The Odebolt Chronicle
VOLUME THIRTY-NINE, Number 49, JANUARY 6, 1927
Pioneer Days
_______
THIS WEEK
J. G. Anderson
Reaches Odebolt in March Blizzard, 15 Below Zero. Farms in Wheeler 34 Years.
Three and one-half miles northeast of Kiron, on the graveled highway one sees a neat set of buildings on the north side of the road. That was the home of J. G. Anderson, now of Odebolt, for 34 years. The farm consists of 80 acres, and Mr. Anderson bought the farm in 1880, paying $18 per acre, improved. A house 16x22, a small barn and a couple of small cribs was all the buildings on the farm at that time. Seventy acres were broke when he bought it. At the time the land was purchased Mr. Anderson was living at Sterling, Whiteside County, Illinois, and did not move to Sac county until the spring of 1883. Emigration to the west then was heavy, and on the same train that brought him up this branch were 12 cars of emigrants moving here and further up this line. Mr. Anderson landed in Odebolt about eleven o'clock at night on the fourth day of March, in a hard snow storm with the thermometer 15 degrees below zero. The four cars that were left at Odebolt, were sidetracked, but not very near the stockyards, so they could unload their stock. After some trouble in pushing his car to the place where he wanted it the stock was unloaded, and the next day the farm was reached. Mr. Anderson's father and one brother had preceeded [sic] him to this county. The nearest neighbors Mr. Anderson had were Mr. Lundberg, on the west, Mr. Mellberg and Charles Meleen.
The first year's crop was largely flax, a little wheat, a few acres of oats and some corn. At this time there were two mills at Deloit, one on the Boyer river and one at the foot of the hill just south of the town. These mills were patronized by the early settlers where they took their wheat to have it made into flour, their corn to have it ground for their "Johnny Cakes", and other grains, for what few head of stock they possessed. A saw mill at Deloit sawed lumber and helped these pioneers to build their first buildings to some extent. Many of the settlers owned a few acres of timber land on the Boyer, besides their farms and some of these lived 15 and 20 miles from this timber tract. The timber helped them in many ways, it furnished them fuel for both summer and winter, and there they cut poles for building various out buildings and got posts to make their yards. The first year Mr. Anderson farmed in Wheeler township, corn was worth 13 cents a bushel, wheat 54 cents, flax 85 cents, oats 9 or 10 cents, butter sold at 6 cents a pound in the summer. Settlers raised nearly all or everthing [sic] they ate, and did not go to town as often then as farmers do now. At one time in 1883, the thermometer went as low as 37 below zero and the wind blew nearly every day and as there were no groves they felt the cold more. But the few neighbors would get together and they seemed to enjoy themselves fully as much then as now. The second time Mr. Anderson paid his taxes on the eighty they amounted to $14, and enough trees had been set out on the farm so this amount was reduced to one half of that amount.
In those days timber for bridges--what few there were--was brought from the Deloit saw mill. At the start, Mr. Anderson had two horses, two cows and a few chickens, but hog raising was soon the order of the day and they looked to the hog for considerable of their money. The cows were staked out, as wire was high and no one had any amount of money, fences were out of the question entirely.
The first year Mr. Anderson farmed he lost one of his horses. He came to Odebolt to buy another one and bought one of M. Gardner, who was then keeping a livery stable, for $100, giving his note until fall. The horse proved to be worthless and he would have been in a bad fix if the neighbors had not helped him buy another. When the note he had given for the horse came due he came up town to pay it. When he found the note it had been endorsed so many times and by so many men that the back of it was completely covered with names. Notes seemed to be the medium of exchange in those days. Some trading was done at Old Kiron then but the greater part at Odebolt. Mr. Anderson traded with John Mattes for twenty years.
After Kiron started, although most of the building that had been done and the lumber for the early building had been hauled from Odebolt, the trade that had been coming to Odebolt went to Kiron. Kiron had good merchants and the town grew rapidly.
Mr. Anderson continued to reside on his farm for 34 years, going through the hardships that are always encountered in any new country. The last few years Mrs. Anderson's health was none to [sic] good and one day when coming from the field Mr. Anderson found no dinner ready and his wife sick in bed. They decided then and there to sell the farm and retire from the farming game. Mr. Anderson went to Kiron and had sold the farm within two hours. Everybody was surprised because the farm had not been on the market until that day. This was in 1920, and the family purchased a fine home on Des Moines street, in the east part of town where they are now living. The house is modern, has a fine garage and the grounds are well kept.
The farm was the best in the country, the buildings were always kept in good repair and well painted, and the yards were a picture of neatness, not a chip laying around. The front yard was well shaded with beautiful trees on a well elevated piece of ground, and many times when the writer was driving by with passengers years ago, strangers would say: "Who lives in that place?"
Mr. Anderson is now 71 years old, and has besides his life-long companion, two children, a grown son and one daughter. The family have the respect of their former neighbors in the country as well as in Odebolt, where they will likely spend their remaining days.