Letter from Mrs. D.F. McArthur-Elgin Twp.
LeMars Globe-Post
July 15, 1954
He that has patience may compass anything.—Francois Rabelais.
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My several pieces done on the early history of LeMars and Plymouth County have brought me a number of interesting correspondents. Briefly mentioned a while back was Mrs. L. E. Ausman, the former Julia Eberhard of Liberty township, now an 84-year-old gadabout whose airplane trip to Washington D.C. took her away from her writing desk at Lake Bluff, Ill. Otherwise, I would have had an earlier reply to my letter to her and asking for further information on the Eberhard family as early settlers in Liberty township.
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However, in the meantime have come letters from other old-timers and with subject matter more than enough to fill the gap.
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In a beautifully written two-page letter, Mrs. D. F. McArthur of Elgin township asks for a copy of Morsels From Olla Podrida, and pays off handsomely with her reminiscences on her earlier years in the Seney area.
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Of the mistaken opinion I might not possibly remember her, Mrs. McArthur identifies herself as the wife of Duncan F. McArthur “of the family of the upper Macs” who lived a mile northeast of Seney. I am not further enlightened as to the “upper” and “lower” Macs, but suppose it to be a family byword or pet expression to identify the many asking of the McArthur clan.
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Since Mrs. McArthur did not write this to me, I must have read it in a book, but she was Martha Hinde, the fourth in order of birth of a family of eight, and whose parents, Richard and Martha Mollart Hinde, settled in Sioux County in 1882.
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Although not of the very first to settle in Elgin township, old Nathanial McArthur with his family of seven children did well by himself and the township when he settle in Section 14, in 1885. A native of Scotland, he had as a small boy arrived in America with his parents and who settled in Canada. Growing to manhood there, he and his family moved to Jackson County, Iowa, in 1873, then moved to Plymouth County twelve years later. Of the children, Duncan F., was the last born, and of the seven, only Alex McArthur survives
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Mrs. McArthur recalls that it was her husband’s cousin, Wallace McArthur, who served his apprenticeship as a pharmacist in my father’s drug store in LeMars. I remember Wallace very well, and a fine fellow he was. Going into business for himself, he first had a store in Red Oak, and later bought a fine drug store in Storm Lake. Wallace passed away several years ago. His wife, who was Gertrude Plumb of LeMars, survives and is now living in Des Moines.
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My correspondent, Mrs. D.F. McArthur, is also an octogenarian. One of a number of things making this an interesting fact would be the quality of her penmanship. Both Mrs. McArthur and Mrs. Ausman write beautifully, and so fine. When they write a postal card to me, I must resort to use of a reading glass.
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And now, if there remains space enough, I’d like to put in a plug for the new book you have heard so much about. The title is Morsels From Olla Podrida, and the book is made up of column material I have done the past many years. Refurbished and fit for reading for young and old, the stories cover a wide range of subject matter and I have done my best to make them of interest.
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The book is entirely a labor of love. It will not be offered for sale, but rather it is to be presented to those of you who request it and with the compliments of those who created it, The Globe-Post and your humble servant.
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If you wish a copy sent you, please write me at the address you will find at the top of this column. Also, but only if you wish, you may enclose a small amount of postage to lighten my otherwise cash outlay. However, postage or no, don’t let that part stand in the way of your getting a copy. The presses are rolling on it right now, and only enough copies will be made to take care of those who want it bad enough to ask for it.
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