The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1913-09-03

the bright, inspiring influence Of pros
perity, was seldom more wildly illus.
trated than by the famous frost blight
that visited this region In 1859 quickly
followed by the unexampled good times
of the oil discovery.
II clearly recall the outlook in Frank
lin that June morning. In our garden
the beans, corn, potatoes, and all other
small foliage were frozen to the ground,
and the bright sun was at work cooking
the remains to a blackened mass, which,
like the hosts of Sennacherib, lay with
cred and strewn.
There were black trimmings on that
black Sunday. Laying aside the habit of
church going that l had fallen into, l
climbed onto the roof of our saddle horse
and set forth to see what the freeze had
done to farm and forest. / left the valley
by the Mesdville pike, passing up Sugsr
creek valley toward Cooperstown. The
utter destruction of crops wrought by the
freeze became sadly apparent as l passed
the Hawthorn, Mckenzie and other
places. The wheat, which had been In
the heading stage, the knee high corn, the
potato vines, etc, all lay a fat, blacken-
ing, doleful mass. The forest leaves,
which had about full size, were all
crisped, and in the air was a pungent
smell as of a burnt clearing.
when passing near the old Sugar
creek Memorial church, l CHANGED that its
pastor was Rev. j. Dagg Howey, a young
minister who split his work between the
Utica Presbyterians and the valley folks,
and who had been a classmate of yours at
Jefferson copeg'. / further recalled hear
ing 'Bloat' McHenry, of Pittsburg, an
other classmate, say to Hon. Samuel
Dodd, also a Jefferson graduate: Say. 1
spent Sunday browsing around up Sugar
creek, and dropped into a nice little gos-
pei joint in the brush near the road, and
blamed if little Dagg Howey wasn't in
the pulpit, and he breaches like an angel.
but can't pray a darn
$50 | turned aside and hitched my nag
near the church. The congregation we're
already gathered outside and scattered
about, waiting the hour for service. The
sssemblsge hailed from various parts of
Sugar creek, Jackson, Plum and Canal
townships, and comprised a gOodly num-
Der of the upright and sterling citizenship
of that region, such as John Mckenzie,
Squire Gilliland, William + oster, William
Hastings, the Byers. Cranes, etc. AL
though these men were of the indomita-
BILE stock, not easily dsunted, they all
wore a look of defeat and discourage
ment. The crops, the mainstay of the
farmers, were destroyed. Hard times
and scant subsistence were in certain
prospect. Small wonder that a quiet
ed their losses. A farmer owe in Craw-
ford county, in despair, had taken his
life. 1t was a doleful situation, past
praying for, or swearing at.
"on rising to DELIVER his discourse,
young pastor Howey did a remarkable
and happy thing. Laying aside the in
tended sermon, he gave out his text from
the prayer of Habskkuk, Although the
zig tree shall not blossom, and the fields
shall yield no meat, and there shall be no
herd in the stalls, yet l will rejoice in the
Lord, / will joy in the God of my saliva
tion.' Inspired by the spirit of that text,
he delivered a powerful, cheering and re-
assuring Mosaic, based on the calamity
they were facing. He cited many in
stances to fortify his argument, showing
how Gods great law of compensation
runs through all the acts OF His provi-
dence, and how that which, at the time,
seems only calamity, o becomes a
thing of light account, if not n blessing.
In closing, he predicted that this present
would soon be seen in the retrospect as
only the %forerunner of a great and gra-
cious blessing, with better times han
they had yet known.
"The young mans sermon seemed to
take effect and lit the sombre cloud that
had hung over his congregation. The
men pulled themselves together, resolved
to trust in the Lord, plant plenty of buck
wheat, hold their heads up, and look
hopeful and sassy. And that same year.
sure enough, they harvested the biggest
crop of buck heat ever known, aud could
view the high price of wheat flour with
out alarm.
"In the concluding music Of the SER
vices, in the noble hymn of Cowper's,
was the verse:
judge not the Lord bv feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind q frowning providence
He hides a smiling face
"Aud within less than three months the
the Drake we'll struck oil, and that smil-
ing face swiftly rained incredible pros
perity over every farm and hamlet in We
mango county, and the entire oil region"
Judge Irwin recalled his first expert
ence in the oil business AS having taken
place in Franklin, where the ~"broomstick
WE'LL" put down by Anderson Dodd
where the Franklin home of Hon. Joseph
G. Sibley is now located. This well, he
said, produced 5000 barrels of oil worth
$l7, 900. Mr.. Irwin said he headed for
Pithole in 1865, taking with him 81, 000, n
soldier OF fortune, and that in addition to
other activities he served a term as its
city engineer. He gave an interesting
re sital of the invention OF the sand pump
and of his witnessing its first tryout in a
dry hole in Pithole. Judge Irwin spoke
of the Palmy days of Pilhole. He told of
the stirring lie aud scene Of the old town
in 1865, some humorous ~recitals of the
way the law was administered in minor
cases. He recalled a religious service he
witnessed which was attended by from
10. 900 TO ~. 900 people, who were in the