Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-01-01
LOVE AND POTASH.
A Little Romance Ringing on the
Story of Dead Industry of 30.
hernia.
New York Sun.

New 4Ork Sun.
There's what broke up my home
and made me come over to America.
The speaker was an employee in
large soap factory on the West side.
He was pointing to some drums of
imported soda as he spoke.
Il was born in Bohemia, among
the mountains, IN little village. Our
chief industry was making I've, and
sometimes soap. / think half of the
people made their living that way
my family did. When I was little
boy was sent out every day with my
brother and other little boys to gather
leaves and twigs. The best were those
Of fir, but we took everything. We'd
build big bonfres in dry weather,
and the moment the ashes aud en-
bers were cold we'd throw them into
bins under low sheds. Below these
| sheds were what you'd call leach tubs.
Some Of these were old barrels sawed
In half; some, and they belonged to
the poorer folks, were heavy willow
baskets. One remember was square,
built out of bricks. with door on the
side. We used to FIJI the tubs with
ashes, and pour as much water on
them as they'd hold. When it ran
through, it would run into a small
bucket. It was too weak to sell or to
use TO make soap, and so we'd boil it
down. Sometimes we'd sell it when
1t was boiled down very strong, but
generally we let it boil till it was dry.
What was left was good potash, and
that we'd sell TO rich man in the
village, who'd send loads of it away
to foreign countries. If the potash
was gray we got a good price for it,
but If it was red or brown we got less
money and also got good thrashing
from our parents.
Down the road was my fathers
cousin, who was the best soapmaker
IN the barony. He made soft soap
from our potash and hard soap from
potash and common salt. He had a
pretty daughter-she's my wife now,
and when she was Is she was as good
a soap-boiler as her father [ was
about II when times began to grow
quite hard. The village merchant
didn't buy as much potash or soap,
and what he did buy he paid less for.
And then the men who'd start out in
the spring with a wagon to peddle
the same wares found things Just as
bad everywhere. We thought it came
from the wars that were gong on,
and that good old prices would come
back before long. When [ got to be
81 was nay wife's beau, and the old
folks agreed that we should marry
two years after and keep up the family
trades in the old places. Well, we
married, but not there, and I've never
seen there since.
You see 1t came about like this. I
went down to the village one day
with load of potash and soap, and
called as usual on the merchant. For
the first time he refused to buy the
latter, and offered so small price for
the former that / began to laugh.
But when he took out of box some
foreign soap and offered it to nae at
half the price I wanted, and explain
ed to me how the French and English
were making soda and potash In big
factories out of rocks that cost almost
nothing, saw my business was ruin
ed. The news ran through the VII
lage, and everybody was very blue,
Il was particularly blue when l
thought of Gretchen. Many tried to
fight it out, but they nearly starved.
Most of us wandered to other coun-
tries, and I came over to America,
where I've been ever since. And q
little over a year after I landed I sent
over for my sweetheart, and she came
over and we were married"