The Newtown bee., 1897-03-05
BETHEL.
THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS

1uc Olu way OL uOinE business WlGH- ! out capital to do with, brought about in later years bad state of affairs in our little village and church. Matters and . combmakers never had pay day and seldom paid out dollar for labor. The : business was all done on a credit sys- tenn. The workmen earned few dol ! lars, took an order from the boss on , some store in town or iii an adjoining , town. A large amount of trading was done on Bedding Ridge. Curtis FanGon i & Son did a large mercantile business | and took hatters' orders in exchange for dry goods and groceries at the highest market prices, and the price of soc or dollar was paid out to hire horse and wagon to bring home the goods. Taking orders on the stores was called taking ''red dog for pay!" Ask man how he got his pay for work, he would tell you he got it in ''red deg" The phrase be- came by-word and this system of pay ing for labor, was unpopular as you will see by the following: In the year 1846 Rev SYlvanus Hai9ht was called to preach in the Congregational church at Bethel. The old church was burned built the following year. Everybody was poor and it was slow work collect ing pew rents which may have amounted to $400 or $500 dollars year. A bad precedent had been the custom in former years and that was, the old members of the church had led the minister and your correspondent fears by the tell they held the reins pretty closely sometimesr Key MT Haight proved to be 8 minister that had been used to doing his own driving and he proved to be positive minister with mind of his own. In ap. pearance his head was nearly bald and he was quite corpulent and rather dig nified looking man. MT Knights ways soon began to clash with the old leaders in the church and it was soon evident that there would some day be trouble.
 Matters grew worse. The minister would not budge hair. He would lead or get out, and be was probably right. To- ward the end of his second year he spoke his mind and spoke it plainly one Sun day after his sermon, thus: 'I want the members of this church to understand that stand in my own shoes, and I wear my own hair and I'll not take red-dog for my pay" The church people were amazed at what they had heard. No doubt some one had tried to pay the minister in trade at the stores for preach ioh ha6 in 10 coffin of the old system of paying the laborer his wages in red dog. The sys
 tenn soon after went out of date. More money was paid fer labor. Mir Haight was dismissed February 8. 1848, ,and died April 6, 1864, aged S7 years.
 SEQUEL TO THAT ICE CREAM STORY
 The News contained an item, last week, of the ice cream episode of those veter- ans A. B. Lockwood and John T. Pearce. . The story really needs elaboration, for these genial gentlemen had no notion of holding an ice cream festival on their own hook. It seems that Brother Lock wood met Brother Pearce. Whereupon the former suggested to the ex-editor ], that they should call on Brother Robin son. OpenIng the door of the bakery Brother Bockwood shouts out: "Got any ice cream?" Brother Robinson didn't give Brother Lockwood time to say any thing, and before they knew it two | cap ing plates of cream were placed before them. Not to be outdone they set tc
 work and disposed of the cream. While he was eating it, Brother Lockwood .hac the shakes for fear he hadn't enougt
 money to pay the bill, for his fat pocket book he had deposited in the safe. But
 he had enough and just one cent to spare = Brother Lockwood says he doesn't set why 1t isn't just as sensible to eat ict = cream in winter at a bakery as at a churcf
 fair But this is where Brother Robinson
 came in ahead.