The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-01
rHg SMITHS HAVE MET AGAIN.
,1r DEFENDANTS OF JOHN TIE
rTBST GATHER AT PEAPACK.

r,o,,c Under tho Historic Apple Tree
rne Hand TtcltIed Them, Although Its
,..der was an Unorthodox Schmidt.
py.pAoK, n. j., Aug. Si.-This town,
.,.,oric AZ the meeting place Of the only
pna original Smiths, the real Smiths, had
~ . onnual innings to-day. The last
w.dnesday in August is the occasion Of
~. GREAT smith picnic. the gathering Of all
W. hear the name Of Smith from the only
va original John Smith, famed IN song
md story.
,,sic,n family came down the pike yes
.rdav and gathered under the old apple
,,sos, planted here by Smith century
.ao Most Of them came by rail. One,
more prosperous than the rest, came In a
Mgbly ornamental trap, with much uni
,,er,ed footman And coolies OF them
,.ne In gaily decorated vehicles; farm
,ppons Yesterday, chariots Of state to-day.
rbese wagons were decked ont with Ameri-
csn flags and bunting In all the colors OF
me rainbow. Uncle Abram Smith, pa
tdsrch of the family, stood under the his
toric spple trees with his chin whiskers
nvwfy barbersd, and babe them welcome.
On this Mr.. Abram Smith, asked a
,n1nn sprig of the family who had come
IN the way from Indiana just to attend the
reunion,
sThis," said Unole Abram with severity,
IN Abrnm Smith, or plain Abe. They ain't
M mister about me, an don't wear no
Myh collar. Where'd the great men OF
hIstory been Il they'd a been called mister?
It,stn't Mr.. Washington, it's George WASH
inztcn or plain George
"A very nice looking crowd of people,
I'D thu Western cousin. deity turning the
ubiect to mollify the old man.
Han some is as hanson does" said
C,ncls Abe. when il comes to outside
eoks the Smiths don't handsome any.
Thsyre purity inside, the Smiths jest
see that you stay purity inside, young man.
And with this sage advice, Uncle Abram
resumed his discussion Of sound money
With Tunis Melick, the uncrownsd Mayor
II Pluckenin, there as q guest by special
courtesy.
The Snaiths gathered and accumulated.
j. T. Smith, master Of finances, hustled
from concession to concession, keeping ills
sye on the sale OF peanuts, popcorn, ioe
cream and five cent cigars Jabez Smith,
sergeant alarms, sl1irted round the Dor
dsrs keeping away independent pedlers and
iakirs. Cordslia Smith, the five-year-old
infant phenom, who plays by inspiration
without having to go through the 1one-
and-two- and three and -four and exercises
rendered SILVER Threads Among the Gold
and Little Brown jug on specially loaned
piano on the speakers stand.
City Smiths and rural Smiths, bold Smiths
and modest Smiths, young Smiths and old
Smiths, pretty Smiths and plain Smiths.
welded old and new bonds under the apple
Trees 1t had this advantage over the
regular picnic, that If yon saw girl that
boxed good to you there was no need Of
an introduction. You just duoked your
lid and said How do you do, Miss Smith?
and she was YOUR. But Miss Smith was
in the minority. Most OF the picnickers
were In pinafores or in respectable black
sih.
1t was this way. John Smith came over
Ne l06e in q snubnosed ship--there's . pict-
lke Of 1t, on the official .bannerr-and did
xsll By his country, having seventeen chill
dren and fifty.four grandchildren. That
ACCOUNTS for the space taken up by the
zachaytah Smith, Johns youngest, settled
y Peapadk about 1870, planted the apple
trees and went in to beat his fathers record.
He did pretty we'll; hence the 1000 Smiths
Of the read John Smith branch that met
Yesterday
All around the old homestead rich New
Workers. have bought up the land for country
villas but the Smiths hold to their farm,
and will reunlte under the nose Of piutoc-
racy as long as they have dollar left to
k-ep the old apple trees. They've been
assembling every year since 1879.
Them Workers can't run out the Smiths
ssys Tnele AbFam
After the family had filed up on sand
wiche and meringue pie and jelly roll and
hard boiled eggs and sweet pickles, the
specially hired band footed a mighty loot
and assembled them about the pavilion.
Thst band was a great problem for Uncle
Abram. He couldn find a complete gang Of
tooters among the Smiths, go he did the
best he could and gave carte blanche to
a leader named Schmidt.
L was fossy band with lots of modern
mills. Whenever the Wild West music
called for pistol shots, the bass drummer
put them In with q real gun, and every now
md then they stopped playing and sang
swhile, TO loud cheers. The Oldest living
Smith ssid Great" and the youngest Smith
pleased.
When be got them quieted down, the Rev.
r. Weetcott Of Verona. a rank outsider,
paid glowing tribnte TO the family. He
e1piained hDw they figured fourteen times
% the Encyclop edia Britannica, and said
that their main virtues were regular church
attendance and humble origin, like James
L. Garfield. Purpose, perseverance, and
push, he said, were the leading character
istics Of the Smiths.
He illustrated his talk by many witty
little anecdotes brought over in 1896 by the
original John. But try as he would, with
rounded periods extolling the Smith viz
tues that would have brought down the
roof in political speech. he couldn't get a
rsise out Of the Smiths. Didn't they under
stand the family virtues already?
So they heard from Charles Woodruff
q Bloomfield that it was up to the Smiths
TO rise in the present crisis, they sang the
national anthem composed by one OF the
chn, and went back TO j. DIS birch beer
and popcorn and French ice cream.
Little Willie Smith broke five pink bal
looms in succession upon the sacred mound |
where stood the chimney of old Zachariahs |
log house, and was disciplined in full view
q the audience. Family gossip has II that |
The lonely ramble OF John Nv. and Mary in |
the neighboring cornfield means that John |
has cut out Abram Ill. for good and all. |
hszekiah and Israel retired to the adjoin- |
ing grove where j. D. was dispensing horse |
ICED, and Israel came back with Hezekiah's |
sackskin horse and SO boot. Martha,s |
wins got into the ice cream while j. DIS
hack was turned, and Gwendolyn OF this |
generation took them over to the old home
Aead and treated them with peppermint |
and success.
James and Freddie, Admeh's boys, |
wiped canoe from the aristocrats up the |