The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1876-06-30
THE OLDEN TINES.
Early ReeOIlectiOns- Continued.
Number IL.

house OF nv uleHAOIHt tHht HNA''-
know which 20 select and which 10 re-
iect as they crowd themselves to the
front; for many of them may be eonsid-
cred hardly worthy Of publication at
this late day. Yet ] should he 10th to
part with them on any consideration,
for they seem to be part of my life, and
in them daily live in the memory OF
the past. Who that is passing onward
TO the "sere and yellow leaf of life,
that does not treasure in his mind the
"reminiscences and happy associations OF
his boyhood days? All me! that we
could for only one day shake of the en-
croaching senilify that persists in bind
ing our once active limbs, and be boy
again. that we might take survey oil
the theater of life "a We once saw It!
How we would skip. and jump, and
romp, and play, and make the beat pos
sible use Of that day. But we drop the
curtain. While we cannot 90 back 10
re-enact those scenes, there is no law to
prevent us from recalling them for our
meditation.
As early as 1905, thirteen years before
Perry county was organized. the reader
way we'll imagine there was no "Somer-
SET" and no other town in the county.
New Reading ante-dates Somerset by
few years. and was calld by the Penn
sylvania Germans "OUermyerstcttte," and
by those who preferred TO speak it in
English, OUermyertogn." / have not
the exact time fixed in mind when Som
erset was laid out, but it was not far from
the year 1908. | recollect hearing an
old lady, who but recently departed this
life, often relating an incident Of her
getting lost on the ground near the
heart of the town in 1907. She lived
with her father in a new cabin, mile or
80 north Of town, and was sent after the
COWS towards the close of the day. When
she arrived at about the place where the
Public Square is located, she became en-
tangled in the underbrusb, which were
grown over so densely with Wild pea
vines that she could not see rod before
her. When she had extricated herself,
she found that she had lost her bearing,
and it was only by fortunate circum-
stance that she was enabled to reach her
home that evening.
The old men who are in the county,
and are able to recollect knck forty-tive
to sixty years ago, cannot help to bring
to mind one of the singular changes that
has taken place in the streams. Atthat
time they were all running full of water
at least nine months in the year. Now
they are nearly all dry most of the year,
and not enough water running in them
at any time, except in times Of flood, to
water drove of cattle. Many will re-
men. ber that half mile north of Som
erset was situated grandfather Parkin-
sons" saw mill-afterwards run
by Billy Larue. The water that
was gathered from the ravine start
ing on the summit in the town, with
that gathered by race from the west
branch, ran this aaw mill fifty years ago,
nine months in the year. 1t cut great
deal of timber, and being so near the
then growing village. it furnished much
of the lumber that was called for. The
dam in which the water was collected
was the swimming hole" for the boys
of the village, and for many years it
was favorite resort Below this, about
half mile, Judge Hood had a grisi
milI-''corn craker," it was called in that
day-at which he accommodated his
neighbors with corn meal, and also fnrD-
ished fair article Of -four. This mill
was two-story log building, situated
on the south bank of the creek near
railroad trestle. The Judge also run a
still house in connection with the mill
The water for turning the mill was col
lected by races. The race for conduct
ing the water, on the south branch, start
ed in some four or five hundred yards
below the steam mill, following the
west bank ofthe hill; and the one on the
west branch started just below Parkin-
sons saw mill and ran along the south
bank of the creek. The faint outlines
of these races may be seen in places yet
but they have been mostly defaced. Al
the confluence of the Somerset branch
and the Berkey run. there was, at one
time, saw mill, the water likewise be-
ing conducted by races. About half q
mile below this, there was grist mill
and further down, Darsham's grist and
saw mill. So that rom 1914 to 1880
there were no less than five mills on that
little stream, between Somerset and
Jonathan's creek, all running by water
nearly through the entire year. The
stream used to run a large volume o.
bright, clear water, and it used to abound
in fish of pretty good size. 1t was a
great resort for the "town boys" even sc
late as 1S40. Many time did the boys
Of that day-Dan and John Parkinson
p. II. Binckley, Walter G. Hood, and
others, pull ont "chubs" and suckers
that weighed pound.
Now that once famous stream and re-
sort for all the aquatic boys, has not the
dimen-ions of respectable brook. The
valleys have been filled up with debris
carried by the floods, and the cultivated
earth drinks up the surplus rainfall.
might add that all along the valley
from Somerset 10 Jonathan's creek, and
indeed, in almost every other valley
the wild plum and the crab-appl'
abounded in such profusion that thous
ands of bushels, that could not be uset
by the sparse population, and the wild
hogs running at large, went to waste. A
the country became settled the plum
trees mysteriously disappeared till nov
it Is seldom that one sees tree, unles
he finds it ensconced in the depths o
some thicket. The wild plum tree anC
the Indian are very much alike in ma