Winter has come to an end here but in October of 1909, it was coming on with a vengeance. The cold snap led to this harsh reminder for young Romeos who let their horses stand in the cold while they go a-courtin’.

Enquirer - Oct 28, 1909
Enquirer – Oct 28, 1909

Sam Gorrell, our faithful Bremen Enquirer editor at the time, was only half-joking; horse care was serious business. That same issue included a mention that while a funeral was going on, one man was out taking each team for a walk to keep them active in the cold.

Folks on Plymouth Street were known to quietly take horses into a nearby livery barn when they saw they’d been standing out in the weather a while. And a fellow would be left to wonder if his rig had been stolen or wandered off. In some cases, he could even find himself facing an animal cruelty charge from the town marshal.

In this case, Miss Heinke—either Bertha or Nora—seems to have followed the horse’s advice and given Mr Crowl (or more likely Crowel) the brush off. Bertha married Louis Niemeyer in 1912 and moved to Fort Wayne and Nora married Dr William T Coburn in 1918 and moved to New York.

Incidentally, the Garver livery was located at 212 N Center, where the American Legion post was eventually built.