The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1907-10-31
"REMINISCENCES
OF Ye Olden Times Furnished by
One Who Grew UP in a
Pioneer Home.
Incidents Illustrating Customs Of
the Early Settlers Of the
County Are Entertain
ingly Reeounted.
[Continued from last week.l

itOm last WCChsl
My grandfather owned the farm
adjoining ours, and among the many
other things which made us children
love his dear home was, that along
the skirt of his forest, near ours, was
one of the finest hazelnut patches that
I ever saw. / have never seen any
where else such as some that we're to
be found there, which we're about the
size of an average chestnut.
You children, think, can easily
imagine the fun we had gathering
them, when tell you that we had an
old mare, namely Baldy, which had
grown old on the::farm, but was still
fat and sleek and strong, and was
ours to do with as we wished at almost
any time.
I believe she knew US children near.
ly as we'll as our parent did, and 1
believe she loved us too, for she seemed
to try to do everything we desired her
to do. Two or three of US would ride
her to this hazelnut patch, and hitch.
Ing her In the shade, we would 60 and
gather big sack of nuts, and then
we would tug and pull at It, until
some how We would get It to her, and
upon her back, and then as many of
us as could, would climb on top of her
and the nuts, and would take them
home, and scatter them upon the roof
of some low shed, and return for more
until we thought we had as many as
we would likely get hulled before the
winter set In.
After they had laid in the sun until
they would hull easily, we would
perch ourselves upon the roof of warm
October days, and spend almost every
hour we could spare from school and
other duties, hulling out the beautiful
white.breasted little brownies" un-
til we would have store of them
that would have delighted, land salts
fed likely,) half the little squirrels In
our woods; but often times, long be.
fore spring, what with our piggish.
ness, and in sharing with our less
fortunate schoolmates and neighbors
children, when they visited us, they
would all have disappeared; but then
our dear grandfather who was too old
to do anything but little chores, would
also go out of nice DAYS, and gather,
and take home and hull them out, and
lay away many of these nuts; and
perhaps we would have husbanded
ours more carefully, had we not
known of this reserve and believed he
had us in mind when gathering them,
and sure enough they we're shared
with US. Oh, what dear, lovely, old
grandparents they we're! They were
the only grandparents ever knew,
but they we're spared to US to live to
be very aged.
Occasion ally our father would prom.
ise to 20 with US on some certain day
away out into the big forest to hunt
hickory nuts. Well, the long looked
for day would always came at last ;
and father would hitch up his gentlest
horses to the big road wagon and we
would climb into 1t and away we would
20 right through the woods, where
there we're no roads but meandering
around the trees and stumps, would
push on, In and out, around and about,
right into the dark recesses of the
leafy grove, until we had gone some
miles from home for at that time
the woods were nearly all unfenced.
The first time we thus went nutting
1t was wonderful trip to me. do
not suppose a trip TO the Yellowstone
Park, would seem much greater to
me to-day; and I doubt If 1t would
give me as much real delight, for
father took US very far beyond any
point in the forest that we younger
children had ever penetrated All
farmers at that time turned most of
their stock out In the woods to live
through the summer. Each would
have a private car mark by which
their cattle we're known, and they
we're allowed to run at large until the
approach of winter, when they would
hunt them up and take them to their
barns to be housed and fed until spring
again.
When so much stock run thus at
large over such a large scope of
country the most domesticated ami
NAL frequently became quite beliger-
ent, and II was not an uncommon
thing to come across flock of sheep
among which would be one, or more,
which would attack man, woman or
child, and sometimes would injure
them seriously by butting them.
ITO be Continued
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