compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, society president
A.G. Patrick was an 1856 Grasshopper Falls (Valley Falls) settler, avid abolitionist, adventurer, later postmaster, mayor, short-time editor of The Valley Falls New Era and one-time prisoner of pro-slavery sympathizers at Lecompton. He recalled events of his personal history with short sketches of well-known characters he encountered.
Of one Patrick wrote “Harry Hoover, in 1855-56 lived on the Delaware River about half way between Ozawkie and Valley Falls. He was arrested by U.S. troops and put with Hickory Point prisoners at Lecompton.
“He was a tall, uncouth looking specimen. He wore an old white fur, bell crowned hat, making him look at least seven feet tall, and in appearance not altogether unlike “Uncle Sam” as portrayed by pictures in papers nowadays.
“Hoover’s hair was long and unkempt, and the luxurious growth of it on his face hid everything but a low forehead, eyes and nose. His pants were altogether too short, and his feet no socks, but he wore an old pair of moccasins made out of green cowhide.
“After prison, he was a frequent visitor to the town (Valley Falls), always making his appearance barefooted. His droll and comical looks attracted the attention of the boys and they would follow him from place to place as vehement and noisy as a pack of hounds in a fox chase.
“Hoover was a regular glutton, the boys often chipping in and buying sugar and they liked to see how much the fellow would eat. He crammed down five pounds easily at a sitting. He had a good digestive apparatus, and a stomach like an ostrich, and to test the matter further, the boys gave up sugar, candies and the like, and tried him on eggs. Five dozen raw was an easy matter without any show of an overdose. Hard boiled ones were the next test, two dozen to begin with, and then another dozen added, and to cap the climax, on a wager, he crammed down another dozen, shells and all! A man with such a capacious and unbounded stomach, to fill him up was like pouring water down a rat hole.”
Source: Valley Falls News Era, Jan. 25, 1902
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