Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-05-26
Old Times.

Ed. Regtster-Thursday, May 18th,
1892: fifty-four years spent in this
lovely Valley Of Arcadia, and, as | look
around over the Valley, how different
did the first morning after we came;
and how many changes have taken
place all over this broad land, and how
little was known of all this vast country
west of the Mississippi river, at that
time. And how people lived in all OF
the country west of the Allegheny
Mountains. How different it all seems
and hundreds and thousands Of villages,
towns and cities; with its net work of
railroads; and as look back to those
days when everybody lived in a log
cabin, with all barns and cribs and
other buildings made of logs and COW
cred with split bark, fastened on with
weight poles; and when you looked
over the plantation, you saw men
breaking ground for the crop with one
horse or mule, and the women and
children out in the field with a big
heavy old hoe, chopping out the weeds,
while the men ploughed, or hOeing in
the cotton patch As / look back over
all these years, and can see in my
thoughts just how each of our old
looked and dressed; it seems
like another world from what we live
in at this time, 1892.
And as | sit and look over my gard
en- with its long rows of onions, pars-
nips, carrots, bcets, lettuce, cabbages
and caulifower-the trawberries al
most ripe-grapes loaded with bios
SONS, giving promise of a bountiful
crop Of lucious grapes in the future
how fresh it brings to my mind my
first garden.
The same spot that is in garden now.
remember how, in the early morning,
would dig and grub, while my young
wife got the breakfast; and as she came
10 the garden and said, '.breakfast is
ready" as we took our seats at the table
and each of lis repeated some appropri-
ite passage of Scripture. If | was
sowing seeds, such as .'In the morning
SOW thy seed, and in the evening with
hold not thy hand, for thou knOwest
not whether this or that shall prosper,
~ both alike shall be good;' or if
lad been digging grubs: '.By the sweat
IF thy brow thou shalt eat bread all the
lays of thy life" Then as / looked
over the table and saw such lovely
senison stake, with nice batter cakes,
puffy biscuits. and lots Of other good
.hings, how it made my heart go
Dut to the Giver of all good; and at
evening after the supper was over |
would work in the grubs while my wife
would come and pick up the grubs and
burn them. All, it all comes to me so
fresh this morning; | can see her just
rs she looked in her girl-wife days.
When | married, woman friend
hat lived way east Of the Knob had
said to me, when you make your first
garden / want to furnish the seeds
In those days we had no seed stores;
every person saved all of their seed
from year to year. After | had got
my ground ready to plant | went over
the mountains to get my seed that she
had promised. When | reached her
house said: Il have got my garden
all ready for the seed you promised
ne" From an old bee gum that stood
back in the corner of the cabin, she |
brought out bunch after bunch OF seeds |
LII tied up in pieces of old cloth, with
strings tied around. All the lunches
she spread on the table: after she had |
opened each. kind, they were of all |
sorts, beets, beans, both bunch and /
pole, cabbage, cucumbers. lettuce, on
on sets, peas, &C. then she took just