Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-01-30

| We are having and have been having spell
IF bad weather. The roads are very muddy
nd soft, and If the people generally will just
urn out and cut them up good. they will re-
| main SO for awhile.
little girl OF d. M. Smiths was badly burn
| d one day last week by a hot cooking stove
| falling upon her. She is getting along as wei
| rs could be expected, considering she was very
| ladly injured.
I There was quite ripple of excitement one
| tay last week, created by q race between the
Whitman and the Dederick hay presses. The
NO presses were set in Mr. John Mish's barn,
'ide by side, in 20-ft pass-way between two
nows of hay, and much effort was put forth
y both parties to make their respective
presses do their utmost. The Whitman press
vas bought by Messrs. Bowman & .Bosserman
some time ago, and did not please them from
ome cause or other. They returned the press
o the manufacturers, and bought the Dederics
press. The Wilma press needed some re-
pairs, and for that purpose very genial and
good machinist was sent mere from st. Louis
do it. He put his press in good order and
,iarted it. He had little or trouble with
breakage, and the contest was therefore a very
:iose and exciting one. MI t. efert. the gen
al mechanic representing the Whitman Co..
told me the race was exclusively between
Whitman and Dederick, and that he Was only
trying to establish the merits of his press aid
show the Dederck Company that his press
was good one On the other hand, the Ded-
e. OK Company was represented by a geniai
mechanic. Mr.. Powers, from Albany, n. T.
Both of these gentlemen were good mechanics
and experts in their line Of business. The
Whitman press was fed by Mr.. Treffert, and
when he came down from the stand he was
very dusty, He worked Ike life, and all de-
pended upon his best efforts. The Whitman
men could not have sent better man TO rep
resent their in terests. There was difference
ola little between them. and the differences
was in favor of the Dederiek. On the day fol-
lowing the race. Mir. Charles Garrison fed two
bales through the whitman press in one min
ute. so we have heard. The spectacle was a
novel one, and we suppose the like was never
before seen in the State. and large crowd
collected 10 witness it. Everything passed off
nicely and fairly. which added greatly to the
contest MIR. Treffert left Monday for his home
in Illinoise, well pleased SO he says, with the
result. Each Company had its friends here
and all agree that the p, esses worked well.
me Dederick friends claimed that the hay
was INST the same on both sides of the barn,
while the w Whitman friends said the hay was
dry and weedy on their side, therefore being
harder to feed and taking more 10 max a bale
but be this as it may, every one enjoyed the
race very much. We learn the difference in
weight between the presses for the run was
l66 lbs in favor Oh the Dederick press.
Mr.. Andrew Helms, resident of Mt. Craw-
ford, Rockingham county, died at his home In
that place last week. He was upwards of so
years ofage, and mad resided there for many
years. The deceased was genial. warm. heart
cd man. He YVES o very consistent member of
the Methodist church for number of years,
and died 10 the faith with ST. ong hopes and a
fall assurance of btissful Immortality be-
yond this vale of tears. He leaves large FAM
lily OF children (all grown and msrried) and an
aged wife, the partner of all his joys and sor-
rows In life, to mourn the loss OF a devoted hus-
band and father. Verify, a good christian
man and a good citizen has passed away
Peace to his ashes
Business is brisk with our merchants.