The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1916-01-20
Aunt Sally's
/ Bike
BY M. QUAD
Copyright. 1915. by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.

town for six weeks. and half the pans
and coffeepots were leaking
Business was so quiet that an order
for a whole gallon OF molasses was
almost towns talk.
One of the inhabitants Of Poolsville
was Aunt Sarah Tooker. She was wild
owed six years before and lived with
her daughter. Aunt Sally had always
been a hustler. and when a dull time
came to Poolsville she had always been
ready to bestir herself to end 1t. She
was ready to help end this. She went
to Deacon Thatcher and Indignantly
asked:
Are you men going to let this town
fall into its mudhole and give a last
gasp?"
why. Aunt Sally, what can be
doner' he asked in reply. I'VE are In
rut here, and we've got to stay In
that rut till Providence boosts us out
oft"
Aunt Sally went home to say to her
daughter:
"Hanner. l am going over to Gull
ford to see sister Kate for two weeks"
II was in the early days Of the bike.
The machine had been adopted In al
most every other town around, but
Poolsville frowned upon 1t.
Aunt Sally Tooker knew just how
the bike was regarded In her home
town, and she knew that she was six
ty years old and was expected to set a
good example for the younger folks.
Nevertheless. she had only reached
Guilford. when she said to her sister:
Sister Kate, have they bikes for
sale In Guilford?"
why, Of course" was the reply.
''Then get on your bonnet and go
with me to buy one"
For u nephewT
mo, sir; for yours truly. Aunt Sally
Tooker! have come over here to
learn to ride the bike. and can't get
at 1t u minute too SOON"
"But you are not going to ride the
b5ke In Poolsviller' gasped the sister.
Why, they will mob you over therer'
'Tet them mob and be darned.
That's where I'm going to ride the
bike The old town is In a rut. and
I'm going to wake her up
In q week she could ride up a hill
and down. and when the time she had
given herself to remain in Guilford
had expired she started for Poolsville
on her bike.
The highway leading out of and into
Poolsville is hill with a gentle slope
half a mile long. and it was the hour
OF noon one day when Aunt Sally
Tooker reached the brow of this hill.
There she rested and looked down
upon the village. 1t seemed asleep.
II was after Aunt Sally had survey
ed :his peaceful scene for five minutes
that she uttered three or four long
drawn screams and mounted her bike
and started down the hill. Though her
screams aroused the town as the re.
port of a cannon would. all of sud
den people appeared at their doors
and their gates and exclaimed to each
other:
"What in heavens name is that
Has the judgment day come at last?"
1t hadn't. but Aunt Sally Tooker and
her bike had
grade, holding her bike steady with
one hand and waving her bonnet witt
the other. She went through that vii
lage like a cannon ball
At the farthest outskirts of the vii
lage Aunt Sally turned about and came
whizzing back to dismount in front Of
the postoff1ce. where the crowd wal
thickest.
Nov. ma, you have done itr' wal
the greeting of her daughter as she en-
tered the house.
"Yes, have woke up Poolsville, an(
you are going to see things hum" wal
the proud reply.
1t wasn't an hour later before thu
.'hum" was heard and seen. The min
lister of Aunt Sally's church appeared
to ask:
Sister, is that your bikeY'
II paid $S5 for it, parson."
"And are you going to ride it II
Poolsville?"
Morning. noon and night and some
times In the afternoon"
"Then. sister. you must take the con
sequences"
II will, parson."
The consequences were that charge
were preferred against Aunt Sally.
The charges against Aunt Sally wer
for riding bike in the public street
and thereby injuring the cause of re
ngion In FIVE minutes her lawye
tore these charges to shreds. In fiv
more those who made them were mad
ashamed of themselves. You can judg
OF this line of argument
Aunt Sally was very promptly az
quilted. For a few weeks most of tn
members OF the church turned col
ehoulder upon her and the neighbor
kept aloof, but she went on riding he
bike until Deacon Dhurber said to tn
crowd at the poStoffice one evening: