The Washington herald., 1907-03-31

/ the season for compOunding the winter 8
allowance OF Pennsylvania salve." The
entire township coveted the kettle and
/ cIamored for its use.
Mrs. Freeman talks much of the day
her uncle started of 20 Join the United
States forces IN the war Of 1872, and the
sadness OF 1t all. The breaking OF a home
was more serious then than now.
When were you married." I asked
For a moment she was silent, not be-
cause memory failed her. but because the
thought made her suffer anew the lone
liness of 30 years ago, when her cOmpan-
ion was taken away. The clear blue Of
the dear old eyes clouded for an instant
but when the mist had cleared she lifted
them to my face with a tender smile.
at was a happy time" she told me, II
was % ana he was g when We was
married. and the whole township turned
our 10 the wedding. with all the country
side They tell me folks these days marry
fer all sorts o. reasons, money and sech
my child, but t'wan't thet away in my
day. My ole man had been keepin' com
p'ny with me fer long. an it jus come
naturally time TO quit settin' up with ont
! mother
Lord bless yer, honey, I never was
nuthin' but happy in all my life. but thet
was the best OF all times" She talked
Of the wedding and the old church with
enthusiasm and singular memory of de
tail.
''Twan't long after til my man wanted
to come to Clarion County, beln' a furnace
man. We made the trip to Beaver fur
mace in a big wagon and four horses.
carryin all our entities long in the wagon
with Us. an our COW jes' come long be-
hin. Thet was bout eighty years ago,
an we was the fust to strike a match to
the furnace over yonder" She pointed
10 the rim Of the Red Bank furnace.
When We fust come into the county
Rimersburg he'd one house an one store.
There was furnaces ali aroun', but my
man helped build the Red Bank furnace,
an he worked in the iron fer years. We
was the fust to come an We allus stuck,
even when the hard times come aroun fer
the iron business
She grew silent IN the thoughts the
sreat priyations those days brought her.
When she took up her story her voice
trembled perceptlbly.
They was good people" she said. IAN
homes. Many's the family lived through
the whole winter in them times on moth
in but stewed pumpkins. eatin' them
out Of wooden spoons they had whitfield
out Of cucumber wood. reckon eff the
people to-day he'd to go through with
half them sturdy people went through
with when the iron business in this
county give out, they'd give up IN despair
WALL our men never give up. / ken tes.
tell yer, an even when they was workin',
40 cents a day is all they got fer a days
work. reckon yer thinks that mighty
little?' she questioned.
Mrs. Freeman next drifted into talk
of the civil war. The anxiety of the peo-
pie to learn the result of the various
battles, the long tramps OF the country
folk TO get across to a daily newspaper.
the anxious scanning Of the lists OF killed
and wounded are things that seem to her
to have occurred but yesterday, and she
talked of them for hours. seeming never
to tire and always TO feel the keenest
interest in the stories she narrated.
Every day of her life, except In extremes
of weather, this wonderful old woman
may be seen trudging along the mountain
paths herding in her COWS and attending
to domestic duties. She can stln walk
for miles with little fatigue, and loves
her solitary rambles in the leaf-strewn
paths about her home.
The past summer she did not lessen
the size OF the garden she TILED with
her own spade and hoe. and raised vege-
tables not only for the summer. but a
the winter She is more active than her
ighty-two-year-old son, and her faculties
are all clearer.
Born in 1888. Mrs Freeman has lived
in three centuries. Born In the latter
part Of the eighteenth, lived through the
entire nineteenth, and is stili bright well,
and happy In the twentieth. In all her
long life she has had but one illness
sufficiently serious to necessitate a dose
Of medicine, and has been the mother OF
eleven children, seven of whom are still
living.
The family has planned a great day for
the zth of next October, which win be her
18th anniversary. They intend to adver-
tise the big reunion, and invite the public
to attend and congratulate one of the
most remarkable women this country has
ever known.
My visit neared its close.
BLESS you. my child. you must have a
cup of tea with the old woman before YOU
60" she said, and 1 was pleased to ac-
cept hospitality from the hands of the
little white-haired t-great-great-
grandmother.
Grandmother old with aproned lap,
And hair much whittier than her cap,
For in those tresses hoary
4 hfe-time's purity Is caught,
AS if some silk-worIn deftly wrought
The golden texture Of her thought
Into crown OF glory"
This thought seemed TO take on a dou-
bic significance as she smilingly lifted her
cup, herself Ike a dainty piece of old
Dresden.
'Waitr' I exclaimed. and lifting my Gun
filled with the fragrant beverage Of her
own sleeping. I touched 1t lightly to her
own-''Fo the health and peace for many
years yet for the loyal little mother oc
generationsl"
Her response was a low contented rip
pie Of laughter.