09/05/2026
Happy Friday! It has been even busier than usual around the office the last couple of weeks, but we are back with a short but hilarious story on this very hot Friday. This story comes from “Wilson’s Historical Notes on Dubois County,” written in the 1930’s.
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“When the writer [George Wilson] was a boy a monk taught a summer stag school in a brick schoolhouse that stood on the St. Joseph's church property, on Newton street, about one hundred feet north of the town line, on what would be the south
line of 11th street, in Jasper, if the street were extended west. Across Newton street the block bounded by 11th, 12th, Newton, and Main streets was a pond of about one acre in area.
It was used as an adjunct to a brick yard that occupied
the grounds north of 12th street, and as a reservoir to a common b**r brewery that stood on the grounds now occupied by the Jasper Memorial Park.
At the noon recess and often at any other recess time on a hot summer day the temptation was too strong to resist, so the boys simply took off their trousers and waded hip
deep into the pond. One day twenty boys went in, and when the school-bell rang there were only nineteen trousers. One boy forgot and put on two pairs. He did not discover
it until he had recited. In the meantime the other boy stood in the pond.”
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(The area mentioned as “the block bounded by 11th, 12th, Newton, and Main streets” would be the block where Midwest Cafe and Snaps are located. The location of Jasper Memorial Park is unknown to this author, but please share in the comments if you know.)
Stay cool out there this weekend!
