The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1873-02-06
lossing eomlpanionship, .owara Pie

loving eompanionship, toward she
sunset of life. - -, 8, -
The beginning of the butter trade
from Ohio, down the river, as / have
learned, was this: In the fall of 1918
iiftN-three gears ago, General Ripley,
of Ellsworth, and Thomas Quigley, Of
Warren, took two tons of mostly nice
butter, down the Mahoning To- the
Beaver, thence by the Ohio to the
Cumberland, and up the Cumberland
to Nashville, Tennessee, where the
cargo was disposed of, but to what
profit I nave not been able TO learn.
Very much of the early butter trade
of this region went TO Pittsburgh and
Cincinnati. Mr.. Thomas QuigleY,
who made tins first venture in the
buttei. trade did not return TO Ohio,
but settled at the nice old town OF
| Bowling Green, in Kentucky, some
distance this side of Nashville, where
he became very wealthy, aud l sup
pose is living at this time.
In 1888, Mr.. Baldwin and, Mr.. Gram
ger, of Aurora, shipped at Beaver, in
two Keel boats, which they named
respectively. Dairyman" and "Dairy-
maid" l15 tons of cheese, with which
they dropped down to Cinein-
natl, and making fast to the foot OF
Main street, Gas there were no cheese
| Commission houses in Cincinnati at
that time) they opened out and sold
out the whole two boat loads between
| Monday. and Saturday, realizing the
sum of $4,000. +. r,.'.'.,s ~ : = i5s4l
By this time the cheese trade had
become a large and popular business ;
fortunes were made and fortunes lost
in If, as many OF you know. ; 1t had
| its flush times and its hard times
Country cheese. merchants were prin-
ces one day aud pappers the next. ]
have seen them in the hey-day of their
success, aid under the dark clouds OF
their disaster. / recall, with ,rdeep
feeling such names as Seth Hayes, ,.of
Hartford; Sam Plumb. of sLennox ;
Stoddard Stevens, John NJ. Heslop
and Lysander Pelton, of Gustavus e.
e. Wick, Of Lindenvifle Deming IS
Dodge Of New Lyme, and ever so
many others of like experience-all
and each of whom came at sometime
or other, to .sknoW how it is himself" )"
| l In the early years of the dairy bus
ifiess in Ohio, besides the large guam
titles produced in the region of Auro-
IN, there was another center of cpro-
duction about Hartford, Vernon and
Vienna, III the eastern, part Of old
Trutnbnll, and In the southeast part
of Ashtabufa adjoining this. bAe ee
The stock of cows for the dairy be-
sides those which the farmers could
raise, came from Western Pennsylva-
mia. and later our dairymen were in
the habit of raiding the old counties
of Wayne ana Stark,sin Ohio, to re-
crult their herds, in the spring ofsthe
year. The prices paid for such cows
at that time, ranged from $15 to $50 a
head. In comparison of values we
must recollect that the purchasing val
ue of a dollar in those days was not
SO much diluted as it is in these fast
days when some people spend in sim
gle frolic more than their fathers
could earn in years hard labor. Ea-
.sy come, easy GO, is the style in our
day, but tile men who gave their
lives to lay the foundation of, the sub
stantial prosperity of this Western
Reserve, were among the nobfest ben
efactors of the race. 20 80 stii Z.
But few of them remain to this day.
Thirty or forty years ago I used to
meet them all over the country. All
-of them were men Of character and
many of them were men of culture /;
and their wives-the mothers of this
generation-were women of most no
bic quality, the choice daughters of
New England, who left homes 0i
plenty and refinement to share with
the men of their hearts choice, in all
the perils and hardships and privation
(which have given Unto us such 9 To-
rious inheritance as the State of Ohio
is today Let us never forget at
what fearful cost was purchased this
rich inheritance of ours! ..5ti -
nall that l have said of the earl v
dairy business OF Ohio, no reference
has been made to a period within the
last thirty years. Since the crash OF
1878, the recovery was slow and
usually more safe. The dairy bust
ness grew apaee, and as whole, was
the most satisfactory of all tho staple
occupations of this part of Ohio. The
furry in the wool business, in 1923
4, made temporary division in that
direction, but dairymen, soon saw
their mistake and returned to- first
principles. The introduction of the
factory system has created reYolu-
ton in the manner of handling milk
and disposing of cheese !; of all this |,
need not speak, since it is SO well
known to you all. OF the present
production of butter and cheese in
Ohio the figures look enormous. The
returns sfor 1871 show: Pounds of
butter, 44,994,945; pounds of cheese
32,394.l52. Increase over 1850 but
ter 1 ,974, 1892 pounds; cheese 1,OI3, ia
pounds. There were 8,524,612 pounds
more butter made, and 10,337, ,913
pounds more cheese manufactured in
| 1871 than the average for. the eleven
previous years.
3: When the report for the year 1872
shall be made out, we will see a fur
ther extension of this staple product
Of Western Reserve Industry, 49, 7,i,, !
In these remarks I have dealt con-
fsiderably y In personalities as well as
sbu sinesssof early dairyiDg in Ohio. :
g This i have done to show TO whom
we are indebted for the opening OF o
trade which has grown into so great
proportions that a majority of all our
farms are devoted TO the production
l.of butter and cheese, as the most
I fprofitabie. aud available branch of our
domestic Industry. This much we
owe to the memory OF the men them
selves, as we'll ass to the consideration
of the business which they have left
! ia our ihanEsa :s1esY yet isIe3
! "A vote of thanks was rendered Col.
Harris forsthis admirable and inter-
esting essay 81. t5hssa ..H
AN American Bonapartc. =