Thoughts at Random: The Poetry of “Uncle Joe” Henderson
Download a digital copy of Joe Henderson's Thoughts at Random:
"Uncle Joe" Henderson, MHAHS Collection #5x7.1324.
|
By Elizabeth Tulley, 2024 UW-Madison Collections Intern
Article originally appeared in the Fall-Winter 2024-25 edition of the Past Times newsletter. Nestled within the archives of the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society are four slim volumes of poetry. Contained within each is a snapshot of life in Springdale and Mount Horeb in the mid 1890s, as seen through the eyes, and the pen, of local resident Joseph, or “Uncle Joe,” Henderson. The poems within these volumes recall weddings, anniversaries, church socials and deaths, long past, recording details of people and events that would otherwise be lost to history. Uncle Joe Henderson was born in Scotland in 1848 and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1854 at 6 years old. 22 years later, in 1876, he gained his US citizenship and married Margaret “Maggie” Nimmo. They went on to raise several children together on their family farm in Springdale. Uncle Joe was deeply invested in his community, as seen in the poems he wrote, and also through the number of positions he held within his community. He was the school board clerk for 21 years, served on the board of supervisors for seven years, was the chairman of the town board for four years, was the town assessor for five years and even served one term on the state legislature in 1891. His poetry collection, Thoughts at Random, published in 1911, opens with “Song of a Wisconsin Boy,” Uncle Joe’s homage to his home state on the fiftieth anniversary of her achieving statehood. He follows that with a few poems for his family; first, “Advice to His Father” a poem given on his father’s seventy-eighth birthday, and then “Tribute to His Wife Maggie” where he (much as the name would suggest) gives a tribute to his wife of twenty years. Later in the collection is “Little Joe,” a poem about his son Joe Henderson, whose own poetry book, “Onomatopoeia,” is also held by the Historical Society. One of the longer poems in the collection is “The Roster Trial” which stretches for four pages and covers the first and last days of the Roster Trial of 1896. The Roster Trial’s defendants included then-Governor Wilbur Peck and several other high-level government officials, who had been accused of defrauding the state with their choice of printers for rosters (Mineral Point Tribune, March 3, 1894, and March 22, 1894). Uncle Joe attended the proceedings, and, according to his poem, was more than a little pleased that the case had been declared a mistrial due to a lack of conclusive evidence on either side. He writes, But the lawyers for the defendants saw, What John [the prosecutor] could not see, That it was beyond the power of mortal man To prove conspiracy. With the governor and other politicians dismissed, Uncle Joe went back to his farm in Springdale a happy man. This is not the only time that Uncle Joe gets political in his poetry. In two separate poems (“On the Road to Riley” and “John McDonald and Uncle Joe on the Financial Question”) he stages political debates as conversations between him and his neighbor (and good friend) John McDonald. While their oft-dissenting political opinions are clear, so too is their friendship, which is further strengthened in Uncle Joe’s poem “The Staff,” where he thanks John for a staff he gave him for his birthday, and for their years of friendship. When John McDonald passed away in 1897, Uncle Joe paid homage to his lifelong friend in his poem “In Memoriam for John McDonald.” In this volume there are five poems written to commemorate people who had passed away (“On the Death of Little Robbie Collins,” “In Memory of Samuel McCaughey,” “Annie Lyall,” “To the Memory of William Oliver,” and “In Memoriam for John McDonald”). In short verses, Uncle Joe made sure that these friends and neighbors of his weren’t forgotten, as he immortalized them, their characteristics, and families through his words. Not all of Uncle Joe’s poetry was sad or political, as he often wrote shorter, humorous poems for different celebrations. In this collection alone there are six poems written for weddings or anniversaries. In honor of Eben and Ella Collins’ 25th wedding anniversary, he penned “Eben Collins’ Silver Wedding,” which reveals much of his humor and affection for his friends. He writes, Mrs. Collins, should we give you a choice tonight Of some titled duke or peer, Your hand in his again you would place, And say: “I’ll take my Eben dear.” Now we’ll give your husband that self-same chance To select the daughter of some lord or seer, His hand again in yours he would place And say: “I’ll take my Ella dear.” Simple, charming verses such as these were his hallmarks. He used them to inspire humor, thought and remembrance in his readers. They also occasionally served practical standpoints, such as in “Sociable Invitation” which invited parishioners to a picnic in Tom Stewart’s “shady grove” on August 10, 1895. Another example is “Institute Souvenir” which was delivered January 28, 1896, in the Mount Horeb Opera Hall as the introduction to a night of speeches on agriculture featuring professors from the University of Wisconsin. Uncle Joe Henderson passed away in 1933 at the age of 84. He’s remembered in the Centennial History Township of Springdale by Reverend Amelia Irene Johnson Pope as “big, bluff, hearty, generous, “Joe” Henderson had that quality defined as “personality,” and which in his prime made him the center of his group and his seat at the head of the table…With a fine strain of sentiment in his makeup, Uncle Joe felt a kinship with the spirit of the great bard of his native land, Robert Burns, and himself became the self-chosen laureate of his neighborhood, celebrating golden weddings and anniversaries in lines less polished but not less sincere than those of the greater ploughman singer. To the end he retained his broad Scotch brogue, which added great flavor to his wit and banter.” (pp. 113-115). Uncle Joe was a well-beloved local figure during his lifetime, and through his poetry, lives on nearly a century after his death. | ||