• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sandhenge Publications

Jim Potter, Author

  • About the Author
  • Author Blog
    • Sign Up for Jim’s Posts
  • Blog Podcasts
  • Book Reviews
  • Contact the Author
  • Read the Behind the Books Blog
    • Listen to the Audio Blog
  • Check Book Reviews
  • Sign Up to Receive Blog Posts
  • All Books

Reno County: Grasshopper Invasion of 1874

April 21, 2021 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

Share this blog post

Email
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin

 

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Reno-County-Picnic-Grasshoppers.mp3

· Reno County Picnic: Grasshoppers

·

Settlers in Kansas had to deal with the worst weather. Droughts followed by floods followed by blizzards, busted many a pioneer. There were also grasshoppers and/or locusts. The voracious insects could strip a field of corn for lunch and devour clothes off a nearby clothesline for dessert. In the worst of times, farmers sold their farms, if they could, and headed back east. Many of those who remained, developed an odd sense of survivor humor. This postcard, titled “Rare Sport in the West,” is an example of an exaggeration postcard using self-deprecating humor. Rather than complain about mother nature, settlers learned to tell tall tales and laugh at their unfortunate circumstances. This photo postcard was created and copyrighted in 1909  by Marion W. Bailey (1869-1944), an early-day Hutchinson, Kansas, photographer. Author’s collection

It’s August 3, 1899, at the Old Settlers’ of Reno County picnic in Riverside Park, Hutchinson, Kansas.

Loretta McMillan Collins, 51, eating watermelon; Sarah Jane Riddle McMurry, 45, drinking blackberry cider; and Julia Clementine Latimer Whiteside, 31, eating fresh cherry pie; are sitting in the shade. They’re all wearing fancy hats and talking about the good ole’ days.

However, at age 31, Julia’s hardly eligible to be considered an old settler. Born May 6, 1868, in Jackson, Tennessee, she’s young enough to be a daughter of her husband, Houston Whiteside, Sr.

In 1888, Julia came to Hutchinson to visit her aunt. Julia met Houston and they married the following year in Memphis, Tennessee, at her uncle’s, her father having died in 1887. Julia was 20, Houston was 43.

Julia Clementine Latimer Whiteside inscription on the crypt in the mausoleum

Their two children, Ada, 7; and Houston, Jr., 9; are nearby. Ada’s drawing in a sketchbook; Houston Jr. is catching grasshoppers.

Sarah Riddle, born April 16, 1844, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, married Jonathan McMurry, 27, in Shannon, Illinois, in 1867, when she was 23.

Sarah Jane Riddle McMurry gravestone

Sarah and Jon have enough children, seven to be exact, that just updating friends about their extended family could monopolize a conversation. Today, only their youngest, Edith, 15, is with them at the picnic. She’s listening to her elders.

Loretta McMillan, 51, born September 21, 1848, in Leavenworth County, Kansas, married Charles Collins, 22, at Lawrence, Kansas, in 1866, when she was 18.

Loretta McMillan Collins gravestone

“How is Charles?” Loretta Collins asks Sarah McMurry. This is always the question. The inquiry represents a long-standing bond between families. Charles Collins was the first sheriff of Reno County. He appointed Jon McMurry his undersheriff. Their mutual respect and family ties led Sarah and John to name their third child in his honor. Charles Collins McMurry was born in April 1872, three months after the county’s first election.

“He’s fine, thanks,” replied Sarah. “He and his wife, Rose; and Vernon, their one-year-old, are well.”

“Look at the men,” said Loretta, pointing her jaw towards their husbands. They must be telling war stories.”

“Sure looks like it,” agreed Sarah, “when Jon gets excited, he talks with his hands. Now he’s pointing towards his thighs. That’s where he was severely wounded at Big Hatchie during the battle in Tennessee.”

“Now, Houston’s grabbing his bad arm,” responds Julia. “I’m just glad they can get together and talk. Even though we both survived the devastation of the Civil War, Houston knows that I’ll never fully understand what it’s like to be permanently scarred. You can’t explain war.”

“The war scarred a lot of people, not only men,” said Loretta. “While they were off, our families were home, doing their best under trying circumstances.”

A Kansas family fights a losing battle with the relentless grasshoppers in a cartoon by illustrator Henry Worrall (1825-1902). It’s titled “Grangers versus Hoppers.” Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply.

Changing the subject, Loretta said, “Watching little Houston catch grasshoppers reminds me of the Rocky Mountain locust invasion of 1874.”

“Those ‘hoppers came out of nowhere from the west during that dry and hot summer,” said Sarah. “For days they obscured the sun, flying high in the air; they looked like snowflakes in a snowstorm.

“Streams of grasshoppers would detach from the main body, coming to the ground and devouring corn stalks and anything green. When they landed on our house, they sounded like a rainstorm.”

“Some people thought the swarms of locusts were a sign of the end of the world,” said Loretta. “They quoted Exodus 10 where the Lord told Moses to have locusts swarm over the land of Egypt and to have them devour everything growing in the fields.”

The settlers tried to stop the ‘hoppers but all efforts were in vain. How do you kill millions of flying pests? With a shotgun? Unsuccessful attempts were made to rake them up into piles, like leaves, and set them on fire, as this drawing illustrates. Unknown artist or publication. Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply.

“I wasn’t here in Reno County for the state’s grasshopper plague,” said Julia, “but Houston said the farmers were devastated because when the grasshoppers, or locusts, devoured their crops, they also ate the grains for the following year’s crops and the feed for their work animals.”

“They ate everything but the mortgage,” said Sarah, with a half-smile. “They would eat clothes off the clothesline, get into houses and clean out food in the cupboards. At night, people had to shake bedding to dislodge the grasshoppers before retiring.

“I heard about a woman who was wearing a white dress with a green stripe. The grasshoppers settled on her and ate up every bit of the green stripe in that dress before anything could be done about it.

“I can still hear the crunch of the grasshoppers underfoot when we walked outside. We couldn’t avoid them.”

“Farms were lost and many settlers returned to their former communities back east, broke and defeated,” said Loretta. “A good many families would have starved to death or frozen in their homes without the aid of communities outside of Kansas.”

*

“The frequent rains and flooding in May and June of 1877 in Hutchinson were another memorable event,” said Sarah. “When Cow Creek flooded, two-thirds of the city was inundated. The Main Street businesses had two feet of mud and water rush into their buildings.”

“Sidewalks were wooden, not stone,” added Loretta. “I remember the sidewalks at First and Main being washed away, even though they were staked down. Rowboats were used to ferry people who wished to remain high and dry.”

“On some streets, even riding a horse was dangerous due to the high waters,” added Sarah. “One man was drowned crossing the creek.”

*

Blizzard of 1888. Author’s collection

When Sarah started to recall the blizzard of 1888, Loretta realized that Julia would again be left out of the conversation.

Sarah was aware from the society page in the News that Julia and Houston regularly entertained honored guests at their home on east Sherman. Julia was often described as having a beautiful and cultured voice, being a ‘silvery soprano.’

“Was it difficult for you to adjust to Hutchinson from your life in Tennessee and Ohio?” asked Loretta?

“Houston made it easy for me,” answered Julia, “and the timing was right. My father had died the year before we met. When I visited my aunt here in Hutchinson, Houston and I were attracted to one another. He paraded me around as a classical amateur singer.”

“Did you have plans for the stage?” asked Loretta, knowing she may have gotten too personal.

Julia hesitated just a second before answering. “Neither Houston or I were prepared for a career in theater, although I had offers for professional services. We didn’t need the money,” replied Julia. “Instead, we’ve chosen to support the cultural arts. Houston expects a home theater to be built in a couple of years.

“Recently, at a celebration at home I sang, Non Mi Dir (Don’t Tell Me), from Don Giovanni, by Mozart.”

*

“It looks like Jon is getting his fiddle out,” said Sarah. I’ll bet he’s going to play Fisher’s Hornpipe or Money Musk.

“While I’m trained in classical music, I enjoy good music anytime,” said Julia, as she stood up, ready to move closer to Jon who was preparing to play.

Julia saw her husband walking towards her with his good hand outstretched. She reached for it. 

*

If you’re interested in what Julia Clementine Latimer Whiteside’s soprano voice might have sounded like in the 1880s and 1890s, click here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=HcD_Mi-7Kcc

Edita Gruberova, at age 63, in 2010, sings the classical song Non Mi Dir, by Mozart. The musical piece is 6:31 minutes long.      

*

One resource: History of Reno County, Kansas: Its People, Industries and Institutions, V1, (B. B. Bowen & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1917), by Sheridan Ploughe. 

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

Share this blog post

Email
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin

Related

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Bellefonte Pennsylvania, Charles Collins, Charles Collins McMurry, Cow Creek, Don Giodanni, Edita Gruberova, exaggeration postcards, Exodus 10, Fisher's Hornpipe, Henry Worrall, Houston Whiteside, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, John McMurry, Jon McMurry, Jonathan McMurry, Julia Clementine Latimer Whiteside, Kansas Authors Club, Kansas State Historical Society, Leavenworth Kansas, Loretta McMillan Collins, Marion W. Bailey, McMurry Brothers, McMurry Brothers Band, McMurry's String Band, Memphis Tennessee, Mozart, Non Mi Dir, Old Settlers' Association of Reno County, Reno County, Reno County Sheriff, Rocky Mountain locust invasion, Sarah Jane Riddle McMurry, Sheriffs of Reno County

Sign Up for the Blog

You will never have to check this site for the latest blog post, and you’ll get the latest and the greatest first! You will receive a confirmation email that you must respond to in order to be officially subscribed.

IMPORTANT! Check your Junk and Spam folders as needed!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alrx says

    April 21, 2021 at 7:38 am

    Meanwhile this wonderful conversation is going on!!!

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      April 21, 2021 at 7:44 am

      Side-conversations are part of history.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Jim Potter, Author

author

Recent Blog Posts

  • Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Draft Status February 2, 2023
  • Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Choosing a Title January 26, 2023
  • Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Multitasking January 19, 2023
  • Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Networking January 12, 2023
  • Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Introduction January 5, 2023

If you prefer to listen . . .

If you prefer to listen to my blog posts, you can do so … List of podcasts about Podcasts

Post Archives

  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • September 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017

What People Are Saying

Footer

Follow Jim on Facebook

Follow Jim on Facebook

Interviews with Jim Potter

Video interview with James Lowe outside Bookends Bookstore July 21, 2022

Print interview with author Bill Bush September 1, 2022

Print interview with author Cheryl Unruh February 28, 2019

Hutchinson Magazine Article

Copyright © 2023 Sandhenge Publications · Website by Rosemary Miller