Elgin Homecoming

What a weekend! There were so many family history discoveries during my few days in Northeast Iowa that it's hard to know where to begin. I met new people, reconnected with old acquaintances, found some new leads and made some awesome discoveries.

I arrived in Elgin early Friday morning before Homecoming really got underway. Homecoming is the once-ever-five-years festival in Elgin (pop. 700) that brings people from all over back to their roots. It's the town where my grandma grew up, as did her parents...and their parents... and their parents...

My hosts for Friday were Stan and Sharon Shaffer. Stan is my grandmother's second cousin, and though we'd never met before he and his wife graciously invited me into their home. They were warm, friendly, generous, and probably two of the nicest people I've met in recent memory.

We spent time Friday morning getting to know each other a bit before delving into the main reason for my journey: family history! Ironically, Stan had a large stack of documents he'd received from another cousin, Dorothy Gilson. I laughed when I saw them, as I knew where Dorothy had received them - ME! I spent time with the Gilsons last summer during one of my trips to Elgin.

Next, we went on to pictures. Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm passionate about family photos - even obsessed. They're such a rich part of family history. I love being able to see the people about whom I write and research. One of the special pieces Stan had was a pedigree list for a Percheron stallion named Fandango, a product of the Highland Stock Farm run by my great-great-great grandfather, John D. Shaffer.

After a few hours of scanning and talking we went to a local service station to enjoy free grilled hot dogs and chips (yum!). On the way there I started talking about the various things I knew about J.D. and his ties to Elgin: that he was president of the bank, that he moved to town from the stock farm when he wife was ill, that he was member of a martial drum corps and played the drums...

"Drums? I have a drum that belonged to a Shaffer," Stan said. I was immediately excited, though I tried not to get my hopes up. I knew it was a long shot to find ephemera connected to the drum corps. Still, I couldn't help but feel a bit giddy. I wanted to hurry through lunch and start digging in the attic. I had to find the drum!

J.D.'s drum corps had many names through the years: Shaffer Drum Corps, Shaffer Martial Band, Shaffer Fife and Drum Corps. The corps was founded in 1871, when J.D. was just 13 years old. At the time he and a few friends, under the tuteledge of a local Civil War veteran, formed the corps and played for GAR gatherings. As their talent grew, so did their demand. Over the years they began playing at Memorial Day and Independence Day celebrations, town festivals, and other events across Northeast Iowa. In 1930, the 59th year of the drum corps, J.D. and his fellow corps members, Martin Klingman, Robert Peters and F.M. Baldwin, the group was invited to appear at the Waterloo Cattle Congress. At that time the corps posed for a photo with their instruments. When visiting Darlene Shaffer this past winter I caught my first glimpse of this photo in the form of a grainy, wrinkled newspaper clipping. In it J.D. held his snare drum and a pair of ebony drumsticks he had used since 1871.

After lunch Stan headed to his attic and I studied the newspaper clipping. Before long Stan was coming down the stairs with a large snare drum, looking quite similar to the one in the photo. As I inspected it I saw a small label on one side: "J.D. Shaffer drum to grandson Jack Shaffer to grandson Stan Shaffer."

Stan Shaffer holding
his great-great grandfather's
snare drum.

Stan, Sharon and I were all equally excited. I never thought I'd ever see any piece of the drum corps history besides newspaper clippings. Stan and Sharon were excited to finally understand the connection between the drum and their history. The ebony drumsticks, sadly, have a fate unknown. Once upon a time Stan owned them, but at one point he gave the sticks and drums to his nephews and, well... young boys with a drum. Need I say more?

The drum was exciting. but I quickly moved on to the next logical question: Where is the photo? The newspaper clipping was attributed to Clark Studio in Wadena, but that was 1930. I decided to keep that question in the back of my mind as I went about other Homecoming activities.

After a full day of discoveries the Shaffers had to work at the festival information booth, so I left to wander the town. The museum was open, so I naturally went inside to scour the collections. I knew from previous visits that they had several family relics. I saw the familiar things, but a few new items (or new to me anyway). There were several photos in an album that included Shaffers. I learned later they came from the estate of Leota (Phillips) Welch, only child of Jerome and Sarah (Shaffer) Phillips. She must have left her estate to the museum when she passed away more than 40 years ago. I asked the volunteers if I could bring my laptop and scanner to make copies and they said yes! (God bless technology and generous volunteers!) Before long I was setup on the front desk, scanning image after image. I quickly walked around the building looking for more and came to a section highlighting local music. There was a photo of the Elgin Municipal Band from the late 1920s or early 1930s, including my great grandfather and two of his siblings. SCAN. There was a photo of the band from the first Homecoming in 1931 including several family members. SCAN.

Then, I saw it - completely unassuming in it's plastic sheath and propped on a plastic stand. THE SHAFFER DRUM CORPS.

SCAN.

Shaffer's Drum Corps (L to R): M.A. Klingman, J.D. Shaffer, F.M. Baldwin, Robert Peters.

After making copies of everything not nailed down (and a few that were) I left the museum a check to support their work. They didn't ask for it, they didn't expect it, but it was the least I could do. These are priceless treasures to me, so giving a small financial contribution to support their work seemed logical.

There was so much I learned during my time in Elgin (including the transcendent power of the Adult Grilled Cheese Sandwich at Dotzy's Saloon), but that was only half of the trip! This post is getting long, so I'll save my visit to Elkader and my Gruver discoveries for another day. I thought last summer was the summer of family history, but this summer might just surpass it!