In 1904, a farmer near Thurber found a buzzard’s nest and brought the eggs to his wife who was trying to get her turkeys to hatch some eggs. He thought she would put those eggs under the turkeys and it would be fun to watch her face when they hatched. Late the next day he asked which turkey she put them under – she replied: “I was a little short on eggs and put them in the custard.” Thurber Journal

In 1904, a band of gypsies tried to camp near Thurber but were driven away by the authorities. Then they camped near Strawn where one of their young women was arrested and held for three days as a result of a near death shoot-out with the deputy sheriff. “Why this band of tramps, petty thieves, and general fakes are allowed to roam at will is a question hard to answer, when far better men are being taken in daily for vagrancy.” Thurber Journal

The first union labor meeting in Thurber in 15 years was held in the summer of 1903. Thurber Papers