The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-04-16
Mountain Lake Park.

mountain Lake Fdfk'
1t has been awful dull here this
winter. Sometimes | was almost
sick because l could not get out to
play. You know that little boys
like me get tired staying in the
house reading and PLAYING with
playthings almost year old.
| told my pa that | wished |
could be a printer so that l could
run a newspaper and roast people
l did not like. My pa said l might
be an editor some day if | would try
right hard. am going to com
mence right away. l am going to
send You this letter. Maybe you
will print 1t. | want to let myself
out by writing about Mountain
Lake Park in winter. | will not
tell you about the beauties
of the Park, because you know
all about them already, be-
sides haye not gotten over my mad
yet, 1t will take more sunshine
than we have had so far to get me
in a good humor.
We have awful muddy streets
here. Our mud is thick and waxy,
and as heavy as lead. Big men lift
up lots Of it with their boots and
shoes, and carry it around until
their feet are too heavy to walk.
then they drag their feet along ur-
til they reach somebody's clean
porch, upon which they manage to
put their mud ladened feet and
scrape the mud off lust like they
were leaving their card of thanks,
and then they move along until they
load up again, and then unload on
some other PERSONS porch.
The Park is boss place for
selling rubber shoes. I'll bet, no
won't bet because my ma said if |
bet would 60 to the bad place, but
| dare bet IN fun. I'll bet there
are more than fifty pairs of rubber
shoes buried in the earth here, and
as soon as the frost gets out of the
ground they will show up. l have
seventeen shoes which I picked out
Of the mud this winter, and there
Is no two alike, they are all odds
and ends. had lots of fun watch
ing people trying to keep their
overshoes on. The young ladies
had the most trouble in that line.
My pa made me a sucker. Maybe
you don't know what a sucker is.
1t is not one Of those kind chat
subscriber for your paper and never
pay for it. The sucker that
mean is made out of sole leather.
1t is cut round, about as big as
cookey, and it has q little hole in
the middle through which string
is put. On the lower end of the
string knot is made so that the
string will not pull through. That's
my sucker. soak it in water until
it is real soft, and then stick it on
a brick or d big stone and yank
them up Just as easy as anything.
My sucker will not lift mud, but it
can lit twice the weight of mud in
bricks and stone. Your town don't
have sticky mud, does it? | told
ma | wished our mud was like
yours-real thin. She asked me
why. | said it would be so nice
because pa could buy us a boat and
sis-sis is my little sister, we call
her Sis for Shorthand me could do
all the marketing. and ma could
stay at home and save her white
skirts and fine dresses until the city
folks come out here. | would pity
the fellows whose duty it is to keep
the streets in good shape, if they
could hear the ladies roast them
when the sewing society meets;
they would 60 to work.
want to tell you about the time
| had last week. My ma was going
to make soap. The lady who lives
across the street told ma that she
would help her. She said ma must
| get SaSSaIfaS SUCK TO SUR 1t with,
and that the soap must be made
when the moon is full so that ma
could get kettle full Of soap. This
neighbor Of ours came from Penn
sylvania, and she has a sign for
everything she does. Ma calls her
Pennsylvania dutch, but ma don't
let her hear it. Well, pa sent off
and got sassafras root and our
hired girl commenced boiling soap.
went into the back yard to see
how the thing was going to work.
asked our hired girl to let me stir
the soap. She seemed pleased and
handed me the sassafras root, when
our neighbor threw up both hands
and screamed out, "For goodness
sake, don't let that boy stir the
soap!' She grabbed the root out
of my hand and told me to get out.
! / Pz14 L 4