Early Huron, South Dakota Sewer System

 The above rare photo shows sewer being installed in Huron, and is actually a postcard.  It was sent by C. K.[?] Deeser to his Aunt Nettie Gleghorn in Akron, Ohio; the back of it reads, "Dear Aunt Nettie, Well its a long time since you heard from me but I'm still alive and working every day.  I'm down in the ditch 22 ft laying tile at $3.25 a day that's not bad mony [sic]  Well please write to me at once and oblidge [sic] yours truly C. K. Deeser, Windsor Hotel, Huron South Dakota  Write Soon."   

I was unable to find any way to date this, as the postmark is illegible.  His Aunt Nettie was at this address in 1910; she moved there sometime after her marriage in 1902 and left sometime before 1920.  And in researching the timeline of Huron's sewer system, I found that various portions were under construction at different times over quite a long time span.

The photo below was from a calendar published by the Daily Plainsman with photos courtesy of Dakotaland Museum.  While the machinery being used is not the same piece as pictured above, it is very similar, and the estimated date of the photo was 1900-1910.

As it turns out, the building in the background of the postcard is the Windsor House hotel.  The Sanborn Fire Map above shows the hotel on the NE corner of 3rd st. and Illinois.  In the postcard, there's a man at left wearing dark clothes; just above him on the building is what appears to be a sign.  This was a vital clue I completely overlooked, but thanks to the keen observational skills of my friend Stan Phillippi, I was able to enlarge it, turn it into a "negative," and enhance it.  Then it was clear to read as "Windsor House."  This looks to be the same sign as in the photo of the Windsor House below.  The red "x" on the Sanborn map above appears to mark the location of the photographer, as I see it.

I believe the postcard photo was taken from 3rd street, based on a comparison of the building in the photo with the Sanborn Fire map.  If that is the case, the sewer was probably installed early on, as most of the sewer information from local newspapers seems to be an "add-on" to this portion of the sewer and the other main portion on 9th St. SW.

Above photos: The results of enhancing this tiny portion of the postcard.  

Below: The Windsor House hotel showing the sign above the door clearly.

 

In trying to track down C. K. Deeser and Aunt Nettie Gleghorn, I found one Deeser male of the appropriate age that was her nephew - Charles Deeser.  He was born in 1878 and died in 1946 at the age of 67 in his home state of Ohio.  He lived much of his life in Tuscarawas County.  And oddly enough, his World War II Draft Registration form indicated that he was in the sewer pipe business.  His obituary states that he retired from a sewer pipe company.  That said, I was unable to find any proof that it was indeed him who spent those early days in Huron laying tile for $3.25 a day.

It's probably a good assumption that his job brought him to Huron, and that he didn't stay here long.  But his postcard to his Aunt Nettie provides us with an interesting glimpse of Huron as its most basic infrastructure was being implemented.

Sources:

Photo Postcard courtesy of Sonny Decker
1907 Huron City Directory
1909-1910 Huron City Directory
1911-1912 Huron City Directory
Huron Daily Plainsman/Dakotaland Museum Calendar, unknown  year
Sanborn Fire Maps, Huron, South Dakota, 1910
Daily Huronite, Huron, South Dakota, Sept. 23, 1910
Daily Huronite, Huron, South Dakota, Aug 1, 1908
Daily Huronite, Huron, South Dakota, Aug 3, 1908
Daily Huronite, Huron, South Dakota, July 26, 1907
Daily Huronite, Huron, South Dakota, March 14, 1911
Weekly State Spirit, Huron, South Dakota, Aug. 26, 1909
Weekly State Spirit, Huron, South Dakota, Aug. 10, 1911
Huron Journal World, Huron, South Dakota, Jan. 21, 1904
1900 Federal Census, Ohio, Tuscarawas county
1910 Federal Census, Ohio, Summit county
1920 Federal Census, Ohio, Summit county
Ancestry.com - various family Deeser family trees
FamilySearch.org - family tree
Findagrave.com - headstone and information for Charles Deeser
World War I Draft Registration Card - Charles Deeser
World War II Draft Registration Card - Charles Deeser
Obituary of Charles Deeser, The Daily Times (New Philadelphia, Ohio), Jan. 5, 1946