The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1885-04-02
MEANDEFSINGS.
CLEvEtaRu, March %, 1885,


reception of your paper, sud one
eau vividly feel, but can hardly sX
press, the sad interest which attaches
to the constant record of deaths which
lis columns present. | am reminded
that the Ravenna of today is not the
haysnna OF the past. The old Raven
ma, which we all love to remember, is
to a large extent represented in the
beautiful grounds of Maple G o' e
Cemetery. To one long absent from
Portage county, the interest in brief
return visit is much saddened by the
many vacancies made by the relentless
reaper whose name is Death. Oh, how
sad is the thought that the few old
residents we meet are but the minority
remaining. The majority have gone
forward to the solemn finalIties of the
great future. Their remains calmly
repose beneath the overhanging ma pie
beughs of the silent cemetery, and we
walk the dear old accustomed paths as
in dream, sesing more strange than
familiar faces, ami startled at the
weird strangeuess of the thoughts that
crowd upon Us.
Never WAS so startled as OH a recent
visit, upon suddenly entering the
vault of Maple Grove Cemetery, to be-
hold the harvest of death around me.
Here" ! was told, is Judge Day."
"Thtrr lies Charles Witter." "There
are the remains of Mrs. Caroline Bar
ker Jennings. aud there Mrs. Emily
L.. Crane McC Couh," and so on through
a list of names, nf those who are lost 10
us, hut have entered upon the joyous
experiences of the great future. How
we'll do | remember when Judge Day
Was just beginning his legal cOmhats
at the bar with those giants of The
rey aud Spalding, and the Ranneys,
and others then ia the prime of life,
but najnrily of Whutn aTe nn longer
with us. As LOOK back ii .tfms bat
Il DAY aiure the Crane giTls GeTe among
our bright and talented youug school.
mates III the village 1choOls, aud all
-tu0d urOn the threshold of II l"yous
aud useful life, and Carrie" b rksr
WAS iu the fresh prime of her dainty
and >" eel Dung girl life, = most pleas
lug companion, loved and esteemeti
by all her mates. How can We realize
| Ihat Charles WiIter, The calui but Ell
| ergetic business nsu, who lived with
uut fault, who never neglected 4
.iuty nor shirk ed task, will meet u-
uere no more? All, the miriad that
have gone before We seem te see
them all in memory again. la thought
We live over the old bygone day 3, with
all their dear and cherished memories
urroundingh II e aga N hut tim;
swiftly passes, and soon, 40 soon, we
too shall join the great majority in
their calm and sweet rspOss.
AS we look back 10 the early days of
Ravenna, when those noble and stal
| wart men, Seth Day, I-uas Kent and
Cy rus Prentiss were among the prom
iuent business men; when Deacon
Poe, Charles Judd Howurd Carter.
Ashley Ely, John Il. King, Richard
Thompson and DIR. Swift were in their
| prime, when the snort OF the locomo.
| tive or It's shrill lshistle had never
startled the quiet air of fPortageConnty,
when letter postage was from ten ia
twenty-ti five cents, and friendly letters
Travelled for weeks to make few hun
dred miles, when photographs and
telegraphs, and telephones, were un
known, when the songs of Tippe-
canoe and Tyler too," were sung about
the old log cabin at Ravenna, during
the wild hard cider campaign, when
the elOquence of Tom Corwin used to
electrify the people of OhiO-we are
lost in contemplation of the progress
wrought, and the change that time
has brought But when we seek to
converse upon those early times how
| f-w survivors do We meet to tell the
tales of those primitive days. One
naturally turGS 10 the township and
| gu" io" IL u tiCsc
is the search for the general facts of an
earlier day. Who knows now any
thing about the thrilling days when
the British nenaced the borders of our
State, when john Harmon, and Gen
eral Harris, and Auson Beman, and
many others enlisted In the war of
1872, To repel th. threatened invasion?
1t hiss SCENE to me that it would he
well su write the history of a township
III the form of rycloPedia, i'm which
should appear the name of every ciIi-
| zen of the early days in alphabetical
order, " iIh such ems of fact incident
and history. A. were rtmeunbe red and
of inte,e-i, aud so Ia ,reasuIe the men,
Ory OF the early settlers H. well as the
recently departed. and thus to rescue
many interesting facts Snd traditions
f'om nilivi..n Time psssts. The past
genera! ion is remembered 10y few, aGd
j the present generation IL fapidly Join
| Ing Tie past in the final home nf all.
MEANDEREH