Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-02-06
A FAMOUS BIG CHEESE,
PRESENTED TO THOMAS JEFFERSON
AT HIS FIRST INAUGURATION.

One of the features of the holiday
season at the national capital was the
present of mammoth mince pie,
weighing fully seventy pounds, 10
the President. 1t was the work of a
baker, who embellished the upper
crust with the American coat of arms
in raised dough. OF course the gift
awoke the "reminiscences of the Wash
ington historian, relates the Sun. OF
the many Presidential gifts which the
mammoth Mckinley pie inspired him
to mention, perhaps the most inter-
esting was the huge Cheshire cheese
son, was delivered to him on the day
of his first Inauguration, and was cut
in the presence of great men and
foreign Ministers. 1t weighed 1900
pounds.
"My grandfather, who lived to be
an old man," he said, Remembered
to the last conversation which he
had with Jefferson. The topic was
cheese, and was brought up by an in
cident of the heated political campaign
of 1900. Mr.. Jefferson seemed to
wonder at his own ignorance of
cheese and cheesemaking.
"'It is the only subject I can now
recall, he said to my grandfather,
that never had desire to investi-
gate, though I have gone to great
trouble to learn about things of less
human concern. I should have es-
capped some trouble if I had given to
the study of cheese the time L devoted
to an estimate of the weight of the
atmosphere. This referred to the
charge that he had attacked the Bible.
I have no antipathy to cheese con-
tinued Mr.. jefferson, at least when
it is fresh and mild and not inhabited
by mites-American cheese, / mean,
said this patriot, who was accused of
French tastes, and I have more than
once made dinner exclusively of
cheese and crackers. But it is not a
passion with me-
'"The campaign that opened in the
summer of 1S00," continued the Dis
trict historian, "was the most excit-
ing, partly because of its scandals, in
the early history of American politics.
John Adams was President and wanted
a second term, but his ambition was
opposed, not only by Jefferson, the
leader of the opposition party, but
also by Alexander Hamilton, the
recognized leader of Adams's own
party, the Federal. AS soon as the
election of Jefferson seemed @ prob
ability, everything was done to
arouse religious prejudice against
him. The Rev. DIR. John NJ. Mason
wrote a pamphlet with the title,
The Voice of Warming to Christians
on the Ensuing Election in which
Jefferson was condemned as an in
fdel on the strength of his Notes on
Virginia. He had, according to DR..
Mason, attacked the Bible and dis
puted or denied the possibility of the
Hood. In more than half the pulpits
of New England he was stigmatized
as an ATHEIST or French infdel and an
ardent admirer and follower of the
nnspeakable Voltaire.
''All this feeling against Jefferson
makes it the more remarkable that
Elder John Leland, of Cheshire, in
Massachusetts, should have come out
80 stoutly for him. Elder Leland had
been warm admirer of the Sage of
Monticello, and his sense of Justice
was outraged by the unwarranted as
saults made on him, He took off his
coat and did not rest until everybody
within reach of his influence had been
brought over to hearty support of JEFF
ferson, the church people especially
When it was known that Jefferson had
been elected, it was resolved to give
expression to the satisfaction of the
people of the town. Elder Leland
called on every COW owner of the
vicinity to contribute not less than
one quart of milk or its equivalent in
curd on certain day for the construc-
tion Of mammoth cheese of the kind
that had made Cheshire famous
throughout the Commonwealth and
even beyond its borders. 1t was de-
signed to put this on a strong wagon
and haul it to Washington, 500 miles
away, and present it to Jefferson on
the day Of his Inauguration.
Captain John Brown, the patriot
who first discovered the treason of
Benedict Arnold, was the owner of the
biggest cider press in the district.
This he devoted to the making of the
cheese. For an undemonstrative peo-
pie they made the event interesting
On the appointed day every man,
woman and walking child in the town
and for miles around formed in pro-
cession and marched, singing and
cheering, and nearly all carrying pals
of milk, to Captain Browns mill on
the hill. Here great hoop was made
and into it was poured the rich flood
of milk. Then the women who were
most noted as cheesemakers prepared
the great mass of curd, and the stoutest
men famed for feats of strength at
barn -raisings and wrestling on muster
days-took hold of the great levers
and compressed the worlds greatest
cheese. Then with a prayer and q
rousing hymn it was put away to dry.
"How to get the huge disk to its
destination was question that was
Il II