66 —Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 15, 1976 By DIETER KRIEG GRAYSVILLE - What was life like 75 years ago, during the so-called “good old days?” Edmund Keatley Woomer, a retired farmer and grist mill operator knows, and was happy to share his views with this reporter. Woomer, who turned 95 six weeks ago, says it was a hard life. But in spite of the back-breaking work, he had a good time and he says he misses “those days” lots of times - especially the horses. “I got a lot of pleasure out of hitching up a team and takinga buggy ride,” he said with a smile,. In his prime Woomer worked from one o’clock in the morning until nine o’clock at night. Sometimes, when the lift in the mill wasn’t working, he’d carry 186-pound sacks of grain up the steps. Working for no cash until he was 21, Woomer said he earned $2OO a year plus room and board. Asked for his opinion of farming today, Woomer said: “I think it’s a pretty nice business, although there’s not much money in it. As far as making a living is concerned, we don’t have near the hard work today, but when it comes to prices, it may actually be harder now than it was in my time. ” Woomer’s daughter, Mrs. Roy Bresler, pulled out an old date book in which Woomer and his father had kept records of financial transactions. The old man listened attentively while his daughter read the statistics from the yellowed pages. The date at the top said Feb. 12,1875 - more than six years prior to Woomer’s birth. Units of measure were somewhat different 100 years ago, and amazingly enough, Woomer “tran slated” everything within seconds. Here’s a sample of the prices listed in the old ledger: Wheat: $1.25 per bushel One ton of hard coal; $6.50 25 pounds of com meal: 50 cents Oats: 70cents a bushel was a “big price” 30 pounds of buckwheat flour: $1.50 100 pounds of chop: $1.50. 50 pounds of flour; $1.50 25 pounds of bran: 31 cents. Although the life-style back then was primarily centered around work, with little time for play and pleasure, Woomer recalls some of his fishing ex peditions. That’s one thing he didn't give up until recent years. He jokingly remembers that there wasn’t a limit on the catch back then. “The limit was as many as you could catch," he laughed, then correcting himself a bit by adding: “No, 25 was the limit, but when you caught 25 you could bring’em home and come back to catch 25 more!” Life was pleasant in the 19th Century, Woomer ex claimed. Practically ah of the convenience of today were missing, but somehow people still got things done, lived comfortably and had time left over for visiting and playing. Education wasn’t left out either. Children had the opportunity to go to school for six months out of the year and return as often as they wished. He went until he was 18, and credits his mathematical wizardry to the vast amount of mental arithmatic he had in school. “A man can always learn if he doesn’t think he knows it all already,” he advised philosophically. Bicentennial feature 4 t i / > E. K. Woomer Woomer started working in his father’s mill when he was “old enough to do a little sweeping.” During later years, while working from 1 a.m. until 9 p.m. in order to keep up with the heavy demands on the mill, he had little time for sleep, to say nothing about going fishing and play music. Surprisingly enough though, he said he had time left over for such activities even then. He loves music and made it a point to practice at least once a week. 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SINGER RONKS.PA PHONE 687-6712 Lancaster County’s Only Dealer Specializing in Sprayer Sales & Service Mrs. Bresler hinted at this point that her father might have been able to sneak an extra 40 winks now and then down at the mill to make up for his short sleeping hours. almost twitching a little as though he could still feel the rod which was used whenever he or his brothers and sisters didn’t obey. The old man answered with a serious expression on his face. “Yes, once in a while we’d take a nap on the sacks - until my father came in. He had some recollec tions about his father and described him as one who “always made his word good. You learned never to let him have to tell you anything twice,” he said, Taking over the milling business in 1920, after his father died, Woomer said he stayed in it on his own for only 15 years. There were several reasons for his decision to quit. “I liked my work until my boy died,” he said with saddened eyes. “I was just so lonesome in there after that. The two of us would be working - maybe on different "BABY YOU SAY?” Look to these products from Carnation for help. Calf Manna Suckle Mannamate calf starter Optimil Red Rose Milk replacer Bounce Back Red Rose Pig Glo Pre Starter Red Rose Sweet Pak Pig Starter Both of these feeds contain the new baby pig formula booster CROWD. Red Rose Chick and Turkey Starters Red Rose Super Foal Pellets Red Rose Rabbit Family ass Red Rose Dog Food Red Rose Cal Food Come’n Get it Dog Food Little Fnskies Cal Food (Red Rose I I ANIMAL FEEDS | I BROWN & REA, INC. Atglen, PA 215-593-5149 Life at grist mill was tough floors, but it was company.” The tragic event caused him to pass up a chance to con vert his mill from water power to electricity. Later, rail service to the area was abandoned and further problems developed. In 1935 his wife died. Saddened and depressed, he left the mill and became a carpenter. The old man’s senses and memory are still very keen and he hked to tell about “the good old days.” The milling business lives on m his mind. Built in 1803, his mill at Graysville was powered by two 36-inch turbines, each of which developed 17 horsepower. Provisions were made around the turn of the cen tury to utilize steam as an alternate source of power. The old “Buhr” mill, used to grind flour, had a capacity IWNORTHCO of three bushels per hour. It consisted of two imported stones, one of which was stationary, Woomer recalled that keeping those stones “true,” a practice known as “dressing the stone,” would take a day or more. In 1889 a roller mill was installed, boosting the total capacity of the plant to 53 bushels per day. Woomer claims the change made his mill's output one of the highest in the area at the time and the demand for his flour stretched out far enough that it would take a day’s .drive by horse and wagon to deliver it. “We made six different kinds of flour,” Woomer said, holding back a grin. “There wasn’t a thing dif ferent between them; they [Continued on Page 751 /J* i
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