPRIETOR.
Good hotel accommodations constitute a strong factor in the material growth and development of any town or city. The first question a stranger will ask on reaching a city is, “Is there a good hotel in town?” Answering this question in behalf of Norton, we say yes. The Grier house is a first-class hotel in every respect. This is especially true in regard to the care taken of the guests, the excellent table, the commendable manner in which food is served and neatness and cleanliness of its rooms. To these advantages may be attributed the large business transacted by this hotel and its good repute among the traveling public. The charges are reasonable, though the hotel has every facility of a first-class establishment. Homelike and comfortable and always kept in good condition. Mr. C. L. Bowers, the proprietor, personally superintends the wants of his guests, and his extensive hotel experience has familiarized him with every detail of the business.
PAGE 7
FIGLEY & MUSIC:
The old biblical injunction against having any pictured resemblance of the loved ones has been relegated to the rear and today nothing is cherished so much as the striking likeness of father, mother or baby darling.
In this connection Messrs. Figley & Music are fitting up a first-class studio at Almena, Prairie View and Logan, Kansas, and Oxford, Nebraska. They are typical hustlers and artists of exceptional ability and their work shows for itself. Their galleries are fitted with the latest improved instruments and they are prepared to make all kinds of work, including family groups, out and indoor views, copies or enlargements, buttons and in fact any work in the picture line, and guarantee complete satisfaction. Their samples are fine, and show not only skill in the execution but a great deal of care in posing and lighting.
They will make sittings on Friday at Prairie View and on Saturday at Logan.
DYATT BROS:
Among the mercantile establishments of Almena Dyatt Bros. occupy a very prominent position. The firm is composed of John Dyatt and J. B. Dyatt, who are also interested in the bank here. They occupy a large and commodious building which they have recently built and are completing the upstairs for an opera house and office rooms. They carry a large and well selected stock of general merchandise, consisting of dry goods, clothing, gents’ furnishing goods, staple and fancy groceries, etc.
Any wide awake stranger entering this store would at once see that these gentlemen are progressive, up-to-date business men.
In our interview with these gentlemen they stated they had spent twenty-one years in Colorado and other parts of the West, and in all their travels have not found a better place for farming, stock raising or a place of business than Almena.
A. NEISWANGER:
It would require a much larger volume than this to give any adequate history of lumber, consequently we can only direct our readers, who have a desire to be more fully informed on this topic, to Mr. A. Neiswanger of Almena, who is one of the best posted men in this part of the West on that particular subject. Mr. Neiswanger is manager for the Foster Lumber Company and has an experience dating back many years. He has been with this company for twelve years, and his connection with this firm has been a profitable one to them as well as a. credit to himself.
Mr. Neiswanger was born in Ohio in 1842, enlisted in the Sixteenth Ohio regiment in 1861, and was discharged on January 4, 1866. Although Mr. Neiswanger is in the fifty-ninth year of his age he is hale, hearty and jolly and readily makes friends with every one he chances to meet.
W. L. HOWE:
A history of drugs would be a very important story to any sick person, and many whose health does not demand its remedies. Yet the space in this issue will not permit us to print such important information.
Mr. W. L. Howe, Almena’s popular druggist, has volunteered to furnish any of our readers with this document upon inquiry. Mr. Howe is an old timer here. He established the first drug store here before there was any railroad. He keeps an up-to-date drug store, is popular and truthful. He has just purchased a farm for his son, Louis, who seems to possess a fancy for this pursuit, and Mr. Howe, his father, thinks a farm in this country is just the place for Louis.
Mr. Howe established a drug business here in 1885. He is a registered pharmacist and knows how to put up a prescription.
GEORGE E. SHRIVER:
Seldom in a town the size of Almena does the reportorial eye rest upon so fine and well selected a stock of general merchandise as is displayed at George E. Shriver’s. His stock is clean, well selected and up to date, comprising dry goods, clothing, shoes, groceries, both staple and fancy, and many other articles usually kept in a department store, including a fine display of millinery, which department is personally superintended by Mrs. Shriver. Mrs. Shriver has had years of experience in this line and is well posted as to the becoming styles. She employs a trimmer during the season and is enabled to assist Mr. Shriver as clerk and adviser in the general store.
Mr. and Mrs. Shriver have a wide circle of acquaintances and have built up a splendid trade during the five years of business here. As an instance of the poultry, butter and egg industry here, they report having shipped out as high as forty-five cases of eggs in a single week, and one lady customer often marketed $20 worth of eggs in one week. Another customer brings in sixty pounds of butter each week. This statement, no doubt, will surprise some of our eastern readers, who imagine that the corn crop is the only resource of this country. Hogs and cattle are the chief live stock industry here, and one day of each week is set apart as hog day. Shipments average from two to five cars per week.
Mr. and Mrs. Shriver stand high in business and social circles.
C. D. PETERSON:
The subject of this sketch came to Norton county sixteen years ago without a dollar. He engaged in farming and later went into stock growing. About a year ago he opened a meat market in Almena and after an encouraging experience of one year he decided to add a line of groceries, etc. He purchased the stock owned by James Blaine a short time ago, and is now remodeling the store room, putting in a complete line of groceries. His store and market presents a neat and clean appearance, and we predict for him that success which follows enterprise and good management. Mr. Peterson owns a nice farm of 160 acres near town, where he keeps and feeds stock to be butchered for his market. He is a good judge of live stock and knows how and what to kill for market. Almena has no cause to complain of her meat market.
E. M. SHOEMAKER:
In this swift commercial age the restaurant is a great convenience and the modern cafe is a boon. In this respect Almena has no cause to go hungry, even if the hotels are overcrowded. The 8th of November last Mr. Shoemaker landed here from Franklin, Nebraska, and saw the need of a popular eating place. He at once rented a room and opened the Palace Restaurant and lunch room, and has been agreeably surprised with the liberal patronage his place has received. He is assisted by his wife, who knows all about preparing a tempting dish, and this accounts for the good trade and repute of this popular eating house.
THE MERCHANTS’ STATE BANK:
The commercial interests of Almena are extensive enough to require a bank in carrying on the business here transacted. A good and safe bank is a great convenience to any community and the people of Almena daily show an appreciation by liberal support. The stockholders are home men, reliable and responsible, and possess good business ability and sound judgment.
This bank was established and incorporated in June, 1898. The official roster is as follows: Andrew Dyatt, president; Hugh Dyatt, vice president; and F. H. Mellor, cashier.
They do a general banking business, make loans and investments, pay taxes for non-residents, buy and sell foreign exchange, and all other business coming under the scope of legitimate banking. They report a good outlook for business and say the county is generally prosperous.
T. J. McLAIN:
A history of hardware would require more space than we can devote to this article, so we will simply offer an apology by referring our readers to Mr. T. J. McLain. He carries a complete line of shelf and heavy hardware, guns, ammunition, sporting goods, bicycles, cutlery, pumps, windmills and tank implements. Mr. McLain was born in Iowa and moved to southern Kansas where he lived for seventeen years. He came here nearly two years ago and opened a hardware store. He reports a good business and expects to make this his future home.
PAGE 8
The greatest desire of the human heart is to own a home, and yet how few of the millions of our land own the roof that shelters them, and the fault is not theirs. How can the laborer, the mechanic, the man who works for small salary or the small tradesman ever hope to own that which they most desire unless they move to a more favored locality where the opportunities are greater and competition in their respective lines is less? Away from the influence of strikes and labor disturbances to a land where peace and plenty reign supreme, and where each man is a king among kings. To a country of sunshine, fruit and flowers; where Nature smiles upon the industrious and wealth crowns the efforts of all who labor.
All over the eastern and central portions of our land thousands are looking with discontented faces at the unsatisfactory and unsettled condition of affairs, and the despondent prospect for the future. In all older communities of the East all trades are over crowded and existing avenues filled; All resources are fully developed, and to the head of a growing family the prospect of a pleasant home and a prosperous future for his children is a problem that gives rise to many gloomy reflections. He has seen the chosen home of his early manhood develop from a wilderness through all the various stages of modern progress; he has helped to organize society, build churches, schools and factories; he has seen one door after another open and new ideas take the place of the old order, and as the man of fifty years of age allows his memory to turn in retrospective view, remembrance wakes with her busy train and he is dumb with amazement that his brief span of life has seen so wonderful a transition. And with such thoughts will come the other. Is there yet left a place, a country, where the development of a new empire will give to a coming generation a field for successful effort, where it is not too late to lay for his children the foundation of prosperity and comfort; a place where he can make for himself a home in which to pass his declining years in peace and plenty, surrounded by his posterity? For him we answer yes. Read on.
The broad acres of Decatur county, Kansas, hold out promise to the industrious, profit to the investor and health to many who have given up all hope in this vale of tears and misery.
It can be truthfully said, after making full allowance for all drawbacks, and taking into consideration the advantages, that a better place for a poor man or a man of limited means could not be found. There is only one serious objection to be urged against this section, and that is an occasional dry season. Against this may be said that a more healthy climate is not to be found. There are no extremes of heat or cold. The soil is fertile, level and very productive. Again, the lands are cheap, as compared to any lands in the older states. In fact a few years of industry and thrift are all that is necessary to place a man without means in possession of a fine farm.
SOIL:
The soil is a dark brown loam, of great depth and very productive. The subsoil is of a porous nature and is especially adapted for holding moisture through dry weather. The soil is light and easily tilled and the same amount of work expended upon forty acres in the eastern or middle states will properly cultivate fully twice the acreage.
The Burlington & Missouri River railroad enters Decatur county and carries the products of the field and farm to market and supplies the…
PAGE 9
(Soil Continued) …citizens with clothing and manufactured products in return.
The county is traversed by some fair rivers and their numerous tributaries, affording an abundance of water for live stock and also power for commercial purposes.
Fruits of all kinds do well, but wheat, corn, oats, potatoes and tame grasses are the principal crops. Alfalfa is fast growing in favor and is a most profitable crop.
The live stock industry is an important one and the farmer with a small bunch of cattle is considered well to do. It is not an uncommon occurrence to hear some one say that this or that man commenced a few years ago with a few cattle and is now independently rich. Plenty of pure water, natural grass of great nutrition, and an even temperate climate combine to make Decatur county one of the best stock countries in the West. Horses are now bringing fairly good .prices, and this county may be said to be the home of this useful animal. Hogs are unusually healthy in this locality, and the farmer of Iowa or Illinois need not be told the profits raising hogs in a corn country where they are exempt from cholera.
We clip the following statistics from an article written by Mr. E. M. Coldren, editor of the Oberlin Herald, published in Outdoor Life:
“In this connection it will perhaps be proper to give the number of cars that have been shipped from this county from the various railroad stations for the thirteen months ending July 31, 1899.
“Cars of cattle, 735; cars of hogs, 716; cars of wheat, 643; cars of corn, 416; cars of rye, 111; miscellaneous, 53.
“In this connection we also wish to present an abstract of the assessor’s report, taken March 1, 1899: Number of inhabitants in county, 7,883; number of improved farms, 1,580; assessed valuation of real estate, $1,584,243; assessed valuation of personal property, $519,265.
“The crop acreage of the county was as follows: Corn, 100,702; winter wheat, 34,556; spring wheat, 20,623; other small grain, 10,954; potatoes, 997; alfalfa, millet, etc., 6,280.
“The following amounts were held mostly by farmers on hand March 1, 1899: Bushels of corn, 580,905; bushels of wheat, 36,492! number of horses and mules, 7,865; number of cattle, 21,202; number of sheep, 1,094; number of swine, 36,126.
“Decatur county produced in the 1898, as follows: Corn, 2,500,000 bushels; wheat, 1,000,000; tons of hay cut, 20,460; pounds of butter made, 214,837; pounds of cheese made, 1,800; number of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, value, $357,223.
“It is well, also to note the increase of 1898 over the year 1897: Population, increase, 689; personal property, increase, .$158,022; cattle, increase, 6,353; valuation of animals fattened and slaughtered or sold for slaughter, increase, $136,664.
The above showing is remarkable when it is considered that this county only a. few years ago was a part of the great American desert, and considered by many as a worthless country.”
The public schools of Decatur county are not surpassed in the state, and the people take a just pride in their “temples of wisdom.”
The County Teachers’ Association is very active. They have a library of 200 well-selected volumes.
OBERLIN:
Oberlin is the county seat of Decatur county and one of the best known towns in the state. They have a population of 1,500 people. They are industrious, enterprising and progressive, and extend the right hand of fellowship to the “stranger within their gates.” The city is beautifully situated, well built up and has the general appearance of activity and prosperity. Oberlin has a good future, and city property or a farm in Decatur county will prove a good investment.
All branches of business are represented, and what is needed is honest, industrious people to till the soil and…
PAGE 10
(Oberlin Continued) …grow live stock, and to such rich rewards await them.
The streets of Oberlin are decorated with handsome homes and cozy cottages, which form the border for the substantial stone and brick blocks. Improvement and progress are the order of the day and the stranger within the gates of Oberlin is impressed with the business activity, push and enterprise. This city is justly entitled to the reputation of being the most progressive city of northwestern Kansas.
The numerous church organizations are all in a flourishing condition and the prospective settler will find Oberlin a city of churches, schools and refinement.
Secret societies and fraternal orders are well represented, and in this line, as well as commercial pursuits, Oberlin energy and push has long been the envy of northwestern Kansas. This .statement is clearly proven by the camp of Modern Woodmen, now numbering 400, being the largest camp in the western half of the state. Another order that deserves special mention is the Sons and Daughters of Justice. Oberlin council No. 106 was organized in November, 1899, with a membership of eighteen. They now have a membership of 138 and are growing.
J. E. PLOTTS:
Among the efficient county officers we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. J. E. Plotts, county clerk of Decatur county. Mr. Plotts was born in Illinois in 1853, and came to Oberlin in 1884 from Iowa, where he had resided for eighteen years. He was elected to the office of county clerk in November, 1899, and took charge January 8, 1900. He has been engaged in farming since coming to Oberlin. He owns 320 acres of land eight miles from town which is stocked with horses and cattle. Mr. Plotts is raising some alfalfa on uplands and has experimented in discing the field in the spring and after each cutting with quite a degree of success. He says his experience in this country has not been all sunshine but has proved profitable in the end. Mr. Plotts is now in the second year of his term of office and the faithful performance of his official duties has made him many warm friends and supporters.
J. M. SEARS:
In reviewing the various enterprises now going on in Oberlin, we visited the foundry and machine shop owned and conducted by J. M. Sears. We were surprised that a community like this would justify such an establishment, but Mr. Sears informed us he already had a good trade and an increasing demand. This establishment is equipped with the latest methods and improved machinery used in the larger cities, including lathes, drills, forges and other tools, and is run by steam power. Here all kinds of machine repair work is done, as well as castings in brass and iron. Mr. Sears is a thorough mechanic of long practical experience who takes a great pride in his work, as is evidenced by the splendidly equipped plant to which he gives his own personal attention. Mr. Sears was born in Illinois in 1863, and came to Oberlin eighteen months ago from Lane county, Kansas. He is building a nice residence, which will soon be ready for occupany. He speaks in very flattering terms of this community as a place of residence as well as from a business point of view.
H. F. NOYES:
A very pleasant call at the office of the young but very proficient clerk of the District Court leads us to say that Oberlin and Decatur county is blessed with a splendid corps of county officers, made up almost entirely of people who have engaged in the pursuit of farming, where the best blood and brains of the nation have emanated. Mr. Noyes was born in Ohio in 1877, and came to Nebraska, where he resided for two years, coming to Decatur county in 1893. He enlisted on the 3rd of May, 1898, in the Twenty-second Kansas volunteers for the Spanish-American war and was discharged November 2nd of the same year. He was elected to the office of clerk of the District Court in November, 1900, and took charge January 1, 1901. He has followed school teaching for a number of years and there received a training which has so well fitted him for official duties.
F. M. LANG: Register of Deeds
The office of register of deeds in a new and growing county is a very important one. The duties of which require great care in detail. Mr. F. M. Lang has had charge of this office since January, 1900, and the careful manner in which he has discharged the duties incumbent is a credit to his official record. Mr. Lang was born in Pennsylvania, went to Iowa in 1864, and thence to Kansas in 1884, locating here in 1885. He began farming and has since followed that occupation up to the time of his induction into office. He owns a farm of 160 acres and a residence and business property in Oberlin. Any information in regard to Decatur county will be cheerfully furnished. Mr. Lang is…
Pages 11-15