Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-10-28
HENDERSON co. 0
Some More History of Henderson
County By-EOne Times and Comedy
People.
(By Thos. J. Rickman.)

hOo. y. h1ChGldQ.l
great deal is being talked and
written these days on the subject of
freedom and equality of men and such
IDEALS, held up as that all men are
born equal and endowed with certain
~lnal1enable rights. Of life, liberty and
the unobstructed pursuit of happiness.
Th1s writer will venture the asser-
ton and declaration, that If this earth
be hunted over there cannot be found
a people nearer free-born and equal in
the eyes of God and man, civilly. NOR
ally and religiously, than the present.
as well as the old time Hendersoniar.
Of course Henderson county society
had its days of p~rimitiveness, it's low
liress. it's droIl, AMI peculiar charac-
ters. its lazy go-slows, its strata of
general humbleness and unpretentioCs.
ness and yet, at the base were men,
women, boys and girls OF "a pure ana
noble stock, as ever descended from
Adam, or any other original pregeni-
tors, This writer would call upon the
present generation, not only to CLAIM
IT AS THEIRS by heritage, but to
proclaim it to the world of new-com-
Eers. 1t cannot be truthfully Gainsay-
ed.
The going put of the goose-quill PEN
nanship naturally brought in the
~Spencerian muscular movement to the
nlmble-nerved and elastic fellow, who
had not grubbed stumps, or hoed corn
With unshirking degree, while the 9TH
Ell faithful tof1ing boy, or girl must be
content with the more tardy finger
movement. Prof. Rees was a finger
movement teacher ahead of the more
| genteel muscular racer. His pupils
wrote after a plain sample of chirog-
raphy, with goose-quill penstock, the
steel-pen being inserted into the
smooth cut end of the quill, after the
time when it was made into both pen
AND penholder. Writing school-mas-
tiers boarded with the scholars, like
preachers. eat the best there was GO
ing and paid nothing. No family
would think of missing entertainment
q night or two, while the four weeks
LASTED and often the ochiIdren must all
wait the secon dtable, as he often took
a crowd of the more. stylish scholars
along with him. Keeping a writing
school teacher. over night was an
event in the history oof family not
soon &c be forgotten. Ribs, back
bones, sausage souse-meat. -four
bread, pumpkin-custards. the like, were
l4CAUIlSS III AlBQ OEUSGs
After Rees and his class of teachers,
Jeanne Waters. the elite and stylish up
to-date,-of course he came from an
tother county anew broom in the COM
munity, altogether. A. student i'm his
school was expected. to appear with a
red and blue striped pen-stalk and a
Speneerian pen land none-other. He
likewise was expected to have, a bottle
oef both black aandl rEdi ink each. Flour
.Bhing times, 5these. Waters uD-to-
date writing school The young man
who could not wear ibis red and blue
sstrtpped pen. under his hat. over mis-
ear. sc that he could gglance HIS eye
and see the projection thereof. all IN
imitation ,of his teacher, was not up
in the style ORC" Waters was not only
a writing school teacher, of the mus
cular movement order, in Spencerian
fashiop, he was in every respect, the
most stylish and dashlng gentleman,
who ever came into any early rural
Henderson, Ceulty community. Preach
ers and singing masters, simply were
not in it, when it came to measuring
Eup iae&ipsta "a Wategs zSReReerian mus
! cular movement. writing school teach
err from another county. In plain
~phraseoogy, after looking at his capt.
tai letter .hourishes and dark shades
of small letters, with their smooth
ness and uniformity, together with his
Understanding paper collar. striped
shirt bosom, the tmighty rpTotruding
reaches Of his hair his rafting brass
sleeve butt9ns and gorgeous watch
feb, together with other appurten-
a1ces, he simply had them all beat.
1t is doubtful If many of the boys and
| giss of this day of high school and
abundant educational facilities write
the beautiful uniform and systematic
hands, that did the pupils of Rees,
Waters and ~nunaeHOus other instPHc-
tors in p~enmanshfp. in those by7gone
days.
Singing teachers were usually noti-
fed ahead that their school of three
or found weeks had been made up, not
lesG than 20 scholars at &100 each and
of purse they too, boarded around. IL
was nip and tuck with CAte Gillespie
and Charlie Morris, as to popularity
in the Western part Of the co Hnty,
while on the eastern side the goal lay
between saunders and Gibbs. One
thing admitted by all though, was that
the whole Quartctte taken together.
was a mighty fine bunch of singers.
Prof. Wilkie, Prof. Wilson. Morgan
and others are not brought into this
classification, for they are of more
modern issue. This is past history
we are now considering, and we must
wait to see how the singer now on the
ground, comes out in the end. The
singers we are talking about used
Uncle Billy Walkers old shape notes
set to music with three leading parts.
to Wit: base, tenor and treble, with
sometimes a hint at "alto and tremale,
but So far as this scribe knows, these
latter two. were later invasions, about
which the common singer knew but
little as the first three were good
enough for him. 1t certainly was an
-.-s-sn- vooraopf Aa hear q singing