April 5, 1987
The iceman in my early life -
The first iceman I remember delivered ice from West Lake or the fairground pond on Curtis Avenue. It was not pure enough for anything but refrigeration. Of course, it had to be stored in ground cork or sawdust in a building. Each ice wagon had a tank of water and a little hose to wash off the ice. The ice wagon and the iceman were very important parts of the town’s life. Each home had a square card with the numbers 25, 50, 75 and 100 on each end of the card. The card was placed in your front window with the number up telling how many pounds you wished. I was a good friend of the iceman’s daughter, and got to ride on the wagon. I won’t mention her name, as she is still alive.
Later, the ice was made mechanically and was pure as the city water. It was a wonderful step in making housekeeping much easier. The refrigerators or ice boxes had to have a way to handle the dripping water. Some piped it away, but mostly there was a drip pan. Any older person can remember forgetting to empty the pan and it would run over and make a mess. Mechanical refrigerators came in with a rush and the ice business went out just as fast.
Some time ago, I wrote about the colored people in early Chariton. Not blacks, as they were known in those times as colored people. Several people I want to mention.
Mrs. Carter for one. She with her large family lived right where Bumbarger’s Sign Shop is now. Beside her house stood Jake Dull’s Liquor Store, closed since 1919. Mrs. Carter was a tall gray-haired lady, who made a living taking in washings, all done on a washboard by hand. She was in a play one time that was held in the Columbus School yard. In the play she really played herself and did a washing. It was the hit of the evening as she was quite a natural actor.
Another person was Mrs. George Newman. She was white and the wife of a colored man. They lived in a shack on the side of a hill in east Chariton. Very picturesque. Mrs. Newman smoked a clay pipe and would sit on a stump in the late evenings out in front of the shack. Artists would come to have her pose for them. She gladly did this for a small sum. She didn’t really pose, but just sat there as she did daily. I remember her gay-colored dresses, the ever-present straw hat and the long-stemmed clay pipe. I delivered groceries to them, and remember taking Granger Twist tobacco there, which she chewed and smoked. This tobacco came in a blue box, about the size of a small oatmeal box. There was a small fireplace where the cooking was done, and it also heated the house. Canning was done in this fireplace, too. Mr. Newman was darker than most of our colored people. He was black, with a shock of white hair and a large white mustache. He presented a striking picture and didn’t share her tobacco habits.
Now, a word about Louis Jackson, the colored man who had the eating place in the southwest corner of the square, where George’s Chicken was built. He had a nice family, and helped several young people to get an education. I have heard my father say Jackson joined into all civic undertakings. His son Lorenzo had one thing going for him that I think all boys should have, and I wish I had growing up. He had a good voice, played piano and harmonica. Any one of these talents will help a boy get into many activities.
Our ride -
Charles, George and myself left at 2 p.m. in George’s car. We first checked out the snow trillium by Lake Morris and found several in blossom. West to Colyn area. Saw lots of wild turkeys, twenty-five to thirty in one field. Many Canada geese, and two blue herons. Saw the buffalo at Promise City. Listened to the basketball game on radio. West through Millerton. The words we discussed were fungible and fulvous. Got back at 5:30.
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