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%