As we approach this summer's tick season, is there any doubt that a tick can spread disease to humans? Well, let me tell you that in 1939 there was some doubt. Conventional wisdom at the time deduced that ticks from the Rocky Mountain region, ticks that live off squirrels and rodents, ticks that carry relapsing fever, would not bite humans. End of story.
Dr. Gordon Davis, bacteriologist from Montana, disagreed. He believed that Rocky Mountain ticks carrying the fever would, in fact, bite humans. Would you like to know how he proved it? Dr. Davis proved his theory by placing five ticks on his arm, and letting them feast upon his blood. He let them stay there until they grew fat from indulgence and simply dropped off.
Never fear - a 1939 Milwaukee Sentinel article soothingly assures the reader that Dr. Davis "hasn't yet developed the disease" and is continuing his work. He adds that he felt "no sensation" during the experiment, and this could prove that ticks do transmit relapsing fever from the animal kingdom to humans, just as they transmit spotted fever and other ailments.
I'm no doctor, but I probably would have been happy to assume that yes, it is possible.
Speaking of rebels, a police officer was making his rounds in Massachusetts when he was called to address a disturbance. To the noisemaker the cop called, "keep quiet," and was more than slightly perturbed when the reply shot back, "What for?" The officer marched over, but did not make any arrests. Says the Milwaukee Sentinel, "The disturber was Peter, a 20 year-old parrot which specializes in singing Italian opera."
Flipping through the stack of vintage newspapers, my attention was drawn to a bold and unapologetic headline: "How to Murder Dandelions." Giving the article the attention it deserved, I learned an innovative and effective method by which to wreck havoc and mayhem to "those pesky yellow flowers" populating my lawn. In the fall of the year, simply douse your lawn with kerosene. If you live out in the country as I do, and have a deep well to serve your water needs, be sure to drench the area around the well - right where those dandelions seem to exponentially propagate. Simple, right?
A slight disclaimer at the end of the article cautions, "Use only water-white kerosene. Colored kerosene will kill dandelions, and the grass with them."
Speaking of agriculture, a farmer from Pennsylvania finally got his divorce - after 20 years of trying. In 1919, Mr. Hershey filed suit against his wife, charging that she "nagged him and occasionally struck him with a broom." Quite simply, Mr. Hershey ran out of money and the case was postponed. Now 56, Mr. Hershey reappeared at the court, had the old papers dug up, and a final decree was granted. See? Persistence pays off.
Finally, since this is an agricultural community, I would like to leave you with a thought. The Monroe Evening Times ran an article from the AP in the July 3, 1939 newspaper, which attempted to predict the future. The title: "Skim Milk Suits may yet be Worn - They are Too Expensive now, But Experiments go Forward."
Says the article, "Come the chemical revolution, men will wear suits produced from milk and see through eyeglass lenses made from corn plastics. They'll fly airplanes cast from oat-hulls, write letters on cotton paper, run automobiles on cheap corn alcohol instead of gasoline - and the factories will swamp the farm with orders for raw materials.
"That's the pattern of the future as the chemists see it, and they're willing to bet their last test tube it comes true."
I, a dairy farmer, took keen interest in the article, but I am sad to say that a factory has yet to put in an order with me for milk to be woven into suits. Likewise, I think I would shy from piloting an airplane cast from oat-hulls.
Still, I have to point out - it is interesting that in 1939 the chemists confidently "bet their last test tubes" on the development of these astonishing products. Strange, yet fitting, that no one bet the farm.
- Dan Wegmueller of Monroe writes a column for the Times each Monday. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
Dr. Gordon Davis, bacteriologist from Montana, disagreed. He believed that Rocky Mountain ticks carrying the fever would, in fact, bite humans. Would you like to know how he proved it? Dr. Davis proved his theory by placing five ticks on his arm, and letting them feast upon his blood. He let them stay there until they grew fat from indulgence and simply dropped off.
Never fear - a 1939 Milwaukee Sentinel article soothingly assures the reader that Dr. Davis "hasn't yet developed the disease" and is continuing his work. He adds that he felt "no sensation" during the experiment, and this could prove that ticks do transmit relapsing fever from the animal kingdom to humans, just as they transmit spotted fever and other ailments.
I'm no doctor, but I probably would have been happy to assume that yes, it is possible.
Speaking of rebels, a police officer was making his rounds in Massachusetts when he was called to address a disturbance. To the noisemaker the cop called, "keep quiet," and was more than slightly perturbed when the reply shot back, "What for?" The officer marched over, but did not make any arrests. Says the Milwaukee Sentinel, "The disturber was Peter, a 20 year-old parrot which specializes in singing Italian opera."
Flipping through the stack of vintage newspapers, my attention was drawn to a bold and unapologetic headline: "How to Murder Dandelions." Giving the article the attention it deserved, I learned an innovative and effective method by which to wreck havoc and mayhem to "those pesky yellow flowers" populating my lawn. In the fall of the year, simply douse your lawn with kerosene. If you live out in the country as I do, and have a deep well to serve your water needs, be sure to drench the area around the well - right where those dandelions seem to exponentially propagate. Simple, right?
A slight disclaimer at the end of the article cautions, "Use only water-white kerosene. Colored kerosene will kill dandelions, and the grass with them."
Speaking of agriculture, a farmer from Pennsylvania finally got his divorce - after 20 years of trying. In 1919, Mr. Hershey filed suit against his wife, charging that she "nagged him and occasionally struck him with a broom." Quite simply, Mr. Hershey ran out of money and the case was postponed. Now 56, Mr. Hershey reappeared at the court, had the old papers dug up, and a final decree was granted. See? Persistence pays off.
Finally, since this is an agricultural community, I would like to leave you with a thought. The Monroe Evening Times ran an article from the AP in the July 3, 1939 newspaper, which attempted to predict the future. The title: "Skim Milk Suits may yet be Worn - They are Too Expensive now, But Experiments go Forward."
Says the article, "Come the chemical revolution, men will wear suits produced from milk and see through eyeglass lenses made from corn plastics. They'll fly airplanes cast from oat-hulls, write letters on cotton paper, run automobiles on cheap corn alcohol instead of gasoline - and the factories will swamp the farm with orders for raw materials.
"That's the pattern of the future as the chemists see it, and they're willing to bet their last test tube it comes true."
I, a dairy farmer, took keen interest in the article, but I am sad to say that a factory has yet to put in an order with me for milk to be woven into suits. Likewise, I think I would shy from piloting an airplane cast from oat-hulls.
Still, I have to point out - it is interesting that in 1939 the chemists confidently "bet their last test tubes" on the development of these astonishing products. Strange, yet fitting, that no one bet the farm.
- Dan Wegmueller of Monroe writes a column for the Times each Monday. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
