The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1917-06-28
Drawbacks of the "Good Old Days"

verous wild beasts which had been the
cause of so many deaths.
demonstrating in the unknown Wild
erness was full of peril. Our fore
fathers not only made homes, but al
so went through the peril with hop
by heart. .....-.
Their cabins were built of plain logs
one placed on top of the other with
matched joints to keep them togeth-
-er. The roofs were made of poles,
laid across from wall to wall, cover
ed with hay. The furniture consisted
of benches, one homemade cabinet and
a dropboard in one corner for table.
Decorations such as paints, varnishes,
stains, wallpaper and ornaments were
unknown in those days.
A wooden pillow, straight log for a
drag, a cradle for reaper and fail
to separate the kernels from the
straw completed their tools. The
power was furnished by human hands,
except in few cases where settler
was fortunate enough to own pair
of oxen which assisted him and his
neighbors with the heaviest loads.
Communications were available only
by travelling on foot, except for the
few messengers who rode horseback
between the setleemnts, but as those
men were exposed to such great dang
ers, they were few.
Transportation was by row boats
along the streams, pack-horses
through the mountains and home
made wagons drawn by oxen over the
-RDugh prairires. The drawbacks OF
>zthose days can best be seen by COM
pairing them with modern times.
Our evenings can be spent by read
ing books and newspapers, visiting
friends, attending church, going tc
1.-THE movies and many other amuse-
ments. We are neither threatened
by hostile Indians who crept upon our
forefathers at night nor by beasts
who prawled around the homes.
: Our houses are built of brick and
manufactured lumber, covered with
beautiful paint on the outside and
stains and varnishes on the inside. Our
furniture is of great variety, uphol-
stored rocking chairs, Morris chairs
settess, davenports, extension tables,
dining room chairs, cabinets, dressers,
etc. The floors are stained and COW
rered with rugs and carpets. Smooth
finishing coats, designed wall paper,
Jpicutres and paintings beauties our
lplatsered walls. 49, d - '.a-s-4,
Our implements and tools are very
different from those of our forefath-
ers We have steam plows, large
drags, binders, thrashing machines,
headers, where the climate permits,
and many other time and labor saving
machines. Our power is furnished by
'Seavv draft horses, steam and gaso-
Mi1R engines.
0pr WAYS of communication have ad-
warned wonderfully. BY stepping TO
the TELEPHONE box on the wall, we can
talk to any one of our neighbors, and
xhrough slong distance" we can talk
to nersons many miles away.
Important messages can be sen. ny
telegraph hundreds of miles IN a rev
,oinutes., Newspapers are punhsneo
every day carrying the news OF the
-,orld to every dor. Magazines are
n,,hl;sbed semi-weekly, weekly ana
,oontblv containing the most events
occurring both in this country anu .ne
foreign countries, in concise ioi'
..The most common way of communica-
-+in1 with a friend who cannot nc
..aa 1 personally, is through letters ano
most cards. The mail system - NV NV,
- oomnlete that it is not only the Guy
man who gets his mail daily Dus a, sS
the farmers thrugh the rural cair I; ~
The transportation problem wnlcn
--vos one of our forefathers grea'es.
~ tho not the greatest problem nas
ow heen quite thoroughly solved. Ou,
dads are graded and graveled. Urea s'
trucks are getting common nv ~, .
IN the cities but also on our e. 10. :,
p.;Iroads run across the country Il
l.earu d;rection. Steamships ar
s,;s.tinp the seas and deep rivers Pr
+. ~ even possible to go through tn
~ ct a great speed from one pi"'
10 another in modern aeropia mi mod
The old cabin compared VIII -s O =
.rn dwelling houses; the OLD way 60 y
EN- by travelling on loo
od On horseback with, with teiepho vi
any telegraph system; their SLOW al -
anu LIS ways of transportation y
row boats, pack horses ana mum, roug
wagons drawn by oxen ose o,tome
Ground with modern "a aero
b5ss tr together with the ne ts
p par;,s of the old days, snow us ~ ~
isany drawbacks of our 1orela. ~
Mavertheless many a young man -
woman is not as contenteo, sar
and free spirited today as oas u ~
4sa aH . were in the "good old days
ia'n Helmer Thompson,
Class of 1918.
Result of Getting Up 10 Mnu. ta me