A chilly start of November

October went out like a lion with snow and bitterly cold temperatures. The forecast for next week looks more like a forecast for mid winter than for early November. 

To the normal reds, yellows, and oranges of Autumn, we added white.

Another picture of fall colors.

We had had a couple frosts already this fall, but many cold-sensitive plants had survived if they were in protected places. Below is a picture of my tomato plants, which were still green on Friday morning.

The leaves were falling on Saturday, covering the streets. There are now enough leaves down to make raking worthwhile.

Some farmers have completed their harvest but there are others who still have soybeans in the fields. I learned that soybean plants need to be dry in order to harvest them, which means that there are only a few hours each day to work in the fields this late in the season.

The Iroquois River is usually quite low this time of the year but our recent rains have swollen it so that it is setting daily records.

The lot that once was the site of the Johnny Rusk building was recently filled, graded, and seeded. The recent rains made it mud and someone did not have the sense to stay off it.

The Airport announced that they have purchased a plane for renting to area pilots and for its planned flight school. See here.

The Parks for People Campaign has received another challenge grant. If they can raise $50,000 by the end of the year, that amount will be matched. They have received one grant as I write this for $2500. See here for more.

The Jasper County Tourism Commission met on Friday morning. It heard reports on three events or projects that it helped fund. First up was the Remington murals. Remington is very happy with what they got and hope to do some more in the future, possibly two years from now.

Little Cousin Jasper Festival reported that they had wonderful attendance on Saturday, when the weather was nice, and not much on Sunday when the weather was not nice. The magic show's five performances were well attended. The Festival was told to get ready for lower funding from the Tourism Commission because the Commission will be switching to sponsorships next year. The Commission looked at the sponsorship plans that the Festival had prepared and suggested changes that they thought would be improvements.

Next up was a report of the Memories Alive at Weston Cemetery event. (I gave the report.) This year thanks to sponsorships and a generous grant from the Jasper-Newton Foundation, the event did not lose money as it did in its initial year. One of the members of the Commission suggested we reach out to descendants and relatives of those we highlight. The Walk did that to some extent this year, but it can do more. (More in the letter at the end of the post.)

The Director of Tourism would like to get the Discover Jasper County Facebook page up to 2500 followers.  Their page is here. 

The grand opening of the new Holiday Express and Suites in Remington is November 14 at 11:00 EST. The major complaint that they have had so far is that cell phones can switch time zones as people walk from one end of the hotel to the other.

Autumn Trace had about 200 tricks and treaters on the real Halloween. I was wondering how many people would show up.

Finally, here is a letter to the editor that was published in the Rensselaer Republican from the chairwoman of the Memories Alive cemetery walk. You may have already read it in the paper.

Letter to the Editor: 

If you look around Weston Cemetery, you will realize that every single person buried there has a story to tell. Some of their stories are compelling and some tell of family connections or struggles; some are encouraging and enlightening, while others may be short and simple. None-the-less, their stories are waiting to be told. 

Once again, on the third Saturday of September, the “Memories Alive at Weston Cemetery” walk took place. Although it rained that afternoon, the crowd that gathered was prepared with rain gear in hand to help honor the lives of eight residents and to learn interesting facts and trivia about the cemetery. Some of the attendees came from Michigan, Iowa, and Virginia, curious to hear the stories the eight actors had to tell. The cemetery walk was a success. 

On behalf of the Memories Alive at Weston Cemetery Committee, our thanks go to Beaver & Beaver P.C., eMbers Venue & Station, Rensselaer Monument, Inc. Steinke Funeral Home, Jackson Funeral Chapels Rensselaer, The Law Office of Clifford M Robinson, Brown’s Garden & Floral Shoppe, Autumn Trace, Chasing the Past Genealogical Services, for their sponsorships. Also, Jasper Newton Foundation, Jasper County Tourism Commission, and Wendy and Rick Odle for financial support. Many thanks to Rensselaer Printco, JORDANS, Willow Switch, and Reinforcements Design for helping promote this event in numerous ways.  Most of all, thank you to the community for coming back to help celebrate the lives of a few of those who found beautiful Weston Cemetery as their final resting place. 

Also, the research and planning has begun for next year’s cemetery walk. Come back to see who we will be honoring on Saturday, September 19, 2020, at 2:00 pm at the next “Memories Alive at Weston Cemetery” walk! 

Cordially,
Linda Buschman
Memories Alive at Weston Cemetery Chairwoman
Vice President, Jasper County Historical Society