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The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota*

Hobby party

January 29, 1901 - March 1, 1901


PAGE 21

St. Paul this week.
January 29, 1901 Tuesday- Emma went calling with Mrs. E. Sylvester in the afternoon. - Dickman Diary.
February 1, 1901- The M. E. Ladies Aid will meet with Mrs. G. F. Sylvester Thursday Feb. 7.
Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Sylvester were here in the evening planning for a Valentine Party. - Dickman Diary.
February 8, 1901- Mrs. W. P. Dyer of Slayton Minnesota is visiting her mother Mrs. M. A. Sylvester. Mrs. W. P. Dyer has been acting as substitute for Miss Champine in school this week.
February 23, 1901 Saturday- Mrs. E. Sylvester and Emma Eggers were here. - Dickman Diary.
March 1, 1901- Musicale at Church of Christ (Instrumental duet - Birdie Sylvester and Vera Peyton. Reading Mrs. W. P. Dyer. Vocal Solo Miss Electa Sylvester.) Admission 15 cents.
An Enjoyable Evening
Receiving an invitation to spend the evening of the 22nd at the home of Mr. and Mrs. G. F. Sylvester and to "represent our hobby", we took our notebook and pencil and went. We found there about sixty others who had been "bidden" in the same way and who seemed just as curious to know what was to be done as we were.
Each guest wore or carried some emblem or picture which we supposed to represent our chosen "hobby", and on arrival was given a number and his hobby was recorded. He was then furnished a card and pencil on which to write the name and number of other guests and their "hobbies", if we could guess them out. It was a new scheme to most of us, but it became very interesting from the start, so that a busier company of people we have seldom seen either at work or recreation than those there assembled.
Some of the emblems were very plain while others were complex enough and even some of the plainest ones baffled the guesser by their simplicity.
Mr. F. L. Gilbert, the lumber man, had a couple of wooden toothpicks crossing each other fastened to the lapel of his coat, representing his well known hobby, fine lumber.
Mrs. F. L. Meachum wore a small card just over her watch on which was written the words, breakfast, dinner, supper- her hobby "meals on time." Miss Nellie Hall carried a Parke Davis Calendar, showing a picture of a sick cat, representing Mew-sick, of course.
F. J. Cornwell wore a tag on which was an original pencil sketch of a quiet fishing scene - a man seated in the shade on the bank of a stream, with rod and line, a good string of fish in the background and a lunch basket and little brown jug within easy reach.
Miss Electa Sylvester wore a picture of a cart and some written music, which taken together made "cartoons."
Miss Lizzie Koenig kept us guessing all the evening on a picture of some elephants placing railroad ties, though trunks and ties are very suggestive of "travel."
C. D. Burchard wore a little hatchet, which might have had some reference to the famous George Washington incident, but so far as we heard no one consterned it that way. Charley said it represented "Rheumatism" because it attached the joints.
We mention these few of the fifty four hobbies represented just to give an idea of how the scheme worked. After refreshments were served, the list of hobbies was read with the correct answers for each and the guessers checked those which they had correctly written. The highest number claimed was forty-four by Miss Nellie Hall, to whom was awarded the prize - a bunch of carnations.


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* SOURCE: Manzow, Ron (compiler), "The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota - a collection of information taken from the Plainview News, other newspapers, letters, and diaries beginning in 1884": Plainview Area History Center, 40 4th St. S.W., Plainview, MN 55964. Compiled in 2001.

NOTE: from Ron Manzow, December 2001: "Feel free to reproduce the pages for anyone who wants a copy. It was compiled to be shared... All I ask is that they consider sending a check to the [Plainview Area] History Center to help us out. That should be enough."


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