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April 17, 2000, speaker David Kline, subject: "The History
of the Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike."
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, April 17 with 28
People present. In the absence of Tom Stackouse, the meeting was chaired
by Jim Vance. Zane Hartman gave thanks and the minutes of the last meeting
were read.
Following breakfast, Jim introduced David Kline who gave a most interesting
and informative talk on the history of the Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike.
David had a large map of the area on which was located the route of the
turnpike and various stage coach stops. He also had pictures he had taken
of the turnpike as it remains today on Painter Den property and in the
Dushore-Lopez area. A Pennsylvania Act signed March 8, 1806, authorized
construction of turnpikes. In 1807 a company called the President, Manager
and Company of the Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike Road was incorporated
to build a Turnpike from Berwick to Elmira, NY. (at that time called "Newtown").
by the "best and nearest route." Men who built the road lived
in shanties and moved as the work progressed. The
Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike started in Berwick, crossed Jonesown Mountain
to Jonestown along Huntingdon Creek. From there it went through Cambra
to Fairmount Springs and on up Red Rock Mountain to Long Pond (now Ganoga
Lake), then past the present town of Mildred over Huckleberry mountain,
then on to Towanda and Elmira. It reached Elmira in 1825, 18 years after
it was first started . The turnpike was a toll road , tolls were more
for a two-horse vehicle than for a single horse. Some parts were a "corduroy"
road made by placing 7 ft. logs side by side at right angles to supporting
log rails underneath. The Berwick and Towanda Turnpike Co. began running
stage coaches in 1827. Stage coaches ran from station to station with
fresh horses being picked up--usually at 12 mile intervals. Stages rain
twice daily leaving Berwick in the morning, stopping for lunch and changing
horses at Long Pond Tavern and spending the night at Schrofogels Hotel.
The stone house in Fairmount Springs was also a Stage Coach stop.
Our thanks to David for the interesting presentation and the handout giving
us all the information to take home with us. The next meeting will be
Monday, May 15. at the Brass Pelican. Tentative plans are for a presentation
on the Fishing Creek Confederacy by George Turner, president of the Columbia
County Historical Society.
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May 15, 2000, George Turner, speaking on the "Fishing
Creek Confederacy."
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, May 15, with 33
people present. In the absence of Tom Stackhouse, the meeting was chaired
by Jim Vance. Each one was asked to introduce themselves. We were pleased
to welcome visitors who had not been with us before. Jim made the announcements:-
The next meeting will be the regular Third Monday of June at the Brass
Pelican. The tentative topic is the history of the Chimney Stack Hunting
Club with Jim Dildine as the speaker.
He also announced that the Homecoming at St. Gabriels Church is Sunday,
July 16 with worship at 11:00 A.M. Genealogical information will also
be shared. See Betty Victory for more information.
The minutes of the last meeting were read. Jim gave thanks before breakfast
was served.
Immediately following breakfast, Jim introduced Professor George Turner,
president of the Columbia County Historical Society who gave a most interesting
and onformative talk. The first point Professor Turner emphasized was
that this was not a group of Confederate sympathizers. The actions here
were politically motivated- People here were willing to fight to save
the Union- but they were not willing to fight to free the slaves. And
they were not in favor of a draft to fill the ranks of the Union Army.
Mnay felt that Abraham Lincoln streched his powers as grantrd by the Constitution.
They felt he had no right to institute the drafting of men to serve in
the U.S. Army. There had never been a draft in the history of the United
States. The 44 men who were arrested for "entering into, confederaing,
and assisting in forming combination to resist the execution of certain
provisions of an Act of Congress" were not mainly draft dodgers.
Most of them were too old to be drafted. They were men who were leaders
of their community, men who were politically motivated, and men who had
spoken out at meetings. They spent time in federal prison and came home
to a hero's welcome. Many were elected to public office in later years.
Professor Turner compared the temper of the people in Colombia County
in Civil war times to many people's feelings during the Viet Nam war.
It wasn't that people didn't love their country it was that they felt
their country was wrong in this instance. It gave us a different outlook
on the Fishing Creek Confederacy and our thanks go to Professor Turner
for a most interesting presentation.
The next meeting will be the third Monday, June 19 at the Brass Pelican
with the topic of the history of the Chimney Stack Hunting Club as the
topic.
June 19, 2000
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, June 19, with
27 people present. In the absence of Tom Stackhouse, Jim Vance chaired
the meeting. The minutes of the last meeting were read.. Following this
each one present introduced themeselves. and Dayne Kline told us that
the group from Benton who joined us enjoyed the informative talks and
the shared fellowship.
Jim then introduced Jim Dildine a member of the Chimney Stack Hunting
Club who gave us a short history of the club. The Club was started in
1934 with five young men as members who were known as the "Wild bunch".
The Club originally owned 5 acres of land that had been timbered off and
a tar paper covered building. This building burned in 1939. A new building
was built in 1941 by Doyle Sutliff, a part time contractor from Benton.
The Club then owned 400 more acres of land. They had a new 8 miles of
road built to make the camp more accessible. Their name is taken from
a tall rock on nearby North Mountain that is known as the Chimney Stack.
The Club now owns 1300 acres of land and a fine stone building .They have
28 living members , Jim Dildine being the oldest both in age and in length
of membership. There is an Honor Roll of 24 deceased members hanging in
the Club House.
Our thanks to Jim Dildine for his interesting presentation. It gave us
a good picture of the fun and fellowship that take place in Hunting Clubs.
The next meeting will be the third Monday in July- July 17 at the Brass
Pelican with the topic Native American Hisory in Sugarloaf Township. "Murph"
will be giving the presentation. Brakfast will be at 8:30 wih the program
starting at approximately 9:30.
The August meeting will be a talk on the C.C.C. Camp at Elk Grove with
a short walking tour of the site of the camp at the conclusion for those
who are interested. This is being done by Mr, Wilson Ferguson, president
of the Sullivan County Historical Society, This was arranged by David
Kline, It sounds like an interesting presentation. Thank You, David. .
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July 17, 2000
The history Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on the third Monday July
17, 2000. There were 43 people present. We were pleased to have visitors
who were in the area to attend the Homecoming at St. Gabriels church.
Jim Vance chaired the meeting in the absence of Tom Stackhouse. He offered
thanks before breakfast was served. Everyone introduced themselves and
Jim mentioned how pleased we were to have so many people present.
After breakfast, Jim introduced Mr. Conrad Hislop, known to many of us
as "Murph" . He gave a most interesting and informative talk
about the Indians who had lived in this area. His ancestors were from
New England. He said the Iriquois were the predominant tribe in Northern
Columbia County.
He told of the Nanticoke tribe who traveled through here to a large burial
ground near Wyalusing. The field opposite the North Mountain Fire Hall
was a stopping place. They used a large spring in the area which can be
seen today. He mentioned that a traveling tribe suffered a cholera epidemic
while camped at the present site of Camp Lavigne. The remains of some
of those buried there have been found including one body that was buried
by itself apart from the others. It was later learned that this was an
Indian princess and she was buried by herself as a sign of respect.
Mr. Hislop then opened the meeting for questions and this resulted in
an interesting discussion. Several had either ancestors or knew of people
who had been captured and raised in the Indian culture. There were no
stories of cruelty or massacre by Indians. Someone asked if the local
Indians were farmers and Mr. Hislop answere yes, definitely. Squash, corn
and beans were crops mentioned. He told how they dried acorns, pounded
them into flour and made delicious bread.
Our thanks to Mr. Hislop for a most interesting and informative presentation.
The next meeting will be Monday, August 21 at the Brass Pelican. It will
be a talk by Mr. Wilson Ferguson, president of the Sullivan County Historical
Society, on the former C.C.C. camp at Elk Grove. There will be a short
walking tour of the camp at the conclusion for those who are interested.
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August 21, 2000
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on the third Monday, August
21, 2000 with 60 people present including one couple from California,
several from Sullivan County snd several from Bloomsburg and Benton. Our
Group is growing.
Before the meeting opened Jim Vance canvassed the room for suggestions
for future meetings. He got a good response: The history of telephone
service in the area, politics and elections, more on the fishing Creek
Confederacy, the history of the White House, how and when electriciy was
brought to the area, the B & S Railroad. These all sound like interesting
subjects and hopefully something can be worked out. After the reading
of the minutes David Kline introduced the speaker for the day, Mr. Wilson
Ferguson, President of the Sullivan County Historical Society. His topic-
the C.C.C. camp north of Elk Grove. Mr Ferguson prefaced his history of
the Camp with information about the village of Emmons, also known as Bombtown,
The town, located at the juncture of Painter Run with the West Branch
of Fishing Creek, had been abandoned long before the establishment of
the C.C.C. Camp. Getting his information from the writings of a one room
school teacher in the village he gave us an excellent and entertaining
picture of life in the lumber camp and acid factory town. The factory
moved out and the town gradually disappeared as the timber was used up.
Emmons Post Office was in service from 1894 to 1910. The first contingent
for the C.C.C. camp left Fort Meade, Maryland on June 5, 1933. They arrived
in Benton by train on June 6, 1933 and were transported by truck to the
site of the camp. The first night a heavy wind and rainstorm tore down
many of their tents, Eighteen men quit the camp the first night. But after
a rough start Camp Morton, as it was called, grew and prospered. They
won several contests with other camps in the state. Their work projects
included building roads, bridges and fish dams, stream improvement, fire
and truck trails, reforestration, etc. The camp lasted 4 1/2 years. At
that time most of their work in the area was accomplished and the draft
was calling many of the young men of that age into the army. Mr. Ferguson
then opened the meeting to anyone who had anything else to offer. Several
people offered insight as to how the boys fit into the community. Some
said the boys were resented by local citizens but others gave instances
where they fit in very well. Bette Hess Grey told how they used the ball
diamond in Grassmere Park as their practice and home diamond. There were
three former CCC members present but none who had been based at Camp Morton.
There were several people present who had relatives who were employed
at the camp as foremen or leaders. After the meeting, many accompanied
Mr. Ferguson to the site of the camp where they saw what is left of roads
and foundations. Our thanks go to Mr. Fergusin for a very interesting
presentation.
The next meeting will be September 18. The topic will be the Benton Fire.
The speaker will be Professor George Turner from Bloomsburg.
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September 18, 2000, "The Benton Fire of July 4,
1910" presented by George Turner
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, September 18 at
8:30 A.M. with 58 people present. There were quite few people from Benton
with us drawn by their interest in the topic "The Benton Fire of
July 4, 1910. Thanks was offered by Rev. McDormand and the minutes of
the last meeting were read before breakfast was served.
After breakfast Jim Vance introduced Professor George Turner from the
Columbia County Historical Society. Professor Turner prefaced his talk
by passing around some excellent photographs of the fire, many of which
he acknowledged came from Sue Shultz and Louise Lewis. Many photographs
were passed around at the end of the meeting provided by Helen Fritz.
To open his talk, Professor Turner gave us a short history of the town
and a picture of life as it was in Benton in 1910. In 1852 the Benton
Post Office was opened with Daniel Hartman as the first Postmaster. In
1862 tthere were 60 dwellings in the town. In 1889 William Smith started
publishing the Benton Argus, the weekly newspaper later taken over by
the Brewington family. John McHeny from Benton was elected to Congress,
an honor for such a small town in a rural area.
The Benton Fire started near the blacksmith shop of Clyde Hirleman at
3:20 P.M. Apparently some cildren were playing with fireworks near the
Hirleman's barn and straw ignited and caught the barn on fire.. The fire
spread rapidly due to a brisk wind and the dry condition of the wood shingles
on most buildings.
The fire fighting efforts were hindered by lack of man power. It being
July 4th, there was a baseball game between Benton and Bloomsburg being
played that afternoon in Bloomsburg. All of Benton's players and many
fans had gone to Bloomsburg on the B& S railroad. The regular run
did not return until 7:00 P.M. A call went out to Jamison city for help
but there was a heavily loaded log train making slow progress down from
there so that slowed their response.
But the main cause of the disastrous spread of the fire was lack of water.
There was no water system in the town and no fire company. Due to legal
manuevering by a few people the waterworks, approved in 1904, never materialized.
The main fire defense in 1910 was bucket brigades and on July 4th that
was not enough. 200 people were left homeless and 50% of the business
district was gone. The loss in today's dollars was 5.2 million dollars.
Benton struggled to cope with the disaster. One bright spot was that there
were no deaths in the disaster and only 2 people suffered serious injuries.
A Relief Committee was formed and shelter and food for those who had lost
their homes was found immediately.
An ordinance was passed mandating that all roofs must be made of fire
proof material and in 1914 a water works for Benton was opened. Benton
was making sure a 1910 fire would not happen again.
Our thanks to Professor Turner for a most interesting presentation. The
next meeting will be Monday, October 16. Gerald Zeveney will speak on
the history of telephone service in northern Columbia County.
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October 16, 2000
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, Oct. 16 with 22
people present.
Zane Hartman asked the blessing and the minutes of the last meeting were
read.
After breakfast, Jim Vance introduced Gerald Zeveney who spoke on the
history of telephone service in the area. Gerry had worked for the Commonwealth
Telephone Company for many years. When he started working the phone system
consisted of telephones on the wall with a crank on the side to be turned
to call the operator or someone else on your party line. Each person on
the party line had a distinctive ring (a long and a short, two shorts,
etc.) People could listen in on other people's calls and this often happened,
especially if neighbors knew someone in the family was sick. Also, sometimes
the reciever would not be returned to the phone properly. If this happened
no one on the party line could use their phone until the reciever was
hung up properly. Use of the party line required patience and cooperation.
Gerry retired when Commonwealh went to the digital system.
In very early years Benton was served by the Luzene Telephone Company.
This company was acquired by the Commonwealth Telephone Company, owned
by Andrew J. Sardoni in 1928. Commonwealth has served Benton and the surrounding
area ever since.
In 1948 Mr. Zeveney worked to change the Benton System using operators
and a switch board to the dial system. Mention was made of the early telephone
operators. Two that were mentioned were Mrs. Arley Meeker and Miss Ella
Laubach. Some one told of calling the operator and telling her "I
need to speak to my father and he doesn't answer the phone. Do you happen
to know where he is? "
The answer came back "I believe he is down to the lumber yard. Let
me ring there and see." Sure enough the man soon had his father on
the line. With service like that, who needed an answering machine.
Mr. Zeveney closed his remarks by telling several anecdotes about things
that happened to him as a telephone repairman. Some were funny, some were
frightening, all were interesting. Our thanks to Mr. Zeveney for bringing
to us an account of the many changes in the telephone system over the
years.
The next meeting will be at the regular time, 8:30 AM on the third Monday,
Nov. 20 at the Brass Pelican. The speaker will be Mr. Charles Petrillo
from Wilkes Barre who will speak on Col. Ricketts and the Ricketts Estate.
November 20, 2000
The History Buffs met on Monday, Nov. 20, 2000 at the Brass Pelican
with 62 people present. Jim Vance asked the blessing then asked everyone
to introduce themselves and tell where they were from. After that the
minutes of the last meeting were read. Jim then asked for suggestions
for future topics. The December meeting will be a presentation of Christmas
traditions and customs. In January John Laubach will speak on the Laubach
family , particularly Dr. Frank Laubach, world famous missionary. In February,
Betty Victory will speak on the Fritz family and how many people in the
area are related to the Fritz's. Other suggestions were: the McClure house
in Bloomsburg, the Underground railroad in the area, the White House,
Greystone, Moses Van Campen Hotel, the McHenry Distillery. Jim will try
to get these lined up for future meetings.
After breakfast, Jim introduced the speaker for the morning Mr. Charles
Petrillo from Wilkes Barre. To augment his presentation Mr. Petrillo had
slides of the area about which he was speaking, some taken from pictures
as the area was then and then the same area as it appears today. This
added much to the interest of his talk.
He started with the town of Havey's Lake- how it started out as a lumbering
town in the 1870's. Later it became a recreational area that reached it's
height about the time of World War II. There were several steamboats on
the lake- the last one taken off in 1940. The Lehigh Valley railroad served
the Harvey's Lake Area and many of the railroad beds are now hiking trails..
Mr. Petrillo had excellent "Before and after" pictures of Mountain
Springs a thriving town in the area at one time. It had two large ponds
that were first used for holding logs for the timber industry- later these
ponds were used to harvest ice which was shipped out on the railroad to
neighboring towns.
After this Mr. Petrillo told us about the Ricketts family. They settled
in Orangeville. Robert Bruce Ricketts was a student at Wyoming Seminary,
He later enered the army, became captain of an artillry unit, participated
in a crucial battle at Gettysburg and came out of the Civil war a Colonel
and a hero.
After the war he married Elizabeth Reynolds and entered the banking industry
founding what was originally the Anthracite Bank of WilkesBarre. It is
still in existence today following several takeovers and changes in names.
Col. Ricketts bought timberland largely at tax sales until he owned what
is estimated to be 80,000 acres. He built the Stone House at Ganoga Lake
as a retreat for his family . Later a hotel known as the Ark was built
close to it.
The town of Ricketts was located on what is now Route 487. Part of it
was in Wyoming County, part in Sullivan County.A concrete bunker type
building is the only building left standing in the town of Ricketts. Mr.
Petrillo had pictures of the town in its heyday- many of which were taken
by Ronald Douglas a deaf-mute photographer. He also had pictures taken
recently that show nothing left at the site but a few foundations.
Col. Ricketts and his wife died within 6 weeks of each other near the
close of World War I and are buried in the family cemetery on the former
Ricketts estate.
Our thanks to Mr. Petrillo for a most interesting presentation. The next
meeting will be Monday, Dec 18 at the Brass Pelican. Be prepared to tell
of your family's Christmas traditions.
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December 18, 2000
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, Dec. 18 with 14
people present. Jim Vance returnrd thanks before breakfast was served.
Following breakfast the minutes of the last meeting were read.
There were a few additions--one explaining how the Ricketts Family came
to the North Mountain Area There was a hotel in the area which was the
one place to stay during hunting season. But one hunting season the place
was full when the Ricketts family arrrived and they had to sleep on the
floor. .The next hunting season the Ricketts owned many acres of prime
hunting land on the mountain and the stone house had been built where
they had excellent accommodations for hunting season. After this, we started
around the table. Everyone was well prepared to give us their special
memories. We had memories of early Christmases in Benton, some memories
of German traditions, and a very interesting description of Pol;ish traditions
that are stilll carried on by this family. They celebrate the holiday
on Dec. 6 with a feast of Polish food and a visit from the Belschnickel.
Church and family were emphasized as the core of many Christmas celebrations
as were cookie baking an family feasts.. One man told about living on
a farm and making sure the animals got special treats for Christmas. Some
one told of living near the old B & S railroad and taking a Christmas
treat of hot coffee and cookies to the man who walked the track from Stillwater
to Benton every day ahead of the train to make sure all was well on the
track. Someone told of growing up in Florida and how it is very possible
to celebrate Christmas without snow. While there were only a few people
present it was a most interesting meeting and I think everyone enjoyed
it. After the close of the meeting Mr. Wilson Ferguson from Laporte offeered
to give us a picture of life in Eaglesmere in the 19th century. That will
be at the April meeting. Our thanks to Mr. Ferguson.
The next meeting will be January 15th at the Brass Pelican. The speaker
will be Mr. John Laubach and the topic will be the Laubach family, particularly
Dr. Frank Laubach, world famous missionary..
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February 19, 2001
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on February 19, 2001 with
56 people present. Zane Hartman returned thanks before breakfast was served.
The minutes of the January meeting were read.
Following breakfast, Jim introduced Betty Victory who spoke of the settlement
of the Fritz family in Sugarloaf Township. To open her remarks, Betty
introduced Ethan Fritz, 6 year old son of Steve and Kathy Fritz- The youngest
of the Fritz family to live on Fritz Hill.
Philip Fritz was the first of the Fritz family to settle in the area.
He came here from Philadelphia in 1790 and settled on Fritz Hill which
was named for him. As a later account describes it - on the road from
Norman Fritz's to Comstocks. Betty has reason to believe that the actual
site is the home that she and Bill now own.
Philip was a teacher and a Justice of the Peace. The first school was
a log cabin near the present St. Gabriel's Church. He was also a private
in the Revolutiionary War. His wife was Charlotte Duubarge; they were
married in Philadelphia in 1785 and it was
through her (because women could not own property at that time) that he
obtained the 400 acres that he owned on Fritz Hill. That property is still
owned by Fritz descendents:
Betty and Bill Victory, her brother Jack Fritz and his wife, Barbara,
and Jack's son Steve and his wife Kathy. Betty told of several Fritz renions
that were held in Hess Grove, later Grassmere Park. She mentioned familiar
names of young people who gace recitations or sang songs. Helen Fritz
offered some geneology information as Betty traced the different branches
of the Fritz Family. Betty introduced Winifred Neufer, an officer of the
Daughters of the American Revoluion, She told of her grandfather helping
to hang the church bell in the tree at St. Gabriels church. Eleanor Sands
spoke briefly of her family history. Her Father was Karl Fritz, wholived
past the age of 100 and was well known for his knowledge of the history
of this area. Mr. Wilson Ferguson gave a short resume of what he plans
to cover in his talk on early Eaglesmere in April.
There is no topic lined up for March. The meeting will be held on the
regular day, March 19. Jim will get the info to Monica as soon as he gets
it lined up and she will post it on the board at the Pelican.
-=-
April 16, 2001, Dr. Wilson Ferguson, "Eagles
Mere before it became a popular resort."
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on April 16 with 37 people
present. Jim Vance offered thanks when breakfast was served. After breakfast
he introduced Mr. Wilson Ferguson from Laporte who spoke to us on the
topic "Eagles Mere before it became a popular resort" The lake
itself was different from other lakes in the area. It is spring fed--no
streams empty into the lake. It has a sandy bottom, a very fine white
sand. The land around the lake was not Indian territory as might be expected.
There were no Indian settlements in the area. According to Indian law
this land was reserved for hunting and Indian tribes agreed not to settle
there.
In 1794, after the Revolutionary War, Samuel Wallace obtained what was
then known as a patent for a large area around the lake. In 1801 George
Lewis bought 10,000 acres surrounding and including the lake for $1.00
an acre and had the land officially surveyed. The lake was named Lake
Lewis and the village that grew up around it was named Mt. Lewis. George
Lewis had a large stone house built for his family. He then had a glass
factory built and utilized the sand from the lake for glass manufacturing.
He also used the plentiful timber for fueling the factory. At first his
factory was quite succesful. He built 10 good frame houses to rent to
his workers and a large boarding house to accomodate the unmarried men.
There was also a school house and a sawmill. At its height Mt. Lewis had
250 residents. The glass factory made window glass, pitchers, vases and
the like and for a time was quite successful. The glass products were
packed in hay, in barrels, and transportated by horse and wagon to the
railroad station at Muncy. As you can imagine, the breakage was high.
To add to the problems of the small glass factory, after the Industrial
Revolution glass could be manufactured in England, shipped to the United
States and sold cheaper than it could be manufactured and shipped from
Mt. Lewis. After 1814, things went down hill for the small factory and
it was sold to different people who could not make a success of it.
In 1829, George Lewis sold the property to John Richter Jones, a successful
Philadelphia lawyer. He moved into the area and occupied George Lewis'
large home. At this time doctors were emphasizing the value of fresh,
pure mountain air as a treatment or preventative for tuberculosis. Jones
got on that bandwagon. In 1847 he secured a post office for the village
and called it Eaglesmere. He thought that name would be more likely to
encourage city people to come to his mountain retreat. In 1863 Jones was
killed while leading troops in a battle in the Civil war. His estate soon
sold off property for hotels to be built to provide pure fresh mountain
air. By 1911 the Reading Railroad was providing rail service to Sonestown
where a stage coach picked up passengers and transported them to the hotels,
The Forest Inn, the Lakeside, the Crestmont and other hotels in Eaglesmere.
One thing they offered was a sleeper out of Philadelpia Friday evening
that ran to Sonestown and parked there the rest of the night. In the morning
the business men got off and rode by stagecoach to any of the various
hotels where their families were staying. The men had a pleasant weekend
and Sunday evening went back down to Sonestown where the sleeper was wating
for the trip back to Philadelphia. This was the beginning of Eaglesmere
as we knew it.
July 16, 2001, “The Revival of the Fishing Creek
Confederacy.”
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, July 16 with 49
people present.
In the absence of Jim Vance, Ruth Vance chaired the meeting. She asked
each one to introduce themselves and tell where they were from. Minutes
of the last meeting were read. Zane Hartman offered thanks before breakfast
was served.
Following breakfast, Ruth introduced Profesor George Turner who spoke
to us on the topic “The Revival of the Fishing Creek Confederacy”.
The Revival was not a religous revival as we today think of Revival meetings.
It was a poitical camp meeting- a Rally for the Democrat Party in Columbia
County. The account in the local Newspaper of the day stated that the
meeting would be held in John McGargles Grove at the foot of Knob Mountain
near Orangeville . It was to be held for three days, August 29, 30, 31,
1865. Families were urged to attend. While there was a hotel in Orangeville
this would not be able to accomadate the large crowd that was expected.
People were urged to bring their own tents, covered wagons or some sort
of shelter and their own food. There would also be a boarding tent for
those whodesired that typeof accomadations.
There were to be three sessions each day, morning, afternoon andevening
with a political speaker at each sesson. These were interspersed with
entertainment, bands, choruses, and poetry reading. The object of the
meeting was to strengthen the Democrat Party according to theideas and
ideals of Thomas Jefferson, considered the father of the Democrat Party.
One interesting point was made- The “Fishing Creek Confederacy”
was a Republican term- the name applied by the Democrats was “The
Invasion of Columbia County by the United States Army”.
Guests of Honor seated on the platform were the men who were imprisoned
as a result of the original “Fishing Creek Confederacy”. Some
issues brought up during the meetings were - the Blacks and their right
to vote and the fate of the Confederate States. Should they be allowed
back into the Union or had they ever left the Union? Should Lincolns idea
of a 10%loyalty vote(an idea also accepted by then President Johnson)
be accepted. These ideas were discussed by the speakers and then around
the campfires
The Rally was attended by 5000 people according to one report. Professor
Turner said this may have been an exaggeration but everyone agreed it
was a large gathering.
In closing, Professor Turner said a Rally such as this was possible because
communication at that time was not readily available. There was no TV,
no commentators to discuss issues. People got together to discuss issues
between themselves.
Our thanks to Professor Turner for an interesting look at a Political
Rally of the past.
Our next meeting will be Monday, August 20 at the Brass Pelican. It will
be a slide presentation of the large hotels in Eaglesmere.
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November 19, 2001
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, Nov. 19 with 28
people present. Jim Vance opened the meeting by having each one introduce
themselves and tell where they were from. Following breakfast he introduced
Dr.Donald Rabb who told some of his family history. The first Rabbs came
to the United States from Germany in 1854. She made the 86 day trip by
sailboat. Passengers brought their own supplies, food and even their own
coal for the heater in their cabin.
Dr. Rabb had the document that we might call a passport that allowed the
young woman into the country- also something known as the right of passage
that possibly was to prove that her fare had been paid. This also contained
a description of the young woman- height, weight, color of hair and eyes
etc. He acknowledged the help of John Herbert Laubach in translating the
documents that were all written in German.
Following Dr. Rabb's presentation, Betty Victory showed us an array of
vintage clothing that had been handed down in her family over the years.
The clothing was beautiful and remarkably well preserved. Of special interest
was a christening gown which was worn by all three of her grandchildren
when they were baptized. She also had a complete outfit that the well
dressed young woman might have worn a hundred years ago including dress,
hat, gloves, shoes, muff and even a parasol. The presentations were most
interesting and our thanks go to both Betty and Dr. Rabb.
The next meeting will be the third Monday, Dec. 17th at the Brass Pelican.
Any one who has anytthing to do with an old fashioned Christmas such as
old cards, old Christmas decorations, or old toys is urged to bring them
and share with us. Mr. Brewer from Orangeville has offered to bring his
collection of old Christmas cards which I am sure will be most interesting.
The subject for the January meeting is the history of the Red Rock Bible
Conference. The meeting will be Monday, January 21, 2002 at 8:30 at the
Brass Pelican.
-=-
December 19, 2001, Mr. Donald Brewer
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, Dec. 19 with 18
people present. Jim Vance asked the blessing before our dellicious breakfast.
It was served family style and was courtesy of Monica as a Merry Christmas
to the group. Thank You, Monica. Becky did her usual great job making
sure everyone got plenty to eat.
Following breakfast Mr. Donald Brewer shared his collection of old Christmas
cards . He has a large number of cards from the 1910 to 1915 years. We
remarked that all the cards from that era were postcards.
Following the postcards a few old toys were passed around. Shiley Fulmer
had brought a metal fire truck and a metal race car to show. Mr. Doyle
Brewer entertained us with a humorous reading about the problems a mason
encountered while trying to get a bucket of extra bricks down from the
top of a tall building.
The next meeting will be January 21 at the Pelican. The speaker will be
Mr. John Welsh who will talk to us about the founding and early days of
the Red Rock Bible Camp.
|
January 15, 2001, Dr. John Herbert Laubach, "The
Laubach Family."
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Moday, January 15, 2001
with 40 people present. Zane Hartman returned thanks before breakfast
was served. The minutes of the last meeting were read.
Following breakfast, Jim Vance introduced John Laubach who spoke of the
settlement of the Laubach family in this area.
The Laubach family as we know it originated in the town of Budingen, Germany.
The first ancestor on record is Konrad Laubach.
John and Diane visited this area and researched family records. They saw
the gravestone of Knorad Labach in an old cemetery there.
In 1738 the decendents of Konrad emigrated to the United States, landing
in Philadelphia. The family consisted of a grandfather, a mother and father
and four children. They settled close to Bethlehem, PA.
John was given access to a diary of John Christian Laubach owned by Mrs.
Ethel Laubach. John Christian was one of the four children that made the
trip from Germany to
Philadelphia in 1738. John had translated the diary from the original
German into English. It gave a good picure of life as it was for the immigrants.
In 1791 John Christian married a gil named Mary. In 1794 he moved to Columia
County, possibly the Mount Pleasant Area. In 1800 the family moved to
Sugarloaf Township.
John traced the family to C.M. Laubach known to many older Sugarloaf Township
residents. He conducted a general store in the area for many years and
raised a large family. His son, Joe Laubach, operated the store after
C.M.'s death.
John also traced the lineage of Dr. Frank Laubach of Benton who became
a world famous missionary.
Of added interest were the many photographs Diane shared with us. Our
thanks to John and Diane for a very interesting presentation.
The next meeting will be Monday, Feb. 19 at the Brass Pelican. The topic
will be "The Fritz family in Sugarloaf Township. Betty Victory will
lead the discussion.
-=-
May 21, 2001
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on May 21 with 46 people
present. In the absence of Jim Vance, Zane Hartman chaired the meeting.
Rev. Walter Minto returned thanks before breakfast was served. The minutes
of the last meeting were read.
After breakfast , Zane introduced Doyle and Donald Brewer who spoke to
us on the History of Orangeville. Before their talk, the Brewers handed
out copies of scenes from early Forks, including Harrison's store, the
railroad depot, and cottages along the creek.
Doyle Brewer was the first speaker. He told how the first settlers who
came into the area settled between Fishing Creek and Green Creek. In 1796
Abraham Kline bought about 600 acres, timberland which he cleared for
farming. Most of the Klines in the area are descendants of Abraham. In
1840 this land was taken into the newly formed Orange Township. The Ricketts
Family were the first people to settle in Orangeville Proper.They built
a brick house that is still standing on the Main street in Orangeville.
One of the Ricketts sons, Robert, was the founder of the town of Ricketts
in Sullivan County. A post office was secured for the town in 1826 and
the town was officially named Orangeville because many of the early settlers
came from Orange County N.Y. and Orange N.J. Mr. Donald Brewer picked
up the story telling us of the early industry in Orangeville. J. Rusell
Conner was the founder of the Orangeville Manufacuring Co. an important
industry in Orangeville for many years. Donald recalled for us his early
memories of the way things were in Orangeville as he was growing up. There
was always a Memorial Day parade with a local band and a carnival held
on the ball field. There were Boy Scouts, Masons, Odd Fellows and the
Civic Club. There was Brewer's store and a Weis store. 2 tin shops (Tin
rooves were big at that time) a blacksmith shop and later a garage to
work on Model T's and Model A's. There was a local telephone Co. with
the exchange in a home. There were 3 churches, Methodist, Presbyterian,
and Reformed. There was a municipal Water C. owned by Fred Keller, a Fire
Company, and 2 doctors, Dr. Stoddard and Dr. Berryhill. The Orangeville
Academy was built in 1824. In 1861 a school was built which later bcame
the Orangeville High School. After concluding their talk the Brewer's
handed around old pictures and mementos. They shared some humerous poems
which were much appreciated.
Our thanks for a most interesting presentation. The next meeting will
be the third Monday, June 18. when Mrs. Vinidee McHenry Hippenstiel will
talk on the McHenry Family.
-=-
June 18, 2001, Vinidee McHenry Hippenstiel, "The Origin of the
McHenry Family."
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, June 18 with 52
people present. Zane Hartman offered thanks before breakfast was served.
Jim Vance chaired the meeting and ask each one to introduce themselves.
There were people present from Nordmont, Berwick, and Benton as well as
local people. There were four descendents of the McHenry Family present.
The minutes of the last meering were read.
Following breakfast, Jim introduced Mrs. Vinidee McHenry Hippenstiel who
spoke to us on the origin of the McHenry Family from this area.
The McHenry Family originated in Antrim County, Ireland where they were
important in the political and social life of the county . Mrs. Hippenstiel
has visited Ireland and traced family roots to there.
The family left Dublin on a small sailing vessel in 1729. They were supposed
to land in Philadelphia but after a very rough trip, the ship landed on
Cape Cod. 90 persons had died enroute including the McHenry parents, The
two surviving children,
John and Suzanna were taken in by the Clinton famiily and settled in New
York State.
Descendents of this Clinton family were later very active in New York
state politics.
Mrs. Hippenstiel traced the McHenry family from New York to the McHenry
Family who settled in what was then Northumberland County - now the Benton
Area of Columbia County. She mentioned touring the well kept up McHenry
House in Stillwater and the ruins o the Mchenry house along Route 487.
She also told us of a McHenry cemetry near Rohrsburg where members of
early McHenry families are buried. Mention aws also made of McHenry family
members being buried in St. Gabriels cemetry.
Daniel McHenry was mentioned as the founder of the McHenry Distillery
that was located on Distillery Hill near Benton. The famous Fort McHenry
of "The Star Spangled Banner" fame was named for a member of
this same McHenry family.
Mrs. Hippenstiel has done much research on the McHenry family history
in helping people obtain membership in the "Daughters of the American
Revolution" To close her talk she opened the meeting to questions
and several people in the audience had questions or interesting comments
on the history of the McHenry Family.
Mrs. Hippenstiel agreed to come back in October and continue her talk
on the McHenry Family History. Our thanks to her for a most interesting
presentation.
The next meeting will be Monday, July 16 and will be a talk by Professor
George Turner on the Revival of the Fishing Creek Confederacy at Knob
Mountain.
-=-
August 20, 2001
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, August 20. Jim
Vance chaired the meeting. The meeting opened with prayer led by Pastor
Howard Leh.
Following this the group took turns introducing themselves and telling
where they were from. There were 54 present.
Jim announced there will be no meeting in September. The Ocober meeting
will be a trip to Ellis Island. He introduced Phil Malhoyt who is setting
up the trip. He gave us a brief preview of what can be expected on this
trip. Ruth explained that the money{amount to be announced later} will
be due when definite reservations are made. A paper was passed around
asking for names of those who are interested.
The program for the morning was a slide show and commentary by Bush and
Barbara James on the Hotel Era (1880-1960) of Eagelsmere.
At its height there were 5 large hotels in Eaglesmere: Forest inn, Eaglesmere
Hotel, the Crestmont, the Raymond, the Lakeside. The Chautaqua, a meeting
with a religous backgroun started in Eaglesmere. It closed in 1965. The
Raymond was the first large hotel in Eaglesmere. It was built in 1887
and burned in 1941. It was never rebuilt. The Lakeside started as a private
cottege ownd by the Kirk family, Quakers from Pennsdale. John Kirk, the
owner, came to Eaglesmere because his Doctor recommended the mountain
air. As his asthmatic condition improved, he invited friends and family
to join him. He added on to his cottage to accomodate them, then finally
came up with the beautiful and commercially successful Lakeside Hotel.
Mr. James then told of his association as an employee of the Crestmont
Hotel, prehaps the most elegant of the five. He had many stories to tell
of "behind the scenes activities". He and Mrs. James were both
employed at the Crestmont for a number of years and his stories were most
interesting.
Mr. and Mrs. James have written two books about Eaglesmere and the Crestmont
Hotel. They also had an excellent collection of slides that they shared
with us.
Our thanks to Mr. and Mrs. James for a most interesting presentation.
There will be no meeting in September. Our October meeting will be the
trip to Ellis Island on October 15.
March 19, 2002, “The Beginning Years of Patterson
Grove Campground”
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, March
19 with 51 people present. Zane Hartman returned thanks before breakfast
was served. Following breakfast, Jim introduced the Rev. Daniel Dennis
who spoke on “The Beginning Years of Patterson Grove Campground”,
In 1867 the Quarterly Conference of the Bloomingdaale Circuit of the Methodist
Episcopal Church expressed the wish to obtain for Camp Meeting purposes
the use of the grove and grounds known as Headley's Sugar Maple Camp,
then owned by Samuel Headley and his wife. Headley was a prominent lawyer,
land owner and business man. and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. There was some question as to the actual ownership of the property
which Headley had bought at Sheriff sale in 1859. This was the basis for
a court trial later.
In 1868 the Board of Trustees and Headley laid out the grounds- an auditorium
with audience grounds around it known as the “circle,” avenues
and lots for tents or cottages.
The Grove consisted of a hundred or more magnificent sugar maples standing
far enough apart so that there was room for tents and cottages and the
laying out of avenues. The auditorium was built in 1868. This was a roofed
structure, smaller but similaar to the preesent one and occupying the
central portion of the circle It had a platform at one end with benches
for visiting preachers and the choir. The seats in the auditorium were
crude benches with no backs. Going to camp Meeting in 1868 was a major
undertaking. People came in horse drawn farm wagons loaded with camping
equipment and provisions. There were even some wagons drawn by oxen. The
few cottages that were availaable were the most primitive type. They were
extremely small with no doors- only sheets used as curtains. Cooking was
done over open fires. There was no well on the grounds- insufficient water
was supplied by a small spring on the grounds and water was carried from
a nearby farm home. In spite of the difficulties the first camp meeting
was declared successful with 4000 people attending on Saturday, August
29, 1868. Camp meetings were held the following years. More cottages were
built to replace tents, attendance increased with 5000 estimated as attending
the seventh camp meeting.
Thre was no Camp Meeting held in Headley's Grove in 1875 or 1876 because
of the unfavorable court decision regarding ownership of the Grove. The
Board of Trustees had been evicted from the land. During those years a
“Bush Meeting” was held in the glen in the woods of the Patterson
Farm about a mile and a quarter from the Headly Grove. In 1877 litigation
permitted the use of Headley Grove again for Camp Meeting purposes. This
was brief session lasting only four days.
In 1878 the Camp Meeting was again in session. The attendance was light
the first few days but by Sunday the crowd was reported to be very large
with all roads leading to the Grove lined with vehicles. This was the
last year the meeting was held under the name Headley Grove. On Monday,
August 26, 1878 by resolution of the Board of Trustees the name was changed
from Headley Grove to Patterson Grove.
Our thanks to Pastor Dennis for a most interesting presentation.
The next meeting will be the Third Monday, April 16 when
Mr. Wilson Ferguson will speak on early Eaglesmere before the advent of
the large hotels.
-=-
October 15, 2001
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, Oct.15 at 8:30.
Jim Vance chaired the meeting and we opened by going around the group
and having each one introduce themselves and tell where they were from.
There were 33 people present.
This was the day we had planned to go to New york to visit Ellis Island
and the Statue of Liberty. Following the terrorist attack on the World
Trade center Phil Malhoyt decided to cancel the trip. As it turned out
this was a wise decision as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are
both closed to visitors at this time.
Jim aplolgized for not arranging to have a speaker for the day. He had
thought Mrs. Vinadee Hippenstiel would speak but she could not do it at
this time. She will finish her discussion on the McHenry Fmily at a later
date.
Mrs. Shoemaker suggested that we tell of our own family history and she
started us off by giving us a brief history of her family.
Donald Rabb followed with a story of his father and mother moving to Benton
and buying a drug store.. Their business was aided by a huge snow storm
that prevented people from getting far from home to do their Christmas
shopping so they did their shopping at Rabb's drug store in Benton.
Jim then opened the meeting for suggestions for future meetings.
Betty Victory suggested that prehaps the next meeting could be "Show
and Tell". She said she had some vintage clothing and other articles
she would bring.
Anyone else who has anything of interest is urged to bring it and share
with us.
The next meeting will be the third Monday, Nov. 19 at the Brass Pelican.
-=-
January 21, 2002
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, January 21, 2002.
Jim Vance chaired the meeting. Zane Hartman returned thanks for the people
who came and for the food we were about to receive. Jim reminded us that
Zane has not been well and that he needs our prayers.
Jim asked those present to introduce themselves and tell where they were
from. There were 42 present.
Paula Weatherill from Millville was present . She had brought old programs
and pictures from the Red Rock Bible Conference that were laid out for
anyone to look at.
The minutes of the last meeting were read.
Mr. Brewer introduced Mr. John Welsh from Orangeville who spoke to us
on the founding and early history of the Red Rock Bible Conference.
The Conference was started in 1934 by Robert and Arden Lancaster. It was
an interdenominational Christian conference and began as a Sunday gathering
with religous speakers. It soon grew into a Camp meeting type Conference
with people spending a week or two there and living in tents. Later cabins,
dormitories, a kitchen and dining hall were built. Young people were hired
at $5.00 a week to work in the dining room and kitchen. Mr. Welsh emphasized
that there was never a problem with the bahavior of the young people.
Thte Conference ran for 7 weeks each summer beginning in 1941. The program
for each day was a meeting in the morning, free time in the afternoon
which people often used to explore Ricketts Glen and view the falls, then
a meeting in the evening. The speakers at these meetings were from all
over the world and were of the highest quality.
In addition to the Red Rock Conference the Lancaster brothers pastored
churches in Berwick and Sunbury and conducted a 15 minute radio program
daily over many stations.
Following the 1972 Flood they were not able to get food to feed the visitors
at the Conference. Their suppliers were flooded out. Also they were getting
more involved with their church and radio work, and so the Red Rock Bible
Conference was closed. It was estimated that at its height 100 to 125
people stayed in the cabins and dorms and as high as 600 attended Sunday
services.
Pastor Bob died in 1976 and Mr. Welsh emphasized that many people had
been brought to know the Lord because of his work. It was an interesting
presentation and our thanks to Mr. Welsh for bringing it to us.
The next meeting will be Feb. 18 at the Pelican. The speaker will be Mr.
Charles Chapman who will speak on the Fixhing Creek Water Shed.
-=-
March 8, 2002, Professor Duane Braun
The Hisory Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, March 18, 2002.
Jim Vance chaired the meeting and asked each one to introduce themselves
and tell where they were from. There were 55 present, possibly the most
we have had at any meeting. Jim then asked Pastor Howard Leh to return
thanks as breakfast was served.
Following the reading of the minutes of the last meeting, Jim introduced
Professor Duane Braun of Bloomsburg University who spoke on the effect
of the glaciers on this area of Pennsylvania. Professor Braun had charts
showing the temperature changes in the area over thousands of years. He
also had maps of Pennsylvania showing just where the glaciers covered
this area. There is a marker along Camp Lavigne Road near Harry Longs
Bridge showing the terminus of one glacier. Betty Minervini told us this
was placed under the auspices of the Grassmere Garden Club. Professor
Braun projected all his charts and maps on a large screen thus making
the information available to everyone. He explained that there were four
glacial events in this area- another is expected in the distant future.
He told us that the changes in the landscape- valleys being excavated
and rivers and stream courses being changed came from sand and gravel
being deposited in different places. He mentioned different wide valleys
with just small streams running through them making it plain that at one
time a much larger stream or river had coursed through that area. Professor
Braun then opened the meeting for questions and very capably answered
the many questions put to him. It was brought out that the lakes and falls
at Ricketts Glen State Park are the result of glaciers.
Our thanks to Professor Braun for a most interesting and informative presentation.
Our next meeting will be April 15, 8:30 A.M. at the Brass Pelican. The
speaker will be Mrs. Vinidee McHenry who will speak on the history of
the McHenry Distillery.
April 15, 2002
The History Buffs met on Monday, April 15, at 8:30 AM at the Brass Pelican.
Jim Vance chaired the meeting. There were 45 present. Pastor Howard Leh
gave thanks for the privilege of meeting together and the food that was
prepared for us.
Our speaker for the day was Professor George Turner. He had kindly consented
to fill in when Mrs. Hippenstiel was forced to cancel. His topic was "How
Bloomsburg came to be the County Seat of Columbia County. In 1813 Columbia
County was carved of from Northumberland County. At this time the area
included what is now Montour County and Danville was designated as the
County Seat. At that time it was in a fairly central part of the county.
Later as different areas were parcelled off Danville was in the southwestern
corner leaving Bloomsburg the largest town in the central part of Columbia
County. There was much political maneuvering behind the scenes in order
to get the County seat moved to Bloomsburg. At that time it was a distinct
financial advantage for a town to be the County Seat. Being the County
Seat meant more business for stores and because of Court being held in
the town, hotels and eating places were busier. So there was quite a rivalry
between the two towns Finally the Courthouse at Danville was pronounced
unsafe for storing county records. Bloomsburg promised to provide a handsome
new building and a fireproof vault for storing records at no cost to the
taxpayeer. Land was donated and funds provided for a new courthouse and
Bloomsburg.became the county seat of Columbia County. The people in the
northern part of the county were very pleased. They could now do business
in the county seat without driving through Bloomsburg and on to Danville.
Later a new county was formed to make Montour County the smallest County
geographically in Pennsylvania but Danville was now a county seat.
Our thanks to Professor Turner for so graciously filling in at the last
minute with such an informative presentation. The next meeting will be
May 20 when Mr. Wilson Ferguson will speak on the history of the Tioga
turnpike..
May 20, 2002
The History Buffs met on Monday, May 20 at the Brass Pelican. In the
absence of Jim Vance, David Kline chaired the meeting. Dr. Donald Rabb
returned thanks for the gathering and the food we were about to receive.
Following the reading of the minutes of the last meeting, David introduced
Dr. Wilson Ferguson who spoke on the history of the Susquehanna and Tioga
Turnpike.
Dr. Ferguson had a series of maps which he distributed. On these he traced
the turnpike as it was built starting in Berwick, going through Jonestown,
New Columbus, Fairmount Springs, Red Rock, Ricketts, Monroeton, and finally
to Elmira New York. A turnpike, by definition is a privately owned road
that one paid to use. Most people invested $100 with visions of big returns
that never materialized. But the road was built.
A committee was named in 1809 to build this turnpike. In 1812 the contract
was let to build the road at a cost of $1,150 per mile. Dr. Ferguson emphasized
that it was not a road as we think of roads today. It was rough, rocky
and narrow with occasional wide places for passing. Some places were corduroy,
meaning logs were laid along the sides of the roads , other logs were
laid across and fastened to the side logs enabling the stage or wagons
to cross marshy places.
Stage stops were built along the Turnpike allowing for a change of horses
and a break for the passengers to get a meal or spend the night. One of
these was the North Mountain House built at Long Pond by the Ricketts
brothers. They had bought land (mostly at tax sales) until they owned
6000 acres. Some of this was sold to the State and became Ricketts Glen
State Park. The Turnpike was completed in 1815, making a road from Berwick
to Central New York State and opening up the area for stage coach travel
and for the transportation of goods.
Our thanks to Dr. Ferguson for a most interesting presentation.
The next meeting will be June 17 when William Matther will speak on the
history of Jamison City.
-=-
June 17, 2002
The History Buffs met on Monday, June 17 at the Brass Pelican. Jim Vance
chaired the meeting and asked each one to introduce themselves and tell
where they were from. Pastor Howard Leh returned thanks for the day and
for the group who had gathered to show interest in the history of our
community. There were 72 present- the largest group that has ever attended.
The minutes of the last meeting were read. Following this Jim introduced
William Mather who spoke on the history of Jamison City. Bill had maps
of the early layout of the town and he pointed out the location of the
early hotels, stores, schools, churches, the railroad and the tannery.
Thomas Proctor was one of the early enterpreneurs of the area. He was
involved with the Proctor Inn , a large hotel built on the side of the
mountain. This later came to be known as the Big Onion. He was also associated
with the Store Company and the tannery. The hotel lasted only 20 years,
1888 to 1908. The unpleasant odor coming from the fast growing tannery
and the rowdiness of the workers from the mill and the tannery (now numbering
about 250 men) was given as the reason for its demise. The men would receive
their wages on Saturday night . The largest part they would send home
to their families, the rest they spent in the local bars and drunken brawls
would follow. This was not an atmosphere to encourage wealthy patrons
from the city to spend their vacation in the mountains. The hotel was
torn down and people received 10 cents on the dollar for their investment.
There was a postoffice in Jamison city from 1887 until 1927 when it was
closed and patrons received their mail by rural carrier out of Benton.
Bill's father, B. Frank Mather was postmaster when there was a Republican
president, the custom then being to change postmasters when the administration
in Washington changed. In its hey-dey there were five hotels in Jamison
City, 5 stores, a 2 story schoolhouse and a Methodist church. This building
is still standing having been sold to a hunting club. The Catholic Church
in Jamison did not have its own building but met in various meeting rooms.
The tannery closed in the Fall 0f 1925 and by 1926 almost everyone had
moved out of Jamison City. Some moved to Bloomsburg or Berwick where there
were jobs and some moved to towns where there was a tannery. Bill opened
tthe meeting for questions and passed around many pictures of early Jamison
City.
Our thanks to Bill for a most interesting and knowledgeable presentation.
The next meeting will be July 15 at the Brass Pelican . The speakers will
be Dr. Robert and Mrs. Tonya Boston Sager.
-=-
JULY 15, 2002, Professor Bob Sager and Tonia Boston Sager,
"Ecology."
The History Buffs met on Monday, July 15 at the Brass Pelican. Jim Vance
chaired the meeting and asked each one to introduce themselves and tell
where they were from. There were 41 present. After breakfast was served
the minutes of the last meeting were read. Jim then introduced Robert
Sagar, a retired professor from Bloomsburg University where he had taught
Biology and Ecology Courses.
Professor explained to us that Ecology is the study of the relationship
between organism and their environment. One person who influenced the
public to think ecologically was Rachel Carson. In her book "Silent
Spring" she pointed out the danger of using the insecticide D.D.T.
She was also important in establishing the observance of Earth Day in
the nation.
Professor Sager also pointed out how well the American Indians adjusted
to naural conditions and how much they did to maintain the ecology. Another
interesting point made by Professor Sagar was the fact that bacteria were
helpful in the world of nature. Can you imagine what the world would be
like if nothing ever decayed or rotted up. Professor Sagar helped us to
realize that we must work with nature to maintain a healthy ecology.
He then introduced Mrs. Tonia Sager who is also an ecologist and who,
he mentioned, has an interest in snakes, even rattle snakes, in their
propeer place in the wild. Mrs. Sagar in turn introduced her mother, a
member of the Picure Rocks hiking club and an early influence in Tonia'a
interest in ecology. Mrs. Sagar had several interesting handouts from
Penn State and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
She told of the value of native plants and mentioned in particular the
golden rod, often falsely blamed for causing allergic reactions, the real
cuulprit being the ragweed that often grows in the same area and comes
in bloom at the same time. Thte golden rod is useful and Mrs. Sagar passed
around swatches of material that had been colored with dye made from the
goldenrod. She also mentioned that nothing is more nutritious than the
common dandelion so dislilked by all lawn owners.
Our thanks to the Sagars for an interesting and informative presentation.
The next meeting will be August 19th at the Brass Pelican. Mr. Bob Maynes
will speak on the history of Greystone.
-=-
August 19, 2002, "The History of the Graystone Building."
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, August 19 . Mr.
Charles Kocher returned thanks for the meeting and our time together,
Jim Vance chaired the meeting and asked each one to tell who they were
and where they were from. There were 50 present.
Jim then introduced Mr, Bob Maynes who spoke to us on the history of the
Greystone building and Coles Mills that was associated with it.
Mr. Maynes began by giving us a short history of the area at the time
just preceding the settling of the upper Fishing Creek valley. The settlers
at that time were engaged in the Penamite War- a war resulting from the
fact that King Charles I of England had given the colony of Connecticut
land in this area - then had given the same land to the family of William
Penn. Moses Van Campen was a commanding officer in that war. He retired
at the close of th war in 1782 and returned to his home at Fort Wheeler.-
a Fort near the mouth of Fishing Creek that he had founded . The name
is familiar to local people as the name of the Hotel Moses Van Campen
that was located on Main Street. in Benton.
In 1791 a group of men including Ezekiel Cole came to settle in the area.
Ezekiel Cole claimed land and settled in the area where Coles Creek joined
Fishing Creek. In that same year a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Cole,
the first child born in the area north of Orangeville. In 1794, Ezekiel
had built a dam and by 1802 had established a grist mill on Fishing Creek.
This was the first successful mill north of Bloomsburg.
In 1806 the building we know as Greystone was built. It was to be the
home of some member of the Cole family until 1916. In 1960 land, including
Greystone was bought by the Columbia County Council of Boy Scouts and
Camp Lavigne was established. For awhile the building was used as housing
for Camp Staff but then it required major repairs and that was discontinued.
Vandelism got to be a problem. The house was leased to the Columbia County
Historical Society for $1.00 a year but they,too, could not afford the
major repairs needed and in 1990 regretfully the decision was made to
have it torn down. A bull dozer was brought in and in just a few hours
it was pushed down and the debris buried.
Mr Maynes had a wealth of information to share and numerous charts and
maps to illustrate his history of the Greystone building.
Our thanks to Mr. Maynes for a most interesting and informative presentation.
The next meeting will be held September 16 at the Brass Pelican. The Speaker
will be Jane "Salty" Ferguson who will speak on the history
of Women in Baseball.
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SEPTEMBER 16, 2002
The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, September 16.
In the absence of Jim Vance, Bill Mather chaired the meeting. He called
on Pastor Howard Leh to return thanks. There were 49 people present.
After breakfast, Bill introduced Mrs. Jane "Salty" Ferguson
who had played professional baseball in the All Ameerican Girls Professional
Baseball League.
Through all of her presentation Mrs. Ferguson made us aware of her love
for the game. As she said, she did get paid for playing as a professional
but she would have played for nothing, she so loved the game. She started
her baseball career at the age of seven as a "bat girl" for
the Orangeville baseball team. At that time she was 7 years old. She played
on boy's bsaeball teams and the boys, when they realized how good she
was , accepted hor whole heartedly.
She enter professional baseball through friends who introduced her to
a scout from the Rockford Peaches team. She was signed by the team and
played for them from 1943 to 1954. She said baseball opened many doors
for her. One outstanding experience was meeting the seven original austronauts.
This was something she was sure would never have been possible without
her participation in professional baseball.
In 1955 the League disbanded, due in part to the fact that there were
not enough girls committed to the game.
She was married by that time and they decided to move back to the Orangeville
area to live. There she coached the boys baseball team. There, in 1960,
her son was born. In 1988 the Baseball Hall of Fame opened for the Girl's
League- not to honor any particular girl but just to make people aware
that girls had played profesional baseball successfully.
In 1992 a movie, "A League of Their Own" was made. in which
some of the girls who played in the League, took part. "Salty"
was among them When asked if she would consider that a stepping stone
to an acting career she said "No way". To her, it was hard work.
After the movie, attempts were made to start the League again but so far
that has been unsuccessful.
The one point that Mrs. Ferguson emphasized was "Follow Your Dream".
Do what you want to do and if you are committed, God will help you reach
that dream.
Mrs. Ferguson opened the meeting for questions and several interesting
points were made. 1} The girls on the team were very well chaperoned.
They were not allowed to eat in any restaurant where the bar was in the
same area as the dining room.
2} They must wear a skirt in the restaurant.
3) They made $50 a week
4} They played everyday and double headers on Sunday
5) Salty played catcher and right field.
Our thanks to Mrs Ferguson for a most interesting and informative presentation.
The next meeting will be at the Pelican on Monday, October 21 The speaker
will be Sue Hand , an artist who paints local scenes some of which are
of historical interest.
November 18, 2002.
The North Mountain History Buffs met November 18 at the Brass Pelican
Restaurant, Elk Grove, PA, with 35 attending. Jim and Ruth Vance along
with Betty Ruckle, Secretary, were unable to attend the meeting, and in
their absence David Kline chaired the meeting. The minutes of the October
meeting were not read.
Katie Temple Shade, a Sullivan County resident until she was 15, and
who now resides in Watsontown, Nordmont and points farther south, was
the featured speaker. Her topic was "Queen Aliquippa," a first-person
presentation.
Queen Aliquippa, for whom the town of Aliquippa, in Beaver County, is
named, is best remembered not for her lifetime achievements, but for her
brief encounter with a young militia officer named George Washington.
The mention of Aliquippa's name in young Major Washington's journal in
1754 has over the ensuing years been the thing for which she is best remembered.
It seems odd that a woman of such obvious influence and power in early
western Pennsylvania history has been defined by a sarcastic remark penned
by a 20 year old soldier. The story of Queen Aliquippa began long before
1754, in fact before white trappers were even venturing into western Pennsylvania.
Queen Aliquippa left New York and migrated to central Pennsylvania for
a time in her life, later traveled west to the Pittsburgh area. She was
a strong, opinioned lady, a member of the Seneca Indian tribe. In her
later years, she returned to Huntington, PA, where she lived with George
Crogan, a famous English Trader until her death. Queen Aliquippa in the
person of Katie Temple Shade, appeared at the Brass Pelican dressed as
a Indian and explained her clothing and the research she has done about
Queen Aliquippa. She also read part of a poem, which is quoted as follows:
Now Queen Allaquippa was the
Indian skipper
Of a tribe down Logstown way;
And George said, "I better win
this lady Indian
And without delay.
So he took her a coat and a jug
of whisky
And stayed a day or so,
And he came back a ridin' and a
lookin'and a walkin'
to the forks of the 0-hi-o.
--"The Forks of the O-hi-o," by Robert Schmertz
Our thanks to Mrs. Shade for an interesting and informative presentation.
The December meeting will be held on the 16th at the Brass Pelican. The
speaker will be Tom Morris.
If you want to read more about Queen Allaquippa, go Here.
Katie Temple Slade, as Queen Allaquippa,
Nov. 18, 2002
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