The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1912-02-05
REV. GEO. B. SHOEMAKER.
Tells Of the Ringing Of the Bells Of
Brandon as the Locomotive
Pulled In.
SUMNER, a., January 2Sth,


EDITOR NEws:-You will see,
by the change of address, that
the old habit has gripped me once
more, and / have moved. Pretty
hard for a Methodist preacher to
settle down and stay on in one
place for a generation, like a
staid old Presbyterian-sure it
is in my case, that am not stay
ing forever in one place. The
minister in the Lutheran church
in our city, has held his pulpit
here for twenty-five years, and
seems destined to-like the brook
run on forever.
wonder why it is? Are Metho-
dists tickle and hard to please, or
are Methodist Ministers, distant
Unrelated to the Weary Willies, Z"
and the moving bug" grips
them frequently.
Well, anyway, we left Brandon
last fall just as the cars were
coming in. We went there over
land for nine miles, from the
nearest town, but we loaded our
goods to leave, on the cars in the
village, just one block from the
parsonage. 1t was quite an eX-
perience for us to live for a whole
year in a town without a railroad.
To wait for your mail until the
stage came in, and when you
wanted to 90 away, to take the
stage or hitch up your own team
and drive nine miles. Why, it
was like my boyhood days in old
McConnellsburg. except there
were no mountains.
One day along in late July or
August, ! took one of the old
residents of the town, and drove
out a mile or two to where they
were laying rails for the track.
We drove up a slight hill, and
from the top of the hill, we could
see the smoke of the engine and
the men at work. The gentle.
man with me could scarcely con-
tain himself. He said-"Look al
that I've been waiting for forty
years to see a sight like that, "
and he nearly jumped out of the
buggy in his excitement. Well
it was a great day when the crew
laying rails reached the town of
Brandon. Everybody was out to
meet them, and greet them with
shouts. But the excitement was
greater when the first trains be-
gan to run and haul freight to
and from the town. With the
rest of the natives, | was down
to see the first car load of hogs
go out; and, then, soon cattle;
and, then, began to come in coal
and household goods and full cars
of all kinds of stuff; and, then,
local freight. Then a temporary
depot was established, and, on the
Sunday | was at conference,
passenger traffic was started,
and, on Friday of that week, we
left, taking everything with us,
except the old horse and buggy.
In about ten days after we
left, | went back, to get the horse
and buggy, and to attend the
great jubilee. 1t was a great
time, and | am sure my friend
Hughes of Philadelphia, do you
know him?-if he had been in
this country, would have walked
all over himself in order to get
there. The officials of the road
were there; the people from al
the surrounding towns were
there; brass bands were there
buggies, surveys, wagons anC
automobiles were there! There
were thousands of people out tt
that meeting. They had speak
ing and singing and praying anC
band playing &c. Everybody
was at a fever heat of interest
even the roast OK" they had was
hotl Why, / got so interested il
anticipation of the coming o.
Of the day that | wrote a sons
for the children to sing on the
occasion, and they sang it too,
tell you. I'll give you one vers,
and the chorus. and YOU find tn,