Tales from the Aisles
By Mickey Thomas
Historical Tidbits III
Here are more tidbits of Osceola history from the Aug. 2, 1951, Centennial Issue of the Osceola Sentinel and the July 30, 1959, 100th Anniversary Edition of the Osceola Sentinel.
Nearly Everyone Had a Chicken Yard.
Osceola was a great place for raising chickens in 1885, with most residents having large yards which afforded excellent facilities for this business. Nearly every family had from a half dozen to four dozen hens. It was said that there were 500 families with enough hens to average six eggs per day. This equaled 91,250 dozen eggs per year, and 10 cents per dozen meant an income of about $18.25 per family.
A Cow is a Good Excuse
The Sentinel of August 13, 1896 stated, “Men make the cow an excuse for staying away from church, as well as other places they ought to go at times. The cow is a great animal and a man who is inclined to roam should get one if he thoroughly wants to under stand the duties and pleasures of staying home all the time.”
Crow-K Popular Game in 1869
We quote from an article, “Crow K is very popular in Osceola and is played mostly by boys and girls. The chief attraction to the game is your partner, which is always a girl, if you are a boy. The deep interest manifested in the play is visible when she goes to bat, and continually drops out when you are resting. It’s a No.1 game to rest in, which is the thing that makes it so absorbing.”
“Most anyone can learn to play, providing their partner is handsome. When you have to set your foot on top of your ball and knock your opponent over into right field, it is always best to have on small shoes, as there is danger of spoiling one of them if it projects over the side where your mallet comes down.”
Anonymous Manuscript Gives Clues
An Anonymous manuscript found by Ashton and Sumner Jamison of Franklin Township provides clues to Osceola’s earliest history. We will quote just a few excerpts from the Sentinel’s review of the manuscript. “John Sheer came to Osceola in the fall of 1852 and wintered in a double rail pen situated at the southwest corner of the public square, now occupied by the Reynoldson Law Building. The next year he raised two log houses on the lot where the former Garner Hotel is now located. These houses were used as a hotel for a number of years.”
“Keokuk was the trading point for this country and it took two weeks to make a round trip with oxen. One dollar per her hundred was the price for hauling. Salt was $10 per barrel and whiskey was about same price.”
“The first M.E. church class was held in a small building on the east side of the square in the summer of 1854.” (where Robinsons store is now located. ED)
“The district school house stood on the lot now occupied by Senator Tallman (the historic Tallman House is one block east of South Main Street at 201 East Cass Street. ED.) The M. E. church, court house, and other buildings were used for higher education.”
“In April 1854, when we came to Osceola, there were shocks of hay in the public square and I have seen the square burned off when it was very dangerous to the buildings on the south side.”
“The horse race course was from the center of the alley on the east side of the square to the second street south of the square, a quarter of a mile. The first horse race I ever saw was over this course, December 25, 1854. There was no snow on the ground and it was a pleasant day. The purse was $10.”
