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400 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Emmett R. Curtin, Sr., is president and general manager of the company; while it may all be construed as propaganda, Mr. Pringle seemed most conscientious in giving out the above information. On the subject of utilities, the following is gleaned from a gas company periodical: "No town can grow into a city nor small city develop into a larger community, unless the owners of public utilities are allowed to make a reasonable profit on their investment ; the public will not buy stock and bonds in any utility that does not return a profit on the money ; as a town grows, more capital is in requisition to meet the growing demands, and the utilities company wants an opportunity to expand and protect its interests. Fair play and fair pay both enter into utilities ; capital invested must have opportunities for returns or the investors withdraw it." LIMA ELECTRIC SERVICE The Lima Light and Power Company is subsidiary to the Ohio Electric Company ; it has a power station in Lima and manufactures current for public use ; it furnishes domestic and industrial service ; it is hard to separate the Lima Light and Power Company from its parent company, the Ohio Electric Company, which has three large plants with power stations in other towns, operating its 600 miles of electric railway system, supplying current in many towns. It has functioned in Lima since 1901, and is still adding to the number of its patrons ; while it now lights 9,000 homes, there are some old houses in Lima that are not wired for electricity. It was in 1883 that B. C. Faurot installed the first electric light manufacturing plant adjacent to the Faurot Theater; since that time there have been numerous improvements in the electric service. The old arc lights were installed everywhere, and a man went around each day and trimmed them ; he used a stepladder and he was welcome in all the stores as the carbons must be changed to insure light again that evening. While a carbon was supposed to burn 100 hours, the light man made his rounds every twenty-four hours, cleaning and caring for the arcs. In time came the incandescent light-push the button and flood the home with light—rooms lighter than mid-day, and recently has come the boulevard lighting system downtown in Lima, and extension promised in the near future. The arc lights on downtown streets are to be removed to outlying districts, and while farm lighting is under consideration it has not yet been attempted in Allen County. The domestic service is much appreciated-electric lights, irons, washers, cookers, toasters, sweepers-everything done by electric process. While the Ohio Electric Company furnishes current in Lima, the Western Ohio Electric Railway connecting Findlay and Piqua with Lima, secures its current from St. Mary's. A recent newspaper item says that the boulevard lighting system will be extended to serve twenty-five squares in the heart of Lima, at an expense of $180,000, those owning property thus benefitted having ten years in which to pay for the improvement. While the public service director deals with all utilities, there are only 107 acres of municipally owned parks in Lima-Faurot and Lincoln parks, McCullough Lake Park, McBeth Park and Hover Park being private properties, but sewers, sidewalks and street improvements claim much attention. It is announced that plans for a "million dollar" intersecting sewer system and purification plant are being drawn, and the stench may thus be removed from the Ottawa River—a pleasant prospect for all. A few landlords and coal dealers have been before HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 401 the fair price commission, and profiteers have received their weed of attention. The Lima Sealer of Weights and Measures housed in the Central Market is a public utility ; the market house was built in 1902, and while not as many gardeners meet their patrons there as is desirable, the Grocers' Association having combined against it, there are always some Lima patrons attend market. Market Master J. W. Sherf ey is also in charge of weights and measures in Lima, and he may order any local dealer to weigh on the market scales as a test of his honesty. Mr. Sher- fey does not have much difficulty with short weights and measures. There is market every Tuesday and Thursday morning and all day on Saturday. LIMA POLICE DEPARTMENT Aside from the chief, the police department is under civil service; when the commission form of government is installed in 1922, it will not change police requirements. George Landfair and Charles Billsten are the two Lima policemen who have been longest in the service ; after twenty-five years a policeman is pensioned but as yet none have attained to it. While police chiefs do not remain long in the service—do not like it, 0. J. Roush has served four years ; there are thirty-two men in the department ; there are four plain clothes men, and it is optional with the chief whether he wear plain clothes or appear in uniform ; the uniform is being discarded because it puts criminals on their guard, and the officer is at a disadvantage. The "city's finest" seems to be in popular favor in Lima. The Public Service Director must turn his attention to many, things. Vol. I-26 CHAPTER XXXIX CIVIC CLUBS, CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS AND SECRET ORDERS While the Allen County Historical and Archaeological Society already has been mentioned in the chapter on Marking the Trails, it is within the province of this society to keep tab on all other phases of social development. Since special provision has been made for housing it in the Allen County Memorial Building, it seems fitting at this stage to relate how this great community center became an Allen County possibility. While the Historical Society is the only one sheltered there, aside from some of the patriotic societies, all civic organizations sometimes function there. In the chapter on theaters is mention of the different community centers that registered the growth and development of the community, but ever and anon there were times when auditorium advantages were inadequate, and one night when a crowd came from out of town to attend an Esteddfod in Lima, and numbers of persons were turned away because of lack of accommodations, F. E. Harman suggested to D. J. Cable that Lima must make some provision for such emergencies; the whole town realized the need of a larger auditorium than was afforded by any local church or theater. While Mr. Harman and Mr. Cable were discussing the question, Col. B. M. Moulton came to the rescue with a suggestion ; the way for Lima to secure a hall large enough to accommodate all Allen County was through taxation ; let the entire county pay for it. Colonel Moulton cited the community to what had been accomplished in Cincinnati by Hamilton County, and Mr. Harman at once entered into correspondence with the Cincinnati authorities relative to it. It was in 1906 that the agitation began, and since Lima was to entertain the Ohio Grand Army of the Republic at its 1908 meeting, there was ground work laid immediately to secure the Allen County Memorial Hall, and it was one gala June day when the Grand Army of the Republic dedicated it. The Allen County Commissioners' Records for several months prior to that time tell the whole story. The Memorial Hall stands on property bought by Dr. William Cunningham from Allen County at an early lot sale in Lima, the entire quarter square being purchased for $36.75 at auction; it remained Cunningham property until the time came when Allen County required it again. Doctor Cunningham has gone down in history as Lima's first physician ; the Cunningham well is still in the basement of the building, and members of the family who were reared on this quarter-square still live in Lima— Harold Cunningham, president of the Historical Society, being a son of T. E. Cunningham and a grandson of Doctor Cunningham. The casual visitor will note the following tablets commemorating those who had to do with it ; the Allen County Board of Commissioners ; S. Wesley Wright, chairman ; Alex L. Conrad, Charles W. Johnston, and Harry N. Lamberton, clerk ; Dawson & McLaughlin, architects, and John Svelger, contractor. The building committee tablet : Dr. Samuel A. Baxter, chairman; Charles F. Donze, first secretary and second chairman ; Rolla A. McKinney, second secretary ; Dr. Richard E. Jones, Theodore E. Kempker, George A. Heffner and McDougall Emmitt, - 402 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 403 assistant secretary. There is a sort of Ben Adhem's Dream side to the story—since Mr. Harman suggested it, his "name leads all the rest." Chamber of Commerce : It was along in the '70s when the leading business men organized the Lima Board of Trade, and through its influence attempted to build up the community. On March 28, 1905, it merged with the Lima Progress Club and for a time it functioned as a community builder. In 1914, the Progress Club seemed to have served its day and generation, and it yielded supremacy to the Chamber of Commerce now occupying a suite of rooms in the Lima Business College block. When the data was obtained, George E. Bayley was president ; R. B. Dunn, vice-president ; Austin Potter, treasurer, and Irving B. Lincoln, secretary. Quoting its president : "The Chamber of Commerce embraces all subordinate civic and business organizations ; it fosters and encourages everything that is good for Lima ; the modern Chamber of Commerce demands enlightened unselfishness from its members; the object is to promote the commercial and industrial interests— the public welfare of the city ; such an organization must be composed of men from all parties and opinions ; men of different commercial beliefs and who have different interests in the community." In accord with the Above is a published statement : "In Lima the doors of industry are open to all workers irrespective of their connection with any organization." In the Constitution and By-Laws of the Lima Chamber of Commerce is the statement : "The objects shall be to promote the economic, civic and social welfare of the people of Lima and vicinity ; all persons who sympathize with these objects shall be eligible to membership," and thus community building is within the reach of all. The Lima Lodge of Elks thus defines a booster : "Boosters are the elect, the chosen people of creation, inspired by genius and optimism, who foresee golden opportunity obscured from the vision of others, organize mental and physical resource, and mould them into a constructive plan of operation." In some communities there are "knockers," and they are advised to build something. In the main the Chamber of Commerce is made up of business men : "The business man knows the weakness of propositions, the danger signs, the failings of men ; he knows how much statements should be discounted, and herein lies his value to the world." Someone has said : "Of living creatures, business men are nearest sane ; their philosophy is as accurate as their multiplication table." The Lima Club : As sort of an older brother to other civic organizations is the Lima Club, organized October 22, 1894, with 100 as its membership limit ; the objects of the club are to promote social intercourse among its members, and to advance the interests of the city. It admits both resident and non-resident members, the resident membership later being limited to 400 and being made up of leading men ; this club frequently takes the initiative in community movements ; the Ohio Steel Works and the State Hospital are both credited to the activities of the Lima Club ; its first home was the Baxter property on the site of the New Argonne Hotel ; when the lease expired the FaurotArgus home site was acquired and with the improvements the property represents an investment of $100,000, and the Lima Club affords a social center for all the members ; its stuccoed brick house is one of the beauty spots, and with its amusement and dining room facilities, it affords every advantage. A board has the management of the affairs of the club, and any member may introduce strangers for whose conduct he is held responsible, and such may be entitled to club privileges for ten days ; such names are entered in a book provided for such purposes; there are by-laws and rules governing the club members. 404 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Lima Merchants' Association : In 1915, the old Lima Business Men's Association was merged into the Lima Merchants' Association, with A. C. CaJacob its president ; the old association had functioned since 1900, the original purpose being to unite all the business interests of the community ; it is entirely in harmony with the Lima Chamber of Commerce. The one man paid by the association is the office manager, J. E. Morton ; he is credit man for all the members, and through him many collections are made ; the office manager has an oversight of all advertising, and he promotes kindly competition. The association combines against outside mail-order houses, and it has its influence in municipal affairs ; it had much to do with securing the boulevard lighting system in Lima. When people coming from other towns ask for credit, their reputation follows them through its co-operation with similar organizations there ; if a man has defaulted his creditors somewhere else Lima merchants soon know about it. The Lima Merchants' Association has promoted suburban days every Wednesday, and advertisers offer special bargains ; the dollar day sales are twice each year. The association exercises protective measures for both merchants and buyers. While Lima is not a wholesale center, there are jobbers in fruits, produce, meats and groceries ; it stands on the threshold of a new era in its industrial and civic development ; it is a city with a social atmosphere, a civic conscience, well kept homes, scenic beauty and industrial enterprise ; the energy and progress of the city has won for it the slogan : "Lima leads," said to be originated by members of the Lima Advertising Club of which Maurice Rosenbloom is president ; this was a pre-war organization which disintegrated because of the absence of its leaders, but m May, 1920, it was reorganized and is functioning again. Its membership is limited to those engaged in the advertising business, and it is affiliated with the Associated Advertising Clubs of the world. Its slogan : "Lima leads," has been adopted by the city administration, and the city is unique in its field of opportunity—no formidable rival of its size in the same commercial zone at all. Lima Rotary Club : The Lima Rotary Club numbering 150 members, was organized January 19, 1915, and it holds Monday luncheon meetings. The membership committee is known only to its president and secretary ; names are proposed for membership and the committee decides upon them. The 1920 president, Ralph W. Austin, and secrementary-treasurer, LeRoy S. Galvin ; the purpose of the Rotarian Club— service to others. It is altruistic, and has financed the Boy Scouts, and has had charge of the Lima War Gardens for three years ; there are 1,100 such gardens ; the thrift spirit is fostered, and people are encouraged to help themselves. The Rotary Club has just established a $5,000 fund for the benefit of crippled children in need of surgical or medical attention. The Gridiron Club is subsidiary to the Rotary Club, starting with twenty members. In a recent newspaper communication Lima Beane said to the Rotarians : "Despite the fact that in the distribution of charity, it is your desire that the 'right hand know not what the left hand doeth,' I'm going to violate your rule against parading good deeds, and tell my public something about what you did on Christmas day. One hundred and fifty families in this good city of ours who would not otherwise have had an opportunity to experience the joys of Yuletide, were made happy by you big-hearted men, sending out baskets of supplies for the day, with dainties and toys for the children ; the 600 children in the 150 homes you visited will never forget you. I heartily approve of the plan you adopted, each member being assigned to a particular HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 405 family, to bring into their home Christmas cheer ; the idea is a splendid one." The Rotary Club is widespread as a civic organization ; the Lima branch is one of many. Lima Kiwanis Club : While the International Kiwanis Club was organized in 1913, it was in May, 1919, that the Lima Kiwanis Club came into existence. There are 375 Kiwanis clubs in the United States with a membership of 40,000; it is a welfare organization—sells the soul of the city to its members, and the organization is growing rapidly ; there are twenty-eight Kiwanis clubs in Ohio, and Indiana stands second with twenty-seven clubs. Lima has a membership of 175, and the Kiwanis Club motto : "We build." The Lima club holds weekly noonday luncheons on Tuesdays ; it always has speakers of ability and current topics are under consideration. As in the Rotary Club, only one member is admitted representing one line of business or profession ; in this way the membership does not become unwieldy, and it is varied in its community representation. Walter Jackson is president of the Lima Kiwanis Club, and its membership supports all community welfare efforts. "A Kiwanis Club without an objective is like a ship without a rudder ; never in the history of the Kiwanis movement has any club which was working on any real job had any club problems." The Lima Kiwanis club is "on the job." The Lions Club : The Lions Club is the most recent civic organization in Lima ; its charter bears the date, November 12, 1920, and since it is part of an International Association, there is a central power to direct and protect it ; the membership is limited to one man from each busmess or professional classification, otherwise there being no number limitation ; meetings are held each Wednesday noon with a luncheon, and some vital subject under consideration ; the object is to advance the cause of worthy community movements. R. E. Ashley is the Lions Club president. There were seventeen clubs in Ohio when the Lima club was given its charter. Lionism is another name for opportunity ; it is a name that stands for character ; the strength of the lion is its symbol ; it is nonpolitical, nonsectarian and is composed of representative men. "Each unit of the International Association has the help and co-operation of all the other units. Lionism promotes the principles of good government and good citizenship ; it takes an active interest in the civic, commercial, social and moral welfare of the community." This is the day of organization and throughout the United States, men are coming together in club groups for comradeship, and for community welfare. Lima is abreast of the rest of the world with civic organizations. Shawnee Country Club : A disastrous fire in 1917 explains the lack of information as to the time of the organization of the Shawnee Country Club "several years ago." The club has acquired the ownership of 100 acres of land and has leased a forty-acre tract adjoining it, and has one good golf course with others under consideration. Its purpose is social and recreative, and the membership is limited to 250 men and 300 women. In 1917, just after a series of dedicatory events in connection with the newly remodeled club house, there was a disastrous fire ; the whole structure lay in ashes and there were no explanations. A stuccoed brick structure arose from the ruins having dance floors and banquet halls, and the members entertain on whatever scale suits their requirements ; there are big parties and there are small dinners given there. The Shawnee Club is not open in winter, and many of the Country Club members also hold membership in the Lima Club because of the winter social advantages. Both the Shawnee Country and the 406 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Lima Club members are actrve in the Rotary, Kiwanis and Lion clubs. In the summer of 1920, a disastrous windstorm swept the vicinity of the Shawnee Country Club, destroying seventy of the most beautiful trees ; an elm that had stood the storms of many winters was demolished ; it stood near the club house, and the house was uninjured in the storm; it seems that the tree attracted the electrical current and saved the house. Lima Locomotive Club : As its name suggests, the Lima Locomotive Club membership is limited to the men and their families who are employed at the locomotive factory. It is a social center for 350 members ; only employes, their mothers, wives, sisters, daughters or sweethearts are included in the club's hospitality ; the club was organized in 1915 as an amusement and recreational center. All the Lima civic and social clubs attract outside members, and Bluffton, Delphos and Spencerville have their community welfare organizations. The Knights of Columbus recreation building has been elsewhere mentioned, and the Lima Young Men's and Young Women's Christian associations function in a similar way in the community. The secret orders also have social and recreational features. A good physique is an economic necesisty. There are billiard tables and bowling alleys in many places ; in some communities the churches supply such requirements-anything to hold the attention. Every welfare organization recognizes the athletic side of human development. A good animal is an economic necessity, collateral on any market. Lima Young Men's Christian Association : Again the statement that the '70s were eventful years ; the reconstruction period after the Civil war meant much to the United States, and now the whole world is entering upon a period of reconstruction-a new civilization. No definite date is established, but in the eventful '70s, a number of Lima business men and Christian gentlemen effected a Young Men's Christian Association organization, with J. R. Hughes as president ; a fund of $500 was subscribed and reading rooms supplied with current periodicals were opened on the second floor in a public square business block. H. Parman was secretary of the first Young Men's Christian Association, and among the active promoters were : R. K. Darling, A. M. Metheany, G. W. Walker, Ira Longsworth, D. S. Cross, B. F. Davis, D. Newell and many others ; however, from lack of leadership the association only lasted a few years. "Everybody's business is nobody's business," and for a few years Lima had no Young Men's Christian Association at all. On November 7, 1887, under the leadership of Rev. Fred Bell, who was a Disciple minister, there was an attempt at resuscitation, but there was nothing left and a new organization was necessary. About 125 members were secured, and meetings were held in the Collins Block ; in the fall of 1888, there was an influx of new members, and an era of prosperity followed-everybody co-operating, and in 1890 the high tide of interest was reached ; at this time the Rev. C. H. Yatman directed the community efforts ; he was an evangelist, however, and only a temporary leader. In 1894, a twenty-four-room Young Men's Christian Association building was opened to the use of local young men as a rendezvous ; it occupied the site of the Blum store at West Market and Elizabeth streets ; the community thought it had taken care of the needs of the Lima Young Men's Christian Association for many years ; it would be the social and religious center while the men who promoted it were spared to live in the world ; however, Lima was a growing community. HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 407 While the Young Men's Christian Association was located on Market Street, Robert J. Plate was elected president of the organization, and associated with him was Frank Eberhart as secretary ; the time came when the building was inadequate for the needs of the association. The Market street property was sold for $50,000, and the present location at West and Spring streets was chosen ; it was necessary to raise more money. W. C. Williams succeeded Mr. Eberhart as secretary, and he remained with Mr. Plate through the period of transition-sale of one property and purchase of another. On May 2, 1910, a campaign was launched to secure $125,000 in addition to the money arising from the sale of the Market street property, giving to the association $175,000 with which to establish itself again. The association directors enlisted 250 Lima business men who recognized the civic need, the purpose : "For efficient manhood ; an open door of opportunity ; a Lima enterprise for Lima's upbuilding," and recognizing the further fact : "The city that does not regard its young men as its largest asset, is apt to find them its heaviest liability." Those who conducted the different war chest drives in connection with the World war, recognize the advantages of training as the men who raised the Young Men's Christian Association budget all performed effective service ; it is the accepted way to accomplish any community enterprise—an every member canvass, and not a man is missed in carrying the white man's community burden. A line from the foreword of the Young Men's Christian Association booklet : "This building stands today as a monument to the generosity of Lima's citizens, 3,300 of whom in May, 1916, pledged $130,000 for the project ; the members of the building committee have performed their task with splendid fidelity, and Lima is justly proud of the finished product ; it will be a builder of morale for the whole city." Although the country became involved in the World war while the Young Men's Christian Association building was in process, and the committee faced the most difficult building conditions in a generation, everything is finished as planned and since September 1, 1920, with Louis C. Bradshaw as general secretary the organization is expanding in every direction ; it is pushing along in all lines of development. Mr. Bradshaw was overseas in Young Men's Christian Association service, and many young men now living in the building also had overseas adventure. The corner stone from the old building-1894, To God f tom Man, has been utilized in the southwest corner foundation wall, and in the southeast corner bearing the date 1917, is the effective triangle : Spirit, Mind, Body, and the ,Bible open at the Book of John, XVII, 21—the text illuminating the whole thing; read it. Including the lot, the building and the necessary equipment, the Young Men's Christian Association represents a $200,000 investment ; including the basement there are seven stories at the front, with four stories at the rear ; the basement contains the mechanical equipment, bawling alleys, billiard rooms and cafeteria. The main floor includes the lobby and the executive offices ; the shower baths and swimming pool are on this floor. A visit to the Young Men's Christian Association will convince anyone that it is well arranged and serves an excellent purpose. There are living accommodations for almost 100 young men ; there is always a waiting list of applicants. The transition period while without a building caused all to appreciate the new structure. All floors are connected with an Otis automatic elevator, and the top story is just as desirable as any rooms in the building; the splendidly furnished lobbies provide a social rendezvous where young men meet 408 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY their friends ; however, the building is not the Young Men's Christian Association. "While much good was done, in the old building, the new quarters give a vastly greater opportunity." Lima Young Woman's Christian Association : The Lima Young Woman's Christian Association was organized November 25, 1919, and from the beginning Mrs. D. J. Cable has been its president ; Miss Viola May Johnson, the general secretary, has as her motto : Pray, plan, push, and since she is an enthusiastic woman her motto seems to be useful. The Young Woman's Christian Association is a later manifestation of the spirit that actuated the formation of the Business Woman's Club in 1909, when the Ohio Federation of Clubs met in Lima. The Business Woman's Club which was effective for about ten years suggested to the minds of all that it was made up from women of the business world ; its purpose was the spiritual, mental, moral and physical uplift of the women and girls in the community. The Business Woman's Club paved the way for the Social Service Club that was finally merged into the Lima Young Woman's Christian Association. On Thanksgiving day, A. D. 1920, the Lima Young Woman's Christian Association celebrated its first anniversary, and "something doing every day" was the history of Thanksgiving week, a health pageant staged in Memorial Hall being one of the features ; it was under the supervision of the physical director, Miss Mary Garf ord. The Y. W. has met with as much encouragement from the community as was given the Y. M. in its beginning, and it has made satisfactory growth ; it is not an over-night prodigy, growing as it did out of the Social Service Club, and at its rooms in the Metropolitan Block there are reading and rest rooms—a social center for many young women. The place had been opened as a Recreation Center under the auspices of the War Work Council of the National Young Woman's Christian Association, and when the war ended it was simply merged into the Lima Chapter Young Woman's Christian Association and the community welcomed it. The Lima Young Woman's Christian Association has already acquired a building site adjoining the Christ Episcopal Church on North West Street, and there is an income from it as there are three tenant houses on it. When the time comes the association will ask the community for money ; it is ambitious to have a suitable building as its recreation center ; it is said there are more than 3,000 self-supporting women and girls in Lima, and already 1,500 wholesome meals are served each week at the rooms of the association ; more than 200 girls are enrolled in the educational classes, and 300 girls visit the rest rooms every day, There is entire harmony between the Young Men's Christian Association and th Young Woman's Christian Association in Lima, and the Knights of Columbus Recreation Center performs similar service. Miss Johnson is a woman equal to the requirements, and the following quotation explains her versatility : "She does everything from being an electrician to conducting funeral services." SECRET SOCIETIES It seems that Allen County citizens did not find time for secret orders until about the middle of the Nineteenth Century ; while the lodge divides honors with the church today, it did not start with the churches ; the Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists being early. The settlers were busy keeping the wolf from the door—both in a figurative and literal sense, and it may be said they were fraternal since they always responded to the needs of others—and that is the foundation purpose of most secret societies. All the Allen County towns have their quotas of HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 409 both churches and lodges, and some who live in other towns affiliate with Lima lodges. Allen Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 223 of Lima was organized April 12, 1853 ; its charter members : Charles Bloom, Eli Bond, J. J. Knox, D. S. Taylor, Samuel Ebersole, William Gibbs and A. R. Kincaid, and the first persons initiated by the lodge were : John Lenhart and George Cole. Since such orders promote fellowship and brotherly love, their membership increased rapidly. Allen Lodge suffered property loss in 1866, amounting to $3,000 from adding a second story on a business house which was blown off in a storm ; it rented different halls and other lodges were instituted from it. Delphos, Bluffton and Spencerville all have Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodges, and there are other Lima lodges. Other Independent Order of Odd Fellows organizations in Allen County are : Lima Encampment, Ohio Encampment, Canton Orion, Patriarchs Militant and the Daughters of Rebekah ; wherever there are Odd Fellows there are Rebekahs. Free and Accepted Masons—It was January 1, 1851, that Lima Lodge No. 205 Free and Accepted Masons was organized with Orrin Curtis, Seth W. Washburn, Samuel A. Baxter, Thomas K. Jacobs, John H. Meily and others present, and those enumerated all occupying official positions. David H. Anderson, Zeno Bates and Phineas Edge- comb were also charter members. On May 5, 1851, occurred the first Masonic funeral, that of Ezekiel Hover ; in June the order buried a cholera victim, Edmund S. Linn. It is related that the Lima Lodge of Masons 'and their wives did much to alleviate suffering from the scourge of cholera sweeping the community. When the Masonic lodge room was first carpeted, Mr. Edgecomb, who lived ten miles from town, was tyler—custodian of the building, and in order to save mud from the carpet he required all members to enter the sacred precincts in their stocking feet; since he only received twenty-five cents a week for his service, it is little wonder he made the requirements as light as possible ; there has seldom been a time when this lodge was unable to hold a meeting from want of a quorum in attendance ; the members have been faithful and the lodge has a fine property at High and Elizabeth streets: The Garrett Wykoff lodge was organized July 28, 1900, and its charter was granted October 25, the Century year ; it was named in honor of a worthy Mason. Lima Chapter Royal Arch Masons was organized March 27, 1852, and its charter was granted October 21, the same year ; Lima Council No. 20, Royal and Select Masters, was organized May 31, 1854, and Shawnee Commandery No. 14, Knights Templar, organized November 14, 1855, received its charter October 15, 1857 ; there are Masonic lodges in Delphos, Bluffton, Spencerville and Lafayette. Trinity Chapter Order Eastern Star-wives, daughters and sisters of Masons, received its charter October 28, 1893, and it is an active chapter. The lodge has had a migratory history ; it owned property, the old Masonic Building, High and Main streets, and later the Lima Masonic Hall Company, shares limited to members of the order, was capitalized at $50,000, some of the members taking many of the $.10 shares ; ground was broken in 1900, and July 18, Past Grand Master Nelson Williams of Hamilton officiated at the ceremony of laying the corner stone. The Masonic Temple is always shown to visitors as a monument to Lima Masonry. There are six floors, the lodge using the four upper stories ; there are banquet and amusement rooms, and the order is a wealthy organization. As a community center it is limited to members. Knights of Pythias-The Lima Lodge Knights of Pythias was organized July 27, 1875 ; among the charter members : Walter B. Richie, H. H. Cole, J. C. Edmiston, J. W. Sullivan, James Harley, Henry G. HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 411 Hadsell, Elton G. Metheany, Thomas Gillespie, W. W. McCormick and J. C. Musser ; J. F. Hauenstein and J. N. Hutchinson were early members. In 1881 the Uniform Rank was organized and W. B. Ritchie of Lima helped revise the ritual which was adopted in 1892, by the Supreme Lodge ; he worked two years on the ritual. On December 9, 1889, Justus H. Rathbone who founded the order Knights of Pythias was a guest in the Lima House where he died ; he suffered from a carbuncle and local doctors were unable to relieve him through an operation; relatives were present ; the body lay in state m Castle Hall and memorial services were held there ; many visiting Knights and dignitaries of the order were in attendance ; the body was taken to Utica, New York, for burial ; there was an escort from Lima lodge. Order of Moose-Lima Lodge No. 199, Loyal Order of Moose, was instituted on Washington's Birthday, 1910, with fifty-six names on the charter ; it has grown to a membership of 1,800, and is the largest organization in Allen County. In 1914, the D. J. O'Day home was purchased by the order, and a modern temple is being erected there, at a cost of $165,000, and it will soon be ready for occupancy. The Mooseheart Legion has been installed, and the second degree of Moosedom called Mooseheart Legion degree is under process of formation ; there are seven dependent children from Lima Lodge now being educated at Mooseheart. Purity, Aid and Progress is the motto. Harry T. Walter is secretary. The Loyal Order of Moose is an international fraternal society consisting of more than 1,600 lodges in the United States and throughout the world. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lima-The Lima Lodge of Elks' Year Book, the Thirtieth Anniversary edition issued when the local lodge entertained the Ohio Elks' Association in September, 1920, shows that it was organized in 1890, and 1909 is the date on the corner stone of the splendid lodge property. The Elks' Cafe is a popular resort, and J. T. Kaufman, exalted ruler, has occasion to say in the year book : "The fact that you take lunch every so often, or indulge in a game of cards or billiards at the club, does not necessarily constitute a good Elk ; take an active interest in all business, as well as social and charitable affairs ; make Lima lodge stand out as the leading civic and social organization of the City of Lima." The membership reaches almost 1,500, and the lodge property is one of the most attractive in the country. The lodge has given many notable entertainments, minstrel performances, carnivals and indoor fairs ; it has gained nation-wide fame for its annual clam bakes. The Lima Elks' float representing the Golden Days of Childhood designed by Walter G. Deweese and shown in the Chicago parade in July, 1920, placed Lima on the map of the world because of its beauty. Miss Freda Prosser as Fairy Queen occupied the throne seat on the float when it won the second honor in that great contest in Chicago. There is an annual memorial service or Lodge of Sorrow attended by the entire membership, and the sentiment of the occasion : "The faults of our brothers we write upon the sands ; their virtues on the tablets of love and memory," is worthy a place in any organization. Other Secret Orders-Improved Order Red Men, dating back to the '50s ; Ancient Order United Workmen, 1883 ; Knights of the Maccabees, and Ladies of the Maccabees, 1893; Modern Woodmen of America, 1895 ; Woodmen of the World ; Tribe of Ben Hur ; Pathfinders ; Fraternal Order of Eagles; Home Guards ; Royal Arcanum ; Knights of Golden Eagle, and many others not established in homes as the lodges above enumerated ; it is not an easy matter to obtain data of secret orders unless they issue manuals containing definite information. CHAPTER XL MUSIC AND THE COMMUNITY "Just a song at twilight when the lights are low ; an old familiar air— a ballad, how pleasant they are when heard at evening." It was Confucius who called music : "The sacred tongue of God," and 2,000 years later Martin Luther declared : "Music is the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul," while in the last century the great Napoleon exclaimed : "Music is the art to which law makers ought to give the greatest encouragement." Someone pays this tribute to music : "Servant and master am I ; servant of those dead and master of those living. I am the incense upon which prayers float to heaven. I am the smoke which palls over the fields where men lie dying with me on their lips. I am close to the marriage altar, and when the grave opens I stand nearby ; one I serve as I serve all, and the king I make my slave as easily as I subject his slave. I speak through the birds of the air, the insects of the field, the crash of waters on rock-ribbed shores, the sighing of wind in the trees, and I am even heard by the soul that knows me in the clatter of wheels on the streets. I know no brother, yet all men are my brothers. I am the father of the best that is in them, and they are the fathers of the best that is in me. I am of them and they are of me. I am Music." A symphony within themselves—the words describing Music. In each life there is some response to it. Primarily speaking, the musical life of Allen County is not different from that of other localities having similar opportunities and conditions ; it is simply a part of the great forward movement of the world ; it is an easy thing to imagine the boy or girl on the Sahara desert blowing upon a blade of grass-if he can locate the grass, and where is the boy who never whittled out an elder and made a whistle of it? The Allen County settler had such a desire for music that he improvised many crude ways of producing it; the Aeolian harp made from horse hairs or silk thread if they had it, was a soul delight when they stretched it in the window and caught the air vibrations. The Shawnees who inhabited Allen County in advance of the white man, made their own music and danced around the campfires to the weird strains, and there has been some effort to revive an interest in music of the American Indian. The Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind, whose centenary was observed throughout the musical world in 1920, her birth having occurred October 10 one hundred years earlier, had a voice so sweet that the wild birds took up her notes as she traveled by stage while filling concert engagements in America in 1845, and that is said to be an accomplishment— the birds taking the tones of the human voice. There was always music over the hills and the dales—the first stillness of the morning air, the blending of nature's sounds is music with a mesmerism all its own—the song of the meadow lark or the note of the first robin. To keep forever in the heart the thrill awakened by the woodland sounds is to remain forever young, and it serves to lighten the hardest task in the world. The call of the jaybird is suggestive of the out-of-doors ; he is a restless creature, and it is natural for him to be on the wing, calling: "Jay, jay, jay," whether or not it is music ; the frog, the locust, the katydid and cricket—each has its peculiar musical note, and begs pardon of - 412 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 413 all the others ; think of the grand chorus on the morning air—the leading musicians all in nature's orchestra. Aye, "Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," and some highly civilized people are delighted with it. "Any time is song time if the soul be in the song," although in an early day the music of Allen County was of a different character ; while some still enjoy the oldashioned, rollicking tunes, supervision has changed the musical situation in Lima and the rest of the world. There was a time when "Scotland is burning. Look out. Look out. Fire. Fire," was a round that was popular in local music circles-when everybody sang it ; there was a time when Southern harmonies-Missouri and Kentucky melodies, and text books constituted the musical knowledge of the community. James Nicholas of the Welsh community who for eighteen years was practically the only vocal teacher in Allen County, used Southern harmony exclusively—the patent or square notes thought to be easier mastered—and there are still men and women who call them "bud; wheat," the name suggested because of the resemblance to grains of buckwheat." In an early day the musical situation in Allen County was simply this-some liked it and others had no inclination toward it ; prejudice ignorance, intolerance, on the one hand, and hunger for music, an enthusiasm that stopped at no hardship on the other ; music, however, won the day and this is a musical nation, the development in Aller County being abreast with other communities. What if some gooc citizens do enjoy ragtime--it's music. While the "haswassers" may not all appreciate Mendelssohn fully, they recognize "music in the air.' In their day everybody enjoyed the concerts given by old-time singers and someone harking back to other days has penned these lines : "There's a lot of music in them, the hymns of the long ago And when some gray-haired brother sings the ones I used to know I sorter want to take a hand-I think o' days gone by, `On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand, and Cast a Wistful Eye'," and the classical music of today-well, it's the old, old songs tha seem to stir the heart. Again, someone writes : "If the heart be young, songs may still be sung, Sweeter in the meter than they ever were before," and someone else exclaims : "In the darkest, meanest things There's always, always something sings," and blessed is the man who has soul to catch the silent music—to Hv, above the discords of earth life and catch the immortal strains. While some of the pioners were circumscribed in their understanding of things thinking that any pleasure not an absolute necessity was sin, whenever the Song Sparrow orchestra started up its musical cadences with Mr. Cardinal as chief soloist, and musical Bob White as the conductor the hoe always moved more merrily down the long rows of corn, am when the whole earth to them seemed fair and good, why should the, stop their ears-why shut out the woodland; music ? Today their posterity is glad that they were unable to banish music from the world The stately rhythm: "When Music, heavenly maid, was young When first in early Greece she sung," has no geographical limitations, and many join in the refrain: 414 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY "I want to hear the old songs, I never hear them now— The tunes that cheer the tired heart, And smooth the careworn brow," and when sufficiently urged there are still a few lingering about in every community who sing them. With reference to the music at camp meetings in Allen County in 1838, an old account says : "A few shrill blasts from a tin horn announced the hour of the meeting, and the scattered groups assembled on the seats in front of the preacher's tent ; someone started a familiar hymn and all joined in the singing; the evening service often lasted far into the night," and in writing about it, Joseph Dobbins says : "I remember one of the favorite hymns they sang was 'The Turtle Dove'," and he admits that he liked it so well that he committed it, and the first verse reads : "Hark ! don't you hear the turtle dove- The token of redeeming love ; From hill to hill we hear the sound, The neighboring valleys echo round," and the writer's comment : "There was something sublime and beautiful in the music of that sweet old hymn, swelling from the lips of the vast congregation, so full of soothing melody as it rose loud and clear, floating upward and dying away amid the sighing of the summer wind in the surrounding forest," would subject him to comment today. He might find himself quoted by some satirist in a newspaper, for instance, B. L. T., in the Chicago Tribune. There were joyous gatherings in rural community centers fifty years ago, when the people came in wagons bringing the trundle bed contingent along, and there were always some who walked and carried torches to light them home again. While the trend of civilization is away from the rural community center, it is a memory that many would not have effaced ; it is with sad hearts that some of the older ones note the changes, although in Allen County there is still a permanent rural population in contrast with the prevailing conditions m most places. On December 1, 1920, there was a musicf est at Gomer, and the newspaper account says : "Residents of the picturesque village of Gomer turned out enmasse for the Eisteddfod ; a brilliant assemblage of musicians and literatures gathered to compete for prizes offered by the hamlet ; old fashioned dinners were served in the township hall," and there are few rural community centers where such a thing would be considered today. The Welsh singers are given to chorus rather than solo work, the competitive singing idea having been brought from Wales by their ancestry, and while Lima and other musical talent entered the contest, an adult Gomer chorus under the direction of George Williams won the prize, and in the choruses by children from different communities the Gomer chorus led by Ivor Evans won first honors. The Eisteddfod in Gomer was only an echo from the past in musical history ; Dr. John Davis, who was chorister in the Welsh Congregational Church there for thirty years, had a chorus of 100 trained singers, and for years the community entered all musical contests, frequently winning first honors. They always entered Lima and Delphos contests, and they went to Cincinnati and Columbus : "The proof of the pudding is in the eating," and the recent Eisteddfod suggests the present-day musical interest at Gomer. Today there are pianos in rural homes as well as in the homes of the towns, and there are some who remember HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 415 the cabinet organ and melodeon which had their time and popularity when pianos were rare in the different communities ; through the player piano and the different forms of the phonograph, the compositions of the best writers are available to all. "Put your soul into the music ; therein lies the magic," no matter whether the performer be a finished, educated musician, or one who "just picks it out by ear," and there are some who assert that none become artists who have never lost in love- that their music is unsympathetic and cold, that a broken heart develops melody in the soul, and who would not like to hear again: "The Maiden's Prayer," "An Indian Lodge," "To a Wild Rose," and "Down by the Waters of Babylon"? The lack of leadership in music has been the handicap in many communities ; it is said that singing always creates an appetite for food, and there are some good singers in Allen County. Sometimes, too, there is music without words that conveys most intense feeling, producing sadness and at other times gladness, and the old masters felt this in all their stately compositions. James Whitcomb Riley once said : "Thinkin' back's a thing that grows On a feller, I suppose ; Older 'at he gets I jack, More he keeps a thinkin' back," and that is essential in gathering up the scattered threads in any department of history. When a violinist who played on a very old instrument emphasized that fact m securing an orchestral engagement, he was assured that "no one will ever know the difference," but it seems that in a musical way many people adhere to the old things. The hymn writers of the past seemed to leave little in the way of religious training for the hymnologists of the future. Those who write the hymns of the church have much to do with shaping theology. In the old days when because of the scarcity of church hymnals the minister "lined the hymns," by reading a line and then having the congregation join him in smging it, a feeble old man in the pulpit one day exclaimed : "Mine eyes are dim, I cannot see," and when the congregation sang the words, he explained : 'I did not mean it for a hymn ; I only said 'mine eyes are dim'," and again they sang in unison. However, not all congregations follow so blindly, and it is related that when the violin was first introduced into a religious service in Lima, there was a difference of opinion about it. A man named Day had come from Connecticut to Lima, and when he joined the chorus choir in the Baptist Church on Union Street, he brought his fiddle ; the violin was unknown that long ago. The church had a center aisle and the men sat on one side while the women sat on the other, and there were raised seats in front for the singers. Mr. Day had used his mstrument in a church choir in Connecticut, but when he introduced it in Lima, one brother remained outside and another closed his ears with his fingers in order not to allow it to interfere with his worship ; since Lima churches support the best musicians and enjoy the best music today, that Union Street Baptist Church episode seems like an impossibility. To the tune of Duke Street, church-goers everywhere sing the line: "Our exiled Fathers crossed the sea," and in the second stanza of the same hymn is this further bit of American history : "Laws, freedom,_ truth and faith in God, Came with those exiles o'er the waves ; And where their Pilgrim feet have trod, The God they trusted guards their graves," 416 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY and it is quite as easy to incorporate religion as patriotism in the hymns of the day. While 300 years have gone by since the time when "Our exiled Fathers crossed the sea," music still tells the story. It is said, however, that more songs came out of the Civil war than from any other one period in American history. There is no question about music shaping sentiment in either religion or history. Students of American history agree that "Nelly Gray" did as much to create anti-slavery sentiment as did "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and another song of the period : "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," will not die while there are Civil war soldiers or their sons and grandsons to sing it. T. E. Cunningham who was an active man in time of the Civil war, co-operated with the Lima Silver Cornet Band and assisted by Prof. Frank Webb, who was a choir leader in his day, did much to teach those songs to the people, and Joseph Simon who was a regimental bandmaster, although he spoke only a broken English, assisted in those war song programs ; while the old-fashioned singing school had its part m perfecting the congregational singing of hymns-dignified verse set to stately tunes that taught the whole saving grace, the war songs taught patriotism to all ; they sung them with spirit, and when they sang: "Take up your gun and go, John," the appeal was irresistible to the young men of the community." In a short time everybody was singing: "We are coming Father Abraham, six hundred thousand strong," and then came the plaintive song: "Just Before the Battle, Mother," and finally, "Tenting Tonight" was the expression of saddened hearts ; while people were awed at the prospect of emancipation, there came another song, "Wake Nicodemus Today," that was more joyful, and just at the opportune time came "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and Allen County still sings it : the words from the pen of Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, with the chorus "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah," has become a national air today. "The Vacant Chair" was one of the saddest songs growing out of the Civil war. It was unquestionably the song-writing period in United States history. It is conceded that only war and love stir the emotions ; people do not sing about the high cost of living ; even woman's suffrage has not produced anything enduring; the world does not sing of the Panama Canal which was the greatest engineering feat of the ages, and the fulfillment of the hopes of many years ; perhaps "Tipperary" and "The Rose of No Man's Land" will live in history. Nothing else has come out of the World war to compare with the songs of the Civil war. In every period there have been local singers who made the most of the war songs, and the "Allentown Tune" had its place in local history ; in the days of Gen. William Blackburn there was a martial band at Allentown, the fifes and drums being played by the Stuckey, Campbell and Westbay boys, and in the Civil war days they sang the words : "O'er my ear like the sweet south That breathes upon a bank of violets, Stealing and giving odor  to this mystic tune, and an old account says : "It should be perpetuated in every household in German (now American) township, for it belongs there as distinctively as Maryland, my Maryland belongs to Maryland. The Allentown Tune led many a boy to the Civil war who never returned, and there is pathos in it for those who remember it," but some little inquiry failed to get trace of it. People living in Allentown said they never had heard about it ; someone must still remember Allentown Tune. HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 417 It is said the curse of modern music is commercialism ; people object to it when they miss something from it, and singing for money is different from singing for love of it. Coleridge says : "Genius is the power of carrying the feelings of childhood into the powers of manhood," and after singing schools had enabled the people to sing collectively, they began sitting in groups in the churches so they could sing well together, and thus was evolved the choir-the war department of the church today ; the enriched church service grew out of the trained singers giving. their time and talent to such things. Since 1893, music has been incorporated into the course of study in the Lima public school, E. F. Davis having been the first director and now all the schools have special work in music ; it is said that a fund was established by President George Washington with which to establish a national conservatory of music, and that recently musicians are inquiring into it. Berlin once swayed the musical world, but the discords of war broke up the harmony there for Americans ; a number of Allen County musicians have studied abroad, and some were m Berlin where they thought musical technique was acquired first hand, but the war has caused this country to rely upon its own resources, and home talent serves the purpose. It seems that there has been a musical atmosphere in Allen County from the beginning; before there was an established court and legal business was taken care of by circuit riders, John C. Spink, who was known as the violinist of the Northwest, would always bring his fiddle when attending court in Lima ; Judge Potter was the vocalist of the old Allen County bar, and his favorite songs, "Lord Lovell" and "Rosin the Bow," were rehearsed frequently ; J. M. May and Count Coffinberry were trombone players in this circuit court orchestra. With Judge Potter as soloist, the obligatos were played by members of the bar. Doan Cunningham, who was also a vocalist, used to sing "The Little Gray Mare" to the amusement of all. In 1910, the following criticism appeared in a Lima newspaper : "It takes a team of horses to draw the average citizen out to a musical entertainment today, but the old city hall was packed to hear Clara Louise Kellogg, Emma Thursby, Julia Rive King and others." When Emma Abbott sang "The Last Rose" at the dedication of the Faurot Operahouse, September 4, 1882, there were many people in attendance. A clipping relative to a community welfare meeting, A. D. 1920, says : "Under the dynamic urging of Fred Calvert, the musical program following the banquet developed into a near-riot, the singers rattling the rafters with their vocal efforts," showing that Lima audiences are not always in the same attitude toward such things. There may be some difference between listening to others and singing themselves. There are times and seasons for all things. Music has always served its purpose, and no matter where the settlers came from to Allen County, the youngsters would meet and in their form of entertainment—usually a kissing bee—they would join hands marching to the weird music of their own voices : "Arise, my true love, and present me your hand, And we'll march in procession for a far distant land Where the girls will card and spin, And the boys will plow and sow, And we'll settle on the banks of the Ohio," and the historian, Henry Howe, suggests that the musical name of the river and state attracted the settlers. "The Dusty Miller" was another marching song, the music made by the voices of the players : Vol. I-27 418 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY "Happy is the miller boy who lives by himself ; As the wheel goes round he's gaining on his wealth ; With one hand on the hopper and the other in the sack— Wheel goes round, and girls fall back," and the frequent changes made them all acquainted with each other. An old account which was in reality a paid advertisement of a show in Lima, October 13, 1857, mentions the coming of the first calliope to Allen County. It was heralded as the latest and in some respects greatest of musical wonders ; it was a novel and interesting application of steam in the production of music ; it was the all-absorbing excitement in the exhibition world that year ; it created great sensations everywhere, and thousands poured into Lima from all parts of the country ; now the calliope fails to attract attention. An article in the 1920 October number of Musical America by H. Eugene Hall classed Lima as a managerial as well as musical center. Frank E. Harmon, Tony Zender and Mr. Hall himself being promotors who have booked many musical attractions. A great many civic entertainments have engaged the attention of the public, and the Woman's Music Club has long been active in advancing local music interests ; it was organized October 22, 1891, with Mrs. S. S. Wheeler as its first president ; for six years Mrs. Ira R. Longsworth has served as president ; the annual dues is $4, and with 1,000 members it is possible to bring many excellent musical attractions to Memorial Hall. When this musical organization was effected it was called the Sappho Club, the women becoming members, all busy with their families and yet designing to keep up their musical training ; there was dormant music talent which the club aroused, and for a time the programs were limited to the work of the members ; later outside talent was brought to Lima, and now the Lima Woman's Musical Club is a well known booking agency ; the name Sappho was dropped and the same organization continued as the Woman's Club. When sentiment must be created for this musical organization now the Lima Woman's Musical Club, two or three influential women went out in their carriages calling on prospective members, and the whole thing appealed to all. The first meeting was in the home of Mrs. George Southard who was a pianist, and for a time the meetings were always in the homes of members ; when the membership was enlarged that was no longer possible, and meetings are held in different assembly halls and in Memorial Hall. While there are sixty active members, the associate members swell the number to 1,000, and allow the club sufficient funds with which to book worth while attractions ; there is always good patronage, and the membership dues relieves the members from assessments. The Etude is another music club in Lima, with a restrictive membership limitation ; it is a study club and Mrs. Waldo E. Berryman is its president. Musical programs are given in connection with many pleasure clubs that do not pursue definite studies. Music is a feature on club programs in Delphos, Bluffton and Spencerville, and there are talented pianists in some of the smaller communities. Because there is no organ in Memorial Hall, the organ recitals under the auspices of the Woman's Musical Club are given in the Market Street Presbyterian Church, but there are organs in many churches and in eight Lima theaters ; while the churches used to vie with each other in the height of their steeples, now it is the volume and quality in the tone of their organs, the church without a pipe organ being the exception ; some of the best organs are in lodge rooms. In the 1920 financial report of the Lima Lodge of Elks is the following expense for the item of music: HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 419 "During the past year we paid $4,000 for our new pipe organ, and $1,700 for the Violin Virtuoso Piano in the Grill Room," and there is similar equipment in some of the other lodge rooms. While some of the churches in other Allen County towns are supplied with pipe organs, as yet no private family has installed an organ. While pipe organs are so common, it is an interesting fact that the first one in Lima was dedicated formally August 15, 1860, by George Feltz who is recognized as dean among Allen County musicians. It was a two-stop organ in St. Rose Catholic Church ; this church now has its third pipe organ, and Mr. Feltz has played on all of them. When he was invited to dedicate the first one he was living at Freyburg in Auglaize County ; he brought three spring wagon loads of trained singers from Freyburg to Lima for the service. He soon removed to Lima, and for thirty-five years Mr. Feltz was director of music in St. Rose. Mrs. Feltz sang in 'the chorus while he was director. On April 19, 1914, Mr. and Mrs. Feltz, who had been connected with the musical life of Lima for more than fifty years, passed their golden wedding anniversary. It is given to but few to remam actively engaged in music for so many years. While he played the organ and she sang in the chorus at St. Rose, they were both active in all community music movements. For many years Mr. Feltz was director of the Lima Choral Society, and later of the Orion Mannerchor Society ; he was always a business man rather than music teacher ; he frequently directed the chorus and played the music himself ; he was director of the first Eisteddfod and in 1875, with a chorus of sixty singers from all the Lima church choirs, he won the first prize at Delphos. Under his leadership the Lima Choral Society frequently sang in contests ; for a period of twenty years, Mr. Feltz was director of the Orion Mannerchor and it was only broken up by the World war ; he was engaged in contests with Lima singers in Columbus, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Milwaukee-was never afraid of anything when his singers were in active training, and while he had much to do with training Lima musicians, it was not his method of acquiring life's necessities ; music was an avocation with him. Prof. Wendell Eysenbach of Delphos was teaching piano in Lima when Mr. Feltz first entered the musical activities of the community. Among other early piano teachers were : Nannie Worley (Mrs. Hughes), Sallie Smeltzer, Hortense Young and Miss Folger. Delphos was always a musical community ; it drew from Gomer, Vendocia and Vaughnsville —all Welsh communities, and with Hugh Owens as musical director Delphos was the first city to put on an Eisteddfod ; while it won many prizes it also offered them ; the Misses Buzzard and Cochran, who were famous singers in Delphos, entered the musical life of other cities after studying abroad, and their names were known on the concert stage. There was an unusual musical venture in Spencerville in 1910, when M. C. Schricker purchased the Keith Hotel of sixty-five rooms, and converted it into a school of music—the Ohio Conservatory. The plan was to make it a music boarding school, but since the students failed to come because of the inaccessibility of the place, and the lack of the necessary advertising the place reverted again to a hotel. While Mr. Schricker knows stringed instruments, he engaged teachers for piano and all music features. The sign, Conservatory Hotel, causes the stranger to ask about it. So many Allen County musicians have studied abroad that it is unsafe to mention some unless all were included, and yet Edna DeLima (Mrs. J. W. Van Dyke) has made her mark as a soloist ; Marguerite Zender as an actress, and Nora Sprague as an understudy to Julia Marlowe ; the musical ability is in evidence, and with music taught in the public 420 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY schools none need escape discovery ; as supervisor of public school music, Mark Evans has a boys' and girls' chorus of 125 voices, and there is a high school orchestra that brings out the musical ability ; there is no question about the future of music in Allen County since it is given attention in all of the public schools. When a boy is ready to leave the high school orchestra there are theater orchestras and bands awaiting him. The Elks' Hussar Band and the Lima City Band are conspicuous in the parks in summer, and there are jazz orchestras innumerable, and some prefer the jazz. A newspaper clipping says : "Jazz, syncopating, aggravating, tintinnabulating and unmistakable, smote the ears of members of the South Side Mission as they approached the house of worship for an hour of prayer," and to them it was most sinful. "The music appeared to emenate from the mission ; had his Satanic Majesty himself appeared, the church members could not have been more startled ; they looked through the portals ; it is alleged they saw a youth of seventeen sitting at the piano, wriggling his fingers and swaying his body in unison with the music ; also there was the scent of cigarette smoke contaminating the church air ; the jazz player is alleged to have had a cigarette between his lips," and thus jazz has manifested itself in the community. There are music critics who openly condemn jazz. The news item says the boy was arrested, but was released on his own recognizance for hearing in police court. Later, he was acquitted. The South Side Mission is not the only religious organization that has quibbled over music. In some instances the organ was admitted into the Sunday school before it was allowed in the church service ; some sang low and some sang high, and with an organ to regulate the tone the church choir finally became recognized as a necessity. "Zion am a hard road to trabel, I believe," but music usually prevails. "Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, and smile, smile, smile," and music seems to be effective. As an industrial secretary of the Lima Young Men's Christian Association, doing his work at noon hours, S. C. Biddle reports that the small cabinet organ he carries had helped him to gain audiences with factory men ; the noonday luncheons so common among business men assembled in clubs are always featured with community singing; it has been demonstrated that men will sing when some one takes the initiative, and song folders are distributed in many public meetings. The community watchword, "Lima leads," is suggestive, but there are musical activities everywhere ; the Bluffton College Conservatory making special efforts as a music center. From the range of programs issued by Prof. G. A. Lehmann as music director, nothing escapes Bluffton college. Ever since its organization in 1911, this music department has been one of the mainstays of the musical life of Bluffton and community. While the Welsh are not the only musicians in Allen County, they have had an influence in focusing attention upon the community. Let all unite in the chorus : "There's a long, long night a waiting Until my dreams all come true ; Till the day when I'll be going down That long, long trail with you." CHAPTER XLI THE OPEN DOOR OF THE COMMUNITY—THE HOTEL While the Daniels cabin in Lima was a hostelry for the circuit riders attending court in Allen County, and a merry group assembled there christened the town by casting names in a hat, it is popularly understood that John P. Mitchell was the first man to invite the public to abide with him temporarily, and since he once walked to Wapakoneta for flour, he must have had the comfort of others in mind—must have been a public spirited citizen. It was called the Lima Inn and was located on the site of the Lima House, the name Lima always having been associated with the name of the hostelry. The Lima Inn was opened the year local government was established in Allen County ; while it occupied the site at the corner of the public square on Market and Main streets, the cattle ran out and the settlers knew where to look for them when they heard the bells ; travelers knew the milk supplied at table was the genuine article ; the citizens who had cows would note the direction of the bell in the evening, so they would know which way to go in the morning when rounding the herd up for the milking time ; the cows would be lying down and the bells would be hushed, and often deer were lying with them when they were found in the morning. The Lima Inn was a double log house, and it was a welcome sign to travelers ; the Lima House still sustains that relation to the traveling public-the only public house in Allen County that has never changed its name. In 1832, there is mention of three hostelries-Lima Inn, and the Musser and Bashore—both carrying the names of the pioneer families operating them. Hotel or tavern licenses were granted in an early day to Mr. Mitchell, James Crozier and Samuel Washburn, the latter a citizen of the Fort Amanda community. A small card issued from the office of the Chamber of Commerce calling attention to the many advantages to be found in Lima mentions five hotels (first class), without designating them, and it is said there are about fifty lodging and boarding houses, so that travelers are cared for in the community. Sometimes it is necessary to make reservations in advance to obtain accommodations at the first class hotels. In Lima the Lima House and Hotel Norval are under one management and operated as a chain of hotels ; the Waldo and Manhattan are rental properties, while the Barr is owned by O. O. Barr, who is its landlord—the only landlord owner, and the Argonne in progress of building is a stock company, mostly Lima capital, and all that is modern in hostelries is promised in it. The Argonne is in the nature of a memorial of the young manhood who faced death in the Argonne forest in the World war. Because of the cafeteria competition, all Lima hotels are operated on the European plan. Table de hote days are now relegated to past history ; the self-serve tea rooms and cafeterias have supplanted the old-time public dining rooms and restaurants ; the waiter and the accompanying tip are eliminated under the modern plan, and a home-like atmosphere prevades everything ; one need not be accompanied by an escort, and one may talk with others without the formality of an introduction ; one may choose his own menu and no one is to blame but himself ; while - 421 - 422 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY some prefer table de hote service, the majority seems to have welcomed the opportunity of self-service. Never again, said two or three hotel men when asked about the American plan hotel service. However, in communities smaller than Lima where cafeterias are unprofitable, one may have table de hote and leave as much change for the waiters as his better nature dictates—or he may demand food, and not so much service. There are men and women who remember the tavern bell, although hotel men now say they cannot operate a dining room at a profit. Some one has written : "The landlord has tricks that are novel and quaint, As people who travel know well- He gives the old tavern a new coat of paint, And names it the Palace Hotel." The old hotels had bar rooms and all had running water-whenever it rained the water ran from the roof, and perhaps the profit from the bar offset the loss from the tables when the American plan of operating hotels prevailed in Lima. While the wartime high cost of living was being discussed, travelers said. Jesse James was holding forth again, and one who desired shelter had just as well not argue the rate question ; when a man registered and asked a landlord where he kept the stolen horses, the landlord protested, saying he had nothing but Fords ; when another landlord said the suggestion looked like 30 cents, the prospective guest said it was a bed he wanted—but seeking accommodations elsewhere he soliloquized : "That bird tried to rob " and then he found he could not be accommodated. The average landlord knows the traveling public better than he knows the immediate community. It is to the hotel clerk's advantage to be able to speak the names of guests who come again. They like to feel they have a friend when they are always among strangers. Before there were dining cars on all transcontinental trains, the French House in Lima was a popular hostelry. All through trains stopped for dinner, and the French Hotel was then the "high spot" of the town ; it was operated by Charles Finney and John Bourquin, and was a social center for Lima citizens; the building is used by the Lima Truck and Storage Company today. The profit to the French House came from the dinner guests who came off of through trains, glad of such an opportunity. There was a time when the Lima House, Burnett Hotel and the French Hotel were known to all. Hotel Norval succeeded the Burnett, and the Burnett followed the American-and Joseph Simon was proprietor of the American House. Hotel Norval is the third name designating the same hostelry ; when J. C. Lindehmann acquired the Burnett and remodeled it, he commemorated a valuable horse in the name Norval ; he was a race track stallion. The Lima House has always had its present name, and the French Hotel collapsed when dining car service was established on the railroad trains. While there is a Harrod Hotel, and Minor Harrod is a pioneer, he only operated the house six weeks ; it has always carried its original name. John Shade once operated the Lima House, and when Joseph Goldsmith acquired it he made of it a profitable hostelry. Mr. Goldsmith of the Lima House married a daughter of Mr. Simon of the American House, and thus the Jews once controlled the hotel situation in Lima. Mr. Goldsmith was recognized as a expert hotel man ; he was always on the market early and bought the best of everything ; he always had a great many over-Sunday guests because of his dinner service. While there is excellent hotel patronage four days in the week, Lima has never been rated as a week-end town. The bulk of the patronage is HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 423 from Monday till Friday—transient patronage. The hotel is for the man away from home, but he spends as many Sundays at home as he can, the week-ends always being long when forced to spend them in hotel lobbies ; hotel lobbies, however, are forums where every economic question is discussed, and the stranger need not be alone. The Immortal J. N. was frequently a guest at the Lima House; when the landlord was generous and threw off half the bill he was equally generous throwing off the other half, and thus celebrities are known in Lima hostelries. He would lift the veil unless people accommodated him ; he was a star boarder everywhere, and he was equally well known to railroad officials ; he never paid for anything. When the Immortal J. N. died several years ago the newspapers were filled with stories about his liberality. He finally lifted the veil. The story is told of the Crepps tavern in Westminster—that the profits from it were used in building and maintaining a church, but not all landladies are inclined that way ; it was a woman who did it-the church a monument to herself and her husband ; it was destroyed in a storm, and the community did not rebuild it. The Spencer House in Spencerville later became known as the Keith, or Keeth Hotel, because when Johnzy Keeth acquired it, he thought to perpetuate himself, but when it changed hands again it was called Conservatory Hotel, and as long as landlords have no leases on their lives they cannot control the situation after they cease hotel activities ; it is said that Mr. Keith inspected all the material used in his hotel, and died before he had completed it. The Spencer House reflected the community name, while Keith Hotel commemorated the man who built it, and Conservatory keeps alive the memory of an unsuccessful school of music--there's nothing in a name, Shakespeare said it long ago. It was Section Ten that had the hospitable hotel names. Landlord Savage was proprietor of Travelers' Rest, and after the town was called Delphos Joseph Ostendorf arrived by boat at night, but he would not venture through the mud and remained all night at the landing, going for breakfast next morning at Travelers' Rest. The American House and the Ohio House both flourished in canal days in Delphos ; there were canal passengers and a stage coach carried passengers to and from the packets.. The Phelan House serves the community today, and its cafeteria ranks with others—serve yourself and have what you like, but in Spencerville and Bluffton the traveler sits down to a table, and a dinner is spread before him—American plan in the smaller communities. The records of the fire department mention two hotel fires in Lima-Hotel Cambridge and Hotel Uhlen, and the fire escapes are a requisite in all hostelries. The transient guest hkes to know that his bed is clean and free from vermin, and in order to offer sanitary accommodations there must be efficient chamber-maid service. While the landlord and landlady once entered into the social life of a community, personality does not seem to count for so much in this economic age—service the single requirement. Sometimes the landlord's wife is housekeeper and looks after the comfort of guests, and sometimes she superintends the kitchen and dining room service ; a woman who has trouble with a single servant in a private home would find little pleasure in managing the hotel servants. As to guests and making them feel at home—leave them alone, and they enjoy it. The way for a guest to find out who is "boss," is to "start something," and usually he learns all about it. The landlord and hotel clerk have sufficient opportunity to study human nature. CHAPTER XLII ORGANIZED LABOR IN ALLEN COUNTY There are many benefits arising from organization, and those who labor with their hands are not all who are benefited ; however, a labor writer says : "As unionism grows, the greater power placed in its hands may be misunderstood and diverted to purposes of private profit, thus forming a veritable labor trust. This will not be possible, however, as long as leaders of the labor movement see fully the needs of wage-workers, and remain true to their responsibilities." While "sweat shop" tactics have never been practiced in Allen County, union labor does enter its protest and teach the following: "Let every worker demand goods bearing the union label, and nearly every trade of importance bears such a label on its product ; the woman who sweeps the floor can buy a union broom as well as the man can wear a union suit of clothes, and in making your purchase in a store inquire for a union clerk, and make it plain to him that the article you want must carry the union label, when made by a craft that has a label ; constant inquiry for union label goods has made the merchant and manufacturer recognize the demand for them. Let organized labor continue to demand union goods, and it will not be long until every article used by man will carry the union label," and this bit of loyalty finds its counterpart in the Shorthorn cattle breeder who ordered roast beef at table de hote, and the horticulturist who demanded that apples be included in the fruit menu because he was a member of the Apple Growers' League. "In union there is strength," is a saying almost as old as the language in which it is written, and even agriculture, an occupation as old as the world itself, is casting about for methods of protecting its particular interests. When the chasm between capital and labor has been spanned by the bridge of better understanding, there will be fewer clashes in the economic world ; there is said to be little union difficulty in the shops in Allen County towns ; there are open shops and with union men working side by side with men who do not belong to labor unions, Lima manufacturers are optimistic about the local labor situation ; while under wartime labor conditions there were a dozen jobs awaiting every man, the pendulum swung back again, and there were a dozen men awaiting every job ; the manufacturers and men operating any form of industry have been able to ferret out the indifferent, inefficient workers, thus reducing their pay rolls, and in some instances it is said pay rolls have been reduced without lessening the production simply because the diffident workers have been eliminated, and capable men continue their efforts. While many men employed in local shops belong to unions, organized labor does not control the situation by taking 'over the management, but through observation employers are enabled to see that sodden drudges— mere time servers, are not as desirable as workers who so plan their lives as to have leisure for recreation, study, and mental improvement ; it is all right to humanize working conditions, and to investigate the best methods of releasing human energy, and while the many war contracts brought about a scarcity of common labor and a shortage of machinists, it was not so acute in Lima as to restrict production ; a local strike in 1919 resulted in failure, and labor conditions have been such as to enable the majority of laborers to own their own homes and live comfortably there ; the laborers in Lima belong to the permanent class of citizens; - 424 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 425 there are not many floaters and not much unrest in Lima labor circles ; while unions exist, Lima industries are conducted on the open shop plan. While there are foreigners and negroes employed at common labor, there are many skilled workmen in Lima factories. It is said that a group of progressive labor leaders among whom was Harry Thomas, secretary of the Cleveland Federation of Labor, first agitated the Ohio Workman's Compensation Law in 1909, and that there are now workmen's compensation laws in forty-three states, Alaska, Porto Rico and Hawaii ; those not organized are the non-industrial states of the South ; under wartime conditions common labor has been paid for at the rate of 40 and 50 cents an hour, even laundresses receiving $4 a day for eight hours ; nine hours has been recognized as a working day for men and eight hours for women ; there are laws regulating the hours of labor for women and children, with restrictions lifted in canneries where there are perishable products ; in most industries labor has Saturday afternoon off, a thmg desired by Sabbatarians who feel that with a Saturday afternoon half holiday there is a better church attendance ; the laborers themselves may answer the question. It is said there is a small surplus of female labor in Lima, available for cigar and candy factories ; there are students of economic conditions who would like to see the women remain in the homes ; a writer says that with increased living expenses women have entered factories, and instead of utilizing cheaper cuts of meat they all buy beef steaks because they have no time for preparing roasts and practicing other household economies known to many women. When the woman was the vine, and the man was the oak, there was little said about household problems ; she had the time and inclination to look after them herself. Because of labor demands and the need of an education, there is a law providing that no boy under fifteen or girl under sixteen years of age shall be employed in any business whatever during the hours when the public schools are in session, thereby rendering education compulsory, and men and women are able to see the wisdom of such measure. Anything that makes the home more comfortable, renders life more happy, and has a tendency to better social conditions, is worthy of favorable consideration, and such has been the mission and to some extent the effect of trade unionism in Allen County ; while the printers have always had unions—have always been slightly in advance of other forms of organized labor, the trade union movement in Allen County really began with the phenomenal growth of Lima, and it spread throughout the county wherever labor was employed soon after the oil industry attracted outsiders to the community. It was in 1885, that the eyes of the world were focussed on Allen County. When industries were attracted to the community many of the men who came with them already belonged to labor unions ; for several years the growth of unionism was rapid in Allen County. The trade union movement has developed some bright intellects, and brought into active service many earnest hearts whose sacrifices and labors are part of the treasured blessing of unionism ; when Labor Day comes round on the first Monday in each September, the skilled labor of the community walks forth, and the general public enjoys the parade and display features connected with the annual celebration. While it is so often the "walking delegate" that is before the public mind, it is well to remember that his relation with organized labor is that of financial secretary, treasurer and business agent. While the laborers are attending to duty, he is taking care of their combined interests, and some one says : "A oneness of purpose and unity of action under the trade union system 426 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY of organization, are forces that are simply irresistible, and cannot fail in their mission of mercy, justice and righteousness." While "open shop" prevails throughout Allen County, many of the skilled laborers belong to the different trade unions. Co-operative marketing arrangements exist in many communities, and while they had not thought of it in that light Allen County farmers through the Grange, Farmers' Institute and Farm Bureau have effective unions promoting their own best interests ; the better farming movements are all an outgrowth of the idea of protection and self-preservation ; in the 1920 political campaign, United States Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson said while speaking in Memorial Hall in Lima that the national labor union had early recognized the question of franchise for women, but farmer organizations always have recognized the women. In agriculture the woman is always on a par with the man ; while she may not vote with her husband, she has a voice in the question of home economics ; the Institute programs take her and her needs into consideration. The Grange has always recognized the woman. The newest thing in organized labor is the Farm Bureau of Allen County ; there is no one thing more thoroughly in accord with the spirit of the times than the law providing for agents in the different counties to confer with the farmers for the purpose of increasing the yield of agricultural products, and making the life of the farmer more enjoyable in every way, and the farm bureau is receiving loyal support in Allen County ; not so many years ago a suggestion of this kind would have met with criticism, and today it suggests the old-time method of teaching grammar—teach it without calling it grammar, because of the opposition to it, and many identified with the Farm Bureau do not look upon it as a union, although it serves their purpose in the same way that the trade union protects the factory man. An Allen County implement salesman, A. D. 1920, remarked : "When I had a wife and four children I worked on a farm for $19 a month," and there was a time when 25 cents an hour for farm labor, and 50 cents in harvest were regarded as exorbitant wages." Under war conditions Allen County farmers have paid higher wages, and when readjustment began they were the first to realize it. It is suggested that farmers are the only group of people who could institute a strike and continue it, but those who refused to sell their products on the decline of the reconstruction market finally received less money, some borrowing money at the banks with which to pay their taxes rather than sell their products on the declining market ; in that instance the strike did not prove satisfactory ; it behooves the business man, and that includes the farmer and the skilled laborer, to be governed by market conditions. Lima and other Allen County merchants who studied fluctuating market conditions, were not found with heavy stocks of goods bought under wartime market quotations. The slump was inevitable and they were prepared for it ; all the other industries depend finally upon agriculture. When the farmer was drifting along alone, he did not dream that he would ever gain a knowledge of his business from books ; the book farmer has untily recently been regarded as hopelessly impractical ; at the same time, many a farmer was raising corn year after year from the same field, and wheat the same way, rotation of crops being held in contempt until the soil was wasted, and through united effort farmers found out their difficulty—and yet there has never been the element of interference with the operations of others in these farmer organizations. In time there were farm papers, and those who read them learned the value arising from the suggestions of others ; then came conferences, public meetings, HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 427 the Grange, the. Farmers' Institute and the Farm Bureau—but "open shop" has always prevailed in the farm labor market ; however, there is no place where skilled labor means more than in agriculture. Along with this agitation of the subject of increased farm production came the public experiment stations where tests of all sorts were made, and the results were published for the benefit of all ; meanwhile had come a department of the national government to co-operate with all other forces; legislatures in the various states had come to realize that public welfare might be greatly promoted by multiplying every possible means of disseminating information and advice, based upon this information ; then came exhibition cars and the lecturers who traveled with and explained them ; the latest move is the county agent provided for under the Farm Bureau. Why call the representative of organized labor a "walking delegate," since the farm agent performs a similar service to the community ? It is his duty to confer with farmers, and offer them suggestions in the problems confronting them. Since education is the result of agitation, it will not be through any fault of organized labor in Allen County that the working man does not have a square meal and reasonble compensation for his service. CHAPTER XLIII THEATERS-MOVING PICTURES While there are many Allen County citizens who never visit theaters, Lima is in the center of a 100,000 theater population. Whenever really meritorious plays are staged at the Faurot, or there is an unusual bill at the Orpheum, other Allen County towns and people from adjoining counties help to swell the Lima theater population. Travel facilities enable outside residents to reach the local theaters easily, and there is a ways excellent patronage. In 1910, it was said of the local theater situation : "In its development as a city from the original town site to its present metropolitan proportions, one of the threads in the weaving has been the theater, and its accompanying amusements ; today the beautiful interior of the Faurot Operahouse, the elegant proportions of the Orpheum vaudeville, and the different picture show exteriors compare favorably with cities of like size in the United States," and what was true ten years ago in Lima still describes local conditions. From the dawn of human history people have been interested in the forum, the stage, the athletic field-some form of amusement or recreation has been regarded as a necessity. In the dim history of the past, man always had a desire to amuse himself ; he demands even more relaxation than the day affords and his pleasures extend far into the night, and the theater has always been a welcome diversion. "Jack" has always objected to "all work and no play," and the playhouse affords respite and causes one to forget the cares that infest the day. Lima is known among player folk as a good show town, although the legitimate drama is not so frequently staged in the community as in the old days before all the player folk were shown on the screen, and people now know them better than when they came in person to the community. The Faurot still occasionally stages the living players. High class attractions always bring the playgoers from other communities to town. Lima is sufficiently distant from cities of its size to eliminate competition in high class theater performances. While Lima and contiguous territory is regarded as high class theater patronage, there had to be a beginning and in antebellum Allen County when the population was scant, and the means of travel was inadequate people were thrown upon their own resources for amusement, and simple home talent entertainments and schoolhouse exhibitions always attracted them ; there were wandering thespians at frequent intervals and they always attracted attention ; such opportunities were the sum total of community amusements ; however, as the forest and native conditions were overcome by the settlers, there was demand for better entertainment, and halls, stages and scenic accessories were the natural sequence. In the '50s Lima had Sanford's Hall as its amusement center, and the courtroom was always a community playground ; a few years later Lima had Ashton's Hall, and the community was growing ambitious in the nature of its demands for entertainment. Just when these halls were outgrown as community centers, B. C. Faurot, who was a successful, enterprising business man, planned a substantial gift to the community. The Lima Thespian Club included some of the prominent early families : Cunningham, Crouse, May, Townsend, Harper, Baxter, Richardson, and home talent soon began presenting some good plays before the Lima amusement lovers ; such plays as Rip Van Winkle, Pizarro, the - 428 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 429 Bandit Chief and Blackeyed Susan were in their repertoire. In 1857, when Blackeyed Susan was staged with Dr. S. A. Baxter in the title role, people at once recognized the ability of home talent, and plays given by the Thespians received excellent patronage. When Tom Thumb was staged in Ashton Hall the Thespians achieved their greatest success. In 1910, a review of the theater situation was a local newspaper feature, the articles written by L. H. Cunningham, W. G. Williams and Ezekiel Owen, and quoting from Mr. Williams, who was a local manager : "It is interesting to listen to the tales of some of the old performers, as they relate their own experiences in the long ago ; in the '60s and '70s they played what was known as the 'Variety Houses' throughout the West, and in the '70s prices were reduced until popular was the term used in describing them." Mr. Cunningham writes : "The Faurot Opera house was opened September 4, 1882, and it was regarded as one of the finest in the United States," and while Mr. Cunningham is now the manager the first manager of the Faurot was Mr. Williams. It was dedicated by the Emma Abbott Opera Company with the play : "King for a Day." The dimensions of the theater, width of the stage and seating capacity-every feature was a surprise to actors visiting Lima ; the Faurot Theater rivaled the theaters in New York and Chicago. Complimentary to the vision of Mr. Faurot and the architect of the theater, when David Belasco built the Stuyvesant Theater in New York it was a duplicate of the Faurot in Lima. When this theater was opened the best players were attracted to Lima, and hardly an actor played there who was not lost in admiration of its beauty. They were attracted by the design, the decorations, the admirable arrange- 430 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY ment of the stage and the perfection of its acoustics, and they all "wished they had it on Broadway." In 1905, when Maier Brothers acquired the Faurot they remodeled and redecorated it, adding new furniture and draperies, but the theater itself was so well planned and built that many later theaters will be abandoned before the last curtain comes down in the Faurot. This criticism appeared ten years ago : "Notwithstanding the crudities of the early theaters, the taste of Lima amusement seekers was once more cultured than it is today." Similar criticism was made at the time about the local inclination toward musical programs. Some of the best known players in the United States trod the boards in the Lima halls, before there were theaters with ample stage accommodations and dressing room facilties. Shakespeare once exclaimed : "All the world is a stage," and the players who traveled appreciated the Faurot because of its advantages. The first time reserved seats were sold in Lima was for the appearance of Edwin Forrest ; some of the famous stage characters were annual visitors after the completion of the Faurot Opera-house. Uncle Tom's Cabin has visited Lima a dozen times m one season, and it always had a packed house ; there is no other adequate description of a theater audience--packed house. Be it said to the credit of the community, that some of the old-time stage favorites played to good audiences ; many straight-laced male citizens remember well the annual visits of the female ministrels and burlesque shows when the front seats were always reserved for the "bald heads." However, there was a "bald headed row" in every theater, and that little travesty need not be taken to heart by any one in the Lima theater community. The lexicographer says that a theater is a building appropriated to the presentation of dramatic spectacles—that it is a room, hall or other place provided with a platform, and beside those early-day social centers in Lima, courtroom, Sanford and Ashton halls, and the City Hall which was owned by the municipality and members of the council were always favored with "comps." Besides theater stages today there are stages in Memorial Hall, the high schools, and in some of the lodge buildings; while Lima was once "up against it" for auditorium and stage advantages, such needs are well met today. All deferred to L. H. Cunningham for theater information, and when asked to enumerate local theaters, he counted on his fingers : Faurot, both legitimate and moving pictures; Orpheum, one screen of motion pictures and vaudeville performances ; Sigma, the newest theater in Lima ; Royal, Regent, Rialto, Dreamland, Majestic and Lyric. There are picture shows in Delphos, Bluffton and Spencerville. In these days when everybody goes to the moving picture shows, it is difficult to think of the traveling troupes of other days, and the difficulties encountered by them ; many of them never played on Broadway at all; there were one night attractions and there were week stands. There were "barn-stormers," and there were actors and actresses who were sometimes stranded "far from home and kindred," and there were combinations that always pleased Lima theatergoers. Some of the early attractions were : Sol Smith Russell, Alf Burnett and Swiss Family Bell Ringers. Judge Charles M. Hughes, O. E. Griffith and David Fisher were once active censors in booking Lima theater attractions ; they approved of the Thespian Club and its productions. While the name of B. C. Faurot will go down in history with many other Lima enterprises, the theater so far commemorates him-and Faurot Park will always stand as a monument to his memory. It was W. L. Russell who built the Orpheum, and when it was thrown open to the public May 28, 1906, for HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 431 the first local vaudeville performance it was dedicated by Sun & Murray and "packed house" again described the situation ; the S. R. 0. sign was displayed early., Some of the best variety actors have been seen at the Orpheum. People used to carry lanterns when attending the performances in Sanford and Ashton halls, but that was before the present moonlight schedule of electricity when downtown Lima was "light as day." While the American Indian used to be featured on the legitimate stage in all his native simplicity, the type is still sometimes seen in front of local picture houses when the screen is portraying the characteristics. When the hunting grounds no longer sheltered him, the Indian humbled himself to be reflected from the screen and Buffalo Bill with his canvas theater always attracted the community. Many who once enjoyed the drama now enjoy the moving pictures ; they were popular in France in 1898, and early m the twentieth century they were seen in the United States. When the industry was in its infancy there were predictions of ultimate success, while insanity charges were also laid at the door of picture actors. There was a time in Lima—the penny arcade epoch, when people turned a crank and watched the moving life-would witness an entire series, but like everything else it only filled an interim while the processes were being perfected and now the best actors in the country are seen in the picture films ; the roller skating craze soon changed to moving picture shows, and today people sit complacently in front of the most wonderful productions—the rich who have traveled may see the Alps again, and the stay-at-homes see the world in pictures. The film has become an educational agency, even the circulation of the blood has been shown before the physiology section in the Lima High School, and whole families attend the picture shows ; they take their friends and all enjoy an hour free from worry. While there are still flesh and blood actors before the footlights in Lima, the films reproduce the celebrities from all over the world, and there is no cheaper method of travel ; from a comfortable theater seat one may see the best there is in art and literature. The habits and customs of all nations are shown from the screen ; one who sees them feels like he had traveled in foreign countries, and while pictures of travel are always worth while other pictures afford amusement. CHAPTER XLIV ALLEN COUNTY IN THE WARS "In time of peace prepare for war." Are not the wars of the past sufficient blot on American civilization? War is the oldest sin of the nations ; it has been styled scientific international suicide ; many people accept the trite definition given by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman : "War is hell." While it is true that war makes heroes, it is not necessarily true that peace makes has-beens, although it has been intimated that war-time ideals have suffered the loss of their i's, and have become only the worst sort of deals, and that profiteers recognized their golden opportunity ; now that the war is over they are still having their golden harvest. Just as it is said that a man asked his wife whether she were talking yet or again, in these days the dogs of war are never certain whether they are in the early laps of a new war, or a relapse of an old one ; the "freedom of the seas" and the freedom of the world, while the United States flag has never trailed in defeat, it has been carried into battle of defense of the whole world. Since Allen is one of the "military group of Ohio counties," all coming into existence on the same day, and bearing the names of Revolutionary patriots-since its baptismal ceremony was in honor of Gen. Ethan Allen ; since it is in territory lost to the British and their .Indian allies through the overthrow and defeat of Gen. Arthur St. Clair; since it is in territory retrieved from the Indians by Gen. Anthony Wayne, and since its boundary was established by Col. James W. Riley who was in "Mad Anthony's army," and since historic Fort Amanda is mseparable from the history of Allen County, why should not the spirit of patriotism assert itself in the community? Who would blush because of the relation of Allen County to the rest of the world? When Alexander the Great marched forth to conquer, there was no Allen County. It is said that war does not determine the merit of any question; instead of solving problems it opens up hitherto undreamed of economic questions ; the soil has been redeemed by the veterans of the Revolutionary war, by the soldiers in the War of 1812, by the boys in blue in the War of the States, and again civilization was in the death grapple when Allen County boys with others went overseas in the War of the Nations, and after all the wars has come the reconstruction period, when the best brains of the world and an unlimited amount of money was necessary ; when cost and selling prices are adjusting themselves after such upheavals, it requires soldiers of fortune to stand the test of courage and conviction ; when the war is over come the intricate questions of the aftermath ; then come the times that try men's souls; it is one thing to inflict a wound, and quite another to recover from it. "In time of peace prepare for war," has long been the slogan, although its teaching is at cross purposes with the policy of arbitration; the Prophet Isaiah said : "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more," and notwithstanding the prophesy Allen County has had its part in a number of mortal conflicts ; the soldiers of the different wars talk about "after our war," when discussing the problems of reconstruction, and after every war there is an increased popular interest in ancestors and family - 432 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 433 trees ; it is said that America is already a forest of family trees, even the soldiers returned from overseas in the World war having become interested in Mother Country and Fatherland connecting links in the chains of their own personal relations-Who's Who in America? As Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan had attempted to federate all the nations of the earth in a peace pact universal, and many of them had signified their acceptance of the conditions ; war vessels were to be converted into merchant marine, arbitration was to solve the problems of the nations, and belligerent powers would soon become an obsolete expression among the nations of the world ; the Peace Tribunal at The Hague had been the solution of the whole thing. It seemed that the saber had rusted in its sheath, and that the cannon's lips had grown cold, and that plowshares and pruning hooks had played their part in advance civilization, and the "bloody shirt" was no longer waved in local politics at all. It was said that with present-day ammunitions of war, a pitched battle could not last longer than a June frost. It would be wholesale destruction, and none would be left to bury the dead ; it was thought civilization had advanced too far for warfare ever again to sway the country. When one contemplates the horrors of war —nation arrayed against nation, he wonders that so many centuries cycled by before the world awakened to arbitration ; the public mind had changed, and in future the battles of the world would be fought with ballots rather than with bullets ; the average citizen had no conception of a world war. "Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities ; all is vanity."-Ecclesiastes I, 2. Until the World war there had always been eat in meat and wheat, and Allen County with the rest of America rested in less or more comfort and security. The wars of the past had seemingly vouchsafed such conditions. Because it bears the name of a Revolutionary soldier, Ethan Allen, and because a number of Revolutionary soldiers lie buried within its boundaries, Allen County has direct point of contact with the war that established the United States a nation, and through all its vicissitudes the spirit of 1776 has been kept alive, and there is divine purpose in it all. (In this connection is offered the picture : "The capture of Major Vol. I-28 434 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Andre," which is a copy of the painting by A. B. Durand, showing three young Revolutionary soldiers : David Williams, John Paulding and Isaac Van Wert, dealing with a spy sent out by Benedict Arnold ; three of the counties in this "military group of counties," bear the names of these three young soldiers who were compatriots of Ethan Allen.) It would seem that the spirit of the colonists has been transmitted, and that E Pluribus Unum is the result. When one stops to enumerate the wars through which his ancestry and his contemporaries have passed, he realizes that time is passing and wonders when he last listened to the reading of the Declaration of Independence on a festal day ; when read in the spirit in which it is written it is a masterpiece in literature ; while it is the document of the ages, humdrum reading ruins it. When the Declaration of American Independence used to be read as a part of every Fourth of July celebration, there were always orations dripping with patriotism following it, and everybody seemed to enjoy it. Some of those who study the signs of the times are united in saying that a correct history of the American Revolution has not as yet been written, and that when it is the Old Northwest-the Northwest Territory will be credited with many things ; the great Indian uprisings were in the Northwest ; the Indians in Ohio were regarded as a menace when Governor Arthur St. Clair was unable to deal with them, and Gen. Anthony Wayne was sent out to quell them. In the east the Revolution was fought with civilized soldiery while in the west Washington's army had to deal with infuriated savages ; the Indian would not yield his hunting ground nor would he vacate his wigwam, and the American army naturally regarded the British as the emissaries inciting the Indians to ambush and treachery. (In the prospectus of this ALLEN COUNTY HISTORY was a statement : "A complete list of the soldiers in the great World war, and of those who were killed or wounded or died from other causes," was promised and because it was so recent some deemed it a human possibility, and it is a matter of regret that names of heroes are not available m all of the wars bearing on local history.) The Lima Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution had knowledge of the graves of three Revolutionary heroes whose last sleep is in the bosom of Mother Earth m Allen County, and definite knowledge has been gained of the fourth, and it is known that the fifth was buried in the county, although what disposition was finally made of the dust is unknown; it is like the Burial of Moses—the Angels of God upturned the sod, and laid the dead man there, as far as "kith or kin" is concerned in this final summary of the Revolutionary shrines in Allen County. While Sergeant William Chenowith who lies buried at Tony's Nose Cemetery was never a resident of Allen Counuty, his name appears on the tax duplicates ; he was born in Virginia but enlisted in Washington's army in Pennsylvania ; in 1831 he entered land in Allen County ; one record says William Chenowith was in Bath Township in 1827-8, and that he erected a cabin on the bank of Lost Creek ; a son, John Chenowith, lived on the land now owned and utilized by the City of Lima as part of its waterworks system; this land was acquired from members of the Mumaugh family who are lineally descended from Sergeant Chenowith. Tony's Nose Cemetery is so inaccessible that many people have never seen the marker at the grave, procured from the United States Government by Lima Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. The inscription : "Sergeant William Chenowith ; War 1776," is the designation ; it was placed there by Isaac H. Mumaugh and sons, and Dr. Shelby Mumaugh. Sergeant Chenowith died in 1838, and not until HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 435 1913 was this marker placed at his grave ; it is said that when he was eighty years old he could split 100 rails a day ; he had come on horseback from Pennsylvania, and was a guest in the home of his son, John Chenowith ; he was buried at Tony's Nose, which is now almost wholly abandoned as a place of burial; this grave is one of the patriotic shrines in Allen County. While there was no unveiling ceremony, this is the only government marker at the grave of a Revolutionary soldier within the bounds of Allen County ; it seems like "hallowed ground" at Tony's Nose. In Ash Grove Cemetery is the grave of Rev. Simon Cockrun ; nothing is known of his early life. A letter from a relative to Mrs. Grace Bryan Hollister says : "He has a monument in Ash Grove Cemetery which. was considered a good one at the time," and later Mrs. Hollister copied the following inscription : "Rev. Simon Cockrun, Revolutionary soldier, died June 9, 1845, aged 89 years, 11 months and 6 days." The marble cutter may not have followed copy in chiseling the data into the enduring stone, but this man was born in 1754, and was almost a nonogenarian ; the Cockruns about Spencerville are descended from this patriot. Samuel Lippincott who lies buried at Rockport died in Allen County September 16, 1836, after having been for some years a resident of the community. He was born August 29, 1759, in Shrewsburg Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey ; at the age of twenty he enlisted in the Revolutionary service ; after six months he was captured and he was held a prisoner seven months and seven days ; it was one February night in 1780 that he was captured by five Tories and carried to Sandy Hook ; there is a private family marker at the grave. Mrs. James H. Sullivan established her membership in Lima Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution through the name of Samuel Lippincott ; the Lippincotts of Lima are of the same lineal descent. An old account of the first burial plot in Allen County, now the site of the H. S. Moulton Lumber Company, written by Robert Bower's of Lima, says : "But still there is an old leaning slab there that marks the spot where Elijah Stites was buried March 6, 1843, his age being eighty-five years ; he was a Revolutionary soldier and a color bearer at the surrender of Cornwallis, and afterwards a Baptist minister in Lima. I was orderly sergeant of a company called the Tigers at the time of his death, and helped to bury him with the .honors of war. Gen. William Blackburn was out in full uniform." The above information appeared in a Lima Directory in 1879, but nothing could be learned at the Moulton Lumber yard about the "leaning slab" that marked the grave of a Revolutionary soldier. Diligent inquiry failed to gain any further knowledge of the Revolutionary soldier known to have been buried there. When Peter Sunderland was buried in the military cemetery at Fort Amanda, it was in Allen County. An old account says : "Peter Sunderland, a soldier of the Revolution, came to Allen County in 1820 ; he died in 1827, and was buried at the fort cemetery." On the gravestone there is this inscription : "Peter Sunderland, a Revolutionary soldier, fought at Bunker Hill. He died August 1, 1827, aged 90 years," and on another marker : "Catharine, his wife, died September 1, 1831, aged 95 years." Mrs. Isabelle Sunderland Russell, mother of Susannah Russell Marshall, the daughter, of Allen County, was a daughter of Peter Sunderland and the Spencerville Sunderlands are of this line of Sunderlands. In 1917, when Earl Sunderland was leaving for' overseas service in the World war, and Sunderland family picnic 436 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY was held at Fort Amanda, July 13, just 100 years after the birth of Susannah Russell, he placed floral decorations on the grave of this Revolutionary ancestor-a most impressive thing. Peter Sunderland was the fourth son of Samuel Sunderland, who was the third son of John, the fourth Earl of Sunderland, and thus royalty lies buried in the Fort Amanda Military Cemetery, although it is understood that Peter Sunderland was born fourteen days after his parents arrived in the United States of America. Because it is in a military cemetery, more tourists visit this grave than any of the other Revolutionary shrines in Allen County. While there is a sentiment toward some suitable memorial in addition to Memorial Hall, for the soldiers of all wars from Allen County, it has not yet assumed definite outline ; the poet has said : "On fame's eternal camping ground, their silent tents are spread; And glory guards with solemn round, the bivouac of the dead." and more attention should be given the Revolutionary shrines within the borders of Allen County. However, there has been a new interpretation placed on the word patriotism ; in the light of the world's needs, it is quite as patriotic to take up the hoe as the gun, and young men may perform just as valiant service in the corn field as on the field of battle ; the plan of the Lima public square suggesting the palisade, carries the military idea ; the official survey of the valuable acquisition to the United States Government through the Greenville treaty, was made by Capt. James W. Riley of General Wayne's command, who was also a soldier m the American Revolution, and along at the time when muster days were observed in Allen County, it was an admirable drill ground ; it is so planned that the settlers could assemble and repel the attacks of the Indians, although no stockade was ever built about it. THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND-It is known that Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, did not join with other Indians at the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, and while other Indians were at peace he began to commit various depredations ; in 1810, there were frequent calamities and an Indian war seemed imminent ; in 1811, Gen. William Henry Harrison who was then governor of Indiana territory and stationed at Vincennes, at once marched against the town of the Prophet on the Wabash and the Battle of Tippecanoe ensued, and there were frequent controversies with the Indians until December 17 and 18, 1812, when the powerful Miami Confederacy was overthrown at the Battle of the Mississinewa in Indiana. There was never again an uprising of the Miamis. In June, 1812, for the second time the United States declared war against Great Britain—the Mother Country. While war is a. conflict of ideas, as yet there was no local population to have sides in the controversy. While there are graves of heroes in both the first and second wars with England on Allen County soil, Allen County had no part in those wars. Gen. Benjamin Logan who was a member of the first Ohio Constitutional Convention from eastern Ohio finally located in Shelby County, where he was afterward a member of the Ohio Assembly, was the earliest military character known in the "neck o' the woods" now designated as Allen County. It seems that one McKee was the British-Indian agent, and when General Logan was superintending the removal of some hogs northward from Shelby County, he was attacked by the Indians at a stream and the hogs were never coralled again ; the Indians afterward called the stream Koshko Sepe, which was later HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 437 Americanized as Hog Creek and sacred to the memory of Count Coffin- berry as Swinonia. General Logan, however, was always a terror to the Indians. When the second war with England waged most furiously the principal theater of action in this vicmity was at Fort Amanda. Wayne's Trace in that vicinity rendered the point accessible to the necessary forced military marches through the wilderness combating the ambush methods of the Indians, and the inception of a garrison there was when Col. Thomas Poague was ordered to clear the timber and make a wagon road connecting St. Mary's and Fort Defiance; it was on his way back from Fort Defiance that Colonel Poague erected the stockade which he named in honor of his wife—Amanda Poague. The construction of Fort Amanda has already been described, and since the records of the garrison afterward fell into the hands of the British who destroyed them, the names of those who sleep in the military cemetery there will never be known to the world. While their names should be inscribed on tablets, and would doubtless have been placed on the monument unveiled there, July 5, 1915, they will answer Gabriel's call as nameless heroes as far as local records are concerned; while the old books say there are seventy-five of those graves, there are about forty government markers there bearing the inscription : "U. S. Soldier War of 1812," and they sleep the sleep eternal with the secrets of their lives buried with them. While it is known there was never any military engagement at Fort Amanada, it was a rendezvous for officers, and soldiers exposed to long marches recuperated and some died there ; in 1813, the hospital at Fort Amanada was filled with the sick and wounded from the battles along the Maumee. The translation of the Indian name Tecumseh : "One who passes across intervening space from one point to another," does not soften the horror of young men giving their lives, and losing their identity in this wilderness struggle. Jonathan Meigs, Jr., was then governor of Ohio, and with his military training he was a strong executive; he lost no time in mobilizing the Ohio regiments, and the best young men in the country joined the militia ; some of them are numbered among the silent sleepers at Fort Amanda. Gen. William Henry Harrison who was in charge of all military forces was sarcastic in dealing with those who were disheartened, telling them their folks at home would be ashamed of them--that their fathers would order them back, and that their mothers and sisters would hiss at them should they desert the army, and thus he moved them into action and Allen County soil became their burial spot ; while none were killed in battle, they had time to ruminate while wasting with disease, and the "thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts," under happier conditions than facing death in a wilderness hospital. When the monument at Fort Amanda was unveiled, Governor Frank B. Willis penned these lines : "The name 'Fort Amanda' recalls the brave days of old when in frontier cabin at the midnight hour, the little family was wakened to battle for its life with a savage foe ; out on the fringe of civilization the hardy pioneers struggled to protect their wives and children, and in so doing fought the battle of an advancing civilization; they conquered the wilderness and made it bud and blossom as a rose; where once the forest frowned on the glaring council fires of the Red Man, the frontiersman built his humble home; he cleared a space for his garden, and later for his corn field and his orchard; he blazed the way for civilization. Smiling fields and busy cities now occupy the land for which he toiled and fought ; the frontiersman's cabin has mouldered into dust, but the memory of his heroic deeds lives on forever ; 438 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY it is fitting that this generation should show proper reverence and respect by erecting memorials like this : The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here'," and while it is now in Auglaize County the fact is not to be forgotten that prior to 1848, Fort Amanda was in Allen County. The later occupation of Fort Amanda by settlers has already been related in an earlier chapter in the Allen County History. MUSTER DAY 1N LIMA-In 1792—quite early in the history of the republic, the United States Congress established militias in the different states ; all able-bodied white men between the ages of eighteen and forty- five were required to report for service, and later the word white was stricken out and all male citizens were required to report for military instructions ; the system continued in force until after the Civil war, and every county was thus the home of a regiment ; the boy must put on a military cap and sumbit to discipline ; the incorrigible submitted to discipline the same as the patriotic citizen ; the muster law must have had its influence in the community ; mention has already been made of how well the Lima public square was adapted to muster day requirements ; the state furnished but little equipment, and Allen County men and boys improvised arms for the occasion : they sometimes used corn stalks when going through with the manual of arms. In the early history of Allen County, muster days in Lima rivalled the Fourth of July celebrations ; since Allentown was the home of Gen. William Blackburn who was in command of the Northwestern Ohio Division, and Brigadier General William Armstrong of Lima was in command of the Allen County Brigade, muster day in Lima meant more than in some other Ohio counties. While General Blackburn came to Lima from Wapokeneta as receiver for the United States land office, he had served in the Ohio Assembly from Columbiana County ; the land office was removed from Wapokeneta to Lima May 31, 1843, and from that time he was a resident of Allen County ; there were always two muster days in the year, and he became the best known man in Allen County ; he was given to pomp and ceremony, and with his plume and spurs he would sit on a horse like a cavalier of old ; he was as handsome a soldier as ever mounted a charger. When General Blackburn headed the procession in Lima and was followed by a military band he was the center of attention from all. General Blackburn had one horse called Tam O'Shanter that was a single-footer with a tremendous stride, and this horse seemed to share in all the enthusiasm of the drill ; the military musters suited both the man and the horse ; the horse was a chestnut sorrel, and with a rider weighing 300 pounds it was a spectacular occasion when General Blackburn came riding by ; he was the man who put Allentown on the map of Allen County ; while he was a military character local histories are silent about his engagement in any battles ; he had once been stationed at Fort Meigs ; he appeared in military uniform at the funeral of the Revolutionary soldier, Elijah Stites ; he died in 1858, and was buried with military honors in what is now an abandoned cemetery in Lima; it is with muster day rather than with any special war that the name of General Blackburn is associated ; a daughter, Adeline Blackburn, survives him; the Blackburn house built in 1850 in Allentown, was long a social center. "One night in 1904 there was a light against the sky and the Blackburn mansion was soon in ashes ; the seasoned black walnut finish in it would command a fortune today." Because of his unusual weight, General Blackburn never marched in the muster day procession, but always used Tam O'Shanter in lead- HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 439 ing the parade ; following him were the Knittles, Herrings, Coons, Ridenours, Sunderlands, Ehrmans, Sawmillers, Stemens and sharing the military honors always was Gen. William Armstrong astride another sorrel horse called Sheriff, that was a show horse along with Tam O'Shanter. Is the military instinct extinct even though muster day is no longer observed in Allen County ? The poems : Sheridan's Ride and The Charge of the Light Brigade keep alive the military spirit, and an eye-witness thus describes General Armstrong on muster day : "He was panoplied in all of the pomp and circumstances of glorious war ; his chapeau was double the ordinary size; he had the largest feather from the largest ostrich, with mounted belt and flaming sash ; his gold epaulets were the size of saddle bags, and his sword was made for carnage; although his age excluded him from the service, General Armstrong mustered in a local company for the Civil war," and it is said that he keenly felt the disappointment ; when his son, the gallant Mart Armstrong, was killed, April 6, 1862, at the Battle of Shiloh, his military zeal prompted him to take the place made vacant in the ranks ; he went after the body and brought it back to Lima for burial. General Blackburn died before the Civil war. While he lived he always went for a short sojourn at Fort Amanda every fall, and those in camp with him said that Tam 0' Shanter always had to be blindfolded when the general mounted him ; then he would say to the boys : "Let him go," and :`those were the days of real sport" in Allen County. OHIO-MICHIGAN DIFFICULTY—The Toledo war in 1835 had to do with the Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute, and when both states assembled their troops on the boundary, Allen County was represented there, although no bloodshed resulted ; before the formal opening of hostilities as is related in an earlier chapter, peace commissioners arrived and there were concessions from both commonwealths ; while Ohio gained the portage at Toledo, it relinquished all claim to the mineral countries in northern Michigan, now asking for separate statehood from the 440 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY southern Peninsula in Michigan ; what Ohio wanted was lake frontage on Lake Michigan ; in 1836, Congress decided the matter in favor of Ohio ; the Fulton boundary and the Harris boundary had each been surveyed, and a row of townships across the northern part of Ohio were once in Michigan; recently stone markers were placed on the southern line of the disputed territory, and the Ohio and Michigan governors again shook hands in settlement of the difficulty ; on one side the marker is the word Ohio and on the other Michigan, and travelers appreciate them. There is also some mention of a Reservoir war in Mercer County that involved citizens of Allen County. The records do not say much about Allen County in the Mexican war ; the Toledo and Reservoir wars were bloodless, and with but sparse population there was little representation in the war with Mexico. While the Lima Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution establishes relationship with Revolutionary soldiers, and there are local members of the Sons of the American Revolution in other cities, there are Allen County families who trace their lineage from soldiers of the War of 1812, although perhaps none of their ancestry lie buried at Fort Amanda. When the Civil war came on there was a denser population, and it touched many households in Allen County; within sixty hours after the attack on Fort Sumter it had a company of soldiers en route, and the schoolhouses and churches at every crossroads were bulwarks of good citizenship ; the Civil war was a clash over states sovereignty and the slavery question. There was a clash of autocracy and democracy that long ago. CIVIL WAR IN ALLEN COUNTY—War is resultant from conflicting ideas ; there were mutterings and evidences of internal strife; the question of human slavery convulsed the whole country. Legislative compromises were no longer effective, and when in the presidential campaign of 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected it looked like abolition of slavery would be the next thing confronting the people of the United States. The greatest problems of the ages have all been solved on the field of battle ; war has been the solution, and bloodshed has paved the way for many things ; it seems that the events of the ages HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 441 are not mere occurrences ; they are parts of God's eternal plans, and the lessons of the centuries have been written in blood. In the Civil war the Allen County soldiers wrote their chapter in United States history along with the rest of the country. It was on a bright Sunday morning, April 12, 1861, when Lima folk were in church ; the harbingers of spring had arrived ; the weather was warm and the windows were open ; the sound : "Fort Sumter is fired upon," was heard in the street. Dr. Edwin Ashton was in his office, and soon an American flag was hanging from a wire stretched between Ashton Hall and the Allen County courthouse, and waving over Market Street ; it was in the days of the second Allen County courthouse on the site of the Cincinnati Block. When the church services ended, and the people saw the stars and stripes floating on the air, they congregated in front of the courthouse ; there they heard the story of the attack on Fort Sumter. The stars and stripes wafted the message to all. A store box platform was hastily improvised, and the Presbyterian minister, Rev. T. P. Johnson, waxed eloquent in his appeal for patriotism ; Martin Armstrong was the second speaker, and he stirred the hearts of all to patriotism ; under the command of Capt. M. H. Nichols men were then and there ready for service ; a printer from The Gazette named Charles N. Moyer was the first volunteer ; on April 16 he went to Columbus and on April 19 the first company of Lima volunteers was m readiness ; it numbered ninety-two men rank and file, and April 22, it was inducted into the service. In this first Lima volunteer company, the officers were : M. H. Nichols, captain ; C. M. Hughes, lieutenant ; T. J. Hustler, second lieutenant ; J. A. Anderson, sergeant ; J. N. Cunningham, second sergeant ; William Bradley, third sergeant ; W. H. Ward, fourth sergeant, and the corporals were : C. C. Oldfield, Milton Titus, J. B. Davison and Samuel McClure. It was the first time Allen County had been called upon to witness the men of the community march away to war ; it was only the beginnmg. Camp Lima where the soldiers drilled for service was on the Shawnee road across the Ottawa River ; in 1898, Allen County soldiers went to Camp Bushnell for training, and in the World war they went to the various training camps about the country. Seeing that first volunteer group of soldiers march away in 1861 did not make Allen County folk any better prepared to see subsequent groups of sons and brothers quitting their homes for the fortunes of war. It was the first time a company had been recruited in Allen County and quick work was made of it ; one account says Allen County had 776 soldiers in the Civil war, while another says the official report, October 1, 1863, accredits 1,200 men to the army and navy from Allen County ; few Ohio counties having a like number of inhabitants surpassed it, either in number or quality of its private soldiers. None of them would brook disloyalty, and traitors were made to salute the flag-a sentiment that has been handed down to their posterity ; there is nothing Turkish about Uncle Sam's American Eagle-the Bird of Freedom, and when he ruffled his feathers and spread his wings—well, "Thereby Hangs a Tale." While President Lincoln faced an unprecedented crisis in American history, and the people were in uncertainty and doubt, he did not at once interfere with human slavery. While the new-born republican party had not taken a direct stand against the slavery question, its leaders were among the avowed opponents of that institution, and when the President declared that the country could not exist half free and half slave, there was response from Allen County ; local citizens realized when the slave-holding states began passing secession ordinances, South HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 443 Carolina first of all, that it was necessary for the President to take some decisive action. When President Lincoln first called on his countrymen to avenge the insult to the American flag at Fort Sumter, there was a quick transformation from peace to a state of war—the memory of it seems like a passing dream—but everywhere there were spontaneous meetings, and the latent fires of patriotism were soon aflame, were soon fanned into glowing heat, and there had been no parallel in history to the rush to arms at the country's call-when Grant, Sherman and Sheridan led the way, and as one of the "military group of counties," Allen acquitted itself with honor. Col. William H. Hill and Daniel S. Van Pelt were active citizens in recruiting for the war, and in the annals of the Welsh community by D. D. Nicholas is the statement that the Welsh were among the first to shoulder the musket in Allen County, and what is said of them applies to all : "They braved the rain of shot and shell on many hotly contested fields of strife ; they endured long and tedious marches under the parching sun and through snow, rain and mud with scanty supply of rations often, and many times having nothing to eat ; many never returned, and they sleep the sleep that knows not waking in national cemeteries at Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Andersonville, etc., and some are in unknown graves on hillsides and in valleys where no one marks the spot—no loving hands to place flowers on lowly mounds, the final resting places of many Allen County soldiers." There are more than seventy graves of Welsh soldiers in Pike Run Cemetery, and there is an Allen County plot in Woodlawn where Civil war soldiers lie buried—a sacred spot for those unclaimed by relatives. The Home Guards organized April 23, 1861, was in response to Lincoln's call and in almost every Ohio command in the Civil war there were representatives of Allen County. "While not a sparrow falleth, but its God doth know," and "while the hairs of their heads are numbered," the same condition has existed in subsequent wars ; and Allen County regiments have numbered many soldiers from other counties, and .from other states ; in 1898, other young men temporarily employed in Lima enlisted here, and never lived in Allen County again ; the same thing was true again on April 6, 1917, when war was declared against Germany ; young men stopping then in Allen County enlisted, and Allen County young men sojourning in other places did the same thing; just now and then one asked to be counted from the home county ; in the Civil war there were many soldiers in the United States army and navy of whom no record exists at all ; the same thing is true in the subsequent wars. "Times that tried men's souls," is a stock expression carried over from the Civil war, and later generations have experienced similar conditions ; what General Sherman said about war has been demonstrated in the lives of Allen County citizens recently. Sometimes conditions are insurmountable ; the South accepted Lincoln's election as a menace, and the doctrine of States' Rights as paramount to national control was openly advocated by John C. Calhoun ; it was on December 20, 1860, that South Carolina took the initiative in passing a secession ordinance, other states following in quick succession and autonomy was the rule until 1861, when a peace commission met in Baltimore with the far- reaching purpose of safeguarding the Union, but Jefferson Davis was chosen President of the Confederacy, and decisive action was necessary. While meetings were being held all over the country and definite plans of action were being considered, the gun was fired that was heard around the world—the (lie had been cast, the attack had been made on 444 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Fort Sumter. On April 12, 1861—so soon after the inauguration of a new President, had been inaugurated a war ; it was domestic strife with men and brothers fighting each other ; it was worse than fighting a common enemy—this war to the finish among the people of one country, and the question was whether or not it should be rent asunder or remain one country ; it has already been said that Lincoln's call for troops met with response in Allen County. Its past history is proof of the fact that there is fighting blood in Allen County. It is in the "military group" of Ohio counties. There must always be a planting of moral and patriotic ideas before there is personal or national advancement and the human voice in appealing song has always had telling effect in stirring people to action ; the songs growing out of the Civil war have never had a parallel in American history. The New England Puritan conscience was aroused by William Lloyd Garrison, Joshua R. Giddings, Wendell Phillips, John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell and Julia Ward Howe, and the printed page-poems and song, the winged arrows of God's truth were unlimited in their effectiveness; there was a revival of the feeling of accountability to God as a result, and it spread all over the country, Allen County being in line with the rest of the world. When Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's great story: "Uncle Tom's Cabin," made its appearance in serial form there were Allen County men and women who never needed to read it again. It was one of the great human agencies in bringing about the emancipation of the negro. Some one has said that if he could write the hymns of a nation, he would stand responsible for its religion, and the same holds good with reference to patriotism ; the song writer teaches the morals of the nation, and such war songs as : "Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue," "The Army and Navy Forever," and "Hail Columbia," enable the people to come up to Bunker Hill, Lexington and the later struggles fully understanding their significance ; some of the war songs of the past were as effective in promoting enlistments, and arousing men and women to deeds of sacrifice and heroism as the telling patriotic addresses from the recruiting officers. Sometimes it is necessary to inspire optimism in order to tide a nation over a crisis. The American flag has never been carried into any war without righteous cause-an assertion repeated so many times in the opening days of the World war, and it never yet has trailed in defeat ; when the aged men of the Civil war heard the country's call, they were only boys and when emancipation became the outstanding question January 1, 1863, and there was another call for men and the men of the North invaded the South to remove the shackles of human slavery, Allen County volunteers were again among them. The story of Israel Putnam, who left the plow in the field to join the Colonial forces, has always had its influence in American history ; professional men, business men, mechanics and farmer boys alike responded to the call for troops from Allen County ; while some went out for only three months at the beginning, there was never lack of men to fill the quota ; in the four years war, Ohio met every demand and Allen County had its part in supplying soldiers ; while the mothers, sisters, wives and sweethearts were all filled with sentiment toward the soldiers leaving for the fortunes of war, after a few months they all settled down to the stern realities ; some one said of the Civil war era : "Everybody knows that had it not been for the loyal women of America we would be a divided nation today." The women "carried on," then as in the recent conflict ; while they did not hear so much about surgical dressings they "scraped HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 445 lint," and God bless them-some of the same women frequented the Red Cross workrooms again ; there were Clara Bartons among them, and surgical dressings were no trouble to any of them. No doubt many a maimed arm would have been saved with better hospital facilities in the Civil war ; there were army nurses who followed the regiments, but they lacked many working facilities that are now known to humanity. In the annals of the Welsh community, D. D. Nicholas relates that on May 14, 1864, he was wounded with a minnie ball tearing away part of the skull, and that he lay three days in a field hospital among hundreds of others who were wounded and dying, and finally all were placed in freight cars and sent to Nashville ; he was placed in Cumberland Hospital eight days after the injury, and ,it was eight more days before his wound received attention from a surgeon ; the ride of 300 miles on a freight train with no attention and little food or water, was a severe test of human endurance. The Sanitary Commission of the Civil war was unable to accomplish all that has been accomplished by later relief organizations. There were Red Cross nurses in the Spanish-American war in Cuba and in the Philippines, and in the Red Cross workshops of 1898, and again in 1917, the women of the United States did what their mothers and grandmothers had done in the Christian Sanitary Commission of the Civil war. The Red Cross sentiment cartoon, "Still the greatest mother in the world," is effective and the great organization is still functioning in the interests of soldiers. \ Vhile the men and the boys are at the front, the women and the girls are never idle ; everything on a war basis, sentiment was not wholly banished as war relief under the leadership of the Sanitary Commission claimed the attention of the American women. They not only applied their energies to relief work, but they shouldered the responsibilities at home-the women of America have always been loyal. While the daily newspaper had not yet made its appearance in Allen County save in the form of handbills issued for some time by a local publisher, in time of the Civil war there were Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo newspapers being read as there are today, although in most cases only the weekly issues, although there was railroad service ; when there was favorable news there was great rejoicing, the people gathering in groups to discuss it ; the women continued scraping 446 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY lint for bandages, and there were public and private donations to the federal cause until after the fall of Appomattox. The people of Allen County understood this feeling of anxiety much better today than they did prior to April 6, 1917, when the United States Government formally declared war against Germany. In many of the churches Kipling's recessional, "Lest we forget, Lord, lest we forget," is sung as a mental suggestion; there are those who will never forget because of vacant chairs. The same is true of all the wars ; while Allen County soldiers were ready for the service on short notice, the Civil war was a losing game at first for the North ; the little "before breakfast job" of overcoming the South was prolonged, but as men were needed they were forthcoming from Allen and all the "military group of counties." LOCAL GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC POSTS—The Civil war veterans have always kept in touch with each other through campfire meetings and state and national encampments, many going from Allen County to the national encampment in Indianapolis, A. D. 1920, and Lima has sometimes entertained the Ohio Grand Army of the Republic meetings. Mart Armstrong Post which is sheltered in Memorial Hall commemorates a gallant captain who was killed April 6th, at the Battle of Shiloh, and who was active in organizing the first Allen County volunteer regiment ; it was organized April 19, 1882, with seventeen charter members, and Owen Francis was the first post commander ; recently W. D. Heffner has served as commander. The Woman's Relief Corps is auxiliary to Mart Armstrong Post ; it was suggested by Mrs. Olive Logan, wife of Gen. John HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 447 A. Logan, and takes precedence among relief organizations ; the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic is a split arising from the Veterans' Union which did not accept soldiers who had not seen real service ; they must be blood kin to soldiers, and this asserted difference caused dissensions in 'Grand Army of the Republic and Woman's Relief Corps circles all over the country. At the time of the inquiry Mart Armstrong Post numbered forty members. Because of their age most of the members of the different Grand Army of the Republic posts now live in the towns of Allen County ; the Memorial Hall in Lima is sacred to all of them ; there is a tablet to the Grand Army of the Republic in the corridor with an army badge in bronze and with draped flags ; the inscription reads : "One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation evermore," and it represents the sentiment of "the boys in blue" still remaining in Allen County. There is a tablet : "In Memory of Mart Armstrong, Post No. 202 G. A. R., who served from 1861 to 1865, and the Auxiliary W. R. C. No. 94, instituted in Allen County in 1885," and although it is in Van Wert County, Delphos has pride in a monument erected in beautiful Library Park by Reul Post, Grand Army of the Republic. The Reul Post occupies quarters in the basement of the Delphos library. The inscription on the monument carries the information that it was built by Reul Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and other patriotic people in 1909 ; on one of the faces is the inscription : "We honor the dead; we inspire the living. Dedicated to our country's defenders and preservers ; the men and women of 1861 to 1865. Liberty and equal rights for all now and forever." There is a soldiers' monument at the head of High Street in Lafayette, erected in 1903, by the citizens of Jackson Township and dedicated to the memory of her soldiers of 1861 to 1865, and there is a flagstaff by it ; the American flag often floats from it. Back of the monument is a bit of sward inclosed with an iron fence ; inscribed on the monument is the following: "Ah ! Never shall the land forget, How flowed the life blood of her brave, Gushed warm with hope and courage yet Upon the soil they fought to save." Fair Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in Spencerville still has a "small handful" of veterans in its membership ; there were always some who did not affiliate. Spencerville has an armory as a meeting place for the Grand Army of the Republic, which was built in 1914, by the state at a cost of $20,000, because of the activities at the time of Company F of the Second Ohio Infantry. There is a post with small membership m Bluffton. There are Sons of Veterans and the 'Lizabeth Turner Tent Daughters of Veterans in Lima is very effective as a patriotic organization assisting the Grand Army of the Republic and Woman's Relief Corps in many ways. The veterans of all wars—Grand Army of the Republic, Sons of Veterans, Spanish-American and the American Legion all have headquarters in Memorial Hall. Allen County makes no distinction with reference to its soldiers. After the close of the Civil war the Ohio Assembly repealed the national guard law ; the people were tired of war and its desolation ; the military spirit was at a low ebb everywhere, and remained dormant till 1870, when reaction set in and companies of infantry and batteries of artillery were organized again. The military spirit asserted itself, and better provision was made for disabled soldiers in state and national homes ; there were occasional riots and the country recognized the need 448 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY of military protection; on January 4, 1875, Luther Melancthon Meily, who was an eighteen-year-old boy, organized the Melancthon Light Guards which was attached to the Eleventh Ohio Regiment, Ohio National Guard, as Company C July 6, 1876, and in 1889 the Melancthon Light Guards became the Lima City Guards ; in 1884, the Melancthon Guards was sent to Cincinnati to help quell a riot ; after participating in the Spanish-American war in 1898, the Lima City Guards was mustered out of service. It was again organized as Company C unattached infantry, and November 2, 1899, it was attached to the Second Regiment Infantry, Ohio National Guard. While Allen County soldiers distinguished themselves in the Civil war, they also enkindled a flame of patriotism that has lived m the succeeding generation ; there were merited promotions and there were privates who objected to promotion from the ranks ; to them $13 a month did not seem like profiteering, and among the Grand Army of the Republic veterans still alive are men who marched with General Sherman from Atlanta to the sea, and the campfire stories never wane in interest for them. The Blue and the Gray—today the world sees visions of another color ; query for the boys of '61: is there a soldier blue overcoat in Allen County today ? Some of the members of the Grand Army posts would like to see one again. There were soldiers returning from the Civil war and the public square in Lima was full of people to welcome them, when on April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was killed in Ford's Theater m Washington by an actor, John Wilkes Booth ; in the twinkling of an eye the jollifying changed to a demonstration of sadness—a gloom overspread the town and the whole country. There are two cannons on exhibition—one in the courthouse square in Lima, and one in Woodlawn Cemetery, that revert to the type of firearms used in the Civil war ; they had been used in the coast defense service in California, and they were shipped to Lima from there ; they were procured through the effort of Dr. George Hall, who conducted the correspondence, and who induced the Allen County commissioners to pay the freight from the California arsenal ; the cannon in Woodlawn was fired on July 4, 1900 the last big Fourth of July celebration in Allen County. The report wakened up the town, and it was learned afterward that it was a dangerous experiment, the cannon having been condemned at the arsenal. They are silent monitors of the warfare of the past. There are different munitions of war today. In 1861, when the Allen County soldiers were responding to Lincoln's call, there were no steam whistles and quick methods of communication; when there was a call to arms the recruiting officers were busy rounding up the volunteers, but the onward march of civilization has changed things ; in 1898, when the call came again a number of young men in Allen County had received a military education-in time of peace prepare for war, and "Remember the Maine" electrified the whole countryside. When there was a call for volunteers in the Spanish-American war, the young • men of Allen County responded instantly ; all that was required of them was to raise Company C of the Second Regiment Ohio National Guard to war strength, and Allen County volunteers had the routine of camp life for one year at Kenton, Columbus, Chickamauga Park—and it was through no fault of theirs that they did not see active service ; they were in the training camps almost before the community was aware that a military company was leaving Allen County ; the grapevine messages seemed to reach eligible young men without difficulty, and in short order they were United States soldiers ready to go to the rescue of the Cubans. HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 449 It was a year of uncertainty for the Spanish-American soldiers in the training camps in 1898, and while it did not mean more than a year's absence from their homes for many of them, they offered themselves a living sacrifice upon their country's altar ; in many instances modesty prevents them from speaking of their military experiences—say they did not have any, but for a time there was patriotism in the air, when it seemed that Cuba needed them. In the quiet of Allen County little is said about it, but the Civil war soldiers living in the national homes are inclined to reflect unjustly on the Spanish-American veterans ; they all had military training, and splendid physiques and manly bearings are the result from it. Allen County suffered the loss of one man, John Gottfried, who died in a Knoxville hospital ; when there was a banquet given the soldiers there was one vacant chair in his honor. Military discipline and drill -the manual of arms and the uniform—all have their part in the transformation. Capt. Peter McCown (colored) who served in the regular army, and is now retired with pay, was at San Juan Hill when Col. Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were there. He is a Spanish-American veteran whose military honors rest lightly upon him, and he has refused political recognition-prefers the quiet life of a civilian in Lima, to a diplomatic post in Liberia. Captain McCown is posted on military tactics, and has nothing to regret from having been a United States soldier. DECORATION DAY—The first Decoration Day in the United States was May 30, 1868 three years after the close of the Civil war ; it was suggested by General Logan and at the same time his wife organized the Woman's Relief Corps of America ; it was the Great Lincoln who in a speech at Gettysburg, exclaimed : "We here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain," and when Decoration Day comes round the soldiers in all wars unite in the sad service. The 1920 Decoration Day service in many communities presented the spectacle of the veterans of three wars marching in the same procession to lay flowers on the graves of the soldier dead ; there were the battle-scarred standard bearers of 1861, the Spanish-American warrior of 1898, the khaki-clad youths of the World war, all with brave and thankful hearts paying tribute to those who had made the supreme sacrifice-who had gone "over the top" in their own life history. There were flowers on the lowly mounds in all of the cemeteries. "Battalion ! File left. Counter march," and every grave was singled out and there were flowers on spots sacred to absent sleepers ; there were flowers on the water for all who lie buried in watery graves anywhere, and there were sad hearts of relatives unable to visit the overseas cemeteries, for Allen County suffered the loss of soldiers in the World war ; the Flanders requiem reads : "And we shall keep true faith with those who lie asleep, with each a cross to mark his bed," and in many households there are sad hearts because of sons and brothers who sleep beneath the poppies in France. The poet has said : "And down in the corn where the poppies grew, Were redder stains than the poppies knew," and while some have had bodies consigned to them, others are content to leave them where they fell in the line of patriotic duty. THE WORLD WAR-While some have objected to the use of the word civil in designating any war, and suggest the War of the States, because the slavery question involved the free and slave states in conflict, others like to say War of the Nations rather than World war ; a few nations were not involved and world includes all nations. The War of the Vol. I-29