ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO IN WARREN CO.
A Series Part 2
EARLY DAYS IN WARREN COUNTY
Taken From The Warren Review February 25, 1909
First Impression of the Wabash Valley Upon Early Settlers
It’s Natural Product. - Perils of Pioneer Travel. A Baffled Highwayman.
EARLY DAYS IN WARREN COUNTY
Taken From The Warren Review February 25, 1909
First Impression of the Wabash Valley Upon Early Settlers
It’s Natural Product. - Perils of Pioneer Travel. A Baffled Highwayman.
The natural scenery of the Wabash Valley as it was found by the first settlers, although not bluffy and broken, was nevertheless beautiful and picturesque. Hill and dales, forests and prairies, grottos, riverlets, and rivers, diversified every portion of it. In a letter yet in existence, one of the early settlers who first saw the Wabash River in 1830 in the month of April, describes it thus: It’s green banks were lined with the richest verdure. Wild flowers intermingled with tall grass that nodded in the passing breeze. Nature seemed clothed in her bridal robes. Blossoms of the wild plum, hawthorn, and red-bud made the air redolent. The notes of the blackbird and blue jay mingled with the shrill cry of the kingfisher, river gull and speckled loon.
On the points of the islands, cranes and herons were carrying on a lively fishing business among the minnows that had ventured into the coves that indented the islands. Large flocks of wild geese, brants and ducks frequently passed overhead, or would light down into the bayous and hold a general carnival. It was certainly rare sort for the young hunters of the neighborhood to fix up their “blinds” around those duck ponds and bag more game than they could carry home. Schools of fishes, salmon, bass, red-horse, and pike swam close along the shore, catching at the blossoms of the red-bud that floated on the surface of the water.
Perhaps the country ever produced a greater variety of wild fruits and berries. The wide fertile bottom lands of the Wabash, in many places presented on continuous orchard of wild plum and crab apple brushes, mingled with different varieties of woods, grape, wild hopes and honey suckle fantastically wreathed together. One bush often presented the crimson plum, yellow crab apple, blue luscious grape festoons of matured wild hops, mingled with the red berries of the clamoring sweet brier that bound them all lovingly together. Gooseberries and strawberries were the first gathered by the early settlers. There were soon succeeded by blackberries, dewberries, and raspberries, which grew thickly int eh fence corners, in the woods, and in the vicinity of the clearings and fallen timbers.
In the more sterile, sandy regions were to be found the huckleberry, whortleberry, and in wet marshy districts cranberries grew in great abundance. Black walnuts, butternuts, hickory and hazel nuts grew in great profusion throughout the Wabash country. A few persimmon bushes and apple trees planted no doubt by the French and Indians, were found growing near the old Indian towns. Between Vincennes, and the mouth of the Wabash, pecan and chestnut trees were quite common. These nuts were gathered and pulled by the children in the fall and cracked around the cabin hearth during long winter evenings, while the father and mother related to their listening children the stirring incidents that transpired during their childhood on the Monongehels, Scioto or old Kentuck.
There were prairie chickens and prairie hawks to catch them, rattlesnakes were numerous, as were also the black, gray and prairie wolves. In many localities it was next to impossible to raise sheep or pigs until they had been hunted out.
The legislature enacted laws granting a bounty on wolf scalps that proved sufficient finally, to exterminate these nocturnal prowlers that would often approach within a rod or two of the settler’s cabin and make night hideous with their prolonged howling. Wolf drives were common to whole neighborhoods and sometimes a whole county would participate. The old settlers also had to content with rattlesnakes, viper, adder and blood snakes. In some localities the inhabitants would arrange a snake hunt, search out the dens of these reptiles and slay hundreds in a single day.
On the points of the islands, cranes and herons were carrying on a lively fishing business among the minnows that had ventured into the coves that indented the islands. Large flocks of wild geese, brants and ducks frequently passed overhead, or would light down into the bayous and hold a general carnival. It was certainly rare sort for the young hunters of the neighborhood to fix up their “blinds” around those duck ponds and bag more game than they could carry home. Schools of fishes, salmon, bass, red-horse, and pike swam close along the shore, catching at the blossoms of the red-bud that floated on the surface of the water.
Perhaps the country ever produced a greater variety of wild fruits and berries. The wide fertile bottom lands of the Wabash, in many places presented on continuous orchard of wild plum and crab apple brushes, mingled with different varieties of woods, grape, wild hopes and honey suckle fantastically wreathed together. One bush often presented the crimson plum, yellow crab apple, blue luscious grape festoons of matured wild hops, mingled with the red berries of the clamoring sweet brier that bound them all lovingly together. Gooseberries and strawberries were the first gathered by the early settlers. There were soon succeeded by blackberries, dewberries, and raspberries, which grew thickly int eh fence corners, in the woods, and in the vicinity of the clearings and fallen timbers.
In the more sterile, sandy regions were to be found the huckleberry, whortleberry, and in wet marshy districts cranberries grew in great abundance. Black walnuts, butternuts, hickory and hazel nuts grew in great profusion throughout the Wabash country. A few persimmon bushes and apple trees planted no doubt by the French and Indians, were found growing near the old Indian towns. Between Vincennes, and the mouth of the Wabash, pecan and chestnut trees were quite common. These nuts were gathered and pulled by the children in the fall and cracked around the cabin hearth during long winter evenings, while the father and mother related to their listening children the stirring incidents that transpired during their childhood on the Monongehels, Scioto or old Kentuck.
There were prairie chickens and prairie hawks to catch them, rattlesnakes were numerous, as were also the black, gray and prairie wolves. In many localities it was next to impossible to raise sheep or pigs until they had been hunted out.
The legislature enacted laws granting a bounty on wolf scalps that proved sufficient finally, to exterminate these nocturnal prowlers that would often approach within a rod or two of the settler’s cabin and make night hideous with their prolonged howling. Wolf drives were common to whole neighborhoods and sometimes a whole county would participate. The old settlers also had to content with rattlesnakes, viper, adder and blood snakes. In some localities the inhabitants would arrange a snake hunt, search out the dens of these reptiles and slay hundreds in a single day.
***
Whispering Willow
By Willow
Whispering Willow
By Willow
There are times (more often than not) that my readers find typos in the paper. It seems no matter how many times I run the spell check or look over the article there is always something I miss. Spell check will not catch errors like “tow” for “two”, or even “tomato” for “tornado” (don’t ask me where that one came from, I have no idea).
Putting the paper together takes a lot of work. It isn’t just sitting down at the computer and typing in a few words and then running it off on the printed. However it is a labor of love.
The stories have to be researched, read, and typed. Some times I use the material for a source and write the story; other times I insert the story as it was written by the newspaper long ago. I spend about three hours a week just on research for the main article. There are only two articles in the paper that I am not directly responsible for, According to Big Al, and Mallory’s Take. I receive these two articles all ready to cut and paste into the format.
I spend about 4 days a week selling advertising for the paper. When I sell an ad it too must be designed or scanned into the paper. Depending on what the advertiser wants. A new ad sometimes mean reformatting of the a page in the publication.
Then I look for the recipe, I don’t like to just open a book and pick a recipe, I want it to be something I would like. Preferably something I had tried.
The hardest article to write is this one, Whispering Willow. Coming up with something new to write about here sometimes waits until the last minute. I don’t want it to sound harsh, and with my younger readers I have to be careful about my input and the way I word it.
I also find an interesting quote to put up as a cryptoquote. I write out the quote, write ABC… at the bottom of the page, and assign another letter to each different letter in the quote, crossing off the new letter at the bottom as I go.
The big problem here has been leaving out a letter. But Thanks to a reader I think that may have been solved.
I received a letter from Lisa of Covington, on Wednesday:
“Hi Willow, Just a short note to say how much I enjoy your newsletter, especially the local history articles. I often share these with my children. One suggestion: I love crytoquotes but find it frustrating when they contain typo’s. I knew they are a challenge to design; I usually need graph paper, one square for each letter, to keep things straight when I make one up. This week’s cryptoquote was fine but the last two missed the proofreader. Great to see you encouraging a budding reporter from Williamsport Elementary. Sincerely Lisa.
I want to thank you Lisa for this great suggestion. It is one of the “duh” things, so simple but so right. I have begun to use your suggestion this week.
One more word on the subject. As for our budding reporter. Be sure and listen to KISS 103.1 fm on Saturday. Larry and Ron will be talking with our young reporter Mallory Kerst on the air.
Thanks again Lisa for you constructive suggestion. I always appreciate constructive suggestions and constructive criticism.
Be Blessed
Willow
I spend about 4 days a week selling advertising for the paper. When I sell an ad it too must be designed or scanned into the paper. Depending on what the advertiser wants. A new ad sometimes mean reformatting of the a page in the publication.
Then I look for the recipe, I don’t like to just open a book and pick a recipe, I want it to be something I would like. Preferably something I had tried.
The hardest article to write is this one, Whispering Willow. Coming up with something new to write about here sometimes waits until the last minute. I don’t want it to sound harsh, and with my younger readers I have to be careful about my input and the way I word it.
I also find an interesting quote to put up as a cryptoquote. I write out the quote, write ABC… at the bottom of the page, and assign another letter to each different letter in the quote, crossing off the new letter at the bottom as I go.
The big problem here has been leaving out a letter. But Thanks to a reader I think that may have been solved.
I received a letter from Lisa of Covington, on Wednesday:
“Hi Willow, Just a short note to say how much I enjoy your newsletter, especially the local history articles. I often share these with my children. One suggestion: I love crytoquotes but find it frustrating when they contain typo’s. I knew they are a challenge to design; I usually need graph paper, one square for each letter, to keep things straight when I make one up. This week’s cryptoquote was fine but the last two missed the proofreader. Great to see you encouraging a budding reporter from Williamsport Elementary. Sincerely Lisa.
I want to thank you Lisa for this great suggestion. It is one of the “duh” things, so simple but so right. I have begun to use your suggestion this week.
One more word on the subject. As for our budding reporter. Be sure and listen to KISS 103.1 fm on Saturday. Larry and Ron will be talking with our young reporter Mallory Kerst on the air.
Thanks again Lisa for you constructive suggestion. I always appreciate constructive suggestions and constructive criticism.
Be Blessed
Willow
***
Water:
Infusion - Tea is the most common everyday use for herbs.
Hot Infusion - Pour the boiling water over the herb and let steep for 15 minutes, then strain. This method is usually used for leaves and flowers and makes instant tea for drinking. Powdered root, bark, seeds, resin, bruised nuts and buds are also receptive to this method.
Cold Infusion - Steep wet mashed herbs in cold water or milk for several hours. This infusion can be also be used internally or on the body as a poultice.
Waters:
Steeped herbs, water, and alcohol and steeped herbs plus honey and other fruits are often called waters. The extracts or spirits from various herbs such as lavender for instance are also called waters.
Decoction - This is the second most used method of extracting the medicinal properties from herbs.
Hard Parts of plants such as the twigs, roots, barks rhizomes, berries and some seeds, will only release the volatile oils and locked in chemicals when the are gently simmered for about thirty minutes in water. Then strain and use. Long simmering will produce a distillation, or extract, or an herb. This is similar to a soup.
Alcohol:
Tincture: For herbs that are not soluble in water cook them in rectified alcohol or spirits. A tincture is a solution of a medicinal substance of coarse, bruised, or pulverized material in alcohol or diluted alcohol. The material is placed directly into the bottle, or the alcohol may be filtered through the plant material. To filter, use coffee parchment cones. Medicated wines are tinctures of a less stable nature.
Oils: Rectified alcohol or aromatic oils can be combined. The oils will seep into the alcohol to produce an essence. More on that later.
Vinegar:
Tincture - Herbs that are soluble in alcohol are often soluble in vinegar. This method is used in steeping the fresh or dried material is used for salad vinegars, cosmetic vinegars, some liniments and the preventive sickroom “washes.”
Far:
Ointments - Fresh or dried herbs, herb oils, or herb tinctures and extracts heated together with any variety of fats produce healing slaves. Add wax for hardness.
Cold Cream - Mix lanolin (fat), oil, rosewater, and wax.
Suppository - Heat fat, herb, and wax, or preferably cocoa butter and healing herb for cylinder shaping and insertion.
Lip Balm - Combine oils, honey, beeswax, vanilla
Oils:
Essence - Oils may be “captured” by evaporation from flowers and petals. Also, vegetable, nut, or fruit oils can be used as a medium for steeping aromatic plants to extract volatile oils. Aromatic oils can also be steeped in alcohol to extract the essence.
Combination - Combine oils for healing, massage, insect repellent, or lip balm.
Juice:
Essence or Extract - Extract a juice of a plant by applying pressure.
Sugar - Alcohol and sugar have many similar chemical components, and sugar will preserve many plant materials.
Jelly - Syrup in a more congealed form.
Electuary - Use powder to make a syrup.
Conserve - Beat together sugar and plant material.
Lozenge - Pill made of solid plant material, sugar, and gummy material.
Dried Material
Pills - is a rolled or pulverized plant material pellets, place in gylcerine capsules, or work with sugar into cake-like lozenges. Combine dried material for various insect repellent, potpourri, rodent repellent, herb deodorant, and herb salts.
Combinations - Herb or combination of herbs may be steeped to make a drinking team, a decoction, or, steeped in alcohol, vinegar. Steeped strained material may be used for douching and rectal irrigation purposes.
Laxative - Single-herb or combinations of herbs can be used for laxative purposes.
Breath Sweeteners - Eat breath-sweetening seeds such as caraway, fennel, or anise or steep these and other seeds and spices in Sherry to make breath-sweetening gargles and mouthwashes.
Liniment - Add dried to vinegar, oils, alcohol, or water to produce friction rub.
Tooth Preparations - Combine dried herbs and other materials for tooth aides.
Be Blessed
Willow
Willows Garden
By: Willow
"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." Hippocrates
Methods For Preparing Herbs
At A Glance
By: Willow
"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." Hippocrates
Methods For Preparing Herbs
At A Glance
Water:
Infusion - Tea is the most common everyday use for herbs.
Hot Infusion - Pour the boiling water over the herb and let steep for 15 minutes, then strain. This method is usually used for leaves and flowers and makes instant tea for drinking. Powdered root, bark, seeds, resin, bruised nuts and buds are also receptive to this method.
Cold Infusion - Steep wet mashed herbs in cold water or milk for several hours. This infusion can be also be used internally or on the body as a poultice.
Waters:
Steeped herbs, water, and alcohol and steeped herbs plus honey and other fruits are often called waters. The extracts or spirits from various herbs such as lavender for instance are also called waters.
Decoction - This is the second most used method of extracting the medicinal properties from herbs.
Hard Parts of plants such as the twigs, roots, barks rhizomes, berries and some seeds, will only release the volatile oils and locked in chemicals when the are gently simmered for about thirty minutes in water. Then strain and use. Long simmering will produce a distillation, or extract, or an herb. This is similar to a soup.
Alcohol:
Tincture: For herbs that are not soluble in water cook them in rectified alcohol or spirits. A tincture is a solution of a medicinal substance of coarse, bruised, or pulverized material in alcohol or diluted alcohol. The material is placed directly into the bottle, or the alcohol may be filtered through the plant material. To filter, use coffee parchment cones. Medicated wines are tinctures of a less stable nature.
Oils: Rectified alcohol or aromatic oils can be combined. The oils will seep into the alcohol to produce an essence. More on that later.
Vinegar:
Tincture - Herbs that are soluble in alcohol are often soluble in vinegar. This method is used in steeping the fresh or dried material is used for salad vinegars, cosmetic vinegars, some liniments and the preventive sickroom “washes.”
Far:
Ointments - Fresh or dried herbs, herb oils, or herb tinctures and extracts heated together with any variety of fats produce healing slaves. Add wax for hardness.
Cold Cream - Mix lanolin (fat), oil, rosewater, and wax.
Suppository - Heat fat, herb, and wax, or preferably cocoa butter and healing herb for cylinder shaping and insertion.
Lip Balm - Combine oils, honey, beeswax, vanilla
Oils:
Essence - Oils may be “captured” by evaporation from flowers and petals. Also, vegetable, nut, or fruit oils can be used as a medium for steeping aromatic plants to extract volatile oils. Aromatic oils can also be steeped in alcohol to extract the essence.
Combination - Combine oils for healing, massage, insect repellent, or lip balm.
Juice:
Essence or Extract - Extract a juice of a plant by applying pressure.
Sugar - Alcohol and sugar have many similar chemical components, and sugar will preserve many plant materials.
Jelly - Syrup in a more congealed form.
Electuary - Use powder to make a syrup.
Conserve - Beat together sugar and plant material.
Lozenge - Pill made of solid plant material, sugar, and gummy material.
Dried Material
Pills - is a rolled or pulverized plant material pellets, place in gylcerine capsules, or work with sugar into cake-like lozenges. Combine dried material for various insect repellent, potpourri, rodent repellent, herb deodorant, and herb salts.
Combinations - Herb or combination of herbs may be steeped to make a drinking team, a decoction, or, steeped in alcohol, vinegar. Steeped strained material may be used for douching and rectal irrigation purposes.
Laxative - Single-herb or combinations of herbs can be used for laxative purposes.
Breath Sweeteners - Eat breath-sweetening seeds such as caraway, fennel, or anise or steep these and other seeds and spices in Sherry to make breath-sweetening gargles and mouthwashes.
Liniment - Add dried to vinegar, oils, alcohol, or water to produce friction rub.
Tooth Preparations - Combine dried herbs and other materials for tooth aides.
Be Blessed
Willow
***
RECIPE
IRISH STEW
2 lbs. potatoes pared& cut into ½ in. thick slices
1 lb. onion sliced
3 lb. shoulder lamb
( or beef roast) into 1 ½ pieces
2 t. salt
¼ t. pepper
¼ t. leaf thyme crumbled
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. chopped parsley
Arrange layers of potatoes, onions and meat in heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, seasoning each level with salt pepper and thyme. Add just enough water to fill pan half the depth of ingredients. Cover. Bring just to boiling and reduce heat. Simmer 1 hour or until meat is tender. Add Worcestershire sauce. Season to taste. Sprinkle with parsley. Makes 6-8 servings.
***
THE LOGGERS
By C. Earl Ward
(Pete Ward)
Submitted by
Clyde E. Ward
Veedersburg, IN
Carl says, that trees mine
Charlie makes that saw whine
He cuts a notch with a couple of zips
Then bores the middle fast as a whip.
He cuts on the back, she hits the ground
Boy, you should hear that sound.
Charlie takes a breather
Then Carl cuts off a limb
Then log it off where it should be
When we go on to another tree.
Charlie says, that’s where it wants to go
I said, Charlie I don’t know.
Ronnie, he is standing by
Said, look at Charlie make that sawdust fly
They got another one on the ground
Carl looks at it with a frown
He gets the chalk and the ruler
He says boys, this is a fooler
It should make a 12 and 10
Then steps back and looks again
Cut two feet off the butt
Make the log worth twice as much.
Charlie, Carl and Ronnie take a chew
I smoke a cigarette, which I shouldn’t do
Charlie tells a joke, we all have a laugh
Then go on to another tree, just down the path.
(Charles Perry, Ronnie Ward, Carl Ward, C.E. Ward)
May 17, 1967 From the Wallace Abeix
***
Some of my first memories of my childhood was helping my dad in the woods. I don't know how much help I was Dad, but I was in the woods with him before I started grade school. I suppose I was company to him more than the actual work I did.
We owned a farm and our dad tried his hand at dairy farming, but he didn't get along too well with milk cows. It seemed that he always ended up back in the woods cutting down trees and hauling them to market to secure money for his family. The trees that we had on our farm were all but gone when I was a mere child. Dad would always end up cutting down trees that were on his mothers woods – a subject she did not approve of with dad.. When I was 6 years old Dad purchased 80 acres of woods near Cornell Wisconsin which he removed the timber from during the winter of 46 – 47. This was a short-lived project and we returned back to the farm. In the summer time dad planted soybeans and or corn and a little rye on his farmland. He even planted buckwheat one year. He said he wanted to be a “Grain Farmer”. I often think of this when I look around here at all the “Grain Farmers” around here. Of course my dad never had the equipment nor the amount of acreage that today's farmers have – then he never had the debt that todays farmers incur either.
Dad's method of logging was quite simple. All he needed was a cross-cut saw (with me on one end when I was no more than 6 or 7), an axe (He preferred the double bitted one), a “Swede Saw”, a cant hook and a horse. The Swede saw was a local name for a bow saw. This was used for smaller trees and the cross cut saw was used for larger trees. Chain saws were not yet available. When I am using my chain saws today, I often wonder what my dad would have given for one. After the tree was cut down and cut into the proper lengths, the log was hooked up to the horse and brought to the landing which was alongside of the road. There the log was unhooked from the horse and the process was repeated. After 2 or 3 trips back to the place where we were cutting the trees, the horse would walk back unattended for the next pull. When this became the case, I would stay at the landing and unhook the horse so the circuit could be completed without my dad or me needing to walk back and forth. I always thought that this was so neat and I still do. I believe it is simpler and better than the huge “Skidders” that are used today. A roadway was not necessary for a horse unlike the skidders, and you didn't need a man to drive the horse. When you logged this way, no one could scarcely tell that you had been in the woods. After enough logs were brought to the landing, they were hand loaded onto his old Ford flatbed truck and taken to market. This is where the cant hook came into play. The truck was backed up to the elevated landing and a couple of small logs were placed between the landing and the truck and the logs were rolled onto the truck with the aid of the cant hooks. This process was quite dangerous especially with larger logs. I don't remember taking logs longer than 8 on his old truck. Taking the logs to market was always the best part of the logging operation, because this is when my dad played the radio (if it worked) and sang the songs to me. We also would stop sometimes and buy some ice cream, a quart for him and a pint for me. I still have cravings for ice cream, but today I prefer to have my vanilla ice cream with wild berries – preferably black raspberries or black berries.
The majority of the logs that we took to market was poplar which was taken to Cornell for the paper factory there. It was necessary to “Peel” the logs in order to get the best price for your logs. Peeling meant stripping off the bark of the log. In the spring of the year this was pretty easy because the sap of the tree was flowing pretty good and the bark would slide off quite easily. In the summer and fall, this was a much more difficult process because the bark didn't come off nearly so easily. This was a job that my sister and I did while our dad was cutting the trees and the horse was bringing them to the landing. This is where my hatchet came into play. You could use an axe or a draw shave, but I preferred my hatchet that Grampa Dudenhoeffer gave me. You could take the pulpwood to market without peeling the logs but you didn't get as much money for them, indeed sometimes they wouldn't even accept them without being peeled.
Basswood was another tree that we cut and took to market. It is also known as American Linden. It was used to make baskets of all sorts, like bushel baskets, strawberry baskets, pints and quarts etc.
When dad got lucky he would find some hardwoods like oak or maple and these were cut and taken to a sawmill where they were cut up into lumber. These logs were generally cut to longer lengths than 8 foot and this necessitated getting someone else to haul the logs to market. This cut into the money that we got for the logs, this is probably why dad didn't cut too much hardwoods – plus it was more dangerous using the methods he used.
One day in early spring as the frost was coming out of the ground, dad got his truck stuck in the mud alongside of the road. While he was in the process of trying to pull it out with his horse, one of the fence posts that he was using to secure the logging chain came out of the ground and struck him in the leg, breaking it in 5 places. This disabled him for the summer of 1947. Mother and I took what logs dad had out on the landing to market in the old Ford truck. Money was tight, there was no insurance nor workman's compensation back then. I'm not sure how we made out, but it was sure nice having dad around all the time. Mother must have thought so too because the next summer my brother Kenneth was born. Dad's leg never healed quite right and it was decided that he and mom would start a Raleigh Route. This was in essence a door to door sales selling salves and spices and the like to farmers. It never did to well and mother took over the sales after dad got tired of it in a short period of time. Dad went back to logging.
The sound of a tree crashing down in the woods as it is being cut always brings back memories of my dad working in the woods and the fond memories of those long ago days.
Big Al
***
The world is but a canvas to the
imagination.-- Henry David Thoreau
***
What is the biggest attraction in town? The Williamsport Falls! They stand 90 feet tall. There is a creek that runs into the Falls. There are a lot of different animal's near the falls also.
Me and my friend Josie go to the falls with our mom's in the summertime. One time “Willow” was there and she said that when you look a certain way you can see an Indian face in the side of the falls.
There is a very nice pavilion near the road for looking at the falls. The town built this pavilion for visitors to enjoy. I think that thousands of people visit the falls in the summertime. When there is a lot of water on the falls they are really loud.
I read in a book that the falls were formed from glaciers that passed through during the ice ages. The Williamsport falls are the highest falls in Indiana.
Keep posted, next week I will be doing an article on a very special home in Williamsport.
IRISH STEW
2 lbs. potatoes pared& cut into ½ in. thick slices
1 lb. onion sliced
3 lb. shoulder lamb
( or beef roast) into 1 ½ pieces
2 t. salt
¼ t. pepper
¼ t. leaf thyme crumbled
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. chopped parsley
Arrange layers of potatoes, onions and meat in heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, seasoning each level with salt pepper and thyme. Add just enough water to fill pan half the depth of ingredients. Cover. Bring just to boiling and reduce heat. Simmer 1 hour or until meat is tender. Add Worcestershire sauce. Season to taste. Sprinkle with parsley. Makes 6-8 servings.
***
THE LOGGERS
By C. Earl Ward
(Pete Ward)
Submitted by
Clyde E. Ward
Veedersburg, IN
Carl says, that trees mine
Charlie makes that saw whine
He cuts a notch with a couple of zips
Then bores the middle fast as a whip.
He cuts on the back, she hits the ground
Boy, you should hear that sound.
Charlie takes a breather
Then Carl cuts off a limb
Then log it off where it should be
When we go on to another tree.
Charlie says, that’s where it wants to go
I said, Charlie I don’t know.
Ronnie, he is standing by
Said, look at Charlie make that sawdust fly
They got another one on the ground
Carl looks at it with a frown
He gets the chalk and the ruler
He says boys, this is a fooler
It should make a 12 and 10
Then steps back and looks again
Cut two feet off the butt
Make the log worth twice as much.
Charlie, Carl and Ronnie take a chew
I smoke a cigarette, which I shouldn’t do
Charlie tells a joke, we all have a laugh
Then go on to another tree, just down the path.
(Charles Perry, Ronnie Ward, Carl Ward, C.E. Ward)
May 17, 1967 From the Wallace Abeix
***
According To Big Al...
"Listen to what I mean... not what I say."
"Listen to what I mean... not what I say."
LOGGING
Some of my first memories of my childhood was helping my dad in the woods. I don't know how much help I was Dad, but I was in the woods with him before I started grade school. I suppose I was company to him more than the actual work I did.
We owned a farm and our dad tried his hand at dairy farming, but he didn't get along too well with milk cows. It seemed that he always ended up back in the woods cutting down trees and hauling them to market to secure money for his family. The trees that we had on our farm were all but gone when I was a mere child. Dad would always end up cutting down trees that were on his mothers woods – a subject she did not approve of with dad.. When I was 6 years old Dad purchased 80 acres of woods near Cornell Wisconsin which he removed the timber from during the winter of 46 – 47. This was a short-lived project and we returned back to the farm. In the summer time dad planted soybeans and or corn and a little rye on his farmland. He even planted buckwheat one year. He said he wanted to be a “Grain Farmer”. I often think of this when I look around here at all the “Grain Farmers” around here. Of course my dad never had the equipment nor the amount of acreage that today's farmers have – then he never had the debt that todays farmers incur either.
Dad's method of logging was quite simple. All he needed was a cross-cut saw (with me on one end when I was no more than 6 or 7), an axe (He preferred the double bitted one), a “Swede Saw”, a cant hook and a horse. The Swede saw was a local name for a bow saw. This was used for smaller trees and the cross cut saw was used for larger trees. Chain saws were not yet available. When I am using my chain saws today, I often wonder what my dad would have given for one. After the tree was cut down and cut into the proper lengths, the log was hooked up to the horse and brought to the landing which was alongside of the road. There the log was unhooked from the horse and the process was repeated. After 2 or 3 trips back to the place where we were cutting the trees, the horse would walk back unattended for the next pull. When this became the case, I would stay at the landing and unhook the horse so the circuit could be completed without my dad or me needing to walk back and forth. I always thought that this was so neat and I still do. I believe it is simpler and better than the huge “Skidders” that are used today. A roadway was not necessary for a horse unlike the skidders, and you didn't need a man to drive the horse. When you logged this way, no one could scarcely tell that you had been in the woods. After enough logs were brought to the landing, they were hand loaded onto his old Ford flatbed truck and taken to market. This is where the cant hook came into play. The truck was backed up to the elevated landing and a couple of small logs were placed between the landing and the truck and the logs were rolled onto the truck with the aid of the cant hooks. This process was quite dangerous especially with larger logs. I don't remember taking logs longer than 8 on his old truck. Taking the logs to market was always the best part of the logging operation, because this is when my dad played the radio (if it worked) and sang the songs to me. We also would stop sometimes and buy some ice cream, a quart for him and a pint for me. I still have cravings for ice cream, but today I prefer to have my vanilla ice cream with wild berries – preferably black raspberries or black berries.
The majority of the logs that we took to market was poplar which was taken to Cornell for the paper factory there. It was necessary to “Peel” the logs in order to get the best price for your logs. Peeling meant stripping off the bark of the log. In the spring of the year this was pretty easy because the sap of the tree was flowing pretty good and the bark would slide off quite easily. In the summer and fall, this was a much more difficult process because the bark didn't come off nearly so easily. This was a job that my sister and I did while our dad was cutting the trees and the horse was bringing them to the landing. This is where my hatchet came into play. You could use an axe or a draw shave, but I preferred my hatchet that Grampa Dudenhoeffer gave me. You could take the pulpwood to market without peeling the logs but you didn't get as much money for them, indeed sometimes they wouldn't even accept them without being peeled.
Basswood was another tree that we cut and took to market. It is also known as American Linden. It was used to make baskets of all sorts, like bushel baskets, strawberry baskets, pints and quarts etc.
When dad got lucky he would find some hardwoods like oak or maple and these were cut and taken to a sawmill where they were cut up into lumber. These logs were generally cut to longer lengths than 8 foot and this necessitated getting someone else to haul the logs to market. This cut into the money that we got for the logs, this is probably why dad didn't cut too much hardwoods – plus it was more dangerous using the methods he used.
One day in early spring as the frost was coming out of the ground, dad got his truck stuck in the mud alongside of the road. While he was in the process of trying to pull it out with his horse, one of the fence posts that he was using to secure the logging chain came out of the ground and struck him in the leg, breaking it in 5 places. This disabled him for the summer of 1947. Mother and I took what logs dad had out on the landing to market in the old Ford truck. Money was tight, there was no insurance nor workman's compensation back then. I'm not sure how we made out, but it was sure nice having dad around all the time. Mother must have thought so too because the next summer my brother Kenneth was born. Dad's leg never healed quite right and it was decided that he and mom would start a Raleigh Route. This was in essence a door to door sales selling salves and spices and the like to farmers. It never did to well and mother took over the sales after dad got tired of it in a short period of time. Dad went back to logging.
The sound of a tree crashing down in the woods as it is being cut always brings back memories of my dad working in the woods and the fond memories of those long ago days.
Big Al
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The world is but a canvas to the
imagination.-- Henry David Thoreau
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Mallory's “Take”
by: Mallory Kerst
by: Mallory Kerst
What is the biggest attraction in town? The Williamsport Falls! They stand 90 feet tall. There is a creek that runs into the Falls. There are a lot of different animal's near the falls also.
Me and my friend Josie go to the falls with our mom's in the summertime. One time “Willow” was there and she said that when you look a certain way you can see an Indian face in the side of the falls.
There is a very nice pavilion near the road for looking at the falls. The town built this pavilion for visitors to enjoy. I think that thousands of people visit the falls in the summertime. When there is a lot of water on the falls they are really loud.
I read in a book that the falls were formed from glaciers that passed through during the ice ages. The Williamsport falls are the highest falls in Indiana.
Keep posted, next week I will be doing an article on a very special home in Williamsport.
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CRYTOQUOTE
RVZTLFR
EXAMPLE
To solve the puzzle, one letter stands for another. As in the word "EXAMPLE" above "R" stands for "E". Sentence structure and grammar rules and sentence structure are another clue.
NSZ RVQBM TD GKN X WXHFXD NV NSV TJXPTHXNTVH. -
SZHQC MXFTM NSVQZXK
Last Weeks Answer
Three things can't be hidden: coughing, poverty, and love.
-- Anonymous
Here's a tip on this weeks puzzle: Z = E
CRYTOQUOTE
RVZTLFR
EXAMPLE
To solve the puzzle, one letter stands for another. As in the word "EXAMPLE" above "R" stands for "E". Sentence structure and grammar rules and sentence structure are another clue.
NSZ RVQBM TD GKN X WXHFXD NV NSV TJXPTHXNTVH. -
SZHQC MXFTM NSVQZXK
Last Weeks Answer
Three things can't be hidden: coughing, poverty, and love.
-- Anonymous
Here's a tip on this weeks puzzle: Z = E
