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Newspaper
Muscatine Journal
Location
Muscatine, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Jun 26, 1909
Page
8
Editorial note invites juniors to write about Fourth of July plans. Students may attend local celebrations, picnics, or Burlington launch races. Readers are asked to submit letters next week detailing their plans. Signed by Helen Raymond.
A farmer visits a town to ask a lawyer if he wants butter for the morning, and the lawyer pretends to consult his wife on speakerphone. The farmer, amused, exposes the prank and declares he isn’t fooled by the pretend wife in the box. Paul R. Wagner of Grandview Ia signs off with a P. S. about preferring a book if he wins.
Local youth contributions from Cedar, Sanborn and Wapello Iowa dated 1905 to 1909. Letters include geography questions answers, riddles about a mischief maker, vegetable puzzles, and notes to editor Miss Raymond. Readers ask about honor rolls and share poems and puzzles.
A collage of letters from young readers across Iowa and Kansas dated June 1909. Messages mention farms and animals, school life, geography questions, and a hoped roll of honor. Included are many young names, addresses, and brief stories or jokes sent to Miss Raymond in Muscatine Iowa.
Blanch Walters of Keota Iowa writes to Miss Raymond about winning a prize story and requesting a set of tablets. She mentions a Washington trip to fetch her aunt and cousin Lieth Hoon, returning at 4 a.m. and reflecting on tiredness and love of letters. She includes a light verse about a restaurant incident with Christine.
Miss Helen Raymond writes from Gate Oklahoma on June 15 1909 addressing the editor with a personal appeal or inquiry. The brief note signals community concerns or requests typical of local newspaper correspondence.
A humorous exchange unfolds as a cashier and a bill clerk argue over profanity and poise after a spilled ink accident. The cashier urges philosophical calm about misfortune while the clerk mocks the idea, debating responses to everyday troubles and the brevity of life.
Milly and Dolly plan a garden using a new watering pot. They fill it at a pump and flood the ground with water, making the garden muddy. Their mother teaches balance between too much and too little water as they learn gardening. Maude Stender Wilton Iowa signs off with a personal note choosing hair ribbons if she wins.
A hunter named Smith fires a double barrel gun at distant ducks and geese, both barrels misfire yet explode into a strange chain of fate. The ramrod chokes a rattlesnake while the gunstock knocks him into the river. He emerges with boots filled with fish. Ruth Nelson. Box 22, Wapello, Iowa.
A pacific voyage tale describes a cargo ship menaced by a large shark. They try to appease it by throwing a chair and a box of oranges overboard, then an old woman is discarded in a grim scene, followed by harpooning the shark and revealing its stomach contents.
In Columbus Junction Iowa an elderly woman sat on a chair with a box of oranges at her feet selling them at three for a penny. Marie Overholt from R F D No. 3 is identified with the scene.
Two girls Patty and Prudy meet on the road and discuss their sick dolls and imaginations. They visit Prudy's playroom to call on the dolls and share a moment of childhood gossip and charm. A note by Marian Sy Wassink adds a humorous aside about a bracelet if she wins.
A young girl raises geese and cannot keep them in any enclosure. They break fences and gates to roam fields including corn and sweet corn. Despite help from her father the geese repeatedly escape, leaving the girl to conclude she will not raise geese again. May Smith, age 8, offers a book if she wins.
The eight year old Mae plans to visit grandmother after dinner but her mother learns she did not feed the chickens. Mae questions her dress and learns she cannot go because she was naughty, ending with Mae's pensive silence.
Dear Miss Raymond a child named May Smith from West Liberty Iowa writes a short story about a good little girl with dark blue eyes and dark brown curly hair who minds her parents and siblings attends school enjoys study and a kind teacher. The note ends with farewell from the young writer.
A boy wades into a creek to catch frogs on a cool day and later loses his voice, with his mother joking that he swallowed a frog. The brief reminiscence ends with a sign off from a new Junior aged 12.
Dick the large white rooster with black tipped wings becomes a protective surrogate father to orphaned grandchildren after their mother hen abandons them. He shelters and cares for the chicks, earning their trust and affection through his gentle, protective behavior.
Edith and her sister are stranded as rising water surrounds them on the seashore. A courageous boy wades into the sea with bare feet to lift the younger girl to dry land, earning their mother’s thanks and a gift for his brave deed.
Play involves six to eight boys with named roles Wetzel Mills and Mills' horse. Use straws to assign roles and a stick for a spare horse if short. Mark Indian Spring and Wheeling home base, then chase rules determine tagging and wounds. The game ends when Mills or Wetzel reaches Wheeling or all Indians tag them. It is advised as a fan maker when played as directed.
A set of geography trivia items asks about world distances around Earth several regions and boundaries. Questions cover distances around the world, island groups southeast of Australia, locations of Indo China and the Great Siberian Plain, sparsely populated Asian areas, the Asia North America strait, Indian zones, and waters washing the Arabian peninsula shores.
In a brief scene Nellore Lee recalls two little girls asking their mother to play town. They joke about a lightning train and buying a large basket with two children to take to town before bed.
The funeral at the German Methodist church in Wapello drew relatives and old friends from Des Moines Davenport Oskaloosa Shawnee Denver and more. Chas Johann attended after a Des Moines trip preceding the services. Local events note a 2 to 1 13 inning ball game and several social visits around town.
Mrs. John Taylor of Avoca visits relatives after attending Frances Willard hospital graduations in Chicago. Several families host guests including Mrs. Mahlon of Washington and Mrs. MecVicker of Keota. Mac Oglevee and wife return from Salem. Melvin Smiths visit Keokuk. Roy Shibley returns from a four year West Virginia cruise. Mr. and Mrs. Mac McGuire welcome a son.
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