The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-05-24
LIKES HIS COUNTRY PAPER.
"reminiscences Suggested to an Old
Subscriber by the News
of UniOnville.

says d reformed travelling HAL. reldteS
the Chicago Inter Ocean, "but l have
been regular subscriberto the Union
vile Banner for over 80 years. There's
one evening in the week that | look
forward to with zest. That's Monday
night. when l light my old pipe, put on
my slippers, and lie back in the bat
tered rocker for musing and dream
ing over my copy of the Banner.
Eyes, there it is. Hasn't changed a
font of type, l guess, in 40 years. Same
old, queer job type. Same old Wash
ington press grinds it out, I'll bet, as
it did when l was a freckled boy and
used to hang around the front door of
the tumbling rookery where snowy
haired Editor Moore used to be picking
up the type or methodically scratch
ing down the fact that Miss May Smith
is visiting friends in our neighboring
burg or John Lotus is preparing to
build new barn. Most of the lumber
is already on the ground
81 turn to the front page first, of
course, and here, in my Local News,
| ascertain that Miss Ella Stuart has
quite class of music pupils here in
town and also conducts a class in Pat
tonsburg. Miss Stuart has a good quail
lty of musical talent Why, dear me,
dear me! don't it beat all how things
do move! Why 1 used to go to the
high school ins Unionville with Ella Stu
arts mother. And many time have
l hung May baskets with her and then
hung over the old white paling gate
and held her hand until an ominous
raising of an upper window indicated
that a parent Of Elias mother desired
the daughters presence within.
"And, let's see! Why, here's some
thing: Walter Thomas has been to
the city this week. laying in a new
stock of goods. Peter Figel is helping
out in the Emporium during Walters
absence Well. it is surprising how
some bey'H come up in the world in
spite of poverty and distress. Know
who that Walter Thomas is? Well,
sir, he's the grandson of old Pap
Thomas, as we used to call him, who
used to live away down there by the
railroad in that little hut of place,
and had cabbage patch all around
the house. Desolate a looking place
as you ever saw.
Pap was sort of half-witted and
had a son who I should say was fully
three-quarters witted. "A peaceable,
law-abiding well digger he came to be.
Married a real bright girl, really con-
siderably above the average, and here's
their sons become the leading mer-
chant in Unionville! This Peter Figel
is a relation-son, maybe-of an old
foreigner who settled down in Union
vile and earned living at cobbling.
Said to be of noble birth, he was, and
mysterious generally.
81 shouldn't know the faces that
would greet me on Main street., l sup
pose, now. Most of 'em come up since
I was a boy. l wonder who really has
made the truest success, the boys who
stayed at home or those who were 60
ing to conquer the great world outside ?
There were my schoolmates who mar
ried and settled down in Unionville,
and their sons and daughters are to,
day young men and women. was 60
ing to do such big things when struck
the city that l couldn't exactly make
up my mind to take time to come back
and court Susie Williams. ] kept put
ting it off and putting it off until
should get little stronger and little
better position, until, the first thing
knew, Phil Kerns up and married her
and / was left. So that's how it is.
and bless me if l don't wonder some
times as l muse over the old Banner
if the boys who stayed at home have
made such a miserable failure of it
after all.
$50, I read along to ponder over the
memories that those quaint items in
the Local News cali forth. Well, you
may poke fun at the country weekly
as you will, but l fail to see why the
fact that "a resident of Unionville has
lately bought the place of another resi-.
. dent of Unionville, and intends to move
into it, may not be as well worth chron-
icing in the local paper of Unionville
as the fact that dog of famous ac-
tfess died on the steamer is worth
two-column pictures and a half-column
description in city dailies. Blamed If
/ can see much difference in merit be-
tween poodle dog editorial in city
daily and "a big cabbage Just laid on
the desk of We editor of country
weekly"