Ten Dollars for Hard Work in the Prairie Hall
In High Prairie a labor sale ends with a ten dollar bid by Pervus DeJong for a rack of goods. The moment carries weight beyond the money, as people reflect on blood, sweat, and miles of toil from the Chicago market to prairie roads. Selina offers to teach Adam Ooms how to read and write, while Klaus Pool’s family watches the scene with tempered emotion and hopeful curiosity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Selina
Klaus Pool
Mmrartie Pool
Pervus DeJong
Johannes Ambaul
DeRoo
Pearvus DeJong
DeJong
Barend DeRoo
Adam Ooms
Atalanta
Chicago
High Prairie
Christie's
Adam Ooms’ Hall
Low Prairie
New Haarlem
Rithmette
Haymarket
Pool
Pervus
McBride
Duffy
Jakob
Roelf
Ooms’ Hall
So Big Drama of Selina DeJong in 1883 Chicago
Selina DeJong, motherless at nineteen, rises from seamy beginnings in Chicago to become a High Prairie schoolteacher. She befriends Jule Hempel and meets Klaas Pool’s family while Simeon Peaks is killed in a quarrel. Selina, destitute, envisions a kinship with Roelf Pool as gossip swirls around the Widow Paarlenberg. A charity lunch box auction becomes a poignant moment of derision and heartbreak.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dirk DeJong
Selina DeJong
Simeon Peaks
Chicago
Jule Hempel
August Hempel
Simeon
Selina
High Prairie School
Selina Peake’s Box Auction Sparks High Prairie Mob
Selina Peake stands on a soap box at a local party in High Prairie as bidders crowd around. Pervus DeJong spots her and a dramatic auction follows, turning the gown and box into a coveted image as the crowd erupts in bidding dance. Barend DeRoo enters with a bold bid and the room buzzes with auctioneer showmanship and crowd psychology.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Selina
High Prairie
Selina Peake
Aliss Selina Peake
Johannes Ambaul
Roelf
Pervus de- Jong
Pervus DeJong
Johannes Arobaul
Adam Ooms
Barend DeRoo
Three Evenings A Week For Lessons At Pauls Price
Selina contemplates teaching Paul for three evenings a week this winter. His humility and size move her, mixing helplessness with warmth as she agrees to the arrangement with a musical, compassionate laugh. The moment blends practical care with a budding, maternal fondness.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Paul
Selina
Silent Lessons Under Sad Spring Strains
Selina and Pervus De Jong share thrice weekly lessons at the Pool home as Roelf watches, jealousy and longing bloom. Selina battles growing attraction, fear of ruin, and the spring compulsion while caring for the farm and children, until a tense kitchen table meeting ends with quiet plans for sowing tomato seeds.
Who Led The Proposing Pervus Or Selina
The fragment asks who proposed the idea, naming Pervus and Selina as candidates in dispute. It hints at a decision or claim but lacks context, dates, or outcomes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pervus
Selina
Remark on Bad People by B. W. Joe the Atchison Globe Man
The piece reflects on encountering many bad men and women, noting the rarity of a wholly bad person after a long life. It quotes a caustic line from B. W. Joe of the Atchison Globe, offering a pointed veteran perspective on character.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
B. W. Joe
Atchison Globe
Ca Hera
A Lover of Nature Says Nearer to Nature Needed
A chatty woman criticizes artifice and proclaims love of nature. She reveals she had her husband buy a country place but plans to visit only after two or three years while a landscape gardener prepares the grounds.
Crossword Puzzles Irreverent Exchange Quips Husband Wife
A light exchange jokes about cross word puzzles as a husband complains his wife makes irritable remarks he cannot understand while admitting he cannot solve regular cross word puzzles himself. The gag hinges on wordplay and domestic humor.
We Too A Fool and His Dough
A clipped quote set features Marr comparing wisdom to money. The wry line implies a caution about attachments and risk, hinting at a larger discussion of prudence in wealth and possessions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Marr
Young Serbian Student Translates Battlefield Phrase
Tit-Bits reports a Serbian student in England translating a native line. He used a dictionary to render the sentence as He relinquished his vitality on the bellicose meadow.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
England
At That It's a Serious Accident Why So Glum
A comical exchange about an accident reveals a man broke three ribs while borrowing money for an umbrella. The other quips about seeking a doctor and lending funds highlight a humorous misfortune in a concise, period voice.
Lost When Thrown Mud In Public Favor
A terse exchange questions a political figure's slipping public support amid sharp mudslinging. The dialogue signals rising criticism and concern over leadership while suggesting ongoing fallout from controversial remarks.
Lonely Alice Bleezer Sings of Hearts and Lemon Dreams
A short verse depicts Alice Bleezer as a lonely girl likened to a lemon, with the line that the boys will not squeeze her. The tone suggests a wistful, ironic portrait of unrequited affection and social aside.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alice Bleezer
The Literal Fisherman Exchange
A brief quip shows a fisherman greeting Mike about ash fishing and how the fish are biting, answered with a joke about pulling them out head first. The exchange captures a light, period voice in a small dialogue snippet.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mike
Golf Widow and Teas Create A Quip
A golf widow recalls her husband’s afternoons spent chasing from one tee to another. A friend asks what she said and she replies she reminded him that was how he spent his own afternoons.
Carving Fortune Rumor Sparks Chorus Girl Talk
A sensational line of remarks questions whether a young woman with jewelry truly earned her wealth or merely married a millionaire. The exchange suggests several chorus girls may have been behind her rise, implying cutthroat competition in social ascent.
Aid from Dad Bedtime Jory Tales and Lost Whiskers
A playful verse recounts a childlike tale where a cat named Katherine loses her whiskers and a hopeful narrator suggests a solution. The scene blends parent child dialogue with a whimsy twist in a nursery style exchange. The piece weighs on imagination and creative wordplay.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jory-Teller
Katherine Cat
Willama
Good Advice Matters for Latin Class Test Temptation
A teacher warns against yielding to temptation during a Latin class as a student jokes about giving a test. The exchange notes a back row voice urging self-control and focus on the lesson.
Pinkham's Vegetable Compound Praised by New York Woman
Mrs Agnes Wignall of Taleville New York writes that after childbirth she faced bladder inflammation and dis placement but improved after using Lydia E Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. She endorses it as a tonic for run down feeling and recommends it to women seeking relief from female-specific ills. Sold by druggists everywhere.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Taleville
New York
Liverpool
England
Lydia E. Pinkham
Brockville
Canada
Agnes Wignall
Simple Life for Them Tom and Mary Plan Quiet Days
Tom and Mary have lived in a hotel long enough and decide to pursue a simple life. Mary plans to wear an old-fashioned house dress and bake biscuits and Tom replies he will wear overalls and eat them.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tom
Mary
Also Mentioned on This Page
Ednat Ferber
Clark Agnew
Doubleday, Page & Co
WIU Service
Chapter
Pervus de Jong
Jeff
Furn
Porvus DeJong
Maartje
Klaag
Pigtails
Old Jakob
Mr. DeJong
GeertjJe
Jozina
Alice
Quoque
Bellans
Macclesfield
Spirin
Bayer
Peg—Ii
Cornell
Scholls
Scholl
Green
Rereale
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!