The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-03-20
OLE BULLS GENIN HATS
RELICS OF JENNY LIMBS EP0OH,
AND WORN YET IN TIE HEM
LOCK- BELE


| Rsiawiu's Desire Tor sguire Net
ns's Nat Led 20 Trousisa voysee.
ROULETTE. Pa. March IA stranger visit
/ Ing the lumber and bark peeling region along
| Kettle Creek, in the southeastern part Of Potter
/ county and northern Clinton and Lycoming
counties. will be surprised to see teamsters.
bark peelsrs. choppers and others who are
| employed In the woods and about tho saw
] mills and tanneries, wearing at their work
ancient and battered high silk hats. This will
be especially the case among the old men. The
| hats are Of ancient pattern. and all show the
| effects OF long and continuous wear. The visl-
| tor will be all the more surprised when he
| gives one Of the hats closer examination to
| ind inside IL the label and trade mark OF the
M st famous halter New York city ever had
| Genin. who came first into wide public notice
| and laid the foundation OF q large fortune In
| his business by the great advertising he
obtained from buying the first ticket
for Jenny Lind's opening concert at
| Castle Garden. for which he paid $3.50
| Genin retired from business many years ago.
and It is not likely that nywhere In the entire
| country outside OF this particular portion Of
| the hemlock belt can one Of his once cele-
| brated hats be found In use to-day. Their ex-
istence in the heart Of the Pennsylvsnia back
woods. In the possession Of such peculiar
wearers. is due to the coming into the Kettle
Ole Bull, the great violinist and his colony OF
Norwegians. his purpose being the establish
| ing OF an ideal home for his country men. Sew
eral settlements were made. among them OLE
ona, on Kettle Crock. which was to be the cap
| ital OF the colony. The story OF the miserable
failure Of this attem pit at colonization has been
told often and is familiar. But the story OF the
Genin hats has never yet been written.
Among the Norwegians who came into the
| tril1
named Henry Petersen He was Ole Bulls
secretary. and acted as his personal represen-
| tative and agent In oil transactions with the
| colony. A large general store was built and
stocked Mt Oleona The wilderness was I'M
| broken for miles. except by the small settle
ments Of the colonists. 1t was about this time
that Jenny Lind came to America. ole Bull
was In New York. Tho Genin incident o.
Cured. and tho halter was sharing with the
Swedish Nightingale the talk OF town and
country. Ole Bulls understanding OF bust
ness ness. was ILLUSTRATES, , ted By his becoming
Rsts' which every On "eh' the city wSs He.rna
and shipped them to 0leona. BY the time, they
cost Of the IN odish hats to som thing like $50
a dozen. Unfortunately for the investment.
sisteney il their wearing Genin ultra ashton.
| able high silk hats at their work OF chopping
cisily as the price Of the hats was more than
| the land they we're clearing cost them. 80 they
purchased none. and the costly hats were
The colonization experiment being a. dis
sssroqs failure the eoionists a SitsT three
| sold their lands for what they could get and
moved away, But Henry Petersen remained
| tho back woods store and a tavern. Tho hem.
lock and pine lumber attracted capital to the
Katf "A Eraa mt md ha atn ha-
came q profitable base OF supplies. Not long
after this change in the aspect Of the region
to realize SON ethnG ON the stock OF Genin high
hats. and he mad 10 an auction sale OF them The
around. and also By. people from the towns and
villages in the neehborhood. The hats were
the UNIQUE sight Of tesmsters. choppers. and
bark peelers. wearing clothing OF the coarsest
Sg Rgh Sas o
make. became common one throuRhoEt the
inal wearers Of these hats have grown grizzled
and gray in the woods. and so have their hats.
forty years they have done duty in ali sorts Of
weather. Others OF these hats are worn By
them. and md whose chiidren may PROBABLY p some
day fall heir to them.
AmSnG those S who purchased ass one OF these
+ l.. Hollis OF Woodruff; steuben county. N Y;
bought he. carried back with him with the
feelings OF man who had won the prize
thirty years he wore that hat and Il then Se
came the indirect. but moving. cause ofthe first
And last ATTEMPT TEMPT ever made to navigate tho
From the time Squire Hollis got that hat 1t
Addison. Squire Baldwin had not gone to the
Kettle Creek hat sale. and consequently did
hull once a month at least and beg squire
Hollis to- sell hin that hat, but he might as
u n n
persistent supplicant for SIuire Hollis's hat
sSa the ss' @s ns we9 TO s to see
great flood in tho Tuscarora Creek. Even
when the TGscaSSr. ifnt high 4 has wind
Woodruff and Addison. fourteen miles. but in
t oMs q at nSSs T raging torrent II
is bordered by trees whose overhane-
ing branches almost touch the rushing cur
and SusiuehAnna River pilot. On this visit OF
his TO Woodruff no aud squire Hollis took
o. whether q raft could be run safely down the
Sosldn,t he afraid to take raft from 'S %oO ID
se %EIli Ss i,y you $50 you can't do it~ said
Wouidn't undsrtak g It for $50" said Squire
R Bali =, but III make ths trip for that Ole
som XOa R 3sS.r get thTopgh alive" returned
SoS But I'm going slona to sae ey yo nat dc
built, Before II was ready TO pull out the banks
OF the creek were lined with people to see the |
aboard. pulled out about O'clock in the alter |
noon. and was swept out OF sight of the spec |
deus Island. The force OF the flood |
In the creek had cut two extra channels |
through the island. Across the main chan |
mel a big beech tree had fallen, its |
branches making a network obstruction below |
the surface, orsOn Ladieu. who lived on a
farm opposite the island. was out on the bank |
OF the stream about halt past 8 o'clock on the |
day Baldwin and Hollis started to make the |
pioneer trip down the Tuscarora and looking |
UP the creek was amazed TO see a raft tearing |
along on the Hood One oar was gone ana the |