The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-10-21
Continued from Page 81
PLYMOUTH AS 1T WAS IN
OLDEN TIME.

Thompson over the head with a
Jug he picked up in front of Col
burns grocery; and another time
d man named Stansbury beat him
frightfully. But for the most
part Uncle Jim won his battles.
There was younger STAINS
bury who got mixed up with my
old friend Elmer Durham in a
later day, to the Stansbury regret,
as | remember. But if they are
living they are both the best of
friends now, | hope.
There wasn't any Tribune in
Plymouth then. There was a Re
publican, and after Ignatius Mat
tingly sold it and went to estab-
fish the Mirror at Bourbon, it
was in a succession of hands.
Merrick Nichols was its editor in
at least part OF the war period,
and | wrote a poem and took it
to him. Our families were &C
quainted, but | didn't count on
that. / was surprised at the ex-
cellence of the verse-which | be-
lieve, is the manner of the very
young and hopelessly bad. Mer-
rick must have just collected a
bill, for he didn't care tor money.
and gave me a dollar greenback.
And | went home and calculated
how much money / could make
writing poems at dollar each. /
tell you the amount was fabu-
lous.
The Mattingly girls were all
beautiful, but Rose was the fair
est of the family. In the early
war times politics in the pulpit
was a bugbear as it has been at
times since But a minister
named Brooks came along to the
Methodist church and preached
one Sunday, and it being shortly
after Sumter was fired on. Brooks
spoke out in meeting with pat
riotic sermon which walked the
dry bones amazingly. And Miss
Rose clapped her hands and
cried: Bully for Brooks to the
horror of the devout-but to the
measureless qualification of peo-
DIE who saw that plain speech
had become the loyal duty of the
citizen.
That was beautiful Plymouth
even if the streets were muddy
most of the time. The nigh bank
Of the river east of town was less
occupied than it should have
been. / remember only two good
residences over there. and it has
always seemed to me the place
was very attractive. The photog-
rapher-what was his name-liv-
ed east in CAIRO street. He had
a son named Mark. printer. /
should not forget his name. And
I think the Blaines lived across
the bridge-across the bridge
which perpetually threatened to
fall down. To the south there
was an avenue of the most beau
tiful naples l ever saw. Away
out there on the high ground was
the palatial home of A. L. Wheel
er, who had graduated from a
store to a bank; and later George
II, Thayer built an even finer
place a little TO the south OF
Wheeler. And they tell me even
the Thayer home is old now.
Among the letters received in
the past week or SO. apropos OF
my article in the Tribune, is one
from Oliffe Brooke, a son of the
Doctor Brooke who lived out
west there about half way TO the
Charley Palmer home. Cliffe was
a printer. as were most of the
Brooke boys-and there weri
numbers of them. Ny Uncle
Platt Mcdonald had the Demo
Icrat at the time Merrick Nichols
printed that poem of mine. Mer-
rick accompanied the poem with
an introduction, stating that the
author was a country boy who
never had used tobacco nor VIII
ky, and was a regular attendant
at the Presbyterian Sunday
School-which was true. And
Plat, the unforgivaIble, com
menting on it, next week. said i
the author of the poem printed il
| the previous issue of the Reprbli
can would acquire some OF the
neglected habits he. maybe
wouldn't write. such intolerably
bad poetry. And as / haven't
copy of the composition | DON
know but he was right.
| Anyway, this letter, which wa:
started simply to acknowledge
the receipt of lie ers from youl
subscribers, has grown to more
length than was intended. III
us hope that thes. young mer
now at the head of business If
plymouth leave as kindly remem
ORANGES as is entertained OF The
old fellows-Palmer. Dickson
Edwards, Lauer, Buck and Toan
Blains. Clevelands, Thompsons
and MISUNDERSTANDING with a
host of others whose names are
cherished through the years.
Leroy Armstrong
| Salt Lake. Utah. Oct. II, 1909.