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1892-The year opened with several new businesses:j. A. Johanson, shoe store; John Johnson, blacksmith; . David Risk, hardware; C. B. Gilmore, restaurant, first door east of Hall’s.Hardware; W. C. Parks buys Jackson restaurant and then later inthe year he sells out to H. E. Jones.Also noted were the improvements made tothe Rasmussen Feed Mill south erf the Congregational Church, and a new building for J. S. Bom-berger’s Meat Market (the present day tavern location). Rev. D. G. Youker, the pioneer. Congregational pastor, accepted a call to a new parish in Rockwell City and was succeeded by Rev. Thos. W. Barber. Dr. G. E. Townsend came to Gowrie and went into the same office with Dr. Evans.The weather was a subject which concerned the'entire community during this time due to the unusual amount of rainfall. The following items are of special interest:April 28, 18612—some farmers passing Swan Challstrom’s place (Note: where Ernest Hunter now lives) this spring before the frost went out, poked fun at Swan about his big expense of tiling and pronounced it a failure, but since the frost went out Swan has turned the laugh on them. He can now work the wettest of his land in a day or two after the heaviest rains. Last year he put in a thousand rods of tile, the first experiment with this kind of improvement that we know of in thiscommunity.May 12. 1892-E. W. Sorber has developed a system of weather signals based upon the rising or falling of the air presure. If you want to know what the weather is going to be—see Uge.May 19, 1892—The busses failed to run yesterday for the first time to our knowledge in threeyears. The proprietors showed good judgementin not uHnj their teams out in the mud to miredown. Old settlers say they never saw so much water on the ground as at present But farmers— courage, when the com once geta Into the ground it will work like a democrat on flectionday.am M.v r— — — - -— — doctor came to town for a time—Dr. 0. Nordstrom. H. H. Hall hardware was sold to the Hutchinson Oo., and Chas. Hedeen sold his interest in the meat market to P. M. Lundell.■VOn November 30, 1892, fire destroyed four business houses in Gowrie. Starting in the Larson Mollenhoff furniture store it spread to and burned out the Victor Nelson k Sons hardware store; J. A. Johanson’s shoe store, and the Jacobson Sisters millinery shop. Total loss on all of the buildings and merchandise was estimated to be around $7,000.00. The fire broke out around 1:00 a.m. all available help was called. Plans were being made to bring Lake City’s fire wagon to Gowrie aboard a railroad flat car but the fire brigadefinally succeeded in extinguishing the flamesaround 4:00 a.m.During the year a stock company was organized in Gowrie for the purpose of prospecting for coal. Fifteen shares originally being taken. Two hundred dollars in cash was donated to the company'by various interested parties. The stockholders include some of our best businessmen which indicates the scheme is a go this time. They propose to bore down 40Q ft. in search of coal and are quite confident that their efforts will be successful.1»W~ ^ ...Victor Nelson Sons. J. A. Johanson and the Jacobson Sisters were back in business again by spring of the year. New buildings had been erected. The Nelson Hardware however was purchased by O. F. Susmilch in April. J. S. Bomberger sold his meat market to the Dixon Bros., but in Mey John C. Dixon, one of the brothers, went into partnership with L. M. Gearhard in this venture.J, S. Bomberger started a feed and flour storeacross the street from the American House. In September the Dixon-Gearhard Meat Market was purchased by Mason Ellis, and also that same month N. A. Lindquist sold out his general merchandise business to the Hoff Bros.Three new pastors came to town that year: Rev. W. B. Payne to the Congregational Church; Rev. R. Lindhelm to the Baptist Church, and Rev. J. W. Klepper to the Methodist Church.Three notices posted in The Gowrie News during 1898 gave a clue as to the complexion of thetown and some of its minor concerns.May 13—If raising hogs in town is the thing it seems to be. why not everybody engage in it. It is a much easier way to scent the air than toraise a flower garden.June 20—Some of the boys who hang onto toebus and drays will get hurt yet If you do, don’t the bus driver or draymen. It will be yourown fault '•March 24—The teams hitched in front of thestores are bothering the ladies of the town as they walk on toe sidewalks. We don’t know what can be done about it but if you know that your horse is given to nibbling you had best tie him up some-whereWith, the incoming Democratic administration in Washington. Mr. C. H. Woodard, one oT the party faithful in Gowrie, was rewarded with thepostmastership.GOWRIE'S OLDAND MILL ...(AND GARDNER HOTEL'S HORSE DRAWN BUS USED TO MEET TRAIN PASSENGERS)This is the old Frandsen Feed Flour Mill which was operated in Gowrie by John Frandsen from 1886 to about 1910. Frandsen traded a‘Nebraska farm for toe mill in 1805, and operated it for about 15 years before dismantling it and using its lumber t huild several houses.Shown at the left in photo is toe Gardner Hotel bus driven by Fred Gardner, who met all the trains with his horse-drawn bus to transport passengers to his hotel (one of three in operation at that time).On the platform in front of the uill are John Frandsen (standing); his son, Lloyd Frandsen, and George Porter, while to their right are Mrs. Frand-seh and Perris Hall (Mrs. Roy Martin-dale) on her bicycle. On platform - in front of flour house at right are Florirte Lagerquist (seated) and the Frandsen’s two daughters, Mildred and Christine. Christine, who later became Mrs. Roy Porterfield and now lives at Jefferson, provided this interesting photo.4k.
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Gowrie News
Gowrie, Iowa, US
Wed, Jul 01, 1970
Page 12
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USA 03 Apr 2020
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