The Hometown Treasure October 2012 | Page 28

Withered ... cont. from prev. page Notice To Water Users — Important Consumers of city water are cautioned against using water for sprinkling purposes in excessive quantities during the pending dry weather. The Town Board requests that sprinkling be done in the evening and then for one hour only - from 6:30 to 7:30. By order of the Board of Trustees The Town of Topeka has had city water since 1911; Shipshewana did not get city water until 1967. Since Shipshe residents all relied on private wells no public notices appeared. Corn prices that January were a mere 46 cents a bushel according to a Purdue University report, but by September the price had soared to $1.03. That month, farm sales also began to appear in the Topeka Journal. Those were desperate times coming on the heels of the economic collapse of 1929. Corn wasn’t the only crop affected by the brutal summer. The October 15, 1936 issue reported that Indiana’s mint crop (much of which was grown right here) was also short. While 1935 had seen the production of 462,000 pounds, 1936’s figures were a mere pg 26 · The Hometown Treasure · October ‘12 152,000 pounds. Killing frosts, dry weather, and a reduction in planted acreage were held responsible. Tom Franks, a Wawaka native, was 15 years old in 1936. In a story related to the drought of 2012, Franks told a News-Sun reporter, “The corn only got to about 3 feet high, and with no water it just turned brown.” In those days corn wasn’t planted until the first of June because of the chance of frost. Franks also says that he still remembers the look on his mother’s face when his dad came home that day after the banks had failed (1929) and announced that there was no money. One positive result from the 1936 drought was a new interest in hybrids. Prior to that time, seed corn came from the best ears of a farmer’s previous crop. There were no seed salesmen continued on next page Get Rid Of Those Horses! In a sister publication, The People’s Exchange, there was a large increase in the number of horses available for sale because of loss of grazable pastures and high hay prices. Normally there is an increase of horses for sale late in the year. This year the dry conditions pushed those numbers up in July already. 2008-2012 July Publication Dates Number of Classified Ads in The People’s Exchange for Horses for Sale Year Early July Mid-July Late July Totals 2008........................................ 37.................... 43..................... 45...............125 2009........................................ 52.................... 45..................... 56...............153 2010........................................ 33.................... 43......................59...............135 2011...................................... 46.................. 34................... 45............. 125 2008-2011 Average............42.................... 41..................... 51.............. 134 2012 Totals........................... 62.................. 70.................... 84...............216 Increase Over Average.....+20..................+29...................+33.............. +82 Percent Increase................ 48%................71%..................65%............. 61%