Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1905-11-03
ONE Year Short
Of 4 CENTURY

ossy' WIS. mhrSaret seen
ler' yesterday celebrated her ninety.
ninth birthday. 1t is probably the
most remarkable case of longevity that
ever occurred in this section. Mrs.
Seohler, Saturday, was vis:::1d BY a
representative of the Morning News,
who had pleasant chat with the yen-
cradle woman, who lacks but one wear
OF being centenarian, Tor the fact
must be stated that "Aunt Peggy"
although old in years is young in ev.
cry other respect and talks quite en-
teTtainingly. Her faculties are presery.
ed to marvellous degree considering
her great age. Mentally she sc ems as
strong as the average person of eighty
years. Her sight is defective which
cuts of the pleasure of reading, but
she hears quite we'll. Her memory as
1t relates to recent years, it is true, is
somewhat at fault, so that in conversa-
tion she.gets along much better when
the years of her middle life or girl
hood are dwelt upon.
Twenty years ago "Aunt Peggy"
was old. Since then children have
been born and have grown.to manhood
and to womanhood and still "Aunt
Peggy" lives on. For years past, Will
the old woman was climbing up in the
nineties with each recurring birthday
the question was asked: "Will Aunt
Peggy live to see another birthday
will she grow much older?" During
the last few years it has became a
question: Twill she live to round out
hundred. years?" "Aunt Peggy
herself has her own views or the mat.
ter. Overhearing remark Saturday
that her prospects were bright Cor Iiv.
ing to be hundred years old she said !:
perhaps ] may; it is only q little
longer time to live The aged wo-
man incidentally remarked that the
years to her seem to fly very fast.
Aunt Peggy" loves to dwell upon
the changes that have occurred during
her long life. Her birthplace is only
across the fields from the Kocher
homestead. Bloom road. where she is
spending her declining years. As a
girl of fourteen through the woods
which then lined Bloom road, she car.
ried cherries to town and sold them
for SIX cents per quart at the only
store in Danville, which stood on West
CT ha 81 ga I
occupied by the Academy. Later Peter
Badly opened store in log building
near the river. Nothing so forcibly
illustrates the long span of her life as
the fact that the great Pennsylvania
canal was conceived of as an enter.
prise in her early womanhood, was
constructed and for M ore than gen
GRAFTON was factor in transportation
until under the gradual change of con-
ditions it passed out of existence,
while the aged woman, who was here
long before the canal. still lives to re.
late anecdotes that bear upon the old
W aterway.
There were croakers in the days be-
fore the canal as we'll as after it and
AUNT Peggy" leaned forward in her
chair and laughed heartily as she told
how the wise people of that day ridi-
culed the idea that two mules should
be able to draw a load of sixty, eighty
or more tons. even though it were on
canal boat. "Aunt Peggy" seemed
to find much amusement in the thought
that certain farmer was raising pota
toes in the bed of the old canal, a cir
cumstsnce which clearly shows that a
new epoch has come to pass in which
the old waterway with all of us is
| only memory.
The trolley. the telephone, &C.. are
the latest practical achievements of
Aunt Peggy's" time and she laugh.
ed again as she wondered what the
impression of the old timers who had
misgivings as to the canal would be if
they could come back to earth at the
present day. "Aunt Peggy" herself
takes very kindly to the modern in
ventions and was among the first to
ride to Bloomsbury in the trolley last
fall. She stated Saturday that she
would like TO ride to Danville, but she
was not quite sure whether this W would
come to pass.
Mrs. Seohler. whose maiden name
was San ders, was one of fourteen chill
dren and the last survivor. There is
indeed. great probability of her lv-
ing to reach the century mark and
of surviving even beyond that limit.