USA > Maryland > Montgomery County > Sandy Spring > Annals of Sandy Spring history of a rural community in Maryland, Volume III > Part 27
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"The homely virtues of industry, integrity, sim- plicity and sobriety inculcated by their faith have made them successful and secured freedom from many of the sordid things which so often disfigure life. The restless impulse towards change and chance which is responsible for so many agricultural fail- ures seems to have passed by these men and left them untouched. They have worked out their life plans, not merely as if they were farming a farm, but rather with the thought that they were founding a dynasty. All these things have combined to develop in an un-
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usual degree the sense of community pride and soli- darity.
"And then-and to me this is the crowning touch of all-they have appointed a historian whose duty it is to record each year the local minutiæe-the births and deaths and marriages-the personal happenings of the community, and file them away in the arch- ives, in order that generations yet unborn may have trustworthy records of the work their fathers did. Such a task as this would have little value of mean- ing in a community as unsettled and transient as many farm neighborhoods are, but it is singularly ap- propriate under the conditions that here prevail.
"This is a fragmentary sketch of what men better qualified than I to judge have pronounced one of the highest developments of agricultural life anywhere in the country. To me it is an example. to be ad- mired and copied, because it is a life that stands for the best and highest; yet it has sprung from and is nourished by the soil. I hope it may be many a long day before some modern Cræsus, not knowing how to spend his dollars, shall build him a servant-haunted castle in their midst and dazzle the eyes of these high- born farmers with a magnificence they have not yet learned to envy."
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CHAPTER XIV.
1908-1909.
Though the Annual Meeting, according to the moon, came about the middle of April, our record, according to the plan announced two years ago, opened with the month.
The spring, though in advance of previous seasons in some respects, was slow and chilly. only half the days in April being clear; while on seven days of April and fifteen of May it actually rained. Fur- nace fires burned till almost the first of June; there was ice on April 16, and a temperature of 34° on May 1.
On the other hand, there were four days begin- ning April 24, when the mercury was far above 80°, and May brought several scattering ones quite as warm; the wrens came on April 12, seven days earlier than usual; the fruit bloom was over by May 1; the roses began to blossom and the trees were in full leaf by May 18, and the strawberry season opened about the 20; on the 19 May, wheat was in head-a week earlier than last season.
The first event in our year was the loss of one of our oldest citizens: "At midnight, April 4, 1908. Priscilla Brown Pumphrey died at the residence of Joseph T. Moore, where she had lived for thirty-five years.
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"She had been confined to her bed for two years and a half, and in all that time she was patient and cheerful. Her last words were: 'Oh, Lord, come quickly and take me now!' and in a moment this long and useful life of nearly one hundred years was ended.
"When Caleb and Ann Stabler of this neighbor- hood were married, in 1825, 'little Prissy' was their first help.
"Her remains were taken from Norwood on First- day afternoon to Sharp Street church in chrage of the society to which she belonged, and her large fu- neral was conducted in the most orderly manner." (E. N. M.)
The Baltimore Conference of the M. E. Church this year sent Rev. F. I. Mumford to the Spencerville Circuit, and he and his wife occupied the parsonage · at Ashton.
The Annual Meeting on April 13 differed from previous ones only in the election, for the first time, of a woman, Mariana S. Miller, as president. A new coat of paint on the outside of the Hall. and prom- ised improvements within, go to prove that executive ability is not exclusively of the masculine gender.
In April, Joseph Stabler presented to Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting of Friends a tract of land immedi- ately adjoining the present graveyard. to be made an addition to it ultimately. The donor is to have the use of the ground during his lifetime, and desires
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to have it allotted to Friends and their families when taken into the meeting-house enclosure.
The looks of the meeting-house premises were greatly improved by the erection in June of a neat and substantial iron fence around the graveyard, but its effect was seriously marred by the addition of a coat of dingy gray paint.
During April, Fanny Amos Smith and her family moved into the bouse at Bon Air.
April 4, Alfred Mason, son of E. W. and Sarah M. E. Haviland, was born at Avoca.
April 14, Miss Jeanette Broomell came again to the Lyceum to refresh us with one of her delightful re- citals.
On April 14, Catherine Janney returned from a stay of several months in Bermuda.
April 16, the Lyric Quartette of Western Mary- land College, gave a concert which seemed to be highly appreciated by the audience which filled the Lyceum to its utmost capacity on that occasion, many unfamiliar faces appearing in the crowd.
On April 17, another large balloon from Washing- ton sailed over Sandy Spring, but as yet no flying ma- chine has come our way ; perhaps when aerial naviga- tion becomes a practical fact our rapid transit prob- lem may be solved. No means of travel on terra firma except the "ole hoss" seems to be generally available to our citizens even to this day, proposed railroad and trolley lines to the contrary notwith- standing.
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Railroad schemes, however, continue to bud and wither-witness a meeting held in the interest of one of the many Washington and Gettysburg roads held at the Lyceum July 9, when an unsuccessful effort was made to secure subscriptions of stock to make a survey of the route under consideration.
Pending the general use of airships. the automo- bile brings us and the outside more closely in touch. Tarlton B. Stabler and Charles F. Brooke may be met almost anywhere any day killing time and anni- hilating distance with their motors, and various strange manifestations from other lands hum through our rural solitudes, leaving a trail of dust and gaso- line fumes behind them. One day last summer the motorists were three Chinese gentlemen, and another time two of our own girls had to stop their team and wait while the Princess Lwoff-Parlaghy and her suite were photographed by the wayside! This distin- guished foreigner was en route from Washington to Baltimore for an interview with Cardinal Gibbons, prepartory to painting his portrait.
April 28, Herbert O. Stabler and Elsie C. Elbrey, both of Sandy Spring, were married at Albany, N. Y. In November they went to live in Portland, Oregon, where he has an appointment in the United States Forest Service.
Another event of this eventful month of April was the installation of the old town clock in the library building at Sandy Spring. It is pleasant to think that its familiar face, unchanged by time, is where
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it may once more be seen of men, but its hands, alas, are paralyzed and motionless !
To a company of women at Mt. Airy on April 28, Miss Roena Shaner, of Missouri, spoke under the auspices of the W. C. T. U ; the meeting being one of a series she held in the County-at Colesville, Sandy Spring, Olney and Rockville.
April 30, William W. Moore and Lucy S. Lea were married in Philadelphia, and came to live at Leacroft.
"On the 23 April, 1908, Phebe A. Stabler died. after long years of suffering.
"She was born and raised in Frederick County. Maryland; was married to James Stabler in 1865, and came to live at Spring Garden. one of the old Stabler homesteads.
Her industry was marvelous, considering her ill health. Her ingenuity in the planning and her ex- treme neatness in the execution of her needlework will always be remembered by her friends, and might well be taken as an example by those who are strong and well.
"She was true and sincere in her friendships ; kind and generous to the needy ; and her cordial welcome and hearty hand-sake bespoke her hospitality and her love for her friends.
"Her marriage was a very happy one, nor was that companionship of years long interrupted, for only eight months after she passed away, on January 13, 1909, James Stabler died in the eighty-second year
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of his age. He had been truly 'a loving and faithful husband,' untiring in his devotion, and in his min- istrations to her in sickness and in health.
"After she left him he lived en irely alone, but being always so genial in his bearing towards his friends, and with a certain magnetism about him, he endeared himself to his neighbors, who in return for his love and invariable kindness to them, gave him their devoted care until the last hour of his life.
"His death was sudden and tragic-he was found lying dead on his porch, having lain there, it is sup- posed, for over eighteen hours. There was no sign of his having been conscious for one moment after he fell; his spirit had instantly taken flight 'to that realm where care and sorrow may never come.'
"James Stabler was a man of excellent mechanical ability, of wide and varied information, and a true lover of nature. A walk in the woods did not mean for him, as for most men, only an interest in the trees as to which would make the best timber; it was the birds and their habitations, and any curious formation on the trees, or the different kinds of plants, stones, mosses, etc., that claimed his attention.
"He loved little children, and they were always fond of him. He was kind and gentle to the sick, and ever ready to help those in trouble." (E. B.)
With the opening of spring improvements began about the house at Willow Heights. The roof was raised and renewed, the third story finished, the porches connected by an open gallery, and an unfail-
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ing water supply was secured by boring a well 156 feet deep.
Olney has been so changed as to permit Edith and Eliza E. Farquhar to make a home in part of the house.
Mordecai T. Fussell and family have built them- selves a beautiful and commodious home near Ashton, which they call Kennett.
Water has been put into the houses at Leacroft and Argyle, and Mary J. Hutton has bought the Lea- wood place and is building there a home for herself and family.
A silo built by Edward P. Thomas since his firc in 1907, blew down in May, during a storm of wind- that was felt, though less severely, at other places in the neighborhood. This helped him to decide that its site and the one next to it, selected for his new cowbarn, were not the most desirable for the purpose. so the silo was re-erected elsewhere and during the summer the barn was built beside it. Its completion was celebrated with a dance.
In the fall James Johnson put up an addition to his shop at Ednor, and established a grist-mill there. and Sandy Spring store was enlarged and repainted.
The new Sherwood school building, however, though this time last year it seemed about to spring up like a mushroom, over night, has proved so far, to be a veritable "Castle in Spain." It is still a beauti- ful possibility-to be realized in the near future we hope.
.. Ifibbe an on the meeammons at Mat ed in
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May 16-17, Sandy Spring was enlivened by a pilgrimage of thirteen young Friends from Balti- more, headed by Edward C. Wilson. Arriving on Saturday afternoon, and being distributed to various homes for entertainment, they all met, with a com- pany of the neighborhood people, more or less young, at Mt. Airy, for a conference in the evening. At this the topic of chief interest was the aims and me hods of the Social Workers recently organized in Balti- more. The visitors attended meeting next morning. and in the afternoon another helpful conference was held in the meeting-house, largely attended by Friends and others. At its close the pilgrims re- turned home, leaving cheer and refreshment behind them.
On May 23, Newton and Mary H. Stabler cele- brated the tenth anniversary of their marriage, and were appropriately remembered by their friends, though the tin wedding was held two days too early. This was so arranged to keep from interfering with preparations for a real wedding.
At seven o'clock on May 26, at Clifton, the home of the bride's paren's, and of her forebears for gen- erations, Katharine Dare, youngest daughter of Joth and Catherine D. Thomas, was married to Malcolm Farquhar. The ceremony on this beautiful occa- sion was according to the order of Friends, and it took place on the lawn amid a profusion of flowers, and illuminated by a splendid sunset.
The young couple have made themselves a home in the original dwelling on the Rock Spring farm, where
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his parents, Roger B. and the late Caroline M. Far- quhar, spent the first years of their married life.
Sherwood commencement, on May 28, was a nota- ble occasion, for Ruth Shoemaker and Dorothy Weth- erald received the first diplomas given by the public High School here. The exercises in celebration of this event were interesting, especially the "last will" of the departing class, as presented by Ruth Shoe- maker, and its history prepared by Hadassah J. Moore.
The fact that with an enrollment of 127 pupils. there had been an average attendance of 111, was one of many indications of good work in the school during the year, so we heard with regret that its efficient principal, Roger J. Whiteford had accepted a call to "go up higher" and preside over the Rock- ville school.
May 30, at Ashton Friends' Meeting-House, Man- rice Cary, of Baltimore, lectured on Paradise Lost, giving an illustrated synopsis of the great epic.
Quarterly Meeting, June 6 to 8, was of even greater interest than usual: the ministers present were Dr. O. Edward Janney, Jeremiah J. Starr and Henry W. Wilbur.
The First-day morning meeting was helpful, and at the First-day School conference in the afternoon there were creditable exercises by classes and individ- uals belonging to Sandy Spring First-day School, and suggestive addresses from Arthur Taylor, Jona- than K. Taylor, and Henry W. Wilbur; but the cli-
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max of the occasion came on Second day in Henry Wilbur's great sermon on "Self-Discovery the Su- preme Act of Life," his text being, "I will arise and go to my father."
June 12, Katherine L., daughter of J. Wallace and Jessie J. Bond, was born at Ashton.
Another pretty out-of-door wedding took place at 7.30 p. m., June 20, at Bloomfield, the home of the bride's parents, Edward N. and Hallie J. Bentlev. There Mary C. Bentley and Frank Pole Robison were married by Rev. C. D. Lafferty, of the Episcopal Church. This bride and groom were the first ones here to begin their wedding journey in an automobile, and after their return they finally settled at Oak- leigh. Amabel O. Page having moved thence to her new home at Chevy Chase.
Also on June 20, Marion Farquhar sailed from New York for three months in Europe.
From June, through the summer, and for a week in December, the Woman's Exchange again offered its attractive wares to the public in the library build- ing at Sandy Spring, and did a good business under the same management as formerly.
On the evening of June 27, Katherine L. Brooke and Edward Carlton Stone were married by the Episcopal service, at Walbrooke, Rev. C. D. Lafferty officiating. Owing to the illness of Caroline L. Brooke, mother of the bride, only the immediate families of the contracting parties witnessed the cere- mony, but a reception followed at Norwood before
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Mr. and Mrs. Stone went North to their new home in Lexington, Mass.
"Some of the ladies who taught sewing at the Sharp Street School last winter, decided to continue their labors, during July and August, in the form of house-work lessons. The use of Myrtlebank was kindly given them by Charles G. Porter, and it was furnished as needed by loans from various people.
"Helen L. Thomas was leader, and she and her six assistants had nineteen little girls from eight to fourteen, and taught them to clean, sweep, dust, make beds and set the table.
"On the closing day when the mothers came to pay their respects and 'thank the ladies for the interest they had taken in them and their color' the teachers felt it had been time well spent." (V. McP. S.)
July 1, Allan Farquhar, son of Ethel F. and R. Bentley Thomas, was born in Washington.
July 9, Mortimer O. Stabler set off for the Pacific Coast prospecting, returning after several weeks.
In July we had an unusual visitation-a real live circus, of modest proportions but some merit, pitched its tent on F. J. Downey's farm for a day, and per- formed.
Following the cold rains in May, June was dry, rain falling on only three days that month, and none during the first half of July, but eleven rains in the last seventeen days prevented a serious drought.
The County Fair, at Rockville, August 25-28, was so unfortunate as to have rain all the time, so it held
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over an extra day, which proved clear, and in part made up for what had gone before
There were no long spells of hot weather during the summer, but from April to October there were many days when the mercury rose above 80°, the highest temperature noted being 93º on July 12. Au- gust 26 was the coldest August day on record, 52º, with snow in several places in Maryland, and for three days after it continued cold.
There was a touch of frost on October 2, and ice on the 13-14, but on the 17 we thawed out again at a temperature of 90°! These alternating extremes seemed to intensify and prolong the glories of au- tumnal coloring this fall, and much of summer's abundance lasted late. For instance, in the Fair Hill garden tomatoes were gathered on November 12, and on the 13, corn was pulled from it for fritters, while the 14 November brought six inches of snow, followed by a drop in the temperature to 4° on the 16 November, and some venturesome spirits got out their sleighs.
On December 24 a perfect rose was cut from the Sunnyside garden.
The winter was as variable as the summer, with the same lack of continuously severe temperature. Most of the ice harvested was cut in January, though many people got no ice: and February, the ground- hog to the contrary notwithstanding, was remarkably mild, 62° being the maximum temperature on Febru- ary 15.
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The first jonquil bloomed on March 3, 1909, and it found bluebirds and blackbirds here waiting for it.
Clouds and fog were the characteristic weather of the season.
But this is "episodin," as Samantha Allen would say. To return to our proper date, August.
One day early in August, Charles F. Kirk was startled by a telephone message from Washington announcing that his load of hay, which had left home that morning, had been set on fire and burned in the street before it reached its destination ! The wagoner. hearing cries of "Fire!" near by, looked for the blaze on all sides, but did not discover that it be- longed to him till the crowd unhitched his horses be- fore he could dismount, and the engines arrived and began to play upon his flaming load.
The cause of the trouble was not far to seek, for several persons saw a man-a gentleman to all ap- pearance-throw a lighted match into the hay, and he was straightway arrested and lodged in jail.
There Charles Kirk found him and offered to pre- fer no charges if the offender would pay for the property destroyed; this he declined to do, prefer- ring to take his chances before the court. But be- fore the case came up for trial, the guilty party, find- ing the penitentiary doors wide open for him, ac- cepted the conditions offered and was set free .. His offense seems not to have been an act of wanton de- struction ; it was simply caused by that disregard of the rights and the property of others so painfully
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common among smokers, aggravated in this case by the after effects of a recent spree.
Several years ago the establishment of a carpet loom at Fairfield, by William A. and Fanny P. Idd- ings, was noted in these annals; ever since they have done much weaving, and have gained a reputation, especially for tasteful and artis ic rugs, made either from ordinary rags or from old carpets. Having a number of these on hand they arranged for a rug sale on the 13 August. Lucy S. Moore kindly placed Leacroft at their disposal, it being convenient for their purpose, and it proved a successful venture.
August 20, will be a day long remembered in this part of the world for a unique event that occurred at Highland, Howard County, and claimed the interest of many Sandy Springers. Just what manner of entertainment that Horse Show might prove to be was not entirely clear to some minds, but a glorious day lured everyone who could to go and see what it would be like.
The great field on White Hall farm, walled on two sides by trees, diversified with hill, vale and grove, was an ideal setting for such a fete, and on the level crest of the highest elevation a paddock was enclosed. Around this were drawn up all manner of vehicles, in which their owners sat to view the show, and hun- dreds of others that could not get a place on the line, stood about where they could. Every thing from the family carriage and pair to the six-horse hay wagon and the touring car was there, and it is estimated that 1700 people were in attendance.
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All were deeply interested spectators as class after class of horses was brought into the paddock, put through its paces and withdrawn, to make way for the next.
The picnic luncheon at mid-day was not the least enjoyable part of the proceedings, which culminated in a hurdle race in the afternoon.
As a whole the crowd was highly respectable, good order prevailed, and everyone hoped that it might prove to be what the posters announced in advance- the "First Annual Horse Show of Howard County."
August 22, the play For Love or Money was re- peated before a large audience at the Lyceum; with a minuet, danced by Annie Miller and Dorothy Moore, and other et ceteras on the program.
One social event of the summer was unusual enough to call for mention here; four of the season's "buds" "came out" with great ceremony on a set da'e, in- stead of opening gradually-if not imperceptibly !- as they generally do here. On August 28, Eliza N. Moore gave a large reception, attended by guests from far and near, to introduce her grand-daughters, Mary G. and Stella T. Moore, and her nieces, Edith D. and Elza Bentley.
The Friends' General Conference, held this year at Winona Lake. Ind., from August 28 to September 3, was attended by only six from Sandy Spring-Ben- jamin H. and Sarah T. Miller, Alban G. Thomas, Anna T. Nesbitt, Francis Thomas and Mary Bentley
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Thomas, who, as chairman of the Friends' Equal Rights Association, had a place on the program.
Owing to ill health Edward N. Bentley, on Sep- tember 1, retired from the firm of Bond and Bentley at Ashton store, and J. Wallace Bond continued the business alone.
September 7, the public schools of the County be- gan their winter's work, and Ruth Shoemaker took charge of the Oakley school on the Manor.
At Sherwood Ida P. Stabler, Sallie P. Brooke and Clara Mace were the assis' ants, while Nellie T. Jack- son taught the primary grades at the little school house; the principalship passing from George Mil- ler, who held it at the beginning of the term, to William E. Davis the present incumbent. Many of our older boys and girls went away to school.
During the winter Dr. Augustus Stabler was again employed as a speaker by William L. Amoss, Di- rector of Farmers' Institutes-
In September Arthur A. Brigham, accompanied by his wife and daughter, went to Brookings, S. D., to conduct the new School of Agriculture then opened in connection with the State College there.
At this season of ingathering it was gratifying to note that the labors of some of our good women had begun to bear fruit; for the establishment of the Normal and Agricultural Institute, at Sharp Street. was certainly, in part at least, a result of the effort made by certain of the ladies of the neighborhood to
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give the rudiments of manual training to the colored children there.
The County Board secured George H. C. Williams, a disciple of Booker T. Washington, at Tuskegee, to inaugurate the new enterprise, who with no equip- ment but the old school building, set in on September 17, with seven pupils. By mid-winter he had a good outfit of carpenter's tools, with which he and his boys had built an addition to the house, and put in many conveniences in the way of shelving, closets, etc .; the teaching force had increased to five; and 117 students were enrolled.
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