Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-10-14
nnrrR- October 18th, 1865.

For though the subtle ArOsS H"
nlied its mystic art, age and
Tho wings of morn and even
IT, Touched with magic breath ths ehahBinB
leaves
-,suess. whist blazOnry, what Pomp
NAT soIs1UT ;5tcti the raYishSa slsmt
Here, where tho maple rears y he oak
A golden slery y9nder, It, and the ash
Stands monarch Of the force and broad
Is girt with FAM e-like parasite, ling field
The dos-wood spreads beneath a ToI- Soms
or deepest crimson; and afar, wherel~
The gnarled gum, a cloud OF oloodiest reo. -ns-
At the close of half a century of Pr
pered life and increase, Joel Cahoon and
his family, who occupy the old homestead,
hit upon the happy thought of q celebra-
ton of the anniversary of the settlement
of Dover by a gathering of the scattered
Cahoon branches of the ancestral tree.
The neighbors and their descendants who
participated in the trials and the joys of
the early settlers were not forgotten, for
in the afternoon of the same 10th of Octo-
Der, 1910, Asahel Porter and his
wife. Rebecca, and their nephew
Leverett johnson arrived, and located on
an adjacent lot. The next year Moses FL
dred and family arrived and built a log
cabin a mile further up the Lake. Thesur-
vivors of the families which then constitu-
ted the settlement, their descendants, and a
few present neighbors, joined in the Ca
hoon pioneer celebration, which passed off
SO pleasantly that an annual festival was
resolved upon. To-day has witnessed the
sixth of these truly social reunions, and
the attendance shows a still growing in
terest in the pioneer holidays. The Ca
hoons were numerously represented from
gray haired sire to lisping babe-grand-
fathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers,
children, grandchildren and great-grand-
children-for like the banyan the
Cahoon tree has taken fresh root and -four
ished from generation to generation.
Most of the heads of the pioneer families
of the vicinity rest from their labOrs; but
they were well represented by the John
sons, the Porters, and the Hursts of Dover,
the Sweets and others from Avon, the
Saxtons and Sheldons of R~idgeville, the
Eldreds of Elyria, the Trenches of Rock
port, the Johnsons of Amherst, and the
Roots, the Burrells, and the Days of Shelf
field. Warrensville, Berea, and Cleveland,
were also represented; about two hundred
persons in all. The hearty hand-shakes and
talking over of old times made the hours
mothers living over log cabin life-review-
ing its hardships, sacrifices, and dangers,
,,.tb ,,n,,or oy.snlaa Of tha Ysarrxy DNa b
ings, cuttings, huskings, riding behind on
horseback to singing schools, meetings,
weddings and funerals-quite to the won
derment of g%randchild listeners :
and, near by, groups of silver-grays also
reverting to the changes Ofhalfa century;
discussing the chopping and logging bees,
raisings, ball playlngs, wrestling matches,
jumpings, and shooting matches, or Boosting
of the hunting exploits of long ago. One
of the Nimrods had with him the identical
rifle brought to "New Connecticut" on his
shoulder all the way from "Down East
a veritable and venerable wild beast slayer
of flint lock memory. He was a famous
hunter when the Lake country was from
tier ground, and the group roared heartily
over his revival of the almost forgotten
incidents of the Grant Hunt when the
men and boys of Dover, Avon, Ridgeville,
Elyria, Amherst, Black River and Shelf
field surrounded a wild tract big enough
for a township, on and east Of the
Black River, and with
."Guhs, dtims, bluhdorbuss, and thunderi''
drove the frightened game into
half a mile square of woods on the bank
of the lake. Those were gay days in new
z.-A.-. lac, -,,kl oaoo.D1a1 ,,-rna-h,.
lights; for the pure spirit Of rye, corn and
peaches extracted in log still-house where
ever grinding could be had, made men jOl-
ly but did not kill with delirium like the
forty rod strychnine of this age. Our
Nimrod related with great gusto the trick
played on a whisky Spectator who pro-
vided two barrels for the hunt. At the
encampment that night he retailed whisky
ey at a deer's ham per quart from his tenn
porary bar-at one end of the board the
barrels, the other the pile of hams. Ex-
| changes were very frequent during the
night, but in the morning the dealer found
to his establishment and chagrin the pile
had not Increased, for while hunters brought
in and sold, confederateS in mischief stole,
thus keeping trade and camp lively
Grandsons heard these "reminiscences of
the past, and winked each other distrust-
inely of the aold boys.n Other and
Younger groups chatted and laughed of
matters present and future, till the to0t-
toot-t-o-o-t of the dinner norman old
fashioned conch shell at the lips of Miss
Ida Cahoon-summoned all to the bounti-
full pic-hic dinner spread on tables in the
midst of a fine grove Of hiekories and
crab apples directly on the bank, a locality
made doubly pleasant by October's golden
sun and pure lake breeze.
Mr.. Clark Eldred, of Elyria, called the
assembly to order. Mr.. VIM. H. Root,
of Sheffield, was made President, DR.. G. FL
Dutton, of Cleveland, Secretary aid Rev.
Mr.. Jewett, of Berea, Chaplain. The
pioneers were soon seated, the venerable
members of the Cahoon family at the
head Of the table. After a second table
of the descendants of the pioneers had
partaken of the generous picnic provis-
ions, President Root, opened the mental
feast by a brief retrospect of the past fifty
years, with a happy reference to the origin
of the anniversary celebration and the
cordial welcome ever extended to guests
by the hospitable CahoOn family. He
then read the following;
RECORD OF THE PAST AND PRESENT.
GJoseph Cahoon with his wife and eight
children, arrived here October 10th, 1910,
from V~ergennes, Vermont.
1.-THE family now consists of four chill
dren, forty-three grandchildren and fifty
three decentralization
n"Since the last meeting there has been
onedeath and two births"
The President offered as a sentiment;
The Patriarch Joseph and his numerous Tribe.
Honest Men and Women, the nOblest work Of
God
Rev. Mr.. Jewett responded in a short,
appropriate speech, in which he paid a de-
served tribute to the sterling virtues of the
Cahoon pioneers and their descendants-
their integrity, industry, enterprise and
hospitality. He regarded these annual
meetings as bright spots in hfe-polishers
of the rough edges of society-making men
and women happier and better BY, social
contact. Mr.. j. closed with the following
sentiment:
The Cahpon Family, and all who meet with
them A long and peaceful life, and a happy meet'
ing next year. ea- n
The President read aletter from Mrs. Z.
s. Wheeler, expressing ths regrets 0f her