Grand total for the year...$19,750.

1894

Two full slates of candidates stood for the election of town officials this year. These citizens were the winners: A. C. Heck, mayor; W. F. Cody, recorder; O. S. Thompson, treasurer; Andrew Lee, assessor; G. G. Oyloe, E. Frank and Henry Etteldorf, trustees. Geo. Wehster was appointed marshal and street commissioner.

The streets swarmed with youths hanging May baskets on May first. (This custom, popular in early days, called for the hanging of baskets, loaded with goodies, on the door knob of their favorite young lady's home.)

A canvass of the Mulct liquor law resulted in 285 petitioners, out of the town's 330 voters, favoring allowing saloons to operate in Ossian.

Ossian "entertained" a band of gypsies over the weekend. The women begged from door to door, while their offspring promenaded on Main street. They offered to sing or dance a jig for a few pennies which was promptly spent on sweets. There were over 50 people in the caravan with twenty wagons and 35 horses.

Several Indians competed in a target shoot with bow and arrows on Main street. Some of our local boys tried their skill. They were no match for the redskins.

A calico dance was held at the opera house. Each lady present had made a neck tie. A drawing was held with the gentleman gaining the company of the lady whose fie he selected.

The Holland Circus left some "sore spots" among our citizens who tried to buck their shell game. The only winners were the operators.

School teachers selected for the public school this year were: Prof. M. S. Mills, principal; Miss Sarah Owens, intermediate grades; and Miss Ellen Test, primary.

Graduation exercises were held at the new opera house. These ten students received diplomas: Theresa Thompson, Wm. Cahill, Paulina Knutson, Clarence Lee, Ray Frank, Gertrude Manderfield, Otto Gunderson, Charles Green, Matilda Gunderson and Zoe Cornell.

There were few dry eyes among the audience at the opera house during the presentation of the drama, East Lynne. The management of the Ossian Hall Company reported a profit of 33 1/2 %  for its first year of operation.

MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA

A camp of Modem Woodmen was organized in Ossian. W. F. Cody, Frank Limbeck, C. J. Mills, F. C. Clark, W. W. Carter, E. F. Webster and Ira Flagler were elected officers. F. Limbeck, M. J. Carter and Dr. P. M. Jewell were named as members of the board of managers. This fraternal type organization was a mutual insurance concern with a national membership of 125,000. It was very popular in rural Iowa during this period.

Apparently initiation ceremonies were rough in the Woodmen. A later item relates that during the initiation of thirteen new members, candidate Dan Malloy received severe injuries.

1895

The ladies of Ossian have issued over 500 invitations to a leap year ball at the opera house. Surely this will be the social event of the season.

G. F. Gunderson's new brick store building, west of the Becker hardware, has been completed. This business was to endure for many years.

The corner stone of the new city hall was laid with appropriate ceremony in August of this year.

The graduates this spring included: Elmer Thompson, Mabel Weitgenant, Noel Bullard, Alicia McManus, Ralph Carter, Cora Schoonmaker, Herman Blanchaine,