Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1909-02-19
Memories If Half Century Ago.

az Nss. la Va i4A t'itt ~ " N''''t' - -
parties, and these were - frequent
occurrence a kind Providence having
p..rrd ~ oar disposal several ScraprrS
81 cl'--Il in persons OF Oliver Hhrad
a,l th- Cornell brothers. Happy
u..r,. r.r pruplr, hnN"Nrr, when
' ..,n la. appeared and became a
% .rAuurut acquisition by engaging
!. >,.l'l ,.c ~ waiter AT our only hotel.
What his rr;ii maine MAS nobody knew,
uI, that hr was a grnic> in his way,
with quite a liking and aptitud" for
Ai>triOu.c matters. was speedily de
Nr.aprd. He gave the first dramatic
representation in the town, to the
great delight If the people who
througcd the hall Che dining room
pf the hOtrD where a stage with drop
curtain made from Il bed sheet, had
been arranged, and upon which he
made his maiden bow To an Olympia
audience. II is true his repertoire
was not large. and that he played
without support. but til, people were
not critical and bis performance was
such marked success that it was
repeated at frequent intervals. and
always to crowded hall and with en-
thuSiatic encOreS. His performance
was The Grccian Statues, embcl-
lished with song which afforded an
explanation of the tableauX present
ed at rising of the curtain. 1t was
many years afterward before the peO-
pie were afforded an opportunity of
witnessing a theatrical performance
by a visit of the Robinson family,
with really a very clever actress in
Miss Sue, who at once become a
popular favorite. The full least
consisted of the parents. son and
and daughter. and their repertoire
was necessarily limited to such minor
plays as Morning Call. Box and
Cox" and loan Of a Lover" Years
afterwards. a moro pretentiouS com
pany, THE Chapman Family" ap-
pearcd. with mother and daughter in
the leading parts; Caroline. the
the mother elxays paying the youth
full parts, and the daughter appear
in masculine or the "old woman
roles. Having more people they gave
such exacting plays as Rip Van
Winkle," Rosina Meadows" and
the like. Their route was. of course.
limited to the accessible towns on
the northern coast, and it must be
admitted that a development from
Jack Rag to j. AL Sawtclle in a score
of years was gratifying progress.
The people of Olympia in the early
days, were noted for hospitality. and
many traces of that trait OF character
still lingcr and are SO marked as to
excite comment. The early settlers
constituted practically one family.
They were not divided by sect or
caste Mrs Grundy had not then
made her appearance to SOW the seeds
of discOrd. All was harmony and
good will. The appetizing oder of the
bcan-pot at MONDAY was sufficient
invitation to the wayfarer who might
enter and sit at the festive board.
The smell of mice-pics indicated the
approach of the season of good cheer
when the stranger was not forgotten
in the dispensing of the creature
comforts.
The columns of the Golumbiun, a
small newspaper which made it APP
pearance soon after the first store
owned by MIR. Geo. A. Barnes-pub-
lished by Thornton +. McElrOy, bear
evidence of this. Mack" was his
own editor. compositor and devil.
He likewise patched" or cooked
his own meals. In almost every issue
of his paper appeared the caption
" Editors Table," under which note
is made Of the good things" sent in
to grace his lonely board by the kind
hearted women of the town. In fact.
he may be said to have lived on the
delicacics of the land, so far as they
were Obtainable in a primitive settle
ment, for the lightest cake. the sweet
est preserves and the best of flap
jacks invariably found their way TO
his table.
The means of communication in
those days very few. A trip to
Portland involved an arduOus journey
of several days length to Monticello.
on horseback, where you might, if
you were lucky, connect with the
slowest steamer ever built, the Cat
nmLio, which made simi-weekly trips
between Portland and Astoria. If
you wanted to go down Sound, which
was imprObably, as the only settle
ments were at Alki (now Seattle
and Port Townsend, and the military
post at Fort SteilacOom, you had to
hire canoe and crew of Indians, and
as they had monopoly of the carry
ing business, negotiations were often
prolonged and unsatisfactory. IN
dolla III sun conim: h doildr III sun III
man," dollar day for canoe and a
dollar for each MANI. was the fixed
price and nothing unless it might be
liberal libatiOns of prohibited fire.
water would swerve them from their