Sun Aug 01, 2004 4:01 pm by H.Q. Victor
Tawsburg : A New Era
The tale of old days. How much to tell and how much to not speak of. That is a question I dwell on now. My grandfather was a wise man. He taught me wisdom in actions, discipline in work and how to see things around me that I might otherwise miss. He raised me after my father died. So much has changed, so I must put pen to paper and tell you my tale. My name is Steven Bakedpotato. My grandfather, BP to most told me to always tell the truth and to tell it all, so here goes my attempt at the story of TawsBurg : A New Era. This year, nineteen hundred and thirty one, so different from grandpa’s day of the old west. The town has changed so much. I still have the photos that were taken around the time of the great Gang War and later when the President of the United States came to town. Much has been recorded of those days, but, they left some things out that I will try to update you on.
The streets are different now. No longer mud or packed dirt, but concrete. The school house is now a building with over one hundred students attending. Life is so much different now. The town survived the Civil War. The one that put brother against brother, friend against friend. That one happened just a few short years after the President came to town. The country saw James Buchanan come and go as president and then the big election, at least at the time. There was much anger in the election of the next president. His name was Abraham Lincoln. He had the hardest time any president could have. The town was not without casualties, but they were few. The town missed a lot of the fighting that took so many lives.
Tawsburg recovered and began to grow again. It saw times of peace and prosperity. It saw the first of the Automobile, called horseless carriages. A site that it was. Horse and rider, though they had the right of way, often more than not, were spooked by the infernal noise those machines made. I would laugh myself silly as the horses would dance around. But I almost got caught laughing one day when a rider got thrown.
Tawsburg also saw the turn of the century. There was much celebrating then. A new year and a new century all in one. A festive time for all. My grandfather saw the building of the hospital, named after Dr. Esquilax. The Esquilax Memorial Hospital, it was. He died a few years before and the town thought it good to name it after him as Dr. Taw already had the town named after his family. His death hit a lot of people, but, today his granddaughter carries on the family tradition. She is a fine surgeon in her own right, even though many in the business world frown on a working woman. The turn saw a lot of losses of friends and loved ones. But it also saw the new beginnings of another generation. So many to tell of, where to start. But lest I forget, the hardest time of all.
It was called the Great War. Never was one like it before, and many believe there never will again. President Wilson declared war on Germany that brought Americans into the fight. Only a few from the town were of needed age to fight and were called up. The war over the ocean. Hard to imagine what it was like. So many died in it. Such a hard time for all.
Then as if the country needed more heaped on it, came the Great Depression only a couple of years ago. It had been growing fro the early nineteen twenties up to the stock market crash of nineteen twenty nine. The town had grown up till this time. Business had risen with the active marketing brought out west by the railroads. Times became hard for people. But, as always, the town pulled together, sharing what was needed, none going without. The town had always been about family. From the days of Bargib as sheriff and Indy running the paper, to sw teaching in the school room. They and we all look out for each other, no matter what. Never giving up hope. And we survived all that the world threw us.
Now that I have you a little closer to the present, I will tell you of the changes around the town and introduce you to the people here. Family business’s stayed in the families a lot of the time. The children following the ways fo their fathers who followed their fathers in that old west town ages ago.
Thus begins my story. I run the Emporium called The Download. I know, after all these years, I could not bring myself to change the name. After all, my grandfather, Bakedpotato built it from the ground up. I see him every where in the store. I still sell all manner of goods and hang announcements for projects for people to see. Information is every where for any who need it. I let my daughter help out from time to time, but I want her to study hard in school.
The only business that has fallen away, was the livery stable. With the new carriages arriving, there was not much need of it, so the owner sold it and moved to a place on the edge of the county There was still need of having horses shod. Saddles could be bought there for riding. This was after all, the west. The horse would never disappear all together.
Edited by - Finalday on 8/1/2004 5:53:38 PM