Otto was married and moved to town is 1907, he had pretty much made up his mind that photography would be his life’s work.
But all his life from a little boy in Germany, he loved birds and animals and wild life.
He got interested in taxidermy and it became a big hobby for him. He done most of his mounting at his home. This is a picture of some of his work in later years. I had visited his home a number of times and always enjoyed myself and was always made welcome.
Our First Studio: 1
The studio I purchased of E.P. Neate in 1907 was located on Railroad Street, just south of the Wabash Depot. It was fitted with a sky-light, no artificial lights in those days. There was one small electric light bulb in the entire studio. It cost me 40 cents a month, the studio was on the second floor, the rent was five dollars per month. About the middle of 1908, we moved from North Main St. to a flat joining the studio on the west and owned by Mr. McGuire. In 1910 I moved the studio in the McDonnal Building, now the Pine Room. The upstairs apartment was for the studio, the ground floor was used to sell post cards etc. I also had the agency for Edison Phonograph and Records. I also had the agency for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Later I started the agency got the News Sentinal, the first time that this paper had been delivered in town. About 1915 the building was sold and the owner was starting a restaurant and I had to move over the other two apartments in that brick block.
There are many things that come to mind in going back over the past years. My two older sisters, Mary and Martha, started to work in Ft. Wayne shortly after arriving in the country as a domestic and about once a year I received an invitation to visit them. On one occasion I remember after getting off the train at Ft. Wayne, I had to wait a few minutes on one of my sister’s to pick me up, standing along the street (Calhoun St.) I saw a buggy going on the street that didn’t have a horse hitched to it. A horse-less carriage. I was told it was powered with electric batteries. The wheels and tires were a little larger than bicycle wheels, that was my first automobile I saw. This happened in the middle nineties.
Our cabin was a farm owned by B.J. White who formally owned the stave mill in Antwerp. They bought hundreds of acres of land in this community. Land in those days sold from five to ten dollars per acre. We leased 50 acres near Nineville (now owned by Chas Wetli) We had to clear the land, and we would get all of the crop we could raise on it for five years. At the end of five years we leased it for another two years, for putting in tile to drain the field.
After that we moved to our own farm on the canal. When I was about 19 years of age, my father bought me a buggy. It cost sixty dollars at Gordon Bros. Hardware in Antwerp. Did that make me feel big! In October 1904 there was a party at E.L. Overmyer, this being the 16th birthday of Fay Overmyer. We had a nice party, Fay, at that time, was working as a hired girl at Frank Weth’s, a mile south of her home. I offered to take her home and she accepted. That was our first date, this was my first date, and we continued going together until Jan. 1, 1906 when we were married at her home by E.P. Lacy, Justice of Peace. Most of the marriages in those days were performed by a Justice of Peace.
I continued farming for two years, living with my parents on the home place. In November of 1907 I purchased the studio from E.C. Neate in Antwerp for four hundred and fifty dollars. I borrowed every cent of it and we moved to town. We rented and lived in the first house south of Bert Smith’s residence on North Main St. The rent was $5.00 per month.
ANTWERP’s NEW TANKER
By: Stan Jordan
This is Antwerp’s new 3000 gallon tanker, it is mounted on a 2016 Kenworth chassis. Pictured above three members of the Antwerp Fire Department: Paul Fruit, Gale Jordan and Gary Dunlap.
Gale Jordan and Nick Bragg went to south Georgia and drove the new unit home last fall.
This unit was purchased to make more fire coverage for Carryall Township as well as Antwerp. But it is also available if any town in the area needs our water supply.
All of the neighboring towns have a tanker and they are always available anywhere at a moments notice. Remember a year ago where we had the grocery store fire, there was four extra tanks helping out.
You can notice that the truck is equipped with tandem dual wheels. Well, the 3000 gallon alone could weigh 8 lbs to the gallon ad then the weight of the chassis, fuel and men.
This tanker is also a fire truck. Besides carrying 3000 gallon of water, it is also a 500 G.P.M. pumper to fight fires if need be.
The people are very lucky to have their big new tanker and the big new pumper they got a couple years ago.
See ya!
Robbery of Clothing Store 1930
By: Stan Jordan
This following story was given to me by Douglas Michael of Edon, Ohio who is a grandson of the Foster’s, the store owner. That store was on the same lot as the West Bend News.
Sept. 27, 1930
Young Bandit Robs Antwerp Store Sat.
Our neighboring village of Antwerp was the scene of a robbery Saturday night, when Foster’s clothing and furnishing store lost over $200 to a youthful bandit.
Mr. Foster, proprietor, and his wife, with one clerk, Sam Anderson, were in the store at 10:45 when a young man entered and bought a pair of socks. As he handed Mr. Foster the money, he stepped behind the counter, pushed a gun against the proprietor, told the clerk to hold up his hands and demanded the cash with a threat of death. After scooping the money out of the till he left.
County authorities have only the description of the young man as given them by Mr. Foster, as a clue, and it will likely take some time to locate the bandit. Mr. Foster describes the youth as being 22 years of age, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weight is about 160 lbs, wearing brown suit, brown topcoat and a light cap.
Nobody saw the man enter or leave the store and his complete disappearance in such a brief period of time remains a mystery to those working on the case.
A little on the Eagles
By: Stan Jordan
I was talking with Barbara Butzin the other day and she was telling me about an eagle’s nest across the river from the Les Hart home.
I have nothing else to do, so I counted up the nests of eagles and where they are located.
From the Oakwood area north to Edgerton, Ohio and from Power Dam west to Bull Rapids we know of eight eagles nest, there easily could be more.
All these nests are in high trees along a river of some sort. There is a couple reasons for building there.
In this area, most of the tall trees are along a river or ditch. Besides that, eagles like fish so they make a nest close to the water. As time goes by, we all learn more about eagles and our wild life.
I talked to Michelle Dooley the other day and she seen an adult eagle in Neil Ramsier’s bottom land, it was flooded and the eagle was looking for fish.
See ya!
Sunday, June 25th Spaghetti Dinner
By: Stan Jordan
The Community Christian Church, the Riverside Christian Church, the Presbyterian Church and the United Methodist Church are putting on a spaghetti dinner at the United Methodist Church.
Now this will be from about 11:30 on Sunday, June 25th. Any and all hungry people are invited. There will be salad, spaghetti and desert.
This is a free will offering and any proceeds will be used for this year’s Vacation Bible School and any child up to sixth grade is welcome and urged to come.
See ya!
Sam Rivers, Indian Agent Chapter 37: Rooster Comes To
By: Stan Jordan
Rooster shuffled and squirmed around for a while in Callie’s rocking chair. He slowly woke up and couldn’t figure out where he was and why.
He said, “Oh golly, I’m stiff, I’m cold-it’s cold in here.”
This looks like Sam and Callie’s house! Now let me think-oh, my left forearm hurts! Now let me think, I rode Rocket from Fort Kearney here to the Indian Agency. That must have been yesterday. Then I came into Sam’s house and lit a fire.
Oh, now I remember I went to the barn for meat and…oh yeah, the wolves attacked me! Yes, I shot one and the others escaped but the one who jumped me, oh golly yes, bit my arm bad and I killed him too! Oh yes, now it is falling together. I have a broken left forearm. I must get back to Fort Kearney as soon as I can to have Dr. Grooms set me arm. My horse has eaten and will be okay for the trip.
Now lets see, it is about 20 degrees outside and it is about 70 miles to the fort. Rocket and I did that trip yesterday, coming this way. Everything is normal except I cannot use my left arm. If I can remember all of my first aid classes, for a broken arm, you must keep it in a sling as much as possible and don’t use it at all if you can get along that way.
Now I must let the fires go out and drain the coffee pot.
What is left of the fried deer meat I will put in my right pocket of my over coat.
He then went to Callie’s wardrobe and took a good size scarf for a sling, and a shawl to double up on his chest because he can’t close his coat all the way.
He can only use his right arm to get on the horse. After a fashion he did get mounted.
He talked to Rocket and padded him a little and told him “We have to go back to the fort at once. I know you are tired out, but we must go now.”
Well I got on the horse okay. I got my right arm into my big coat sleeve and then through it over my back and outside my left arm. It is very hard to do that with only one arm in hand. He had gotten a short piece of soft wire, wrapped one end around a button on one side of his coat and them pushed the end through the other button hole on the other side and drew it together to make it more secure.
He said, “Rocket, we are going to walk awhile so we can limber up a bit.”
Rooster said, “By the moon it looks about midnight. With the moon and white snow on the ground we are moving right along.” Then he told Rocket to go into an easy trot that he could continue for a long time, and they got on their was-about 70 miles to go to Fort Kearney.
Rooster cradled his arm and sling up against his chest and it didn’t hurt too bad. It took a little while for Rooster and the saddle and the horse to all rise and fall at the same time.
They rode along pretty good. Rooster hummed and sang a little bit to pass the time. There was no wind yet so it wasn’t too cold. They came to the Loup River and crossed it where they always did. Rooster found a stump and slid off the saddle and walked around a bit. He also ate some of his dried meat and ate a little snow.
He got on the stump and then onto the saddle. They stayed on the south side of the river, headed pretty much east for a good 30 miles. It is good and daylight now and it is a little warmer in the sun.
The trail from yesterday is easy to follow. About noon they came to the twin maple trees that tell you to turn and go straight south to the fort.
Well, with the swaying of the horse and the warm sunlight, Rooster knew that the horse would go all the way to the fort without any orders. Rooster was dead tired, so he dosed for a few miles with his head on his chest. He did not see the fort up ahead a couple of miles.
See ya!
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