USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > The centennial of Susquehanna County > Part 3
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The proffered use of Du Bois Grove, on Spring Farm, adjoining Hallstead, for Centennial purposes was accepted by the committee.
The following Committee on Public Comfort was appointed : J. Gregg McCreary, chairman ; Mrs. Dr. Dayton, Mrs. C. E. Ben- nett, Mrs. C. J. Langley, Mrs. O. A. Lines, Mrs. C. B. Woodward, Mrs. Henry Ackert.
The chair appointed the following Reception Committee to receive and look after the comfort of invited guests. Hon. William H. Jes- sup, chairman ; Hon. J. H. Cook, Hon. O. A. Lines, Hon. E. H. True, Hon. William Maxey, William M. Post, Esq., Gaylord Curtis, Esq., W. D. Lusk, Esq., James P. Taylor, Esq.
The chair appointed the following Committee on Decorations : C. J. Langley, chairman; Richard Phillips, C. W. Bankes, L. B. Crook, Mrs. A. G. Young, Mrs. F. D. Lamb, Miss Jennie Barnes, Miss Theo. Mckinney.
A committee of five on Pyrotechnics and Illumination was ap- pointed, as follows : Frank Sands, chairman; Dimmock Jenks, John Maynard, John W. Dusenbury, W. T. Estabrooks. It was decided to make a naval engagement on the river the main feature for one evening, and "Admiral" Findon, of Susquehanna, was selected to have charge of it.
Capt. H. F. Beardsley, Hon. George A. Post, and James T. Du Bois were selected to complete and secure the printing of the pro- gramme.
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At the written request of Treasurer M. B. Wright, of Susquehanna, E. R. Mason, of Hallstead, was appointed assistant treasurer of the Centennial fund : C. M. Simmons, M. J. Larabee, and C. M. Shelp were appointed as Finance and Auditing Committee.
Chairman Beardsley was specially directed by the committee to extend an invitation to W. F. Hallstead and wife, of Scranton, to be the guests of the county during the Centennial. He was also in- structed to make arrangements for excursion rates on the D. L. & W. and Erie railroads ; to advertise for bids from experienced caterers to furnish the dinner to the old settlers; to select a leader for the C'entennial chorus, and to decide as to the amounts to be expended in the different features of the programme.
Each member of the Executive Committee was instructed to select a young lady from his district to act as waitress at the old settlers' banquet.
After a full and free interchange of opinions it was decided that to entitle a person to be called an " old settler " he or she must be seventy years old or upward and have resided in the county forty years or more.
The question of charging a small admission fee at the Relic Hall. in case the amount subscribed should be deemed insufficient, was left to the chairman of the Executive Committee, and the members of the Managing Committee ; but in no case shoukl those who have contrib- uted be charged an admission fee.
The meeting adjourned sine die.
THE INVITATION COMMITTEE.
The Hon. George A. Post, chairman of the Managing Committee, who was empowered at the 6th of August meeting at New Milford to select fifteen prominent citizens of the county to serve on the Com- mittee on Invitations, with the understanding that he was to act as chairman, selected the following gentlemen : \. Lathrop, Montrose ; Dr. D. C. Ainey, New Milford; W. Scott Brandt, Brandts ; L. Griffis, Jackson; E. T. Tiffany, Harford; Jno. Tewksbury, Au- burn ; H. F. Handrick, Forest Lake ; T. Sullivan, Silver Lake ; T. P. Phinney, Dundaff; G. L. Lewis, Thomson; H. L, Bailey, Brooklyn ; V. Reckhow, Great Bend ; J. 1. Merriman, Liberty ; J. W. Chapman, Montrose.
The following is as near a fac-simile as possible of the first circu- lar sent out by this committee :
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NNA
ns
NIAL.
OZIAS STRONG'S
LOG CABIN
87 ·
1887
Banquet -:- and -:- Reception .-
-TO-
OLD SETTLERS.
LOG CABIN, Hallstead, Pa.,
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September 26th, 1887. 5
At the celebration of the Centennial of the first white settlement with- in the territory now comprising Susquehanna County, to be holden on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of October, 1887. at Hallstead, a banquet will be tendered to the " old settlers" who have resided in the county for forty years or more, and are now seventy years of age and upward, and a special reception will be given them by His Excellency, Hon. James A. Beaver, Governor of this Commonwealth. in the log cabin on the site of the cabin built by Ozias Strong, the first white settler.
· Of this honored number of our County's early settlers, to whom is due so much of its present prosperity, you are one ; and we hereby extend to you a most cordial and pressing invitation to accept the hospitality of the County on Wednesday, October 12th, and join in the Centennial festivities, which must prore of especial interest to you, and which will give you a splendid opportunity to revive old memories, renew and cement old friendships, and have a day of supreme pleasure.
We beg you to bend every effort to honor the occasion with your pres- ence.
Enclosed herewith be pleased to find " Banquet Card," presentation of which will entitle you to the distinguished consideration to be accorded the old settlers.
Expressing the ardent hope that you may be giren health and strength to accept this invitation, we subscribe ourselves,
Yours Fraternally,
GEO. A. POST, LEANDER GRIFFIS, THOS. P. PHINNEY,
AZOR LATHROP, VE. T. TIFFANY, GILES L. LEWIS,
J. W. CHAPMAN,
JOHN TEWSKBURY, VINCENT RECKHOW,
D. C. AINEY, HENRY F. HANDRICK, J. L. MERRIMAN,
W.SCOTT BRANDT, TIMOTHY SULLIVAN, HI. L. BAILEY,
Committee on Inritations.
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The committee extended invitations to the Governor of the State, James A. Beaver, and to the following distinguished sons of Susque- hanna County : Hon. G. A. Grow, Judge H. W. Williams, of Tioga County, Pennsylvania; Congressman Martin A. Foran, of Cleveland, Ohio; Ex-Governor C. C. Carpenter, of lowa; also to Hon. W. W. Phelps, of New Jersey ..
The following letters were received in reply to the invitations:
GOVERNOR BEAVER'S LETTER.
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
HARRISBURG, August 18th, 1887. Hon. GEO. A. POST, Chairman, &c., Montrose, Pa.
MY DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 12th instant, inviting me to participate in the observance of the 100th Anniversary of the settle- ment of the territory comprising the county of Susquehanna, be- tween the 10th and 15th of October, has been received. I am greatly honored by the invitation, and will have much pleasure in accepting it if nothing now unforeseen prevents. I will endeavor to attend the meeting of the State Board of Agriculture at Montrose on the 13th, and will be glad to know which day of the Centennial exercises you would prefer that I should be at Hallstead. Please advise me as early as possible, as the pressure upon my time for that week is very great, and the arrangement of other engagements will depend upon the day fixed for my joining you in the services of your Centennial.
If convenient for you I would prefer to go to Hallstead after the meeting of the State Board.
Very cordially, yours,
JAMES A. BEAVER.
The official announcement that Governor Beaver would be pres- ent at the Centennial sent a thrill of pleasure through the hearts of the masses, and it was especially gratifying to the old settlers, who were thereby assured of the honor of taking the brave soldier and eminent ruler by the hand and sitting down with him at the banquet.
JUDGE WILLIAMS'S LETTER.
WELLSBORO, PA., September 9, 1887.
MY DEAR SIR: Your kind invitation to attend the Centennial Celebration of the settlement of Susquehanna County is at hand. The session of the supreme court begins on the first Monday of Oc- tober (the 3d), at Pittsburgh, at which time and place I must be present. I shall endeavor, however, to be present, if possible, on the tith. I have an affection for the rugged hills and the sturdy men and women of Susquehanna County that will live while I live. I shall never cease to regard with affection the county of my birth,
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in which the years of my minority were spent, and whose soil holds the sacred ashes of father and mother. Thanks for the invitation. I shall come if I can.
Very truly, yours,
HENRY W. WILLIAMS. CONGRESSMAN FORAN'S LETTER.
CLEVELAND, OHIO, September 6, 1887.
DEAR SIR : Your esteemed favor of September 3, extending an in- vitation to be present and participate in the Centennial Celebration of the first settlement of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, was received this morning. Please accept my thanks and present my compliments to the other gentlemen of the committee for your own and their kind consideration in this matter. It will afford me much pleasure to meet you and other citizens of my native county upon this occasion. If you will kindly inform me upon which day it would best suit your arrangements to have me present I will so arrange my business matters as to be present. Either day will suit me.
I am, very truly yours,
M. A. FORAN.
GOVERNOR CARPENTER'S LETTER.
FORT DODGE, IA., September 10, 1887.
Hon. GEO. A. POST.
DEAR SIR: I have your letter of the 3d instant in which you invite me to be present at Hallstead, in Susquehanna County, at the pro- posed celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the settlement of the county. The invitation, and the cordial words of the letter com- municating it to me, are most gratefully received. No ordinary diffi- culty would prevent me from responding in person. But I regret to say that private business, which I can neither avoid nor postpone, will prevent me from coming. A few years since I revisited my native town of Harford. The evidences of progress in every avenue of en- terprise with which I was met on every hand were to me a source of pride and gratification. In the years of my absence I had met, in other States, and in all the varied pursuits and enterprises of this great country, many of the sons of Susquehanna ; and it was to me a source of gratification that my native county, and the people with whom my youth and younger manhood had been spent, could send so many of their sons to aid in laying the foundation of other Com- monwealths and to promote the industries of other communities, and yet keep abreast with any other locality of the civilized world in all the activities of this progressive age. I compared the comfort of her homes, the advancement of her system of schools, the growth of her church enterprises, the beneficence of her public charities, the wealth of her producing classes, the beauty and intelligence of her daughters,
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and the push and perserverance of her sons with that of my home on the more fertile prairies of lowa, and I was more than ever convinced that man "constitute the State."
All honor then to good old Susquehanna ! May she move on by the unconquerable endeavor of her people like the waters of the river whose name she bears that broadens and deepens as they flow! With great respect.
Very truly, yours,
C. C. CARPENTER.
CHAIRMAN BEARDSLEY'S HEADQUARTERS IN MONTROSE.
The six weeks preceding the memorable three days of October were busy ones at Captain Beardsley's headquarters in Montrose, where he was assisted by Chairman Post, of the Managing Committee. and Centennial Secretary W. J. Pike. Circular after circular was sent out to the citizens of the county, one urging them to collect rel- ics for the exhibition, another couched in generous and kindly tones inviting the old settlers to the Governor's reception and banquet ; one appealed for money to meet the necessary expenses of the celebra- tion, another urged the different marshals to activity concerning the details of the great parade, and when the responses came pouring in the chairman and his assistants.were surprised and overwhelmed. Endless lists of relics were brought in by every mail. No one had dreamed that the homes of Susquehanna County were such relic and art treasure bonanzas, and the old settlers' lists seemed to rival the relics. The thriving town of Gibson sent in a list of her oldest cit- izens, which we print herewith as a sample of the reports received :
GIBSON'S OLDEST CITIZENS.
Matthew McPherson, 92: George Woodward, 86; Eliza Dimock, 88; Lee Sparks, 86 ; Naby Maxon, 86: Nathan Kenedy, 85 : Mrs. M. Chamberlin, 84; Fitch Resseguie, 83 ; Aliste Bennett, 82; Mrs. Chancey Barnes, 82; Mrs. Ira Washburn, 81 : Aaron Resseguie, 80 : Lines Green, 81 ; Gerdon Abel, So: Alonzo Kinney, So; Mrs. Ray- mond Sweet, 80; Mrs. Roswell Barnes, So; James Bennett, 79: Mrs. James Bennett, 78: Clint Roberts, 78 ; Mrs. Clint Roberts, 74; Mrs. L. G. Bennett, 77; Betsey Chamberlin, 76: Simeon Manzer, 76; Zelotus Bronson, 75; Achus Card, 75; L. G. Bennett, 75 ; Mrs. John Senior, 75: Prescot Griggs, 78 ; Mrs. Prescot Griggs, 75 ; G. W. Bills, 75; Benjamin Bennett, 73; Harrison Resseguie, 73 : Mrs. Wm. Thayer, 73: Wm. H. Pope, 73; Isaic Hallstead, 73; William Prescot, over 70 ; Lucy C. Chamberlin, over 70; Persilla Barnes, over 70; Owen Williams, over 70 ; Alvira Pickering, over 70; Theron Washburn, over 70: John Brundage. 73: J. G. Stiles,
...
.....
DISPATCH ENG. CO.
CAPTAIN H. F. BEARDSLEY.
1
STOR, TILLEN FOD 1
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72 ; Mrs. Emily Woodward, 72: J. L. Gillet. 72 : Mrs. J. G. Stiles, 71 ; Almon Sweet, 71 : Mrs. G. W. Bills, 71 : Mrs. Wm. Roper, 71 ; John Steenback, 71 : Henry Howell, 70; Mrs. Price, 70; Ste- phen Potter, 70 ; J. Burrows, 70.
The average age of the first thirty-one persons is a little over eighty years ; the sum of their ages is 2,483 years. The average of the fifty- five is seventy-six years. The sum of all their ages is 4, 189 years.
These revelations of the remarkable longevity existing in our county demonstrated to the committee at once that to banquet all of the old settlers who had reached three-score-and-ten, as it was at first proposed, would require a mammoth tent four hundred feet long and three hundred feet wide, and no caterer could be found equal to the task of furnishing the dinner. Thus the necessity of limiting the number became evident, which resulted in placing the time of resi- dence in the county at forty years.
The correspondence concerning the parade was immense, and often the midnight oil was burned in order to keep up with the work. The following as a sample of the circulars issued concerning the pa- rade is herewith given :
HEADQUARTERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, Montrose, Pa., Sept. 15, 1887.
Less than four weeks remain in which to complete preparations for our County Centennial. A growing and widespread interest is being manifested, and the committees need but the active aid and co-op- eration of our citizens to render it an occasion forever memorable in the history of our county. The full programme of exercises will be pub- lished at an early day, and Centennial posters will soon confront you with attractive head-lines.
The grand parade, which will take place on Wednesday, October 1 2th, will doubtless be the finest ever witnessed in the county. It is expected that each township and borough will be distinctly repre- sented in it, and they should at once take steps to organize their dele- gation. To facilitate organization, and to divide the county into convenient divisions, the chairman, who, by resolution of the Execu- tive Committee, was made grand marshal, has grouped the town- ships and boroughs of the county into seven divisions and appointed a division marshal for each, as follows :
First Division-Auburn, Rush, Springville, Dimock, and Jessup. Marshal, D. C. Titman, of Auburn.
Second Division-Forest Lake, Middletown, Apolacon, Little Meadows, Choconut, Friendsville, and Silver Lake. Marshal, Wm. A. Southwell, of Forest Lake.
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Third Division-Brooklyn, Lathrop, Hopbottom, Bridgewater, and Montrose. Marshal. H. C. Jessup, of Montrose.
Fourth Divison-Lenox, Harford, New Milford Township, and New Milford Borough. Marshal, D). N. Hardy, of Lenox.
Fifth Division-Clifford, Dundaff, Herrick, Uniondale, Ararat, Gibson, and Jackson. Marshal, Dr. Wm. Rogers, of Gibson.
Sixth Division-Thomson Township, Thomson Borough, Har- mony, Susquehanna, Oakland Township, and Oakland Borough. Marshal, Wm. H. Telford.
Seventh Division-Hallstead, Great Bend Township, Great Bend Borough, Liberty, and Franklin. Marshal, P. R. Barrager, of Great Bend Township.
The division marshals hereby appointed will at once select an aid from each township and borough, comprising their respective divis- ions, and forward his name to the chairman. Aides to the grand marshal will be announced hereafter.
A circular letter with instructions and suggestions will soon be for- warded to marshals and aides, but they will bear in mind, however, that special and distinctive features are left wholly to their discretion, and the divisions themselves should vie with each other in the number and character of their delegations. The bands of the county have been invited, and "formal" invitations will soon be extended not only to them, but to G. A. R. Posts, Sons of Veterans, Masons, Odd Fel- lows. Knights of Pythias, Red Men, fire companies, and other civic societies to turn out on that occasion.
H. F. BEARDSLEY, Chairman.
W. J. PIKE, Secretary.
AROUND THE COUNTY.
The work of the Executive and Auxillary Committees commenced in earnest about the middle of August. In every election district the Centennial missionaries were conspicuous. The humblest citi- zen's pocket-book attracted them as the magnet draws the needle. Fifty cents were not quite as welcome to them as were five dollars, but they received careful consideration wherever they appeared. At- tics were turned up side down, old trunks covered with the dust of decades were opened, dark places were illumined by the light of in- vestigation, ancient articles that had been thrown aside as worthless were uncovered and suddenly became sacred and priceless. The dilapidated spinning-wheels of the grandmothers neglected for years now became treasured trophies of the grandchildren. Those wonder- ful old bonnets of a hundred yearsago were dragged out of dingy closets and slicked up for the great event. The sword of the Revolution, the flint lock of 1812. the horn that served powder to Sullivan's soldiery
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a's they swept through the Susquehanna Valley, great-grandma's wed- ding dress, the pumps that Uncle Daniel wore, the tea-pot which Sir Walter Raleigh used while he was introducing the filthy weed into England, a bona fi le Susquehanna County lizard that was extracted from a child's stomach, andirons that warmed grim old Puritan pio- neers on the wild New England coast-these and thousands of curious mementoes of Auld Lang Syne were brought forth from their hiding- places and prepared for shipment to the Relic Hall at Hallstead. Every old settler was visited by the Centennial missionaries and ex- amined to see if he came within the requirements of " forty and seventy," and if that standard was satisfied he received his creden- tials in the form of a handsome banquet card. Everywhere mar- shals and their aides were busy making up the details of the great parade. At the firesides old men sat and told tales of early days, and they found always willing listeners, for " ye spirit of ye olden tymes" had returned, and the days that were gone long ago were lived over and over again. A universal feeling of sympathy with the Centennial prevailed at every hearthstone, and it was evident that a great celebration would be the result. How could it have failed to succeed with such an army of industrious, active, and liberal soldiers as were enlisted in its patriotic service ? When the subscription pa- pers were passed around over one thousand two hundred persons generously placed their names upon the list. When the Auxillary Com- mittee summed up the result of their arduous labors they found that nearly six hundred citizens had responded to their solicitations and confided to their care something over twelve hundred relics of ines- timable value, which were placed on exhibition at Relic Hall. When Professor Harroun appealed to the people to help organize his chorus one hundred and fifty well-disciplined voices answered to the call. There were actively employed in securing this splendid re- sult over two hundred members of the various committees, making in all about twenty-one hundred persons who helped to achieve for our Centennial one of the most novel and successful celebrations that ever occurred in the State.
HALLSTEAD PREPARES.
Five days after the 30th of July meeting at the Mitchell House, during which the Executive Committee, by unanimous vote, decided that the celebration should be held at Hallstead, N. T. Mitchell and
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James T. Du Bois journeyed to Wolf Hollow, a small and prosperous settlement about two miles northwest of the village in search of a log cabin which was to be placed on the spot where the Strongs erected the first white house in the county. The object sought for was found on the farm of Peter Osterhout. Its dimensions were 15 x 22 feet, and for many years it had served as the home of the Osterhouts, until it was deserted by them for a more modern residence. John, the father of Peter Osterhout, was at home, and being told what was- wanted of the cabin, he said : " If you want it for the Centennial you are welcome to it."
THE CENTENNIAL LOG CABIN.
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THE CABIN MOVING BEE.
The next day at sunrise six teams, furnished by W. S. Barnes, J. F. Carl, N. T. Mitchell, Philo McDonald, John Chidester, John Babcock. R. C. Du Bois, and a number of citizens, among whom were Burgess Simmons, Walter Smith, Philo McDonald, jr., Frank Sack - ett, Oliver McDonald, and James T. Du Bois, proceeded to Wolf Hollow, and as they approached the quaint old cabin John Oster- hout came out of his comfortable modern home and said : "Gentle- men, in that log cabin I spent the happiest years of my life, and there my children were reared. It sheltered me and mine through the storms of many bleak winters, but if you want it for the good cause, there it is; take it, but use the old home well."
In a short time there was a novel scene. Stalwart men mounted the roof and sawed it up into three parts, lowered them carefully, and loaded them into the wagons. A dozen hands commenced removing the chinkings, plugs, and moss. The southeast and northwest cor- ners of the logs were marked, and, beginning at the top, they were taken down and put into the wagons. Then the floor was lifted and loaded, and within an hour the old log house was on its way to Hallstead. Arriving at the picturesque bluff where the Strong cabin stood one hundred years ago, a crowd of public-spirited citizens were found ready to help in the reconstruction of the quaint hut. The bottom logs were unloaded and placed in position, and one saw from that moment the central object of the Centennial grow like a thing of life, and before noon of that memorable clay a counterpart of the orig- inal log cabin stood on the original site, chinked, plugged, and mossed, a wonder to all. Scarce was the cabin up when a search was made for an ancient well which existed in the legendary lore of the village, and, lo ! it was found about twenty feet southwest from the cabin, covered with the debris of time and filled with the rubbish of nearly a century. Away went the debris, out came the rubbish, up went a quaint old sweep over the well, while an ancient-looking curb was built around it, and to this day the traveler will find in its depths crystal-pure water to quench his thirst.
While busy hands were helping to reconstruct the log cabin Capt. R. C. Du Bois brought from the mountain side a number of old pine stumps, which he planted about the hut in such a manner as to be- come realistic indeed, placing upon the one near the entrance an In-
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dian stone wash-dish. A load of hemlock bark was brought from Kistler's tannery with which to thatch the roof. A. G. Brush, of Locust Hill, appeared with a fine buck's head, crowned with superb antlers, which he nailed over the entrance. John Van Loan fur- nished stone for and Reuben Skinner built an old-time chimney. Nathan Brown hurried in with a pair of antique andirons and put them in the fireplace. Then some patriot came along with a coonskin , and fastened it in the center of the eastern gable, and the fac-simile of the first home built within the confines of Susquehanna County was complete. The place where the Governor of the great Common- wealth of Pennsylvania and other distinguished guests were to take nearly five hundred of the oldest settlers of the county by the hand and give them kindly greeting was ready, a sight the like of which they had never witnessed before, and in witnessing which they must have found their eyes moistening.
The cabin was completed weeks before the Centennial, and owing to the postponement of the date there came a lull in local patriotism. But on the morning of the Monday preceding the celebration a change came. The final work of preparation began in earnest. The ugly snags which all through summer. time had marred the placid bosom of the river gradually disappeared, and the broad reach of waters stretched away unbroken by their forbidding presence. The weeds and rubbish which had heretofore disfigured the grassy slopes of the Susquehanna melted away as if touched by a wizard's wand, and the whole river front presented a landscape pleasing to both citizen and stranger. Upon all sides were evidences of awakened public spirit. 'The paint-brush became active; new sidewalks appeared ; piles ot litter were deftly put away; lawns received for the first time an au- tumnal mowing ; Street Commissioner Mack and helpers, under the direction of Burgess Simmons, renovated the principal thoroughfares. and the village fairly smiled in anticipation of the honors that were in store for her during the week that was coming.
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