From The Citizen 100 Years Ago, October 31, 1895

[Ole Granny]

Judge Jackson and Wilbur Hurst are the boss squirrel hunters of Elk County.

J. T. Kane, formerly of the Elk Falls mills, has taken charge of the mill at Longton.

Charley Hurst came in from Norman, Oklahoma, where he has been jerking electricity.

W. E. Pierce, Boutelle's efficient helper in the blacksmith shop, left Howard Monday for his claim in Oklahoma.

Thursday, October 25, was the 65th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Lyster.  They were married in Howard and have lived in the vicinity during their married life.

A former Howard high school boy is now playing on radio station KTFI at Twin Falls, Idaho.  To his Elk county friends he is Jack Rauch, but to his many radio listeners, he is known as Rocky Rauch and his "Rhythm Riders."

[W. Gray]

Jerking electricity--what a career.


Someone should have told Marconi about that last paragraph.

[kdfrawg]

Okay, somebody needs to fill me in. I have been around most of the blocks. I have read copiously. I have listened dutifully while others spoke.

What the heck is "jerking electricity?"

[Ole Granny]

Okay, somebody needs to fill me in. I have been around most of the blocks. I have read copiously. I have listened dutifully while others spoke.

What the heck is "jerking electricity?"

I assumed you guys would know!   Time frame- I would guess he was putting up lines to homes but really no clue.

[kdfrawg]

I am having a hard time applying the connotations of "soda jerk" to the phrase "electricity jerk."

[W. Gray]

"Jerking" is a nineteenth century word for "working."

By the way, the subject line was "From The Citizen 100 Years Ago, October 31, 1895." Marconi sent the first radio signal in 1895 but there weren't any radio stations until a number of years later.

I also noticed that the Lyster's celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary and had lived their entire married life in the vicinity of Howard. 1830 would have been their year of marriage. It would be another forty years before Howard City came about and only the Osage Indians were in the vicinity at that time.

There is a disconnect here somewhere. 

[kdfrawg]

Thank you, W. Gray.

But then why weren't they cow-jerks?

[Diane Amberg]

 Because in those days the cows were being poked, not jerked.

[kdfrawg]

Cows are still being poked. Being a cow is not easy, but they are a bit dim, are they not? Still, cows are not "boyed" very often, which is the terminology I was trapping for. I would guess that we would simply have not had a great deal of our country's Western mythology if they had been called "cow-jerks."

[Diane Amberg]

 "Dim" is an understatement. But you'll notice horses aren't poked or boyed, they are wrangled by wranglers. Most of whom are not jerks.