19 Sep 1891--SPECIAL EDITION ABOUT THE TOWN OF HIGBEE--A RECENT APPOINTMENT--A Good Workman Placed in A Responsible Position.--Herschel Ragsdale, one of the brightest young men in the city and an excellent mechanic has been appointed to the position of foreman of the blacksmith shops at the Higbee mine. Mr. Ragsdale is a young man with a family consisting of a wife and four children, and Mr. and Mrs. Ragsdale are counted as among the best citizens of Higbee. His appointment is a good one for the company as he is one of the best of mechanics, is sober, industrious, intelligent, and an earnest worker. The proprietors of the mine are to be congratulated in securing his services. 19 Sep 1891--SPECIAL EDITION ABOUT THE TOWN OF HIGBEE--Dysart & Ward--The enterprising firm of Dysart & Ward is composed of N. N. Dysart and W. E. Ward. They engaged in the livery business in 1890, erecting in September of that year the large and commodious barn on Randolph street between Division street and the C. & A. railroad track. The firm is a strong one and has been remarkably successful. Mr. Dysart is a native of Randolph county and is well known by nearly every body in the county as a thoroughly reliable business man. Mr. Ward is a native of Kentucky, located here in 1885 and accepted a position as salesman in the dry goods store of R. G. Duncan and continued in that position until he engaged in the livery business in 1890. They keep good saddle and carriage horses and their vehicles are of the best and latest makes, a fact appreciated by the public. They are about completing arrangements for the opening of a horse and mule market and will shortly engage in buying and shipping good grades of horses and mules. Their barn is now headquarters for lovers of fine horses and mules will be glad to learn that a ready market for their animals will soon be secured. 19 Sep 1891--SPECIAL EDITION ABOUT THE TOWN OF HIGBEE--L. E. BOOTH, D. V. S.--Diseases of Domestic Animals Treated on Approved Scientific Principles--L. E. Booth, veterinary surgeon and dentist, has recently located in Moberly and has his office at White & Burk's livery stable, No. 102 South Williams street. Dr. Booth is a graduate of the Chicago Veterinary college, and treats diseases of all domestic animals on the latest and most scientific principles. Diseased and irregular teeth are the causes of many diseases and disagreeable habits in horses and blindness in one or both eyes is frequently caused from defective teeth. Improper grinding of food produces indigestion, and indigestion produces hidebound, swollen limbs, staring or death-like coat of hair, and loss of appetite. The Doctor operates on all cases of this kind and puts the teeth in a natural position thereby enabling the horse to properly masticate his food and prevent the diseases that naturally arise from bad teeth. Dr. Booth came to Moberly from Corydon, Iowa, where had a large practice and where considerable of his time is still taken up, as his reputation as a veterinarian extends all over southern Iowa. The castrating of ridglings and the spaying of heifers is done in the most scientific manner, and all calls by telegraph or mail are promptly answered. 19 Sep 1891--SPECIAL EDITION ABOUT THE TOWN OF HIGBEE--JOHN A. BLACKFORD--A Man of Sterling Worth. Loved and Honored by All Who Know Him--Prominent among the substantial citizens in the vicinity of Higbee stands the name of John A. Blackford, a man whose work is as good as his bond, who is loved for the kind charitable deeds that have characterized his whole life, and honored by all who know him for his strict adherence to principle and his strong integrity of character. He is closely identified with every interest of Randolph county. Four miles North of Higbee lies six hundred acres of fertile land owned by Mrs. Sallie Blackford, who was left a widow with five children to rear and educate. The cruel civil war which wrecked the happiness of so many homes, cast its somber shadow over her once happy hearth-stone, and without a word of warning Joseph W. Shackford, the devoted husband and fond father, was cut down while yet in the prime and vigor of his young manhood. The two brothers, John and Joseph, like Saul and Jonathan, (text missing) Uncle John, as he is familiarly called by both old and young goes back and forth to the farm, superintending, assisting and directing as he has always done, with the same unflagging interest in the welfare of his brother's family, which is equal to the strong devotion of Damon and Pythias. Mrs. Blackford is a sister of Finis McLean, so well known in old Randolph. One of her daughters, the oldest, now Mrs. Adams, resides on a farm near the old homestead. F. M. and John S. Blackford are prosperous industrious young men who now reside near Muskogee, Indian Territory, where they are cultivating and improving a large tract of land. The life and history of John A. Blackford is as closely identified with that of his brother's family that in giving a sketch of his life we could not separate it from the mother and children, whose interests have ever lain so near his heart, and whose welfare he has as closely guarded with pure, unselfish fidelity. He is a man of few words, though in the language of a celebrated Irish wit, he "kapes up a dale of thinking." He is a great reader, and when not employed in cut door labor can always be found with book or paper in hand reading, hence he has acquired a large fund of general information. His manners are quiet and unobtrusive, he has no enemies and numbers his friends by the score. He is a pure minded man, unflinching in the discharge of every duty and true to every principle of right. Mr. Blackford was born in Jessamine county, Kentucky, near Lexington, January 1, 1834, and every year of his life since he has been grown to manhood has been devoted to good work and helping his fellow man. (I changed my mind. These were short ones, so I sent four.) Kathy Bowlin, Additions, corrections, comments welcome.