Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1896-11-12

intended to call the
town OrangetOwn.
in honor of Orangetown. Md, but the
early education of the man who drew
up the petition had been so badly neg
lected that when he wrote the dOcu-
ment he spelled the word Orrington,
and in this manner was a good town
name born from very poor photography,
says the Lewiston Me) Journal. Dur
ing the 1OS years which have passed
since then the people have made fery
few blunders. They not only know
what they want, but they go for it with
get-there impetuosity which generally
wins success.
In fact, some citizens of Orrington
can be truthfully charged with having
too much zeal. One resident wom-
an, bearing the name of Baker--has
made herself famous for all time by
little act of thoughtful kindness that
would never have been noticed had it
been done in most towns. Mrs. Baker,
though she lived and died years before
Secretary Morton was known, was a
| firm believer in Arbor day. She set out
such native trees as she could find
growing on the hills. and sent away to
friends and got several varieties that
had lately come over from Europe.
| One spring morning in the fourth de-
cade of the present century coaster
| came in from Boston having Il few trees
| on board billed to Mrs. Baker Among
them was a rare species known as the
honey locust. The agent who sold It
n har nraicnI iol inc
had large racemes OF fragrant white
flowers and beautiful pendulous foliage,
making it most suitable ornament for
cemetery. In addition to these quail
ties, it was thrifty and perfectly hardy,
and could be either grown as a hedge
or trimmed to single trunk.
Following the printed instructions
which came with every tree she planted
her honey locust in the family lot in
the old Chaplin cemetery on the road
| from Orrington Center to OrringtOn
No tree ever kept it's contract more per-
fectly than that honey locust. 1t waxed
big and strong in the dry, gravelly soil
and raised up many offspring, all of
which grew wonderfully. Fifteen years
later, when Mrs. Baker laid down the
cares of life, she was put to rest in a
beautiful grove of her own planting
Around her grave the wild cypress
grew in rank yellow profusion. Above
1t the red cinnamon rose bloomed all
through the summer months, and over
these the rare honey locusts swayed
their fragrant blossoms. until every
dallying wind stole away deeply laden
| with sweetness. Surely, if there were
ever place where death was robbed
of its terrOs this was the spot
New tenants came to the little four
acre cemetery as the years went on.
The Harrimans, noted for their
strength: the Chapins, famous in f.
nance; the Bakers, with their handsome
children, and several other good people
having finished their work, were laid
away for a long, sweet rest among the
flowers.
The people died, but the honey To-
Gusts lived. They not only lived, but
took such a joy in living that by 1856
the sexton complained bitterly about
the tough roots of the locust trees
which he was forced to cut out in order
to dig new grave. In former years
with spade and a pickax he coulf
dig good grave in about four hours
Now he had to take an AK and a crow
bar along and when he had dug gray.
he found the whole day was used up
Several owners of burial plots Ina
were inclosed with expensive fences
as well as those who had erected stones
or monuments. complained about tn,
prevalence of locust trees, saying tn,
tangled growth concealed the graves
The lots were thickets of brushwoo,
and even the cemetery paths grew III
SO that men had to swamp new road
whenever body was inferred on tn
further side of the Enclosure.
About the time the war closed tn
residents woke up to the fact that thei
, beautiful cemetery had been trans
formed into wilderness, filled wit
brambles and noxious thorns. Som
, made onslaughts upon the trees (clear
, ing individual lots here and there
which at once grew up to young locus
trees from roots on the unreclaime
, lots. Meetings of lot-owners were elt
but no definite plan of action wa
o adopted. Meanwhile the locusts gre,
. and entrance to the cemetery becam
! more difficult every year. Shortly afte
, it was learned that the locusts coul
not be eradicated the survivors bega
to take up their dead and move them t
other cemeteries. Some went to Mi
Creek. others to Orrington Village, an
;, still others to the hillside yard /;
Shows corner. Before 1870 nearly e,
r erybody was up and away. Then tt
g town voted to pay for the removal ,
= those whose friends had all died {
n moved away and the grave digsel