Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, September 29, 1909, Page 1

aT. cs Grand Napids erald-Aevic MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, VoL, XVII.—No, 15. Granp Rapips, ITasca County, MINN., WEepNESDaY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1909.) _ Two Dollars a Year. LAST TRIBUTE T0 LATE GOVERNOR Business Houses Were Closed and Traffic Suspended Thursday Afternoon From 2 to 4. SERVICES HELD AT THE AUDITORIUM Fitting Tributes Paid Late Governor Johnson by Rev. Murphy, A. J. McGuire, Dr. Briggs, Hon. C. C. McCarthy, Prof. Freeman In common with other cities and villages in Minnesota, all business houses in Grand Radids were closed and traffic was suspended from the hours of 2 to 4, Thursday afternoon, that being the time at which services were held at the Capitol building, St. Paul, for the late governor of Minne- sota, John Albert Johnson. A proclamation was issued by Presi dent A. C. Bossard of the village council, requesting that all business houses be closed during the hours of the funeral services at St. Paul, and was religeously carried out, every business establishment in the village being closed. The proclamation read as follows: “Almighty God having taken to his rest the beloved governor or _ this state, John .A Johnson, and it being therefore fitting that the people of Grand Rapids should in some way express at this time our respect, es- teem and love for that great man; I therefore ask and urgently recom- mend that on Thursday, September 23, 1909, between the hours of 2 and 4 o’clock, P. M., that being the time of the funeral, the transaction of all public and private business of any kind, so far! as possible, be suspend- ed, and that the citizens of Grand Rapids, in whatever way they may see fit, observe the memory of our late chief executive.” Services were held at the High school auditorium and were opened with prayer by the Very Rev. Dean Buechler, after which short talks were made by Rev. E. S. Murphy, Superintendent A. J. McGuire, Dr. S.G. Briggs, Hon. C.C,. McCarthy and Prof. E. A. Freeman, each speaker eulogizing and commenting upon the life of Governor John Albert Johnson his struggles, his achievements, and thel Christian spirit he exercised to- wards all. The benediction was promounced by Rev. Davis and the services were interspersed with nat- ional hymns, rendered by a chorus af school children. Every seat in the large auditorium was filled and the serious and re- spectful mien of the audience was a fitting testimonial to the love and esteem in which Governor John Al- bera Johnson was held by the people of Grand Rapids and vicinity. Almost every citizen of the village wore a small black bow as a mark of their grief in the loss of Minne- sota’s chief executive, and that the expressions of regret came from the heart there is no doubt. In the his- tory of the state no man’s loss has been more sincerely mourned, peo- ple of all nationalities and political and religeous faiths uniting to pay ‘tribute to his memory. HARDWARE STORE IS BROKEN INTO W. J. & H. D. Powers’ Hardware Store Robbed—Entrance Made Through Rear Door. W. J. & H. D. Powers hardware store was broken into and robbed some time during the night of Sep- tember 24 and entrance was effect- ed by sawing a small section out of the rear door, after which it was an easy matter for the thieves, who are thought to be three in number, to make their entrance. Nine re- volvers, of Savage, Colt and Iver Johnson make; a flashlight and thir- teen pocket knives were taken _ Tha following is a description of the three men suspected of having made the robbery: One man about five feet, seven inches in stature, jand Steve Billedeau inches in height, weighing 165 pounds smooth shaven, clothed in dark suit and wearing ‘broad-rimmed hat; one man six feet in height, wearing dark suit of cloths and black soft hat. Thq local police have at this writing, been unable to obtain any trace of them. City Team Play Duluth Sunday. Manager Joe O’Day has made ar- rangements to play the Irving Ti- gers of Duluth at South Side park Sunday afternoon. The team is in the pink of condition, has been work- ing out each evening and the mem- bers of the team feel confident of winning the game. DEANERY MEETING WELL ATTENDED An Interesting Meeting of the Du Tuth Deanery Held Here Yes- terday and Today. The autumnal meeting of the Du- luth deanery was held at Grand Rapids yesterday and today and a large number were in attendance at the meeting. The meeting held Tuesday, evening was in charge of Bishop Morrison, of Duluth, who con- ducted the opening services. The meeting Wednesday morning occupied the greater share of the fore noon and in the afternoon the rev- erend gentlemen, who were in _ at- tendance at the deanery meeting, were taken for a drive to Pokegama lake, to enjoy its beautiful scenery. They also visited Coleraine and Bov- ey. This is the first deanery meet- ing held at Grand Rapids and those participating in it express themsel- ves charmed with the reception ac- corded them. COMMISSIONERS HOLD BUSY MEET Let Contracts for Construction of County Roads—-$300 for the Town of Blackberry. A meeting of the board of county commissioners was held Wednesday and bids for grading the state road north of Deer River were received. L. O. Sjolund’s bid in the sum of $1,016.00 was accepted, that being the lowest bid presented. Gust Hed- quist was given the contract to con- struct county road No. 43 for the sum of $244.50. Five bids were received for making improvements on the race track course at the fair grounds and Arscott & Benton’s bid being the lowest, they were given the contract. A motion was made and carried to extend aid to Mrs. Andrew Erickson during the months of September, October, Nov- ember and December. The sum of $300.00 was appropriated to the new- ly organized town of Blackberry to be: used in the construction and re- pair of roads and bridges. Commissioner Trebilcock was se- lected by the board to accompany the architect, who drew the plans and specifications for the enlarging of the county jail, to St. Paul, where they will appear before the state board of control in regard to the matter. A! loan of $10,000.00 was made to Cathering Hoolihan from the bonded indebtedness fund for a period of two years at five per cent interest. The next meeting of the board will be held October 16th. High School Team Play Bemidji. The Grand Rapids High school tean will meet the Bemidji eleven—their ancient and heriditary enemy—at South Side park Saturday, October 2, and an interesting game is looked fr. The team is not as heavy as that of last year, but they make an fmposing array. The line-up is as follows: Center, Webster Tyndall; left guard, George O’Brien; right Ross McLennan or Ed Erskine; left tackle, Ernest O’Toole; right tackle, Howard Reussvig; left end, Hugh Logan; right end, Edward Murphy; quarter-back, Will Powers; left half- back, Ralph Brandon; right half-back, Tom Erskine; full-back and captain Roy Blood; substitutes, Hepfel, Graf- fam and Costello. The boys have been practising each evening and are in good trim. At the conclusion of the game the Grand Rapids Juniors and the Proctor Juniors will contest for the championship of Minnesota. The subject for the Very Rev. Dean weight 185 pounds, twenty-six years old, wearing dark suit and a brown derby hat; one man five feet, nine Buechler’s sermon at the 10 o’clock mass Sunday will be The Devotion of the Rosary—Its Name. ITASCA’S GREATEST FAIR DREW LARGEST CROWDS More Entries Than Farm Products Ever of as Choice as Have Ever Been Seen In the State. GOOD HORSE RACING AND OTHER SPORTS Better Promise Too Fleet-footed for All Other Fast Horses In the in Winning Two Field and Succeeded Valuable Purses. WHAT ThlS COUNTY OFFERS TO FARMERS Rich Soil Producing Quickly Prolific Crops Com- manding the Highest Prices in Nearby Markets. Itasca county’s fair was a convinc- ing exposition of the wealth of the soil. To many the exhibits of grains, vegetables and fruits were a révela- tion. They showed that our farmers can raise practically everything that can be produced anywhere in the temperate zone and of as fine qual- ity. It was Itasca county’s best fair. Weather conditions were most favor- able and helped to bring a large at- tendance. In numbers and quality the exhibits surpassed anything here- to fore shown in this section. The euries numbered about 1,800, or 300 more than last year. Thursday was given over to the entries, Friday dawned bright and clear but a trifle chilly. Nevertheless the fair drew more people than it has ever done before, and on Satur- day they fairly flocked to the grounds the attendance being much greater than on Friday. The grand weather had much to do im attracting Satur- day’s crowds. It was as warm as a day in June, with scarcely a rip- ple of wind. Those who attended on Friday got their money’s worth in the horse races, the five mile marathon race, the vaudeville acts and the music of the Grand Rapids band. They were confronted, too, with magnifi- cents displays of all kinds of farm products, and the exhibits of fine cattle, horses, sheep, poultry, farm machinery, wagons, buggies and sleighs. But it was on Saturday that the biggest crowds came, filling the grand stand and all parts of the spacious grounds. There was something do- ing in the way of entertainment all the afternoon. In order to give the entire program it was necessary to start the races at one o’clock sharp. The heats were interspersed with a two mile automobile race, a. baseball game between Deer River and Cole- raine, vaudeville acts and good mus- ic by the bands from Coleraine and Grand Rapids. Exhibits Amazed Strangers. But what struck the serious mind- ed visitor most was that Itasca is fast coming into its own as an agri- cultural county which will eventually take rank with any in the state. Vis- itors from outside the county were amazed at the extent variety and uni- form excellence of farm products. They praised everything they saw, including the natural beauty of the grounds, on the shore of pretty Crys- tal lake, and timbered just suffici- ently to afford shade to the crowds on a warm day. They were charmed with the family picnic parties under the trees. All of them will be good advertisers for Itasca county. Farm products were entered’ in such' volume that it was necessary to utilize three-fourths of the new children’s industrial building for their display. All of the potatoes were shown in this building. And such potatoes as they were, large, smoth and solid—the kind of potatoes that delight the housewife everywhere. In the agricultural building the grains, vegetables, fruits and roots, except potatoes were shown. There Were squashes weighing more than 100 pounds, large| and luscious musk and Water melons, pumpkins, apples and grapes, of the very best, and many other things which are told about.in detail farther on in this story, pf Last week’s fair may be said to mark the awakening of the people of this county to a realization of the te of its soil, to the bounti- ful and high-priced crops it yields to intelligent farmers. who can buy land now at low prices and in a few years have as fine farms as any in the state, in close touch with near-by markets and. command the highest prices for everything they produce. Close Finishes in the Races. _ The race track could not have been in better condition and sustained its reputation of being one of the fast- est in the northwest. The grandstand opposite the judges’ stand was com- fortably filled both days. In the 2:45 class, pace or trot, Friday afternoon, there were four entries: Exception, owner by Dr. Clapper, Hibbing; Dr. I. Alex Nand, McKinley; Baby Wilton, G. F. Kremer, Grand Rapids; and Gold Bug, Frank Annsley, Hibbing. During the several heats, there were some pretty contests between Except- ion and Gold Bug, but Exception’s speed proved too much for Gold Bug, the racers winning in the following order: Exception, first; Gold Bug, second; Dr. I, third; Baby Wilton, fourth. . On account of the fast marks which the animals have, which wer, ed in the 2:18 class, a great deal of interest was taken in the race, and many staid persons, carried away by the excitement, who would not have done so under ordinary circum- stances, cheered their favorites on to victory as though they had _ risked fortunes on the result. The entries were as follows: Better Promise, owned by Henry Hughes, Grand Rap- ids; Polly Pry, Frank Annsley, Hib- bing; Skiddoo, Thomas Kerr, Grand Rapids, and American Count Charles Jesmore, Eveleth. It took five heats to decide the race. Skiddoo won the first two handily. Better Prom- ise and Polly Pry raced him off his feet on the back stretch in the last half of the third heat, Better Promise winning. Better Promise had it all his own- way in the fourth heat until the homestretch was entered when Polly Pry came up with a wonderful burst of speed and took the heat by a head. Better Promise took the last and fifth heat, which made him and Skiddoo winners of two heats each, but Better Promise having two seconds got the money. In the hundred yard dash there were only two entries, Lester Lofberg and Mike Mulvihill, the first named taking first money. There were four entries in the five-mile marathon race, Mulvihill, Lofberg, McClennan and Bossard, the last two mamed enter-; ished. Mulvihill coming in under the wire first at the finish with Lof- berg a short distance behind. The race was madd im the very excellent time of twenty-seven minutes. Better Promise Wins Again. The races. Saturday were more largely attended ‘and the crowd, if possible, was more enthusiastic than on Friday. In the 2:35 class there were three entries, Exception and Dr. I., who were in Friday’s race, and Alda Belle, owned by W. E. Myers, Grand Rapids. In the first heat Ex- ception came in first, but was set back to third place, on account o! fowling Alda Belle by crowding her off the track, which gave Dr. I. first place. Alda Belle won the sec- ond heat by a nose, making a very pretty finish with Exception, the last named horse winning the last two heats in succession, giving him the race, Dr. I. taking second hon- ors and Alda Belle third. Many ex- pressed the opinion that Alda Belle could have won the race, but on ac- count of injuring her quarter at Hib- bing she was not pushed, Mr. Myers fearing that if again injured she would never be of any further account on the track. Better Promise, Polly Pry, Skiddoo and ‘merican Count were entered in the 2:25 class pace and it was the most exciting of any yet held at Grand Rapids. Better Promise won the three straight heats, Polly Fe Pry taking second place, Skiddoo scoring third and American Count fourth. The second heat was made by Better Promise in 2:18% and his admirers claim that he can make still better time. Exciting Automobile Race. Perhaps the greatest interest of all was shown in the two-mile automobile race, in which there were two en- tries. F. E. King, of the King lum- ber company, of Grand Rapids, drove his own machine, a fine big Buick touring car. Dr. Charles Storch, of Grand Rapids, also drove his own machine, a Buick runabout, which had a decided advantage over the lJarger machine in rounding the sharp curves at practically full speed, while Mr. King had to slow up at the cur- ives or risk his life or the lives of the crowd. Dr. Storch gained on the curves; and Mr. King on the straight stretches. Each was in the lead several times, and in the back stretch the last time around the machines were running side by side, but the big machine had to be slowed up making the turn into the home stretch and Dr. Storch Won, with Mr. King not far behind. Coleraine’s Baseball Team Shut Out. At the conclusion of the racing Deer River and Coleraine baseball teams contested for the honors in one of the hardest fought games of the season. Cadro, who pitched for Deer River, proved too much for the Coleraine team and they failed to score a single run in the nine in- nings, while Deer River scored three runs in the third inning, three in the sixth and two in the ninth, making a total of eight scores. Both teans brought a large following of rooters with them and they supported their home teams with a loyalty which the Grand Rapids fans would do well to pattern after. The| score by innings: Deer River - - 0030030 0 2-8 ;Coleraine - - - 00000000 0—0 | Batteries: Deer River, Cadro and Harriet; Coleraine, Peterson and Benz. Umpire, Dick. Prof. Alfred Bossard, of Minneapo-} lis, entertained the large crowd dur-| ing the intermissions between the racing heats on both days with con- tortionist and high wire exhibitions, doing several difficult stunts. His work won the hearty approbation of the audience and he will have no difficulty in securing an engagement here at any future fair. New Buildings This Year. Several new buildings grace the fair grounds. First jin interest is the new School Children’s ; Industrial ATTEND THE FAlR Agree that It Surpassed Any Exhi- bition in the Past but Think Admission Price too High. ARE IN NEED OF BETTER ROADS Think Better Roads Would Attract More Business to Grand Ra- pids—Large Number Will Work in the Woods. The most interesting subject we have to deal with in these parts now- adays is “road building.” Until the present year the settlers of this re- gion have been compelled to a great extent, to “wade into civilization” af- ter supplies, but we are now. get- ting the roads into such condition that “quite a jag” can be gotten in by teams, but still they are not as they’ should be, by any means.. It seems as though the surrounding towns—Grand Rapids, Bovey, Cole- raine, etc., should be more anxious to “accumulate the patronage”’ of this region by at least using their in- fluence, if they possess any, toward further opening up the highways of all the country around about them, and it is hoped that they will be- stir themselves. Several of our people attended the Itasca county fair, and they all agree that it far surpassed any exhibition of the past, and! some of them have attended many. The weather, just previous to the date of the fair, had bee so inclement that our farmers ‘ were greiving over the loss, or par- tial destruction, of their hay crop, and could not really afford the ex- pense, consequently, the visitors at the fair missed the opportunity of casting their optics upon some very meritorious agricultural products, those that would do credit to any community. While our folks were very much pleased with everything they saw at ‘Oe fair, still they are of the undi- vided opinion that the management “heaped on the price of admission about the Dutchman’s one per cent.” Be that as it may, the fair folks ought to take the matter under con- sideration next season. One old Yan- keefied denizen of the forest remark- edgy “Gol dum it, if them hoss fel- lers want to git up hoss races an’ expect us old codgers to pay a half a dollar, why don’t they let us into the pumpkin show for a quarter, an’ if we git so condemned excited to see the hosses, let us scratch up an other two bits. We ain’t fixed jist yit so that we can afford to wear fine duds ’an set up straight along- side the fine dressed ladies in the big) gran’ stand—but, by gum, we’ll live to see the day when we'll take a load of pumpkins to town an’ put on as much style as any on ’em— if we ever git the roads fixed—con dem ’em.” The limited acreage of small grains, oats and barley, principally, have done exceedingly well. B. D. Kelly has a small patch of oats, as fine as one would wish to see, which will yield not less than sixty bushels per acre. Corn has been a great crop, and much became thoroughly ripened. All varieties of vegetables have matured to perfection, and no ‘settler who had in only a small patch need go hungry the coming winter. A goodly number of the settlers will work in the woods the coming winter, as is their usual habit, and do not intend to merely pull through and come out in the spring with building, which owes its existance pri marily to the school children of |Itas- ca County. They raised $250.00 through entertainments and by other means, to which the Board of {County Commissioners added $250.00. Inside and out the building was completed in time for the fair, but [the painting could not be done in time owing to last week’s rain. In this [puilding j many of the bright pupils of the coun ty exhibited specimens of their work, which elicited much [interest from parents and friends. Visitors prais- ed the fwork of the children, and while the youngsters made only a star as exhibitors it is ja safe assertion that next year all of their building (Continued on page four) shrunken forms for the need of pro- vender—nor will they. Roller Rink Open Daily. The Grand Rapids roller rink will open Friday evening and _ will run continuously through the season. The skating hours are from 7:30 to 10:30 each’ evening, except Sunday even- ings, when the rink will be closed. For private parties or private lessons arrangments can be made for any afternoon in October. Some good at- tractions in trick and fancy skating will be seen ‘during the winter -and a prize contest for children under 16 years of agef will ‘be on as soon as arrangments can be completed