By: Stan Jordan
As I sit here at my desk and look out at the busy corner of S.R. 49 and River Street my mind has taken me one block south to the corner of South Main and Stone Street. The years gone by of the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s are kicking up a lot of dust and memories in my mind of how much history there is of that area. I’m going to try to tell you about some of the history, I hope I don’t forget any part of it.
At the very east end of Stone Street it was a big 30 acre corn field, but it had the ball diamond, grandstand, a place to shoot clay pigeons and a golf driving range. That area was pretty busy each weekend in the summer.
Then you come up to the corner of North Erie Street and Stone Street and on that curve was the town hall in the mid 1800’s till about 1900. That’s where all the city offices were.
The city owned that corner and the city offices were there until they built the new Town Hall in 1906. Groups could use the meeting rooms in the City Building but they had to furnish their own fuel and coal oil. That rule took effect in 1877.
When we got city water in 1930 or so the water tower was built on that lot.
Then west in the next block was the East Elevator and coal yard until the 1950’s. On the south side of the street L. Smith & Son sold cars, trucks and farm machinery.
On the southeast corner of South Main and Stone Street was Delmonico’s Restaurant and later to be Tiny DeLong Lunch and then it was Ray’s Restaurant.
Across the street to the north was a grocery store and then in the 1950’s the dry cleaners was built there.
Across the street that was called Railroad Street and on the north side was a little building, that in the early years, was a cream station. Then west of that was a vacant lot where the town had free movies on Thursday nights.
On the south side of that street was what was commonly called The Chair Factory. From 1939 it had 15 employees, by 1950 it had over 100 employees. It burned down in 1951.
Then we come to the west elevator and they have been in business since before 1880. It is now part of the Mercer Landmark Complex.
On the corner of Monroe and Railroad Street was Antwerp’s first electric plant, about 1900, it was taken over by Ohio Power.
Then there were coal bins that belonged to the Antwerp Equity Exchange.
Up on Railroad Street extended, Warren Seslar had an oil dealership for many years. Then there were loading pens for the railroad track, corral and pens and on up in that area was the Sinclair Warehouse, owned by Fred Dunderman.
See ya!
By: Stan Jordan
• Johnny was telling his neighbor lady that he had Himalayan opossum for supper last night.
She asked, “What did you have?”
He repeated, “We had Himalayan opossum.”
She asked Johnny, “Where did you get a Himalayn opossum?”
Johnny said, “Dad found him a layin on the road.”
• Sally was a single mom, that had a boy who was a little slow, but he could stay by himself part of the time. She had a good job and the boss would let her go home to check on him if need be.
She called home to see how the boy was doing and he told her he had caught him a troll. She said, “Ok, that’s fine and you’re ok.” Then she thought, I better go home and check on him and see what he caught.
When she got home she asked about the troll. “Oh yes, I caught one and he’s in the closet.” So she said, “Let’s go see him.”
What he had was a dwarf locked up.
The dwarf was a salesman and knocked at the door and the boy had never seen a dwarf before and he thought he had a troll.
• The man and wife were sitting on the couch. The woman was reading a book and the man was watching a football game on T.V.
The phone rang and the man answered it and after a short moment of silence he said, “How should I know? That is two thousand miles away.”
Then the wife asked, “What was that?”
The man answered, “Some guy wanted to know if the coast was clear”
• I know of a woman who wanted her husbands to look nice, so she took three of them to the cleaners.
• A man went down by the sewer,
And by the sewer he did died,
And at the coroner’s inquest,
They called it sewer side.
• A man rear ended another car at the stop light and a fellow came rolling out of the first car and he was a dwarf.
He came back to the second car, waving his arms and said, “I’m not happy!”
And the second driver said, “Well, which one are you?” …and the fight was on!
See ya!
Snowy Owl In The Area
By: Stan Jordan
I had a nice talk with Carl and Linda Baumert the other day and they were telling me about this male snowy owl they had seen.
Linda looked out of her kitchen window and there he was. He was mostly white with a few small dark spots, so she figured it was a male owl, because when a female snowy owl flies, most of the inside feathers are black and the female bird is easy to recognize.
I was very glad to hear about the sighting of the snowy owl. They are not native to this area, but that owl family in that area has been seen before and I am happy they have a nest in the area.
That type of owl nest is on the ground and it would be a miracle if someone would see their nest. That owl has been reported from Nineville and the stateline to Woodburn Road and all the way to the Gar Creek Road and even down to Monroeville.
I surely hope they stay in the area.
See ya!
Sam Rivers Indian Agent Chapter 46: Loup River Tribe
By: Stan Jordan
The Loup River Tribe’s chief is Broken Lance and his shaman is named Pale Moon.
Gen. Kearney said, “If there are any blankets at the fort, we will get them for you. If not, I will try to get them for next year when we come to plow your garden area next April.”
Farmer and their gardener, Bubble Bee, had been discussing next year’s planting for some time and these two fellows became fast friends.
A lot of plans were made for next spring and after a couple of hours the Loup River Tribe mounted up and rode back to their village.
We sat and talked and Billy looked the area over and remarked about the fine job the post engineers had done here at the Calamus Village.
Rooster made some coffee and soup along with some biscuits and we ate, bundled up and watched the fire burn and crackle.
We are back at the agency now, it was a long trip and we turned in early.
We all rested today. We sat around the fire in the warm sunshine. Gen. Kearney said, “We will start back to the fort early in the morning.”
Well, all the boys are gone now and it is Callie, Yellow Tulip, the twins and I. We had a small Thanksgiving dinner right here at the agency.
We didn’t do much for Christmas or New Year’s. We did have a lot of snow and wind, but we stayed inside where it was nice and warm.
It is now the middle of March 1857. We are going to mound up in the morning and journey over to Fort Kearney.
Rooster was here the other day to check on us. He told us that Billy Metzger had been assigned to Fort Kearney as the post veterinarian, as the old fellow had retired.
When Rooster was here the other day he said that Gen. Kearney would like to have another carry-in dinner in celebration April 1, like we did last year. Everyone seemed to have a good time.
So Callie, Yellow Tulip, the twins and I left the agency on Wednesday and arrived there at the fort Thursday evening, March 29, 1857.
The boys are older now and Ned talks all the time. Ted is pretty quiet most of the time. Everyone was glad to see us and the twins. There are a couple of other children here and they play together all the time.
Well, what a day we had. Lt. Billy Metzger held a seminar on horse hooves and the do’s and don’ts on your animal. Rooster did a lot of tricks in calisthenics and running. A number of the soldiers did some trick riding.
One corporal had his squad do some fancy drills and rifle routine. You could tell those boys were proud of their squad.
Some fellows showed off their ability on a horse and mounting also. This lasted up to supper time and we all ate and sat around until dark.
See ya!
COMMON SENSE: A LOST ART
By: Stan Jordan
“We grow too soon old, and too late smart.” That was a remark sent by an old timer in Wisconsin to the Arthur Godfrey Show, back in the late 1960’s.
As I sit here at my desk and look out the window at a nice, clean, cool morning in August, everything is nice and peaceful and serene. But is it? Our beautiful nation is having an upheaval somewhere all the time.
Now to me, that is non-sense. It certainly isn’t common sense. What ever happened to common sense?
We have a riot in Virginia over some people’s civil rights. Some of those people never done anything for their country to be given civil rights. And in this drug use business, that is people not using common sense. That stuff just tears your body down and even in your children to come. Just no common sense.
A man takes his vehicle and runs into a crowd of people to see how many he can kill. Arms, legs and bodies flying through the air like Jack Straws. To me he has used up all his civil rights. Officials know he was the driver of the vehicle and he even admitted it. I don’t think society owes that person anything. No quick trial, certainly not a state supplied lawyer.
In an open and shut case like that, I think he should be given a long drop on a short rope. But that won’t happen, his civil rights can keep him alive at taxpayers expense for years to come.
Common sense starts at home. Yes, just like dignity and respect. Schools can help alright but there are basic learnings at home. Respect for other people and their rights.
America is slowly destroying herself from within.
See ya!
