Montgomery County sentinel., 1919-01-03
Starting Something
in Pellton
By JANE OSBORN

"You see, Mr.. Pell, I'm trying to
start something in Pellton," was the
way Lucy Brown, reporter, Society
writer and second mate of the PelltOn
Sentinel. explained her call at the old
Pell homestead. "The idea is to send
copies of the hometown papers to the
boys at the front and there are some
hundreds of our town boys who will
be getting the Sentinel. Now, you
know how it's been with the Senti-
nel--how it's been with Pellton, in fact.
There's never anything doing, and the
boys over there don't want to read
just rehash of the news from the
front that was stale to them month
before. They want local news. They
want to know what's going on In
Pellton.'
"But nothing is ever going on in
Pellton," said Mr.. Francis Pell indul-
gently. "It's conservative little
place that stopped getting excited over
itself some fifty years ago. There's
never anything doing in Pellton."
mo; that's Just It," said Lucy, the
color coming to her cheeks and the
brilliance to her eyes at the thought
that she was being understood.
Nothing ever happens in this place
but I'm going to make something hap
pen SOS to put Pellton on the map
and make the boys want to get back to
real live, enthusiastic, human sort
of place. / thought I'd begin by get
ting interviews with some of the local
old Sllas Smell yesterday. He's hun
dred and three-all the boys know
him-used to call him Crazy 81. Well,
he's got some bullets and things from
the Civil war and some old clothes he
wore seventy-flve years ago. I've per-
suaded him to put them on exhibition
down at the bookstore, and can
make story about that. Then there
ia Miss Hawkins that's always kept
the cent shop-uged to sell candy to
the boys that are over there now. and
she's promised to do something to
make story, and there's the pot
cheese man and the old sexton"
Mr.. Pell was hardly flattered at be-
ing put In class with these local &C.
centres, and had Lucy Brown had as
much tact as she had enthusiasm she
might have made her appeal in an-
other way. But the fact was that Mr..
Francis Pell, whose ancestors had
founded the old town, was quite as
much Of a character In his way as was
either the toothless Sllas Smell or the
little spinster who had always kept
the cent shop" Although scarce forty,
and although no one had ever seen
him counting out bags Of money, nor
had he ever been known to be crafty
or shrewd in money matters, he was
regarded as "the old miser." There
were fabulous accounts of the extent
of the Pell fortune, which had once
glittered large In the minds eye of
PelltOn mammas, but had long since
ceased to be regarded as In any way
available.
So Lucy paid her first call on Mr..
Pell and was very politely shown to
the door after she had made herself
quite clear, and she went away feel
Ing as much confused and disheart-
ened as she had some seven years be-
fore, when she went out on her first
assignment for the big city paper. For
Lucy was not native Pelltonite. If
she had been she would have known
better than to try to make news out
Of anything that Francis Pell might be
doing. But she knew he was one of
the most gossiped about personalities
in town. Failing to find anything
more fertile for discussion about him,
the women discussed the size of his
grocer bills-though they were per-
fectly normal-Or kept close track. Of
his harmless old NANNY housekeeper
or the new coat of paint on his house
or the condition of his apple orchard
But these things wouldn't make news
items for the Sentinel.
Lucy was rebuffed the first time, pO-
litely but effectively, and went away
perhaps more upset over a certain
gracious courtesy that Mr.. Pell had
shown toward her than because of the
actual rebuff.
But Lucy had not been a reporter
for seven years for nothing, and once
her cheeks had stopped tingIing from
that first call she decided to make an
other. She would get some sort of
story out of him--that she determined.
1t was on her third call that Mr.. Pell
showed signs of weakening.
"YOu soy you want me to do some.
thing to make story about" he began
cautiously, looking amusedly into
Lucy's eager face and studying the
nervous twitchlng of her still girlish
lips. "What sort of thing would you
suggest-not, Of course, that / intend
to do it."
Lucy chose to take him entirely seri-
0usly. make some gift to the town."
she announced. every one thinks you
have loads Of money, but"
II know" smiled Mr.. Pell, "they call
me the old miser. 1t has always amused |
me. But l choose to keep my bene.
factions to myself, I will tell you con-
fidentially that have Just sent a
rather important contribution to an
astronomical observatory In Labrador
that my father endowed, and the hos
pital for lepers In Shanghai that my
mother was interested in"
"PeIlton people don't care about
that" interrupted Lucy. "They want
you to do something for Pellton, If 1t
is only drinking fountain for the
stray dogs or new curbstone around
the towr hall. Just think how the
boys over there would slt I'D and read