06/22/2026
Willshire Days 2026 will be this coming weekend. Joy McCleery shared 'Willshire - An Early Look' in her writings from March 1, 2008. The last paragraph may very well sum up the continued reason for celebrating Willshire Days.
'The following are a few excerpts from a paper prepared and read by Mrs. Joseph Bowen (1869-1938) at the second Willshire Homecoming Celebration and published in The Willshire Herald on August 19, 1926. Ina May (Denman) Bowen was a lifelong resident of Willshire and Valedictorian of her 1887 graduating class from Willshire High School. She taught in the local schools for several years.
'The year of 1854 was one never to be forgotten by the pioneers, as Willshire went through a scourge of Asiatic cholera. The preceding winter had been very severe, and when the spring freshet came, flooding started, and everything was blocked with ice. The St. Marys River was filled to overflowing, gorged with ice and debris. The water spread out, and thousands of acres were inundated. I have heard my mother tell that when they came from a friend's home in Indiana, they went straight up the road in boats to Willshire. As there were no ditches to carry off the waters, they were slow in subsiding - mostly by evaporation - and left the land in a very filthy condition, covered everywhere with green scum.
'No rain fell from May until the 28th of July. Wells cisterns, and fountains were drying up, and the land was as dry as the Sahara and in a most unsanitary condition by the time the hot weather set in. When July 19th came, Mr. Burlow, a laborer, died - the first victim of cholera. Everybody that could leave town, did, and by the 25th of July, there was not a bird or a house fly to be seen anywhere. The disease continued until the 28th of July, when a wonderful rain descended on the parched earth, and cholera disappeared as if by magic, after about 40 of the 75 inhabitants had died, besides many in the surrounding country. The disease was very violent, and the patient only lasted a few hours.
Ina Bowen continued...'Many had typhoid fever in its worst form, from which it often took a year to regain normal health. There was much fever and malaria for many years. One of the most vivid recollections of my own childhood was seeing my mother coming with a big dose of quinine to be taken with water. Before the taste of one dose was gone, it was time for another. Those were bitter days for the youngsters.
'In the spring of 1840, Dr, John W. Pearce had ridden into Willshire from Champaign County on his way west in search of a location to practice medicine. At breakfast, he heard that the bridge had been washed away, so he decided to stay, and he was the only doctor for many years. Ten years later, he built a popular tavern and hotel, originally known as the Oregon House, later called the Willshire House, and finally the Straubinger Hotel.
'I well remember Dr. Pearce as a feeble, kindly, old man, sitting in front of his home on Wolcott Street or down at the corner, twirling his cane and discussing the event of the day with his friends or living over again in his memories the experiences of his youth.'
'In my childhood, I had heard the story of Dr. Pearce when he found he was stricken with cholera. He had a faithful horse that he had ridden through the forest and talked to on the lonely way, and the animal seemed to have almost human understanding. The doctor's brother, Thomas Pearce, was a doctor in Decatur, Indiana, and they held many consultations together. When Dr. John found himself sick with cholera, he mounted his faithful horse, tied himself on, and lay down across the saddle, turned his head toward Decatur, and ordered his horse to take him to Tommy's home. He arrived safely, where he was taken in and cared for. His very strong constitution responded to treatment, and he was soon well.
'I also remember what Dr. Pearce told about a pioneer burial. He was called to the bedside of a trapper named Jake. He found him in the last stages of pneumonia. He did what he could to relieve him, but told him he could not survive the night. In the morning, Jake was dead. The poor settlers were in a terrible dilemma, for they had no money to buy a shroud or coffin and no lumber, and they had to bury Jake. At last, at the doctor's suggestion, they cut down a white oak tree, split it through the middle and hollowed it out. Then some kind neighbors furnished a clean shirt and a pair of linen trousers and Jake was laid in his oak coffin. With the combined efforts of all present, he was placed on a sled and drawn to the cemetery where he was slid into the grave.
'Mrs. Bowen said that Willshire had always been known as a very patriotic community, always quick to answer when the U.S. called, always furnished her quota of soldiers as well as doctors, lawyers, statesmen, financiers, educators, and musicians.
'In concluding, she reminded the gathering that "Willshire had developed from a primitive backwoods people into a prosperous, healthy and refined community. It was a good place in which to live. So here's to our fair state of Ohio, with her broad and fertile fields; to Van Wert County, the land of plenty and good citizens; to old Willshire, the home of a happy and prosperous people, kindly neighbors and loyal friends, brave sons, and fair daughters."'
source: Historical Happenings by Joy McCleery, 3/1/2008
