Luther Albertus Brewer

“ In 1838, when I first pitched my tent at Ivanhoe, Linn county had but few white inhabitants, possessed but few attractions for one accustomed to the society of one of the old Federal colonies, and was entirely destitute of political or judicial organization. Everything that the eye could behold appeared in a rude state of nature. Vast prairies which extended for miles presented no evidences of civilization, no familiar sound like that of the woodman's axe appeared to interrupt the solemn stillness of an uninhabited wilderness. ”

“ We say nothing we do not think, and manifest no feelings which are not those of our daily life and our most habitual enjoyments, our talisman against trouble, and our best reward for exertion—a leaf, a flower, a fine passage of music, or poetry, or painting, a belief in a thousand capabilities of earth and man, give us literally as much delight as we say they do. ”

“ Sages have sung of the charms seen in the face of such solitudes and I would say that I never felt nearer the great Creator and Ruler of the universe than when in regions before untrod by civilized man, where the forces of nature reigned supreme, and no sounds broke the silence except the hoo-hooing of owls, the drumming of pheasants, the bugle notes of the swan, the quacking of smaller fowls, the barking of prairie wolves, and in a timbered country, the hungry, desolate howl of the large wolf, and sometimes, though seldom, the piteous wail of the panther. ”

“ One may say “Shakespeare and Love,” and put himself at once in the midst of a bevy of bright damsels, as sweet as rosebuds. “Shakespeare and Life” puts before one the whole world of youth, and spirit, and life itself.
“Hunt and Cheerfulness” are inseparable in the mind of one who knows the story of his life and its struggles. ”

“ The village of Waubeek has a ladies' improvement club, and they have built over a mile of fine cement sidewalk.
As one rides over the great state of Iowa and sees its flocks and herds, its fine homes, cities, towns, and villages, the bounteous crops, and notes the intelligence and contentment of its people, we are led with the red men of virgin days to exclaim "E-A-WAH," the beautiful land, and no fairer spot can be found in its broad domain than Maine township, of which we are all proud to be residents and citizens. ”

“ Hunt’s gentleness and cheerfulness are shown in his essays, as well as in his poetry. Perhaps none of his essays evidences these qualities of his heart and mind more forcibly than “A Day by the Fire,” which was written for the Reflector in 1812, when he was twenty-eight years of age. “I am one of those that delight in a fireside,” he begins, at once thereby telling us that he loves kindliness and cheerfulness. For no man who loves a fire on the hearth, especially a fire made of old wood, can be a sour old curmudgeon. It is as impossible as it is for one not to love a sweet little girl. ”

“ Need I tell you how bravely and how well the army of the Union settled these questions? The men who lie silent beneath our feet and their comrades, have taught the South, and Great Britain, and the world, that the belt of country usually known as the North is the heart and power of the Republic. It is the strong arm that pushes the car of civilization in the new world. It is the second Defender of the faith of our Forefathers. It has fought the good fight, and many of its bravest sons have gone to their reward. ”

“ On the flat iron point where the road forks was erected the first school house in that vicinity and is still standing as a monument to the men who were not afraid to do what they knew to be right regardless of the whims and petty clamorings of dissatisfaction that continually sway committees from the paths of rectitude and right. From this nucleus of education there go forth its quota of youth each year to enter higher institutions of learning or grapple with the more serious problems of life. ”

“ In Hunt’s correspondence, Dickens saw evidence that he was “sometimes over-clouded with the shadow of affliction, but more often bright and hopeful, and at all times sympathetic: taking a keen delight in all beautiful things—in the exhaustless world of books and art, in the rising genius of young authors, in the immortal language of music, in trees and flowers, and old memorial nooks of London and its suburbs ”

“ He never spared himself. He forgot himself, but he never forgot the college. His works do follow him. These works which remain with us are the strong and united faculty which he organized, and which he inspired with his own high ideals, the noble standard of scholarship to which he elevated the curriculum, the beautiful campus, which is a wonder of improvement when we contrast it with what it was when his hands first touched it, and the example of industry and energy which his life has furnished. ”

“ There is not a more admirable trait in one’s character than that of cheerfulness. Combined with that other virtue named by Stevenson, gentleness, and what more is needed to make a companionable and a beloved man.
These two attributes were possessed in an emphatic way both by Stevenson and by Leigh Hunt. That’s why some of us are so fond of Hunt. That’s why he is growing in esteem as he is becoming better known to lovers and students of the literature produced in England during the first half of the nineteenth century. ”

“ Under the broad and clear skies of the religious, political, and intellectual tolerance of America they felt the realization of the unfulfilled dreams of the glorious but unsuccessful struggles of their ancestors a century ago. Such a fine spirit towards the highest ideals in life and civilization, combined with inexhaustible energy and patience in industrial pursuits, has made this people loyal to our institutions and useful to the development and progress of our country. ”

“ In the main the newspaper men of the county have been men to the manner born, with a knowledge of the business from the ground up, men to whom the smell of printer's ink is as essential to their enjoyment of life as the scent of the sea to a sailor. If, as Elbert Hubbard tells us, art is the expression of man's joy in his work, then nine-tenths of the newspaper men of Linn county have been real artists, for they have stuck to their papers when they might have made heaps more money in some other line of business. ”

“ But few of the present generation know all there is about Judge Thompson. Born and reared in the state of Pennsylvania of Scotch parentage, with a fair academical education, admitted to the bar when a little past twenty-one, he came to Linn county in 1853, and at once leaped into prominence as a lawyer and politician. In quickness of mind, versatility in extremity, readiness of retort, flashings of wit, volubility of speech, touches of pathos, flights of eloquence, and geniality of disposition, and popularity with the masses, he had no superior in eastern Iowa, if he had an equal. ”

“ What strength of character and determination of purpose these early settlers showed in the face of difficulty and danger is truly admirable. What noble ideals they had, and how earnestly and well they strove for their attainment. The present prosperity is due in no small degree to their untiring efforts in laying the foundation of present advantages. Posterity may well hold their names in benediction, and the heart may with pride and reverence swell with admiration for the hardy pioneer whose heritage is now enjoyed. ”

“ With one country, one language, one hope, one aspiration, bent sublimely upon achieving the highest intelligence, virtue, and culture that man can ideal, diffused through a population of five hundred million people, inhabiting one-quarter of the habitable earth with a republican government, is a spectacle that the world has never yet seen, but is to see through us and our children. ”

“ While many of the first settlers did not live to see their plans realized, later descendants sing their praises and embalm the memories of those who made the county, the cities, and the towns what they are today.
Truly it can be said of the settlers of Linn county that they were a sturdy class of men and women, of whom their descendants may be justly proud. And the old pioneers who remain—when they reflect on the past and recall the days of old lang syne—cannot refrain from shedding affectionate tears for those who have gone hence. ”

“ Yet not alone in industrial lines has Iowa set the pace for the states. In politics she has crowded New England off the stage, and bold Ohio sits quietly at her feet. In literature and in arts she stands unashamed. Comfort and culture walk hand in hand, and happiness is a perennial contagion. ”

“ Complain of markets in these modern times and then think of your grandmother when she was a blooming bride, listening through the toilsome days and anxious nights for the wagon bringing home the husband from a distant market with calico and jeans purchased with dressed pork sold at a dollar and a half a hundred, and maybe bringing home a little money, worth far less per yard than either calico or jeans. Maybe it is all for the best, human character was being formed for the development of a great and loyal and progressive state to shine forever among the stars of the federal union.... ”

“ There is an interest, and a charm peculiarly its own in tracing a stream that has grown to be a river back to its head waters in some lake or mountain spring. And when instead of a river we trace backward a college to its source and fountain head, this interest and charm come to possess a sacred value and are full of hallowed associations. ”

“ The bounteous crops, the high prices of all farm produce, the solid improvements being made, the phenomenal price of land—and it is still soaring—all mark a prosperous, happy, and contented people, loyal, honest, industrious, hospitable, ready always to entertain the stranger within the gates. Farm life no longer carries with it the dreary isolation and monotony of early pioneer life. The work is done with modern machinery. Telephones extend to every home in the township. Rural delivery takes the mail each morning to their doors, and the latest literature is found on their library tables. ”

“ In those days the Catholic settlers came for miles around to Cedar Rapids, and assisted at divine service whenever the goodly priest found it possible to come among them. In wagons drawn by oxen they wended their way from the western part of the county, from Fairfax, and along to the Benton county border line, and even beyond. Often their journey meant days of delay owing to impassable ways and washed out bridges. All honor to those pioneer Catholics who so prized their religion and their faith. No wonder that seed sown under such trying circumstances brought forth fruit which abides. ”

“ It is doubtless a repetition of the history of many other townships, but we, its citizens, have a local pride in its beauty, its bounty, its prosperity, its boundless hospitality. No finer cattle, hogs, horses, sheep, and poultry can be found on the face of the earth than are raised in Maine township. The physical, moral, social, intellectual, and financial condition of the people is on a high plane, and shows a steady growth and development through all the years since the first settlement. ”

“ From this point of view, therefore, the history of Iowa's superb soils begins with first steps in rock making. The very oldest rocks of the Mississippi Valley have contributed something to making our soils what they are, and every later formation laid down over the surface of Iowa, or regions north of it, has furnished its quota of materials to the same end. The history of Iowa's soils, therefore, embraces the whole sweep of geologic times. ”