Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1910-07-13
AFTER FIFTY YEARS
BUCHNER' REvISITS ERIE
Greets His Old Conrad of Civil
War Days s
Grows Trifle Sentimental Over Meet
ing Beautiful Woman He Had
Not Seen Since C childhood
Erie, Pa. June is. 1910.


perience while at Erie. Pa.
Many years ago while passing along
the streets of Lancaster, two-year
old baby girl attracted my attention.
She was playing in pile of sand,
filling little tin cup with sand and
again pouring it out My passing,
apparently drew her attention. She
looked up at me with her bright, limo
cent eyes, with an expression that
seemed to say, II am not afraid of
you big man.. Her hair was tousl-
ed. one shoe and stocking off. a rent
in the other stocking, her face,
hands and that bare leg were in need
OF bath. The picture was so droll
and amusing that it left deep i'm.
preston upon my mind. Many years
afterwards was introduced to young
lady. She was a lnagnicfiieDt type
of American womanhood, such as you
can only find in America. and by that
mean the United States. She was
dressed in white, a wide blue silk
belt encircled her waist and large
red rose pinned at her bosom. The
contour of her face was perfect. A
world of dark brown wavy hair crown-
ed her forehead. The curve of her
dark eyebrows underset by pair Of
melting brown eyes, the cherry lips
formed like cupid's bow was such
a charming apparition that it would
have tempted Saint Antony to aban-
don his cenobite seclusion. When I
heard her name mentioned l was aston
ished. Could that be the smudged
faced, bare legged little club of girl
once had seen playing in sand
pile2 1t surely was.
It was fifty years ago April 18th
last, when | first PASSED through Erie
on my way to seek my fortune in the
then wild and woolly west. Again I
passed through, while member of the
Sd Wisconsin Inf Regiment on our
way to the front, Sunday, July Il,
1861 A large enthusiastic crowd of
men, women, ahd, children met. us, la
food. Our Regiment was the advance
of the troops that PASSED Erie to rally
around Washington to repel the
threatened invasion. But my third
visit was the charm. had promised
my old terminate Christ Haring with
whom had camped and tented from
1861 to 1865 that on my way home from
New York 1 would pay him a visit
arrived at Erie on Saturday, June
18th and found my old comrade at the
depot waiting for me. Well we met.
You can imagine our pleasure Of meet
ing again after lapse of forty three
years. I was soon introduced to
that king of hosts, genial. frank. big
hearted Frank Naupauer, proprietor
of the Arcade, who won my heart at
all instant. Mr.. Neubauer had
brought down his Packard car in
which we travelled through the city
before 1 came to my old comrades
comfortable home.
could hardly believe that this was
the Erie I passed through in 1860.
There WAS as much difference in sew
eral appearance as the change from the
dirty little kid In the sand pile to the
beautiful young lady have mention
ed. Although there was a great
change in the general appearance of
the city, / soon found that the hearts
of the people toward the stranger were
just as warm, just as hospitable as
they were fifty years ago when they
gave the Sd Wisconsin d royal re-
ception.
Two days after my arrival Mr..
Neubauer called around to give my
friends an outing in his Packard car.
OF course I was in it. We took tour
around the city. It would hardly be
of sufficient interest to you would l
describe the many beautiful streets
and parks and Buildings we passed,
but must mention that the streets in
the greater part of the city were as
phaIt over which the car runs smoothly.
Beautiful homes, we'll kept lawns, tidy
parks, clean and we'll lighted streets
were found everywhere. The Erie
cemetery has charming situation !;
it is we'll kept and has numerous fine
monuments. Lakeside cemetery is
especially interesting on account of
the burial place of Captain Grizzly.
1t was he who commanded Dewey s
flagship at the battle of Manila Bay.
It is marked by four antique Spanish
bronze cannon which are over one hun
dred and twenty-five years old.
Perhaps l had better close this let
ter and give you another installment
In the future.