coal business on the site which was later the Miller Lumber Company, where the Elkhorn Rural Public Power District Office and warehouse now is located. Before Mr. Miller came, the business was operated by F. J. Hale with John Avery in charge. Mr. Avery, before that was the first Railway Station Agent.
Andrew Cassel, a Swede, had a store and residence where Aage Peterson, another Scandinavian (Dane), now lives.
A story taken from the July 1, 1898, issue of the Battle Creek Enterprise is indicative of how neighbors cared for one another in the early days. This is the article:
Grandma Taylor has been around this week with a subscription paper soliciting money from our citizens to purchase Mrs. Andrew Cassel a milk cow, and up to this time $25.00 has been subscribed for that purpose. Mrs. Cassel had the misfortune to lose her cow some time ago and is not able to buy another and is badly in need of one as she has a large family of children.
It is believed that the Grandma Taylor referred to was Mollie Taylor's mother as the Taylors lived only a block away across the street from the Catholic Church where Mrs. Kirby now lives.
W. F. Edens, who homesteaded on the land east of Battle Creek about 1869, came into the settlement and established the first saloon in the town. His home was where Mrs. Glandt now lives. The saloon building was west of the Recreation Building and in the very building last occupied by the Battle Creek Enterprise. The second floor of the saloon was the scene of many public square dances, handy to the saloon on the first floor. J. Reimer Gardels, a brother-in-law of Mr. Edens, had built his home on the lot where the Martin Prauner residence is now located and close by he had a stable — to the rear of the present Battle Creek Manufacturing Company. In the Gardels home was a boy Arthur, whom we of the era just passed, knew as "Pop" Gardels and in the Edens family was William, Jr., who about twenty years ago came back to be the railway station agent for a while. In the Gardels stable was a rambunctious billy goat. One night, while a square dance was in progress, the two boys, Art and Billie, propelled the billy goat up the outside stairs, pushed him inside the dance hall and closed the door. By that time, the goat was in no mood for further pushing around and in a good mood to do some butting of his own. History does not relate how the animal was subdued.
Mr. Beyers started a hotel on the corner east from where the Henry Wisch residence is located and his livery barn was located across the street to the east where the Wayne Werner residence now stands. Later D. L. Best bought the hotel and as Dr. Tanner bought all of the block to the east, Mr. Best built a livery barn where our Village Offices and fire station now are located.
Conrad Hansen, father of our late police judge, Charles Hansen, came about 1877 to establish a blacksmith shop on an angling road which cut across the block from the Simon Stephen home to
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