The Story of Lebanon.

            (page 366) The history of all early settlements in the middle west are alike in many things, but there are so many points of dissimilarity that each one forms a varied and interesting chapter in state history. The fame of the little log cabin colony called Lebanon had already reached the larger outside world, for Jeremiah Morrow. had sat in the great council of the republic, and Francis Dunlevy elected judge of the First judicial circuit by the legislature, before the little scattering bunch of primitive dwellings was enrolled in the annals of the Miami valleys as a fully fledged municipality, which was done by enactment of the Ohio state legislature on January 9, 1810. The little settlement had for five years been in possession of a postoffice, a year later than the establishment of a mail-center at Waynesville, and was also the county "seat of justice," being so declared by a special act of the legislature on February 11, 1805. This legislative enactment was the cause of much rivalry and ugly feeling flora while in the county. Franklin, Deerfield, and Waynesville all contested for the honor that would make the town chosen the county-seat, and if the age of the settlement desiring it had been a point considered, Deerfield would have been chosen, but the fact that Lebanon was the most centrally located of all the contesting towns brought it the desired site.

            A church, schoolhouse and jail, in time of erection in a community, seem to go hand in hand, as there is always need for the trio. Necessity compelled the use of a prison before the incorporation of the town, and in the year 1804, at the first meeting of the county commissioners of Warren county, the erection of a temporary jail was decided upon, and on the last day of November, 1804, John Tharp, contractor, handed over, as complete, a hewed log building, two stories high, that stood on the northwest corner of Lebanon's public square, which was the first jail, the first county building of Warren county. In course of time, this primitive jail gave place to other larger and more secure buildings, the second prison being a stone house built on the southwestern lot of the public square ; it was but one story in height and cost $990. This was in use for twenty years, but when the prisoners began to escape by digging under the foundations, it was deemed time for the erection of another jail.

            The third prison was completed in 1828 at a cost of $4,000. Daniel Bone was the contractor. It was built on the lot now occupied by the courthouse. To intimidate the prisoners from attempting to escape, each cell was lined with heavy logs over which was nailed two-inch planks; for the most guilty of those confined in the dark cells, a small underground dungeon contributed its horrors to the place. Sixteen years later the present prison was built. The (page 367) walls are of cut stone surrounded by an outer wall of brick, and has six cells.

            Courthouse. It was in February, 1805, that the "seat of justice" for Warren county was established at Lebanon. The next step in order was the building of a courthouse. So anxious were the citizens of Lebanon and vicinity to secure the seat of justice, that the original owners of the town site had promised that if the town was favored by the legislature they would surrender the ownership of each alternate lot in the original plat to the county to aid in the erection of county buildings, and the legislature authorized the acceptation of all subscriptions, for that purpose, whether in the shape of property, labor or money by the county commissioners. In the March following the act establishing the seat of justice, the following named persons appeared before the board of county commissioners and handed to them personal notes on different individuals, as follows : Ichabod Corwin, $425.75; Silas Hurin, $292.55; Ephraim Hathaway, $457.00. Five lots were afterward sold and the proceeds added to the value of the notes, bringing the entire donation up to $1,241.80. In comparison with the commodious interior of the magnificent courthouses of the twentieth century, the size of the first temple of justice in Warren county appears very small, almost insignificant; but in the opening years of the preceding century the building probably was considered most imposing, being the first brick edifice in Warren county. As to space, it covered thirty-six. feet square of territory and was two stories in height, the first elevation measuring twelve feet, the second ten feet. The windows were sixteen in number, eight in each story, the frames of which were black walnut; the panes of glass in each window of the lower story numbered twenty-four, those in the second story being less in each window by four panes. The architecture of the interior was supplemented by a "summer," which was a beam supported by posts, extending through the house. Both the lower and upper stories were heated by fireplaces. In January, 1806, the contractor, Samuel McCray, handed the building over to the county commissioners as completed, for which he was paid $1,450, the contract price. For thirty years this plain brick building, one of the first brick edifices in the Miami valley, was the place of resort to the citizens of Warren county for the adjustment of all wrongs over which the law had suzerainty. It stood where the Lebanon opera house is now located. But in the early thirties the commissioners judged that the walls of the building needed strengthening, but found that they would not stand repairing, and decided upon the erection of a new one, the voters of Warren county assenting, placing it in the eastern part of Lebanon on ground donated for that purpose. In the year 1835 the structure was ready for occupancy, and had cost the county $25,000. But so proud were the people of Warren county of this splendid temple of justice, which stood comparison with any courthouse in the state, that there was but little grumbling done by the taxpayers. It is still today the courthouse used by Warren county. In the year 1880 some necessary repairs were made, but it stands gray and hoary, its walls bringing, with the impressiveness of silence, memories of the men who eloquently pleaded for justice, or against it, in (page 368) the cause of clients to whom, perchance, the, decision of judge or verdict of jury meant life itself.

            But the first courthouse was not torn down. Both utility and sentiment played a part in its preservation. The forms of the illustrious men whose intellect and earnest purpose placed the little town of Lebanon on historic ground, not simply locally, but even nationally, had gone in and out of its doors, and still seemed to make their influence felt. Men had not forgotten that in those rooms lighted by the funny little panes of glass, Gov. Thomas Corwin and Chief Justice John McLean had made their maiden speeches at the bar. In the sacred office of legal arbitrators, under Ohio's first constitution, had sat Francis Dunlevy, Joshua Collett and George J. Smith as president judges, and, still desiring to keep it in the public service, it was adopted as a town hall. And truly did it still help in the intellectual uplift of the village. The Mechanics' institute held in those historic rooms the weekly meetings that did so much for the advancement of scientific knowledge in the community ; there the people enjoyed Lebanon's first library and reading room. In the year 1844 a third story was added by the Masons of the county and, for many years, was their regular place of assembly. But the fire alarm of the village, on the morning of September 1, 1874, summoned the citizens to the most calamitous fire in the history of the village. Not only was this venerated "house of illustrious memories" consumed by the wrath of the flames, but the Ross hotel, Congregational church and other buildings were destroyed. But the conflagration did not leave the people of Lebanon without a town hall. The town council of the village was progressive in its plans for the public welfare, and in the year 1855 it was resolved by that honorable body of citizens that a market house, with which suitable quarters for the fire department should be connected, was necessary for the convenience of the citizens of Lebanon. To resolve was to act, and so speedily was the building of the structure accomplished that a part of the Christmas eve festivities of the winter of 1856 consisted of a festival given under the auspices of the Franklin Independent fire company in the second story of the new market house, which was Lebanon's second "town hall." But the name "town hail" did not carry any special significance, and a few weeks later the stockholders met and bestowed upon the room the name of the nation's first president, and it stands among the earlier memories of the pretty village, as Washington hall. In Washington hall have been held some of the most exciting and momentous assemblies ever recorded in Warren county annals. There in April, 1861, was held the enthusiastic meeting that pledged the allegiance of Warren county to the Union, and gatherings scarce less important, all testifying to the patriotism of the grand old county and the dependence to be placed on the loyalty of its stalwart citizenship.

            But as the population and prosperity of Lebanon increased, the public spirit kept even pace with progressiveness along all lines, and a more modern place of amusement was demanded by the citizens of the town, and in September, 1878, a beautiful opera house, built at an expense of nearly $40,000, was formally dedicated. It is a (page 369) handsome structure both as to exterior and interior, with a seating capacity of 1,200 persons and a stage large enough to attract the best class of histrionic entertainments.

            Mechanics' Institute. One of the earliest activities in promoting the intellectual and scientific standards of the people of the village was the organization of the Lebanon Mechanics' institute in 1834. Its object was the "diffusion of useful knowledge," and it counted in its list of members the most enterprising, ambitious and intelligent young men in Lebanon. A more than average library was gathered on its shelves in the old courthouse. The weekly program comprehended talks on valuable subjects by eminent men of different professions and vocations in life, which were always discussed by the members of the institute at the close of the lecture. It is conceded that the organization was a leading factor in keeping the village alive to the influence and necessity of intellectual culture, and doubtless the reputation that Lebanon at present maintains for its high mental cultivation was largely founded upon the intellectual work of the Lebanon Mechanics' institute. The library of the institute has now a nook of its own in the Carnegie library, which was opened January 1, 1908.

            Lebanon Schools. Interested as were the early settlers of Warren county in the education of their children, the lads and lassies for many years pursued their studies in schoolhouses built of logs covered with clapboards. Not until the fall of 1838 did the citizens of Lebanon vote for a public schoolhouse, the construction of which was agreed could cost as much as $4,000, but years passed and no schoolhouse was forthcoming. In the fall of 1847 the matter was more strongly agitated, and in September a public meeting was called and a resolution passed to levy a tax of $7,000, and in the year 1851 the admiring children of the village carried their slates, geographies and apples into the first public school house of Lebanon. It was built of brick, two stories in height, and contained five rooms, and was located on the present public school grounds. Mr. Josiah Hurty, for many years later a well-known teacher in educational circles of the middle west, was the first public school superintendent in Lebanon_ The village was so unfortunate as to lose the building by fire eleven years later. but within almost twelve months a new building stood on the same site, to which an addition of two rooms was made in the year 1880. But Lebanon soon realized that more commodious and more modern school buildings were needed for its young people if the town was to keep step with the advancement that was being made by cities almost within gunshot of its town clocks. So, though the building was in excellent condition, the citizens of Lebanon voted for a tax of $40,000, and in the year 1893 the town proudly gazed upon a building whose completion and furnishing cost them $46,000, but which was regarded as money well expended, for they had the proud satisfaction of knowing that their village possessed the finest schoolhouse in the county. The town soon realized the necessity of providing a high school building for the more advanced classes. It was to cost $60,000, and a special election was held in October, 1916, to ascertain the will of the people of the town and township concerning it. A ballot of (page 370) 711 votes was cast, with a majority in favor of the erection of a building, but war conditions deferred its erection, and rooms in the old Lebanon academy, which was built in 1844, were appropriated for the use of high school pupils.

            Lebanon Normal School. It can be truthfully said that no school in the middle west-possibly greater extent of territory might be included-ever exerted so wide an influence in the cause of education, as the normal school at Lebanon, opened by Prof. Alfred Holbrook and wife in the year 1855. Normal schools were scattered over the country since the opening of the first school of the kind in Massachusetts in the year 1839, some being organized under the name of "seminary."

            The founder of the Lebanon school was born in Connecticut in the year 1816. His father had achieved a reputation in the eastern part of the country as the founder of the lecture system of popular instruction and teachers' institutes, and he also carried on in Boston, between his lecture periods, a manufactory of school apparatus. Young Alfred's school days were almost entirely included in the first twelve years of his life, as he was then made to go and work in his father's manufactory, but his father, ambitious for his son's intellectual culture, occupied the lad's unemployed hours with hard study,-which naturally broke down the boy's health and he returned to his home in Derby, Connecticut. Inheriting from his father a desire to impart instruction, Alfred at the age of seventeen years embarked upon his life profession of teaching. But for a while his course was changed, and determining to become an engineer, he went to New York and, for a time, engaged in the manufacture of surveyor's instruments. A desire to go to college was frustrated by his father's refusing to grant his permission, although a college man himself, for the reason that colleges were promoters of bad methods and morals. The young man came to Ohio to begin his surveying experience, but his ill health prevented the carrying on of the work, and he accepted a place as teacher at Berea, a village not far from Cleveland. The school in which he was engaged became the nucleus of the famous Baldwin university, for many years one of the largest and most favorably known schools in northern Ohio. While here he had the happy fortune to marry Miss Melissa Pearson, whose intellectual endowments and culture were of great assistance to him in his life-work of teaching. As the years came, Prof. Holbrook was connected with several large schools in northern Ohio, but in the year 1855 was asked to take the superintendency of the Southwestern Normal school about to be established at Lebanon, Ohio.

            The establishment of the normal school at Lebanon is not only an interesting incident in the history of Warren county, but in that of the state as well, and was the result of a conference of a small number of the leading instructors of southwestern Ohio, who felt the need of such a school in this part of the state. The conference decided to call a general convention, and in obedience to the summons, between three and four hundred teachers assembled at Miami university at Oxford, Ohio, and effected an organization, to be known as the Southwestern Normal School association for the purpose of (page 371) establishing and maintaining a state normal school until such time as the state would make it one of its own institutions. After much debate as to the location of the school, Lebanon was chosen as the most desirable place. The trustees of the association immediately got in touch with the right men in Lebanon, who at once perceived the immense advantage such an institution would be, both intellectually and financially, to the village, and the trustees of the Lebanon academy were persuaded to make over the academy erected in the year 1845, and grounds to the trustees of the proposed normal school, and also agreed to furnish at least eighty pupils every year for four years towards the support of the institution. But where could be found an instructor both intellectually and executively able to fill the demands of leadership? The success of Prof. Holbrook as an instructor had reached the Miami valleys, and he was urged to resign the superintendency of the public schools at Salem, Ohio, and assume the directorship of the new venture instituted at Lebanon. Acceptation with him meant action, and he hurried to the village and at once began to pull wires for the success of the school, which he had immediately described as possessing great potentialities in many directions. On November 24, 1855, ninety-five pupils registered as students of the new Southwestern Normal school ; ninety of these enrolled were from the homes of Lebanon, the remainder from outside localities, one of whom was William H. Venable, the distinguished poet and teacher. Little did the residents of Lebanon know the benefit in every way that this school was to bring to their village. It placed the little town among the leading intellectual centers not only of the state, but the school eventually gained a national reputation for progressiveness in every department for the guidance and development of those placed in the responsible, and even sacred, office of instructing the young. The teaching corps for the first year was small, consisting of Prof. Holbrook, his wife and three assistants, but so thorough was the instruction imparted, so fully did it meet the requirements of the pupils, that the attendance yearly increased, and in the year 1881, its high-water period of success, the enrollment was 1,850. Nearly every state and territory in the Union was represented upon the school register.

            The name of the school underwent several changes. From "State Normal school" it was altered to the "Southwestern Normal school," and becoming more ambitious, in the year 1870, it was transmuted into the "National Normal school," and eleven years later ascended into the "National Normal university," but the organization of numerous schools of the same type throughout the state seemed to rob the school of its particular prestige or individuality, and in the year 1907, the word "normal" was entirely eliminated and the name "Lebanon university" adopted. But to the gray-haired men and women who, so many years ago, saw the bright stars of future success gleaming through the many discouragements of their school-life, and as memory brings back the pleasant friendships formed, and even more tender association, it is still the "dear old Normal."

            (page 372) Perchance, what might be called a mistake was made in the early nineties, when, owing to financial difficulties, the school was reorganized, and its business affairs placed under a board of control, for Prof. Holbrook had, for so many years, held the management of the school along all its lines, that he grew restive under the changed conditions, and in the year 1897 submitted his resignation, which was accepted, and in the following year took the position of chancellor of the Southern Normal university, located at Huntington, Tennessee, which, he said, he should endeavor to bring up to even a greater efficiency than the school at Lebanon, with which he had been connected as manager and leader for over forty years. It is comparatively easy to speak of a man as being "wonderful." It is better to know wherein his success consisted, and thus be truly able to appreciate and, if possible, to emulate the qualities that rendered him distinguished, especially when those qualifications went to the betterment of the community in which he lived. And this may be truly said of the life and work of Prof. Alfred Holbrook, during his educational labors in the little town of Lebanon. His utter contempt of all obstacles in his work won the respect and confidence of all associated with him. At the opening of the school, the public school teachers of the Miami valley, as a rule, were opposed to the institution, on the ground that the influx of teachers from other neighborhoods would tend to lower the wages of the Miami valley instructors. Prof. Holbrook knew that it was not a matter of numbers or wages, but of efficiency, and the teachers who, in time were graduated from the Holbrook Normal school, quickly found that the diplomas received by them from this institution were "open sesame" to better situations and more lucrative salaries. The high ideals in work and character held up by Prof. Holbrook constantly before his pupils made stronger men and women of them for battling for success in their life-work, and many of the fathers and mothers of the present generation are in the wise and loving counsel given by them to their children, simply reflecting the wisdom and able counsel given them, so long before, at the Holbrook school in Lebanon.

            When he accepted the control of the Lebanon school, Prof. Holbrook had six young children who grew up an honor, both to their parents and the community. When they reached manhood and womanhood they became able assistants to their father in his work. Josiah Holbrook, the present recorder of Warren county and a resident of Lebanon, is a son of the eminent founder of the Lebanon Normal university. Of this able county officer, it may truly be said that he is "a worthy son of a worthy father." He was seventeen years of age when, as a member of company F, 12th Ohio Volunteer infantry, under the captaincy of Rigdon Williams, for over three years he followed the fag of his country in the Civil war, returning, after his discharge, to his father's school to complete his studies, receiving his diploma in the year 1865. Choosing his father's profession as his own, Mr. Holbrook for some years was at the head of the public schools in Montgomery, Alabama, and later organized and was president of the Holbrook Normal college at Knoxville, Tennessee, for three -years. In the year 1876 he was (page 373) united in marriage to Miss Laura Mason, daughter of one of the leading physicians of Harveysburg, a young woman known throughout the Miami valley for her beauty of face and refined, cultured, womanly qualities.

            After they have crossed the threescore line of human existence, there are but few men courageous enough to enter as a competitor the arena of politics. For over a year and a half Josiah Holbrook filled the office of clerk of the trustees of public affairs, and is now completing his fourth term as recorder of Warren county.

            The many cares devolving upon Prof. Alfred Holbrook in the responsible work that crowded his days, did not keep him from using his pen to extend his influence. Two books of value to every teacher are his "School Management," and "Normal Methods"; the latter has been translated into the Japanese language, and is much prized by the teachers of that far-off island. Two works on the English language, "English Grammar" and "Training Lessons," have been of practical use in the educational world.

            After several years' residence in the South, Prof. Holbrook returned to Lebanon, and passed his last days among his friends, who realized that, through his efforts, their home town had become widely known as a college center, and that, in a certain sense, he was the greatest benefactor, in the deep, true sense of the word, that had ever gone up and down the streets of the pretty village. Financially, his life had been a blessing to the community, for the patronage of the 'hundreds of students, who yearly were residents of the town, was far from trifling. But better than the financial gain was the impetus that his teaching, his standards of thought and education were to the youth, not only of the village, but also to those who came from near and far, to carry away with them ideals of true living which, in turn, they also would impart to others. In a book published in his seventieth year, entitled- "Reminiscences of the Happy Life of a Teacher," Prof. Holbrook has written of his life work in Lebanon, and it is a chronicle that shows deep devotion to the highest, best things in life.

            He passed away at his home in Lebanon, April 16, 1909, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. The “last of life” was to him singularly happy. His friends delighted to show their re

            spect and honor for him. The anniversary of his birthday was always remembered, and the one hundredth anniversary of his natal day, which fell in June, 1916, was made a veritable "homecoming" occasion, for Lebanon was . full of gray-haired men and women who, for a brief period, dropped the cares of business and home, and journeyed, from near and far, to the pretty shady town in the Miami valley, to honor the memory of the man who, each and all realized, had impressed them with the truth and joy of noble living.

            Teachers' Institutes. Four years after the first teachers' Institute was held in 1847 at Cincinnati, the teachers of Warren county organized a similar association and held its first meeting in the ensuing summer in the academy at Maineville. And during the nearly seventy years that have elapsed since that date, regular sessions of the institute have been held, where leading speakers of (page 374) national reputation, have brought mental stimulus and encouragement to the teachers of the Miami valley, and proved a potent agency in keeping instructors, and the pupils to whom they imparted the knowledge gained, in touch with the best and most advanced thought of current times.

            Lebanon Public Schools. The Lebanon public schools under the efficient superintendency of Mr. Claude A. Brewer, who has filled the office for three years, are counted among the best schools of southwestern Ohio. The curriculum of study is arranged to render the boys and girls, who are given the prized, worked-for diplomas at the close of their school days, fully qualified to take a trustworthy place in the workaday life of the world, if they so desire, and to hold fast to the highest ideals no matter where their path may lead. Many of the pupils have availed themselves of the domestic science and manual training courses. The latter embraces joinery, Farm Buildings, Metal Work, Cabinet Making, and the addition of a business course to the high school studies has largely added to the attendance. There are at present a full enrollment of 1,026 pupils.

            The list of teachers of Lebanon Village School District comprises : High School, R. M. Bradford, principal ; L. V. Simms, history and mathematics ; W. E. Simms, science; E. C. Kerr, vocational ; Mrs. Lucille Berry, English ; Miss Bernice Evans, Latin ; Miss Alice Sowers, domestic science.

            Special teachers: Bertha Brown, art and penmanship; Margaret Rife, music; R. P. Williams, physical director.

            Grades: E. J. Steddom, principal; Vella Behm, Gertrude Brown, Nell Swindler, Ona Strawn, Mayme Evans, Anna Snook, Helen Ullum, Helen Wood, Pearl Le Faver, Wanda Iorns Katherine Will, Lucy Ross, primary supervisor; Almeda McClung, Ruth Dakin, Nellie Wise.

            Rural: Evelyn St. John, Beatrice Ullum, Owen Carter, Agnes Bowsher, Lura Irons, Esther Wunderly, Lillian Long, Gertrude Seaman, Marie Augspurger, Florence Kleinhenn, Mabel Lane, Margaret Roberts, Jeanette Bowers, Helen Mounts, Mildred Meloy, Ina Perrine, Katherine Presley.

            Post offices. Nearly ten years elapsed after the first settlements in Warren county, before the United States government established a mail distributing point within its borders. The pioneers in southwestern Ohio received their mail at the little postoffice in Cincinnati. If a letter from his dear old home came over the mountains to Israel Jones, whose cabin was located in Turtle creek township, it would simply be addressed to "Israel Jones, Turtle creek," and the post rider or stage coach would bring it to the overjoyed recipient. But within two years after state. government was conferred upon Ohio by the National congress, Warren county rejoiced in the possession of four mail distributing offices, located, respectively, at Waynesville, Deerfield, Franklin and Lebanon. Several years later, Warren county settlers whose homes were near the boundary line of Hamilton county were able to get their mail at Montgomery in that county.

            Now, when a letter from New York City addressed to one residing in Lebanon will reach him in twenty-four hours, one can (page 375) scarcely imagine or appreciate the patience of a settler, anxious for news from an eastern point, when it is remembered that it required seven days for a post rider to carry the mail on a circuit starting from Cincinnati, passing through Lebanon, Xenia, Urbana, then across to Piqua, returning again to his starting place, via Franklin and Hamilton. But patient waiting was part of the spiritual armor against discouragement of the early settler, and he, doubtless, thought that the very acme of progressiveness had come to his environment when, in 1825, the weekly visits of the post rider made way for the tri-weekly coming of the stage coach with the coveted letters.

            The postmasters of Lebanon during the first hundred years of its history as a municipal corporation were : William Ferguson, Jeremiah Lawson, Matthias Ross, Daniel F. Reeder, George Harnesberger, John Reeves, George Kesling, Thomas F. Brodie, Elijah Dynes, Ira Watts, Hiram Yeo, Mrs. Belle E. Parshall, T. H. Blake, J. W. Lingo, Thomas Starry, Mrs. Mary V. Proctor, Owen S. Higgins and Wm. H. Antrim.

            The record of Mr. William H. Antrim as postmaster is not only a record of faithful service as one of the efficient servants of both the United States government and a Lebanon public, but his wonderful kindness to the little folks of Lebanon at the holiday season is one of the beautiful chapters in the local history of Lebanon. Every Christmas day he was a veritable "Santa Claus" to hundreds of the, children of the town, and men and women in future years will recall with a warm glow of heart the happiness that postmaster W. H. Antrim, a Warren county boy by birth, brought into their childish lives at Christmas tide. Free mail delivery was established in Lebanon in the spring of 1900, and blue-gray uniforms of the faithful carriers play an important part in the business and social activities of the progressive town. The postoffice at Lebanon is now under the capable management of Mr. Charles B. Dechant, assisted by Ray Starry, assistant postmaster, and an office force of Misses Bertha Walker, Florence Brown and Messrs. Seldon Luce and H. H. Hamilton. , Shoe Factory. It was a red letter day in the commercial history of Lebanon when the corner-stone of the new shoe factory vas laid on Tuesday, December 5, 1911. The ceremony was performed by the Hon. J. W. Lingo, after which the proprietors of the new enterprise, Messrs. E. H. and K. M. Elbinger, were formally introduced to the large assemblage by Mr. John Marshall Mulford, editor of the Lebanon Western Star. A short address was made by Mr. Lingo.

            The factory was opened for work in February of the ensuing year, and is one of the most complete in equipment of any similar plant in the state. Four stories in height, on the first floor are found the offices and packing and shipping departments. Ascending to the second floor, the visitor enters the well-lighted lasting, buttoning and finishing department, while the cutting and stitching are done on the top floor ; in the basement is placed the machinery for sole cutting and fitting. The entire factory is furnished with light (page 376) and power furnished by an immense 100 horsepower engine, 600 dynamo, located in an adjoining building.

            Newspapers. It would be interesting to know the hopes and ambition that filled the heart of young John McLean, as on a hot summer day in the year 1806 he "gee-d" and "haw-d" at the patient oxen that were meekly drawing over the forest-lined road the printing press whose primitive type was to weekly bring the "news" of the outer world, and in time help mould the opinions, as it does today, of the men and women of the Miami valleys. The trip from Cincinnati was of more than twenty-four hours' duration, for the feet of the weary beasts, in their slow, persevering way, were long in covering the road. And the thought comes, when he neared the little settlement of Lebanon which to him was home, as the shadows slowly gathered, did the beautiful evening star that was probably glorifying the sunset sky, give him the inspiration to name his proposed enterprise "The Western Star"?

            Tradition whispers that the prized treasure so carefully loaded in the springless, creaking ox-cart, was the first printing press ever in use in southern Ohio, and was brought to Cincinnati in the year 1793, and from it were folded the damp sheets of "The Liberty Hall," until, in 1806, it had to give way to an improved press, the Stanhope, imported from England, and it then became the property of the future associate justice of the supreme court of the United States, and very proud was he as the oxen made their way through the village streets yet full of stumps, to the little office of the young aspirant for editorial renown. History also recounts that it was a wood press with a bed of stone, its motive power consisting of a bar that it was a herculean task to work, and the three hundred copies that weekly were issued to the three hundred subscribers represented not only labor of brain but brawn as well. If the print. at times, was dim and almost illegible and aroused the ire of the reader, the fault could be legitimately ascribed to the "devil" having failed to evenly ink the type with the pelt balls, that in course of time were to give way to the rollers now in universal use. It would likewise be interesting to place one of the first small sized issues by one of the large, Splendid copies that now, every week go to the many hundreds of subscribers in the Miami valleys from the complete, modern press, run by electricity, that places the office- of The Western Star among the up-to-date offices of the present day. The comparison would be great, but not invidious, for the little sheet played an important part in the entertainment and intellectual life of the early settlers, in bringing to the people the latest tidings of political events in Europe, for the birth of the editorial was an unknown power in primitive journalism, and the social and fashion feature departments were impossible because pioneer life knew them not. The comparison would consist solely in the size of the papers and material furnished. Unfortunately there is not a copy of the first issue of the paper in existence to show whether or not the young editor made his introductory bow gracefully, timidly, or authoritatively to his reading public. Probably authoritatively, for the faith in his own ability that eventually landed him upon the highest judicial bench of the nation, was not latent when he (page 377) undertook the duties of editor of the first newspaper published in the Little Miami valley.         

            It was not smooth sailing always to John McLean during the two years that constituted his connection with the Western Star.

            There were no telegraph wires or long distance telephones to bring an order of paper by an express wagon to the office door; the paper was often suspended several weeks at a time, especially in winter, for heavy snows made the roads impassable to travel by oxen express, and the high water or ice often stopped the operations of the paper mill that furnished the desired commodity. In connection with the editing of the Western Star, Mr. McLean carried on the work of publishing pamphlets and books, the most notable one being "The Testimony of Christ's Second Appearing," a publication printed for the Shakers of Union Village.

            Nathaniel McLean, who had been associated with his brother as printer, then assumed the editorship and publication. He had reached his twenty-third year and was thoroughly conversant with his trade, having learned it in Cincinnati in the press room of The Liberty Hall, at a time when there were but three printing offices in the state, Cincinnati, Chillicothe and Marietta. Mr. McLean's connection with the Western Star continued until the year 1814, during which time he received, as did the other professional men of the period, part of the pay for his editorial labors in farm produce or whatever commodity that the subscriber had to offer. Like his elder brother, John, he held political aspirations, and was twice sent by Warren county to the state legislature, and for seven years employed as keeper at the penitentiary in Columbus, but in the year 1849 he caught the Minnesota fever and removed to St. Paul, engaging in the newspaper business which brought him much wealth.

            The reader of the newspaper of today often unfolds it with dissatisfaction, as he sees page after page barren of "news," but covered with advertisements printed to allure every housewife away from domestic duties for a visit to the bargain counter, where she can purchase for ninety-eight cents the article that yesterday could not have been bought for less than one dollar. The advertising column of the early Western Star was generally filled with, perchance, notices of estray horses, that have been appraised at twenty dollars, and one advertisement was for tidings of a runaway apprentice, for which a reward of six and one-fourth cents would be paid. There is often the information that "good rye whisky at 40 cents per gallon will be taken in exchange for goods at Lebanon." The advertisers sometimes permitted business jealousy to color their public announcements, as is seen in the issue of April 16, 1821, when eight cabinetmakers of the village signed an advertisement or rather an announcement of the bad qualities of a glue that is being manufacture in Lebanon by "a certain Richard Ellis." The subscribers plaintively announce that they have used his glue and evince no hesitancy in asserting that "it is the worst glue that they ever attempted to use," adding that the odor of it was so obnoxious to them, after it is dissolved, "that one cannot stay in the shop."  Even religious belief sometimes dictated the advertisements of the merchants.

            (page 378) As late as December, 1842, W. F. Parshall & Co. ask their customers to please settle all accounts, as the Rev. Mr. Miller recently prophesied from his study of the Scriptures that the windup of all earthly affairs would occur in the ensuing April. Why they were so anxious to have money in hand at that thrilling time, they do not say, but they desire all indebtedness to them to be squared by the first of February; they also announce that their goods "will be sold very cheap from this time on."

            The name of William H. P. Denny is associated with the Western Star as editor longer than that of any other who, in that capacity, used the quill and scissors. His motto "Be just and fear not," exemplified the spirit of fearlessness that impelled his pen. The individuality of the editor had, by this time, crept into the public press, and perchance there was scarcely ever a time in the history of the American nation when the newspaper was as strong in influence as during the formative days of the great Republican and Democratic parties. One of the most amiable, gentle-hearted of men in his daily life, yet so intense was Mr. Denny in his political faith, that in propagation of Whiggism his words seemed fairly to scorch the columns of his paper. Mr. W. H. Venable in his graphic centennial sketch-of Lebanon thus depicts the veteran printer: "I can fancy I see him in the printing office, his shirt sleeves rolled up, his white, small hands a little inky, a goose quill stuck over his ear, as he stands beside the press ready to pull the lever. That goose quill dripped Whig vituperation, that press stamped ignominy upon locofocoism. But the man was as gentle as he was valiant."

            Mr. Denny, as editor and publisher, was longer in control of the Western Star than any other man who sat in its editorial sanctum, his proprietorship continuing for over a quarter of a century. During his lifetime he was connected with other newspapers in Ohio, and his whole editorial activity lasted more than fifty years, and, including his apprenticeship and work as printer, he was probably longer in newspaper work than any other man in the state of Ohio. He was sent to the state senate by the Whigs of Warren county, and later, moving his 'residence to Pickaway county, served the people of Circleville as postmaster for seven years.

            With the publication of the Western Star through the long period of its history there has never been a break in its editorship. Like a lighted torch, it has been passed from hand to hand, always casting the light of pure Americanism into the intricacies of political problems, and never losing its influence for right over the community. Associated with its editorship and publication at different periods, are the names of Jacob Morris, A. H. Dunlevy, Dr. W. H. Corwin, Hon. Seth W. Brown, William McClintock, Dr. Herschel I. Fisher, Addison Russell ; Mr. McClintock twice filled the editorial chair, and was succeeded by Mr. Will McKay, who afterwards was editor of the Wilmington journal, the leading Republican paper of Clinton county. The death of Mr. McKay while engaged in this public work, was regarded by his friends and admirers as a great   loss to fine journalism.

            (page 379) Never has the Western Star been more influential and as far-reaching in its influence as it is today under the editorial management of Messrs. John Marshall Mulford and William Fraser. It easily stands as the leading weekly paper of southwestern Ohio. Better than aggressiveness is its steady attitude against all chicanery in politics, national, state, and local. It is always heading the procession for progressiveness in everything pertaining to the improvement of all town and county conditions. No partiality is ever shown in its columns along denominational lines, as is too often the case with papers published in small centers of population. There are two causes in the furtherance of which the colors of the Western Star float a little higher on all occasions, and these are, Temperance and Republicanism. From the very first issue of the paper under the management of its present editor, Mr. John Marshall Mulford, the Star has been an enemy of the saloon, uncompromising, unrelenting in its assault, never yielding a single point of its attack. It has been straightforward prohibition on a road that has had no turn to the right or the left, and there is no journal in the state, possibly in the entire country, that has advanced the propaganda of prohibition more zealously, more untiringly, and more effectively than the Western Star under its present editorial leadership. Not only in the cause of temperance has Mr. Mulford stood for the protection of society, but he has tried to guard it against every evil that would lower the standard of morality in the community. And so kindly has the spirit of reform been manifested by the paper, so strongly and plainly has it been seen that the good of all concerned was meant to be expressed, that never has the journal been accused of having "an axe to grind." The same consistent course has been pursued in politics. Believing in the standards, the principles of the Republican party, the Western Star has been true to its ticket under rough as well as smooth sailing. Mr. Mulford is a son of Warren county, being born in the little town of Maineville. He is a man of wide intellectual attainment, courteous and kindly in manner, and one of the strongest editorial writers in southern Ohio. Before assuming the control of the Western Star he was a school teacher and fully as successful in that profession as he is now in running a newspaper. The reputation of Mr. Mulford as an able editorial writer has traveled far beyond his home boundaries. In the fall of the year 1918, The Editor and Publisher of New York City, the oldest of the journals published in the interests of the printers of the United States, offered a prize for the best editorial that would interest and add to the number of subscribers to the Fourth Liberty loan. Over six hundred editors entered the contest ; the great dailies of both the East and West desiring a prize that stood for enthusiastic patriotism. On the seventh of October Mr. Mulford's intense loyalty to human liberty found expression in an editorial entitled, "Again, Kamerad, No!" To Mr. Mulford's gratification and the pride of his friends, several weeks later he was notified that both editor and paper had been awarded a "certificate of distinguished merit," one of the second prizes, the first laurel being a gold medal, which was won by Mr. Elmer T. Peterson of the Wichita (Kansas) (page 380)Beacon. Mr. Mulford was one of several editors winning the "certificate of distinguished merit."

            For twelve years Mr. Mulford has been engaged in the responsible duties of journalism, the Western Star being purchased by him of Messrs. Pauly and Houseworth, in February, 1907. His progressive spirit was at once in evidence by the almost immediate installment in the office of a monotype or type-making machine, which is rarely seen in a town as small as Lebanon. Mr. Mulford resides in Lebanon, and his pleasant home is one of the musical centers of the town, his wife being a musician of rare attainment. Mr. William Fraser who, for about six years has been associated as local editor with Mr. Mulford in the publication of the Western Star, is one of Lebanon's prominent young business men. Intelligent, fully comprehending everything connected with newspaper work, in all things he is truly the "right-hand man" of the editor in-chief, and is fast winning a reputation for ability that makes the future most promising to him. He is also a Warren county boy, and his home and little family are very popular in Lebanon. A noteworthy fact in the story of the Western Star, which, next to the Scioto Gazette, is the oldest paper in the state of Ohio, is that in the one hundred and twelve years of its history its name has never been altered or changed, which is so often the case when a paper passes under new management. As has already been said, books and pamphlets were given to- the reading public from the printing press of the Western Star, even at the early period of John McLean's connection with the paper. In the year 1812, a calendar, known as the Lebanon Almanac, was printed at the Western Star office, which bore on its title page, as author of the astronomical calculations contained therein, the name of Matthias Corwin, jr. This was succeeded by other almanacs and pamphlets, and even spelling books came from the same source. The abolishing of the old wooden press and the placing of a new cylinder press in the work room of the Western Star in the year 1870 was an improvement to the looks of the paper, and when, five years afterwards, steam power was introduced as a labor-saving agency, the efficiency of the paper was more than doubled.

            Previous to the outbreak of the Civil war, a number of newspapers had a sporadic existence in Lebanon. Political changes. formation of new parties were responsible for the natal hour of many of them. Some had only a few months of life, others reached a promising childhood, and then came to an untimely end. A few related to the interests of the farmers of the Miami valleys, but lack of appreciation from its special class of readers or poor editorship accounted for their brief life. Among these short-lived journals may be enumerated the Farmer, the Ohio Argus, the American Democrat, the Spirit of Freedom, the Second Sober Thought, the Buckeye Mercury, and the Democratic Citizen. The last-named journal met a most disastrous fate. So intense was the Republicanism of the Miami valley, especially in the boundaries of Warren county, that at the time of the beginning of the war of the Rebellion, political partisanship was the unwritten law, and a man had to be either decidedly for or against the South. Warren county tolerated no (page 381) half-way attitude, and however unjust it may have been, to many hot-headed Republicans the term "Democrat" was synonymous with Southern sympathizer, and the intensity of the sentiment was responsible for the demolition of the Democratic Citizen. In the year 1877 the Lebanon Gazette was started by Mr. W. H. P. Denny, who did not succeed in establishing a permanent footing. During all this troublous time of competition the serene rays of the Western Star never were hidden nor obstructed, and so valuable is it today to its subscribers, that notwithstanding the flood of daily journals that pour into Lebanon from the neighboring cities of Cincinnati and Dayton, it has a place in the affection of the people of Warren county that no rival journal will ever be able to weaken. There are also six or seven other weekly papers published in the limits of Warren county, but the Star leads them all in age and progressiveness.

            The Lebanon Patriot. But the hour struck when the Democratic following of the Miami valley, especially in Warren county, demanded a journal for the propaganda of its party platform and principles. Three years after the close of the war, in the year 1868, Gen. Durbin Ward, the noted and respected leader of the Democratic ranks in southwestern Ohio, established the Lebanon Patriot in Lebanon. He was the very man for the work. A reputation. for true patriotism had been established by him that was far above all narrow lines of party prejudice. The name of Durbin Ward was the first on the enlistment roll of volunteer service after the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men. This fact was not forgotten by the people of the Miami valley, and the names of many dyed-in-the-wool Republicans were on the first subscription list of the Lebanon Patriot, because of the honor and affection they had for Gen. Durbin Ward. So zealous was Gen. Ward for the promulgation of Democratic tenets, that he shouldered all expense connected with the publishing of the Patriot, until it stood firmly above all apprehension of foundering. For a series of years it was ably edited and published by Mr. Edward Warwick, and when he relinquished its control it passed into the editorial management of Mr. A. A. Roland.

            The most brilliant era in the history of the Lebanon Patriot is when Mr. Thomas Meigher Proctor assumed its editorial duties. He came to the work not only splendidly qualified by natural ability, but by years of newspaper service, having been connected in a literary capacity with many of the leading newspapers of the country. For several years he was sole editor and manager of the Home Weekly, a bright little sheet published at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan home at Xenia, Ohio, in the interest of that splendid institution. About 1881, desiring a wider field of opportunity, he went to Wilmington, Ohio, and became editor and publisher of the Clinton County Democrat, a paper of large circulation and influence, but in the year 1883, the call of the future located him in Lebanon, where he entered upon the editorial duties of the Patriot with a bright, keen grasp of what was due a community from a newspaper, and in a short time the opinions of Tom Proctor upon politics, both national and local, were eagerly looked for with avidity by the (page 382) people of the Miami valley by friend and political foe alike, for they were so original, so trenchant, and so often hit the nail on the head, that Tom Proctor, in a slight degree attained a Tom Corwin notoriety for wit and pungency. His death in the summer of 1891 created a vacancy in southern Ohio journalism that has never been    filled as Tom Proctor filled it.

            But the Lebanon Patriot did not fall into hands unequal to the task of ably carrying it on the lines for which it had been established. Mr. Proctor's wife, Mary Swindler Proctor, was mentally endowed with ability to continue the editing and publishing the paper to the entire satisfaction of the Democrats of the Miami valley. It is no mere stringing together of words to say that the wife of Thomas Meigher Proctor is a remarkable woman. A daughter of one of the old farm-homesteads in the valley of the Rappahannock, Virginia, she was only a toddler of four years of age when her parents came to Ohio and located on a farm in Greene county, where she attended the rural schools of the neighborhood. She was but fifteen years of age when she began the serious work of life by teaching country schools, the sunny age when nothing is expected of a happy-faced girl but to be happy as the birds and f lowers are happy. But to Mary Swindler, then barely entering her "teens," the future meant earnest, serious application in whatever path duty might lead. Realizing the need of a broader education, after two years of faithful work in the schoolroom, she entered the Xenia Female college, where so faithfully did she apply herself that the required course of study was completed in a year and a half. Securing a place as teacher at the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan home, she met Mr. Proctor, then editor of the Home Weekly, and on the twenty-seventh day of November became his wife, the marriage taking place at the home. Her quickness to grasp the problems, clear insight into probabilities and fine mental training made her a most fitting and capable wife for a young, ambitious newspaper man, and her pen was often called upon for contributions to the columns of the paper which her husband was, at the time, editing. In speaking of the Patriot at the time Mr. Proctor was its editor-in-chief, one has said, "In no small degree its prosperity must be attributed to the foresight, prudence, and executive ability of Mrs. Proctor."

            The death of her husband cast Mrs. Proctor on her own resources for a livelihood, and there was another important- element for her consideration, and that was the support and education of her only child, a daughter, Merrill Anna Proctor. With wise judgment she decided to continue the editing and publishing of the Lebanon Patriot, a work most congenial to her, and with which, through assisting her husband she had become very familiar. With the courage born of grief and necessity, she at once assumed the sole control, both as editor and publisher, of the Lebanon Patriot, and by her wise judgment, mental training, thorough understanding of what a newspaper means to an intelligent community, and her firm adherence to the standards and tenets of the Democratic party, she placed the paper in the front ranks of literary journalism and also made it a leading party organ.

            (page 383) But it was not always easy sailing for this woman-editor. Her thorough understanding of political issues has in reality made her a leader in Warren county politics. Democrats generally recognize this fact and often accept her judgment and far-sighted opinions while others are prone to chafe under her directorship. Firm, uncompromising in her attitude towards all political chicanery, she yet remains the kind, womanly woman, respected by all citizens and beloved by her friends.

            Several years after the death of Mr. Proctor, Mrs. Proctor was united in marriage to Mr. Wilson, a prominent lawyer of Lebanon, and the union was one of rare congeniality and happiness.

            In the year 1894, during the administration of President Cleveland, a vacancy occurring in the Lebanon postoffice, Mrs. Wilson concluded that she could fill the place acceptably, procured fine recommendations, secured the appointment, and filled it with great credit to herself and the gratification of her friends. Mrs. Wilson has one or two hobbies, both in the right direction, both meaning help and uplift of humanity. The first and greatest is her zeal in the temperance cause. Naturally philanthropic in temperament, her heart has gone out in sympathy to various reforms for the alleviation of suffering, especially to those who are down and out from the cruel evils of intemperance. From the day of its first issue, her paper has been conscientiously devoted to the overthrow of the saloon. Never does it receive a word of palliation from her individually or editorially. To her it is an evil black both in exterior and interior, and her paper has proved a strong agency in the Miami valley for prohibition, a prohibition that really prohibits. It was mainly through the efficient work of Mrs. Wilson, both personally and editorially, that her town went "dry" under the Beal law some years ago.

            Another field of activity in which Mrs. Wilson loves to devote her energies is the equal suffrage cause. And she has won many "votes for women," not only through her clear statements and -logical facts as presented through the Patriot, but more by the splendid capability she has evinced as a bread-winner, and her beautiful home life, where, as tender wife and mother, no duty was ever slighted or neglected, amply proving that if necessity or choice calls woman into commercial life, she can, and does maintain the sweet graces of gentle womanhood that constitute her greatest charm. Her philanthropy joined to her great executive ability, has procured state recognition. For more than fifteen years she served on the board of lady visitors of the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' home, receiving her appointment from two separate governors. Other state institutions have also been placed under her oversight as a slate inspector into their needs and management. She was asked to take charge of the Girls' Industrial home at Delaware, Ohio, for she is recognized as one of the best sociological thinkers and workers in the state of Ohio. The duties of probation officer of Warren county have also been intrusted to her wise judgment.

            Mrs. Wilson's newspaper work has received just recognition from the journalism of the state. City papers have offered (page 384)  inducements for her to join their staff of writers. But she loves her beautiful home in Lebanon, where friends are cordially welcomed, where she can plan greater things to help the poor and unfortunate, where she can, and does, daily prove that there is no sex law for brain or heart expression.

            Business Activities of Lebanon. Quiet as, are generally, the business streets of Lebanon, yet there is an air of activity that impresses the chance visitor with the fact that a great deal of commercial stir is around him, and the influx of automobiles and conveyances of all descriptions, with the crowded pavements on Saturday afternoon, are ample testimony that many "live wires" are in process of operation between the village and large business centers all the time.

            Lebanon has more stores, groceries and shops than many towns much larger, and all seem to be disposing of the commodities they are anxious to sell. This is not strange, if it be true that "history repeats itself," for business enterprise was present in the village when the town scarcely numbered half a dozen scattered cabins. A store was opened in the year 1803 by John Huston in a room of the "Black Horse," a log tavern kept by Ephraim Hathaway. The merchandise had been floated down the Ohio by Huston in a flatboat as far as Columbia, where he first started business, removing in a few months his location to the new settlement of Lebanon. His nephew, Isaiah Morris, afterwards associated with the early history of Wilmington, acted as clerk. Business apparently presented a most promising outlook, for two years later merchants' licenses were granted to Daniel F. Reeder, William Ferguson, and Lawrence & Taylor. The early stores were veritable "department stores," as is seen in the advertisement of Ebenezer Vowel & Co., who came to Lebanon in the year 1810, and through the medium of the Western Star informed an interested public that they could please the residents of Lebanon with "dry goods, groceries, iron mongery, cutlery, stationery, medicines, queens and glass ware, tin ware assorted, dorsey's iron, castings assorted, paints, oils, American blister steel, German crowley do., salt, cotton, etc." With their attractive windows, advertising placards and electric lights, the business rooms of Lebanon are pleasing in every particular. The largest mercantile emporium is that of the S. Fred Mercantile company. The power of a concentrated will upon a praiseworthy purpose was never more strongly exemplified than in the history of this immense mercantile establishment, which would stand most favorable comparison with any house of its kind in cities many times larger than the corporate limits of Lebanon. The story of its founding is as wonderful as it is interesting. In the year 1885 there came into the quiet streets of Lebanon a young man of Russian-Jewish parentage, carrying on his back a peddler's pack, the contents of which were sold in the usual way. His visits were repeated, and his fair prices, the excellent quality of the articles proffered by him, speedily won for him a large number of customers, and not only purchasers but likewise friends among the influential men of the entire. county. They esteemed him, not only for a kindly, pleasing personality, but even more for the sterling (page 385) qualities of rectitude, innate honesty and unconquerable determination to make a place for himself in the world. One of his staunchest friends and admirers was Mr. J. M. Hayner, who for many years was identified with the Lebanon National bank as its highest official. In a short time Mr. Fred's increasing trade warranted the purchase by him of a wagon from which to sell his goods, and which, consequently, enlarged his circle of custom. So well and favorably did he become known that he resolved to stop peddling and open a store in Lebanon, a plan which met the approval of his friends and patrons. But before establishing himself permanently, he decided to make a visit to his childhood home in Europe, from which he returned more completely impressed with the beauty and strength of American ideals and life, and thankful that his future years were to be spent under the glorious old "stars and stripes." Upon his return to America, no influence could induce him to locate in any of the large eastern cities, which apparently offered a wider circle of custom than the pretty town in the beautiful Miami valley. He had faith in the friends who had stood by him in his first efforts to start his business, and who had been won by his never failing courtesy and integrity, and what was equally helpful, expressed faith in his ability to win.

            In the year 1890 a small room was rented by him, and in it was laid the foundation of a business that was eventually to surprise and win the admiration, not only of the people of Lebanon but of the surrounding country by its extent and splendid management. Little by little was the stock increased, and with the increase of trade grew the demand for a larger force of clerks, for no one must be kept waiting for lack of attention in the establishment of the S. Fred Mercantile company. In less than thirty years of indefatigable toil and watchfulness, like the magic tent in the Arabian Nights, the ; small room had stretched into the mammoth concern that stands on the corer of Mulberry and Mechanic streets. As progression along all lines of improvement has been the unwritten law in the activities of the S. Fred Mercantile company, it is not strange that window attraction has had much to do with the success of this wonderful establishment. Big windows beautifully draped or enticingly filled with everything to a person can possibly desire for home comfort or personal adornment, make it impossible to pass without stopping to gaze, and nine times out of ten the act of gazing means an entrance in the store and an exit with a pocketbook considerably lighter, but there are no regrets, for both purchaser and seller are satisfied.

            As the customer enters the really magnificent emporium of the S. Fred Mercantile company, it is a little difficult to realize that he is not walking down the aisle of a city store, so extensive is its capacity and so great the merchandise in quantity that meets the eye on every side. It has been stated that no town the size of Lebanon, or county with the population of Warren county, has a store that covers as large amount of floor space as that of the store of the S. Fred Mercantile company. On Mechanic street it runs a frontage of eighty-six feet with a depth of one hundred and sixty-five feet, while Mulberry street holds it with a depth of eighty feet and a frontage (page 386) of seventy-five feet. Both stories of each frontage are lighted with immense windows, in fact both faces of the building are practically solid glass, and when illuminated at night with the brilliancy of a myriad of electric lights, the immense house has a wonderfully gala appearance, as though the gods of prosperity were holding a carnival of rejoicing over Lebanon's good luck in having the S. Fred's store in its midst.

            On the lower floor are arranged, so as to show the. goods to the best advantage, a complete line of ladies' suits and dresses, millinery, dry goods and notions. A division to itself is devoted to men's wearing apparel, caps, hats and haberdashery ; in another section every man, woman and child in Warren county can find high       shoes, low shoes, pumps, slippers, of every size and almost of every color. And what is especially pleasing to a tired shopper is a mezzanine floor at the north side of the immense room, which embraces a space eighty by twenty feet where a rest room, inviting with easy chairs, tables and a piano, soon brings forgetfulness of tired, aching feet. Here also is the commodious office of the firm, from which the watchful eyes of Mr. Fred can command a survey of the entire first floor. Furniture, rugs, carpets, stoves, wall paper, everything but groceries and hardware are to be found on the second floor of the S. Fred store. And one especially pleasing feature of this establishment is the interest and courtesy of the employees. The main principle on which the business seems to be conducted is the pleasing of the purchaser. An example to the employees in this important phase of business success is found in the affability and never-forgotten courtesy of Mr. Louis Fred, who has been associated with his brother in the management of the store since the day of its establishment.

            The business of the S. Fred store has been conducted with one finger always on the pulse of the greater, outside realm of activities, and stood ready at all times, not only to enhance its own special interests, but has always showed a desire to be a power for good in the surrounding community. It soon became awake to the wide advantages of the co-operative system, and in the year 1910 the citizens of Lebanon were given an opportunity, if they so desired, to become shareholders in the business, and so fully did many of the leading citizens of Lebanon and Warren county realize the benefits accruing from this home investment, that but little soliciting was necessary on the part of the firm. The stock was offered at, ten dollars per share, and the benefits resulting to the purchaser are seven per cent on the investment, with a discount of five per cent on every purchase made in the store. The stock certificates are also accepted as cash in all purchases or in the settlements of accounts. The purchaser has the privilege of having the stock transferred on the books of the company at any time he so desires, and never incurs any liability, as the stock is non-assessable. This cooperative plan has added greatly to the interest of the community at large in the prosperity of a business that carries the welfare of its friends and neighbors along as a feature of general success. Underneath all the activity and good fortune of the S. Fred Mercantile business is the cardinal principle of all achievement, (page 387) and that is undeviating adherence to honest dealing with the customer. In this line the firm goes so far as to insist that the customer must be satisfied even at a loss to the store. If dissatisfied with a purchase, the article may be returned or exchanged and the money will be refunded.

            The influence of such an establishment upon its environment cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. It is a wonderful example of splendid achievement, founded upon strict business integrity, to every young man entering either upon a business or professional life.

            The business scope of this progressive establishment has, several times, been greatly enlarged. In the month of January, 1918, its capital stock of $60,000 took a big leap to one of $100,000, $40,000 preferred and $60,000 common.

            The present official management of the store lies in the capable hands of Solomon Fred, president and treasurer; Louis Fred, vice-president ; H. W. Ivins, secretary. Its efficient board of directors are Solomon Fred, Louis Fred, Howard W. Ivins, A. B. . Kaufman, Miss Ida Rosenthal, and Samuel Fred, of ' Richmond, Indiana.

            For nearly twenty years Lebanon's elevator has done a thriving business, and the shipping facilities of the town have placed more hogs in the Cincinnati market, than have been forwarded by any other town in southern Ohio.

            One of the most helpful activities of the village is the Building and Loan association, through which many people of limited incomes are enabled to own property and lay up a surplus for the rainy day.

            Electric Power in Lebanon. In the year 1880, three years after the telephone astonished the world with its wondrous power of voice-transference, the first wires were stretched in Lebanon for home communication. Not until the spring of the following year was the village connected with Franklin and Middletown, and the first conversation between Lebanon and one of its neighbors, took place on the evening of May 1st, 1881, between the Hon. Josiah Morrow of Lebanon and Mr. C. H. Bundy, manager of the line, who talked from Middletown.

            Eight years later a private corporation established an electric light plant in Lebanon, and the streets were soon brilliant with incandescent lights, very different from the gasoline lamps on wooden posts which had made the streets of the village luminous just twenty years before. Many private residences were also wired for the new light, and in the year 1898 Lebanon voted an appropriation of $20,000 in bonds for the purchase of the electric light plant, and since that date it has been owned and operated by the municipality; during the same year electric arc lights were substituted for the street incandescent lights which had been in use for about nine years.

            Electricity as a motive power as well as for illumination crept gradually into use in the business houses of Lebanon, and there are but few, if any, places of commercial activity, where it is not now used for both purposes. In some Lebanon shops the old steam (page 388) engine has been removed and power furnished by the magical strength of the wonderful current. In the Oregonia Bridge works electricity has taken the place of steam power. The Western Star applies the "magic fluid" to many uses. Not only does it light the office and press room, but at its bidding, the presses go instantly to work as does the paper folding machine.

            In the fall of the year, 1903, an electric railway was completed from Lebanon to Cincinnati. Eight months later the first passenger car on the electric line between Franklin and Lebanon, arrived at the latter village on May 28th, 1904.

            Besides owing its electric light plant, the municipality of Lebanon also owns its waterworks system, gas works and opera house. All these modern improvements and necessary comforts are controlled by vote of the village.

            Telegraph. Seven years after the electro-magnetic telegraph system was established between Washington and Baltimore, which was in March, 1844, an office was opened in Lebanon on a line operating between Cleveland and Cincinnati. But a long time elapsed before the service became financially profitable to the company, and the "receipts of the Lebanon office were barely sufficient to pay the salary of the operator."

            The Lebanon office was opened August 1, 1851, the operator being Montgomery Patton, but the service in 1856, fell into the hands of James B. Graham, who manipulated the key for the long period of thirty-six years. The telegraph office was in a room in his residence on Broadway, and as he carried on the tailoring trade in the same room, he was kept quite occupied with the different duties of the place. It was an attractive resort for the men of the village, and few indeed were the evenings that did not find a group of intelligent villagers gathered for the purpose of discussing town interests, or more probably, national, state and local politics. Even deeper subjects made the hours fly before it was time to disperse to their several homes for the sleep of the righteous, for Lebanon's telegraph operator was a man of wide reading and especially fond of acquainting himself with experimental philosophy and practical mechanics. His interests practically, were not confined to his trade or operating the telegraph key. He found leisure to fill the offices of mayor, justice of the peace and town councilman at various times ; through his persistent effort Lebanon purchased its first fire engine, and was made to see the necessity of good street crossings and the digging of a fre-cistern ; he was also an enthusiastic promoter of the building of Washington Hall, and a zealous advocate for the establishment of gas and waterworks in the village. Mr. Graham died at the home of his son, Dr. W. T. Graham, in Indianapolis in 1910, at the advanced age of ninety-four years. His body was brought for interment to the Lebanon cemetery.

            The Grand Army of the Republic. On Thursday, May 30th, 1918, Granville Thurston Post, No. 213, of the Grand Army of the Republic of Warren county, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of beautiful Memorial Day at the opera house in Lebanon. People came from near and far to honor the memory (page 389) of those who had laid their lives upon the altar of their country's need, and to unite in the patriotic service with the "boys in blue" who are still left to gather around the "camp fre" and tell the tragic story of the early sixties. The following pleasing program was given, under the directorship of Comrade Josiah Holbrook : Music, Harmon Hall Band ; Invocation, by the Rev. Father J. E. Bartel ; Song, America, by schools ; Solo, My Own United States, Miss Alice Montfort; Recitation, Lincoln's Gettysburg address, Madison Curry Hutchinson ; Song, "Battle Hymn of the Republic," by schools; Oration, by Hon. Willard Jurey Wright; Quartet, Keep the Home Fires Burning, Miss Alice Montfort, Mrs. Fred Pauly, Messrs. C. C. Eulass and C. E. Parker. Announcements : Song, Star Spangled Banner, by schools ; Benediction by the Rev. Charles F. Williams ; American Hymn, by the band.

            At present there are fifty members enrolled on the Post roster, with the following register of officers ; post commander, Milton Brown ; senior vice commander, D. J. Morris ; junior vice commander, F. M. Hamilton ; chaplain, Albert Brant; officer of the day, James M. St. John ; officer of the guard, John Trovillo; surgeon, H. H. Dunham; adjutant and quartermaster, Henry Reid; quartermaster sergeant, Josiah Holbrook ; sergeant major, Silas Hutchinson ; guard, William Gerrard.

            The Masonic Organization. The Masonic Order of Warren county has a very large enrollment. The first in age is Lebanon Lodge No. 26, F. and A. Masons. Its charter was granted January 3, A. D. 1815. Following is the list of officers for 1919: Frank V. Stitt, wor. master ; Stanley M. Sellers, senior warden ; Wilmer Littell, junior warden ; Robert B. Foster, Chaplain ; Peter B. Benham Treasurer ; Ed S. Conklin, Secretary ; William Fraser, Senior Deacon ; Heber D. Williams, Junior Deacon ; William T. Drake, Tyler; Solomon Fred, John W. Bratten, J. Raymond Law, Trustees; Ed S. Conklin, G. F. Brown, Stewards.

            Deceased past masters: Thomas Ross, Phineas Ross, Thomas Corwin, Samuel Reeder, Allen Wright, Lewis Osborn, George Kesling, Samuel Glenny, H. M. Stokes, William Adams, W. F. Parshal, Thomas Hardy. T. Kelley O'Neall, John R. Drake, J. F. Benham, J. D. Steddom, W. R. Kemper, Robert G. Hufford. Living past masters : Albert H. Kelsey, Joseph W. O'Neall, F. M. Cunningham, M. A. Jameson, C. W. Randall, Frank Brandon, Edward S. Stevens, George G. King, C. C. Eulass, J. M. Hamilton, F. M. Hamilton, Bert Drake, G. F. Brown, F. D. Strickler, J. V. Mulford, P. P. Benham, W. M. Jackson. Chas. T. Cross, Solomon Fred, Dean Stanley, John W. Bratton, Chas. J. Waggoner, Claude A. Brunner, Harry C. Schwartz.

            Roll of members: John M. Adams, Albert Anderson, Owen T. Anderson, Chas. Babbit, Frank W. Baker, Robert E. Baldwin, Chas. A. Beatty, George Benham, Guy T. Behm, Boyd Benham, Peter P. Benham, Harold Benham, Albert H. Bennett, Elmer J. Beedle, Ellery F. Beller, Frank Binkley, John A. Blair, jr., William E. Blair, Robert M. Blair, Chas. Boerstler, Percy W. Bolmer, Fred S. Bone, Huse Bone. Karl Bone, Clarence Booth, John H. Booth, Raymond A. Booth, William D. Booth, Elwood F. Borden, John W. Bowyer, (page 390)       Clifford W. Bowyer, Frank Brandon, Thomas S. Brandon, Alfred C. Brant, John W. Bratten, Clifton E. Bratten, Elder R. Brewer, Clarence Brown, Granville F. Brown, Clarence A. Brown, Karl M. Brown, Wade S. Brown, Sylvester C. Britton, Claude A. Bruner, Boyd H. Buchanan, John Buck, Joseph L. Budd, Charles F. Bull, John E. Bundy, Edward E. Blood, Chas. E. Braumiller, Fred P. Bennington, Frank B. Carey, Ralph H. Carey, Harry W. Carey, Luther Case, William M. Chambers, Oliver H. Chenoweth, Ed. S. Conklin, Delbert H. Cleland, William W. Cline, Earl J. Coburn, Daniel Collett, Leroy Conover, E. W. Conover, J. Milton Conover, John W. Cole, Clyde Collins, Clinton D. Corwin, La France Coryell, Walter S. Cowan, Chas. T. Cross, J. Earl Cox, Harrell Crane, Frank

M. Cunningham, William J. Curran, J. Marion Cochran, William G. Curran, Humphrey A. Darby, John D. Dawson, Heber M. Dill, William H. Dilatush, C. Donald Dilatush, Karl D. Dakin, Joseph H. Drake, Raymond Donley, Val Dombaugh, Frank Dombaugh, Bert Drake, Horace A. Drake, William T. Drake, Silas Drake, Alfred W. Drake, David E. Dunham, Leander S. Dunham, Clem Daly, Alfred O. Dill