Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1911-09-27

the thread with which the garments
were seweo. The universal feather
bed was filled with feathers from
their own geese. Nearly every woman
was skilled in doctoring. and saffron.
sarsaparilla, NORWOOD. boneset a d |
chamomile, with the barks of trees, |
were household remedies from which |
were concocted doses, the thought or !
dread of which, no doubt was Q stin
illus to rapid recovery.
The love of beauty appealed t.
them as to their descendants, and |,
the old-fashioned flowers soon
frightened the new homesteads :
peonies, marie olds, sweet will am
roses, hollyhocks and lilacs
were common. 1t adds a touch o
pathos to an abandoned farm, when
nothing remains of the house but tn :
cellar, to see the brave fight these
hardy shrubs make to hide its desola,
ton. I have often admired an i'm !
mense willow tree the only vestige #
former habitatlon. which is sad to
have sprung from twig Used as a !
riding whip, by woman Oh her
northern pilgrimage.
In those early times there was very
little money in circulation bo 1t ii e
only way of obtaining it was by burn
ing wood for ashes, which were
leached by percolating water through
them to form I've, and this was boiled
down to potash, which they could sell
for money. 1t was common to stipu
late in notes that they were to be
paid in neat stock. The few neces
saries not produced on the farm were
procured by an exchange of commodi-
ties. When the sleighing was good,
| a of a 60Upn
ers, each with span of horses, load
ed with dressed hogs, beef, butter
and other products, would start on a
journey to Portland or Boston, carry
ing their own food and grain for
their horses, and returned loaded with
Goldfish, molasses, salt, tea, tobacco,
ETC.. and very jolly company they
made.
In fact theirs was hopeful,
Healthy. and happy life, with plenty
OF hard work, but no small amount of
fun and recreation. Often this was
obtained by happy combination of
labor and play. Quilting bees, when
the women met In the afternoon dex
terously using their needles and
tongues, and the men came later to
husking bees, when the united labor
of the men made short work of the
SuoChS VI CoIu anu apple pdi ing
bees, popular with the young people,
anu games lively and often affection
ate. And when the harvesting W. 8
done and huge wood pile filed the
back yard, came the inter visiting,
the entire neighborhood visiting and
being visited in turn, while each
. hostess exhausted the resources of
her culinary skill in friendly emula-
ton. to prepare the best and most
lavish dinner possible.
In cases of sickness it was quite
common for the men in the neighbor-
hood to turn out and complete the
haying or harvesting and the men and
, women took turns in nursing and
watching-not always wisely, but &C.
, cording to the best light they pos
: sessed. And when new barn was to
be erected, with the heavy timbers
then in use the raising was an i1npor-
, tant event. All the farmers for miles
; around, we're invited, and if no mis-
take had been made in the framing
the whole framework from stills to
.. ridge-pole. was rapidly placed in posi-
, ton. A hounteous supper followed,
often embellished with a supply of
New England rum.
= My father let the contract to Moses
, Goodwin to do all the labor Of fran
+ ing and erecting a 3OX40 foot barn
= With clean to- shed across one end,
!, and to be double-boarded, shingled, and
, with a finished cow stable across one
= side, and stable for horses on the
E other, the whole to be done in thor
ough and workmanlike manner, for
! forty dollars, and the carpenter was
8 so we'll satisfied with his job that al
p it's completion he gratuitously con
r, structed bin for grain in the horse
, stable, and milking stool with pir
h to hang it on in the COW stable. As
- he was not member of labor unior
j., | presume his hours Of labor were
y restricted by the amount of daylight
y And as he performed all the labor
y single handed the only strike that oc
q Cured was made by his hammer.
: The husking bees, quilting bees
4 and helps in sickness, were early ex
T., ann les of cooperation, which Away!
= added enjoyment to neighborhood life
y and was often essential to it's exis
t tence. It was a law abiding, self re
t specting community, that needed nc
h locks upon it's doors. One of the frs
duties was to build schoolhouse ant
e organize a church. Sometimes tn,
Z iI1ulSkCL uIlGCd Vic VI uUC
Y tor and clergyman. being enabled tt
t minister to both body and soul. The,
J. appreciated their responsibilities al
a citizens and town meetings were con
l. Quoted with exemplary conscientious
f ness and justice.
The early pioneer was a composite
q being, made SO by environn ent- The
q pilgrim as he landed from the Nav
q flower, was not the New England
+ yankee who has put his stamp OF
v nearly every American institution
: The stony soil developed in him en-
p ergy and endurance. The rugged cl
,. mate hardihood and Wig, r. The RET
men of the forest. cunning and STRAIT
egg. The restless pioneering spiri
IS has developed a race of men who hav
1t had an important part in the develop
n ment of this vast country and of tn
Is islands beyond the sea. And tn
sr IF Nou Eno1an6 iS not coOn