Abilene weekly reflector., 1922-04-13

80
child, Charlie, was one Of my bosor
} companions. Mr.. Relmold was tn,
, slowest speaking man I knew as {
child. He talked so slowly that
always feared he would not get hi,
sentence finished today. am sure
that in long sentence he would have
to begin yesterday. Yet he was o
! very fine man and good neighbor
On the southeast quarter lived VIII
liam Elwick. His children, Arthur
Thomas and Maude, attended our
school In 1870. On the southwest so
lived Edmund Elwick. This place
was sort of second home for me.
spent many days and nights there.
The scare Of my life had the sum-
mer l was six. I always had large
feet. This day went to the Elwick
home wearing my fathers wedding
boots. The Elwick dog seeing this
gawky creature appearing came lop-
ing after me. l ran. There was a
straw covered shed nearby around
which I beat it. The dog nipped at
my boot heels and kept me going
some. I was rescued without much
damage being done.
| The Elwick children were Alice,
John. Mary. George, Anna and Nellie.
1t was from their well that we car
ried to the district school the drink
ing water for the thirty thirsty kids.
We all used one dipper and didn't
know that there We're such things
as germs. If we had we probably
would have gotten sick.
On the so north of this Elwick
home lived "Uncle Tommy" Elwick.
ried, whose lonely life gave him the
sympathy of all the neighbors. One
of the first half dollars ever earned
was helping him plant apple trees.
He had the holes dug. Then l held
the trees while he sighted them into
line and filed up about the roots. At
noon he brewed pot of English
breakfast tea. / can taste this tea
yet. 1t was so good.
The northwest quarter was the
William AS craft homestead, / have
only a slight memory Of this man
at this time. He was a rugged home
ly Abraham Lincoln type Of man
who was good neighbor and gave
his country family Of honorable
and capable children.
Ashcraft sold his place to Harry
Shadinger whose sons, Edgar and
Roy, lived with their parents here,
Just across the road from our home.
until about 1881 when they sold the
place to Oliver Ball and his sons
Frank and Jay.
have now covered the circle. One
other experience and one Of the
earliest in my life was the passing
of little sister. Pearl Cress, who
slipped away to her home beyond the
stars on August IS, 1878. l can re-
call the kind friends who came to
minister to my parents in their sor-
row. A Methodist minister conducted
the simple service at the funeral.
recall one of the hymns:
II will sing you song Of that beau
tiful land,
The far away home Of the soul;
Where no storms ever beat on that
glittering strand
While the years Of eternity roll.
These memories go back over
forty years. All the old settlers
have left the community. Only my
parents of them all are living there
today. Most of the old timers have
gone over the Great Divide. A large
number of their children have follow
ed them there.
My father subscribed for the Re-
fectOr back In those misty years
when 1t was known as the Abilene
Gazette. have read 1t for forty
years. Almost every month 1t re-
cords the going over of some OF
these kindly souls whose pioneer ac-
tivities make up the background OF
memory's farther reach. These were
the years Of transition. The sound
of the shooter was still heard In
the land and an occasional hanging
party left horse thief dangling from
the eve Of a wagon tongue. But in
1880 the wild men Of frontier fame
had migrated farther west, leaving
our community to lay the foundation
Of that splendid type Of life which
has enabled North Dickinson to
make her contribution to the support
and uplift of the human race, Those
far off mystic days will ever remain