Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-07-15

. "a 1 RHkI caught in our beard
0bM less youth are larger
8 \ 1 than those we catch
g. Eu{ bR today; the brooks
R r5SsS1' 81H&k a the streams,
9 Mlclear as living truth,
HIM. KIN H. are broader, deeper,
64l tT& W. and farther away.
~ fSSsyfzEzzaA-T hills we then
climbed have collapsed, forsooth, and
are now but slight knolls to the view;
the valleys are narrower, shorter than
then-'though the grass is as green, II
is true. The flowers we gathered on
hill and in vale the berries when
sparkled with dew-the old hick'ry tree
which breasted the gale-the SWIM
ming holes we so well knew-aH have
gone with our youth, all have changed
with the years, and in memory only are
known; but no Joys and no sorrows,
no smiles and no tears, can eHace
them som rnemorys stone.
Truly early environment has much
to do with the formation of character.
The scenes and experiences of our early
youth engrave themselves upon the
tablets of our memories so deep and
clear that all the ups and downs of
struggle with the world, all the vicissl-
tudes of later years will not wear them
away, and we have only to brush
aside the covering of accumulated ex-
periences to again bring out clear and
distinct the records engraved by the
seemingly unimportant circumstances
of our youth.
Recently 1t was our pleasure to visit
the place where our childhood days
were spent, and a priceless pleasure 1t
was indeed, one that no man or woman
should neglect to avail themselves of
at the earliest opportunity, for it
broadens the mind, lightens the heart;
enlarges the bump of human kindness
and gives one clearer conception of
animate man and the grandeur of in
animatesnature
On Monday afternoon we landed in
the little country hamlet of Lancaster,
Keokuk county, Iowa; five miles from
a railroad station, and, for one solid
week at least, thousand 1ftiles from
the monotonous grind of a country
editors life and the routine work that
falls to the lot of Uncle Sans tempo
rary servants.
Picture in your minds eye a quiet
little village composed of dozen or
more ancient cottages with here and
there a modern addition; situated upon
a prominent rise that stretches along
btween to rivers-the north aud
south branches of the Skunk, river
which traverses some of the most
magnificent farming country on earth
surrounded by prosperous and valuable
farms whose broad acres have been
cleared of stately trees and dehse un.
der brush by the indomitable energy of
the sturdy manhood that makes up the
personel of the early pioneer; sleepy
country hamlet whose citizens have
never been awakened by the shrill
scream Of a passenger engine or the
rumble of heavy freight train, where
no dreams of coming greatness through
possible real estate booms disturb
their slumbers or awaken ambition,
and you have old Lancaster. the
place where the first dozen or more
years of our recollection were spent;
where we droned over the long words
in the old blue backed speller and
learned to diagram sentences with
sausage links. sing ''the State o.
Maine, Augusta is on the Kennebec
river" and all the rest of the state:
and capitols to the same monotonous
tune; where our boyish heart swelle6
with patriotic fervor as we recited
sLorenzos address to the Romans
or was filled with gloom as we wadet
laboriously through the melancholy
cadences of "Poe's Raven"
The little old school house. of oul
childhood, about 2ox3o, with its straigh
hard wood desks and backless recita
ton seats, has been moved away an
the play ground is cornheld, Will
the building itself now forms part c
farmer Charlie Johnson's Charlie use
to, and still does, pronounce
s'Yonson'D commodious barn.
handsome two story frame schor