The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-03-04
THE STORY OF PETER llERDlC
nrf!i,G ms y llfE ~ THE SIND. AND
TIfLiNG ron S..OOO 400.

&C. poor 10, that Game Out OF the Pine
V,,d. fIo,v hc iuiit ~ ~ GREAT Guy
n. Operations IN itarrisburs -ltc Re-
,,,.. - Specializing Millionaire Ills ro-
r.,nt iriclcr, How he Burst without
,tn..in. uia.cir 4 " ondertui Career
t.,..-G Rninr. in presenting n statue 10
-- -nl tiut hc could not tell the history
..D.. kn. without referring moro 0r less to
n.f ,,r. o, Massachusetts. Fvrn 50 i is i'm
r.ll'H the story " Peter lIerdc
.l,f .l,n.. tho r"adrr moro or less of the
..p .i NJ Transport. Pm. The town was
T. f..,.i .Ht l-nn It, settlers were Quahcrs
d, % .r-r Nana Dat II. They ntcrmarricd
r.-.l .liNIle-. ate sour kraut. and lived and
dIN .hnut Vehement Somnolcnt and plod-
ding o., nature. the town itself reflected their
sorn0lrn,y and stupidity. lis growth was
very -aw It was u quiet little village filed
V,llguit p'ovr. ant the exact spot for one
rtpf ONs experiments The only ways TO
r.I.iv. r,hy canal boat or stage coach. Up
l.l-,itlial boss than 2.n0O inhabitants. The
e.uyOf 81 ,ers and Duirhmcn hy there like
n..t.-... t.,..ly unconscious OF the wealth in
.i.nnl timber that surrounded them Oceu-
snn.' h -urir live Yankee would sail in from
irs yiair. max a great splurgc with pair of
h0.fa.lri hor~ - AMI cohhl' up anything he
c.alIr' fr'm iIr natives nj ninety days: but
hc,.ui ti ihcre WIS no excitement until tho
NJ 'r,.d reached the place in is53
Years before that. however. the town was
joined 10 Il 'sion. twenty-five miles further
nNrfh. hy railroad. II must have been built
A. long ago - 1872. and WAS link in the
I4rof old Nicholas Bdllc to connect the
r.H.g city OF Philadelphia with the great
ru lakes. II had wooden rails. with "a
e. Iuf uon GA top. At first n locomotive was
Oh. but thr iron straps got loose curcd
u. aul punched holes through the bottom
O. tn cans. The locomotive was oil the
rrA hnlf the time. and It is said
81 ''le directors met and pl-scd CON
ri.'uuiory r. solutions at the close ofcvory SUI
r..-n. trip Finally. the road became SO worn
'Irr. wsS no possibility ~ using the loco.
.N". II was broken uu aud sold for old iron
N1l. pnwfr was substituted. and the engineer
10 un thc front platform with u bucket of
rs - throw ~ the mules and Keep them
, " Transport experienced its first sensation
u $50. STATE Democratic Convention met
III q" Town Han. ON. Of its grcnt lights was
Oil simon Cameron. H. had not been in town
VIZ cong before th're WIS q great row Ovor an
nit mUt tO hrlhe some OF the delegates TO vote
~ plri.cnlar candidate. The thing was
iN i"nei throughout the Stat" and gave VIII
hNmsg1rt. rs VOL rs Simon Cameron, great
lfninin' h'". Twenty years ait"rwHrl old
ninn in" .fornry. sam Ward, and others at
d'rn.r in Washington. and told the story with
fl,fl
h."n 'h4i M only really annoyngih In. about
u Wi- That me money u.'I WIS mostly Middle
town money" From that time out Williams
l ~ mas been point o. political AMI comm r.
t'N. interest II has Turn shed more log Stat We
N- moss than any other town in the - IT,. and
ne 'nrnnd out more than ilir percentage Of
c'i "tnld"rS. Gov. patarr. judge Grier, and
Jul - Lewis ~ tho supreme Court nrn az. rage
81 n.ns Of rs proluctions. # is the head
g.'f'rS of Inc Gr'0nbark party in Penn
sv.Nhnin. and lis political interests generally
a 81 ~ iuai To- town hHs been iuhnl in
i ,.r, N.r f,. ''r"'r rail.. S' 81 " H.,
h..u neglected L started tn" great stack.
on .'a N..hi the foman Catholic Church. and
hh"..'s Hn Episcopal irmur. with u chime Of
3D. not SURPASSED IN the Stat.
lumber tralr along the W.. Branch 81 m. Sus-
me- hut vast fortunes have be.n mat" hy those
invest NJ in hooms ahd suwmi- The value
II is a common sayiu. that the Lord nadr the
re- " dn, t NE IDryll Ired f. initiate T. and
~ or business was old Gates Wilcox. Like
u PIONEERS. l9w yer. he accumulated nothing.
AZ iiyrI and died poor: As he was slourhlng
Though the streets ol Wiiamspori a few years
a.. noted character pointed film out saying:
= Ih'rr goes old Ga'r- Wilcox. the poorest man
~ in' lumber business on the West Brandt
H. nrNrr die So long as a pine trrc is In
Sta lr- non- the river bank when tho last
in iai,, hr 40 through hell sizzling ina hem
Nllamsrort's last sensation j. tho urodu,-
!, 20 "i % man who rin run .n debt to the extent
4, ''N'rihle assets. II = na!r is irier Hrrli'
H. N.s born 10 .u,4g Fort PAIN o. Mpa,%um-
'p County y. y, in 1921. IL fihrr di,l
wh'n hr was very youne. au His thor inlk
hlu down t. Ithaca. Tom. Nn- 60. Tncro he
l'trpHd ~ writ" his nam" lu thr surd. and this
r 'ls to have hocn about throNtcni ~ h.s odu-
ration. Ills mother married % .c.,n. 'iin".aul
removed hrr iam'.y tnH idrn u Enfield Town
-,it i'rr WAS worker. NHHu fru .fr-
~ q few shi.lu.,- hy snar .nsuutilaftl rinNit- I
~ saved every cont II st.pfathrr dict |
v iglfr EE va" ihlf',"n y.a.s. I'D. md ~
bought MY ayr of will land down IN Brad
Orl county. Pa. l.'crqni Ai- brother. cleared |
lp th" luul !. and addict twenty acres tothp |
Ihrin. When he wa, tw, nty y.ar, I'D Is niu.h /
FL rr' posed that lr should tahe tho farm and |
q h'r.4 M, lease tl.rein. No. mothrr' |
iof ry-"L' He then won't - work in plpo /
n -4wnii ior Ransom Light for 70 c"ii- |
lt't am al,rrwhrd accepted Il similar situation /
va e. ur-,n H'yrrnS' al az pr month AND /
At ~ cont. in,er'-i. IIenev' shaved shingles /
r 'i'V.. for Clarlr- Johnson. and -pli his |
."' 20 johnson TOR plle Of log chains Tho /
IN ~. were quickly turned into cash through /
i.ige spring q 1916 IIcrdic stepped over the
mN diary into Lycpuin. county with ono !
" n,m Address IA" bought a shinge interest |
IL n-dn lt"hsc towns lip. nnd cleared : 40 the |
l'-l your. At ~" end of three years hc i,ui !
N' d - 700. With this IA bought farm OF |
r. A1Hn ln Taylor Of Iioga county. y. \. |
y ''u ii.s time Tie attention of pnnpl" al % dis
'n " WIS attracted To- the vn~t pine forests 81 |
.y uniing. Peter saw this. bought "A trait % |
i.i iluI"r. and erected Il steam ~lW mill. II" |
' .IfN % sIrWN from the timber AM aitrrwur,l /
N. ia" nl Tor 81 200. Meantime NJ invested !
u either TIMBER lund-. und they returned him !
niE' profits. In Tho inll II 1853 he came To- /
v .sn -iDt II. buili "a lagr Touring mill. |
'h p -.il import nv grain from TIE " II. H. |
'.Ni ihc lumber liiS moss more attractive. |
i""gNr The Il iur min Wn- Sold. and he de-
',l luAs"u Wit al his energy 10 the lumber
y c lr -lmriiv 80 Williamsport dates from
% 10 Nn" WITH i"-- i'un 2.uOu inhabitants i'm
- 81 'ii u-" 90 1854 in 1860. over &C. 600 in
N't Nni t.- ..N j. "-iluat' at over 10000. But
u N'iN 'n'tsy infused wonderful life I
~ 20 lii'n tine ui butch town. his failur'
ii- l'i ~ 'i"rl ult I'elss. saddlrd with II IntI-
~ I'D d"i iit Will rr4uir" generations To-
j. W.T. ii'4ilU i~ "a man who thinks hc cnn
' mooney l everything. His faith IN hiA own
I" Do. amounted II il had been
'.' i"t Nw 10 ilN some definite point. and
~ t u r"f-i-rutly, the probabilities are
~ i'' .Wl nav iulrod and retained /
VI ' ih. lli- pore Iiiyr faculties
u t"Hl int ho has h.krd system and
., "hrl AH~ h''ri under the di-nd-
Wv y, 70 went Of olu alton. H. las
E." Ni'n'u r.'ngl-. and H. sad io
~ lh "i 81" il- 'Nt'u-Ne trans
if'lY'ts 10 i- i' u la. had ne a,ivaii,,e.
A., M s'' in--- 10" n.NDr lruuh "a dlnp
~, nc vi, - ~ SinI t'IlM, HuD ~Hilictnl H.
- .i,.,, ~" ~ '.7 y" s'tloi lltt.r
noru obligation. II -arto.i .i,- . ~, ,.," 9i
per- with many ,nluAhlr ,,ia.i,,,- ,i.,.'n,,,..b,
Sil lNl he has :. 200 .''-'i