The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-01-14

LOVE AND POTASH,
A Little Romance HiuSlng on the Story Of
Dead industry of Bohemia.


There's what broke up my home and
made me come over to America"
The speaker was an employee in n large
soap factory on tho west side. He was
pointing to some drums of imported soda
rs he spoke.
L was born in Bohemia, among the
mountains, in little village Our chief
industry was making lye, and sometimes
soap. think half of the people made
their living that way my family did.
When 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 the fir, but we took every
thing. We'd build big bonfires in dry
weather, and the moment the ashes and 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 l remember
was square, built out of bricks, with door
on the side. We used to fill the tubs with
they'd hold. When it ran through, it would
run into small bucket. This was what
used to be I've. 1t was too weak to sell or
to use for soap, and 30 we'd boil it down.
Sometimes we'd sell it when it was boiled
down very strong, but generally We lot it
boil till it was dry. What was left was
good potash, and that we'd sell to rich
man in tho village, who'd send loads of it
away to foreign countries. If the potash
was gray we got good price for it, but il
it was red or brown we got less money and
also got good thrashing from our par
ents.
Down tho road was my fathers cousin,
who was the best soap maker in the barony
He made soft soap from our potash and
hard soap from potash and common salt.
He had pretty danghter-she's my wife
now, and when she was fifteen she was as
good a soap boiler as her father. l was
about seventeen when times began to grow
quite hard. Tho 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
| 1t came from the wars that were going on,
and that good old prices would como back
before long. When | got to DO twenty /
was my wires bean, and the old folks
agreed that We should marry two years
after and keep tho family trades in the old
places. Well, We married, but not there,
| and I've never been there since.
"You see il came about like this wont
down to the village ono day with load OF
potash and sonp, and called us usual on the
merchant For the first time no 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 me at half the price I
wanted, and explained to me how the
French and English were making soda and
| potash in big factories out of rocks that
cost almost nothing saw that my bust
| ness was ruined. The news ran through
the village, and verybody was very blue. l
was particularly blue when thought of
Gretchen. Many tried to fight it out, but
they nearly starved. Most of us wandered
away to other countries, and came over to
America, where been ever since. And q
little over year after landed sent over
for my sweetheart, and she c.l . over and
we were married."