And There Was Music

Chapter XXXI

A Gifted Citizenry

   Norwood was richly blest with people of outstanding ability in many lines, but especially in music.  At first they met in homes for evenings of song, later in the Methodist Church where they developed into "singing schools" led by some gifted local person as instructor.  Minnie Stanton, aunt of Mrs. Harold Leonard and the late Margaret Stanton Larimer, was a gifted musician and a teacher in the school.

    She brought out her Melodeon, adding to the delight of all.  Said Nina Hanks: "In the early 1900's two-week singing schools were started.  School was dismissed at Christmas time and all-day sessions were held-mornings for children, afternoons for children and adults, evening for adults only.  The "Singing Schools" blossomed into "The Musical Institute", with Prof. Ferguson in charge, large groups meeting every day for two weeks."

     Luckey Ashby was the chief organizer, planner and Mollie Pedigo Sones was the accomplished pianist.  Prof J. R. Dunham, composer, conductor of Chicago was engaged to spend two weeks at Norwood conducting the Institute each year as he made his annual tours through the country.

      This continued for several seasons.  T.D. Ashby tells of one of the enrollees who said: "I could learn the scale alright if I could just get the darned old tune". 

     At the close of the Institute, came the big concert, which always draw capacity crowds.   Those were "horse-and-buggy days", but people drove from Chariton to attend these musical fetes.  One of the largest productions was "Jephthah's Daughter" directed by Luckey Ashby and with Mrs. Sones at the piano.

"You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will 

 But the scent of the roses will cling round it still"

Moore

Married an Actor

        In 1870, came the Bond family from Baltimore.  Their children were noted for their exceptionally good looks.  A granddaughter, Eloise Taylor, became an actress and married the actor, Pat O'Brien.  Eloise is a cousin of Mrs. Velma Niswender, of Chariton.

Conrad

        Fitch Conrad came to Iowa   from New York and became a district judge in Des Moines.  He enlisted in the Civil War and was taken prisoner in South Carolina in May of 1863 and was moved from one prison to another and finally to Libby prison at Jackson, Mississippi, where 600 captives were held in stockade until November 1864 when he and another man escaped.  He was an uncle twice removed to the late Burdette Conrad.

      There was another Fitch Conrad in the family, who graduated from Simpson College, became a lawyer, a columnist and finally a Circuit Judge.  Burdette's great-grandmother, Elizabeth Canterbury was the first white woman to cross the Mississippi River at Burlington.  This was in 1833 and it happened because their wagon train just happened to reach the river when it was not at flood.

        The immigrants for the most part, arrived in the spring when all streams were high and they had to go upstream until they could find a crossing.  Some writers have described the river as "appearing to be a mile wide".

    Mrs. Mabel Wheeler of Indianola, loaned her father's diary of 1871 for this story.  Her father was O.A. Wallace, one of the first postmasters of Norwood and later, in the 1880's editor of the "Ottercreek Valley News" – a small single sheet weekly, typical of the times.  Reading his remarkable diary, one is at once impressed by its similarity of style to that of the book of Nehemiah, which is in fact the diary kept by him while rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.  Both men are revealed to be organizers, administrators and planners.  Both were building for the future.

      Here are samples of daily jottings, which reveal Mr., Wallace's well-ordered life.  They are concise, finished even elegant and written in a beautiful hand:  "Hauled logs"; "Chopped"; "Fixed buggy"; "Shoe maked"; "Heard Mr. & Mrs.  S. Hughes preach today"; "Split rails"; "Visited Abbie Bowen's school today"; "Measured Wheat"; "Grubbed"; "Visited"; "Tinkered"; "Sabbath, went to prayer meeting"; "Diverse employment"; "Pitched wheat for Ashby"; "Mended harness and went to mill"; "Set out hedge plants"; Sheared sheep" and "Attended Dedication M.E.".

Miller, Breeder of Horses

     William Miller, with his wife and five children, came in those early years.  He and his sons were breeders of fine horses – Coach, Shire and Percheron, and of cattle – Scotch, Shorthorn, Hereford and Angus.  One account says: "Mr. Miller will always be remembered for his fine livestock and for his many neighborly kindnesses".

            "How far that little candle throws its light!

            So shines a good deed in the naughty world".

Shakespeare

      Worth Miller of Indianola is a son of William Miller and his son Max Miller is Junior High music teacher in Chariton schools.

Clore

In 1853 Howard Clore came to Lucas County and bought land but did not stay.  A quarter century later another Howard Clore, a descendant of the first, came and he too, was a breeder of fine horses and cattle.  He was the great-grandfather of Leland Clore of Norwood.

The Pedigo Family

William Pedigo came to Lucas County in 1858.  He is registered in the early Historical record.  In a scrap book article written by Mrs. B.G. Keyte, daughter of Luckey Ashby, an early member of the County Board of Supervisors, she writes: Probably the finest mechanic in the county was William Pedigo.  He supervised the erection of many buildings and invented a harvester that was the equal of the McCormick binder a little before the latter was perfected.   A short delay in negotiations prevented him from selling his patent in time to make a fortune".

Newton Ashby writes: "William Pedigo was a genius.  He took down the great wooden and upright saw mill on Whitebreast eight miles away, moved it and put it up on our farm for a barn.  It was 22 x 60 ft.   The posts and girders were squared with a broad ax, all were tongued, mortised, braced and pinned.  The whole country turned out for the 'barn raising'."

His son Jesse (Judd) was also a builder, a very fine mechanic.  He built many buildings all noted for their excellent workmanship.  The last residence Judd built was in 1911 – the home of R.R. Conrad.  It stands today as solid as when he drove the last nail.  He was the father of Ross Pedigo, southern Iowa's widely known auctioneer.  Ross was also County Sheriff two terms.

Another son of William Pedigo was Richard (Dick).  His specialty was telephones.  He built them.  He installed them.  He installed the first ones in the Norwood area and practically all that followed at that time.  Clark Curtis, father of William (Bill) Curtis, Agnes Conrad and Cyrill (Cye) helped run the lines.  When the last one had been installed, a few of the boys gathered in one of the stores at night and put out a "line call".

When all the phones were open they started singing and continued the serenade through several songs to the great delight of their invisible audience.  There was jubilance over the new facility, but it brought disaster to the unsuspecting prairie chickens.  All unwary of this intrusion into their domain they flew against it to their deaths.

Mrs. Marker said: "Even if we were in the house with the doors closed, we could always hear them hit the wires.  Any little noise would alert them and the whole flock would rise instantly, hit the wires very hard and fall back dead.  We would all run out and gather them up and mother would dress them immediately and we would have the meat for our next meal.  Hundreds and hundreds were killed this way".

Dick Pedigo owned the first car in the neighborhood – a Brush Runabout.  The Pedigos were a musical family.  Judd taught music and sang in the church choir.  Their sister Mollie gave music lessons.  She rode a bicycle and gave organ lessons throughout the community.  She had the first piano – a "Black Star" – made of ebony.  All the Pedigos took part in the "Singing Schools" that were so popular in Norwood.

Pennington

     William D. Pennington came to Lucas County in the late 1840's.  The land he acquired is still the Pennington home and bears the fifth generation in the person Brian Alan Pennington, grandson of Harold Pennington, whose father was Winfield Scott Pennington with whom this writer had the privilege of personal acquaintance and remembers him as a man of high integrity, consideration and fairness to others.

The Primm Family

The Primm family dates back into European history where it was "de le Pryme".  Ten members of the family came to America in the 1700's.  Half of them went southward where they retained the French form of the name.  The other half came northward, changing the name to the English "Primm".  One member fought in the Revolutionary War.

     Thomas Primm came to Lucas County in 1869.  He had joined the Union Army in 1861 was in several battles, notably Shiloh and Vicksburg.  He was the grandfather of Gerald Primm who with his family, lives on the original home site.  The rooms of the original home are incorporated into the present family home – one addition having been made in 1880, the other in 1920.  The two original rooms were built of walnut logs and stone and put together with square nails.  The barn was built by Judd Pedigo nearly a century ago.  The walnut boards were painted on the ground and then put up.

Prized Possessions

     Prized possessions of the family are: A handmade walnut cupboard brought to Lucas County in one of the covered wagons; a Methodist hymnal of small pocket size, having the lyrics in smallest type and bearing the name of Gerald' mother, "Iola Ashby Primm"; a hand corn planter made entirely of wood, except the rims on the wheels – made by Deere and Manner; a brush hoe with hedge handle metal sap spigots for drawing sap from maple trees, which were on the farm at one time; a coffee mill made in Meriden, Connecticut.  The children of Gerald and Nora Primm are David and Patricia.

The Pfrimmer Family

George Pfrimmer was born in Alsace-Loraine, that little piece of real estate lying between France and Germany and which has been repeatedly soaked in human blood as those two countries have fought over possession of its rich mineral wealth.  In 1841, George, aged 16, determined to come to the land of freedom, crossing the ocean in a sail boat requiring six weeks.  There was a violent storm during which he afterward said: "I made good use of Mother's parting gift – a Bible".

   They landed at New Orleans, then it was the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to reach his friends in Ohio.  He served in the Union Army, was in Sherman's March to the Sea.  In 1869 he, with his wife and three children, came to Lucas County, settling in Ottercreek Township.

   Present descendants known in this county are Saxon Pfrimmer who owns and lives on land in the vicinity of the original Primmer home; his son Bob of Russell; Mrs. Fred (Charlotte) Kelley of Osceola who taught Puckerbrush School at one time; Helen Primmer Price of Centerville; George Ashby, William, his son Thompson, T.D.  and their sister Mrs. Nina Hanks all of Chariton.

Pages 133-138