The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1916-06-30
A CENTURY's CHANGES


A Kansas man passed his Goth
birthday last week. He was not the
oldest man in Kansas by any means.
There are several who have passed
the century mark and larger num-
Der who are between 90 and 100.
But this plain Kansas citizen has
lived long enough to see some of the
most remarkable changes in the
worlds history. He was born on,
what was then the frontier settle
ment of Ohio. When he came into
the world there wasn't a friction
match in existence, and not line of
railroad in the United States. The
first garment which covered his baby
form was made on a hand loom, and
the cradle in which he was rocked
was made by hand out of handsawed
! boards, nailed together with nails
which had been pounded out on the
anvil by country blacksmith. AS
from wool grown on the sheep which
pastured in the woodlot, and was
carded and woven into cloth on the
old hand loom. His socks were
knitted from yarn spun from the
| sleeps wool on the old spinning
wheel. His mittens were knitted
from the same material. When he
grew big enough to wear boots they
were made out of cowhide tanned in
the nearest tannery, or it may be
that vat had been fixed up on the
home place and the tanning was done
there. Maybe the boots were made
| by local shoemaker, but more like
ly they were made by his father over
a homemade last. After he had worn
them few weeks through the swales
and wet grass they became the tex
ture of adamant. To get them on in
the morning was torture; to get them
off at night was worse. To aid in
'hio Siyih6 opCidtiOu uc udu d DOOl-
jack, board with V-shaped crotch
in one end and cleat nailed on one
side just back Of the crotch to lift
one end of the boot-jack above the
floor. They never tried to pull off
his boots until he was dead tired and
sleepy. Here was where he felt that
his trials were greater than he could
bear and that this world was all
fleeting show for mans illusion CIV
en-. He had to stand with one foot
on the rear end of the boot-jack to
hold 1t down while he socked the |
heel of his boot into the crotch so
as to get purchase on it, and then
pull. Sometimes the boot heel would |
slip out of the jack and the sleepy |
boy would land on his back on the
floor. Sometimes the second boot |
brought the heaviest trial. After one |
boot was off he stood with his bare |
foot on the jack and undertook to |
pull the other boot. When he missed |
the crotch, as he sometimes did, he
was likely to hit the top of his in
step with the hobnailed boot heel on
which occasion 1t seemed to him that
there really was nothing in life worth
living for. When his boots finally
were off he retired to sleep on a cord
bed.
Probably you have never slept on
cord bed, gentle reader. II you
have not l might say that you have
missed quite a good deal. The cord
was constructed by boring small
holes at short intervals in the bed
rails and through these holes the
bed cord was run back and forth and
crossways. When a good job of
cording was done there was a stiff,
unyielding surface on which rested
a ''tick" filled with wheat straw. Per-
haps you never slept on tick filed
to the limit with wheat straw. II not
/ might again remark that you have
missed good deal. When the tick
was we'll filed it was round, like a
barrel. The boy who could balance
on the top Of the circle and slumber, |
was entitled to medal as slumber-
ing acrobat. Frequently the boys
who filed the tick were not 80 dis