I WONDER WHAT IT WAS LIKE?
By: Stan Jordan
As I sit here in my famous corner with a window that looks out over Antwerp’s busy thoroughfare and right outside is River Street; that used to be the main trail for General Anthony Wayne’s men from Toledo to Fort Wayne. I wonder what it was like.
In the late 1820’s a couple of pioneers came along and settled down, namely Mr. Curtis, as he built a fur trading store over in Crane Twp.
What comes to mind now is that line from the poem Hiawatha; right behind them rose the forrest, the dark and gloomy forrest.
As I understand, it was solid wood, hundreds of years old timbers, knee deep, black muck from millions of acres of decaying leaves, water that couldn’t drain and insects that you can’t imagine. I guess the best way to travel was by boat on the river. Most of the settlers came from the Toledo-Defiance area and worked their way into Carryall Twp.
I guess the government bought the land from the Indians and around 1805 to 1820 the Maumee Valley was made ready for settlers. A survey was made and counties and townships were laid out.
Carryall Township was laid out in 1829 and was part of Williams County.
General Curtis put up that trading post and that area was named Craneville after a man named Crane that settled in that area.
But on up the river, across the Indiana line was a Knagg Indian reserve, there was a lot of action north of Antwerp as a number of French soldier relics had been dug up there. All of this action was before 1800.
Antwerp, in 1835, was just getting settled. It was surveyed and laid out in 1841. Along about that time, General Curtis built the first store down at the south end of what is now Main St, as the canal would be dug there in a year or two.
The canal was finished in 1843. The road to the Maumee from Hicksville laid out in 1844 & 45, they named it Antwerp in 1844. Antwerp became incorporated in 1864 and it has progressed each year until now. We are about 4700.
I guess they call it progress, but the hotels are gone, the railroad is practically gone, the canal and reservoir are gone, the Anthony Wayne Trail has been moved and now called US 24, the livery stable is gone, but so is the black muck, the woods, the insects and standing water.
We are now an up and coming city with a great high school, all kinds of city utilities, great streets, curbs and drainage, a beautiful park and veterans memorial.
And here at the West Bend News, right above me is a duct that gives me lots of heat in the winter and cool air in the summer and a number of people who help me all the time.
I wonder what it was like.
See ya!
THE WEATHER AND FARMING
By: Stan Jordan
I know just enough about farming that it shows how much I don’t know. But I do talk to good farmers about everyday and a little of it rubs off on to me.
Now this is the first part of April and I know most big farmers would like to be planting corn by the 15th. The last few years show that the early planted corn yields the best. Of course you still need a good rain in July and August.
The weather cycle this winter, so far, does not add up to a good spring planting season. For the past few months we have the same cycle over and over. We usually have two nice warm days, then a cold front of about three days will move in with a lot of rain, maybe some it will go to the north or the south of us. Then we have a couple of days of cold wind, some of it gets pretty gusty, the ground dries up and we have a couple of nice days again and the cycle starts over.
Before the ground gets dry enough to plant, we get a couple of more wet days. The man on the weather station hints that the first three weeks of April will be wet and cold. We will just have to wait and see.
I told you I don’t know much about farming.
See ya!
THE COMMUNITY SIGN
By: Stan Jordan
The new community sign is up and operational in the parking lot of the West Bend News.
It is a digital LED sign and is operated from inside the West Bend News. It is equipped with a clock and temperature sensor.
It is there for anybody to use and tell about your sale, activities, birthday or whatever. Just call the West Bend News office and get the scoop. The sign is there for the betterment of the community.
Come in and talk to the boss about renting a space, how long, the price and message you want.
The sign is lit 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and your ad/message will be on there for a week at a time.
See ya!
