The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-05-30
Latest from 0rrinqtOn.
Bought His Burial Suit Three Times. Yeast
From. Ireland 90 Years Ago.
Especial to the Boston Herald.l

From Ireland 90 Years Ago.
Especial to the Boston Herald.l
EAST ORRINGToN, Me. Five years
ago when Humphry Plnhorn retired
from more than 40 years of continuous
work in tannery and started in to
square himself for the closing days of
life, he went to Bangor and purchased
complete outfit of clothing, which he
laid away to be used for the adornment
of his body when he was dead and laid
out in his coffin.
He was suffering from rheumatism
and malaria as a result of services un-
der Gen. Banks as a soldier of the civil
war, though he did not anticipate that
his personal dissolution was near.
The reason for purchasing his burial
clothes when he did was that good fab
RIGS were comparatively cheap at that
time, and, residing at d distance from
large stores, and knowing he was lame
and getting old, he wanted to be ready
for any emergency.
Three years ago last winter during a
binding snow storm, one of Mr.. Pin
horns neighbors died. AS the roads
were blocked and drifted, and the dead
man was very nearly of the same size
as the man who was known to have
funeral garments in waiting, the cloth
ing was loaned to the family OF the
deceased, and the funeral arrangements
were completed without delay.
A few weeks later the widow ad-
vanced money enough to buy a new
suit, which was placed in storage to
await the time when 1t should be re-
quired.
On one of the muddy and drifted days
of last March another OF Mr.. Plnhorn'S
neighbors passed away and again the
death wardrobe was borrowed to place
upon a body that will never need an
other suit. Last week Mr.. PinhOrn
went to Bangor, had himself fitted to a
third suit of burial garments and has
placed them in a closet, where he hopes
they may remain until the person for
whom they are intended gets ready to
put them on. He likes to accommodate
his neigh bors, but on the whole he con-
cludes that unless the roads are worse
than they have been of late, be will not
again enter into open competition with
the undertakes.
EAST ORRINeTON, Me, May Is,
1907. Nicholas B. Curran, a mllkman
and farmer, living on the shore of
Fields pond, near the Holden line, has
for 60 years made yeast bread with
yeast, the original seeds of which were
brought from Galway in sailing YES
sci by his aunt, Barbara Curran, in the
summer of the great famine of ls47.
The yeast is claimed to be of par
ticularly lively and explosive char
acter, having the ability to burst stone
jugs and shatter champagne bottles
easily.
The family tradition asserts that the
original use OF the yeast was for the
brewing of powerful ales on the Blake
estate, just out from Galway, where
the Blakes had an extensive tenantry,
including not few Currans.
The family story goes that one OF the
old seed Currans, and near klns-
man of John Phi'pot Curran, the Irish
patriot, being intoxicated one night,
crept into the Blake cellar and stole a
Jug of what he took to be double proof
ale, but Oh reaching home he discover
ed it was yeast, whereupon, to square
himself with his wife, he Informed her
that it was gift from Lady Blake.
which pleased Curran's wife so much
that she nursed her husband back to
sobriety and ever after retained the
seeds Of the celebrated Blake yeast IN
the Curran family.
When young Barbara Curran, with
her tin trunk and her young baby. set
sail for America to join her husband,
potatoes were so high that she paid
Shillings for three small tuberS. but as
she needed fresh potatoes to keep her
precious yeast alive, she paid the price,
and during the 40 days voyage between
Galway and Boston she renewed the
yeast four times.
She was very weak from seaSlcknesS
when her husband met her at East
Boston, but they went to Medford,
where lie was employed, and there they
made yeast bread from the beer yeast,
just the way the Blakes and Currans
had made it in Galway.
In the gold fever of 1850 Barbara
Curran's husband, Patrick, went to
California, where in the course of four
years he accumulated much expert
ence. Then they came to Brewer, Me-,
and took up farm, where they resided
until their death, few years ago.
One of Mrs. Curran's last acts was to
pass bottle of the famous Blake yeast
TO Mick" the grand nephew of her
husband, and tell him to retain the
seed in his family for all time. Since
then hundreds of persons have sought
in vain to secure as much as teaspoon
full of the Blake yeast from the obdu-
rate milkman, but to every applicant
he shakes his head sorrowfully and
says;
Twas the wish of the dead that
keep it, and keep it will Go in and
eat all the yeast bread you want, and
welcome, but there is not money
enough in America to coax me into
selling drop of the yeast.