Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1905-11-02
ONE YEAR Short
UF 4 CENTURY

UNG lBhll DllUIll
OF 4 CENTURY
Aunt Peggy" Mrs. Margaret SeCh-
Ter, yesterday celebrated her ninety
ninth birthday. 1t is probably the
most remarkable case of longevity that
ever occurred in this section. Mrs.
Sechler, Saturday, was visited by a
representative of the Morning News,
who had pleasant chat with the ven
cradle Woman, who lacks but one year
of being a Centenarlan, tor the fact
must be stated that Aunt Peggy,
although old in years is young in ev-
cry other respect and talks quite en-
tertainingly. Her faculties are pre3erv-
ed to a marvellous degree considering
her great age. Mentally she seems ms
strong as the average person of eighty
years. Her sight is defective which
cuts off the pleasure of reading, but
she hears quite well. Her memory as
it relates TO recent years, it is true, is
somewhat at fault, so that in c0nversa-
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 Oh. For years past, while
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: "Will 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 for liv-
ing to be a hundred years old she said {:
Perhaps ! may it is only 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 she KoGher
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.
red cherries to town aud sold them
for six cents per quart at the ouly
store in nanville, which stood on Nest
Market street near the site afterward
occupied by the Academy. Later Peter
Badly opened a 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 wa
constructed and for more than "a gen
Grafton was a factor in transportation
until under the gradual change OF cOn-
ditlous 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
waterway.
There we're croakeTs in the days be-
fore the canal as we'll as after it and
Aunt Piggy" leaned forward in hel
chair and laughed hetrtiiv as she tulc
how the wise people OF that day Iidi
culei the idea that two mules SHOULD
be able TO draw a load of sixty ,ei z ht )
or more tons, even though VI were OF
canal boat Aunt Peggy seemed
to find much amusement in the thought
that certain farmer was raising poti
toes in the bed of the ola canal, a cir
cumstance which clearly shows that I
new epoch has come to pass i'll which
the old waterway with all of us il
only a memory.
The trolley, the telephone, &c, al,
tho latest practical achievements o
Aunt Peggy's" time and she laugh
ed again as she wondered what th,
impression of the old timers who hac
misgivings as to the canal would be !
they could come back to earth at tn,
present day. Aunt Peggy" hersel
takes very kindly to the modern in
ventions and was among the first tt
) ride to Bloomsburg in the trolley las
fall. She stated Saturday that sh'
would like TO ride to Danville, but sh,
was not quite sure whether this woul'
come TO pass.
Mrs. Sechler. whose maiden namt
was Sanders, was one of fourteen chill
dren and the last survivor. There j
indeed, a great probability OF her liv
ing to reach the century mark ant
of surviving even beyond that limit.