Buxton—Part III

Dec. 24…I received a nice little note from a reader this morning saying how much they are enjoying the Buxton story. How about that?  So kind of them to take the time to write.  Thank you, dear reader!

So let’s continue with another installment of:

 “Buxton Was Not Really a Tough Town” 

By Hazel Nylander, Aug. 3, 1970. 

Mrs. Nylander lived in Buxton as a child. She passed away in 1992 at the age of 95.

“The first time I heard a radio was in a room at the mercantile store where I worked. Between the squawks and squeaks we managed to hear the music, but it was nothing like today’s music. You had to try hard to hear anything above the moaning and groaning.

Ice skating was a popular winter sport. There was a certain reservoir that was always used for skating. After the ice got to a certain thickness, it was cut into blocks and stored in ice houses to be used next summer.  We also had bobsled races.  Hayrides were popular in the summer.

The YMCA was a three-story building with heat and electricity; it was Buxton’s pride and joy. The first floor was a gymnasium with pool tables, a boxing ring, and other equipment.  The second floor was a theater, and since the YMCA was on the theater circuit, minstrel shows, like the Maharas and McCabe Minstrels, girlie shows, dramas, tear jerkers, and professional boxing matches were held there.

When silent movies began, they were shown in the YMCA theater. Two French women, the Langlois sisters, ran the movies. One would run the projector, and the other would provide the background music and sounds. Of course, one had to be an accomplished musician to give the sound of horses galloping one minute, and hearts and flowers music the next.

We attended the movies as often as possible, and though the reel would always break part way through the film, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

The top floor of the YMCA was given over to Lodges. A number of groups met there. An annex to the building was used for dances and skating parties.

The COMPANY mercantile store was a truly remarkable one for its time. It was built after the first store was destroyed by fire. I lived at a camp called Eveland, which was three miles from the store, and I saw the flames of the fire in the first store from my home.

The new store had a complete basement and a row of windows stretched across the front. A window decorator was employed to do nothing but decorate windows and set up floor displays throughout the store.  There were ladies wear, dry goods, drugs, grocery, shoe and hardware departments, not to mention a complete line of miner’s tools, china and cooking utensils.

The grocery department was quite different from modern grocery stores. The sugar and salt came in large sacks, and butter, lard, vinegar, kraut and peanut butter came in large containers. All were measured out to the exact amount the customer requested.

I’ll never forget the first olives we tasted at the store. They came in a large container, as most of the products did, and after tasting them, we predicted they would never be a success.

A floor walker and a boy to open the front door were employed by the store. Most of the goods were sold on charge accounts, and all the business had to go through the main credit office, which was presided over by Mrs. Christie.

I worked in the store for three years, and it was a marvelous experience. Both whites and blacks were employed and there was no friction, but there was no mingling activities outside the store and its business, either.

Buxton had its own electricity supply which provided power for the store, YMCA, and some of the houses. It also had its own telephone exchange.

Buxton is gone now, just as if a bomb had destroyed her, and after those who lived there are gone, it will not be remembered for all the good people who lived there, and not as “the toughest town east of Dodge City.”  Buxton has disappeared as a town, but still lives on in its people.”

Next time, Mrs. Nylander shares more about her hometown of Buxton back in the early 1900’s.

Note: I am really impressed with Mrs. Nylander’s writing, her word use and sentence structure. Education back then was important and very likely a lot more difficult then we have today. I once saw a test for 8th graders and it was about like reading Greek. Not easy at all. So I think students back then had some excellent teaching. 

Another note: We have walked around the old town site more than once, observing the foundations where the YMCA and mercantile were, and back in the back to the old reservoir. I also am impressed with the ton of fun those folks had!  Bobsled races! Can you imagine how fun that would be?  Skating and parties and box suppers, theatre productions…  I think we today miss out on a lot by staying home with our TV’s. 

Still another note: Lodges. Not sure everyone knows what lodges were; there were the Masons for men, the Eastern Star for women, the Rebeccas, the Odd Fellows, etc. People that joined these were very devoted to them. 

Also, Mrs. Nylander mentions she lived in a camp three miles away from Buxton called Eveland. We used to cross the old Eveland iron and wood bridge many years ago, which was replaced by a new bridge, and that crossed the Des Moines River probably a few miles further north of where she lived. There is still an Eveland Access to camping by the river.

That’s enough history for your little brain for today, so until next time, Happy New Year!