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| Horace Bunn Ickes |
Horace, Adam and Ellen's son, spent the last few years of his life living with his mother, Ellen, and sister, Allegra. He wrote a short personal history, probably at Alle's insistence. Among his memories of Sidney he wrote:
I attended school in Pleasantville until the Spring of 1884 when we moved to Sidney, Nebraska, my father, mother, sister and I. Sidney at that time was a very busy place. [It] was a rough and ready frontier with a population of about 1300. There were 27 saloons and dance halls and no churches. There was a U.S. Government Fort located there. I worked in my father's store for several years and later was taken into the business, as there was plenty of money to be made. Freight and passengers were conveyed to the Black Hills from Sidney by Ox Teams and Stage. Soldiers would act as an escort to protect them from Indian raids. Gambling supported many people. Miners would come in from the Black Hills with a small stake and expect to take the train for their old home, but they would be enticed into one of the gambling games and by morning they would be broke and then they would retrace their steps beck to the Hills for another stake. Customers would come for a distance of 150 to 200 miles, making but two trips a year and they would buy goods by the bolt, groceries by the case and sack and pay cash. This was then a great cattle country and the cowboys would help to make the town gay. Yes, they were wild and woolly days, but you made real friends there, attended to your own business and you were never molested. It was only a short time until the railroad entered the Black Hills and that ended the nice money making business.
On 30 May 1885 Adam delivered a Memorial Day address to the town of Sidney. As a veteran of the Civil War and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, I'm sure he came across as a true patriot, an inspired leader, and an eloquent orator. (Interestingly though, May of 1885 was the same month he reported that he was busily engaged in building his house on the homestead 19 miles out of town. What a great multi-tasker he must have been!)
Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen:
This beautiful custom of a grateful people is said to have
had its origin in the fact that on the 13th day of April, 1862, one
year after the fall of Fort Sumter, Mrs. Evans, with the wife and two daughters
of Chaplain May, of the 2nd regiment Michigan volunteers, decorated
the graves of a considerable number of soldiers buried on Arlington heights,
near Washington. In May of the following
year they rendered the same sadly pleasant attention to the graves of soldiers
buried at Fredericksburg.
The custom became so popular and met with such unqualified
approval that in 1873 congress declared the 30th of May a legal
holiday.
And now another year in life’s campaign brings us again to
Memorial day, with it’s sad memories and tender associations, and as the nation
bends over the graves of its heroes and pays to noble dust the tribute of its
love, let us remember that we are not only to cast our floral offering upon its
graves of our former comrades in arms, but standing in their presence to
rededicate ourselves to the unfinished work they have left us to do.
We shall stand to-day (sic.)
at the graves of our former comrades who marched with us one year ago. At these graves we are reminded that our
ranks here are rapidly thinning, and with each vacant place come new and
weightier responsibilities. But a few
years ahead and that noble army that broke rank in 1865 & returned to their
homes will be no more. Their memories
alone will remain. Thousands already
have heard their last “tattoo”. X (sic.)
Their work is done their mission ended.
To us, their comrades, is given the duty of keeping fresh and green
their memories; of perpetrating and transmitting intact to posterity the
country perfected by their sacrifices and sufferings. Resting from their labors the start of their
lives jeweled by deeds of valor & patriotism shall inspire in the hearts of
all the people a love for country & flag that shall keep the land forever
united, beautiful and free; that there may be no north, no south, no east, no
west, but every where, all over this broad land from the lakes to the gulf,
from Plymouth Rock to the Golden Gate, millions of patriotic, public-spirited
men & women, whose highest aim shall be a moral & religious elevation
of all the people & purity in public affairs, until there shall not be a
“blot or stain upon the fait escutcheon of America’s greatest Republic”. Then methinks the “Angels of Advent who sing
the song of “peace on earth, good will to men”, shall bend over their harps to
pour rapture down upon a world growing green and blossoming with beauty, a
world of teeming activity invention & production, in which fraternity
charity & loyalty shall dominate supreme.
At Sidney 5/30/85
On President's Day, 22 February 1886, Adam addressed a crowd in the town of Potter, Nebraska (not far from his house) on the subject of George Washington.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The subject of this sketch was born on the 22nd
day of February A.D. 1732 in Westmoreland Co. State of Va. His genealogy is a matter of greater
importance to the memory of his ancestors that to his own; he throws back far
greater glory than he can inherit. The
family and name are traced by genealogists to the 12th century.
His great grandfather emigrated to this country in 1657, and
settled in Virginia. His father died in
1743, leaving a valuable landed property to his widow and five children. To our hero, the oldest son of the second
marriage, he gave the estate opposite Fredericksburg Va; the income of the
whole being left with the mother, till the sons respectively should come of
age. The mother was a woman of superior
intelligence and energy, and ruled her family and household with a firm hand.
The means of education were scanty. He was taught reading, writing, book-keeping,
and at a later period surveying. His
early education did not extend beyond his own language. But by long practice, attentive reading of
good authors, and scrupulous care in the preparation of his letters and other
compositions he acquired a correct and perspicuous English style. He is unquestionably to be added to the list
of eminent men whose characters have been moulded by a mother’s influence. He evinced in his boyhood the military
taste. The self-elected but willingly
obeyed leader of his comrades, he formed them into companies for their juvenile
battles.
His early repute for veracity and justice with his athletic
prowess beyond his years, made him the chosen umpire of their disputes. A spot is still pointed out, where, in his
boyhood he threw a stone across the Rappahannock. At the age of 16 yrs. he was employed by Lord
Fairfax to survey his vast estates, which required 3 yrs. A portion of the country traversed by him
formed a part of that debatable land the disputed right to which was the
original moving cause of the 7 yrs. war.
No military schools existed at that time even in the mother
country. His experience in border life
prepared him for his military education, and at the age of 19 he received the
appointment of adjutant general with the
rank of major. The struggle of France
and England for the exclusive possession of the Eastern portion of the American
continent was the great national drama of the 18th century. It subjected the entire frontier to all the
horrors of remorseless border and savage war.
At the age of 21 he performed a most perilous duty – that of
carrying an official document from James River to the shores of Lake Erie. The distance was 5 or 6 hundred miles,
through wilderness, over mountains, and across rivers, with all the hazards of
an Indian frontier. The return journey
was a series of the severest exposures and the most imminent perils. With but one companion and an Indian guide,
they were dogged through the woods by Indians and the guide himself exerted all
the arts of savage cunning after leading them out of their way to get
possession of our hero’s gun. After
dismissing their guide they pursued their journey through the long Dec. night. They expected to find the Allegheny River
frozen over, but in this they were disappointed. With a single hatchet they constructed a raft
and launched it upon the river, but were soon wedged in by drifting masses of
ice. In his endeavor to stop the raft he
was thrown into the river where it was 10 ft. deep. He saved his life by slinging to a log; and
they were compelled to abandon the raft and pass the night on an island in the
middle of the river. In the morning they
were enabled to cross on the ice thus escaping the tomahawk of the pursuing
savages.
This adventure throws light on traits of his character which
in after-life were more fully developed in his circumspection and
prudence. The first blow struck in the 7
yrs. war, being in command of a trifling force it devolved upon our hero to
repel it. A severe action in which the
French forces from Fort Duquesne greatly outnumbered the English, resulted in
the capitulation of our hero with his command.
The following year General Braddock in the hope of reducing Fort
Duquesne led his army of 1460 men into an ambuscade, in which, after a terrific
and deadly struggle for 3 hrs. lossed (sic)
in killed and wounded nearly 2/3 of his command, himself mortally wounded. Our hero was an aid to the general and
relates that “By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence I have been
protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had 4 bullets
through my coat, and two horses shot under me; yet I escaped unhurt, though
death was leveling my companions or every side of me.” But our article is growing too long. We have somewhat in detail dwelt upon the
character of our hero as a young man and will pass by his connection with the
army in the 7 yrs war, which by the provisions of the treaty of 1763 extinguished
the French dominion in North America.
To do full justice to the character of our hero, as the
great leader of the American revolution would far exceed my limits. And are they not well known to almost every
school boy?
His marriage was a fortunate circumstance. His wife brought him a large accession of
fortune for those days; and by her solid virtues, cheerful disposition, and
simple & amiable manners, relieved him from the cares of domestic life,
strengthened the attachments of his friends, and adorned the high public
stations to which he was successively called.
Her simple life is worthy the emulation of every American lady. Twice president of the United States, he retires
to private life, of all men that have ever lived, the greatest of good men and
the best of great men.
Posterity will not be left without a faithful representation
of his person. You will find them over
the land, and as the years roll by, on each successive 22nd of
February the American people will assemble to do him reverence.
He may have made some mistakes, but our long and unbroken
devotion to him keeps the heart so young and so fresh that we revive only his
best deeds. His was a mysterious quality
of character, manifested in a long life of unambitious service which called by
whatever name, inspires the confidence, commands the respect, and wins the
affection of contemporaries, and grows upon the admiration of successive
generations, forming a standard to which the merit of other men is referred,
and a living proof that pure patriotism is not a delusion, nor virtue an empty
name, no one of the sons of men has equaled George Washington.
Potter 2/22/86.
As County Treasurer he had many interesting and important civic duties to perform.
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| Omaha Daily Bee 8 February 1888 |
In March of 1888 he was also elected treasurer of the Cheyenne County Republicans.
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| Omaha Daily Bee 28 March 1888 |
In May of 1888 he delivered the Memorial Day address in Gering, Nebraska.
Comrades of thy Grand Army,
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
This beautiful custom of a grateful people is said to have
had its origin in the fact that on the 13th day of April, 1862, one
year after the fall of Fort Sumter, Mrs. Evans with the wife and two daughters
of chaplain May, of the 2nd regiment, Mich. Volunteers, decorated
the graves of a considerable number of soldiers buried on Arlington heights,
near Washington. In May of the following
year they rendered the same sadly pleasant attention to the graves of soldiers
buried at Fredericksburg, Md. The custom
became so popular and met with such unqualified approval that in 1873 through
the efforts of that noble volunteer soldier the lamented John A. Logan congress
declared the 30th of May a legal holiday.
And now another year in life’s campaign brings us again to
Memorial day, with its sad memories & tender associations, and as the
nation bends over the graves of its heroes and pays to noble dust the tribute
of its love, let us remember that we are not only to cast our floral offerings
upon the graves of our former comrades in arms, but standing in their presence
to rededicate ourselves to the unfinished work they have left us to do. Friends, upon this closing day of the budding
Spring, when “hoary frosts have fallen in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,”
our smiling land presents a scene that should forever blot from the record the
slander of the poet and the silly carping of the politician.
Millions of people have gathered to-day (sic) to sing paeans of gratitude to
their sleeping benefactors and with one loud voice to chant anthems of sweet
appreciation, that may rise from earth to heaven like “Sabean odors from the
spicy shore of Araby the blest.”
We have come to claim our share in this beautiful and
grateful service, & to perform our parts in an act that possesses no
quality of a task. To be an American
citizen officiating in a service of gratitude to the fallen defenders of his
country is but second to being numbered among those to whom this homage is
rendered. No more lofty acts are to be
found in the records of authentic history than the noble sacrifices of the American
soldier upon the field of battle and the votive offerings of his countrymen
upon the holy altar of the memory.
Over a quarter of a century has fallen into the abyss of
eternity since the vernal air of an April morning rang out the announcement
that war was full upon our people. That
was not a large gun that opened upon Fort Sumter, but it was the most
significant gun that ever belched forth the dread missiles of death. Its reverberations were heard throughout the
length and breadth of the land, nor ceased to thunder until over 2 million patriots
voluntarily left their homes, their families and their peaceful pursuits to
defend upon battle-plain and over the swelling wave the principle then
submitted to decision under the dread arbitrament of war, nor until 360,000
graves mark the number of those killed in battle, & dying in hospitals,
upon road sides, in prisons, as the results of wounds, or disease, of hardships
and exposures, nor until 300,000 union soldiers & sailors were made
cripples for life, and left more than a million devoted mothers, widows,
sisters, and orphans to mourn for their loved ones who did not return. Who is here today that does not remember the
sad partings of father, husband, brother, son, sweetheart and loved ones, and
the intense anxiety through those long terrible years until the smoke of war
cleared away. Let memory revert to the
songs that were sung, the letters that were written, the long farewells, the
hopes, joys and disappointments of those dreadful years when the nation was
baptized in tears and blood and we shall catch an inspiration that shall fill
our hearts with devotion and praise on account of a free and united country.
We are not here to-day to talk of the causes that led to
this great sacrifice. Men & women
are before me today in the full growth and estate of maturity who have come
upon the stage of life and action since that appalling event occurred. But they know as well as the actors in it the
sad story of that blighting conflict, when men of the same nationality met in
opposing ranks upon the field of battle.
Their hearts swell with the same pride of country and palpitate with the
same beat of gratitude as do the men & women who lived through the crucial
test, whereby the strength of the Republic was tried in the fire of steel.
It is no new custom to offer oblations in memory of the
dead. In every age of intelligent man,
the struggles of life have been sustained by a belief in and a “longing after
immortality”. There is no existing
record of the human race that does not attest this interesting fact. Monuments, mounds and sepulchers that have
survived the names of individuals & outlasted their more perishable bodies
alike bear witness of it. The pyramids
of Egypt, some 70 in number were built as tombs for fearful monarchs yearning
after the gods & longing for immortality.
These piles represent an amazing effort at construction. The mighty Cheops, standing upon a level base
within the Lybian chain, still rears its lofty peak 543 ft. thus towering
within a few feet of the pinnacle of the beautiful shaft erected upon the banks
of the Potomac to the father of a mighty nation. One hundred thousand men toiled beneath the
sun of Egypt for half a century to erect that tomb in order that the pigmy who
was to occupy it might under the Egyptian theology be saved to the longed for
immortality. For 4000 years it has waged
battle with the elements. Within that
period men have come & gone, empires risen 7 fallen, nations have been born
and have decayed, & the world has emerged from darkness to light. But the great pile of Cyclopean masonry
stands today the marvel & wonder of the theologian & scientist.
The monument period of America represents a still later era
and a more advanced people.
Monuments in
Mexico and other places reveal the same belief in a future state that have
constantly budded from the flower of hope – from the first day that man’s voice
vibrated upon the cheery air of morning.
The universal credence in an unrevealed future sought
fitting expression in the very earliest times, in a tender regard of the living
for the dead. Before the full
development of language some of the most beautiful truths of nature have been
illustrated by symbolic expression. It
was no less natural than poetic to call in the vegetable & floral worlds to
represent the verdict of the ages against the hopeless doctrine of final
extinction. The growth of flowers in
Spring indicates the revival of the fruitful earth, after a period of quiet
which bears a semblance of death. In the
ancient Republics of Greece & Rome the crown of honor was formed of laurel
or of olive leaves. Victors in the
Pythian games were crowned with a wreath of laurel leaves, which thus became
the symbol of triumph. Julius Caesar
constantly wore a laurel wreath, indicative of dominion, & Augustus &
his successors followed his example.
Among the Romans oak leaves the patriots crown; bay leaves the poets;
myrtle was the crown of beauty; olive the token of peace; ivy the
representative of Bacchus, & cyprus the emblem of mourning. By one poet flowers have been called “the
blooming alphabet of creation,” & by another, “the prophets of
immortality.” They have been largely
used as a device of heraldry, & as such the fleur de lis became an ornament
of the crowns of royalty & of the dross and armor of the nobility in such
countries as Germany, Spain and England; & in the latter the red &
white roses signalized the warring houses of Lancaster & York. The fleur de lis became the national emblem
of France, the thistle of Scotland, & the shamrock of Ireland.
But the beautiful ceremonies of love & remembrance now
so universally performed with flowers came to their fullest expansion through
the growth of the Christian religion.
Branches of palm were thrown in the path of the Savior as he entered
Jerusalem. The crucified Christ received
a crown of thorns by his executioners, but flowers strewn by unseen hands
exhaled their fragrance around the cave wherein his body was laid.
The important feasts of all the churches are now celebrated
with flowers. Every religion that
promises a renewal of life after the sleep upon earth symbolizes its faith
through the blooming beauties of the floral tribes. From the baptismal font to the last couch of
man there lies but a single step; and the rose which unfolded its crimson
petals to the morning air of the child may in the evening give place to the
gentle amaranth, that unfading emblem of immortality, as it speaks of hope from
the grave of man.
Comrades and friends we have come with beautiful flowers,
culled by the eager hands of our brothers and woven into speaking forms by the
fair fingers of our sisters, to render the homage due to patriots who have died
for their country & for all mankind.
The now silent soldiers, whose life-work is finished, championed a
principle toward which the warriors and armies of the world have been constant
by drifting from the earliest recorded struggles upon the plain of Shinar. This principle – the rights of man & the
liberty of the individual – which was planted with the first blood ever shed in
behalf of government, has, like the flower, bloomed upon the morning air of all
the ages. It has been the task of
royalty to cut it down as a weed incumbering the grain. Out brothers whose
memory we honor to day (sic), gave
their lives to perpetuate its growth & progress to the end of time. The world will little note nor long remember
what we say on these occasions, but it will never forget what they did, “and
the story of their lives, their bravery and heroic deeds through hunger &
suffering & blood shall live to remotest time the heritage of the nation
and a grand and glorious example to all her sons.
Let us bring flowers in the Springtime my friends, and by
their gentle office – whether the bodies of our comrades & defenders lie
buried beneath the soil of our common country, or await the final transition in
the bosom of the ocean – we may symbolize our faith, & load the atmosphere
with the fragrant gratitude of an appreciative generation.
Bring flowers, then, to
their memory;
Throw hither all your
quaint, enameled eyes,
That on the green turf
sucked the honeyed showers,
And purple all the
ground with vernal flowers.
Bring the rathe
primrose that forsaken dies;
The tufted crow-tow and
the pale jessamine
The white pink and the
pansy streaked with jet;
The glowing violet.
The musk-rose, and the
well attired woodbine,
With cowslips wan that
hand the pensive head,
And every flower that
sad embroidery wears.”
We shall stand to-day
at the graves of our former comrades who marched with us one year ago. At these graves we are reminded that our
ranks here are rapidly thinning, and with each vacant place come new and
weightier responsibilities. But a few
years at most and that noble army that broke ranks in 1865 & returned to
their homes & peaceful pursuits will be no more. Their memories alone will remain. Thousands already have heard their last
“tattoo”, and have gone to join the majority on the other shore.
“Comrades &
brothers, soon shall we all join the majority.
Thomas McLellan and
Meade,
Hancock and Cavalry Custer;
Garfield and burnside
and Steenman,
And Logan, the peer of
the peerless;
Grant, the great
Captain of Peace
Transfigured on
mountain McGregor;
Gone and fast going our
leaders,
Pillars and pride of
the union.
Aye, and the men who
returned with them,
Out of the fire and the
fury,
Out of the craters of
conflict,
Crippled, and scarred,
and dismembered;
Those who go up in the
anguish,
Waiting on war and its
heritage;
Up from the Almshouse
and alley,
Up from the taunts of
the craven;
Patriots all, going to
join the majority.
Come with your laurels
and palms,
And fair immortelles to
heap o’re them,
Come with your tears
and your tributes
Strew honeyed phrases
above them.
Come with your sons and
daughters,
Your youths and your
beautiful maidens,
Say to them; ‘Here are
the men who loved you, and saved you, and died for you.’
So shall the Union they
wrought
Live in the hearts of
the people.
In the sons full of
valor and strength,
In the daughters of
beauty and promise;
In the splendor of
flower and fruition,
That follows the storms
desolation;
When we in our low
spreading tents,
Dear comrades and
brothers,
Have answered the final
tattoo,
And joined the
majority.”
Comrades and friends
scarce one years have elapsed since this beautiful valley was the abode of the
coyote and the ox. To-day (sic) these
surrounding hills and valleys resound with the melody of the plowman the
milkmaid and young America. This
promising town, yet in its infancy will continue to flourish and grow by the
energy and thrift of its people until it shall take rank with the best towns of
Western Nebraska. The “boys in blue” who
were at Shilo and Missionary Ridge and Gettysburg & all through the war,
some of them are here today to lend a helping hand in the development of this
frontier country. Contrary to the
predictions of some of our would-be wise statesmen at the close of hostilities,
instead of a mob to over run the country and demoralize society they have
proved themselves men in the truest sense and have been largely instrumental in
the settlement and development of the great states of Kansas and Nebraska.
Those who are here
today, who have in years gone by joined with comrades and friends to honor the
beloved dead, must not forget that way back in our eastern homes, kind and
loving hands have gathered choice flowers from field and garden and are today
placing wreaths upon the graves of our loved ones. To us their comrades is given the duty of
keeping fresh and green their memories; of perpetuating and transmitting intact
to posterity the country perfected by their sacrifices and sufferings. Resting from their labors, the story of their
lives jeweled by deeds of valor and patriotism shall inspire in the hearts of
all the people a love for country & flag that shall keep the land forever united,
beautiful and free; that there may be no north, no south, no east no west but,
everywhere, all over this broad land from the lakes to the gulf, from Plymouth
rock to the Golden Gate, millions of free, patriotic, public-spirited men and
women, whose highest aim shall be the intellectual, moral & religious
elevation of all the people & the encouragement of purity in public
affairs, until there shall not be one “blot or stain upon the fair escalation
of America’s greatest Republic.”
Then methinks, the “angels
of Advent who sang the song of “peace on earth, good-will to men,” shall bend
over their harps to pour raptures down upon a world grown green and blossoming
with beauty, a world of teeming activity invention & production, in which
fraternity, charity and loyalty shall dominate supreme.
In September of 1888 Adam spent an entire week in Kearney, Nebraska with his Comrades, reenacting and reminiscing his Civil War days.
 |
| Omaha Daily Bee 17 September 1888 |
Adam had also joined the Knights of Pythias, a Masonic organization, and was considered to be numbered among the "intelligence and wealth" of the city of Sidney.
 |
| Omaha Daily Bee 25 October 1888 |
1888 was a very good year for Adam. And if my theory about William Barr was correct, it falls right in line with what Horace wrote in his short personal history. That could be exactly the time Horace took over William's duties. And with a family member in charge, Adam was able to concentrate even more on self-promotion and his own self-interests.
And, oh yeah, where did Adam say his wife of 25 years was while he was giving speeches and winning public office and attending to civic duties and greeting his public and traveling to week-long reunions and dining at grand banquets and hob-knobbing with the intelligent and wealthy? Oh, I remember now...
1889 began as a banner year for Adam as well. Horace had indicated that there were no churches in Sidney. The only reason I can think of that he would believe that would be because he never had occasion to attend church. Since he was 16 when they moved to Sidney I would imagine if his father attended church he would insist, or suggest...or at least invite, his teenage son to attend with him. Actually, there was a Methodist church and a Presbyterian church in Sidney when they arrived. Other denominations would follow. I believe I can safely assume church attendance had been put on the back burner for quite some time. So where exactly Adam delivered his next speech, dater 21 April 1889, we'll never know, but it must have been within some type of religious institution.
Easter
I am happy, surrounded by so much loveliness &
hope. These bright faces around me must
be expressive of pure & holy thoughts within, while these lovely flowers
& eggs of various tints that have been so artistically arrayed by the fair
hands of the ladies express a language that is truly symbolic.
4000 yrs. ago was the age of pyramids, built as tombs for
fearful monarchs, yearning after gods, & longing for immortality. In Egypt, the mighty Cheops standing upon a
level base within the Lybian chain, still rears its lofty peak 543 ft, thus
lowering within a few ft. of the pinnacle of the beautiful shaft erected upon
the banks of the Potomac to the father of a mighty nation.
Within that period men have come & gone, empires risen
& fallen, nations have been born & have decayed, & the world has
emerged from darkness to light. But the
great pile of cyclopean masonry stands today, the marvel & wonder of the
theologian & scientist. The
ornamental period represents a still later era & a more advanced people revealing
the same belief in a future state that has constantly budded from the 1st
day that man’s voice vibrated upon the air of morning.
But the beautiful ceremonies of love & remembrance now
so universally performed with flowers came to their fullest expansion through
the growth of the Christian religion.
Branches of palm were thrown in the path of the Savior as he entered
Jerusalem. The crucified Christ received
a crown of thorns by his executioners, but flowers strewn by unseen hands
exhaled their fragrance around the cave wherein his body was laid. The growth of flowers in spring indicates the
revival of the fruitful earth, after a period of quiet which bears a
resemblance of death.
The important feasts of all the churches are now celebrated
with flowers. Every religion that
promises a renewal of life after the sleep upon earth symbolizes its faith
through the blooming beauties of the floral tribes. From the baptismal font to the last couch of
man there lies but a single step; and the rose which unfolded its crimson
petals to the morning air of the child may in the evening give place to the
gentle amaranth, that unfading emblem of immortality, as it speaks of hope from
the grave of man. So this beautiful
display of flowers which are delightful to the eye speak to us of the beauty
& joy & blessedness of a life with the risen Lord.
The origin of the custom of giving eggs at the Easter
festival is lost in obscurity but may be traced back as far as the days of our
Saxon ancestors. The Saxons, when they
took possession of Britain, worshiped various pagan deities, amongst whom was
“Eoester”, whose festival was kept at the full of the moon in the month of
April. She represented the revival of
spring, the resurrection of nature from her long winter sleep. In her honor the people went in gay
procession, with music & dancing, to offer at her shrine the products of
the early spring, consisting chiefly of flowers, water cresses & eggs;
geese being kept by the Saxons & Britons in flocks of hundreds &
thousands, & forming an important article of homestead property. Britons never ate the flesh of the bird,
considering it impious to kill the creature which supplied them with so useful
& ambitious an article of food. The
egg was regarded as emblematic of the life of nature which had so long slept
& was now about to burst forth. When
the Saxons, through the preaching of the early missionaries, embraced the
Christian religion, they continued to celebrate these festivals; only
converting them from the pagan rites to the worship of Christ.
To-day (sic.) therefore, in place of the pagan salutation of
“Eoester” hath awakened: we now hear the religious expression: “The Lord hath arisen.”
Sidney 4/21/89
I would like to think the preparation of this speech brought Adam somewhat back to his senses and once again able to embrace that which was truly important in his life - God and family. From all appearances those had been severely lacking in his life ever since his arrival in Sidney, Nebraska. But if not, sometimes God himself has a way of bringing us to our knees when we neglect Him for too long.
By the way, there's something I failed to mention earlier. A primary responsibility of a county treasurer was to take charge of the county funds. By Nebraska law, county funds were to be kept in the county safe in the county office building or county courthouse. Instead, some county treasurers chose to deposit county money in the local bank so they could collect interest on it. The interest wouldn't be credited to the county - they would PERSONALLY profit from the interest earned. Apparently Adam got wind of this practice and thought it was a great idea. So he took all of the money belonging to Cheyenne County Nebraska out of the county safe, which totaled $17,357.40, and deposited it in the Sidney Bank.
When C. S. Morgan, partner and cashier of the Bank of Sidney, woke up on the morning of June 27, 1889 he knew something that no one else knew. He knew that ALL of the bank's money was gone. So instead of going to work that day, he picked up a colt 45 and blew his brains out.
All original content, images, commentary, etc. copyright © by Joy Denison 2015-2016. All rights reserved. All writings, poems, speeches, essays, images, scans, likenesses, etc. by Adam Ickes (b 1845) as well as personal histories, images, and all other content by all persons referenced and discussed within the pages and posts in this blog may not be copied, shared, or reproduced in any way without expressed permission by the owner unless included here from other referenced sources or are historical records already considered to be in the public domain.
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