The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-07-03

Mevey. The nail factory was Q very
small and primitive affair; sheet and met-
chant iron being much more important
sn,e,ciaities than nails. The Side shears"
were then In vogue, and the kegs were
made by hand by Lancaster 4 Sons, In a
little shop on Upper Nam street, The
city warehouse was in the grocery store Of
Us. Melvin & Co., on the west side Of
Market street, near the lower end Of the
market house. Times were very dull,
currency deprecated, %wild cat banks
were plentiful, and the universal question
asked In connection with protiered bill
va. chow much Is 1t worth on the
iollsr.n Every n0te was carefully scruh-
nized. q Counterfeit detector was in every
store, and an aptness to detect spurious
money was an essential recommends.
tion for position where lucre was
handled. II. was . very common ocs
cuTrenne to see two or three merchants
bob.nobbine over bank note, especially,
II II were very new and crisp.
Merchants have gone East (no CONNER.
cisl travellers in those days. with good
supply Of money with which to purchase
goods, to And ct the end Of their journey,
that much Of It was below pal, Il NOT
altogether worthless. Among the play,
thlnga Of the children, the worthless paper
OF broken banks was often found. No ono
who did not live In these good old times"
Of which we hear 80 much, can appreciate
the convenience and safety OF the splen'
did national currency Of to.day,
Pay day was Q very uncertain ataif,
and months often passed without the em-
ployes receiving cent remuneration. a
trip to Pittsburgh, which was the Mecca
oitnilI men, was one Of the rare occasions
when q little meney could ne ohtained, q
steamboat captains did not take orders.
Iron, nails and store orders, were the col
lateral in the hands Of managing house,
wives, 20. supplying the family wants and
laying In the winter stores. lFippennSy,
bits, SIX and fourth cents, and '.leyies,"
twelve and half cents, with "shinplas-
ters, 2 we're part 81 the small change Of the
period.
Among the business men who accepted
the firms orders and dealt fairly and hon
orally with the workingmen, were w. 7.
Shelby, William Lowther and o. w. HE'S
kell. dry goods merchants, Samuel Nc
Clallan, shoe dealer, and James Melvin q;
Co, grocers. Women often went to mar
let without q cent, giving orders on the
Arm for iron and nails, and on the stores for
merchandise. Among the popular "boys''
who were clerks In the various stores were
Var, Ely and John Swearengen, Atonzo Lor-
ing, John Bloomfield, Chester d. Knox,
"Btlly Mccoy aud many others whose
sames | cannot now recall. Many are
dead, Others bavo moved sway, and some
are among the leading business hiea ei
Wheeling. The market was one Of the
best; produce was very low, but the
soarcity OF money made it much more
dificuit then, than now, to make pur'
chsses.
Thescenery Of North w esiingwas very
wild and picturesque; the now yerdure'
less hills were covered by trees, and at this
SEASON Of the year, tho most beautiful
wild flowers, giioce every haunt we knew;
| covered the beloved hills with beauty and
fragrance. North andsouth Of Jonathan'i
Run, at its mouth, were green knolls and
beautiful clumps Of trees, which have long
ago disappeared before the march OF i'm
pfoyemsnt and the rayages Of high water.
| 4 somewhat noted spring bas long since
| been covered up by debris from the mill
and II drop offs cooling water Is YET
being distilled in Mother Earth it Is some
where under the track Of the rail
road, that has so nercilessly cut through
the pleasant haunts Of childhood and de-
molished It's most cherished shrines.
"sERRE.N