Advice from 1890 is still applicable today

Sometimes you just have to go back in time for a bit of comic relief. I found this article entitled “Married and Skipped” in the 1898 McCook Tribune, May 6th edition and I had to share it before I lost it again! “Samuel Mellen was up before Squire Berry, Tuesday night, charged with being responsible for the unfortunate condition of a young woman named Bertha Dubarko. After much consultation they agreed to marry, and at about midnight County Judge Bishop was called up, a license procured, and Squire Berry performed the ceremony. The groom hired a room at a hotel for the bride and skipped town by the first train, and with money loaned by a sister of the unfortunate girl.”

Now in all honesty, that story isn’t that funny until you read the last line and find that the bride’s sister handed over money for the groom to skedaddle out of town. He must have been a piece of work!

Moving along comes this sage advice from again from the McCook Tribune: “Either run a town with a vim or just sell out and leave it. One of two things must be done-run the town for all it is worth, get up steam and keep it up-or quit the whole thing, slide out and let nature take its course. Do you want trade? Bid for it. Do you want business to come to your town? Encourage those who do come. Do you want a prosperous town, where people can come who are disposed to make homes? Then bury from sight all spite work-work no more for a few individuals, but all work together for common prosperity and mutual benefit. Wake up, rub your eyes, roll up your sleeves and go to work. Don’t work with fear and trembling but take it for granted that blood will tell. Leave results to themselves, borrow no trouble, but all unite to make it the biggest kind of city.”

So, and this is personal opinion, if you want to change things in the place that you live, as in McCook, you need to be involved in at least two things you really believe in. McCook has so many wonderful clubs, organizations, churches, schools, etc., it won’t be hard to find someone who needs your special talents, and everyone has a talent that can be utilized! In the reverse, if you are the person who appoints committee members, selects groups to be involved, or looks for someone to serve on a board, don’t go back to the same old people every time because even though it is much easier to ask a person you know will serve, it serves our community better to expand horizons when it comes to volunteers. It is up to those in “power” positions to involve as many different people as possible in the processes of making McCook a town that responds to its citizens. Fresh faces and new ideas don’t come from committees whose membership is stagnant.

One more McCook Tribune tidbit for the week, again from the 1890’s: “Democracy hasn’t intelligence enough to comprehend how anything can exist that will benefit a manufacturer and at the same time an employee. They can’t realize how men will be thrown out of employment if the manufactories are compelled to suspend operations. Lo, the poor bourbon!”

Our library is up and running! This Saturday, October 3rd, at 1 PM, is our monthly meeting which is open to the public. Our new location is the Temple Building, 322 Norris Ave, Suite 207. There is an elevator for those who need assistance. Make genealogy one of your two areas of volunteering if history interests you !