The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1911-02-23
Thomas Pell.

dhA SOlIy LudI L utNtT lOOh duN
notes on the events of this truell
great mans life. | shouldn't wonder
If l am deserving of criticism for at
tempting to do him justice from my
own memory, especially when l onl.
knew him casually.
But, Thomas Pell was great. He ha
mind that was trained to think and
to reason. More yet it was trained
to read humanity-that humanity wit
which its owner was thrown in con-
tack. was only a boy when l last
saw him, but my memory picture
paints him as looking great. l know
he was honely of features. His mouth
was very crooked-so crooked that
when he talked | used to imagine
one side of it was trying to whisper
something into his ear. His eyes were
small, and | think dark in color. All
about them | can be sure of, is that
there was friendly twinkle in them
that made us all love him. The last
time | saw him he was crippled up
and unable to leave his bed of pain,
but that twinkle was still in his eyes.
Mr.. Pell was a Congregational mis-
sionary and minister He came to Os-
ceola County, Iowa, when one could
ride four or five miles in most any
direction over grassy prairies with
out finding an Obstructing fence or
building Trees We're still cuttings or
seedlings only starting to grow. Resi-
dences were holes covered over with
sod. Fuel was prairle hay twisted into
hard bundles. The more wealthy pio-
neers sometimes had three or four
cows besides the work team of oxen
and kept them in barn built of will
low poles and covered with dried
grass.
Mr.. Pell located a homestead or tre
claim on the Ocheyedan river, about
three miles east and south of my
fathers homestead, and ! think 1t
likely, though l don't know it, that
he must have been about the first
man to ever preach in our school
house. ! remember the services-may-
be not the first for | was a wee tod
d,er chose days, but anyway it must
have been among the first-and 1T
was on the power of faith. You see
he must have been a great preacher
to have impressed his topic on the
mind of a baby-but that was not
much for him. He impressed his grow
hearers too. AS | remember him ne
was not much of a revivalist-I guess
maybe Congregationalists are not gen.
erally-still he did enjoy seeing ana
knowing his words went home. l
remember once, hearing him tell my
father, that there was never any call
for getting excited about the bible or
about religion, and can see him
roll that crooked mouth as he contin-
ued;
Il can tell you, Allen, it is good
cold logic--one proof after another all
the way through the bible. If the bibl
didn't appeal to my reason | wouldn't
be "a christian
But, it did appeal to his reason,
and | believe, If there was ever a
christian in that Northwest Iowa,
Thomas Pell was one.
| remember once-it was the sum-
mer after his grown son, Willie, had
died-Mr. Pell was away behind with
his work on the farm. He was never
much of a manager. Willie had been
the farmer for some years. But, after
the boys death there was nothing TO
do but go on as best he could, for
there were many mouths to feed in
the Pell family. AS | was saying he
was away behind with his work his
haying especially-and one day he
rode one of his bony old horses over
to our place to see if he couldn't get
some help to stack some hay that
was down in the field. My father had
only one arm. The older boys were a.
way. and well | couldn't nave
been over 10 or IL years old-but 1t
was agreed that | should go back
and help what | could.
Well we-the old and crippled min
lister and the weakling boy together
W tn two or three of the Pell girls
did what we could at hay stacking.
II wasn't much of job, and it wasn't
Will done, but we had good time
at it, and Mrs. Pell had chicken ain
ner for us. 1t was a pretty hot day
and Just before dinner l, who was
on the stack, got awfully warm. Wheh
we were at the table | remember Mr'
Pell saying, as he filled my piate'
and he had a pleasing habit OF drawi-
ing his words:
II reckon Daniel that you was
named after thet great prophet VINO
was cast in the den of lions, oul
came out unscathed by tooth or cla"
was most too bashful to answer
He continued.
"Wall. Daniel, / hope you won
never have to be tested in a den VI
lions. but you can tell your FATHER
when you go home, that you was
tested like Daniels three friends