The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-08-21
MEMORIES OF THE PAST
RECALLED by MANY OLD SETTLERS
AT BROAD RIPPLE.
DIR. Wishard Tells of Scenes Familiar
when He Came to This County
Address by James A. Mount.


At an early hour yesterday morning a
goodly number was on the grounds 10 at
tend the old settlers meeting at Broad
Ripple, and by midafternoon the crowd
numbered up into the thousands. The sun
came out with a smiling face and every
one followed suit. The grandstand was
soon filled with the old white-haired heroes
who fought bravely the battles of poverty
and adversely. AT 10. o'clock the exercises
opened by the band playing some patriotic
selections, followed by the audience sing
ing America" President Johnson then in
reduced DR.. Wishard. who addressed the
audience on early pioneer life and gave
some general thoughts evolved from ex-
| perience.
I'VE old men," he said. have lived to
realize three periods in life. In our early
years we live in the hope of the future; our
middle life is characterized by our duties
and responsibilities, and in old age We live
In the memory of the past. There are
some things that cannot be described; one
is the Niagara Falls, another a battle and
a third an unbroken wilderness. These
things must be seen to be. appreciated 1t
is my purpose TO speak Of the wilderness.
When / came to this country in October,
1875, it was a forest so dense that to get
through it at all the AK had TO be used
constantly"
He followed this with a description of
the old log cabins. rail splittings. house
raisings. log rollings. the old-time husking
bees. the squirrel hunts, and then spoke
of the dress, OF how they used TO go Ito
mill" Of the food they ate, and gave a
vivid picture of their hunts for wild game.
AS he talked the old men and women lived
again in the days of their early expert
ences.
After this word picture Mrs. Maggie
Smith and Mrs. Mclaughlin, both in the
sixties, each sang a song. the first en-
titled I'm a Boatsman by Trade and
the second "A Child's Dream of Heaven"
After the young ladies contested in recita-
tons the prize babies were exhibited.
In the afternoon w. w. Thornton spoke
10 the association. He gave a brief his
tory of his frontier life, mentioned the
condition of the country and related some
of the experiences that marked the lives
of the early settlers. Among other things
he said: zone of the happy conditions of
this life is the fact that as we near the
closing scenes of Our destiny there is
effaced from our memories by the kind
hand of oblivion the passions, hardships,
regrets and the bitterness of our trials,
and preserved upon tablets of marble
memories are the pleasures and joys of the
past. Forgotten are the days of weary
toiling, telling the mighty forests, smooth
ing out the wrinkles of natures face, when
now the aged pioneer looks over the broad
acres of waving wheat and tasseled corn
where once grew the great oak and glided
the fallow deer. To-day you have met
with the sky for a canopy and these green
leaves whispering music to your hearts, TO
rnnnl tho 1fnCnn - - a. ---s
to look into each others faces once more
and bid each other Godspeed in the short
race yet left to you TO run with tottering
After speaking at length on America and
its opportunities, Of The people and their
siHSad'a By saying sha or ~L 1nei us. ip aSerefOre. RE RE
joice that, although we have lived in an
age OF hardships, we have lived in an age
opening of the fairest flower of civilization:
that We have seen slavery. that greatest
tory Of the World by the ala of our hands;
that We nave seen constitutional and per-
sonal and religious liberty SO firmly rooted
the blessings OF a golden sun its tree will
continue 10 grow and cast its shade on
mankind. These are great moments in the
worlds history. when a day is as a thou
sand years of other times: when to have
lived that day is better than TO have lived
the humdrum life of even an octogenarian
but IL is our blessed privilege TO have lived
not only that day but many of them. And
now We are ready to hand down to the
generations 10 come the rich fruition OF
our hearts. of our minds and of our hands
that they. may reap the rich rewards that
now await them
In the intermission Union Chapel and Ma.
pleton Sunday schools contested for the
prize organ.
Hon. James A. Mount. Republican can.
didate for Governor. who was next on the
programme, was compelled TO make his adj
dress short. as he was very tired. for he
has been speaking to crowds almost con
t1nuously for weeks. He made some beau.
the conditions of the country as il was ff-
ty years ago with what ii is now; spoke
~touchingly of the days when the music oil
the spinning wheel was heard in the white,
strains of the piano enjoyed in the parlors
of to-day. He paid a pretty tribute to the
old gray-haired fathers and mothers whose
trembling hands and dim eyes tell the story
of suffering and batting with poverty and
care, and last he addressed the young who
are to take their places TO live i'm such 3
way as to emulate the examples set before
them.
The results of some of the contests are
given below: In the old ladies' song. Mrs
terday was Henry Cruise, aged eighty-ive
ticket. Thomas Pfaf. ninety-one. Best
looking. baby. Josephine Jones. In the
young ladies' contest for best recitation
there were three winners. Annie Lutz. Man
NJ. Smock and Lavalette Lancaster. Free,
for-all boat race. Mabel Ray. Best old set.
tiers talk by a lady. Mrs. Dupree. Oldest
lady present. Mrs. Sarah SomerS. Best
recitation by little girl. Hazel Lowder. Besr
Hanway. Climbing the creased pole, three
contested and all went to the top. The
prize was So, and 81 was given TO each bow
Henry Baily. Walla Day and John Beckley