Click on the Flag for More Information
|
French recalled that when he arrived in Carroll, not yet a county in 1832, he was part of a surveying team laying out the state in a grid. Only a few families lived here Elkhorn Grove, Cherry Grove, Plum River (Savanna) "Neighbors were those who lived twenty miles away. The first winter he lived in a hole dug into the bluffs. (See PDQ Me 8/21/1985) Anecdote upon anecdote were to be reason for an Old Settlers Association (OSA). There'd never be another time like those. That drama and color were foundation. Unfortunately the OSA journal is gone, it filled with adventure once thought of as everyday, prosaic. As in ensuing years, a "basket dinner" was the high point of the reunion. Coffee was free with also cream and sugar, an appreciated bonus. After the potluck the newly-drafted constitution was to be accepted at that first meeting, '74. There were nine sections to it, the most important of which was criteria to be a member. At first it was to be that anyone here before 1850 was an 'old settler.' But on cogitation it was decided that the rule should be anyone here twenty-one years was a 'settler' which would mean that each year new energy would come forth and not remain static as the 1850 rule would make it. Twenty-five cent dues were requested. In 1875 balance on hand was $5.85 after expenditure of $15.15. Duncan Mackay, tho not as old a settler as might be imagined, told that he'd hauled dressed pork to Galena, selling it at $1.60 per 100; barley for 20¢ a bushel. September, 1876, third reunion, saw a day filled with rain as had been the day before making the roads "exceedingly heavy" ... "Prospects of good attendance seemed blasted but men and women who'd withstood the rigors of pioneer life were not to be kept away from the annual feast by mud and rain."
The objective of the observance was to preserve incidents of peculiar interest not only for the "pioneer's preoccupation" but for posterity (PDQ Me - 6/4/1986). The Centennial year, 1876, saw construction of a water tank with a towering new windmill to pump the water for the settlers and the livestock which was their motive powerand the county fair, of course. The next year, 1877, attendance was so large that the Association had to meet in the Amphitheater instead of the Agriculture tent where produce was exhibited. Same for 1878 including officers held over. In 1879attendance declined due to state of the weather. Mr. Dyson stated that only two narrow paths could be seen between Mt. Carroll and Elkhorn Grove and one tiny house when he came. 1880-1881same basket dinner still the high point. 1882Site changed to Lanark for some reason. 2,000 attended in cool, shady park. 1883at Mt. Carroll. 1884voted to return to Lanark. Mr. Hoffhine, Brookville, oldest present, coming in 1835. A group picture was taken of all Old Settlers. Treasurer's report read: Membership fees, $32; on hand $41; Expenses-draying, 75¢; moving tables, 50¢; making coffee, $1; wood, 50¢; printing posters for '82-'83, $5; sugar/coffee, $8.73; tea/coffee in '82, $2.50. Balance on hand $25.69. The newspaper account with it read that, "The citizens of the thriving and enterprising city of Lanark have reason to be proud of so pleasant a place to hold out-of-door meetings and the proximity of the little grove to the railroad depot and the town are pleasant features to those who attend. The retiring president, Mr. Pierce, told of making a cradle for the first white baby born in county." 1885at Mt. Carroll, all parts of the county represented. Attendance large, music good and "dinner was all that the most fastidious epicure could want." That year, D.W. Dame was president. He called for the vice presidents to consider building a memorial log cabin with logs from all parts of the county of some sentimental design. In a previous article concerning this, it said, "Lanark, in need of a new liberty pole, suggested using the useful remains of their old one, dedicating it to Ulysses S. Grant who had just died. The Democrats immediately took partisan exception to that by saying that he wasn't a "native" and so log which was to come from or was to stand for some noted local landmark would not be suitable. A rift occurred when the veterans of the Civil War were heard from, their hero not to be slighted in the building of the memorial cabin. The editor of the Lanark Gazette wrote that certainly Grant was as native (and a Republican!) to the area as anyone for his service as general and president, the Northwest being his early day sponsor." It ended up there were enough logs to build three log cabins at $1,200. There were plenty of people on hand to build them. By 1887 there were one thousand who met to rescind the incorporation of the cabins but the next year '88, there was an indebtedness of $12.03 on the project. Liberal donations covered the red blot. In 1889-'90 the meetings were at Mt. Carroll but for some reason Lanark next was host and "donning holiday attire it might have been the Fourth of July so many flags, banners and bunting were displayed on homes and commercial." Besides the beautiful shade trees in the city park was another positive aspect of holding OSD there. And, too, there was its nearness of the railroad to the park. Passenger or excursion trains could drop attendees at the depot where they'd be met by a welcoming committee and the town band to be escorted to the park for the day's speeches and entertainmentand food. They came in droves in '92. By 10 o'clock there were 5,000 people in attendance; Half past ten o'clock the parade began and at noon there was 200 ft. of tables filled with food. Coffee, cream and sugar were always free to all! James Garner of Cherry Grove was the oldest of the Old Settlers and was presented an easy chair. A totally new feature was the center of attraction in 1893bicycle races on Locust Street, Lanark. There was also a balloon ascension with FIREWORKS at night. Something new and exciting every year, it appears. A handmade tribute was given Cally Pierce Bowen in 1894, a rocking chair made of maple from the Garner-Moffett acreage north of town. Will Moffett turned it out while J.H. Smith, Mt. Carroll, upholstered it. Mrs. Bowen had settled here in 1828. The annual reunion still celebrated its Old Settlers per name of the anniversary. Comfort of the settlers was the objective still in 1895 when the Brookville band provided the music. D.W. Dame, Lanark, was elected to his thirteenth term as president of the Association. By 1897 a changing list of presidents headed the roster. A motion was made and carried that all future meetings be held at Lanark in the city park due to its central location and the fact that the railroad could so easily let off passengers right next to the celebration in the park. And so it continues, with some years of interruption until today, 2009, when Old Settlers Day (weekend) will be held June 26-28. A program of events is readily found in newspapers and posters here and there. Watch for them. Objectives of the celebration are widely different and much changed than when it was first formed in 1874 ... No longer is it devoted to the needs and desires of OLD settlers, or do we hear the unique incidents surrounding the settling up of the Northwest but like life itself is all-around in nature for Folks of all ages, it is hoped. Although Old Settlers is this weekend, we'll continue this article into July in order for readers to observe just how much it has changed since the start. The illustrations are just a few of the postcards taken of the DAY long ago. The highlight potluck dinner 1908 is seen in one and the flower bedecked automobile 1912 is a carry over from the first ALL AUTOMOBILE parade in 1910. Next week. More Old Settlers when it was county wide.
|
