Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1938-05-19
MOVING TO DESTINY

I
be replaced.
MOVING TO DESTINY
i Tribute to the memory OF my be-
loved wife, Ella Dickinson: Child
hood shows the man as morning
shows the day" St. Paul says,
child, understood as child, thought
as a child" J" In youth we have our
day-dreams, follow pet pursuits,
build air-castles. Manhood engages
and battles with the stern realities
of life. Old age finds comfort and
satisfaction in piecing together the
fragmentary remnants which lin
ger in the. the memory sna,y Of ,s days gone BY.
foot on the threshold OF this lat
ter condition which ends the drama
of life. Is it the fates that weave
the thread OF human life or kind
overruling providence that presides
over the destiny Of man? We like
to think it the latter. What is
man that thou art mindful, of him. .
The old homestead where ! came
into knowledge Of things was on
an eminence near the head of Meigs
creek valley, which stretched away
westward, affording a beautiful
| view-but was abruptly ended by q
high dividing ridge. Hemmed in by
hills in other directions, this unob-
structed vista for miles between the
abutting hills, was interesting, but
itself and shut off the enchanting
view When a child we. often won
dered how far beyond this ridge the
/ world extended. In youth we Won
! dered who the people could be that
lived on the other side of this di-
vide where earth and sky came to-
| gether. But the hill itself was not
f! from two industries in the valley
would rise, like cloud, and take
on various shapes according to the
caprices Of the wind Sometimes
| these smokes would unite and rise
| pyramidically, like the Matterhorn,
and at other times resolve itself
into grotesque figures, like animals.
and then again, by the aid of a
vivid imagination, we fancied that
girl, only to be ruthlessly dissolved
by the fitful pranks of a western
/ zephyr. Who could they be living
| on the other side Of this barrier of
earth, vapor, and sky? We wonder
ed. Before we had reached our ma
jority, business trip took us to
the first farm house beyond this di-
us. We were introduced to the
| head of the family tall Eng
lishman, whose, speech easily be-
| trayed his nationality. Next we met
| the matron, a woman considerably
| above the ordinary in personal ap
pearance,-a scion Of the old Dye
| family. Then came rather tall,
slender, comely girl upwards of II
years of age, the eldest of the chill.
dren, apparently somewhat abashed
at the introduction Others OF the
family were included. For the first
time we were in the home of George
J. Dickinson, one of the thrifty
| farmers of Morgan county. 1t was
| never in us to notice, or pay any
attention as to how anyone was
dressed, what they were wearing,
served that this young lady had on
checked gingham dress, spotless-
ly clean and neat. Why, or how It
happened, that we took notice to
such a trivial thing has never been
clear to our mind. Was it a little
move toward destiny? Who knows
From this time on when we chanced
was seldom, as we, by force OF hao-
it, usually went in the opposite dl-
rection, we recognized this young
lady with the fair face and large
beaming blue-gray eyes among 9th
ers of her class After several
widely separated meetings, and be-
coming better acquainted, we were
not a little disconnected at the man
ner she greeted us. What did it
mean? Was she making sport CT
us. that others might laugh? Was
| it in derision? We wondered. We
were always used to short, ana
sometimes repellent nickname, sell
dom ever hearing anything else,
but this girl was putting herself in
class by herself by calling us by
our proper name. Further acquaint-
ance prompted us to ask her how it
came. 81 don't like nicknames,"
was her rather blunt reply. Meth
er did we, and we admired her for
it. Another step toward destiny.
Later on being sent to the Renroch
store on an errand, we saw this
girl standing on the "upon block"
while the storekeeper. was Leading
the market basket as she rode
away, the proprietor turned to me
and incidentally remarked. that,
"the one who gets that girl will
have a good wife" A long step to-
ward destiny. Little did that store.
keeper think that his words would
be repeated after lapse of three
score years. we never Sdi GU Aoi
love stories. That universal term,
Glove at first sight, which unfor-
tunately befall many,-yes, we said:
unfortunately, is an exercise OF
mind which lies outside the pale OF
our experience. But that acquaint-
ance which grows into friendship,
and from friendship to admiration,
and from admiration to Affection
many OF you know. But we are not
here to repeat,-"Love's Old Sweet
Story" Suffice it is, to say that
when this good girl had passed her
18th birthday, we claimed her as
our own. our helpmate for life.
Down in the valley, midway between
her home and mine, beneath the
| picture in the Clouds we estab-
lished our little humble home which
today is within speaking distance OF
where she breathed her last. For
nearly 81 years we walked, hand
in hand, battling with the various
problems of life. The storekeeper's
prophesy was right. Only recently
a news item made mention of the
changes which had taken place here
since the beginning of the present
century, noting the fact that my
| help-meet and l stood alone. True
| it was that she had sat at the tel
ephone for more than 40 years and
announced a death in every home
within radius of two miles
| throughout the community. In this
connection we recall winter when
an epidemic was sweeping the cOun-
| try, and the late DR.. Rex was riding
day and night, this noble spirited
woman like an angel of mercy. uu-