State Superintendent Seeks Better Illinois One-Room Schools
The Illinois State Superintendent Blair says 10 688 one room schoolhouses exist in the state. About 1 094 are badly deteriorated with cracked foundations and floors while 5 268 are mediocre and 4 281 well kept. He urges united effort to improve these schools to be comfortable and pleasant for future generations, with proper lighting heating ventilation and beautified grounds to avoid neglect and gloom.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Illinois
Blair
Blais
Secrets of faking watermelon weights exposed in guide
A historical note describes how some growers artificially fatten watermelons by inserting a flannel string and feeding sugar water through a bottle to a single melon. The method supposedly increases size quickly while harming texture and eating quality.
Soldier Letters From Monterey Describe Army Life
Soldier Thomas F Dietzel of the 20th Infantry stationed at Monterey shares a vivid account of army life. He recalls three day hikes, tent setups, sleeping on the ground, tin eating utensils, a July 6 appointment as corporal, and plans for future maneuvers and long hikes. He notes a pay rate and hopes to be home in about a year.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
F. Dietzel
20Th Regular Infantry
Monterey
Collif
Fetto
Henry Dietzel
Tere
Alaska 1908 Gold Riches Surpass State's 1867 Purchase
The article notes Alaska yields four times more annual gold value than the territories cost in 1867. It contrasts Seward’s purchase reception with Alaska becoming the nation’s top gold camp by 1908, while new coal deposits, including anthracite and bituminous, emerge as potentially Pennsylvania-grade. It also includes an unrelated ad fragment for Foley's Honey and Tar.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alaska
United States
Colorado
Cripple Creek
Pennsylvania
Scattered Verse and Folklore Pieces in Scrap Book
A collage of humorous poems and parlor stories includes a pulpit exchange about open on Kings, a motivational verse on facing trouble and death, a rope skipping quip from a condemned man, a Halifax bands miscommunication, an old German widow tale of hospital improvements ending in death, jokes about oratory craft, and rustic dialect advice on public speaking.
Man and nature and a billiard tale echoing fate
A quotation contrasts human blunder with beasts and insects obeying nature. It cites a line from Robert Bouthey on purpose and morality, then pivots to a billiard anecdote about chalk disappearing during a room turning, with a chipped misquote about a helper named Jim and pockets the chatty Jim.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Robert Bouthey
Jim
Etiquette and ethics and a Balkan watch tale
A column of humorous vignettes opens with a waiter Jim using diplomacy to win over a patron and a teacher gifting chalk. A girl prays for warm weather to ease grandma’s rheumatism, and a bath house caper ends with a dog stealing a shoe horn. A Balkan prime minister quietly retrieves a diplomat’s watch for him.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Balkan States
Perseverance and Umbrella Encounters in a Patchwork Page
A column of short items blends quotes and scenes. A Napoleon of wit and a nervous couple share an umbrella moment with Mary Martin. a camp meeting convert vows humility and faces old color line humor. a destitute author pleads for funds, while Dumas cheekily suggests self sacrifice.
The Wise Young Man and the Widow
A witty young man pauses before answering a widow who asks his guess of her age. He weighs whether she is ten years younger because of looks or ten years older for brains. She smiles as he departs gracefully.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bruddah
Wumille
Jovians and Moons of Jupiter Inhabiting a Fearful World
Detroit News-Tribune describes a hypothetical Jovian civilization living on Jupiter and its moons. It imagines extreme rotation, 250 mile per hour winds, reduced weight, vast oceans, diverse colored moons, and a long Jovian lifespan around 800 to 1000 years.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jupiter
Earth
Jupiier
Equator
Detroit News-Tribune
Herring Thrives Under Dry Conditions in Surprising Experiments
A German biologist Herr Professor Schil tzer conducted habitat change tests on a live herring. He fed the fish increasingly less fresh water until the tank was dry and the fish thrived. Placed in a cage later the herring drowned after a missing drinking water. Harper's Weekly.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Map of Science
Germany
Professor Schiltzer
Herr Professor
Harper's Weekly
The Man Killing Camel and Its Turkish Owner
A Turkish soldier in Hebron travels with a young camel famed for humor and docility. At Raffleh the animal attacks its master, injures the saddle, and the Turk contemplates selling the beast in Beersheba bazaar. The tale is interwoven with brief anecdotes from Harper’s Magazine and the Kansas City Newsbook.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hebron
Rafleh
Mohammed
God
Beersheba
Norman Duncan
Harper's Magazine
Fragmented dialogue from a historical column
The readable portion shows a conversation in which a character named Maude responds to a question about harmony with men. The text reveals a humorous tone and hints at underlying gender dynamics within the period. The fragment ends with incomplete phrasing and garbled characters.
Illinois oil field boom shows production surge in Crawford county
In Crawford county Illinois the shallow Licking township field remains the largest producer with 65 wells in the past week and only seven dry. Initial production reached 3586 barrels, over half of the Illinois field output, while Clark and Cumberland counties see lighter activity and Hardinsville field declines.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Illinois
Ohio Oil Company
Licking Township
Crawford County
Clark
Cumberland Counties
Hardinsville
Illinoi
Wells
Dry County
Crawford
Lawrence
Cumberland
Also Mentioned on This Page
California
Durff& Askan Bargain
Foley
Ito Gialatto
Toro
Zio Harmul Drugs
the Deathwatch
Halifax
Benedict
John
Jacob Walmeby
Enterprise
John Foster
Charlie
Fanny
Charlie Tom Clark
Mary Martin
Mary
Dumas
Mars
Camel
Turk
William Miles
Rochester Cathedral
Tope
Edwin Drood
Dean Hole
Mr. Miles
Miles
Dean
Huband
Kansas City
Maude
Noone
J. L. Keifer & On
Old Reliable Doll Grocery
D. D. Doll
North Side
Toledo
Prey Vileg
Esicna
Copyniauts &c. Qn
Scienfic American
C.F. Behner Vet
Gundean