The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-01-25
A MEADOW WGROUNDER,
VERY INTERESTING BITS OF LOCAL
HISTORY.
HIS RIDE ON THE c. V. r. II.
He and Mike Cook and Bully
Hines Ironed the Flag Pole
that Killed Jimmy Rankin.


time places and persons in your coun-
ty, and being an old Fulton county boy
myself, will, with your permission,
contribute few "reminiscences that
may be interesting to some of your
readers and, perhaps, prompt some
one else TO give their mite. realize
that much interesting local history is
passing away with the older folks,
and / think your effort to collect and
preserve it is certainly commendable;
and you should have the corporation
of every one in any way able to rem
der any assistance.
My name is James Ray, brother
of your fellow citizen, Elliott Ray, of
Big Cove Tannery. | was born three
miles above Fort Loudon, on the old
Ray farm, in January 1923; and, at an
early age, moved with my father and
the rest of the family to the Meadow
grounds, four miles west of McCOn-
nellsburg. Your place was at that
time called McConnellstown.
farm with my father until was eight
cen years of age, when | started out
in the world for myself. My first vent
ure was to Cumberland, Md, where /
secured employment with Cribbs and
Bedford, hauling lumber for the B.&
O. railroad from the Big Savage. |
remained there until 1912, IL when Jump
ed on stage one day and rode down
over the old National Pike to Hagers-
town, near which place, / helped
farmer to gather his harvest.
| now decided to visit my home, and
boarded train on the Cumberland
Valley railroad for a ride to Green
castle eleven miles. No, there were
no palace cars, and the train was not
made up of a string of fine coaches
and drawn along at the rate of forty or
fifty miles an hour by great thunder
ing locomotive such as you now see
on that road. Our train consisted of
a single coach, if coach it might be
called, drawn by two bony horses
one hitched in front of the other. The
driver was engineer, brakeman, con-
ductor and general manager. The
road at that time was known as the
Cumberland Valley from Harrisburg
to Chambersburg, and as the Franklin
railroad from Chambersburg to Ha-
gerstown.
When got to Greencastle l found a
big campmeeting in progress and went
out to the ground to spend Sunday.
About the first man | met there was
Squire Myers of McConnellsburg who
wanted to know whether | was going
back home. l told him | was on my
way there. From Greencastle | went
to Chambersburg, looked around
awhile and then went on to McCon-
nellsburg, and engaged to learn the
blacksmith trade with Frank Rummell
father of James and Elliott Rummell
of your town.
1874, as you know, was the year that
James X. Polk was elected president.
The Democratic party were running
Polk for President and George M. Dali
las for Vice President; the Wings had
Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuy-
sen, and the Liberty Party, James G.
Birney and Thomas Morris. 1t was
a three-cornered fight and hot old
time, | assure you. The Democrats in
their big political parades would take
the red juice of poke berries and paint
their hats, faces, clothing, and even
paint great red stripes and bars on
their gray horses. Their banners
were painted with poke berry juice,
and the plant, berry and juice were
utilized wherever they thought it pos
sible to create enthusiasm for their
favorite candidate.
Well, the biggest thing of the sea-
ion was to be mammoth political
meeting and pole raising at McCon-
nellsburg. The pole itself was an inn
mense affair, and consisted of num-
Der of splices securely fastened togeth-
er with strong iron bands which were
placed on it by Mike Cook, Bully
Hines and myself.
A man at Chambersburg was en-
ployed for twenty-five dollars to put
up the pole, and he came with strong
ropes and other appliances. There
was tremendous crowd in town that
day, and excitement was high. The
pole was to be put on Water street
just opposite the old building that
John Sheets is tearing down.
When the pole was getting up pretty
well, the ropes broke-there was yell
to look ont-and the pole came crash
ing to the ground. Jimmie Rankin of
the Cove was unable to get away in
time and he was crushed to the ground
beneath its weight-dead
That sudden and very sad accident
ended the political demonstration for
that day.
Many feet of the butt end, which was
as thick as -four barrel, was after
ward cut and split up into cord wood
and the remainder OF the pole raised
and flag floated,