This week’s article was penned by team member Ashley Mangin. Ashley works in our Circulation Department and brings a special joy and enthusiasm to her work. This article appeared in a recent edition of the O’Fallon Weekly.

Old editions of the O’Fallon Progress that had been on microfiche have been digitized. I’ve been going through separating them into smaller files by year, and let me tell you, it has been an adventure.  

In July 1904, here were some local happenings: 

“Wheat $.95 today. 

Corn 45 cents per bushel 

Creamery butter 25 cents. 

The Red men install officers Monday night. 

Miss Ellen Zinkgraf spent Saturday in Belleville. 

A Stauffer and Andrew Beary took in the fair Thursday. 

G. T. Drake of St. Louis was a visitor here the first of the week. 

Lost: A Silver Watch. Reward for return of same to M. E. Wilson 

Rev. White of Alton has been a guest at the W. E. Peach home this week. 

Mike O’Hare is down with typhoid fever 

Mrs. J. W. Asbury and daughter Lillian spent the 4^th at Salem, Ill, with friends and relatives and visited Mrs. Maud Jennings and Mrs. Geo. Idleman. 

The Ladies of the Catholic congregation will give an Ice cream festival next Wednesday July 18^th in the Cath. School house and yard. All are cordially invited. 

Several young people of this vicinity were disappointed on account of not being able to go to Oak Hill picnic.” 

Along with that, there were several macabre headings such as: “That East St. Louis Sewer,” “LIghtning Kills Two,” “Destitute Family in Box Car,” “Autoists Have Narrow Escape,” “Workmen Find Woman’s Arm,” and “Had a Skattered Anatomy.” 

And no newspaper would be complete without an article in “The Farming World” section on “Dividing A Beef Justly” complete with a diagram of “Fair Division of a Beef” that “Tells How Sixteen Consumers Can Each Obtain a Desirable Portion”. 

And I would be leaving the best part out if I didn’t mention the many, many advertisements for Cascarets Candy Cathartic that will “Make Lazy Liver Lively”, or Botanic Blood Balm that will cure blood poison, bone pains, old rheumatism, carbuncles, swellings, eczema, catarrh, cancer, warts, scales, or any kind of weird sounding skin “eruptions”. There’s also C. & H. Reinhardt Merchant Tailors who are Faultless Exclusive Dealers in Men’s, Boys’ & Children’s Clothing, Hats, Caps and Furnishing Goods out of Lebanon, Illinois. And Frank J. Guth Located at Commercial Hotel advertising his Plastering Work. He uses “nothing but First Class Material and Workmanship, guarantee satisfaction and give prompt attention to all orders.” 

I’m having a lot of fun going through these old newspapers and seeing how simple things seemed in 1904, but it’s got me wondering things like did Frank J Guth get a lot of plastering work, did the Ladies of the Catholic congregation Ice cream festival go well, and do I have 15 friends to split a beef with? 

You can see this edition and so, so, so many more at: https://ofpl.info/newspaper-archive