USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Plymouth > Reminiscences of Plymouth, Luzerne County, Penna.; a pen picture of the old landmarks of the town; the names of old residents; the manners, customs and descriptive scenes, and incidents of its early history > Part 4
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The first story of the building was divided into two sections, and fitted up with long desks and benches, and a blackboard on the wall for school purposes.
Tradition says, that before this building was entirely completed, Lorenzo Dow,-a kind of Billy Sunday- traveling evangelist, held revival services there, and on account of the large audiences he drew, some fear was felt regarding the safety of the building. The memory of Mr. Dow is still perpetuated in the names of some of the children of his admirers. It is probably about this period, that a great religious fervor overspread the val- ley. The coming of the millennium, and the date set for the destruction of the world was predicted, and it was said that some prospective saints had their ascension robes prepared for the occasion.
In my early years I do not remember of any regular church services being held there, the building was free for the use of any denomination who wished to make use of it. Rev. Geo. D. Miles, an Episcopalian minister of Wilkes-Barre used to preach occasionally on Sunday af- ternoons, and on other occasions ministers of other de- nominations would hold services on Sunday mornings, and sometimes evenings, and usually there were Sunday Schools quite regularly held; but until some time after the Presbyterian Communicants under the guidance of Rev. E. H. Snowden were organized as a congregation
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in 1856, and after the M. E. Church was erected, there were I believe, no regular services held there.
The old Academy was for many years, the only place in the town where public assemblies of any kind could be properly held, it was in fact the public hall, and there, were held political rallies, meetings for discussion of mat- ters of public interest, lectures for educational purposes or profit, and even shows were wont to be held there. I remember of an Indian show being held there, and on one occasion an Irish comedian called "Dublin Dan," was obliged to hold two performances on the same evening in order to accommodate his audiences.
In this connection, while it may appear self-laudatory, perhaps out of place, and withal not entirely commend- able, yet, it being a matter of unwritten history I feel constrained to relate a personal incident which goes to prove the truth of the saying, that out of evil sometimes good will grow.
Some time about the year 1865, there was some kind of a gathering of the congenial young people of the town,-perhaps a Fourth of July picnic-at which Mose Wadhams,-the brother of Elijah,-and myself were the ringleaders. It was decided that we would wind up the festivities of the day with a dance in the evening. There being no other available or desirable place in town where we could go, and the Academy being a public hall, we fixed upon that as the place, and accordingly in the even- ing, there we assembled with Wm. Hatcher and his fiddle. The space between the pulpit and the benches was ample for the formation of two sets of quadrilles and there we spent the evening.
I was engaged at the time in Wadhams' store which, like other stores at that time, was a rendezvous for the gathering of congenial spirits in the evenings. On the
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evening following this escapade, there were assembled in the store Deacon Chas. Hutchinson, Bryce R. Blair, Robt. Love, Tom Macfarlane and perhaps one or two others. I was seated at the desk and before long Mr. Hutchinson launched forth on the enormity of the of- fence which had been perpetrated in the house of God the evening before. I felt the poignancy of his shafts which I realized were leveled at my head but discreetly kept silent. After the matter had been fully discussed in all its heinous phases, Mr. Blair declared that it was a shame that the Presbyterian congregation which was large enough, could not have a place of their own where they could worship in peace and safety, and promised that he would see to it that they would have such a place, and turning to me he dictated a form of subscription list for that purpose. I wrote out two of these and he took one, and the next morning started out to canvass down- town; the other one I think Mr. Hutchinson took to canvass uptown, and Wilkes-Barre. In a short time there- after enough subscriptions were obtained to warrant the commencement of the erection of the present church and parsonage in 1866. I have since entertained a lingering hope that my indirect instrumentality, by this sacriligous act, in further extending the influence of Christianity would, in some measure serve as an atonement for my many sins and delinquencies.
The first church edifice to be erected after that of the Academy I believe was the Methodist Church, of which I have before given a description. The most active, if not the earliest organized sect, however, was that of the Christian congregation. They were organ- ized in 1834 and their present church edifice was erected in 1857 by H. R. Noll, of Lewisburg, Pa., and who after- wards married Miss Almina Davenport, daughter of the
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late Samuel Davenport. Among the early and active ministers of that congregation, I recall the names of Elders Lane, Richmond, Montgomery, Hyatt, Hayes, Clark, and last, Rev. Knipp, to whose efforts are due the added improvements to the church and the erection of their new parsonage on the site of the one which for many years has stood on Shawnee Avenue.
It would be too much of an undertaking to attempt to describe the many other handsome churches of differ- ent denominations that have since been erected through- out the town; but the largest and most pretentious one is that of the Catholic denomination erected under the auspices of Rev. T. J. Donahoe on Church Street, a very large and valuable property.
My earliest recollection of the schools of Plymouth dates back to those kept in the Academy. Col. Wright in his historical sketches speaks of a schoolhouse located on Elm Hill which was torn down about 1815. He also gives the names of some of the early teachers in the old Academy, one of whom, Thos. Patterson, I have often heard my mother and my aunt speak of in terms of high commendation. There was another one, how- ever, named Benjamin Parke whom I have heard spoken of by old people, and who singularly enough he does not mention, although he evidently taught there in 1825 and was one of his associates.
I have in my possession an old record book of a literary society, organized at that time, and of which apparently, Mr. Parke was the leading spirit. The mem- bers of that society were : Benjamin Parke, Wm. C. Rey- nolds, H. B. Wright, C. A. Reynolds, Luther Nesbitt, Samuel French, Samuel Wadhams, E. Chamberlin, C. Atherton, Caleb Wright, H. Gaylord, Adnah Atherton and G. D. Turner.
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The following extracts from the records of that society, which are mostly written in beautiful penman- ship, apparently by Mr. Parke, will no doubt be of interest. On the outside of the paper cover of the book was the motto of the society, all except the first two lines of which are obliterated and are :
Of birth or blood we cannot boast, Nor gentry does our club afford.
The record reads, "On Friday the 16th of September, 1825, a number of young men met at the store of Gay- lord and Reynolds, and agreed to form themselves into a society to be called the Bachelors Club of Plymouth; a system of regulations were adopted; Benjamin Parke was chosen President for the next meeting, which is to be on Wednesday the 21st inst."
The rules and regulations of the club, which are rather stringent, declared: "This club shall not consist of more than 16 members, two-thirds of whom shall be Bachelors. Meetings to be held weekly. The object of the society, "mental improvement," for which purpose at every meeting a question upon some subject shall be fairly and candidly discussed, speeches limited to 30 minutes at a time." Religion and politics were disbarred from discussion, and "No profane, obscene or indecent lan- guage, or irreverent treatment of the sacred Scriptures to be tolerated," and "No member on any pretence what- ever shall reveal any of the secrets of this society, or mention them to any but members; and particularly if any one shall do it with a view to ridicule or laugh at any of the rest of the members, he shall be expelled, the society and the members requested to avoid him as a friend or comrade."
No member could be admitted without "the unani- mous consent of all the members present." Any trans-
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gression of the rules were punishable for "the first offence by reprimand by the President, for the second, silenced for the evening, and for the third, expulsion." The President and four members had the power to transact any "common business of the club," but a majority of the members were necessary to expel a member. The time of meeting was half-past six o'clock and any member who was not present at 7 o'clock without a sufficient excuse, was to be fined 614 cents, and the President was to "pay 121/2 cents for non-attendance at any time."
In accordance with their agreement, their first meeting was held on Wednesday, September 21st, 1825, when they "agreed to discuss the following question: 'Do the highest class of people enjoy more happiness than the lowest?' " Decided in the negative.
Other questions discussed at subsequent meetings, and which may serve as interesting subjects of discussion by the present generation, were :
. "Is avarice a worse vice than intemperance?"
"Do mankind derive more pleasure and happiness from anticipation than participation ?"
"Is the prodigal a greater nuisance to society than the miser ?"
The next two questions may perhaps be of interest to the female suffragists :
"Do outward accomplishments tend more to inspire love toward the female sex, than real worth?" Argument and ques- tion decided in the negative.
"Would a widow at the age of 30, make a better wife than a maid of the same age?" Argument and question decided in the negative.
This last question, discussed November 29th, appar- ently "busted up" the club, for they do not appear to have held any further meetings.
Benjamin Parke afterwards became a very prominent
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Royal Arch Mason, and in 1860 was the presiding officer of the Grand Chapter of Pennsylvania of Royal Arch Masons.
The earliest teachers in the Academy within my recol- lection were Geo. W. Freeman, who boarded at my mother's when I was quite young; other names I recall were Dibble and Turner; the latter was called "little Turner," on account of his diminutive size and whom I remember particularly as being an inveterate user of to- bacco and for lack of a cuspidor would expectorate on the floor by his seat. I have no remembrance of any other than the common branches of learning having been taught. Quill pens were used for writing, the teacher with his "pen-knife" keeping the pens in order. It was some little time after I had begun to write that steel pens came into use. The public school system was then in its infancy, and there was much prejudice in the minds of many against "free schools." The minimum length of the school term was four months. The common methods of maintaining proper discipline was by means of a ruler applied on the hand, or by the use of a good sized cudgel cut from a tree or bush, which would frequently, at un- expected times and on inopportune occasions fall heavily across the shoulders of the transgressor, and for very serious offences the guilty one would be required to step out on the floor and remove his coat. Sometimes on these occasions stubborn resistance would be offered on the part of the culprit, and then a struggle would ensue which, if it did not inspire terror, would afford a sort of diversion for the boys.
The little schoolhouse located at the corner of Coal and Main Streets with which I am more familiar, mention of which has heretofore been made, was moved when I was quite young, to a position directly opposite my father's
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house, where for many years the young ideas were taught to sprout. This building was fitted up with a high pulpit on a raised platform at the far end, on each side of which were long desks with benches, and transverse rows of desks and benches extending down the room on both sides of the aisle; and in front of and facing the pulpit were recitation seats. This was also called the "Lecture room." I don't know why, unless to give it a distinctive name, for I don't remember of any lectures being given there, although there may have been. Religious services were held there in later years by a Welsh congregation.
Among the names of early teachers here I can only recall those of a man named Brown who ran away with his wife's sister; one named Box, and one I think named Curtis, and Miss Julia Reynolds. The most familiar and popular one, however, was James Garrahan, late of Dallas. He held the position for a number of winters.
One of the prominent and favorite features of the schools of those days, and one I think that could be fol- lowed with great advantage to the pupils of to-day, was the "Spelling School." These would be held sometimes as concluding exercise of the week, and frequently on an evening, when they were occasions of very great interest, and always drew a crowded house. The custom was to choose two recognized good spellers as leaders and con- testants, who would range themselves on opposite sides of the room, which had previously been arranged for the oc- casion, and they would choose their spellers promiscuously from the audience. The ones so selected would take their places on the floor as called, beside their respective leader until the lines extended the entire length of the room in equal numbers. Then the teacher would announce to one of the leaders the word to be spelled and if spelled cor- rectly, the next word would be given to his opponent and
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so on alternately down the line. In case of a miss in spelling the delinquent would take his or her scat and the line would close up. The side which remained stand- ing, or were not "spelled down" at the close of the con- test were declared the winners. There were some extra- ordinary good spellers in those days, and these occasional contests created much friendly rivalry among the scholars and it was considered quite a compliment to be selected as h "speller."
At one term of school I remember of having attended there, "Newt" Smith selected the pulpit as his seat, and frequently when the teacher's back would be turned he would amuse the audience with his antics.
This old schoolhouse was in recent years converted into the ignominious and base purpose of a tool and oil house by the L. & W. B. Coal Co., but has now entirely disappeared, and such is fame.
CHAPTER V'11.
Farming Methods - Threshing and Marketing Grain-Flax In dustry The Old Spinning Wheels Dipping Candles Grist Mills Coal Industry Building of Acks and Boats Shaw- nee Against the World Origin of Slogan Methods of I've- paring and Shipping Coal Old Records-Coal Markets- Cost of Mining and Selling Prices for Coal Hard Times Deplorable Conditions-Wages and Cost of Commodities.
B FFORE the coal industry was developed, and Ply- mouth had become a mining town, farming was the principal, if not the only occupation of the inhabitants. The broad fertile acres of the Shawnee Flats, and the stony and less productive fields on the mountain and hill- sides furnished employment for nearly everybody, Wages for good farm hands would average about seventy-five
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cents a day, and the hours of labor were from sun to sun, and then came the ordinary "chores" about the barn and house-caring for the animals and getting in the fire- wood and coal.
Hay and grain when I was a boy were all cut with scythe and cradle, and one of my youthful tribulations I well remember in that connection, was the task of turning the grindstone to sharpen those detested implements. Wages during the haying and harvesting season rose from a dollar to a dollar and a quarter a day which was considered almost fabulous, but swinging a scythe or cradle all day was very hard work.
On these occasions it was a very common custom, and indeed was expected to have a bottle of whiskey stand beside the water jug in the field, and about ten o'clock a generous luncheon would be carried to the harvesters. On these particular occasions the labor of providing for a gang of ravenous workmen, and in fact, on many other days of the year, the women of the household did not enjoy what in vulgar parlance is now called a "snap."
While I have no distinct recollection of how or where flax was cultivated, that it was one of the important features of agricultural industry and domestic manufac- ture there can be no doubt. I have often witnessed and participated in the process of "breaking and hetcheling flax." The plant which grew to about the size of tim- othy grass, having a hard and woody exterior or bark, was first passed through the "flax break" which in con- struction resembled somewhat a shaving horse or bench, with a long wooden spring handle or hammer, and manip- ulated by hand power. This machine would break up the hard woody stem when it would be drawn through the hetchel-a board or block filled with long iron teeth
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something like a comb-which would remove the coarse material and tow from the fibre or flax.
I have a distinct remembrance, when I was quite a large boy, of wearing a blue checked suit of linen clothes of my mother's manufacture of which I was very proud.
The wool industry was a very important factor in the domestic economy, and the whirr and buzz of the old spinning wheel was a very familiar sound in many of the dwellings. The wool having been properly prepared by means of some now forgotten process, into long slender strings or rolls, these were singly connected to the end of a long iron or steel spindle which was made to swiftly revolve by means of a large wooden wheel; the spinner holding the roll in her left hand would walk slowly back- ward and forward, drawing the twisted thread to the end of the roll and then retracing her steps in winding it on the spindle, a process necessarily involving a great many steps in the course of a day's spinning.
When the spindle was filled with yarn it would be wound on the arms of a reel, which, after making a certain number of revolutions would record a click, indi- cating the completion of a knot or skein. There were several other implements or machines employed in the process of manufacture and preparation, one of which was called a "swift," but their uses, and even their respec- tive appellations are now long forgotten and it is doubt- ful whether many now living can remember them. After the yarn by various processes had been manipulated into the required form, it was consigned to the dye tub to receive whatever color pleased the fancy. All the various processes of this once familiar domestic industry can now be safely relegated among the lost arts, along with those of making soap and starch and mince pies.
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There was yet another very important industry of home consumption which deserves mention, that of the manufacture of dipped tallow candles which were the principal, and in fact often the only convenient effective means of illumination in early days, although I have heard of instances of fat pine knots being used for that purpose.
The modus operandi of dipping candles was to slip the loop of the cotton wicks which had been cut to the desired lengths, on to slim elder stalks or round wooden rods of about two feet in length, say six or eight wicks on each rod. These would be arranged on horizontal supports holding perhaps a dozen or more rods. The operator, seated by the side of the frame supporting the rods, and within easy reaching distance, beginning at one end, would lift the rods and slowly dip the wicks into a pot of hot tallow by her side, and by the time the end of the frame was reached the tallowed wicks would be suffi- ciently hardened to repeat the process, and thus, by slow degrees, the candles, like icicles, would grow to the de- sired size, and they were much more desirable and lasting than those of the moulded variety.
The many progressive stages made within the last hundred years in methods of illumination, successively from tallow dips and dirty whale oil lamps, to danger- ous camphine or burning fluid, and kerosene to gas, and finally, the wonderful perfection attained, and the saving of labor afforded through means of the magic electric button device, can scarcely be realized and appreciated by the present generation.
After the crops had been all gathered, and the fall work completed, then just before the holiday season came the butchering, and after that threshing of grain, which was sometimes done by having the horses and colts
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tramp over it on the barn floor, but was more largely done by means of the flail, the threshers receiving their pay in grain, the amount thereof being governed by the number of bushels threshed.
In the early days Easton was the principal market place for the farmers' products which were mostly hauled there on sleds during the winter season, but at the time of which I write the millers and merchants of the valley were the principal customers. There being no bakers' shops in those days, every household baked their own bread, cakes and pies. The grain for the flour and meal was taken to the mill to be ground, the miller receiving his pay therefor in tolls which he deducted.
It was not an unusual custom to carry small grists to the mill on horseback, the sack being thrown across the horse's back in front of the rider.
I have heard it said, but I can't vouch for the truth of it, that some riders, in order to balance the bag on the horse's back, would put a stone of equal weight in the other end.
The mills to which the grain would be taken to be ground into flour or meal, besides the one of my father's already mentioned, were Shupp's mill up near the present L. & B. Railroad junction; Pugh's mill, which was located a short distance up Harvey's Creek, and Raub's and Dorrance's mills in Mill Hollow, now Luzerne Borough. All of these mills I think were run by water power. There was another mill up Wadham's Creek but that did not pretend to do much business. I have taken grists to all of these mills.
The coal industry as has been previously noted, com- menced here in 1807 by the Smith brothers, at what was generally known as the "Big Coal Bed" on Coal Street, the coal being hauled on wagons down to wharves on the
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river bank where it was loaded, at first on arks, and later, after the North Branch Canal was built, into canal boats.
The principal roads to the river over which the coal was hauled was one just above the Samuel Davenport store; another, at the corner of which stood C. E. Young's house ; both of these roads leading to my father's wharf. One by Turner's store leading to Turner's and Ransom's wharves, and yet another, near the present M. E. parsonage and leading to Wadham's wharf. All of these roads are now closed up and but little evidence, if any, remains of their former existence.
The arks, which I have mentioned, and I believe also most of the flat bottomed boats used in transporting the coal to market, were built in what was called the "basin," a natural formation of the land situated near Wadham's Creek between Gabriel's blacksmith shop and the river, which every spring, at the time of high water would fill up, when the arks or boats could be floated down the creek to the river.
Those flat-bottomed boats came to be known all along the line of the canal as "Shawnee boats," and by reason of the progressive and aggressive qualities of their re- spective crews, I believe originated the familiar watch- word of "Shawnee against the world."
The method of preparing and shipping coal to mar- ket in those early days was very simple. There were but two recognized sizes of coal, "coarse or lump," and "fine coal." The former size was just as it came from the mine, in lumps often as large as one or two men could handle, and the latter, perhaps as large as a man's two hands down to chestnut size, or what would not easily pass through the meshes of a "screen shovel." The coal was hauled from the mine to the river and piled on the bank and from thence loaded into boats with wheelbar-
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rows. All pieces of slate were thrown out, and that on the large lumps removed with a pick. This primitive method of preparing coal was, in some respects, superior to those of the present day, in that there was at least some pretentions made of honesty. Nowadays the slate is ground up and skillfully mixed with the coal for weight and everything goes.
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