Mt Savage, Allegany County, Maryland

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The following speech was written and presented to the Homemakers Club by
Mary (Miller) Bowen, wife of William Anthony Bowen of Mt. Savage, Allegany
County, Maryland.

Introductory Note:

The history of Mt Savage was compiled from county and church records,
deeds, and history books.  Mrs. Mary Deffenbaugh was historian and director
of the Panorama.  Mrs. Margaret Haas directed the chorus.  The Homemakers
club wishes to thank the many people of Mt. Savage who contributed
anecdotes about the town's growth and helped to make the Panorama a
success.  April 29, 1953

"So come with me and help to turn the pages of history of these hills in
which we live, when it was not called Mt. Savage nor was there a Frostburg
or Cumberland either.  The people living here did not look like you or I
for they were not our ancestors.  They were the original owners of these
lands, the Shawaneeses or Shawnee of the great Algonquin Indian Family. 
This land was called co-lik-hanna; the land of sweet-waters.

Indian family life was simple, where food was within the reach of the
nearest stream, where farming was primitive and squash, corn, and beans
gave them a healthful diet.  The rain and snow and wind was kept at bay by
slabs of birchbark tied to the bent elm brough and lined with the skin of
deer.  Indeed we should be proud that on these lands once lived members of
the Indian family that met the Pilgrims at Plymouth, that produced the
great Indian Chief Pontiac and the beautiful princess Pocohantas.

The Shawaneeses were a peaceful people, but they often feuded with other
members of the Algonquin family such as the Iroquois or Cherokee, but woe
to the Indian nation that dared attack the great Algonquin family for the
one hundred tribes rose up and banded together and fought fiercely and
bravely.

The Shawneeses' religion was very simple, worshipping the great Thunderbird
for they knew when the thunder roared, rain fell soon afterwards on their
parched ground and made the crops abundant.  Their religious ceremony was a
simple prayer of thanksgiving and all the forest was their church.

PIONEER

It was nearly a hundred years after the landing of the Pilgrims before the
white man came to the foot of the Alleganies to permanently settle here. 
The pioneers lived in caves and it was trying at times fighting off the
Indians while clearing the land to farm and build homes.  Indeed only the
brave and strong could survive.  No wonder that they were called "THE HARDY
PIONEER".

The first relationship the white men had with the Indians was friendly. 
Much trade in furs was carried on between them.  Unscrupulous white men
often took advantage of the Indian's ignorance trading knives of inferior
quality and sometimes not living up to their agreement which naturally led
to resentments and killings.  However, men like Colonel Cresap earned the
respect of the Indians with his high code of honor and dealings.  The
Indians called him their white brother and when many of the tribe went
west, some remained here.  Chief Nemocolin was one of Colonel Cresap's
friends who refused to leave this territory.  When he died Colonel Cresap
looked after his son, Georges.  A fine honor was paid both father and son. 
Lonaconing was named after Chief Nemocoli and Georges Creek after his son
Georges.

Many of us do not realize the names of the hills, streams, and mountains
came down from these early settlers and Indians.  Dan's Mountain was named
after Colonel Cresap's son.  Even though Colonel Cresap had the love and
respect of the Indian Chiefs, the young Indians resented the intrusion of
the white men.  One day young Dan Cresap and a young Indian met at the top
of the mountain where they shot it out.  Neither was the victor for they
killed each other.  Wills Mountain also was named after an Indian called
"Will".  He and his family, too, refused to go to the west with his tribe,
but remained and lived in a cave up in the mountains.  A creek was named
after him and called "Wills Creek".  Even though the Indian has long passed
away, every creek, valley, and mountain reminds us that we are the
intruders and a great race has been lost in advancing civilization.


CAMP SETTLERS

As time went by the Indian was making his final stand in the Allegany
Mountains.  Their fierce resistance gave two of the ranges their names, Big
Savage and Little Savage.  However, by 1759 there were a few Indians left
who refused to go west with their tribe and stayed and remained on friendly
terms with the white settlers.  Many people had already moved into these
beautiful hills and valleys.  The Arnolds, Frosts, Mattinglys, Porters,
Workmans, Logadons, McKenseys and Deans were among the first to clear off
large sections and become our first citizens.  A little hamlet grew up at
the foot of Little Savage and was called Arnolds Settlement and in 1763
when Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed the dividing line between
Pennsylvania and Maryland it definitely placed the Arnold Settlement of the
Free State of Maryland in Southern Territory.  Many who owned lands added
to their acreage by fighting in the Revolutionary War.

Other Revolutionary Soldiers came after the war taking up their allotted
fifty acres the Government gave them.  The Trimbles, Brailers, Coombs and
many others came here at that time.  All new settlers were welcomed and
neighborly feeling prevailed.  Each helped the other clear lands, build log
and stone houses and stables, and in general helped to get settled.  The
children of these early settlers intermarried and took their place in a
growing community.  They are proud of their heritage and justly so.

An interesting story is told of the old Coombs Farm, now occupied by Mrs.
Ethel Conks (sp?).  It is called the "Curse of the Old Coombs Farm". 
Witchcraft and ghost stories are legend but this curse is of particular
interest.  It happened before the Civil War.  Mr. Ceese lived on the farm
at that time and he was a butcher.  A little girl came to the farm to buy
meat.  It is said a slave sicked a dog on her for picking up an apple in
the orchard and tore her to pieces.  The girl's mother put a "curse" on the
heads of the owners for "a hundred years" that they would die a violent
death.  Seven of the occupants did die very suddenly and five of them
violently.  The one hundred years are over now.  Let us hope the curse
passed with them.

QUILTING PARTY

Women, the homemaker, always down in their hearts wanting to beautify their
homes for their families to live in comfortably and to be pround of.  These
are the real mothers and wives.  How a small piece of wool was cherished
after cutting out father's suit and the boys pants from the homespun
material.  Small patches were hoarded for the hooked rugs.  In the same
manner pieces of linsy-woolsey were used for cushion covers, quilts and
rugs.  Pieces of gingham and calico made beautiful quilts and many of these
fine hand woven coverlets are cherished heirlooms today.  The "Crazy Patch"
silk quilts often furnished conversation for years after its making and
became a "I remember" quilt.  "I remember Aunt Suzy had a dress made of
this silk" - "I remember Mary's best dress was made of this" and "here is a
piece of Mother's wedding dress".  The "Log Cabin" was another favorite,
"The Workbasket" and "9 Patch".  Indeed a whole story could be written on
early quilts alone.  

There are many beautiful quilts and handwoven coverlets in some of the
homes in Mt. Savage that are over one hundred years old.


COAL MINING

"1824 saw the birth of the first regular incorporated coal company in the
Georges Creek region.  "The Maryland Mining Company".  The excellence of
the coal in this area had been established at an early age. 
Transportation, of course, was the handicap so the first coal was packed in
"hogsheads" and hauled to Cumberland where it was dumped onto coal barges
on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.  George Washington was greatly interested
in developing a water way connecting Southern Maryland and Virginia with
the Ohio River.  The building of railroads, however, soon solved the
transportation problem and the book of the Georges Creek Region was now on.
 Round hoppers on flat cars and dumped from the sides replaced the wooden
barrels.

The coal mines, however, could only work when the canal was free from ice. 
If the winter was long, the miners and their families often went hungry. 
Children tramped the hills hunting for the spring poke plant to push its
way through the earth to help out with food at home.  The welcome word soon
passed around "The Canal is free from ice" and miners sharpened their
picks, inserted new handles, for they knew that every day of work in the
summer meant food for the winter.  A miner was fortunate if he made $3.00 a
month during the winter.  However, when the railroad took over the coal
mining, work became plentiful the year around.

The life of the coal miner was hard.  He worked 14 to 16 hours a day, 6
days a week, to make a living, only seeing his children on Sunday.  Men
walked from 2 to 7 miles to the mines.  The C & P Railroad then put on a
car for the miners convenience and since only miners rode it, it was dubbed
"The Miners Car".  The work was hard and dirty.  It required much skill to
mine coal and keep a safe roof of timber over head.  One mistake could be
fatal.  A sharp crack of the timber gave the panic-stricken miners a
warning of trouble.  Water and gas were other threats to their lives.  But
coal mining was a challenge and miners would not trade their profession. 
It offered freedom from supervision.  As soon as a miner "broke off" a
"heading" it was his "room", his job.  He could work as long a day as he
wished and load as many cars as he wanted to.  Being American, he liked
this freedom and bit of independence.

Coal probably more than anything else helped keep the railroad
prosperous.  Before the motor bus the railroad did a brisk business with
passengers too.  Sometimes there were too many passengers for the coaches
so the officials would add on a flat car with benches across.  Of course,
passengers were exposed to the smoke and dust from the coal burning engine,
but people were not so particular in those days.  Many of us can still
remember the thrill of the big Sunday Event meeting the 4 o'clock train. 
Of course, no one actually meant to meet anyone in particular, but it was
nice to watch who did get off the train.

Yes, coal mining affected everyone's lives in this area and even if the big
vein coal is gone, one  cannot imagine a Georges Creek Region without coal
or coal miner even if the city people who had never been near a coal mine
thought a coal miner was an animal or a worm.

One beloved notable miner in the Georges Creek Region was Davy J. Lewis,
Congressman for the Sixth Congressional District for many years and father
of Parcel Post, who received his higher education from Rev. Knott,
Episcopal Minister here.  Another notable person from the Georges Creek
Region was His Eminence Edward, Cardinal Mooney, son of a coal miner.

BRICK YARD

Although Mt. Savage eventually became noted for its bricks, the first
bricks used were imported from England for the blast furnaces.  Clay was
found when geologists were exploring for ores.  Although the iron ore was
of inferior quality, the clay was of the finest and about the year 1839 a
small building was built for making brick.  The first plant was back of the
present railroad depot but, after the blast furnaces and rolling mills were
abandoned, the clay company moved into quarters on Calla Hill extending on
down to the present locations and Mt. Savage really became a brick
manufacturing town.  

Coal was used from the local mines which gave rise to a long period of
prosperity in manufacturing bricks, mining coal and building engines and
cars at the railroad shops.  Clay was shipped to other manufacturing towns
that made cement, lime pottery and enamel ware.  When the brick building
beside the railroad tracks was built in 1881 the lumber came from the
dismantled Philadelphia Exposition.

Many Irish, Welsh and English came here to work in the rolling mills but
after the ores proved a failure and mills shut down, they went to work in
the brickyard and coal mines.

The brickyard was lucky to get one John Davis, a Welsh former rolling mill
worker.  He was of tremendous height and strength.  His job was to
straighten the crooked rails with a 100 pound mall.  He was the only man
who could lift and swing it.  The mall is still at the brick yard and it is
referred to as "The John Davis".

The Mt. Savage Brick Yard over a period of years has seen some good and
some bad times.  We hope to see it return to its former prosperity and
again take its rightful place in this community.

In the early deeds and records this community was called Lulworth because
the Lulworth Iron Company once owned the clay and manufacturing rights. 
But much later the name Mt. Savage appeared when it was sold again, taking
its name from the one the people living around here preferred.  As a matter
of record, however, the community that was slowly growing up around the
brisk yard, blast furnaces and railroads, was called "Savage Mountain
Hamlet", but as the town grew larger, the Hamlet was dropped and "Savage
Mount" continued in use for many years.  Whether the "Mt. Savage" had a
more lyrical sound than "Savage Mount" we do not know, but it became
reversed and ever after was called Mt. Savage.

BAND

"The Civil War had been over for sometime and men returned to family life
again.  Henry Nicodemus, Josh Leasure, Col. Aldridge, Pete Conway and Tom
Broadwick were among the men who fought to preserve the Union.  Probably
the greatest glory should go to Mr. Broadwick who fought in thirty-two (32)
engagements.  Among them were Antietam, Gettysburg and Bull Run and as Mr.
Broadwick often remarked "Those who didn't run are still there".  But in
Mt. Savage, the threat "The Rebels are coming" would send the people into a
panic.  In case of an invasion of Cumberland, arrangements had been made
with officials of the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company to warn
the people in this area.  All engines would be dispatched from Cumberland
with whistles _______ and bells ringing furiously.  Many people living
today heard their parents relate stories of this warning.

So the Union was preserved and people became more interested in more
cultured things than war.  A band was organized sometime between 1870 and
1880 that lasted for many years.  Some of the directors were Mr. Booth, Mr.
Mothersole, Mr. Geotz and Mr. Lemmert.  The band was named after the Union
Mining Company and was called "The Union Cornet Band".  Ed and Charley
Geotz, Geo. Lutz, Lou and Walt Witte, Chris Lemmert, Harry Best, Mose
Lowery, Doc Sheetz, Howard Aldridge, Geo Biddington, Herb and Harry Porter,
Clarence, Bill and Norman Riedler, Tom Evers, Harry Rizer and many others
were members.

In spite of the transportation difficulties they managed to play in the
surrounding towns at conventions and celebrations.  They always held a
little celebration of their own after the parades and when "round up time"
came at the end of the evening a few always "turned up missing" and were
left behind.  Once the band played at Bedford for the Odd Fellows
Convention and Johnny Lemmert didn't return for four days.  They often
received odd requests.  At the Ancient Order of Hibernians Reunion in
Westernport they were so fond of one band selection "Coon Band Contest"
that the Irish refused to allow them to play anything else.

The band really branched out though when a political party from West
Virginia called the "Flying Squadron" toured Allegany County in behalf of
the "Dry" Political Party and hired the Union Cornet Band to play.  They
made a rather unusual appearance too with their gold spiked helmets and
split tail coats.  Of course, the uniforms were of medium size and the
extra large man had his hat perched on top of his head.  Hands and feet
extended far beyond the cuffs.  On the other hand the extra small man had
his hat slid down over his ears.  Rolled cuffs kept slipping down and
tripping him often to his embarrassment.  But the old folks will tell you
these moments are precious and they REALLY were the days.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Fire Department of Mt. Savage has always been a purely voluntary
affair.  Detailed men connected with the railroad shop responded in case of
a fire in the town.  George Barth was the shop chief.  However, there were
few fire plugs in town, mostly near the shops and railroad.  The early
equipment was hose wrapped around a two wheeled jig pulled by four men. 
The Fire Department was officially organized in 1893 and incorporated in
1894 and has been an organization ever since.  It became Fire Department
No. 1.  The first fire truck was gasoline driven and bought in 1925.  The
Company has purchased over a period of years about four trucks.  Shop
whistles warned the people of a fire.  The first fire house was over near
the Roundhouse.  It is now occupied by the Ross Lumber Company.  Just
recently it was demolished.  In 1925 the Fire Company became a member of
the Maryland State Association.

Mt. Savage has many things to be proud of - The Bruce House on a farm near
Mt. Savage was the summer home of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt
when he was a boy.  Just as any other boy he liked to play games,
particularly tennis, and, like any neighbor's child, would run over to Mrs.
Miller, who lived on the Coombs' Farm, and eat her good German Kooken Roll.
 So Mt. Savage is proud to be the home of President, Congressman, Cardinal
and Bishop.  So too the Fire Department made Fireman History by winning
prizes in competition with fire departments of other towns.  Its colorful
uniforms, its marching ability makes the people of Mt. Savage proud of its
Fire Department.

POST OFFICE

We think that the first post office was in a commissary, a store owned and
operated by the Maryland Coal and Iron Company on Calla Hill.  Mail was
just a side line.  Certain hours of the day the manager would call out the
names on all the letters and if you were there to get your mail, all well
and good, if not, you waited until it was time to call out again.  Of
course, if you bought anything the manager was more agreeable and would run
through the mail for you.  However, he never allowed the mail to interfere
with business.  If a prospective customer walked in while he was calling
out - John Smith, Joe Brailer, Mary Ann Richards - why the mail stopped
until he waited on the customer.  He might sell a barrel of flour, 50 fls.
sugar, 5 gallons of whisky, some rye coffee and crackers, but not until the
customer was waited on before he returned to the business of the
Government.

True to custom the post office moved to wherever the center of the greatest
population was.  For several years it was down on Railroad Street, and then
to the C & P Depot, where Mr. Fred Cline was postmaster.  Even that was not
close enough to the center of town.  It was moved to its present site over
fifty years ago.  Over the years, the service has improved and the post
office now gives fine service to the community.

THE VARNUM HOUSE OF MT. SAVAGE

The Varnum House was the first hotel, first boarding house, and so many
other firsts.  A large red building named after the man who built it for
the Maryland and New York Coal and Iron Company, it contained fifty-five
rooms and a large ball room.  Heated with pot-bellied stoves, lit with
candles and later with coal oil lamps.  Every bedroom had a wash bowl and
pitcher and slop jar instead of a bathroom.  A beautiful spiral staircase
wound from the first floor to the fourth.  A large sign across the front,
painted black and white, read VARNUM HOUSE.  The hotel that housed many an
aristocrat, blacksmith, boilermaker and machinist when the C & P Railroad
Shops built their engines.  Where Old Doc Hawkins, Doc Quarrels and Doc
Brown all had their offices on the first floor.  Where the plant Supt.
Henry Shrines stayed.  Where merchants plied their trade in large store
rooms on the first floor.  Where McMullen Brothers' store gave bags of
candy, cigars, enough gingham or calico to make an apron for paying one's
store bill in full.  Where traveling salesmen could stay over night for
$.50 for a bed, $.25 for breadkast, and food and shelter for their horse in
the stable for $.25 extra..  Where Mrs. Ryland, Mrs. Hergott and Mrs. Cook
dispensed hospitality as the hostesses.  Where its reputation as a summer
resort was  known all along the Eastern Seaboard.  Where all the men about
town came to meet the guests and hear their praises of the beautiful hills
and valleys.

No doubt the admiration of these guests inspired one of our own citizens,
Mr. Charley Geatz (sp?) to write and have published a beautiful song about
these hills.  It was called "Mid the Rugged Hills of Maryland".

The Varnum House was torn down in 1924, and a Mt. Savage landmark passed
into history.

BARBER SHOP

The first two barbers in Mt. Savage were Mr. Jack Williams and Mr. Jim
Chisley.  It was unusual for these two gentlemen to have lived in Mt.
Savage, because they were colored and not many colored people ever lived
here.  Jack's shop was located where the C & P Railroad office now stands. 
Jim Chisley's shop was on Railroad Street.  In about 1895 John, better
known by his nickname "Gary Farrell" opened a barber shop on Main Street. 
It was under Mr. Farrell the the Noonan brothers learned their trade, and
one brother, Shad, is still in business.

The barber shop quartet grew out of a love of companionship and musical
harmony, and it did not take long to find out whose voices harmonized
together and a quartet was born.  This is a truly American development, and
many towns have contests by "The Barber Shop Quartet" to develop music in
the community.  This is one American custom that should be preserved.

DOCTOR

Mt. Savage began to take on a metropolitan look with its shops, churches,
stores and railroads, but it was not until 1870 that the town could boast
of having a doctor.  Cumberland doctors responded to an emergency.  Before
this Granny was the chief functionary, being most handy with castor oil,
sulphur and molasses and the herb pot.  Mrs. Smith helped her neighbor Mrs.
Brown through her confinements, looking after the mother, new baby, Mr.
Brown, and all the Brown brood, along with her own family.  A few months
later Mrs. Brown returned the compliment.  A good neighborly feeling
existed, depending of course upon necessity.  What the doctor lacked in
medical knowledge, he made up in loyalty and dependency.

The "clippity clop" of his horse's hooves could be heard above the teeming
rain or howling wind.  Indeed the doctor with his magic pills could turn a
sorrowful household to one of joy.  Dr. Thompson with his familiar black
case and his more familiar black beard was the town's first doctor.  Then
came Dr. Hawkins and within the memory of the oldsters of this community,
Dr. Quarrels, Dr. Murray and many others.

Mt. Savage often used a doctor of another profession, Dr. Fechtig, who was
a combination dentist and farmer.  Stories are told how Dr. Fechtig would
stop in the middle of milking a cow, pull an aching tooth and return to his
milking chore, all without the benefit of hand washing or changing clothes.
 Sanitation didn't enter into the picture so much in those days. 
Competition sprang up when Dr. Sheetz came to town and people still point
proudly to their fillings and say "You know Old Doc Sheetz did that".  Doc
Sheetz was a combination dentist and carpenter too.  But Dr. Thompson was
family doctor, family counsellor and friend.

RAILROAD

After the turn of the century from 1810 to 1845 a great change was seen in
Mt. Savage.  Industrial growing pains resulting from the discovery of coal,
clay and minerals.  A small creek, Jennings Run, flowing through our town
got its name from a geologist exploring for ores.  Between 1810 and 1850
many changes took place.  Rolling mills, blast furnaces, manufacturing of
bricks, mining of coal, all added to the town's growth.  In 1844 Mt. Savage
went down in history for producing the first solid track rail in the United
States.  Fortunes were lost, however, when a better grade of ore was found
near Pittsburgh and Mt. Savage's dream of an Industrial Iron City was
doomed.

When the rolling mills were built, many English people came to work in
them.  Due to the discovery and development of iron, clay and coal, it was
only natural a need for a railroad would follow.  Building railroads was a
hard and laborous task and much work was done by strong backs and willing
hands.  Much credit should go to the Irish and Germans for their
contribution of labor.  When the railroad from Cumberland to Mt. Savage was
built, a massive man (6ft. 4in) weighing 240 pounds was hired for foreman. 
His name was Eckhart.  Fights broke out frequently between the fighting
Irish and stubborn Germans, but then the hugh Mr. Eckhart waded in with
bare fists, and if the fighting resembled a small battle, he resorted to a
heavy club.  Lumpy heads and bruised backs gave evidence of a brisk hour of
fighting.

In 1846 when the first train with its large wide funnel belching black
smoke, its big wheels attached to the driving rods that went high in the
air to make a wheel revolution which made the engine look like a leaping
grasshopper, people came from far and near and stood along the tracks to
watch this monstrous work horse, rattling and panting by .  Filled with
enthusiasm and wanting to show their approval they shouted "Hurrah for Polk
and Dallas" who at that time were President and Vice President of the
United States.  Just 100 years ago this month, after many changes of names,
this railroad was re-named and we now know it as the Cumberland and
Pennsylvania Railroad Company.

BICYCLE RIDING

A note of dissent crept into the good times, when the Spanish American War
broke out and Mt. Savage had its full quota of volunteers.  John
Nickodemus, Robert Andrews, Harry Holtzman and Harry Rizer went off under
the command of the late Phil Roman.  However, none were killed, and they
were glad to return to their families.  Mt. Savage resumed its gay
pleasures, which led to many courtships.  There was nothing better to
further this cause than a long bicycle ride.  The Sunday afternoon ride up
to Allegany, pushing up Moss Cottage Hill; stopping at Paul's Store to buy
peppermints and licorice candy; resting in the shade of the big oak trees
along the straight; sometimes watching the gypsies in their bright costumes
camped there; sometimes having their fortunes told; speeding homeward
before supper.  The swift wind carrying a marriage proposal over his
shoulder, but her keen ears caught it despite the noise.

Enjoyable days in the enjoyable era.  From the "Gay Nineties" to the early
days of the Twentieth Century.

SQUARE DANCING

Mt. Savage had another side to its life besides industry, religion and
education.  It was its ability to have fun.  Winter time with its ice
skating and bob sledding.  Summertime with its bicycling, buggy riding and
its enjoyable Saturday night dancing, church picnics and the wonderful 4th
of July Family Picnic, $1.00 a family.  How we looked forward to that
wonderful day.  Everyone wondering what the weather would be.  A cloud
could send us into despair, and the sun into joy.  How could that old rain
come on a day like this?  The grand memories of those picnics.  The band
parading up to the "Blackberry" or "Welshes Meadow" or Moss Cottage".  Two
ball games, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  We knew the game
had started when "kill the umpire" and "you old cheats go on home" rang out
from the grand stands.  Well, we won and we admit the other team was pretty
good but we knew they couldn't beat our boys.  Then came the contests.  How
we would groan and swear that "that feller from Corrigansville that beat
our best runner cheated.  The judge was a relative of his anyway".  How we
laughed at the sack race and the three legged race.  Then came the
ball-throwing - "Yes Sir, that young laddie buck of mine could make the
big-leagues, --look how easy he threw the ball the farthest".  And a proud
father threw out his chest.  Then the ladies tried and each demonstrated
how perfectly helpless she was by tossing the ball a few yards.  The one
mother who embarrassed her whole family by heaving off and in a very
unladylike manner threw it over the tree tops.  How they watched the lucky
ones at the grab bag stands and the paddle wheels.  Then came the
children's treat; bags of candy and peanuts.  All the ice-cold lemonade one
could drink.  Men - 3 deep around the beer stand - it was free too.  Mother
hunting around for a good level site to spread the cloth for dinner.  How
Mother proudly removed the table cloth from the chip basket or clothes
basket, depending upon the size of the family, and lifted the bowls of
potato salad, slaw, pickled beets, baked ham, rolls, and then to her utter
confusion and embarrassment, the banana cake covered with ants.  Mothers
vying with each other to get the visiting baseball players to eat with
them.  The scornful look Mother gave Father when he came back to eat
without one of the visiting heroes.

When we were so filled up we couldn't move and we wondered why every day
couldn't be the 4th of July.  But we soon were on our feet to watch the
balloon, large as a room go upward and veer eastward out of sight,
thrilling us through and through.  How tired everyone was at the end of the
day and how glad we were that we didn't have to walk but could ride in
Patty Welsh's horse drawn bus back to town.  Bed looked so good to tired
little bodies.  But the nights belonged to youth.  The day's events were
only to warm up for the square dance at night.  How we helped big sister
pull the corset strings tighter and tighter.  One would die if one's waist
was over 18 inches.  Mother helping to button up the blouse in the back and
sister fluffing out the ruffled front and all the girl friends collecting
at our house and admiring each others clothes.  This evening of fun was
only equalled by the Saturday night dance at Locust Grove.  The open air
pavilion is gone now but the memories will still linger on.  The fiddlers
tuning up and the figure caller strutting around and announcing "the first
dance is free Ladies and Gentlemen".  How disgusted the young ladies and
men were to see all those kids crowding on the floor taking advantage of
the free dance.  The daring young man who swings his girl completely off
her feet and she didn't mind too much because she had on her new ruffled
petticoat.  The Saturday night fights over the best looking girl.  The
insects danced just as merrily around the torches stuck on polls and nailed
to the Locust Trees.  And the music!  Has there ever been anything written
to better dance  to than "Oh Dem Golden Slippers" or "Climbing Up De Golden
Stairs"?  Priceless memories to be lived over and over again.

SLEIGHING

Courtship changes with the changing times and the gay blades of the gay
nineties looked forward to the snow packed roads for evening sleigh riding
parties.  Mr. Jim Jenkins drove his prancing horses hooked to a low long
straw filled sled and hot bricks to keep warm, bundled up to avoid the
biting cold.  But the young men with their best girl friends did not worry
about cold for they were all snugly tucked down on blanket covered straw
with quilts over their laps and one protecting arm around his lady fair.

It was a long drive in those days down to Barrellsville up a winding road
to Wellersburg and the horses were whipped up to a brisk trot to pull up
before the Moses Inn with a flourish.  Out piled the squealing gang to warm
up with a cup of rye coffee and a brisk square dance, while the driver
warmed himself over a hot toddy.

The story is told about a rather unattractive young lady who always went
stag, but this particular sleigh ride she appeared with a young man in tow.
There was no room left inside the sled and she decided this was her lucky
night and they would ride the tail end of the sled.  It was a bitterly cold
night and by the time they arrived at the Wellersburg Inn her feet and
hands were nearly frozen.  Doses of hot toddy and brisk rubbing of her
hands and feet restored some of the circulation.  Her girl friend, provoked
with the near casualty said "Why didn't you swing your legs and clap your
hands to keep yourself warm"?  "Oh", she said, "I couldn't.  I was afraid
to move.  I was afraid he would take his arm away".

Can't you see on the return trip the horses trotting a little faster making
the bells jingle more merrily and side lanterns keeping time, swinging to
and fro, to get home to a warm stall.  Can't you just hear the boys
shouting "Don't go so fast Mr. Jenkins, we don't want to get home before
10:00".  Can't you hear the girls giggling and complaining they have no
room and to stop taking all the blankets.  Yes, sleigh riding was one of
the good times in the Gay Nineties.

FIRST WORLD WAR

Wars have left their mark on every town, but none more than Mt. Savage. 
Many marched off to war and sailed the ocean and fought to preserve
democracy and to keep Europe free from dictatorships.  Twice within a
period of thirty years was war to take its toll.  As we show the next and
final scene from World War l, we invite you to stand and sing with us
"America the Beautiful" in honor of all the soldiers of Mt. Savage who have
fought in America's wars from the Revolution down to the Korean War.

(End)