Thursday, February 21, 2013
In yesterday’s Montgomery, and probably in most little farming villages, spending money on toys was a low priority. Homemade fun was the name of the game.
Way back in the dark ages, there was no Internet. No Facebook, no cell phones, no texting – no fun. Well, not exactly. Even in prehistoric times children found ways to have fun. What did they do for fun ‘back in the day?’ In yesterday’s Montgomery, and probably in most little farming villages, spending money on toys was a low priority. Homemade fun was the name of the game. With a little ingenuity, children could dream up amazing games and activities. The idea of making a “play date” was laughable. You just walked down the street and stood outside the front door and called your friend’s name. A child would never knock on a door, or ring a doorbell. That would disturb the parents, and was a breach of etiquette, as you would soon learn. Card…
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Until recently, the historical old cannon at the Riverside Cemetery was assumed to be a Civil War cannon. That was proven wrong when somebody started to research it.
One hundred and fifteen years ago, in January 1898, President McKinley ordered the Battleship Maine to put in at Havana Harbor, in Cuba. Cuban Rebels had been struggling for three years to free Cuba from Spanish rule. American interests were also at stake, and the Spanish influence appeared to be a growing threat. The rebels had good reason for their anger, as conditions in Cuba continued to grow worse. On Feb. 15, an explosion blew the battleship apart. Immediately Spain was blamed for the incident. After it sank, Spain denied any part, calling it an accident, and even offered to aid the men caught in the explosion. Two hundred and sixty-six American lives were lost. In the frenzy to assign blame, the United States Government began a …
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Franklin Stark opted to turn his two-story farmhouse on South Broadway into a castle.
If you’ve ever rounded the corner on Montgomery Road and spotted a big castle-like structure off to the right, you probably did a double take. Indeed it is a castle, complete with a turret, but without a moat filled with alligators. The building that started life as a simple wooden farmhouse on top of the hill on South Broadway, slowly morphed into the imposing structure that you see today. What may look like an architectural puzzle was born of a young man’s dream. When Franklin Stark, a bachelor, was serving on an island in the Aleutians during World War II, he, like all soldiers, dreamed of home. If a man’s home is indeed his castle, perhaps that inspired his lifelong occupation. As a single man, he had no one to scoff at his plans as he…
Thursday, December 13, 2012
During World War II, women courageously kept the home fires burning while the men were away.
During World War II the role of women was forever changed. Young men were being drafted, and families torn apart. Wives, who formerly deferred to their husbands as the head of the household, were forced to make important decisions on their own. With new responsibilities and new routines to adapt to, it was a confusing time for everybody. Some families were forced to share their homes with others to cut expenses and exchange childcare duties. Courageously, women took up the challenge and kept the home fires burning while the men were away. For the first time in the history of this country, women were working alongside men in the factories and doing a fine job. They were recruited by Lyon Metal Company to replace some of the 650 men who were…
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Some said jealousy was to blame for a double tragedy in 1893.
Can you stand another murder story? I hope so, because this one just jumped out at me from the pages of an 1893 Newspaper, The Aurora Daily Express, and I want to share it with you. The scene was the street in front of Daniel Keck’s house on Main Street, a short distance from the Montgomery Methodist Church. It was a quiet Saturday night two days before Christmas. The target was Ella (Daisy) Ravatte, 16; whose father George Ravatte owned a small farm south of the Stove Works on Sard Avenue. The shooter was Adolphus Adcock, a rejected would-be suitor. Daisy left the Christmas program at the Montgomery Methodist Church with a friend when she was grabbed from behind and shot in the back. Adcock threw away the revolver and then pulled out a …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Some may conclude that the case is not quite as black and white as it first seemed.
Last month you read a little bit about life in 1910 Montgomery, and a short synopsis of the Morris-Dumas murder. And, two weeks ago you read about the two people involved and their questionable entanglement. Now, after you read about the testimony of the individual witnesses, and the wrap-up of the attorney for Henry Morris, you may conclude that the case is not quite as black and white as it first seemed. Today’s technology would have made it possible to verify instead of merely speculate about the logistics of the shooting; and that, coupled with a clearer picture of the background and character of Mrs. Dumas, might have led to a different conclusion. What the jury did not hear was that Mrs. Dumas had been arrested a few years earlier in…
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Henry Morris was not a very nice guy when he met Mrs. Dumas. But it doesn’t appear that he was a match for Mrs. Dumas, whose past was more than a little shady.
My last column ended with the promise by Aurora Police Chief Frank Michels that an eyewitness would come forth to testify at the Morris-Dumas murder trial. So, to learn who this was, I spent several days at the Aurora Public Library, reading through page after page of old newspapers. None of them revealed what the Chief promised. I’m sorry to disappoint you, and myself as well! Perhaps he had a lead that didn’t pan out. He didn’t explain. His hint that the witness was a female, and close enough to touch, created a lot of speculation about another woman being at the scene. It would have been a very different story. Of the three women who testified at the trial, none was present at the time of the murder. Grace Allen “intimate friend of …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
In 1910, shock waves spread throughout the tiny village of Montgomery as word spread of a vicious murder on Clay Street.
The year was 1910. Shock waves spread throughout the tiny village of Montgomery as word spread of the vicious murder on Clay Street. Thirty years later reminders of it would resurface. As children, living in the Settler’s Cottage on River Street, the traffic back and forth from the Saloon at the top of the hill down to the taverns two blocks north, was a big concern to our parents. The “drunks” as we called them, assuming of course they were all drunk, were frightening to us. The sidewalk was just a few inches from the house and we huddled inside on busy Saturday nights, listening to the radio. To make things worse, and increase our fear, one warm summer morning I found a small pistol in the hedges that lined the sidewalk in our back yard…
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Tebeau’s greatest claim to fame was his genius pick for the 1911 Aurora Blues baseball team.
In the early 1900s, a large two-story hotel stood on the corner of River and Webster Streets in Montgomery. Around 1910 it was run by a flamboyant baseball manager named Al Tebeau. Tebeau’s greatest claim to fame was his genius pick for the 1911 Aurora Blues baseball team. He is still remembered today as the man responsible for bringing the late Casey Stengel to Aurora. Few people know that he was also the proprietor of the notorious saloon, gambling establishment and brothel in Montgomery. Al Tebeau came from a long line of Tebeaus who were born in St. Louis. Several had illustrious careers as players before going on to own and/or manage other teams. There was cousin George Tebeau, a well-known and highly regarded player and later owner …
Thursday, September 20, 2012
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, the dead will walk and talk, but have no fear.
Montgomery is gearing up for the fourth annual Cemetery Walk. With cooperation from the weather, the Historical Preservation Commission will again play host to hundreds of guests. A big white Harvest Moon will hover over the Riverside Cemetery in Montgomery showing Mother Nature’s approval of the goings-on below. A peek at the calendar confirms that someone up there has arranged the special effects lighting again this year and the shiny white globe will perform it’s magic. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, the dead will walk and talk, but have no fear. Local actors, dressed in period costumes and standing by the headstones, will give voice to the person they portray (the occupant of the grave), and bring them to life for you. The Riverside …
Stan Bond
4:24 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
Work has begun in earnest on restoring this historic cannon. A wagon wheel maker in Colorado is remaking the wooden wheel spokes and fellies from Kendall County white oak, while metal components are being examined and cleaned here locally. Grease was still in tact on the axles which, on disassembly, appear to be in great shape! If you are a Facebook user, you can follow restoration progress at … more ›