The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1900-11-09
Old Household Truck Melted Mil
Waukee Hospital
$4,000.
FOOLS GOLD;' HUNT FOR COAL
Curious Things in Wisconsin Life
Early Dutch Settlers-Volume of
POstoffice and Bank Business.

necticut woman who said that ANY
thing is desirable in a rummage sale,
/ that you might feed to goat!' came
pretty near expressing it perfectly. At
a ''rummage" sale by the Church of
the Good Shepherd at Barre, VT, last
week the auctioneer, f. B. Mudgett,
became so engrossed that he sold
new hat of his own. He picked up his
own hat and eXpatiated upon it's mer-
it's so glowingly it brought almost
what he paid for it new. 1t cost him
the price of another hat to keep the
boys quiet.
The plot Of the rummage sale is this:
Families and homes are solicited to
donate all the old traps under the an
cestral roof. Ii the proceeds are to go
to some hospital or charity that
touches the people, the greater the sue
cess Old clothes, overshoes, broken
furniture, obsolete dishes and crock
cry, pictures, looking glasses-any old
thing is carried to the store where the
sale is to continue, perhaps for three
days. The draymen usually contribute
their services. The Milwaukee rum
mage sale was suggested by an AL
bany woman visiting in the Cream
City. The expenses were $50. 1t was
for the benefit of the Children'S hos
Dital. Some of the ladies donated their
services as clerks and a plain tag is
put on every article, naming low
price, and the patrons are largely the
poor, although any one may buy, and
often household articles worth having
may be picked up. 1t does not appear
that the merchants object to sales OF
this sort: indeed, in Milwaukee the big
concerns contributed literally. One
concern gave 1000 unstable and out
of date neckties. One gentleman re-
ports that he sent down. three pairs
of shoes. They were in good condition,
but he could never get comfort in
wearing them. A price Of 90 cents a
pair was put on them and they were
sold while being unwrapped before
they struck the counter The rum
mage sale kindles the bargain-hunt-.
ing instinct.
One woman was noticed examining
and pricing a lamp. 1t was a hand
some enough piece of parlor outfit, but
old-fashioned and stained. 1t was
marked so cents Two or three times
during the day the woman, who was
poor, came up and looked at the lamp.
Finally the lady behind the counter
said:
1.-The lamp seems to interest you;
why don't you buy it?'
"The truth is" the woman replied,
II have but half the price-only 20
cents"
well, take it at that price, the lady
said. "You will enjoy it as we'll as any
body
AS the woman saw the thing
wrapped her eyes cleaned with joyful
tears. r .,< >- :. ...~'
A Community of Bright Women.
Black River Falls, in Jackson coun-
ty. is a mite of a place, as cities go,
but it is healthy, intellectual life. 1t
is the community identified with
"Bilr' Price, the lamented congress
man. whose heart was as big as his
temper was fervid; and K. j. Cas-
tie and Senator McGillivray are later
products. Every week the local papers
give the programmes of three wOmans
clubs. or groups, which do hard work
and keep at it year after year. V1sl-
tors to the town say that better in
formed women are nowhere to be
found and that the frivOlity, gossip or
malicious elements are markedly aD-
sent from the home life, presumably
due TO the standard of high thinking.
From a recent Black River Falls pa
per culled these programmes as sam
pies:
The Tuesday club will meet with
Mrs. HenShall Oct. 30.
Roll call.
Items about America.
Clio club meets Oct. so, 1900, with
+ Mrs r. A. Jones.
Leader-Mrs. York.
Paper-''Rosa collection
and sketch of her best work.
Poster and poster making.
Artistic contest.
Hub Reading circle meets with Mrs.
E. T. Greenlee, Oct. 80
Roll call-Scripture quotations.
Literature lesson-"EnOch Arden"
(continued)
Contest-A search for Missing
Poets
Current events.
Music-NIrs. Chas. Cargill.
If these women but had our Madi-
son libraries to work with, no doubt
they would get even more from their
weekly meetings.
Curios in the Natural Field.
Curious things are forever being
turned up in Wisconsin. One paper
reports a find of fools gold" Won
derfully like the real stuff, but value
less and as plentiful as sand In An
tigO has been found freshwater
sponges in brook near by. The high
school principal discovered bright,
green masses clinging to the stones
and logs in the bottom of the brook
where the current flows swiftly. These
masses had sponge-like appearance,
close examination revealing a per-
feet system of branching pores filled
with an emerald green colored jelly,
spicu1es of silcious material rival
ing in beauty those of marine sponges.
The growth is rare. though it is found
at points in the Eau Claire river
Every now and then some one
thinks he has found coal in Wis
sconsin-usually in the neighborhood of
the Brule river. But the biologists
say that the formation of the state are
such that coal can never be found Of
course. with coal close to the iron de-
posits it would make the state another