West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 106 by Charlie Miller

____January 4, 1909 – By-laws of the West Jefferson Fire Department,

#1 – This organization shall be known as the West Jefferson Fire Department

#2 -The regular meeting night shall be the first Tuesday of each month

#3 – The duties of the Chief-- The orders of the Chief shall be paramount before, during, and after a fire. He may call a fire drill at his option. He must see that each man is familiar with his duties. He may at will, transfer men from one department to another if such change is desirable. The refusal of a member to obey the order of the Chief will be equivalent to dismissal. Each member of this department shall receive $1.00 as compensation for each fire, except in the case of a long and stubborn fire, when he shall receive such additional compensation as the council shall direct. No member is entitled to pay unless present for a fire.

____January 6, 1909 – Slaven and Snyder have constructed an electric light arch in front of the Opera House.

____October 8, 1909 – Shoot Out At West Jefferson - At 8:30 p.m. in front of Brown’s grocery (Red & White) Al Winegardner attempted to kill his wife. After shooting her in the neck, he then turned the gun on Officers ‘Bird’ Clark and Oscar Sprague, who were attempting to arrest him. The crowd which was just emerging from a movie at the Opera House, began to dive for cover. Mr. Wills, who fell while trying to escape the bullets, twisted his ankle and was unable to get up and for a while believed shot. A total of 14 shots were exchanged, one striking Winegardner in the hip. Marshal Clark’s coat had been singed by one of the bullets. A plate glass window in John Taggart’s grocery was shattered, and many bullets lodged in nearby buildings. Mrs. Winegardner was taken to a hospital in Columbus.

(Dodge City had nothing on West Jefferson. There is a picture of this grocery store in the West Jefferson Remembers at Hurt-Battelle Library showing a patch over the bullet hole.)

____The following is a list of veterans living in Jefferson Township in 1909:

All are Civil War Vets except those marked (*) which are Spanish-American vets. (X) were members of Company A, 40^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

Jas. Allerton                          Leonard Morgan                                   Columbus Huddle

Jacob Edwards                      Jno. B. McCoy                                       (*) John Hann

(X) Lawrence Englesperger Charles H. Putnam                                 Isaac Hambleton

(*) Jacob C. Englespeger           George W. Prugh                                         Francis Kelley

Martin Haynes                             Alexander Prose                                          F. M. Kimberland

(X) Arthur Hann                          (*) Lester Sprague                                        (*) Harry Matlock

Andrew Hale                               James Stanton                                              John Matlock

Andrew Hollar                             Quinn Bradley                                                Isaac Norris

William W. Lewis                        Simon E.Baker                                               William Nipple

(*) William Morris                        William Borland                                              (X) Thos. Pearce

Frank R. Miller                            P. J.Frey (*)                                                    Joseph Pearce

Leonard Morgan                     Corwin Carter                                                  J. R. Randolph

(*) Homer Roberts                      B. F. Roberts                                                   James Sceva

William Stratton                         Tye Wright.