USA > Maryland > Montgomery County > Sandy Spring > Annals of Sandy Spring history of a rural community in Maryland, Volume III > Part 17
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dicitis ; and on the 17 her body was laid in the meet- ing-house yard.
Most of the summers of her short life had been spent with relatives in this vicinity, so her death was a personal loss to many here, who therefore sympath- ize the more in the deep bereavement of her parents.
August 18-21, the County Fair was held at Rock- ville, and in every way it was most successful. The attendance, the exhibit and the balance sheet were all quite satisfactory, and this is the more gratify- ing because of the great improvement in the moral complexion of the show. There seems to have been no criticism of the Fair on that score this year.
This summer brought one of those revivals of horseback riding, which come "about once in so often," but the girls seem to have had a monopoly of the amusement. Several possible reasons for this present themselves, and as it is not easy to decide which is the right one, everyone is hereby offered a chance to settle the question for himself : First, there may have been such a scarcity of riding horses that the damsels and escorts could not all find mounts at. `once. Second, it may have been the dearth of young men that left the maids to ride alone. Third, per- haps it may have been the divided skirt! For the riding-habit with sweeping folds, and the side-saddle were "relegated to innocuous desuetude," and in safety, comfort and modesty, the girls bestrode their steeds and rode.
Conservatism frowned and carped, as "'tis its nature to," but enlightened public opinion and com-
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mon sense, backed by science, as represented by the medical profession, gave approval; in which, no doubt, the horses would join if consulted on the ques- tion.
August was rainy, with prevailing east winds, and often so cold that a fire to sit by was not uncomfort- able; indeed there was not a month in the year 1903, when we could sit without a fire altogether.
September 9, Cornelia Ashby, daughter of Eliza M. H. and Washington B. Chichester, was born at Springland.
September 13, Caroline Miller, daughter of New- ton and Mary H. Stabler, was born at Elburn.
September 14, Sherwood school entered upon a new term, with Ida Palmer Stabler at its head ; Sallie P. Brooke, Faith Farquhar and Harriet W. Sheppard were assistants, and the enrollment has ranged from fifty to sixty through the year.
The new steam heating plant, new sheds, and a trim wire fence put the premises in better condition than ever before, but scarlet fever, measles, and mumps made many and long interruptions in the attendance of teachers as well as pupils.
For the first time since Swarthmore opened its doors to students, Sandy Spring sent no representa- tive there, for Nora L. Stabler took her A. B. degree in June and there was no one to succeed her.
September 15, at Mt. Airy, Benjamin Miller Thom, son of William Taylor and the late Elizabeth P. M. Thom, died, aged eight years.
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He was a boy of bright intelligence, and of such ready, winning friendliness that old and young alike were drawn to him, and few children of his age would be missed by so wide a circle of friends of all ages and conditions as mourn for him.
September 16, Elizabeth Earl, daughter of George A. and Sara F. Willson, was born at Longmead.
That the value of ensilage is more and more ap- preciated by the farmers hereabouts, is shown by the construction of many new silos, and the increase in the amount of silage stored.
The wet summer made the growing season longer than usual, so corn cutting came very late, and, as a natural consequence, seeding was late also, and the wheat had made but a slight start when freezing weather began.
Corn made a good yield, and brought a higher price than for some years past. But apples were the star crop of the year; there were bushels and bushels of them everywhere; they wasted by the cart-load in many an orchard, and an appalling amount of cider was made, with deplorable results-though many families stored fruit that is still in good condition (in April).
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In September the largest poultry deal that ever occurred in the County, was consummated by Ed- ward P. Taylor, who sold to the managers of St. Agnes Academy, at Mt. Washington, 1110 white Leg- horn chickens.
It was not until October 8, that the leaves began to
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turn, and but little color showed for a week after that; then the autumn suddenly enveloped the world in tints, rich rather than gay, and for the first time since spring, the landscape lost its verdure; 1903 will always be remembered as a cool, green summer. The trees were not bare till the 7 November.
October 11 died John Murphy, who worked faith- fully on the Union Turnpike for many years, with a cheerful greeting for all who passed.
October 22, a meeting was held at the Lyceum to try and collect specimens of grain, fruit, etc., to be exhibited at the St. Louis Fair. The attendance was small, and the number of exhibitors smaller, but the display was creditable to those who took the trouble to bring their produce. The show of apples was par- ticularly fine, and there was some handsome corn, besides a miscellaneous collection of vegetables, and such flowers as the frost had spared.
Perhaps the most note-worthy exhibit was a sam- ple of crimson clover hay from Dr. Augustus Stab- ler's barn, which was charred to a cinder by sponta- neous combustion ; and the whole mowful had been, with difficulty, prevented from blazing, after having been stored for five months.
Excellent speeches were made by William L. Amoss, Director of Farm Institutes, H. J. Patter- son of the Experiment Station, and Mr. Shamel, of Ills., the corn expert. £ All present enjoyed a social day, and a picnic dinner under the red and gold of the autumn woods so much that it was voted to have
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a similar gathering next fall, though more on the lines of the Horticultural Exhibition of former years.
"For a number of years the 'fox-hunting page' in several sporting magazines has been taken up with a discussion of the relative prowess of the southern fox- hound and the northern fox; the southern hunter con- tending that his hounds could kill any fox, and the northerner as emphatically denying it.
"In order to test the matter for all time a very rich Club of Massachusetts voted to invite three fox- hunters from as many States to bring their respective packs to a field trial of fox-hounds at Barre, the Club to pay all of their guests' expenses, from the time of leaving home till their return. John C. Bentley was selected to represent this State.
"The time, October 14, was an ideal season for the trip to a most beautiful farming section of Massachu- setts, the country abounding in high, cleared hills, from which the hunt could be seen and heard to perfection.
"The hunting party comprised about fifty men and women, and ninety hounds from all parts of the United States and Canada.
"The Northern fox-hunters had also offered $100 prize to any hound which could catch a northern fox in a fair race, and $25.00, or silver cups for speed, endurance and hunting.
"Although the Yankee fox was too smart to be caught by any hound, in the trials a Maryland dog won the silver cup, and acquired such a reputation
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that a number of our dogs have been sold for from $50.00 to $100.00, with demand far in excess of the supply ; and nearly all the winners could trace their ancestry to Maryland stock." (J. C. B.)
On October 7, Colonel John Sobieski of Califor- nia lectured to a small audience at the Lyceum. If events abroad had fallen out differently some years since, this gentleman might now be King of Poland, instead of an advocate of the Prohibition party in the United States. How are the mighty fallen !
All through the fall and early winter the neighbor- hood was in a state borderinng on panic over the scarlet fever. It was epidemic in a mild form among the colored population, who were utterly regardless of quarantine regulations, and one was daily expecting to meet the infection in the road, or at the store, or to have it introduced into the house through the family wash, if it did not directly invade the kitchen.
The Board of Health was at its wits' end, and the school committee seriously considered the pro- priety of closing Sherwood, when four families patro- nizing the school developed cases of the disease.
At last, through some agency-though just what it was does not appear-the spread of the disease was checked ; but when Cloverley, Charley, Forest, Plain- field and Ingleside were quarantined for from six weeks to five months, it was a serious matter; the only bright feature of the case being that there was no fatal illness.
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November 3, election day, seemed a "walk-over" for Gorman and ring rule in our State, and the Presi- dential "boom" of the astute Senator from Maryland appeared to be ready for effective service. But the Legislature proved refractory when it came to choos- ing him a colleague, and his candidate failed of elec- tion to the Senate; that was a serious blow to the "boom ;" and when the Hon. Arthur emerged from the Panama tangle, the White House gates were no longer ajar for him.
Sandy Spring also had its political aspirations and disappointments this fall. Roger B. Farquhar stood for Judge of the Orphans' Court, and Mortimer O. Stabler ran for the House of Delegates.
Our County has, however, no cause to complain of the Legislature, for it passed the bill strengthening our Local Option law, prepared by the Anti-Saloon League, at the suggestion, and with the approval of Judge Henderson.
November 9, Joseph Elliott, son of Huldah New- . some and Joseph E. Janney, was born at Harwood.
In November the usual flitting of our migratory population cityward was, most of it, accomplished. Longwood farm having been sold to Laurie Riggs, Louisa P. and George F. Nesbitt went to live in Wil- mington Del., to the regret of their many friends here.
Benjamin and Lydia T. Hallowell went to Lans- downe, Pa .. and William W. and Mary E. Moore sought refuge in Washington from the terrors of winter in the country.
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And such a winter! From November 20 to the first of March there were only three days of thaw, so, many usual pieces of fall "fixing" remained, per- force, undone, and the extra time thus at our dis- - posal was devoted to augmenting the wood pile and the coal supply. Winter plowing was out of the ques- tion, but ice was excellent and abundant !
By the irony of Fate, Lydia Way, a Friend from Center County, Pa., was led to Sandy Spring this winter, in search of a mild climate, but a few weeks at Cozy Corner destroyed her illusions concerning the "sunny South" and she soon returned whence she came, taking with her her niece Alice.
From November 12-18, Sarah T. Miller served as a delegate to the National W. C. T. U. convention in Cincinnati, Ohio.
December 10, M. Beatrix Tyson was married to Samuel Canby Rumford at Marden, by Rev. W. P. Henderson, of the P. E. Church, and went to live in Wilmington, Delaware.
On December 19, Sarah Needles died, and though her death occurred in Baltimore, which had always been her home, some notice of it seems appropriate here because for sixty-two years, beginning in 1842, she had spent the whole, or a part of every summer in Sandy Spring.
December 19, Edward P. Thomas and Sons cele- brated the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Belmont Dairy, in Washington, by issuing a neat booklet containing pictures of their places of busi-
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ness, and statistics of its growth since 1893. Then the firm disposed of the produce of one farm, now about forty are tributary to it, and over 360,000 gal- lons of milk were handled in the last year of the decade.
The number of eggs from this section sold through the Dairy Company has increased many fold and is still increasing; nevertheless during 1903 they aver- aged $.23 5/6 cents a dozen, for the year.
The sausage factory is another important phase of the business, and during the season just ended they handled some twenty-five and one-half tons of pork, which produced for market approximately thirteen and one-half tons of sausage, three and one-half tons of scrapple, four tons of lard, three-fourths of a ton of ribs, and half a ton of loins, chines, souse, etc .; leaving on hand lots of hair, bone and squeal !
Just before Christmas, the new house built by Lucy Gilpin, at Sandy Spring, being finished, was occupied by Ida P. Stabler and her four little child- ren, Cornelia Stabler and Eliza H. Miller, and they christened it Holly Cottage.
On December 30, Gertrude Nye gave one of her charming piano recitals; and because of the bitter cold, the ladies of Alloway placed their beautiful rooms and fine instrument at her service-therefore the audience had double pleasure that afternoon.
Another event of the holiday week was a delightful concert at the Lyceum, given by Dr. Packard Laird,
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of Philadelphia, Miss Goodwin and Miss Spofford, of Washington, and Miss Nye.
January 7, Richard T. Leizear died.
For many years tenant on Mt. Airy farm, his was a familiar figure about Ashton, and his strict honesty, and his kindly nature were worthy of all praise.
George I. Banes took the place made vacant by Richard Leizear's death, moving his family from Baltimore County to Sandy Spring about the begin- ning of March.
January 11-12, the Montgomery County Farmers' Institute was held at Kensington, concerning which one or two significant facts may be noted; at least seventy-five per cent. of those in attendance were from Sandy Spring; the Kinsington people were con- spicuous by their absence; and the luncheon was not of a kind likely to increase the reputation of the caterer who furnished it. The only advantage of Kensington as a place of meeting was that it gave us a chance to feel that Sandy Spring is not the worst place for an Institute !
The proceedings were doubtless of value, as the speakers were authorities on the manipulation of cow- pea hay, and the management of dairy stock, but they were far less potent characters than some who have preceded them here in Institute work, and therefore of less effect.
January 20 the first meeting of the Wednesday Club was held at Norwood. This latest addition to
!
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the family of Sandy Spring societies is limited to twenty members; those present at the first session were Helen L. Thomas, president; Virginia Mc. P. Stabler, secretary; Margaret C. Bancroft; Mary Moore Thomas; Mary E. Thomas; Mary Magruder; Alice V. Farquhar; and Rebecca T. Miller; and the subject of study for the winter-Spain-has been most interestingly developed.
At Edgewood, the home of Hannah B. Stabler, on January 25, her sister, Caroline Taylor, died, aged seventy-two years. Her body was taken to Lincoln, Va., for burial.
"A review of the quiet, unobstrusive life of this friend, so lately taken from us, recalls the text- 'Blessed are the pure in heart,' and gives the com- . forting assurance to relatives and friends that with her all is well, and that the loss is ours alone. Sel- dom have we known one so forgetful of self, while sparing no effort to contribute to the comfort and happiness of those about her.
"Her humble spirit would desire no eulogy, and yet hers was a rare example of the Christian virtues in the quiet home life, and we who are yet left to finish our work here should be the better for having known her." (Friends' Intelligencer.)
In spite of frequent reference to weather in these pages a few words concerning the snow storm of Jan- uary 28, need no apology. Such "beautiful snow" might well have inspired a poet, or excused a com- mon mortal for aspiring to poetry! It was of such light and feathery texture that it seemed hardly to
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rest on the ground, but to hover over it, each crystal catching the light and sparkling like a jewel. Every surface large enough held at least a tuft of this foamy whiteness, and on the mornings of the 29-30 the work-a-day world was transformed into super- natural beauty. Every tiniest twig and grass blade was deeply frilled with hoar frost, until the most un- sightly objects in nature were glorified by their radiant dress ; even the rag-weeds in the stubble fields were arrayed in point lace and diamonds-a "joy for ever" in the memory of all beholders.
The 7 February was the second day of thaw since November.
One such day, however, made very little impres- sion on the ground, which was frozen to a depth of two feet or more; water pipes under ground froze that never froze before, water famines afflicted many families, and the frost was not out of the ground till after the end of March.
The theory that a cold winter is healthy has cer- tainly not been supported by this year's experience, for everyone who possibly could, has been ill, even the doctors! Scarlet fever, as has been mentioned, measles, mumps, pneumonia, typhoid, grip and colds in all known varieties, and some heretofore unknown, have held high carnival among us, till we could al- most see germs floating in the air, and sickness vied with the weather as a topic of conversation.
February 7, was a day of terrible interest for Sandy Spring, as well as for many other places, as news of the Baltimore fire came to the neighborhood
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before mid-day; varying and conflicting reports con- tinued to arrive so long as the telegraph and telephone lines were in working order, and then an awful un- certainty prevailed as to the fate of the city and those in it near and dear to us. That night the flames were plainly visible here, showing that the conflagration was unchecked, and early next morning a number of men hurried to the scene of the disaster to find out what they could about friends and property.
The one mitigating feature of the calamity was the absence of fatalities; and the cheerful courage of the people and the Press of Baltimore are cause for proper pride to the citizens of the whole State.
.February 11-17, the National Woman Suffrage As- sociation met in Washington, and Mary Bentley Thomas, president of the Maryland Association, took an active part in its proceedings. Several other per- sons from Sandy Spring were in attendance at the · convention.
On the 23 February came the Farmers' Conven- tion at the Lyceum. It was the largest meeting of the kind ever held here, and the high character of the assembly was a cause of frequent remark. Repre- sentative farmers from all parts of Montgomery, and from Howard-and Prince George's Counties were there, and the business of the day was of a highly interesting and profitable nature.
Dr. Francis Thomas maintained that, given the proper care by the proper person. fruit may be grown with profit in this section.
A. N. Johnson, of the Maryland Highway Com- mission, gave a valuable and practical talk on good
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roads, and there was mud enough outside in the meeting-house lane to give point to his remarks.
Among other topics discussed were the township system, apple culture, corn breeding, and that matter of perennial interest-the Sandy Spring railroad.
On February 24, Governor Warfield appointed Roger B. Farquhar School Commissioner for Mont- gomery County, and Charles F. Brooke Fish Com- missioner for the Western Shore of Maryland.
February 24, Edith A., daughter of E. W. and Sarah M. E. Haviland, was born at Haviland's Mill.
On March 2, S. Lizzie Fairall, of Sandy Spring. and Scott Duval, of Gaithersburg, were married at Ashton Church, by Rev. Robert T. Moore, of Wash- ington.
"On March 9, 1904, Charles Brooke Magruder died of typhoid fever in Cleveland, Ohio.
"Though he had been in business there for only about six months, the number of friends he had made was phenomenal-friends who not only sought and enjoyed his society, but who were willing to work for him, and give him the most loving and tender atten- tion while he was ill, and who sincerely grieved for him when he was gone.
He possessed the brightest and sunniest nature, with a keen love for the beautiful, yet the highest ap- preciation of fun ; while his great fondness for music and flowers gave him a refined enjoyment of life.
Energetic, industrious, presevering and manly in his business, yet in his loving, single-hearted, unsel-
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fish disposition, and in his intense love for children, he was as tender as a woman.
"He truly loved the world and its people, seeing the good in everything; pages could not give a better idea of his character than these words of his mother- 'Charley never complains of anything, he is always satisfied.'
"His religious dependence on something better than the mere pleasures of this world, was unusual in a young man, who so early in life, took his career into his own hands.
"In his last hours, when he felt the uncertainty of living, there was not a murmer that his happy life must be given up-he accepted the inevitable without a complaint, and we, who are left a little longer, are assured that he has found an abiding- place in 'that great unknown world' where he awaits the blessed reunion hereafter, in which he so firmly believed. "For 'without the last hope of heavenly meeting and eternal reconciliation, the life we live would be profitless-as a book left unfinished, a song half-sung, as a tale just begun.'" (E. B.)
On March 12, J. Janney Shoemaker sold Burn- side farm to Edward P. Thomas.
March 25, Robert H., Jr., son of Robert H. and Mariana S. Miller, was born at The Highlands.
Edward P. Thomas was invited to address the Farmers' Institute at Fredericksburg, Va., on March 18, on "What Farmers' Organizations Have Done For This Section;" but as he was unable to fill the
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appointment, Dr. Augustus Stabler, and Roger B. Farquhar, at his request, took his place, and gave to our neighbors across the Potomac a good and most ac- ceptable account of the benefits conferred by our Clubs, Granges, etc.
March 27, Mrs. Effie M. Lambert, of New York, who had been making a round of temperance speeches through the County, under the auspices of the W. C. T. U., began her work in this particular quarter of it with well-attended meetings, at Lay Hill, in the afternoon and Olney, at night. She addressed a large parlor meeting, at Mt. Airy, on the afternoon of the 28, and ended her Montgomery engagement at Coles- ville that evening ; and her earnest, practical, straight- forward talk must benefit all who heard it.
March, like the months which preceded, it, has been fruitful of weather, presenting samples of kinds suited to all seasons. The robins and blackbirds have returned and joined chorus with the cardinals, meadow-larks and sparrows; the grass and the lilac and willow buds begin to show green, while the hyacinths, jonquils and narcissus are sending up ranks of cheerful new leaves.
In these days of rapid and constant change we have always had a restful confidence in the steadfast- ness of the Meeting; there, at least, we could find things as we had always known them, and our fathers before us. But even within those quiet precincts the spirit of our age makes itself felt, and on March 30 the last mid-week meeting was held. The proposal to lay it down is not new, for the attendance has been
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decreasing for years, and at length the faithful few felt it a burden too heavy to be borne.
Every member of the meeting must regret that the change has come, but the regret arises from a senti- ment merely, not from a deep-seated need, or the action could not have become necessary.
March 31. Sherwood school gave a most enjoyable entertainment at the Lyceum, the program including an interesting variety, ranging from "Coon songs" to Shakespeare; the rendering of the scene from King Lear by the older pupils being very creditable to the young actors.
The proceeds, which, judging by the size of the audience, must have been large; were for the better- ment of the school's library.
The public institutions of the neighborhood all seem to be in a flourishing condition. The two banks have both done better business than ever before, and the Sandy Spring National Bank declared its first dividend-at the rate of five per cent. per annum.
The W. C. & A. Turnpike Co. has been building bridges and making other improvements under the active management of Asa M. Stabler; and the tele- phone pervades our lives in a way that suggests the old fable of the Camel and the Tailor. The creat- ure's cold nose once having been admitted through the kind-hearted artisan's door, it was soon hard to find the tailor for the camel.
At first the telephone seemed to exist for the con- venience of the neighborhood-now the neighborhood
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seems to exist for the support of the telephone. But we can't do without it, and so long as the rental only increases by an arithmetical ratio we may be able to keep up with it, if we limit our conversations to three a day-provided "the line's" not "in use."
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