recollections by james mason
Fred Mundinger interviewed James Mason and others for a series of articles about life during the early part of the 20th century in the Westmont, Illinois area. He later collected these interviews in a booklet, along with his history of Maercker School, and donated it to the Westmont Historical Society.
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You can read the e-mail exchange between Russ Mason and Fred Mundinger about Mr. Mundinger's interviews with James Mason, and see the original newspaper version of the second half of this two-part interview, by clicking this link...
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You can read the early 1900s portion of Fred Mundinger's history of Maercker School, when the Mason children would have attended (the school was known then as South Greggs School), by clicking this link...
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James Mason recalls growing up on the Fairview Farm
(from Fred Mundinger's "Westmont Stories" booklet)
(from Fred Mundinger's "Westmont Stories" booklet)
James Mason's description of the picture below: "In the picture Grandpa Hurd (Ziba Hurd) is on the left with white whiskers. The children are, left to right, Ralph, Norman and Horace. I may have been two or three years old and David an infant. Florence and Jane were born later."
"Dave was born on the Bateman place, 1898 I think, and we moved to the farm in spring, 1900. Your threshing picture was probably soon after that." - Horace Mason (1977)
"Dave was born on the Bateman place, 1898 I think, and we moved to the farm in spring, 1900. Your threshing picture was probably soon after that." - Horace Mason (1977)
Horace & James Mason with their cat Tige - circa 1898
"Tige, the cat I am holding in the picture of Horace and me, became the head of a large cat family. This was allowed because otherwise rats could become bothersome.
"Tige was a great hunter -- bad news for the birds. One day he brought a meadow lark and gave it to a blue kitten, then brought another and gave it to the same kitten. Gram scolded him for that. Tige went out to a field and came back with another bird and gave it to the maltese kitten.
"There were very few gophers within a quarter mile of our house because of Tige the cat."
-- James Mason (1977)
"Tige was a great hunter -- bad news for the birds. One day he brought a meadow lark and gave it to a blue kitten, then brought another and gave it to the same kitten. Gram scolded him for that. Tige went out to a field and came back with another bird and gave it to the maltese kitten.
"There were very few gophers within a quarter mile of our house because of Tige the cat."
-- James Mason (1977)
"For a time I was riding a saddle horse to a blacksmith shop in Hinsdale, possibly every 4 months because that pretty animal had a split hoof. I would have a lunch with me because I had to take my turn and I walked the horse going and coming. Only once did we meet an auto and I had an anxious moment.
"At least twice I rode my bike to the Hinsdale Golf Club to look for a golf ball that had gone out of bounds. Those trips were unsuccessful; about ten miles round trip. The golf club was across the road from the Middaugh estate, now Notre Dame in Clarendon Hills."
- James Mason (1977)
"At least twice I rode my bike to the Hinsdale Golf Club to look for a golf ball that had gone out of bounds. Those trips were unsuccessful; about ten miles round trip. The golf club was across the road from the Middaugh estate, now Notre Dame in Clarendon Hills."
- James Mason (1977)