February 1, 1987
George Dunshee, Charles Prior and myself left here at 2 p.m. in my car. We headed towards Pella in an indirect way. Went through Williamson, Attica, Pershing, Harvey, skirted Bussey, Pella, Maryville and Lovilia. Toured each town a little. A beautiful day. The browns of winter are ever changing. We went through Wilcox Park on the way home. This area was created by many acres being destroyed by strip mining. The law didn’t require them to restore the land then, as it does now. There are miles and miles of such land. We didn’t have any particular word or words that we discussed today but talked mostly about church and politics. Never a dull moment. We arrived back at 5:40 p.m.
Things I remember when growing up -
Melvin Taylor’s dog. It was a short-haired terrier of the tea-cup-handle tail variety. Melvin had a paper route which was large enough it was necessary to have a bicycle. Melvin would put a rolled-up newspaper in Friskie’s tail and he would take it up to the porch of the house and relax his tail and the paper would fall out. Saved lots of steps. Melvin’s aunt is still alive and will verify this unusual story.
Melvin was a grandson of Elizabeth Blanchard, who was the mother of Nellie, Byron, Carrie, George and Abbey. They had originally lived in South Dakota and when moving here, they brought with them a mounted coyote standing on a wooden base. It was about four feet long and looked very real. Sometimes it was on the front porch, but more often in the living room of the house. I am sure many older people will remember it because of its beauty and real life-like look.
Byron Blanchard was one of the first radio men in town. He and Neil Dunshee worked for Harry Blanchard, whose store was located where D’Allen’s is now. They would come and put your radio in the living room and the batteries in the basement. A platform was built suspended from the basement rafters. This kept the mystifying equipment high above the dampness. The batteries were charged by electricity. Later, batteries were eliminated and the set was electric.
I remember the dragon in Palmer’s yard. This home stood at the northeast corner of Park and 12th Streets and is still there. A new house has been built in front of this home and most of the ornate bric-a-brac has been removed. The dragon was about seven feet high from the top of the head to the ground and about ten feet long from head to tail. The Palmers came from England and this dragon was made in China and brought to them as a gift while they lived in England. Later, it was shipped to them here. It was an awesome sight, yet beautiful. The body was covered with small feathered shingles that looked like scales. The body was painted in shades of red, green, yellow, orange and black. The eyes and the tongue were so real. Contrary to what many people seemed to remember, it had two horns, not one. Mrs. West, daughter of the Palmers, told my mother that she felt the dragon was not authentic, as dragons were more or less creatures of the imagination. I too remember they had three or four flying squirrels living in the yard. They seemed to love to glide out of a tree and land on the dragon’s head. One Christmas, Charles, son of the Palmers, permitted us to place an apple in the dragon’s mouth. The old folks had passed on by this time or I am sure we could not have done this.
The squirrels bothered Duke, the old white horse of the Palmers, to the point that Mrs. West had Howard and myself stretch a horse net over one corner of his pen. This kept the squirrels from landing on his head. Duke was the old horse Howard and myself buried in the Palmer’s backyard.
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