West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 110 by Charlie Miller

____September 27, 1915 – A bid received from the Ohio Electric R. R. Co. -

To furnish electricity for the town’s street lights for a period of 10 years with not less than 33 lights to be ornamental standard equipped with one-80 Candle Power and two 40 Candle Power incandescent electric lamps, also 53 light ornamented standards for the sum of $42.00 each, per year. The 80 Candle Power lamps in the standards are to be lighted in the evening until 11 o’clock each and every night during the period of ten years, Main Street only.

____November 29, 1915 – Above contract was approved. This amounted to $3.50 per month for each of the 33 lights which were to be connected with underground cables.

____December 10, 1915 – A contract was entered into with the Ohio Electric R. R. Company for lighting the east and west ends of Main Street with overhead suspension street lamps for a period of 10 years beginning January 1, 1916, with 16- 60 Candle Power overhead suspension nitrogen street lamps at $23.00 per year per lamp. Each lamp is to be lighted from twilight in the evening until dawn in the morning.

____In 1915, the village population was 1, 070. The village Fire Department consisted of Fred Grassel, James Strain, Oscar Sprague, William Grassel, Charles Bunting, Vint Davenport, William Furrow, Joe Hockenbery, Miller Clark, A. Borland, and M. Langdon.

____1915- The village was supplied with natural gas for lighting purposes, and it was piped in from Columbus.

____June 15, 1915 – The Commercial Men’s Club was formed. Mr. Kubitschack ran a motion picture and vaudeville show in the Opera House. On February 19^th, the Farmer's Telephone and the Citizens Telephone Co. merged.

____March 6, 1916 – A petition signed by 75 people was presented to the council requesting that a water and sanitary sewer system be constructed.

____May 16, 1916 – Ed Scott has purchased the confectionery of Matt Stutson and has also added an ice cream parlor to it.

___May 16, 1916 – The following officers of the West Jefferson Alumni Association have been elected for 1916: Miss Ruth Murray, President; John Holland, Vice President; Miss Lucille Gillivan, Secy.-Treasurer.

May 23, 1916 – A highway engineer predicts that within 10 years, the horse will practically disappear from the public highways for both pleasure and business.

West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 111 by Charlie Miller

____May 26, 1916 – Mrs. Albert Stickley has resigned as the Interurban Depot Agent after 14 years of service, having started shortly after the line was started.

____June 5, 1916 – The Village’s first-speed limit signs are posted being four in number.

____July 1, 1916 – The merchants of West Jefferson are conducting a program known as “West Jefferson Day” with 1,700 prizes. The program started at 1:00 p.m. in front of the city hall with attorney Ed Johnson as speaker. No vehicles were allowed on Main Street after noon, and special police were on hand to administer the order. Eight hindquarters of beef were roasted over a wooden fire with iron bars trough to hold them above the blaze, and after 16 hours of roasting, it was good and tender. Conservative estimates place the crowd at between 2,500 to 3,000. (Sounds like an early Ox Roast.)

____1916 – Walnut Street was paved by the Andrews Asphalt Co., and the upstairs of the city hall, the Opera House, was leased to Mr. Kaho for notion pictures, etc. (Mr. Kaho later opened the Orient Theater across the street in the old Methodist Church building.)

____May 10, 1917 - The following are the results of an election that was held to determine if the sale of intoxicated liquor beverage should be allowed within the limits of the Corporation.184 yes, 140 no.

___1917 – The West Jefferson News was purchased by the Madison Press, and an ordinance was passed authorizing the sale of bonds for the purpose of building a water plant and tower.

____By the time WWI had broken out, the military outfits were formed much differently than they were in the days of the Civil War when each community had formed its own company or companies which were comprised of local men. There were many men from West Jefferson who served in World War I. The following is a letter from Walter Wilson, brother to the late Robert A. Wilson, Sr. It is dated October 1, 1918, from “somewhere in France.” “Dear father, (Henry C. Wilson) Will write you a few lines this afternoon. I was wounded in the right thigh on the 26th of September by a machine gun bullet, which broke my leg. I had just been transferred to another company, and it was my first day at the front trenches, but we went over the top.

The Germans got four of us in a line. One was killed, and I think one of the boys died later, while the boy next to me got his left leg broken in the same place mine is broken. I am getting along fine, but it is painful and tiresome. (This occurred during the Battle of the Argonne Forest)

Your Son,
Priv. Walter F. Wilson

American Base Hospital No. 26

A.E.F. APO 785

West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 112 by Charlie Miller

____January 6, 1919 – The Dawson Block in West Jefferson has been purchased by the firm of Gambold & Guyton representatives of the International Harvester Co. (This was owned by Peter Dawson on the northeast corner of Main and Chester Streets.)

____January 10, 1919 – A.F. Jackson was appointed to the West Jefferson Board of Health. The Mayor’s salary is now $60.00 per year, and the Council gets $36.00 each. (The Board of Health was organized on August 8, 1889. It lasted until around the 1920’s.)

____January 24, 1919 – The Commercial Club Chorus has organized with Mr. W. C. Smith as President.

____January 29, 1919 – A letter to The Madison County Democrat from Thomas Fitzgerald of Lilly Chapel says that he was born June 10, 1883, near a branch of O’Possum run and has stayed there 40 years. The country at that time was a vast forest of timber, some deer, wild turkey in droves, pheasant and quail, and squirrels without number.

____February 21, 1919 -Sorin’s Department Store opens.

____February 24, 1919 – Riley’s “Orphan Annie” will be produced at the Opera House in this place, Wednesday evening. Adults – 25c. This is a rich treat for all!

___March 3, 1919 – Mayor Green, Night Watchman ‘Bird’ Clark, and Officer George Grassel made a raid on a poker game at the house of John Brough. Four were arrested. The trial is set for Monday night.

____March 31, 1919 – The Darby Grange confirmed the 3^rd degree on 98 candidates. Dinner was served to about 200 members. (The Darby Grange No. 779 was formed on April 10, 1874, at the Hambleton School House on Gardner Road. There were 23 charter members. It was dormant from 1882-1897. In 1897, it was reorganized with 11 old members and 12 new ones. The Grange organization was formed in 1875 to advance the methods of agriculture and promote the needs of the farmer. The Grange Hall sat on Twin Street and was razed ca. 2013. The building was the former Antioch Mission, founded by Rev. Jenny Lynn. Her picture and the church pulpit are displayed in the Hurt-Battelle Library. Jenny Lynn was famous in West Jefferson; she was born in 1868 and died in 1937. She is buried at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. The stained glass window from the Mission can be seen in the garage at 68 S. West St.)

 ____March 31, 1919 – George Prugh and wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Grandson Audburn Braithwaite attended.

____April 14, 1919 – John Burns, the town’s oldest resident, died at the age of 91. He was born in 1828 and was a lifelong resident.

West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 113 by Charlie Miller

____May 19, 1919 – Plans are being made to build a new Methodist Church along Pearl St.

____June 16, 1919 – Mrs. Lot D. Hull, wife of former Mayor, dies.’

____July 18, 1919 – Isaac Peetry, an old veteran, dies. He was born on January 27, 1839. (See story in Series #104) Isaac G. Pettery enlisted as a First Sergeant in Co. B 95^th O. V. I. at London, Ohio, on August 19, 1862. He was commissioned a 2^nd Lt. on January 26, 1863, and taken prisoner on June 10, 1864, at the Battle of Brice Cross Roads, Mississippi. He was commissioned a 1^st Lt. on May 28, 1865, and mustered out on June 24, 1865.)

____September 3, 1919 – Company A of the 40^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, formed of West Jefferson men, holds a reunion in Columbus. It has been 58 years since the Company was formed.

____January 28, 1920 – James McDonald, manager of Murray Lumber & Grain for the past 15 years, dies. Aged 59 years. He was a railroader in his early life and had also served on the village council.

____February 11, 1920 – Mayor Putnam issues orders placing a ban on all gambling devices; also he has ordered the boys under 17 years of age to stay out of poolrooms unless accompanied by their parents.

____February 25, 1920 – A victory program was held at the West Jefferson M. E. Church under the auspices of the Madison County W.C.T.U. A timely address of “The Prohibition on Victory” was delivered.

____March 8, 1920 – Mayor Putnam has issued an order that all automobiles must be parked straight into the curb on Main and Center Streets. (These were parked diagonally on Main St. for years, but they were probably changed to parallel to the curbs in the late 40s or 50s when traffic got heavier.)

____March 10, 1920 – The Wilson Burrows G. A. R. Post Relief Corps No. 98 is in operation. (This was the Grand Army of the Republic named after Sgt. Wilson Burrows was the first West Jefferson man to be killed in the Civil War. He was killed on April 10, 1863, in the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.)

____March 24, 1920 – The Daughter of Richard Acton, former Mayor of West Jefferson, dies.  (This was Margaret Acton, the daughter of Richard Acton. Richard Acton was Mayor in 1851. He was born in 1824 and died in 1876. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in London. He was a saddle and harness maker by trade. He served as a Musician for a year in the Civil War, serving in the 40^th O.V. I.)

____March 24, 1920 – The Ladies Air Society of the Baptist Church will serve a chicken supper in the basement of their church on Tuesday, March 25^th.

West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 114 by Charlie Miller

___May 17, 1920 – NOTICE, Civil War and World War I veterans will meet at the G. A. R. Hall at 10 O’clock Sunday the 23^rd for Memorial Services at the Baptist Church. W. R. Borland, Post Commander.

____October 4, 1920 – Senator Warren G. Harding, Presidential candidate, held a rally at “Wilson’s Corner” just north of West Jefferson.

____December 1, 1920 – E. J. Fitzgerald and Carl Byerly, well-known businessmen of this place, will open their new grocery and meat market in the room next to the Commercial Bank, and Herbert Allerton will be head clerk in the grocery department.

___January 26, 1921 – Many of our farmers are unloading their corn at the very unsatisfactory price of 50 cents per bushel, which costs them 90 cents a bushel to produce. You will have to keep a stiff upper lip for you, like most of us, will get your reward in Heaven!

____One of our High School girls was asked what she had learned in Latin, and this was her reply:

Boyus kissibus

Sweeti galorium

Girlibus likeibus

Wanti somorium

___March 26, 1921 – An official list just released by the U. S. Army lists Floyd Dixon of West Jefferson as killed in action on July 28, 1918, at the Battle of Aisne-Marne and is buried at the Oise-Aisne Cemetery, France. He enlisted on July 23, 1917, in Co. C 4^th Infantry ONG (Co. C 166 Inf. ONG.)

____July 18, 1921 – There are now 103,258 Civil War Veterans left in the Country. The state with the largest number is Ohio, with 10,241. The youngest member of the Grand Army of the Republic is General John L. Clem, age 71. (Your writer, when very young, got to see a Civil War Veteran at a Memorial Day Service at Summerford.)

____September 28, 1921 – Russell I. Blauser becomes the editor of the West Jefferson section of the Madison County Democrat, seceding Mrs. Hannah Timmons.

____October 12, 1921 – October 27th has been named as West Jefferson Day by the local businessmen. There will be an ox roast, music, bands, dancing, contests, etc. A committee with J. M. Martin, Pres; Allen Orders, Secy.; E. J. Fitzgerald Treas.; and S. S. Feder, J. M. Sullivan, J. H. Huhn, and E. J. Britton have been formed to oversee the foot race, wheelbarrow race, greased pole, and other contests, all with prizes.

West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 115 by Charlie Miller

____October 19, 1921 – Officers of the West Jefferson Loyal Order of the Moose, Lodge No. 95 are: Director, Dr. J. C. Kile; Vice Director, Sam Moss; Prelate, Dale Richardson; Secy., Eugene Chambers; Treas., Grover Burell; Inside Guard, Martin Jones; Sgt-at-Arms, Lewis Cox; Trustees, George Earnst, Clearance Davenport and William Neighborgall.

___West Jefferson plans to secure a Boy Scout Troop. Herbert Kell will be appointed Scout Master, and Samuel Moss Asst. Scout Master.

____November 9, 1921 – Armistice Day will be observed by the American Legion, Grand Army of the Republic, and Boy Scouts of America, with a program commencing at 1:30 p.m. L. C. Dick will be the featured speaker.

____November 23, 1921 – A brick-selling contest is being held by the members of the Methodist Church to raise money for a new building.

____January 1, 1922 – Some of the 1922 businesses were: W. J. Building & Loan, B&C Candy Shop, second floor of the Kuehner Building. Central Barber Shop Worth Hicks, Prop., The Moss Tire Shop, E. J. Bukley Hardware and C. F. Kuehner boots, etc.

____January 5, 1922 – A report of a total of 220,625 bricks “sold” by the Methodist Church. Their goal is the sale of 250,000 towards the erection of a new church building. Twenty-five thousand bricks alone were purchased by Mr. Charles Silver.

____January 23, 1922 – An enormous crowd is expected to attend West Jefferson’s second annual fox drive, which will be made tomorrow.

____January 26, 1922 – The ‘Darts’ West Jefferson’s champion basketball team, will open its season tomorrow.

____February 2, 1922 – Brick Sale Ends in Victory - Methodist Church goes over the top with the sale of more than 255,000 bricks. Several carloads of bricks have arrived, and construction of the new church will start within a few days.

____John T. Gregg dies, in Columbus, he was a former Mayor of West Jefferson. (John Taylor Gregg served as Mayor in 1898 and 1899. He was born March of 1847, the son of Ashton and Mary Gregg.)

____March 2, 1922 – The High School Board of Education has passed a resolution concerning the length of dresses. Skirts must be 2” below the knee. Students to be expelled if they fail to comply.

West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 116 by Charlie Miller

____April 6, 1922 – The installation of a new $5,000.00 musical instrument in the Exhibit Theater is the latest improvement made by Mr. Kaho. The new “Fotoplayer” is 15’ high and 3’ wide. It is equal to a 20-piece symphony or a 15-piece band. (The Exhibit Theater was in the upstairs of the Village Hall.)

____April 20, 1922 – More than 500 people attended the service held Sunday afternoon in connection with the cornerstone laying of the new M. E. Church. Z. R. Taylor had the honor of placing the marker. The custom of placing a copper box containing interesting and important matter in the cornerstone was followed.

____The radio bug has bitten once again, but this time, more than one citizen of West Jefferson is feeling the effects of his bite. Several of the businessmen are forming a radio club and will install a large radio outfit at Headley & Maddux’s garage on E. Main St. The outfit will be one of the largest in the county and capable of receiving messages and concerts from points as far east as New York City, and as far west as Denver.

____April 27, 1922 – The 1922 graduating class is the largest to graduate from the High School. It breaks the previous record held by the Class of ‘11. Twenty-eight are to receive diplomas.

____May 4, 1922 – John Huhn, prominent West Jefferson merchant, dies. He came to West Jefferson in 1917 and opened a department store along with Ulysses Jones.

____June 12, 1922 – “Johnson Training Camp Near Here” – Local fans were given an opportunity to see Jack Johnson, former Heavy Weight Champion of the World. Johnson’s training camp is located just east of West Jefferson on the National Pike.

____August 26, 1922 – Drilling for oil and gas will begin soon 3 miles south of Jefferson between Big and Little Darby Creeks.

____September 11, 1922 -Plans are underway for the 44^th annual reunion of the 40^th O. V. I. Regiment, which is to be held in West Jefferson on Tuesday and Wednesday. The four surviving members residing in West Jefferson are Lawrence Englesperger, James Chambers, Elijah Spring, and Thomas Pearce. Thomas Pearce is President, and Pleasant Clarage of Five Points is Secretary of the Association.

____November 30, 1922 – It is a known fact that residents of the town residing on streets other than Main St. desire light for their streets. The West Jefferson Power & Light Co. has offered to discontinue half of the Main St. lights and erect them in the residential areas. (Since about 1901, Main Street residents were the only ones to receive electricity; they got it from the Interurban lines.)

West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 117 by Charlie Miller

____January 4, 1923 - Civil War Veteran Elijah Spring dies at age 74. (Elijah Spring was born in Virginia on August 6, 1844. He enlisted in the army in 1861 and served until October 1864 in Co. C, 40^th O. V. I. In 1904, he withdrew the battle flag of the 40^th for their reunion here in West Jefferson. There is a picture of this reunion on the “West Jefferson Remembers” Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library’s website. He drew a pension as an invalid in 1889; his wife drew a widow’s pension on January 2, 1923, until she died on October 29, 1924. Both are buried in the Alton Cemetery.)

____February 18, 1923 – Martin Haynes, son of early settler A. H. Haynes, dies at the age of 80 years. He served 100 days with Co. C, 154^th O. V.  I. (Martin Haynes also received a pension as being an invalid, and his wife drew a widow’s pension. She died in 1900 at age 91. Both are buried at Pleasant Hill.)

____May 17, 1923 – The official opening of the M. E. Church will be this coming week.

____May 21, 1923 – The village streets are to be re-graveled and oiled with 4,000 gallons of oil from the Standard Oil Co.

____June 18, 1923 – Frank Moorehead, a local contractor, has bought the old M. E. Church on East Main Street for $2,000.00. (It was remodeled and later housed the Orient Theater.)

____July 23, 1923 - Members of the Baptist Church are in the midst of a money-raising campaign for the purpose of repairing and stuccoing the brick church building. The campaign is under the leadership of W. H. Pence. The goal is $3,000.00. (The goal was reached, and the church was stuccoed.)

____October 11, 1923 – The Fairview Addition is annexed. (This was Putnam and Ohio Avenues)

____The results of the 1923 election are: Mayor, H. G. Putnam-418; Frank Biggert-135; Clerk, E. E. Gregg-476; Treasurer, Chas. W. Peene-391.

_____December 13, 1923 – A semi-pro football team, the West Jefferson Indians, was formed in 1917. Albert Quinn has been the leader of the team for the past two years.

____December 20, 1923 – Asa C. Carter, 93, Jefferson’s oldest resident, dies at the home of Dr. H. F. Jackson on Fellows Ave. (Dr. Harry F. Jackson was a dentist whose office was upstairs over the Gillivan Hardware store. His home was on Fellows Ave., across from the old high school. Asa Carter was his nephew. The door to Dr. Jackson’s office is on display at the Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library.)

West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 118 by Charlie Miller

____January 23, 1924 – Excerpts from a story concerning the retirement of “Bird’ Clark----

Albert ‘Bird’ Clark, veteran night watchman of this village, retired from night duty on January 1^st after 34 years of service. The date of his retirement, New Year’s Day, was also the 68^th anniversary of his birth. He has served under the following mayors: Wm. Stutson, George Gillivan, Henry Culp, Jacob Martin, L. D. Hull, John T. Gregg, A. F Green, and H. G. Putnam. One of Bird’s voluntary bits of service that have been faithfully carried out for so long that it was looked upon as part of his duty was acting as a “Community Alarm Clock.” For many years, he has called upon those who wished to be up at an early hour to go to work, catch a train, go squirrel hunting, or fish at daybreak. He has recovered many stolen automobiles and has arrested six motor car thieves, and 23 horse thieves have been captured by the officer. He has engaged in several gun battles and has preserved as a treasured possession a piece of metal from a suspender, which saved his life by stopping a bullet.

‘Bird’ was on the job every minute of the night, and it was almost impossible to get into town without him seeing you. Perhaps you would think you had him fooled, and then the next night, he would tell you how you went home and the time. We take off our hat to this ol’ boy, for he has been the town and the peoples’ most loyal servant for the past 34 years.

____In 1924, the West Jefferson News was part of The Madison Press and was edited by Mr. Paul V. Miller, whose office was located in the Metropolitan Building located on the southeast corner of Main and Walnut Streets.

____May 8, 1924 – The West Jefferson Senior Class of ‘24 will be having 33 members graduate. This is the largest number yet to graduate.

____May 15, 1924 – Gasoline is selling for 20c. per gallon at the Headley-Maddux Garage.

____July 7, 1924 – Over 4,000 people attended the 4th of July celebration in West Jeff, which boasted over 200 events. The celebration was under the auspices of the West Jefferson Commercial Club.

____July 10, 1924 - The Commercial Bank has the distinction of being the first bank in the county, and probably the country to receive a deposit by air mail. It was sent from Seattle, Washington, and required 24 cents postage.

____July 25, 1924 – A campaign has begun to improve Edgewater Park. Tables and benches will be constructed, and a building 30’ X 40’ has been donated by T. C. Gregg and H. L. Thurman and is to be remodeled as a shelter house. A new bathing beach is underway under the direction of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Flower beds have been placed, and ball diamonds have been constructed. (Edgewater Park sat on the west side of the Middle Pike and just on the south side of Little Darby Creek. The West Jefferson football team played here until the field where the Ox Roast is now held was purchased, and a playing field was created.)

West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 119 by Charlie Miller

____June 11, 1925 – E. J. Britton has bought the meat market from the Martin Brothers. This is the same one that he had opened some time ago. (Edward Jennings Britton was born November 4, 1870, in Albion, NY. He came to Ohio at an early age and settled in Norwich Township, Franklin County. He came to West Jefferson between 1910 and 1920 and opened a grocery & meat market. The grocery store became a Red & White store and, at one time, was the 2^nd oldest Red & White store in the country. He owned a plot of land on the corner of Depot and Burnham Streets, where he had a garden and raised vegetables to sell in his store. Ed was a character. I delivered papers to him in the 1940’s. On Saturday, I’d collect. I’d find him in the rear of the store, he and some old cronies gathered around a pot-bellied stove. I say, “I’m collecting.” he’d reach in his pocket and hand me a wad of bills with a rubber band around it and a $100 dollar bill on the outside and say, “Is this enough?” the old cronies loved it. I knew the inside was full of $1 dollar bills!”

____July 9, 1925 – There are four cases of Small Pox that have been found in “Jeff.”

____August 17, 1925 – The Kiser-Hoe Cannery will open soon. According to W. A. Beedle, Superintendent of the cannery, this year’s crop will exceed all others, including the record crop of 1912.

(The cannery sat on Jackson Street. In the summer, at canning time, probably 75% of West Jefferson worked there. It did put out an odor, but we all endured it. During the war years 1941-1945, they would let the high school seniors out to work because of the labor shortage. There was a railroad siding that ran down where the village street department is now. Some years, they would bring in workers from Mexico who would work at the cannery and live in the cars on the siding. The Cannery, at one time, was owned by Stokley Vancamp. There is a picture of cannery workers in 1940 in “West Jefferson Remembers”)

____August 31, 1925 – Mrs. Mary Fellows, widow of T. B. Fellows, dies in Columbus. Mr. Fellows ran a hardware store in West Jefferson for a number of years. (Theodore Byron Fellows was born November 17, 1843, and died November 2, 1915. He is buried at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Thomas served 4 months in Co. D, 133^rd O. V. I., fighting in the Battle of the Bermuda Triangle. Mary Fellows had received a widow’s pension starting in December of 1915.)

____September 3, 1925 - $55,000.00 Fire Destroys Elevator Plant---The most disastrous fire in West Jefferson’s annuals caused a $55,000.00 fire to the West Jefferson Elevator Co. Several hundreds of dollars in damage was done to several near-by houses, and $250.00 to the A.T.&T. Wires and less to the West Jefferson Power & Light Co. wires. The origination is unknown. It was discovered at 9:45 that heavy damage was sustained by nearby houses owned by Hinkle Paterson, Joseph King, Zem Lewis, and Charles Baker due to the sparks from the fire. Stored in the elevator were 5,000 bu. Oats, 1,200 bu. Wheat, 500 bu. Corn and 300 bu. barley. Wilbur McCoy, employed by the Sam Feder Hardware Store, was burned about the face and left arm while attempting to extinguish a blaze that threatened his residence. O. P. VanSchoik was overcome by heat and smoke. (Remains of this building can still be seen at the intersection of W. Main St. and S.Frey Avenue.)