Glacier County chief., 1940-05-03


min, father of w. B. Amin, formerly
of Butte but now of Columbus, Mont,
wrote letter in LIE Roy, N. Y, to his
brother in Boston. He wrote on one
side of the paper. folded it nicely when
he had finished. sealed It in the form
addressed it as letters are addressed
today and paid 10 cents for mailing.
There were no postage stamps in
those days SO the postmaster wrote
TO- and stamped it paid" and sent
1t on its way. There were other letters
IS marked 10 paid" and each is mere
ly a folded paper sealed with wax
Although no postage stamps were used
the postoffice had dating stamp.
One of the letters carries a post
script which reads: Whenever you
wish to write TO me or the folks just
direct the letter as usual, enclose it
in second wrapper and direct" The
advice does not seem to have been
followed as each letter bears on its
, back the dating stamp of the post
office, the wax seal and the 10" writ
ten with ink, and the stamp paid
Preparing for Winter
One of the letters, written in the
month of November, says: We don't
get any of the nice fat oysters to
luxuriate upon but 1 have just bought
a quarter of beef, put down - bushels
of potatoes and half barrel of sweet
cider: Saturday I made nearly bar
rel OF soap, engaged nearly nine cords
Of wood and plenty of hen feed" This
letter is a four-page epistle Three of
the pages are used for correspondence
and the fourth for the address.
It seems that the Boston brothers.
William and James, had sent Joseph
large package of bulbs for his garden
at LIE Roy. In expressing his thanks for
/ a
showing a list of plants much longer
than a list of the seeds and bushes
handled today by the average florist.
Not including the bulbs there are l67
varieties Of flowers and shrubs shown.
Am0Rg H them Williams arr White nene chn nS
olas, Chinese rose peony, Chinese
peony hamei, fennel leaf peony. single
white peony. several varieties of phlox
several varieties of gladiolas. double
buttercups, japanese globe flowers.
several varieties of iris. a half dozen
varieties. The Siberian crab. the flow
ering almond, the golden beauty crab
yucca, Towering almond, grape vine
apple, cherry. SNOWFALL. gooseberries,
barberry, dwarf pear, rose, honeysuckle
and others. all to decorate the private
of a small town. Apparently the people
of LIE Roy, N. Y. took their flower
gardening seriously back in 1872
Met Stagecoach Nightly
Amongst the gossip items come a
statement that the pathmaSter. Mr..
Stanley, is building a nice plank walk
past our place and when it is finished
muddy or wet" The stage passed
through LIE Roy "at a. m. every
morning" and Amin states that he
makes it nightly practice TO meet
/ the coach.
And now comes a sour note, from.
the writer's standpoint. We had an
other skunk visit a few nights ago" he
says. Dave drove him in the back
yard in the belief that he had a cat
in tow. Just as he reached to pick up
the little animal the skunk lifted his
bushy tail and disclosed his first line
of defense. Dave discovered his error
about the creatures identity and made
grand rush for the house He brought
with him an odor such as We never
smelled before and hope We shall never
smell again. had heard people talk
about skunk soup It may be all right
but our family wouldn't relish it"
! In 1886 Amin was writing his broth
ers on embossed paper-a floral de-
sign along the borders OF the sheets.
He refers to the fact that he is bette.
off than many of his neghborS and
adds that his conception OF wealth i
comfort-"but If riches are to rob one
of the pleasure of working, of labor
he states, Il want none of it" The
early American evidently valued the
privilege of earning more than he did
the possession OF wealth. But they did
not believe in waste. Look at a hall
dollar twice before you spend il" he
advises
His Rules for Success
Perseverance and economy" he
states. are essential to success. BIZ
the desire to succeed must not blind
us to our obligations to society
Il say to You as I so often say to
myself: Be honest as you 60"
Amin had been urged by his neigh
bors to sell the offspring of the tulip
bulbs his brothers had sent him four