The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1961-06-29

and did it long before man learned
how in his laboratories. Even so,
the basic principle Of the spindle
! to twist the fibers and the distaff
to hold the material mass still en-
ters into the process of creating
cloth. 1t may not be too incorrect
to consider human history as a
cloth woven from threads of hui
man affairs spun upon the wheel
of time. AS to the dye that in fu-
turc colors that cloth, let us hope
that man learns enough to keep it
free from the blood of his fellow
men.
| went to the home of Mr.. and
Mrs. William OFT, in Mountain
Lake Park, to see a fine example
of the big" spinning wheel. The
OTIS, who study Americana and
collect antiques, told me that their
wheel is also called a "carder"
They also had a beautifully hand
made clock reel used to collect
yarn.
Other people in Garrett County
who have seen spinning wheels in
use include Mr. Totten A. Kim
nell, of Mountain Lake Park, who
used to watch Miss Anna Lewis
and Mrs. Chauncy Kimmell spin.
Miss Lewis used the big wheel
and spun both wool and flax on it
Mrs Kimmell spun wool only and
knitted the yarn into socks and
mittens for her sons. These folks
lived in the Swallow Falls area
and Mr. Totten Kimmell fixes the
date of the spinning that he saw
around the year 1900.
Miss Marion b. Leary, of Oak
land, who taught school in Ryan's
Glade, recalls seeing Mrs Abe
Moon spinning yarn and sometimes
helped card the wool for Mrs.
Moon. Miss Leary also remembers
that Mrs. Marcellus Wolfe, of Red
House, gave much of her spare
time to the work of spinning.
A neighbor of Mrs Kimmell and
Miss Anna Lewis was Mrs. Jesse
Weimer The daughter of Mrs.
Weimer, Miss Bertha Weimer, who
is a resident of the Weeks Nursing
home in Oakland, was taught to
spin by her mother while they
lived on the farm. The wool used
in their spinning was produced on
the home flock. The granddaugh-
ter of Mrs. Weimer, Mrs. Aubrey
Savage, of Mountain Lake Park,
can recall seeing her grandmother
spinning at the wheel. Mrs. Wei
mers wheel is in the house, now
the home of Mr.. Everett Weimer,
a grandson, and was of the small
design and operated by a treadle
Mr.. Jesse Weimer was a veteran
of the Civil War.
Mrs S. J. Lichty, who was Sarah
! Beachy, daughter of Mr.. and Mrs
| Daniel Beachy, came with her hus-
band in 1901 to Garrett County
and they purchased the General
Benjamin F. Kelley farm on the
| Blue Ribbon road near Gortner.
They moved into the Kelley farm
house and later built another
! house across the road l visited
Miss Mary Lichty and Mrs. Fannie
Stutzman in their home on the
farm and found their family had
been well acquainted with the spin
ming and weaving crafts. Their
mothers big wheel is still in the
attic. l saw wooden sweater that
Mrs Sarah Beachy Lichty had
knitted from yarn which she had
spun.
Mrs. Stutzman and Miss Lichty
have two sisters who also live
nearby and who have watched
their mother spin. They are Mrs.
j. D. Elizabeth SWartZentruber
and Mrs. d. L. DORA SWartzen-
truber. Their mother had several
| sisters and two of them came to
Garrett County in their late years
| to live. These were Miss Leah and
Miss Fannie Beachy Miss Leah
was very proficient weaver as
well as an expert spinner, but they
did not work at their craft after
coming to live in the Gortner COM
munity
Miss Mary Lichty explained to
me that her mother sent the wool
from the home flock to a wooden
mill at Antioch, West Virginia, to
be prepared and carded for spin
ming. At the mill it was prepared
and sent back in rolls about
eighteen inches long and about
the thickness of finger. Mrs
Stutzman recalled that her moth
er's big wheel had a characteristic
hum in operation and that it was
turned with clothespin in her
mothers hand. The music of the
wheel lulled the Lichty children
to sleep and often awakened them
in the morning as Sarah Lichty
made the moment count to pro-
duce the wooden yarn her family