Schuyler County Days Bygone

This book is basically a collection of some of the columns, now all in one place, which I have been writing since 1954. When I started writing, I was a stringer for several newspapers and other publications. Stringers get paid according to how much the editors decide to print. If I submitted a news item, chances are that staff reporters beat me to it and I got zilch for my efforts, but nobody was writing local history so I could be fairly sure of earning income with that. I would interview some of the oldest area residents. They told interesting stories but I had to learn, also, how to research and “flesh” out their information. I had detested history in school but, once I began to learn local history, I was “hooked.”

Two years after I began doing local history stories, the Town of Reading Board officially made me town historian. In 1960, when organizing an historical society for the county was proposed, I became a charter member. Four years later – with help – I started the Society’s quarterly “Journal,” presenting local history stories to members.

I became Schuyler County historian in 1980 when my predecessor passed away. Some of the stories in this book have been rewritten through the years to be in print more than once. The story about Irelandville, where I live, is a good example of how different versions can be melded into one as more details show up.

At times, to choose a topic, I would ask someone to pick two numbers within specific limits. One number determined which file drawer to open, either at home or at the Historical Society, while the second number indicated which file to open. Voila! The next column was in the making. Actually, there has been no shortage of ideas even after more than 60 years. It’s just a case of deciding which will be next.