USA > Maryland > Montgomery County > Sandy Spring > Annals of Sandy Spring history of a rural community in Maryland, Volume III > Part 28
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While not neglecting the mental training of the Negro youth, the Normal and Agricultural Institute teaches cooking, plain sewing, dressmaking, millin- ery, housekeeping, laundering, agriculture, fruit grow- ing, truck gardening, painting, blacksmithing, wheel- wrighting, shoemaking, harness repairing and tin- smithing, though some of these departments are, as yet, rudimentary. Still with his motto, "Mastery for Service," Principal Williams seems to have begun his work in the right spirit, and to deserve the help and support of the people of the neighborhood, the County and the State.
On September 19, Florence Marlow died in the forty-fourth year of her age, and on the 21 she was laid to rest in Woodside Cemetery.
"Her short life was entirely given up to the serv- ice of her family and friends; while yet a girl in her teens she nursed her mother through a distressing
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illness which ended in death. Subsequent to her marriage to Thomas Marlow she took entire charge of her own and of her sister's homes, which included the care and nursing of this sister through long months of tedious suffering. After the death of her sis er she united the two households in order to do bet- ter work and conserve her own strength-this enabled her to adopt into the family an aged aunt who was in poor health.
"From her girlhood she was an exemplary member of the Methodist Church, and her character was marked by many of the Christian graces. The sweet- ness of her disposition, her cheerfulness, and especi- al'y her unselfishness never flagged, even when the end was near and her suffering intense. Then her patience and fortitude seemed to increase. At this trying time she said : 'Oh! I am so happy! I have everything to be thankful for. Some may think my life has been made up of hardships, but they do not know the inside, how "showers of blessing" have come to me every day and every hour.' So ended a beautiful life, and death was 'swallowed up in vic- tory.'" (S. T. M.)
A man for many years accounted a neighbor by Sandy Spring was Zachariah D. Waters who died near Germantown, Md., October 4, and was interred in the old burial ground of the Waters family on Belmont farm near Brookeville.
"For a number of years Mr. Waters was known as the Brookeville merchant, occupying the old historic store room of Caleb Bentley, adjoining the residence
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wherein President Madison spent a night after his retreat from Bladensburg. Here Mr. Waters dealt out exact justice to a community whose entire confi- dence he held during his career.
"His neighbors recall with affection his unfailing courtesy and sympathetic interest. and with admira- tion his earnest effort to express in his life his high ideal of what a Christian should be. We have heard with satisfaction praise of him which has associated with the sense of loss that death gives, a realization of the value of his example, which is a permanent possession.
"One man who had threshed wheat for Mr. Waters said that he was the only person who had felt that he owed him more than he had paid, when the num- ber of bushels by the mill weight exceeded the num- ber estimated by the machine measure Another re- calls the suffering that his giving up the use of to- bacco in three forms involved, but that it was bravely borne until the desired freedom had been obtained from a habit that he felt would impair his usefulness.
"Although bereft of his loving, worthy and sym- pathetic wife, though his children were scattered, and his latter years spent far from his roof-tree, still he ever kept a cheerful countenance and a warm greeting for his old friends. His labors are over, he has gone to his reward, but the remembrance of his kind'y nature will long dwell in our hearts." (Grange Memorial. )
This was the year when the Ashton Monthly Meet-
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ing of Friends entertained their Quarterly Meeting, which was of unusual interest.
On Saturday evening, October 10, Alfred Garrett, of Philadelphia, delivered a beautiful discourse on the "Special Work of Friends," and the regular ses- sions of the Quarterly Meeting were addressed by Howard M. Hoge, Annie D. Stabler, Samuel Neave and others who were in attendance.
October 4, John Howard, who for many years had taken care of the graveyard and meeting-house grounds, died, after a long illness.
October 22, Gilbert T. Smith and wife held an auction of farm and household effects, at Osceola, preparatory to renting the place and going away from Sandy Spring; and on December 1, Charles H. Brooke, having rented Falling Green farm, also had a sale of farm implements, etc.
From October 23 to 28, Rebecca T. Miller was one of Maryland's representatives at the National W. C. T. U. Convention, in Denver, Colorado.
The presidential campaign preceding the election on November 3, was, of course, of as deep interest to us here as to the rest of the country, and most of us probably accepted the result with philosoply, if not with enthusiasm. Mr. Taft seems to have the peo- ple's confidence, and Mr. Bryan was, no doubt. the exception needed to prove the rule that the third ef- fort never fails. Still we all feel a certain falling off in the interest of life since Theodore Roosevelt has become a private citizen, though, as a newspaper
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remarked in the early days of the new administra- tion-"Not so very private after all" !
"Sarah A. Bond, wife of Samuel Bond, died at her home, Evergreen, on the 22 November, 1908, in the eighty-first year of her age.
"On the afternoon of the 24 November, many friends and neighbors attended her funeral, and she was laid to rest in the cemetery at Brookeville, near her birthplace.
"Her energy and industry, through all her long life, had been untiring, and her hopefulness and cheerfulness never failed her.
"She suffered much from a painful nervous dis- ease, but was heroic in bearing acute pain, and she often said her on'y relief was in keeping constantly busy. Her children were devoted to her and watched over her with tender solicitude until she laid down the burdens of a life that had accomplished much through frugality, industry, and the scrupulous ful- filment of pecuniary obligations.
"A poem which she was fond of repeating, and which was read at her funeral was the one beginning :
'Take the sunshine of today,
Leave the coming sorrow ;
God will surely make a way
Through each dark tomorrow.'" (E. N. M.)
November 16, J. Janney Shoemaker and family moved from Drayton to Myrtlebank.
In November Frank J. Downey, having previously bought the Sherwood Mill property from James T.
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Henderson's heirs, rook charge of the mill, and moved with his family to the house adjacent, Walter Dorsey going at the same time to Bal imore. Dorsey Dow- ney took charge of Charley Forest farm after the departure of his father.
On November 27, a meeting of representative citi- zens of Montgomery County was called in Rockville to arrange for effective methods of combatting tuber- culosis, and of improving the system of caring for the sick and insane poor. Addresses were made by H. Wirt Steel of the Anti-Tuberculosis League, by Dr. Magruder, of the Associated Charities of Baltimore, by Dr. Hering, of the State Lunacy Commission and others, and a permanent organization, called The League for Social Service, was effected under the presidency of Joseph E. Janney; Asa M. Stabler and Alban G. Thomas being among its vice-presi- · dents. The League has decided to establish near Rockville a tented sanatorium for tuberculosis pa- tients. A trained nurse will be placed in charge, and the care and treatment will be free, except when patients are able to pay.
December 2, Joseph Moore, son of Tarlton B. and Rebecca T. Stabler, was born at Amersley.
Some time in November that dreaded scourge the foot and month disease appeared among cattle in some parts of Maryland ; in consequense Montgomery County was quarantined along with the rest of the State.
No domestic animal except the horse was allowed
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to enter the District of Columbia from here. Hay, straw and poultry were also under the ban, and it was a serious condition of affairs for the farmers, that might have become worse if the quarantine had not been raised on December 19. Fortunately the disease itself did not appear in Sandy Spring.
On December 12, the pupils of Sherwood school held a very successful bazaar to raise funds for equip- ping the new school building; on fancy articles, tea, cake and candy they realized over $75.00, which they are carefully hoarding. It reminds us of the boy who treasured his lump of salt, hoping that someone might give him an egg to eat it on !
At the State Horticultural Exhibition held in Bal- timore near the beginning of December, R. Bentley Thomas took eight first and six second premiums on apples, and Samuel P. Thomas took third premium on corn. Later the State Horticultural Society "sent an exhibit of Maryland fruits to the National Fruit Show held at Council Bluff, Iowa. Thus thirty- three varieties of our apples were placed in competi- tion with fruit from all the States, with the result that Maryland secured nineteen first prizes, five sec- ond and four third, a total of twenty-eight premi- ums on thirty-three varieties; also a first prize on sweet potatoes, and first on nuts."
The holiday season was ushered in with a foot of snow on December 22, which made good sleighing for almost a week; and many families celebrated Christmas by reunions of widely scattered members.
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Just before the holidays Bernard Gilpin Wilson and his wife Mary came to make their home in Sandy Spring, where he was born and where much of his youth was spent; the years since having been lived mainly in New Mexico.
Thomas J. and Anna G. Lea have also returned to their Sandy Spring home, Argyle, expecting now to make it their permanent residence.
In December, Fred L. Thomas, who had been ap- pointed to close up the business of the Enterprise Telephone Company, which had sold out to the Ches- apeake and Potomac Company, in June, 1906, fin- ished his work. The C. & P. Co. paid for our fran- chise, property and rights $7,000.00, and $509.60 were received from other sources. After some out- standing debts were paid, the Enterprise stockholders received par value for their investment, with a 20% dividend on the same, and a balance of $38.20 re- mains in the hands of the agent.
On December 28, Sandy Spring again had the pleasure of listening to George Russell Strauss sing ; his two previous recitals, at Alloway, had been de- lightful, as everybody agreed, but this one, which was given at the Lyceum, was the very best yet.
On January 26, James P. Stabler, whom we still claim as belonging to Sandy Spring, sailed for Pan- ama, returning about a month later, full of informa- tion and enthusiasm concerning the great ditch which he thinks will be in working order by 1913.
On January 29, a Farmers' Institute was held at
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Olney. Though the day was rainy and disagreeable, the attendance vas the best that an Ins itute has had there in years. In the absence of Director Amoss, Edward P. Thomas presided. One of the lecturers, Cary Montgomery, of Ohio, spoke on the care of fruit trees; and Joseph E. Wing, of the same State, was no less enthusiastic over the cultivation and use of alfalfa than on his first visit here, nor has his talent for charming and instructive speaking grown less by the using in those years.
The Sandy Spring W. C. T. U. furnished an ex- cellent luncheon at noon.
A propos of this meeting, some facts concerning the origin and the present status of Farmers' Ins i- tute work in this State may be of interest.
In a circular issued by Director Amoss the follow- ing statements appear :
"The history of the Maryland Farmers' Institute began when Benjamin Hallowell and Richard T. Bentley, of Sandy Spring, met in the highway, each on his way to the other's home to propose that period- ical meetings of neighbors be held, which was the beginning of the 'Farmers' Club, of Sandy Spring,' March 6, 1844. * * It is a disputed question which particular club or grange is entitled to the honor of first suggesting a system of farmers' insti- tutes. Brighton Grange has on record a Farmers' Institute held in its hall March 18, 1891, under the auspices of the Committee on Farmers' Institutes of the State Grange.
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"January 14, 1896, under the auspices of Vans- ville Farmers' Club, a Farmers' Institute was held at Annapolis, and through the efforts of this club a bill was passed March 27, 1896, creating a Depart- ment of Farmers' Institutes to the Maryland Agri- cultural College."
The latest development of the movement thus orig- inated is described as follows by Jared van Wagenen, Jr., in the Country Gentleman of April 16, 1908:
"A rather unique line of agricultural teaching has been done under the authority of the Maryland Agri- cultural College. It is an attempt to make an advance on the cursory and fragmentary instruction furnished by the usual farm institute. As Mr. Amoss put it in conversation, 'We want to hold a school instead of a revival meeting.' *
"With this in view the trustees of the Agricultural College authorized the purchase of a car suitable for the purpose of holding a traveling school. This, I understand, is the first example of a car owned by any institution and used exclusively for agricultural teach- ing. Special trains stopping for farmers' meetings have been run in several States, but such trains have in most instances been arranged for, and generally furnished free by the railroads. The ownership of a car by the Institute Bureau marks the adoption of a permanent policy.
"The car is fitted up so that one end serves as an audience room, seated with fifty chairs, and supplied with a blackboard and stercopticon. The other end has a kitchen and toilet room, lockers and stateroom
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supplied with Pullman berths and a convertible bed. This room served as dining room and lounging place by day. * * *% The plan pursued has been to have the car stop three days at each station, and hold each forenoon and evening sessions of two full hours each. At each session two lectures have been given, making tweleve in all, and only two subjects have been touched. *
"In this work the idea of a school rather than a popular meeting has been kept in mind. Those in attendance were asked formally to register at the first session, those coming were expec ed to attend regularly and were considered as representing a class rather than a transitory audience. Printed outlines of each lecture were distributed. The attendance was not large, but the work has in no way been a disappointment."
February, though the shortest month in the year, ushered our two greatest men into the world. That Lincoln was born one hundred years ago has been so emphasized of late that now one almost feels the need of apology for mentioning the fact. All magazines issued memorial numbers, and centennial celebrations have abounded everywhere-except in Sandy Spring. The only notice taken of the occasion, here, was in the public schools, where special exercises were arranged for the benefit of the pupils only. Why is it that a place so full of public spirit and real patriotism as Sandy Spring has never celebrated one of our na- tional festivals? We can get up a meeting for any cause under the sun-then why not commemorate
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once in a while, Lincoln's or Washington's birthday, or even the 4 July ?
February 22 was more of a gala day in the schools than the 12. Sherwood had a public meeting with appropriate songs, recitations and essays by the pupils, and addresses by G. H. Lamar of the County School Board, and E. B. Wood, superintendent of schools ; while Sharp Street was the scene of a most signifi- cant gathering.
A "Farmers' Institute and Mothers' Conference" was called for the day by the principal of the Normal and Agricultural Institute, and he had arranged a full and suggestive program. The roll of speakers in- cluded the names of Messrs. Wood, Lamar and Far- quhar of the school board, E. P. Thomas, Dr. W. E. Magruder, B. H. Miller and Professor W. L. T. Taliaferro of the Maryland Agricultural College, as well as of a dozen or more of the leading Negro men and women of the neighborhood ; an excellent dinner was served, and a "select concert" at night closed the list of attractions.
Good order prevailed throughout, and much bene- fit must result from such discussion of practical questions as was held there that day.
The purposes and aspirations of the meeting were voiced in the following resolutions :
"WHEREAS, we realize the pressing need of the co- operation and advice of our leading business men and women along the line of developing the economic, in- tellectual and moral conditions of our people, and to
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ward off, if possible, the great influx of youth to the cities, which seems detrimental to the best interests of the race; therefore, be it
"Resolved, That we contribute a sum to the Mary- land Normal and Agricultural Institute to establish a farmers' journal which shall inform us of the oper- ations necessary during each month of the year, con- tain a question box, and give the general progress.
"Resolved, That in view of the fact that the Insti- tute has no funds at its disposal at the present time, that it is not properly equipped with buildings, im- plements and the necessary facilities for instruction, that we request the legislature of the State to make an appropriation of $5,000 for the maintenance of this school as The State Normal and Agricultural School for Negroes. That we ask for a special ap- propriation of $1,000 to run a demonstration farm. We do not think that this is asking too much, when it is quite obvious that agriculture is our racial salva- tion and also the backbone of the State."
But whatever else happens or does not happen, the Farmers' Convention "goes on forever." As the Montgomery Press said in its report: "It rained on February 23, the roads were muddy, and it was a good day to stay at home, but stormy weather did not prevent a large attendance of farmers and other citi- zens of the County at the thirty-sixth annual Farm- ers' Convention, which was held at the Lyceum at Sandy Spring. Not less than 150 representative citi- zens were in the audience, and during the afternoon a
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score of ladies graced the meeting with their pres- ence.
"The proceedings of the convention were filled with . interest from the time Chairman M. O. Stabler rapped for order, soon after ten 'clock, until four in the aft- ernoon. The early part of the session was given to receiving reports of standing committees, the princi- pal one being from Mr. Allan Farquhar, chairman of the railroad committee. He reported that the Sandy Spring Railway is building north from Ken- sington, with a reasonable prospect that the road will reach the turnpike, about half a mile above Wheaton, some time the coming summer.
"Papers were read on farm topics, which held the close interest of the convention, but the excitement was reserved until the afternoon, when the road ques- tion was under consideration."
The day's program was entirely filled by local speakers, but each of the men who spoke-Charles F. Kirk on "The Use of Lime on the Farm ;" Dr. Fran- cis Thomas, on "Commercial Fruit-Growing for This Section of Maryland;" J. W. Jones, on "Practical Feeding of Cattle and Hogs," and Thomas J. Lea, on "Farm Economics" -- is an authority on his spe- cial topic, and each presented valuable suggestions gained from years of practical experience.
February 25, Hubert Bentley. son of F. Pole and Mary B. Robison. was born at Oakleigh.
On February 24, Rebecca J. Brown, wife of Sam- uel N. Brown of Loudoun County, Virginia, well
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known here since she attended Fair Hill school in her girlhood-was stricken with paralysis while vis- iting her sister, Cornelia N. Stabler. She never ral- lied from the shock, and her death followed on Febru- ary 27. Her body was taken to Loudoun for burial.
On February 26, Dr. O. Edward Janney of Balti- more, by invitation of the Sandy Spring W. C. T. U., came to the neighborhood to hold a series of meetings in the interest of moral education. That afternoon he spoke to the boys at Oakley school and at Sher- wood, and also to the W. C. T. U. at Mt. Airy. On the 28, besides attending the regular service at Sandy Spring meeting-house, he had a special meeting for men at the Ashton Friends' meeting-house in the aft- ernoon, and one at Sharp Street at night. Dr. Jan- ney is thoroughly equipped for this purity work, which is so much needed.
The members of the various churches belonging to the Spencerville Circuit having decided to sell their parsonage at Ashton, Ethel and Mary Adams bought it the latter part of February, and will take posses- sion in April. They call it Devon Lodge.
Whoso closes up his winter weather account on February 28 "reckons without, his host"-March has not been considered. This year it came in bland ana calm, the birds singing their spring songs. and flow- ers beginning to unfold. Half of Sandy Spring was planning to take advantage of the good weather and attend the inauguration, but when March 3 dawned rainy they began to reconsider their plans. Dark clouds, pouring showers, . thunder and lightning
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through the afternoon gave warning to such as would heed, and before the evening was over the rain had changed to snow.
A wet, clinging snow it was that, flying before a fierce gale, stuck to everything and then troze as the temperature dropped towards morning. It was a wonderful sight that daylight revealed on March 4. The snow still fell, the wind still blew violently, but through the mist of flying flakes the trees loomed ghostly, drooping and breaking under heavy bands and festoons and ruffles of white. Every twig, every bush, every bar, held its snowy cushion, which the wind, as it could not dislodge, only increased. A picket fence seemed hung with an unbroken sheet of snow, and a lattice-work screen resembled a mam- moth waffle. Huge drifts rose on all sides; the roads were so blocked that from Wednesday afternoon till Friday night we had no mail, and it cost the two turnpike companies about $150.00 to open their lines.
Those who had arranged to go to the inauguration on Thursday either remained at home or got stuck on the road, except a colored girl who walked from Olney to Washington, arriving about 4 o'clock in the after- noon !
Throughout the day Thursday the snow flew so that one could hardly tell whether the clouds were the source of it, or if the wind were wholly responsible, until the sun came out towards evening. But the worst and most widespread result of the storm was its damage to telephone and telegraph systems. The wires were so coated with snow and ice that they
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broke in thousands of places; their weight often snapped the cross-arms from the poles, or wrenched the poles from their sockets, or broke them short off. Only one line was left in communication with Sandy Spring exchange, and, though the storm seems to have been at its worst here, the electric wires through Maryland and Pennsylvania, and as far as New York suffered. Washington and Philadelphia could only make connection by way of Richmond, Va., Cincin- nati and St. Louis. For a while the only means of transmitting inauguration news was by wireless. Rail- road telegraph lines were down, too, and that, besides the heavy travel incident to inauguration time, dis- « organized train service seriously for many days. In fact, the demoralization was so complete that in one case a train went out from Baltimore with a man walking ahead of the engine to guard against acci- dents !
Our roads were pretty well opened by Friday evening, and the telephone lines began to come grad- ually into commission again after the following Mon- day.
The snow, as if ashamed of what it had done, made haste to disappear, so that within a week all that was left of it was an occasional patch where the highest drift had been, and on March 11, the robins came.
In Washington the storm was far less severe than here, but its effects on many of the inauguration crowds, spectators as we'l as those in the procession, was disastrous. May Congress mercifully change
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the day for installing the President to a more favor- able season, and "do it now."
The only people here who really appreciated the snow were those who had not filled their ice-houses ; hundred of tons were cut from the drifts and packed away for use next summer, but still much of it wasted !
On March 23, Helen L. Thomas sailed from New York for Naples, with a tour through Italy, the Austrian Tyrol and Switzerland before her.
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