The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-09-30
A COLLECTION OF CANES.
Pennsylvania Clergyman Has Re-
markable "Stickery.r

Rev. T. j. Allen of Beaver Falls, Pa.
towns unique collection of canes gath
Tered from different parts Of the world
His "stickery," as he calls it, attracts
many visitors and is constantly being
Iadded to by friends, including mis-
lsionaries in foreign countries. DR. AL
lens lobby was started when a mem
Der Of his congregation presented hin
with staff made of California mahog
lany, a relic of the California gold rush
The collection includes canes
made in whole or in part OF gold, sill
yer, ivory, leather, horn. hoofs, bone
4 glass, celluloid, steel, iron, brass, rub.
Der, bamboo, rattan, gutta spercha, etc
Most of them of course are of wood
Especially those which the owner
gathered in his own travels. Many OF
them are those to which nature has
lent the kindly turn of root or a
branch for the handle.
DIR. Allen puts many of his canes to
good use by loaning them to friends
usually aged, crippled or otherwise
disab led people--for use during the rest
of their lifetime. His list includes
thirty persons past the century mark.
However, he generally recommends
crutrhes for the infirm as clutches arc
much more likely to prevent falling
than canes. Insurance agents tell him
that they pay more claims for acct
dents due to falling than for any other
cause. Next to this comes cases of
persons hit by falling objects.
1t is interesting to note that though
only few walking sticks are made OF
"cane,n the word has been allowed 20
supplant the old historical name
staff As the word staff has many
uses and its plural stats Is so un-
uual, DR.. Allen prefers to call the OBJ
jects walking sticks" or Sticks l
might have called my collection the
canery,' he said. but the word so
closely resembles the larger part Of a
word we all dislike, namely--chi-
canery--that I did not do So.
Concerning the subject in general DIR.
Allen says: aThe staff is of very
ancient origin mention Of its use being
made ass far back in sacred annals as
the times Of Jacob, Moses and other
patriarchs. Besides its most obvious
and natural use as an aid in locomotion
II was used as goad for animals, for
beating fruit from trees, as crook in
pastoral life, and in various forms as
a, symbol Of Office, sometimes in the
form of baton by the precentor of
congregation and sometimes in the
form of sheperd's crok by the bish
OPP, being presented him at the time of
ordination, some of which of great
variety and beauty are preserved in big
museums Jacob, on his return from
Mesopotamia addressing his brother.
Esau. and airing his prosperity, said.
With my staff ! passed over this
Jordan and now / am become two
bands Moses used some such instru-
ment when shifting Egypt and her
river, the Red sea at the time of cross
ing, and the rock at Horeb where the
waters gushed out.
Everybody has a hobby. Some have
a fad of collecting coins and some for
geological specimens. The limits of my
profession forbid the former. and as
for the latter, got enough of the
of the Rocks when a boy
clearing land of stones with an OK team
among my native hills Of Pennsylvania
and shall prefer sticks for the rest Of
my days. Strange how boyish fancies
work out in later years. There was
another man in Kansas who had the
same fad as l. He was searching in
vain for the stick with which one John
Doe struck the late Billy Patterson.
Once. while going up the st. John river
in New Brunswick made the scquain-
49,. If a rant Iarnap who had n coi
lection of 200 csndlesticks. certainly
very unique fsd-sticks of another sort
70 TO speak. ] was once told Of a
rolorsd clergyman in Richmond Va.
who had an immense collection OF old
shoes. Women generally prefer lsces
fishes and such like."-From the Path.