Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1914-07-31
zen FEARS ( salooNktEftk

Cleveland, Ohio. Mr.. Schoeffel
operated saloons in Ohio for ten
Years. was a drinking man Tor
thirty-fiye years, and has been
IN the water wagon for the past
six wears. He tells the story OF
his struggles to tree himself from
the drink habit, his many fa'i-
ures, his final success through
and his experience
since. It is a powerful tale SIM
ply told |:
7 was born in a saloon in Ger
many in 1858, This saloon was
conducted by my father. we
lived in the same house IN wfl'n
the saloon was operated. l was
the Youngest of seven children.
7 we'll remember when | WIS
eleven years old [ was mace
drunk by liquor given me by my
oder brothers and sisters. was
reared in the same saloon build
ing until l was in my twentieth
year, when I came to this couh-
try.
Some five or six years after
coming to the United States !
started a saloon Of my own at
Fremont, Ohio, and later started
another at Millersville, and still
later a third one at Custer, Wood
county. During this period OF
ten years as saloonkeeper,
became a hard drinker, althou@ Ii
| tried with all my power to
break away from the habit. Al
last I quit the saloon business
| made considerable money dur
ing my drinking period of thirty
five years, but did not save a
dollar.
When l quit the saloon busl'
ness | did not quit drinking.
made many resolutions to stop II
but always failed. | consulted
physicians. One Fremont doc
! tor who knew me well treated
ME tor some time and finally told
/ me drunkenness had become q
disease with me. that only one
man in $4,000 in my condition
and at my age is ever cured ant
advised me to move a hundred
miles from the nearest Saloor
and where it would be impossl
BILE for me to obtain liquor.
| was a poor man with large
family to support and could no
| follow his advice. | sent to To
ledo for tablets for my heart bu
the doctors told me my ailment:
were brought on by strong drink
After making all kinds Of siren
uous efforts to quit the habit
always found myself down again
Non-drinkers cannot know The
worry and agony | passe(
through. / thought of taking
the gold cure, but about the time
l intended to try it an old down
| and-outer, whom | knew took the
cure and in three days the '
brought him home in his coffir
That scared me out. l have
known many drinking men te
try cures" of different kinds
but all with Indifferent success.
Every ray of hope vanished.
thought of taking my own life
and almost decided it was the
only way for me to get away
from the drink habit. Others
in the same condition have told
me they often felt the same way.
Then a series of revival meet
ingS started in our town and
lasted six weeks. The taberna-
Gle was near my home. | decid-
ed to attend | was at every
evening meeting during the six
weeks. During the last ten min
utes of the last evening | accept
ed Christ Us my personal Saviour
and made my confession in the
presence of 5000 people, and
since that time ! liaye never
touched any kind of intoxicating
drinks and also quit the use of
tobacco.
l am now past filty-fve years
old but / feel like a man twenty
five years old. | need no more
medicine for heart trouble, head
ache or any other of my former
ailments. They have all disap-
peared. | have no more need nor
appetite for an eye opener" or
a night cap" There is not a
happier man on earth today
than l.
In the six years that / have
been on the water wagon | have