Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1886-10-09
II Is But Fifty Years Since

1t WdS luA " LIVE.
There was leisure for enjoyment.
Men slept in beds.
The one-horse wagon was in vogue.
The buggy with springs was unknown
The craze for gold had not ONE.
Drawn and brain were champions.
The friction match was 8 curiosity.
We were q nation of hard workers.
At every crossroads a shoemaker and a
wheelwright throve.
Elections were unbouGht.
A days journey was a notable event.
Highways were the avenues Of com
merce.
The sewing machine was unheard Of.
The Yankee peddler was prospecting.
He had not yet cir~cumnavigated the
globe.
Our emblem of commercial haste was
the coach.
Travelling from New York to Phha-
delphia was a good days work.
There were neither mowers nor self
binders ia existence.
Women cooked by open fires.
Young men were skilled with the ak.
The era Of forest destruction was at its
best.
The Ak was the resource of many fami-
lies.
At night-fall tallow candles made the
light.
Butter would not pay for marketing
one hundred miles from home.
The steam saw-mill' hadtot begun to
make merchandise Of the forest.
The lord of a thousand acres dined
with his men.
The matron advised with her maids
and aided them in securing mates.
Girls and matrons boosted of their
spinning.
Only the thrifty took a newspaper.
+. The day began with dawn-ended
with nine o'clock.
Baseball was not a national game.
The circus and clown were the event
of the year.
The mcnagerie gave the church mem
DcrS q GOO0 CnanCe.
The clock. tin and notion peddler Wis
tied every house.
In trade, produce answered when
money was lacking.
Every thrifty farmhouse entertained.
The railroad was Matching.
The telegraph was not heard from.
n;,h+Iar;o u-oc ,,l-pnwp
Story tellers and hearty laughs abound.
ed.
Divorce was not.
Hard drinking until old age scarcely
! enabled a man to see snakes.
Prairie farms were undreamcd Of.
The mighty West was unknown.
The territory of the United States haC
not been crossed.
Forest clearing was the vocation O
one-third of the men.
Most men were born, lived and died il
the same county.
Prosperous farmers handled littl,
money.
The saddle was the emblem of hast,
and speed.
Few had seen a purchased carpet.
Family-garments were home wrought
Professional men subsisted we'll on al
income of $500 per year.
Doors were left on the latch at night
The family wash hung out all night.
Cotton sheeting was fifty cents pc
yard; not as good as now for five.
Frugal homes knew little anxiety.
Property was real and personal.
Real property was real estate. Per
sonal property was notes, mortgages an
farm stock.
There was no dealing in futures.
Gambling was betting on the turn of
card.
A mans value was reckoned by wha
he could earn, not what be could make
Government stocks, bonds, %raiiroa,
and manufacturing stocks, bank stocks
; mining stocks. municipal bonds an
speculative values were unknown.
Would we exchange the present 70
the enjoyment Of fifty years ago. No.
People were more generally happ
and contented then, but it was q lowe
average.
While a few arc below the then aver
age, the majority are far above. Til
difference is clear gain.
Not a High Charge Either.