812-Lancastw Fanning, Saturday, September 26, 1998
101-Year-Old Looks To
The Turn Of The Century
GAIL STROCK
Mifflin Co. Correspondent
LEWISTOWN, (Mifflin Co.)
Like most of us, Walter
Stumpff’s goal is to see this cen
tury turn into a new millenium.
That’s not so unusual, except
that, at 101, Walter saw the turn
of the last century.
Walter was born in 1897
when President William
McKinley took office. The follow
ing year, the Spanish-American
War broke out. Walter remem
bers seeing Hayley’s Comet in
1910 as a 13-year-old. He
remembers the Titanic tragedy
two years later.
Originally from Lewistown,
Walter now lives with his
daughter, Nancy, and her husb
nad, Wallace Rummel, in
Florida Tenant farmers
Raymond and Janet Witmer live
at the farm year round. Each
summer, Walter, Wallace, Nancy
return to the Stumpff farm on
Middle Road near Lewistown to
make repairs and to reminisce.
“My mother was a southern
belle,” Nancy begins “She was
raised with maids in the home.
My father waited eight years to
marry her He waited until he
paid off the farm debt. A lot of
her relatives barely forgave her
for marrying a Yankee. It was a
hard life. He worked the farm
and worked full time at the post
office too.”
The Stumpffs sold milk, eggs,
chickens, and fruit from their
farm. The basement of the farm
house still houses the 6,000-egg
electric hatchery. Walter’s father
bought the farm in 1920, dash
ing Walter’s dream of becoming
a veterinarian. Walter served in
World War I, but never saw bat
tle.
“The doctor processing the
men to go overseas told my
father that he (Walter) had some
fatal disease and that he
wouldn’t live long! I think the
doctor died long before Dad!”
Nancy said.
During the war, Walter
served at Camp Lee in
Richmond as a Sergeant First
Class in charge of the motor
pool Following church one
Sunday, a man invited several
soldiers to his home for dinner,
there, Walter met Jessie, his
future wife. Walter courted
Jessie for eight years before
bringing his bride to
Pennsylvania. He started work
ing for the post office in 1922,
delivering mail by horse and
buggy Daughter Nancy and son
MORGANTOWN (Berks Co.)
Books, books, and more books
both new and used books
will be everywhere at Masthof
Bookstore, Morgantown, on
Saturday, October 3, from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Hundreds of used books,
as well as four new book titles just
off the press with their authors to
autograph the books will be fea
tured.
Enjoy browsing through tables
of used books brought by Jane
Adams Clarke from The Genea
logical Society of Pennsylvania,
Kendra Brill from Bookworm’s
Nest, Annette K. Burgert, Gary
Hawbaker, Dudley Eighty, Tho
mas DeLong, Dorothy Rodgers,
Martha K. Weaver, and others.
Walter Stumpff lives with his daughter and husband, Wal
lace and Nancy Rummel, but he delights in visiting his Mif
flin County farm to reminisce with tenant farmers.
Walter, Jr., were born, and
Walter advanced to delivering
mail by motorcycle with side car.
“Tell about the time you
delivered the artificial leg,”
Wallace prompts.
“I delivered from Lewistown
to McVeytown to Ryde and
retraced to Hawstone then back
to the post office—67 miles.
After World War 11, a man up at
Ryde needed the artificial leg. It
came in the mail.
“I used to tease these girls
during the war too. I pretended
there wasn’t a letter for them
(from their boyfriend) and start
to drive away. They’d chase me.”
Walter deliverd mail for 35
years. People often placed
money for mail orders, grocery
lists and baked goods in their
mailboxes for Walter. At the end
of the day, Walter always
returned home to the farm to
work, Nanc> remembers work
ing beside her father well past
Book Harvest
The four authors with their new
books to autograph include;
• Allen R. Beiler, author of
“Family History and Genealogy of
Pioneer Jacob (1698-1771) Beiler
- Boiler - Byler,” a 680-page ency
clopedia on the Beiler family.
• Barbara Godfa, author of
“Ladies of Readingtown .. . and
Beyond,” series of 10 Berks
County women who connected in
one way or another to Reading
from 1742 to 1956.
• Ed Klimuska, author of “Lan
caster County A Pictorial Dis
covery Guide,” is a colorful and
stunning pictorial stay of a re
markable Pennsylvania county!
• Brian E. Martin, author of
1723-1998 “275th Anniversary
dark. She also remembers his
favorite sayings.
“The two I remember most
are, “Eat it up, wear it out, or
make it do, and “A tired body
and good conscience makes for a
good night’s sleep.”
A man of faith, Walter still
kneels to pray twice a day. He
keeps Susanna Wesley’s defini
tion of sin posted on the wall of
his farmhouse.
‘What is Sin?
Whatever weakens your rea
son,
Impairs the tenderness of
your conscience,
Obscures your sense of God,
Or takes off the relish of spir
itual things—
Whatever increased the
authority of your body over your
mind.
That thing to you is Sin.”
What’s Walter’s secret to liv
ing to 100?
Don’t die at 99!
Weaverland Mennonite Church,"
a must for any Mennonite living in
the Weaverland Valley.
In addition, a number of other
new book titles will be available
for purchase.
Horse-drawn Gruber wagon
rides, refreshments, homemade
freshly-squeezed cider, and other
harvest activities will be available
for all ages at Masthof Bookstore
located along Mill Road, just
south of Morgantown, about two
miles from exit 22 of the Pennsyl
vania Turnpike. In the center of
Morgantown, turn south on Mill
Road and watch for Masthof
Bookstore about one-half mile
ahead on your left.
SEE YOUR NEAREST
&
I\EW HOLLAND
DEALER FOR DEPENDABLE
EQUIPMENT & SERVICE
PENNSYLVANIA
Abl
Tl. P,
Messick
Equipment
RD 1, Box 255 A
717-259-6617
nnville. P.
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RD 1, Rte. 934
717-867-2211
Carl
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Equipment Co.
35 East Willow Street
717-243-2686
Elizabeth to'
Messick Farm
Equipment, Inc
Rt. 283 - Rheem’s
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717-367-1319
fax. P,
Sweigard Bros
R.D. 3, Box 13
717-896-3414
S.G.Lewis & Son, Inc.
352 N. Jennersville Rd.
610-869-2214 1-800-869-9029
MARYLAND
Frederii
Ceresville Ford New Holland, Inc
Rt. 26 East 301-662-4197
Outside‘MD, 800-331-9122
lerstown. MD
Antietam Ford Tractor, Inc
2027 Leitersburg Pike
800-553-6731
301-791-1200
Rising Sun. MD
Ag Industrial Equipment
Route 1,50 N. Greenmont Rd
401-658-5568
NEW JERSEY
Bridgeton, NJ Washington. NJ
Leslie G. Fogg, Smith Tractor &
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Canton & Stow Creek 15 Hillcrest Ave.
Landing Rd 908-689-7900
609-451-2727
609-935-5145
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Honey Grove, PA
717-734-3682
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A.B.C. Groff, Inc.
110 South Railroad
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Owen Supply Co
Broad Street &
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609-769-0308