ILLIANA NEWS
JUNE 2009
MEETING:
Our June meeting will be held on Monday, June 15th at 6:30 P.M. Bring a dish a dish to pass for our carry-in dinner. This is our last meeting before “SHOW TIME”, so try to attend!
SEE YOU THERE!
A LETTER FROM OUR
PRESIDENT:
HELLO TO EVERYONE,
A BIG “Thank you” to Ted and Carol Stout for hosting our
May meeting. A large delicious meal was
enjoyed by everyone. I want to express
my thanks and gratitude to all of the members that graciously donated money, be
it in the form of donations or loans for the construction of the new ladies
pavilion. When you receive this
newsletter, it should be completely finished and makes a very attractive
addition to the show grounds.
Also, Congratulations and best wishes go to Alan and
Gretchen Benskin on their marriage, June 6th.
A reminder to those that will be able to help in any way,
June 11th and 12th are work days to meet at Joe Fry’s
house at 8 a.m. to move the two buildings that Joe and Joan have donated to the
club. Bring whatever tools you think we
will need. It seems as though we will
make do with what we have as there is no stimulus money involved in this
project. Ha!
See you at our June meeting. We will meet and eat in the new pavilion.
Tom Swanson
LADIES PAVILION UP-DATE:
At the May meeting after a lengthy discussion, it was voted to have King Builders build the Ladies Pavilion this year. With generous donations and loans from the members that where present at this meeting, enough money was raised to get the project started. Thank you , everyone! Anyone wishing to send a donation or loan (a loan will be paid back when the club can afford to reimburse the member) can mail a check to Doris Manlief, 3618 Donna Dr., Lafayette, In. 47905. Make the check payable to: Illiana Antique Power Association. REMINDER: A donation is tax deductible.
HISTORY DAY RECEIPT’S:
Art Petty needs all expense receipts pertaining to History Day turned in to him at the June meeting. He will be applying for a grant from the Western Indiana Community Foundation.
Please mark your receipts “donation or reimburse”.
WORK DAYS:
June 11th & 12th are scheduled work days to move a couple of buildings donated to the club from the Fry Family. Members should meet at Joe Fry’s at 8:00 A.M. The Fry’s live south of Boswell, turn west off Hwy. 41. Address: 4345 W. 1100 N., Boswell, In. Ph: 765-869-5406
WANTED: 2-hole
short shaft mag needed for a:
1939 Model B John Deere tractor. Call Terry Bodine @ 765-294-2768 or
E-mail: abodine1@wildblue.net
TRACTOR TRIVIA: Despite the Great Depression, the number of
tractors on U.S. farms steadily grew from 766,000 in 1928 to 1.17 million in
1935!
FOR SALE: 4 headblock
Corely sawmill for parts or rebuild - less blade.
$425.00 Call Don Bodine @ 765-294-4296
PINE CREEK & WESTERN R.R.
NEWS:
BOB AND TOM SHOW
DOES IT AGAIN!
Bob Folk and Tom Swanson that is! It seems this “dynamic duo” was able to talk the City of Attica out of 800 badly needed paving bricks. My “sources” tell me they loaded and delivered them to the grounds last week where they await installation around the new waiting station. Looks like I’d better get busy! The help these guys have given the under-staffed railroad group is just immeasurable. Not only have they pitched in, they have persuaded many others to help as well. You know who you all are, and I thank you all once again. Terry Bodine tells me he will be spraying for weeds and mowing soon so the track will be presentable for the “Big Show”. That’s about all for this month, remember, “Keep an eye on the water”.
Finny Filchak
ROCKY FORGE BLACKSMITH NEWS:
The blacksmiths have been very busy this month designing and fabricating a campsite kitchen rack with fire and cooking tools. Several of the members have contributed many days, yes days, of work to complete the masterpiece for display at the Indiana Blacksmith Conference June 5th, 6th & 7th. We actually entered a contest, but were rooted out by some individual smiths who made inside kitchen pot racks using strictly traditional black smithing methods. Our next step is to set our unit up at the Illiana show and continue to add items to the rack and sell raffle tickets for the drawing on Sunday. Any proceeds will be used to help complete our building. Be sure to buy tickets, they will be on sale during the show. There will be no meeting for June as most of us will be attending the large Amish auction near the Raccoon Lake Dam east of highway 59 and south of Bellmore. Watch for the signs. The July 11th meeting will be spent preparing for the Illiana show.
Ted Stout
HISTORY OF RAINSVILLE, PINE
TOWNSHIP
The Nov. 11, 1937 issue of the Review-Republican
published the recollections of Cintie Bartlett Nern regarding the early history
of Rainsville and Pine Township. Nern
had written a book, “Home Memories” about the
surrounding area.
John H. and Thomas Bartlett
migrated to Indiana from Henry County,
Va. In 1832. Thomas married Sabrina Hill, first cousin to
former President Thomas Jefferson. They
came in a covered wagon shaped like a boat pulled by oxen. The two brothers first went to Walnut Grove,
but later bought land one and a half miles south of Rainsville. Thomas, over a period of time, acquired 440
acres.
Cintie’s father, son of
Thomas and Sabrina, married Karlinda Jane Mitchell. Her grandfather came over on the
Mayflower. Her father Edwin Mitchell,
originally settled along the Carbondale Road, but later acquired land northwest
of Rainsville. He was engaged in the
silk worm industry. Many of the
neighbors went to Sabrina Bartlett for ailments as she was an herb doctor. The nearest town was Attica and the way was
found by following blazed trees.
In 1834 the neighbors built a
log room with split logs for the floor and greased papers for the windows where
the Grames School would later be located .
They voted to have William Bartlett, Cintie’s father, as one of the
first school teachers in Pine Township as he was always studying books. William was only 14 years old and weighed 82
pounds. The parents told him if the
children didn’t obey, they would do the “thrashing” for him.
Later, James Grames Sr. donated land for a frame school. After the school was closed due to the grade
school at Rainsville, William Grames bought the school and moved it to his farm
south of Rainsville.
A stone school was built at
Rainsville. When it was abandoned, the
winter term was taught in the William Hoffman store room. The township trustee then had a one room built downstairs for the
school and the Knights of Honor built the second story. The Township later purchased the upstairs to
expand the school.
When the school caught fire,
Frank Grames, a young boy, grabbed a teapot and poured tea on the embers that
fell on his father’s place of business.
Louise Knour came with a small brass kettle of water and Will Nern
carried a ladder over two fences that took three men to carry back the next
day. A cottage style school was then
built and used until it was torn down to make room for a $30,000 school with
four rooms and a gym.
The first church service in
Rainsville, which was Baptist, was held in the Oglesby’s log house. The stone school was later used. The school was too small for the Methodist
congregation so the doors and windows were opened and people stood in the snow
to listen to the sermons. A new church
was built in 1874.
Isaac Rains built a flour and
saw mill in 1832 near the east bridge.
It was later moved to near the west bridge. The mill was abandoned when the stream mill came
into operation and was torn down in 1902 and moved to Hoopeston, Il. Another mill, located upstream, was know as
the little mill. Downstream were the
Dick Mill and farther yet the Shidler mill.
This article was published in
the WABASH VALLEY NEWS - COMMERCIAL-NEWS newspaper dated May 28, 2009. Written by: Terri Wargo, Member of the Warren
County Historical Society.
The map to the Stout’s home was not included in the E-mail newsletter last month.....I apologize for not including it. Anne Bodine
REMINDER: The newsletters and
up to date info are always on our web site.
Log on to: illianaantiquepower.com
SHOW DATES: JULY 17, 18, 19 - 2009
FEATURING - JOHN DEERE