In this caricature of LaPorte mayor and attorney Lemuel Darrow, note the details: He’s handing the police chief a new ordinance and signing another with pen and ink. The phone rings off the hook in the background and a key to the city is displayed, along with a tiny Interurban trolley car in the foreground.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Be sure to click on the caricatures to enlarge and see all the fun, intricate details.)
By Fern Eddy Schultz, LaPorte County Historian
In early 1908, it was announced by the La Porte Argus-Bulletin that ensuing issues would contain caricatures of local businessmen of note. Each included a short poem pertinent to that particular individual.
La Porte County Historian Fern Eddy Schultz
Thirty-five of these detailed drawings appeared at various intervals during that year. A complete set of these is in the files of the La Porte County Historical Society Museum. A bound copy, entitled “Men of Affairs” is also available on the shelf in the museum’s Research Library.
All of the caricatures carry a “tag” indicating “M & W,” which is believed to have been the two individuals responsible for creating these drawings. Much research has been done to uncover the answer, but nothing has been located to document this. One idea, at this point, is that perhaps the “W” was for Henry F. Wadsworth, who had been a previous owner of the newspaper, since deceased, but may have been responsible for them. The “M” might be attributable to his daughter, Lulu, who was married to David H. McGill, a locally prominent insurance man, thus being Lulu McGill. Perhaps someone will furnish the true meaning and significance of the “M & W” tag.
The complete list of caricatures includes: Oscar Boklund, Ora Bosserman, James Buck, Clint Cochrane, Harry B. Darling, Lemuel Darrow, J. Vene Dorland, Maurice Fox, Dr. F.E. Freeman, Albert C. Freese, J.J. Guenther, John H. Harding, H.C. Hill, James Koler, F.R. Liddell, Alex Lindgren, George Link, C.G. McDonough, F.W. Meissner, E.F. Michael, William Niles, Chris Noll, Frank Osborn, Dr. D.H. Reeder, W.N. Rumely, Louis C. Sage, Herman Sallwasser, Edward Schafer, E.H. Scott, Fred G. Seymour, Albert Smutzer, George H. Storey, Charles Struss, W.E. Taylor, T.W. Whorwell, and H.W. Worden.
This caricature of Louis Sage includes a reference to his apparent love of hunting, as well as a Sage’s delivery wagon and endorsement of his tasty ice cream.
Examples of the poems for some of these individuals are:
Louis C. Sage:
The boys all say he’s a good fellow
Who makes ice cream rich and yellow
When you ask the girls about his cream,
They always say “Why, it’s just a scream.”
Edward Schafer:
Here is a good musician
That ought to play in the band.
He washes by machinery
Better than you can by hand.
Dr. F.E. Freeman:
Some men have no excuse to live,
And some have not the will,
But Freeman always seems to find
He has a place to fill.
T.W. Whorwell:
Tom! Tom! The fire man,
Sounded his gong and away he ran,
Down the street with a clatter and din
Can drive? Well, I guess he kin.
Oscar Boklund:
The saying is “Clothes make the man.”
But how about the shoes?
Make sure and buy a Walk Over,
‘Tis certain then, you cannot lose.
James H. Buck:
Under the faithful keeper’s care
Are savings more than a few.
The keeper just is he and fair,
With whiskers like DePew.
Clint Cochrane:
On the pole the light is shining
A signal to our chief.
Next, in the jail is pining,
A hobo and a thief.
Mayor Lemuel Darrow:
Look, my good people, and you shall see,
The comely visage of Mayor D.
A man who has worked hard for this old town
A man of energy, push and renown.
Besides the poems, the caricatures themselves depict the occupation of each man.
On your next visit to the museum, view the complete collection of these skillfully drawn caricatures.
FERN EDDY SCHULTZ is official Historian of La Porte County. For more information on the La Porte County Historical Society, its museum and our area’s fascinating history, visit the museum at 2405 Indiana Ave., LaPorte, and www.laportecountyhistory.org.