The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-06-24
"REMINISCENCES.

KEMlNINUENUEO.
In addition 10 the games mentioned
in former papers, the boys pitched
quoits, using flat stones for quoits, and
making riders instead Of 'ringers"
rs they do in these days, when they
have horse shoes or rings made espe-
cially for the purpose. There was just
as much fun pitching the stones as the
horse shoes or rings, and many a
pleasant hour was spent in the "Auld
Lang Syne" by the writer and his
companions in this manner. AS pre-
viously mentioned the original New
Bury school-house was built for a
house of worship, long before Addison
township had a house built especially
for school purposes. In those early
days, if a boy in the country got any
education at all, he had to pick it up
as best he could, for there were no
school-houses, and very few schools.
The people, becoming more ambitious
after while, were allowed to have a
school taught in the old church. The
pulpit was an immense affair, built on
legs some four or five feet high and
movable, the platform of which was
reached by two pairs of steps, one on
each side. The whole concern was
some ten or twelve feet square. The
writer remembers, after he reached the
age of six, when he commenced at
tending school, looking with rever-
ential awe on this old pulpit, assoeiat-
ing it, as he did in his mind, with
''Old Stein," the old German who
hanged himself in this house, as has
been mentioned, especially as the old
black bier, which served Stein for
scafiold, stood in the corner of the
room. 1t was used for a ladder TO
climb into the loft, when the roof
caught fire, as it did on several occa-
si0ns, and for other purposes. This
old pulpit sometimes stood in a dark
corner of the room, and again, when
the dirt and dust became too thick un-
derneath, for as it stood on four legs
there was large open space under the
pulpit was moved to one side or the
other of the school-room. Often the
writer has sat, with his short legs COM
ing halfway from the slab-bench to the
floor, and his back aching for sup
port, gazing into the dark cavernOus
depths under the old pulpit, expecting
any moment, almost, to see Stein come
out. Then he would picture in his
mind the old man hanging on the old
bier in the corner, until he imagined
he could see his distorted features and
hideous grimaces. The space under
meath the pulpit was used by some of
the teachers as place of Punishment,
to which the larger, and sometimes,
smaller boys, were sentenced for some
disobedience of the the rules. The
portion of the boys anatomy present.
ing last as they stopped to get under
the pulpit, very frequently felt the
"duil thud" of the teachers rule, to
expedite their going, and to excul-
pate, in some measure, their offense-
If two or Dlore boys were ordered un-
der the pulpit at one time, they usual
ly had good deal of fun, so much so,
that the teacher, after while, would
only send one under at a time. OF
course one boy could not have a very
gay time; under the circumstances, the
best he could do would be to ''make
faces" at the teacher, behind his back,
or at other scholars. This old house
was built when the old, or so-called
Braddock road was still in use, and
the road ran close to the house. The
writer's grandfather built a large log
house about three fcurths of mile
east of the old church, also on the old
road, in which he kept a tavern and a
general store. All the nails used in
the construction of this house were
wrought nails, and were made in
Berlin, Somerset county, by hand, and
carried from there on horseback by the
writer's grandfather, to where he was
building his house. The house was a
pretty large one, for the time, and
took a good many nails. Some of the
goods he sold were brought in by pack
horses, and some, when the roads were
not too muddy, by wagons, from
points east, mostly from Baltimore
and Philadelphia, on the old road
The writer's grandfather died at a
somewhat early age, and his grand
mother occupied the building Il long
time. At that time there was road
running north past this house towards
the Turkeyfoot region, which had
been used for great many years as a
thoroughfare, and later as private
lane, dividing the farms of John and
Andrew Mitchell. The old lady was
thrifty and kept some hogs, cows, etc.
One Sunday morning, when every
body had gone to church service AT
New Bury, she heard great eommo-
ton among her pigs down the Turkey
foot road and she went to the porch to
investigate. She saw them running
for life, literally, towards the house,
for an immense black bear was after
them, determined apparently to have
a nice fat shote for his dinner. The
hogs, and smaller pigs ran as close to
the house as they could get for protec-
ton, with the bear putting up re-
markably good race as close second.
He came close to the porch, but the
old lady had no idea of letting him
have any of her pigs for dinner, and
being without any kind of weapons,
offensive or defensive, she resorted to
the universal adornment of women,
her apron, and shaking it at the inn
mense animal before her, said: 'Drat
the bear;;r this was always favorite
expression with her. He stopped sud-
denly, surveyed her for minute or so,
erect on his launches, dropped again
on all fours, and ambied down the
road, towards the church. The old
time preacher had hardly gotten in
sight of "thirteenthly," when some
one in the congregation saw the beaI
coming leisurely down the road, med,
itating, doubtless, on the instability OF