The Newtown bee., 1905-03-24

THE LATE JOSEPH DICK AND BUSlNESs ENTERPRISES WITH WHICH HE WAS CONNECTED.
 Joseph Dick was clerk of the Sandy Hook school district for the long per1oo of IA years and, as member or the firm of Dick S5 Sanford, contributed much to the early development Of San dy Hook. He was born in Monroe ID 17S7, but was bound out to Squire John Sanford, after the manner of those days, when but four years old. He worked on the farm, as soon as he was old enough, during the summer and ln ] the fall helped to full and dress the woolen cloth made by the neighboring farmers. The fulling and dressing of cloth was then quite business and those engaged in it were called cloth iers. The shop in which MT Dick worked stood where MT Kelly's black smith shop is and it was afterward join- ed on to and is now part of the present grist mill. This was in the good old days of homespun, when the people made their own clothes and bride was in estima tion according to the amount of clothing she or her family had prepared for her dowry. The spinning wheels, reels, swifts and looms on which the work was done, are now gathering dust in the garrets of our older families, though we saw a flax wheel the other day which had been placed in the yard as the trellis for green vine. The operation of preparing yarn and cloth in those days, | though often described and familiar | to many of THE BEE's readers, will bear repetition.
 The wool, sheared from sheep kept by the farmer himself, was first sent to the cardlng mill and carded into rolls about a yard long. It was then spun on the large wheel, 20 knots mak- ing run and two runs days work. l The wages for this work were 75 cents 3 week and board and 12 runs were &C., counted weeks work. Once spun into yarn, the wool was washed and reeled into 1O-knot skeins 40 threads to the knotl, then put on the swift and spooled and finally placed on the Warping bars. It was now ready for i the loom. Some farmers had loom in their own house; others sent to the women throughout the town who made a business of weaving. A pound of wool was generally allowed for a yard of cloth and the cloth was woven as rag carpets are now and on the same kind of looms. They calculated 36 threads to ''beer'' and from 12 to 40 beers to a "gear," according to the tineness of the cloth. The cloth was first taken to such clothier as Jos eph Dick, who soaked it with strong soap suds and put it through the full ing mill This operation often re- quired 24 hours and thickened up the cloth. The soap and impurities were next secured out, the cloth dyed, the nap raised by small hand cards and teasles (the latter run by machine), after which the nap was sheared and the cloth pressed between heavy irons heated to the proper temperature. The ladies made plaid woolens by dye ing the yarn before it was woven and, with calico so scarce and high that it was luxury, these plaid dresses were highly esteemed by the young women. The ladies wore flannel dresses in winter that were simply dyed and pressed by the clothier.
 Linen was not taken to the clothier, of course, but description of it's manufacture, as given by several of our old ladies (Heaven spare them long to us), naturally comes in here. The description does not apply, per haps, to the dressing of flax at the flax-dressing mill, which was located somewhere near where Dick & San. ford did business and to which MI
 Patch says flax was brought from as
 far away as Danbury. The flax was
 pulled and left on the ground for 8
 time to soften. The crackleI ther separated the woody part or shieves
 which were further gotten out with g
 swindling knife of wood, having g
 rounded point, with which the flax was beaten. The hetchell completed the dressing, the ladies first combine
 out coarse tow with it's iron teetl and then finer tow. The tow wa'
 used as filling, in the cloth, after be ing carded with hand cards. The fla1 ; was placed on distaff and spun on a smaller wheel than that used for wool after which it's progress over the reel swift and loom was much the same Tie brown linen cloth, however, wa treated differently from .woolen wear
 It was sOai-ed in weak lye over nigh
 and by day was placed on the gras 9 and wet quite often, until after 2 number of days it became the pures s white.
 : l5uJ to return to Joseph Dick. H - went into partnership with Squir j. John Sanford in the clUth-dressin : business and finally put in two or thre F. looms and began weaving broadclotf 7: But the young man was full of ambi e tion and was soon in business for hin r. self, building shop in what is no 5 the upper Rubber pond. Here he toe
 Josiah Sanford into partnership, M e Sanford 5 knowledge of machinery g ;, a wheelwIight offsetting, in son Ii measure. Mr Dicks acquaintance wit jO the manufacture of caSSimereS, int d which the firm embarked. They toe
 up Satinet as soon as that cloth can
 in f2sbjon, and thrived so that u