Heat Wave: 1936

Posted on July 7, 2008 by SCblogger

Just as the Mississippi River is beginning to recede and festivals appear on our riverfront, we suddenly have a new weather focus – summer temperatures. The warmth of July is suddenly here and July warmth will soon melt into the heat of August. As we teeter on the edge of our first 90 degree day*, air conditioners are once again running at full force to keep us cool. Imagine for a moment a heat wave with no, or very little, air conditioning. No home air conditioning to help you sleep, no frozen food section to meander through. Sound uncomfortable? Those were the conditions faced by a large portion of the United States in 1936.

1936 was a year of extremes not only socially and politically, but for weather as well. As the U. S. continued to struggle through the Great Depression, the winter of 1935 – 1936 brought record-breaking bone chilling cold while the summer saw record-breaking heat strike most of the country. Davenport was no exception. Many of the high temperature records set that summer still stand. Drought, grasshoppers, floods (in specific areas), and tornados also added to the natural disasters of the year.

Drought was beginning to plague this region as temperatures began to rise in late June 1936. Cooler weather returned briefly until July5 when the temperature reached 105 degrees**. On July 6 it was 105 degrees again and The Davenport Democrat and Leader evening addition reported the first local heat related death, Mr. Leo Brandmeyer age 32 of Rock Island. The overnight temperature dropped to only 81 degrees before soaring again to 105 degrees on July 7. The Davenport Democrat and Leader reported that day the difference in temperature between January 1936 (low temperature of 22 degrees below zero) and July 7, 1936 (105 degrees) was 127 degrees, a new record temperature swing for one year. That record would be surpassed in only days.

Between July 5 and July 15 the temperature remained above 102 degrees during the day with temperatures only dipping into the 80s at night. The highest temperature came on July 14 when the thermometer hit 111 degrees. With no rain in sight newspapers began to report on crops dying. Adding to the agricultural distress were grasshoppers eating what crops were not withering away in the sun. Only a few hotels and movie theaters had air conditioning. Home cooling systems were still very rare. Families began to live in their basements during the day to keep cool. At night people slept in parks or on lawns trying to find what little comfort there was in the outdoors. The local papers continued to list those who had either died or collapsed from the heat.

In the midst of the heat wave, life went on. 1936 was the year of Davenport’s Centennial. In the midst of the heat wave a huge centennial celebration took place including a Centennial parade which drew an estimated 10,000 people on July 14. The Daily Times printed a 144 page special edition on July 11 to celebrate the Centennial. One person featured was Henry P. Brown a Civil War veteran and G.A.R. member who had been appointed in April 1936 as aide-de-camp for the National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Brown would become a victim of the heat on July 15. On July16 the temperature finally fell under 100 degrees during the day for the first time in fourteen days with an evening temperature in the 70s. July 17 saw another record breaking day, but by July 20 the heat wave had broken and rain began to cool the area. The evening temperature even reached 67 degrees, the coolest temperature since July 3.

An estimated 89 people died locally during the 1936 heat wave. Nationwide the estimate stands at 5,000 dead. Interestingly, the excessive heat was not located in the southern U. S., but in the northern and Midwestern regions. Warmer weather did return, but in spurts intermixed with cooler temperatures as well. The long continuous heat did not come back. A large percentage of crops were lost that year which added to the misery of the depression. Even the Mississippi River was hit hard as it dropped to 1.0 foot below normal on August 15, 1936, its lowest recorded level in the Quad City region. This surely was a summer to forget, and most definitely not one to repeat.

Highs temperatures still on record from 1936: June 29 – 104° F, July 5 – 105°F, July 6° – 105°F, July 7 – 105°F, July 8 – 104°F, July 9 – 102°F, July 10 – 105°F, July 11 – 107°F, July 12 – 108°F, July 13 – 107°F, July 14 – 111°F, July 15 – 106°F, July 17 – 103°F, July 26 – 106°F, August 12 – 100°F, August 14 – 105°F, August 15 – 101°F, August 18 – 106°F, August 21 – 99°F, August 22 – 101°F, August 24 – 100°F.

*All temperatures are in Fahrenheit.
**Temperature records are based from Moline, Illinois as Davenport did not keep official records until the 1980s. Both are part of the Quad-City region.

(posted by Amy D.)

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Closed for the Fourth — Open for the Fifth!

Posted on July 3, 2008 by SCblogger

The Special Collections Center will be closed tomorrow for the
Fourth of July.

But we will be open Saturday, the fifth of July, during our normal hours!

Have a wonderful–and safe–Independence Day!

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The Death of Colonel George Davenport

Posted on June 30, 2008 by SCblogger

When most people think of the Fourth of July, they tend to think of freedom, fireworks, and food.  Readers of early Davenport history probably think of the same things, but with one addition—murder.

On July 4 of 1845, several men were thinking of the money—said to be at least $20,000—that Colonel George Davenport was rumored to keep in the safe in his home. Two or three of the would-be thieves rowed or rafted to the Mississippi River island (now called Arsenal Island) where Colonel Davenport’s mansion still stands today. It was the perfect time to break in—they figured that everyone in the Davenport household would be attending the big Independence Day celebration in Rock Island, Illinois.  They would all be rich by nightfall.

Two of their assumptions were wrong.

Colonel Davenport had not been feeling well that day, and had decided to stay home. As the men moved through the house to the safe, the Colonel walked in on them. They shot him in the leg and bound him hand and foot. To add to their frustration, when they forced the Colonel to open the safe, there was less than four hundred dollars inside.

Denied their unjust reward, the angry men dragged the Colonel into his own bedroom, where they beat him unconscious and stole a watch and chain, a gold piece, and a gun from a dresser. They fled, leaving the Colonel for dead.

Three passersby, who had planned to spend the day fishing off the island, heard Colonel Davenport’s cries for help. One of them rushed to the Fourth of July picnic and brought back Doctor Brown, who revived the Colonel enough so that he could give a description of the robbers. Unfortunately, his injuries were severe and he died of them that night.

John Baxter—who had been a friend of the Davenport family and a visitor to the house—John Long, Arron Long, Granville Young, and William Fox were eventually charged with murder. William Fox managed to escape before his trial, never to be seen again, but the rest were convicted. After two appeals, John Baxter managed to get his death sentence commuted to life in prison. The others were hanged—in fact, Arron Long was hanged twice, as the rope broke the first time.

The punishment did not stop there. According to Gayle A. McCoy, an author* and historian, the bodies of the three hanged men were donated to a Dr. P. P. Gregg for dissection and study. Dr. Gregg later buried Arron Long and traded Granville Young to another doctor for a barrel of rum, but he kept the skeleton of John Long on display in the hospital steward’s office at the Rock Island Arsenal. Gregg’s widow gave the skeleton to Dr. Charles Kalke of Chicago, who in turn passed it back to the Arsenal in 1940.

John Long was put on display at the Rock Island County Courthouse, and then at the Hauberg Museum at the Black Hawk State Park in Rock Island, Illinois. On September 14, 1978, John was buried in the Dickson Pioneer Cemetery in Rock Island, finally retiring from his unexpectedly active death.

Three others were tried for the Colonel’s death: Robert Birch, William Redden, and Grant Redden were charged as accessories before the fact. Birch was sentenced to life in prison, but escaped, only to be gunned down three months later. William Redden served the whole of his one year sentence. The charges were dropped against Grant Redden, but he moved away soon after, anyway—a smart move, as the Colonel had been a prominent, popular man.

So, while you are out and about this Friday, give a thought for poor George Davenport, and heed the lesson that seems clear from his senseless death: if you are invited to a Fourth of July picnic, go.

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* A Clearing in the Forest, 1980 (SC 977-769 McC)

(posted by Sarah)

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Extraordinary Ordinances

Posted on June 23, 2008 by SCblogger

Often overlooked on the library shelves, City Ordinances offer a unique exploration of a community’s history. The Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center has a fine selection of published Revised Davenport City Ordinances on its shelves. Inside we learn how ward boundaries were adjusted over the years and when streets were paved. These ordinances are as common today as they were over one hundred years ago. Sometimes, though, we find ordinances that do not seem to stand the test of time as well. Listed below are a few examples of those ordinances from The Revised Ordinances of the City of Davenport, 1857. For space, some ordinances have been condensed to only one or two sections. Original spelling was also maintained. Enjoy!

Chapter VI: An Ordinance to prevent bathing in front of Davenport. Sect. 1 of 2. No person shall be allowed to go into the river to bathe, in front of the City of Davenport, after one half hour before sun-rise, and until half an hour after sun-set. Sect. 2 of 2. Any person violating the provision of this Ordinance shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a fine of five dollars for each offense. Passed and approved, June 24, 1843. While modesty may have played a part in this ordinance, the city had a bustling levee during this time with boats loading and unloading both passengers and cargo. It certainly would not have been safe to have people bathing in the water with all that activity.

Chapter XVI: An Ordinance to provide for the appointment by the City Council of… Sexton. Sec. 5 of 5. It shall be the duty of the Sexton to attend the City Cemetery at all hours when called upon, and shall dig and prepare graves in the usual way, the same five feet deep, and of sufficient length and breadth to admit the coffin (or rough box to contain it, if one should be used.). He shall keep a register… [where] they are buried. He shall see that all graves are properly filled up and rounded, and make a full report…to the City Council. He shall receive compensation therefore, for a person of ten years, or upwards, the sum of two dollars, and for children under ten years, the sum of one dollar and fifty cents, and if required to attend to the duties in the night time, he shall be paid one dollar additional for each grave dug. Passed and approved May 10, 1849. I thought this ordinance gave an interesting description of the duties involved with being the Sexton. This position has been phased out, but the City Cemetery still exists near downtown Davenport.

Chapter XIX: An Ordinance to prevent the increase of, and to prohibit dogs from running at large in the City of Davenport. Sec. 1 of 4. It shall not be lawful for any animal of the dog kind to run at large in the City of Davenport, from the first day of June until the first day of September of each year, unless the same be securely muzzled, so that no injury can possible result from the bite of such animal. While this may have been associated with an increase in rabies during warmer months, it makes one wonder about the rest of the year.

Chapter XXX: An Ordinance to prohibit Horses from running at large in the City of Davenport. Sect. 1 of 4. No horse, mare or mule above the age of six months, shall be permitted to run at large in the City of Davenport. Passed and approved December 4, 1851. I’m fairly certain that the city no longer allows any horse, mare or mule of any age to run at large.

Chapter XLI: An Ordinance providing for the abatement and removal of nuisances…and to regulate the use of sidewalks. Sect. 22 of 24. All dance-house, beer-houses, beer halls, houses of ill-fame, grog-shops, drinking saloons, where beer, ale, porter, cider, or alcoholic drinks, whether the same be alcohol in part, or mixed liquors by any other name, where people shall resort on the first day of the week (commonly called Sunday) for the purpose of drinking, dancing, card playing, games of amusement, wrestling, shooting, or where persons do assemble, whether with the intention or otherwise, on said day of the week, and shall dance, waltz, play cards, games of amusement, or conduct themselves in a boisterous manner, by making loud and unusual noises, or playing of musical instruments, are hereby declared unlawful, and such places, tenements, houses, and premises, are declared nuisances, and shall be abated as is herein provided by this ordinance, and if necessary, the Marshal…may command and use the police force …in preventing such nuisances on said first day of the week (commonly called Sunday). Passed and approved November 30, 1848, and May 15, 1855. This may be the only ordinance I have found so far that involves wrestling and waltzing – at least in the same section.

Chapter L: An Ordinance licensing Shows, Exhibitions, Performances, Concerts, Etc. Sect. 1 of 4. No person shall give any of the Shows…named in the next section, for pay, and to which license fees are affixed, unless they have a license therefor, signed by the City Clerk. Sec. 2 of 4. There shall be paid for Shows…the following fees to wit: 1st. For every Show of any wild beast, or beasts, fowls, or birds, or monsters, or freaks of nature, the sum of twenty dollars. 3d. For each performance, or attempt at performance of any feats of jugglery, slight of hand, or necromancy, the sum of ten dollars. Passed and approved August 27, 1847. While licensing is still important in city ordinances to the present, I’m not sure when the last performances of necromancy or monsters were licensed.

We hope you enjoyed a little peak into issues and concerns of the past!
(posted by Amy D.)

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The CCC and the CWA

Posted on June 19, 2008 by SCblogger

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “new deal” established a variety of programs, sometimes referred to as “Alphabet Agencies” with the intent of providing Americans beleaguered by the Great Depression with relief. Two programs created in 1933 which greatly impacted the lives of Iowans were the CCC – Civilian Conservation Corps and the CWA – Civil Works Administration.

The CWA – Civil Works Administration – paid an average of $15 a week and those employed worked mainly in construction jobs such as repairing schools, laying sewer pipes, and building roads. The duration of this program was limited to the winter and spring of 1933 – 1934. Scott County, Iowa benefited immensely from the works of the CWA and its off-shoot, the CWS – Civil Works Service. These works are documented in the Illustrated record of C.W.A. Projects, Scott County, Iowa, 1933-1934 (call number SC 352.7 Ill) with photographs by H. E. Dissette. Many of these images are posted on the Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive. Use the search term “civil works administration” to view them, or click here.

The CCC took unmarried men aged 18 – 25 from relief rolls and sent them into the woods and fields to plant trees, build parks, roads, and fight soil erosion on federal lands. Those employed earned $30 a month and left an environmental legacy throughout the entire United States, particularly Iowa. Did you know that Backbone State Park (located about 125 miles northwest of Davenport near Manchester, IA) has a museum about CCC camp life? Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources also has a terrific website with images and oral history interview transcriptions of former Iowa CCC members.

Don’t miss the opportunity to attend the Tuesday, June 24, 2008 music and storytelling program by Bill Jamerson about the Dollar a Day Boys of the CCC at our Main Street library location at 10 a.m. And be sure to stop by the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center to see our display on these New Deal “Alphabet Agencies”!

(posted by Karen)

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History’s Mysteries: An Image of Prohibition?

Posted on June 16, 2008 by SCblogger

While researching a possible blog entry about Prohibition and Davenport’s various coping mechanisms, we found an image in our collections that gave us pause:

This group image of Thiedemann’s Atheletic Club was taken on April 12, 1933, at Thiedemann’s , a brewery and tap at 1848 West 3rd Street. As you can see, the men are holding half-full mugs. A note of the back of the photograph says that it was taken “shortly” after Prohibition was repealed.

Here’s the problem: The 21st Amendment, repealing Prohibition, wasn’t signed until December 5, 1933. The first state to ratify the Amendment (Michigan) had signed on April 10, 1933, but Iowa didn’t hop on board until July. So either these men were celebrating the repeal a tad early by taking incriminating photos in a speakeasy that sponsored a sports team, or the date of the front of the image is wrong. Or there was something else going on.

The simplest explanation is near beer.

Near beer was a legal exception that kept some breweries open and productive. Non-alcoholic beer wasn’t the same as Davenporters were used to, but at least it didn’t explode like the homebrewed stuff often did. And it was easy enough to put the zing back in with a shot or two of whatever the local speakeasy or neighborhood bootlegger had on sale. There were also rumors that a few local breweries—always nameless in the newspaper articles– often ‘forgot’ to keep the alcohol content down if there weren’t any federal agents around to remind them.

According to the city directories, Henry Thiedemann sold soft drinks, which included near beer. Of course, many other innocent beverages could have been in those mugs. But in that case, why was someone concerned enough to make a note on the back of the photo?

But regardless of exactly what is in those mugs the young men are holding, we are sure Thiedemann’s—and the photographer—meant no harm.

Eight months later, it was all moot, anyway.

(posted by Sarah)

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A Second Flood of Images

Posted on June 11, 2008 by SCblogger

As we appear to be facing another round of flood-like behavior from the Mississippi this year, it seems fitting to continue our memorial series of high waters past with these images of the 1993 Flood. This was the flood, you may remember, that outdid the Great Flood of ’65* by cresting at 22.63 feet on the 9th of July. Which just goes to show that ‘better late than never’ isn’t always true.

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A view of John O’Donnell Stadium Lake from 2nd Street, near the Centennial Bridge off ramp.

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The corner of 2nd and Gaines. They aren’t kidding about the Detour sign in the center, there.

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South Perry Street succumbs.
Please note that the far white building in the right upper corner is actually in Rock Island, Illinois.

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A citizen parks his transportation in an unoccupied metered space.

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Bix contemplates the Mississippi from the side of the city Parking Building.

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Lock and Dam 15 is wide open, as is the draw of the Government Bridge.
And the River Front sign by the traffic light, there, needs to be moved a few streets back . . .

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The view from a lofty corner of Brady and 2nd Street. In the distance, the bandshell in LeClaire Park is still holding its own.

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At least two residents appear to be enjoying the flood.

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*The 1965 Flood (which crested at 22.48 feet) could still be called The Flood of the Century . . . depending on when you start counting.

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A Grand Lawn Fete

Posted on June 9, 2008 by SCblogger

Iowa’s soft summer evenings beckon us outdoors for parties and celebrations. On June 14, 1897, Henry and Clara Petersen hosted a party for a cause – the Ladies Industrial Relief Society (LIRS) – and they entertained an estimated 2,000 guests!

At their residence in Marquette Heights just above Eighth Street, near Riverview Terrace Park in Davenport, the couple created what by all newspaper accounts sounds like the party of the century to raise money for the “worthy poor” of Davenport. Billed as a Charity Lawn Fete, admission tickets were sent out by LIRS President Phebe Sudlow. People were invited to purchase the tickets at fifty cents apiece for the chance to be a guest at the palatial home of the Petersens where views of the Mississippi River, Davenport, and the entire city of Rock Island awaited them.

Grounds opened at 5 o’clock in the evening with Ernst Otto’s Orchestra providing music. A dance floor, a lemonade well created from a hollowed out tree stump, and electric lights peeping from the trees created a setting “much more beautiful than words can paint”. The Tri-City Railway Company put every available car into use and the Northwest Davenport line was packed as well. Scenery from the Burtis House Theatre was utilized and 1,200 chairs were set up in front of a stage that provided vocal and instrumental musical selections by some of Davenport’s most talented citizens. A newspaper article from the June 18th Davenport Weekly Leader states all the chairs were filled and many in attendance stood to enjoy the evening entertainment.

All this, plus refreshments! The newspaper stated “Robed in all its beauty it will be a place where we can go and enjoy ourselves and at the same time be doing that which will be for the benefit of the poor and needy.“

Ephemera from 1897 LIRS Lawn Fete

The items pictured here are considered “ephemera” – items which are printed for a specific purpose and then usually discarded. Ephemera can help us invoke clearer pictures of historic events. With this ticket in hand, can you picture yourself on a trolley car dressed in your finest summer attire headed for an unforgettable view of the Mississippi River and an evening of music and fun while fundraising? What an evening it must have been!

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A Davenport Connection: The Early Life of ‘Big Nose Kate’ Horony

Posted on June 5, 2008 by SCblogger

For those fans of the Old West, we present to you the possible early life of Big Nose Kate, also known as Katie Elder, Kate Fisher, and Katherine Cummings–Doc Holliday’s girl, she was, living in Tombstone at the time of the famous gunfight between the Clantons and the Earps at the OK Corral.

But about 17 years earlier, she lived in Davenport, Iowa.

According to documents that were reportedly found in her effects, Kate was born Mary Katherine Horony in 1850, one of the seven children of Dr. Michael Horony, a prominent and wealthy physician in Budapest. According to a few sources, she was well-educated, and spoke several languages.

In 1860, Mary Kate left Hungary with her family for Davenport, Iowa. Why we do not know, but a clue may be that there was a small, but prominent Hungarian population already established in this city by the time they arrived.

Dr. Horony and his second wife, Katherina, died just a month apart in the spring of 1865. His obituary appears in the Davenport Democrat. Both their names are on the City Sexton Monthly Reports to City Council indicating the dates buried and where the graves are located in Davenport City Cemetery. 

Though the orphaned Mary Kate and her younger siblings first lived in the household of Gustav Susemihl, the husband of an older sister, their guardianship was eventually given to Otto Smith, a Davenport attorney. Western lore says that Mary Kate didn’t care much for this turn of events and took off. According to a petition signed by Otto Smith in Dr. Harmony’s probate files, Mary Horony “. . . cannot be found anywhere, because she went as it is said to parts unknown . . .”

These unknown parts may have included St. Louis, Dodge City in Kansas, and Fort Griffin, Texas, working, as it is rumored (but not proven), as a ‘sporting woman.’ It was in Texas, around 1876, that she is said to have first met that gambling, drinking, consumptive dentist John Henry Holliday–who went by the nickname ‘Doc’–and his friend Wyatt Earp.

The rest, as they say, is history, though not part of ours.

But isn’t it interesting to imagine that for a few years, we were part of hers?

(posted by Sarah)

*Part II was posted for this story on September 14, 2011.  Please click here to view.

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A Davenport Success Story: Von Maur, Inc.

Posted on June 2, 2008 by SCblogger

Way back when Davenport was just getting started, general stores, or dry-goods stores, stocked almost everything a person might need, and maybe a few little extras they might want. At the same counter, one could buy a yard of fabric, ten-cent nails, a box or two of buckshot, a barrel of flour, and maybe a length of ribbon for the wife and a few pieces of maple candy for the kids.

As things became settled and Davenporters grew more sophisticated, shops became specialized. It now took visits to at least three stores to run the same errands, though the quality and quantity of goods was much improved, especially when the railroad came through.

Some general dry goods stores remained, and one of these was run by John C. Petersen, who established his store in 1872. Business was good, and Mr. Petersen decided that the newfangled department store idea—sort of putting several specialty shops in one place, would make it even better. He hired Frederick Claussen to design a large red brick building on the corner of 2nd Street and Main and put a sign reading J. H. C. Petersen & Sons over the door.

Petersen’s wasn’t the only game in town. The Boston Store, established in 1887 by Roland Harned, E.C. Pursel, and C. J. Von Maur, went departmental in 1898. The two competed for a while, until John C. Petersen and two of his sons passed away. In 1916, William Petersen sold the business to Mr. Harned and C. J. and Cable Von Maur (Pursel had passed in 1897). The two stores continued, albeit under the same owners.

In 1928, the stores merged in a more public way, and were renamed Petersen Harned Von Maur. This name continued as the business developed and expanded, even when Mr. Harned died, leaving the Von Maur family in sole ownership in 1937. In 1972, the business celebrated its 100th anniversary (that would be the Petersen part) by opening its first mall location in Bettendorf, Iowa. In 1989, the business shortened its name to Von Maur, Inc.

Since then, Von Maur has expanded its stores well beyond the Quad-Cities, but it all began here—just another Davenport success story.

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