Demornalis Latch
Bellefonte, Pa., July 2, 1915.
YOUR NICHE.
There’s a niche for you in the world, my boy,
A corner for you to fill;
And it wants today along life’s way,
For the boy with a frank “1 will!”
So, lad, betrue; the world wants you,
In the corner that you may fill.
There’s a niche for you in the world, my girl,
A corner for you to fill;
For the girl who's kind and pure in mind,
A place that is waiting still,
So, lass, be true; the world wants you,
In the corner that you may fill.
There’s a niche for both in the world, my
dears.
A corner for you to fill;
And work to do that no one but you
In God’s great plan can fill.
So, both, be true; the world want: you,
And your place is waiting still.
—Band of Hope.
A POETICAL PEN PICTURE OF A
CENTRE COUNTY VILLAGE.
PINE GROVE MILLS, June 30th.
Here in this favorite spot, where na-
ture in her happiest combination of hill,
vale, wood and water has done her
utmost to delight the eye, rises this
beautiful village, Pine Grove Mills, at
the base of Tussey mountain. The grass
grows on the smooth lawns as if each
blade knew the exact measure of the
velvet texture. At each end of the vil-
lage are the old forest trees, with their
“sylvan honors of feudal bark,” whose
massive trunks and wide spreading
branches are copies which nature fur-
. nishes to art, in all her architecture—
pillar, arch and roof. Horticulture, with
its fruits and flowers, is here carried to
perfection. The various animals rejoice
in sleek abundance, horses, mules, etc.,
luxuriating in stalls which, for cost, com-
fort and elegance exceed the largest
ambition of our neighboring peasantry.
This village is composed of men who
have retired from the plow and came to
this famous little village of homes to’
rear and educate their children.
in this part of Centre county the farmers’
wheat, rye, oats and barley are above the
ground; his corn is pushing through and
his potatoes show the first sprouts. His
clover and timothy—the hay-makers—
are proudly green, with a promise of rich
returns at the first cuttings five or six
weeks hence.
Spring time is here, old earth is put-
ting on her warm, green dress and pre-
paring to leave her children out under
the sun and blue sky. The trees are
donning all sorts of wonderful colors.
These old, retired farmers residing in
this village eat, drink and make merry,
and don’t die tomorrow but live on in
the healthiest spot on the face of the
earth, and thank God they are alive and
can still draw long, free breaths of rich,
pure oxygen into the system to oxidize a
certain amount for digestion. :
This village is a panacea, a rest for |
the weary old bones, and a relaxation to
strained nerves. Here one can enjoy the
delightful rambles and walks. Here one
can delight in hours of joy and bliss and
gaze upon the mighty surrounding high-
land and old Tussey mountain. You are
among lovely flowers, trees, shrubbery,
and the beautiful shorn lawn, which is
as velvet to our feet. You can sit under
the shade trees and look up through the
interlacing branches up tothe blue vaults
_ above the silvery crown of purest sky
and weep for joy and exclaim, Oh! Holy
Nature! how beautiful thou art.
How luxurious, infinitely tender dost
thou appear in this lovely spot. Our
home, Nature, Nature! what a wonder-
ful and mysterious goodness art thou!
We are wandering in a woods full of
poetry; would that we could express our !
feelings in the language of a poetess,
that we could seize and perpetuate in
everlasting verses.
Oh! delectable entrancing spring, it
fills our old hearts with cheer, gorgeous
queen of the season, how the sweep of
thy magic wand brings back from the
sleeping years of the dreamy past the
gaudy visions of life’s spring-time. We
feel again we are children straying in the
green meadows or lingering by the crystal
stream. We bare our brows to thy gentle
breathings and feel as though passing
angels fanned us with their wings.
We inhale the commingled perfume of
flowers and blossoms, and dream the
fragrance of Paradise has stolen back to
earth, or that we catch the perfume flung
from passing Seraphs mantles. Here we
look in youthful, bewildered ecstasy upon
thy gathering matchless beauties.
We think we hear heavens looms pro-
pelled by aerial beings as they weave the
fabric of thy robes. We almost imagine
we see celestial artists floating on steady
wing producing specimens of the taste and
genius of the skies, painting on thy royal
attire a galaxy of heaven's fine art for
the wondering admiration of us mortals
on earth.
The citizens of this village daily seek
opportunities to make life more livable
and more useful for others.
The farmers here in this vicinity feel
a survival of the wild joy that is his
heritage from ages, long before modern
housing and heating and clothing. He
feels the delicious languor of the length-
ening days, the rich warmth of the
strengthening sun, and while he reflects
upon it not at all he shares the primi-
tive happiness of the dog which leaps
and barks around the sturdy, faithful
team over in the field when spring
Today, |
.State Zoologist H. A. Surface, Harris-
i wings much sooner, and thus have a
| much shorter period to devote to the
of the Department of Agriculture.”
ploughing, to be followed by spring plant-
ing,isin progress. Back of the team walks
the shaper of destiny, man. He seeing |
to it that earth shall yield her toll to the !
lord of creation as she has yielded it!
since time began and shall continue it,—
or else man shal] pass away. Did you
ever see the farmer in the field plough |
with the lines around his neck, already |
tanned, and his hands guiding the gleam-
ing share. - The farmers, most important
of the nation’s citizens, are buttressing :
the foundation for another year’s supply
of food for thissection, the truck patches
already yielding of their varied wealth, |
crisp radishes and curly lettuce, savory |
scullions and tender stalks of asparagus, |
proclaim the refillingof the. home with !
plenty. :
The above is a pen portrait of the i
health, wealth, happiness and prosperity |
and intelligence of this good village and |
its citizens.
In this village we have four churches,
Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist and ;
Reformed. Three mercantile stores,
one hostelry, St. Elmo hotel. It is al
home in every sense of the word. Hon. |
|
J. Will Kepler and his good wife, who
presides- over the culinary department
and is a ministering angel to all the |
guests, always anticipating their wants |
and administering to their comforts.
Here in the evenings we are regaled
with music. The table cannot be sur-:
passed by any hostelry in .he county
The meals are well prepared and served, !
every attention is given to the guests. |
It is a healthful resort, cool breezes |
constantly, cool mornings and evenings. ,
We know of no place more adapted for a |
summer resort than Pine Grove Mills, |
Penna. |
J. MILES GEPHART. !
A New Highway Map.
HARRISBURG, June 23.— The State
Highway Department has just issued a
sectional highway map of the south- |
western part of Pennsylvania on which |
State highways and State-aid highways, |
as well as county and township roads are
shown. The map is of large size and |
the names of townships, cities, boroughs, |
villages, railroads and all water courses
are legibly marked.
Thisis the second sectional map of the !
State issued by the State Highway De- |
partment, the southeastern part having |
been put out last November. The north- |
eastern and northwestern sectional maps |
are now in course of preparation.
These maps are of value to automo- |
bilists and to others using the highways |
of the State. A limited number have
been prepared.
The counties included in the map are
Greene, Washington, Beaver, Butler,
Allegheny, Fayette, Huntingdon, West-
moreland, Armstrong, Indiana, Somerset,
Bedford, Cambria, Fulton, part of Frank-
lin, part of Perry, part of Juniata, part of i
Mifflin, part of Centre, part of Clearfield, |
part of Jefferson, part of Clarion and
part of Lawrence.
|
|
What Makes Honey Bees Black?
A bee-keeper in York county wrote to
burg, asking, “Are you able to tell me
the dates of honey bees turning black !
after they become working bees, and the
well bees carry out those that turn black?
This inquiry was written by a practical
and observing bee-keeper, and the reply
which he received is likewise based upon
actual experience, and is as follows:
“Honey bees become black after they
have been field workers for a while due
to their activity in crawling around and
rubbing against each other, and against
flowers and weeds, and rubbing off the
hairs of their bodies.
Young bees look gray and velvety be-
cause of the soft hairs with which they
are covered. As they become older they
become darker, more shiny, and appar-
ently smaller. A great many persons
see these small, black, shiny bees and |
think they are other kinds of bees or
robbers from other hives. They remain
active until they injure their wings, and
become unfit for flight and gather nec-
tar. Then the younger and stronger
bees carry them out and throw them
away, or drive them from the hives, as
they do all bees that are injured and no
longer useful to the colony.
As the period of usefulness of a bee
depends entirely upon the length of time
that it can use its wings, it is to be seen
that the bee-keepers suffer a direct
economic loss by letting grass and weeds
grow before the hive, so that the bees
must fly through them in coming and
going. In so doing they wear out their
practical work of storing honey.
These and other things are discussed
in the Bee Bulletin written by the State
Zoologist as the result of his practical
experience in his own bee yards. Copies
are yet available for those who want
them. It is published from this Bureau
Chinese Locks.
The earliest locks known to man
were of Chinese make. Although it
is impossible to tell the exact date
of those still extant, they are wonder-
fully well made, and as strong as any
manufactured in Europe up to the
middle of the eighteenth century. The
Chinese locksmith of today uses ex-
actly the same kind of tools that his
forefathers had, for they are very sim-
ple and primitive. He carries all his
impedimenta in two cabinets, sitting
on one and working at the other.
When he has finished all the work
available in one neighborhood he fas.
tens the two cabinets to a bamboo
rod and slings it over his shoulder.
He tramps through the towns bur
dened in this way, and stops when he
is called, much as a scissors grinder
or umbrella mender does in our coun-
try—Wide World Magazine.
——Have your Job Work done" here.
THE FLAG ADOPTED.
Let the sons of the patriots glow in the
pride
That is theirs by the right of succes-
sion!—
I sing of the aliens born far and wide
Who of love for the flag malic confes-
sion.
We've seen them in action with Mauser
and Krag,
And surely they saw in the fluttering
flag:
Stars of hope!—'Tis not only a banner,
but shield!
Stripes of merit!—A guerdon from many
a field!
Old Glory! Old Glory!
In song and in story
Forever you're flying before us!—
The red of our blood!
The white of our good!
And the blue of the sky that smiles o'er
us!
We are brothers and sisters by rule from
above.
‘We're all of us lovers of freedom.
Our daddies ne’er fought for the flag
that you love—
But their sons are right here when you
need ’em!
And it isn’t our fault (Mr.
quote)
That we're sons of “the fellows who
missed the first boat.”
So, brothers and sisters, this message 1
bring:
Our hearts are attuned when we help you
to sing:
Old Glory! Old Glory!
In song and in story
Forever you're flying before us!—
The red of our blood!
The white of our good!
And the blue of the sky that smiles o’er
us!
Dooley 1
—Grif Alexander.
“A sane Fourth’s the thing,” ob
served the portly mayor. He glanced
across the table at his wife, then let
his wandering gaze come to rest on
his pretty daughter June. “There's
no sense in burning powder and mak:
ing a racket to celebrate our nation’s
independence; I say, let’s have a sane !
Fourth.”
“Of course we'll have a picnic,”
planned the mayor's better half. “The
tables can be set under the trees in
that grove by the station. We'll get
some carpenters to contribute work on
them and a speaker’s stand.”
“The sooner I talk it over with the
business men the better,” decided May-
or Munshaw. “I’ll talk ’em into pro-
hibiting the sale of fireworks. We'll
keep ’em for evening and have ’em
set off under the auspices of the vil
lage. Our councilmen will officiate.”
* * * * * ® EJ
“Dinner ready,” trumpeted Dan
Hughes of the megaphone voice.
“Everybody set up! And those what
can’t set'’ll have to stand!”
Instantly the shifting crowd coa-
lesced like magic about ths long table
with Reverend Fanning in a central
| position to say grace, and the mayor
stationed at his right. A profound si-
lence settled over the multitude dur-
ing this invocation, then a buzz of
laughter burst forth with redoubled
gayety.
“Superintendent Eldridge will now
read the corner stone of American lib-
erty,” announced Mayor Munshaw at
the close of the song. He beamed out
over the perspiring throng. The cele-
bration was a great success. Not a
firecracker in the hands of little boys
His patri-
had disturbed the peace.
archal beard hung straight down over
his white vest. He was a dignified
and imposing figure. As if actuated
by an automatic device the superin-
tendent of Dashville high school rose
to his feet as the mayor sat heavily
down. His carefully-thought-out pre-
liminary remarks lengthened almost
to a lecture while his patient au-
dience stared at him stonily. Above
domed a sky of brass that loaned a
sulphurous hue to the furnace-hot at-
mosphere. Fans slowly waved. Par-
boiled countenances were turned to-
ward the speaker. He began, at last,
to read:
“When, in the course of human
events,” he intoned sonorously, “it be-
comes necessary for one people
Sp-tt! Bing! Bang! Sp-t-t! sound-
ed the staccato notes of something
that drowned the reader's full tones.
Bing! Bang! Roar! Sp-t-t! Puff!
rolled out accumulated noise—a noise
that smote the heavens with projec-
tiles. Projectiles darted like mad in
every direction while the choir fled
wildly from the place and the council-
men grappled with discharging fire-
works,
“Someone musta threw a match!”
“That’s the work of a cigarette
fiend!”
“Bet-chu some boy did that a pur
pose,” were some of the shouted com-
ments. Meanwhile the frantic efforts
of the town council released dormant
rockets, pin-wheels, set pieces. The
startled audience scattered right and
left in confusion! Never since 1776
had the Declaration of Independence
been so fittingly introduced and forci-
bly presented. Order was finally re-
stored. People reseated themselves on
the benches. Red countenances again
confronted the reader and again
|
J
Superintendent Eldridge intoned the:
rounded phrases of our charter of lib-
erty.
owl a decent respect to the
opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel
them . . 2
“Look!” shouted Dan Hughes of
the megaphone voice. “The depot’s on
re!”
“The oil tanks! The oil tanks!”
shouted a dozen voices. “The tank
cars ’ll explode!”
They did. At least flames shot up
ward and seemed to greedily lick the
sky. With a dull, prolonged roar as
cending fire tongued the heavens while
every man, woman and child of Dash-
ville deserted the picnic grounds and
raced for the spot. Even Mayor Mun-
saw managed to join a hastily rormegd
fire brigade and assist in passing wa-
ter to men on the depot roof. In the
thick of fire and smoke he worked
valiantly. And when he emerged from
the ruins before the final collapse no
one would have recognized the mayor
of Dashville. His luxuriant beard was
no more. Fire had ruthlessly mowed
it to his chin. His patriarchal dignity
had departed.
The bucket brigade stood back and
viewed the roaring conflagration.
“Looks like all hell had broke
loose,” commented one of the village
council,
“Musta been a blazing rocket stick,”
declared another.
“Or a cigar stub,” guessed a third.
Straggling at the rear of the last
babe-laden woman were June and Tom
Norris. June-was frightened. She
wanted someone to remain at her
side and look closely after her welfare.
So Tom accepted the office.
slowly sauntered toward the depopu-
lated town. Never had Tom seen Jump
more charming. Her gown was like a
bit of mid-summer sky trimmed with
fleecy cloud. Her blue eyes were lu
minous with love. Her cherry red lips
were tempting sweet but when he
would have begged a kiss timidity in-
tervened.
sky and saw, instead of ruby lips, a
funnel-shaped cloud of copper hue |
that approached at meteor speed.
“A cyclone!” he shouted and caught
There was no
June up in his arms.
time for delay. Swift danger swept
away his temerity. He forgot that he
was but a struggling bank clerk and
June the daughter of Dashville’s
wealthy mayor. Like any knight of
medieval times he was rescuing his
lady fair from impending death, death
from a rampant cyclone. And, unlike
ras te etl od
They |
turned their backs on the fire and
i
{
Instead he looked at the |
| Emblem, It Is Declared by Stu-
the valorous knight of old who wield- |
ed spear in defense of his love, he
was forced to the ignominious device |
of seeking a cellar. It would be the
only spot respected by the destroyer.
With a vicious lunge he burst in the
door of the nearest house that offered
basement protection and leaped down
the cellar stairs. The next moment
there came a grinding roar as if the
very universe was being uprooted and
flung to the raging winds. Terrified,
June clung to her lover while he free-
ly uttered the long delayed words
of endearment. In that supreme mo-
ment their meeting lips sealed their
troth. Then they became aware that
the destroying agent had passed, leav-
ing desolation in its wake. The house
above them was gone, revealing a
lurid sky. About them were strewn
the ruins of a razed village. Dash-
ville was mainly kindling wood and
scattered stone.
Dust-begrimed, disheveled: but ab-
surdedly happy the two climbed from
the cellar and sought the mayor. The
station where Tom Norris owned prop-
erty was unscathed. It was fortunate-
ly at one side of the path of the ruin
that included the Munshaw residence
and over half the town. He would
offer refuge to his future father-in-law
and at the same propitious moment
ask his daughter’s hand in marriage.
They met dismayed residents search-
ing among the debris for shattered
homes yet thankful for their lives.
The Fourth of July picnic had saved
them. But for the gathering gt the
grove many would have been caught
in crashing buildings and perished.
Finally the mayor, or what was left
of him, loomed in view.
“Papa,” cried June when she recog-
nized the wreck of her once spic-and-
span parent, “Tom saved me! Carried
me into a cyclone cellar! But what-
ever happened to you?”
“Nothing’s happened to me,” testily
declared the foremost citizen of Dash-
ville. “Nothing on earth’s happened
to me but a condemned sane Fourth
that’s gone clean looney!”
“Why, papa,” said June with a
happy glance at her lover, “I think
this has been a perfectly beautiful
ourth of July!”
Time to Reflect,
Reflect with reverence, with swell
(ng pride and utter thankfulness upon
the great deeds that have made us a
nation of strength and courage, upon
the heroes whose lives have given ad-
ditional luster to the banner of our
pride and upon the duty to mankind
which it lays upon us as an imperative
burden,
TRANK FOURNIER
REAL HISTORY OF
AMERICAN FLAG
dents, May Be Traced Back
as Far as the Twelfth
Century.
HE American flag is a growth,
rather than a creation. Its his-
tory can be traced back to the
12th century, or nearly 600 years prior
to the first “Flag Day,” June 14, 1777.
During the first crusade in 1195, ;
Pope Urban II assigned to all of the
Christian nations as standards crosses
varying in color and design, emblem-
atic of the warfare in which they |!
were engaged. To the Scotch troops
was assigned the white saltire, known
as the white cross of St. Andrew, on a
cross, but a century and a quarter
later they adopted a red cross on a |;
white field, known as the red cross of
St. George.
When James VI of Scotland as.end-
ed the throne of England as James I,
he combined the two flags, and issued
a proclamation requiring all ships to
carry the new flag at their main
masts. At the same time the vessels
of south Britain were to carry at
their foremasts the red cross of St.
George and the ships of north Britain
to carry the white cross of St. An-
drew.
The new flag was known as “Kings
Colors,” the “Union Colors,” or the
“Great Union,” and later as the “Union
Jack,” and was the one under which
the British made all their permanent
settlements in America. It was the
flag of Great Britain only by proclama-
tion, however; not until 1707 did par-
liament pass an act definitely uniting
the two countries and their flags. In
the same year the government issued
regulations requiring the navy to use
what was known as the white ensign;
the naval reserve, the blue ensign;
-and the merchant marine, the red en-
sign. Owing to the fact that the Brit-
ish merchant vessels were everywhere,
the colonists in America came to look
upon this red ensign as the flag of
Great Britain.
The people in the New England col-
onies were bitterly opposed to the
cross in the flag. In 1635 some of the
troops in Massachusetts declined to
march under this flag and the military
commissioners were forced to design
other flags for their troops with the
cross left out. The design they adopt-
ed has not been preserved. In 1652 a
mint was established in Boston.
Money coined in this mint had the
pine tree stamped on one side of it.
The pine tree design was’ also used
on New England flags, certainly by
1704 and possibly as early as 1635.
At the outbreak of the Revolution
the American colonies had no flag
common to all of them. In many cases
the merchant marine flag of England
was used with the pine tree substi-
tuted for the Union Jack. Massa:
chusetts adopted the green pine tree
on a white field, with the motto: ‘“‘An
Appeal to Heaven.” Some of the south-
ern states had the rattlesnake flag
with the motto “Don’t Tread on Me”
on a white or yellow field. This flag
had been used by South Carolina as
early as 1764. Benjamin Franklin de-
fended the rattlesnake device on the
ground that the rattlesnake is found
only in America, and that serpent em-
blems were considered by ancients
to be symbols of wisdom.
In September, 1775, there was dis-
played in the South what was by
many believed to be the first distinct-
ively American flag. It was blue with
‘a white crescent, and matched the
dress of the troops, who wore caps in-
scribed, “Liberty or Death.”
The colonists desired to adopt a
common flag; but they had not yet
! blue field. The British used a yellow i
declared independence, and were not
at first seeking independence. They
took the British flag as they knew it,
and made a new colonial flag by divid-
ing the red field with white stripes
into thirteen alternate red and white
stripes. This is known as the Cam-
bridge flag, because it was first un:
furled over Washington's headquar-
ters at Cambridge, Mass., on January
1, 1776. It complied with the law of
1707 by having the Union Jack on it;
it also represented the thirteen colon-
ies by the thirteen stripes.
As the colonists gradually became
converted to the idea that independ-
ence from the mother country was
necessary, they began to modify the
flag, first by leaving off the Union
Jack and using only the thirteen hori
zontal stripes. The modified flags
were not always red and white, but
regularly consisted of combinations of
two colors selected from red, white,
blue and yellow. The final modifica-
tion was the replacement of the Union
Jack by the white stars on a blue
field.
The stars are the only distinctive
feature of the American flag. The
charming stcery which credits Betsy
Ross with making the first flag of
stars and stripes is still accepted by
historians. When Washington sug-
gested the six-pointed star, she demon-
strated the ease with which a five-
pointed star could be made by fold-
ing a piece of paper and producing
one with a single clip of the scissors.
Some writers are cf the opinion that
both stars and stripes in the flag
were derived from the coat of arms of
the Washington family, but this the-
ory is not generally held.
The official adoption of our first flag
was in 1777. On June 14 of that year
the Continental congress passed an
act providing that “the flag of the
thirteen united states be thirteen
stripes, alternate red and white; that
the union be thirteen stars, white on a
blue field, representing a new constel-
lation.” The thirteen stars were ar-
ranged in a circle to symbolize the per-
petuity of the union of the states.
Vermont was admitted to the Union
in 1791 and Kentucky in 1792. It was
felt that these two new states ought
to be recognized on the flag, so in 1794
congress passed an act making the
flag fifteen stars and fifteen stripes.
This remained the flag of the United
States throughout the War of 1812,
until there were twenty states in the
Union. In 1816, an effort was again
made to modify the flag so that all the
new states would be represented on it.
To be continually adding stripes would
make the flag very awkward in shape
and appearance, so after arguing the
matter for two years, congress decided
to return to the original thirteen
stripes and one star for each state.
Congress has never determined the ar-
rangement of the stars nor the shape
and proportions of the flag, and there
has been great variation, especially in
the grouping of the stars. There are
still many who believe that the sym-
bolic circular grouping of stars shguld
be restored.
A REAL PATRIOT
Tard
wy ZY ee
Fin ZS “SNF
“Whee! | wisht the Fourth of July’a
come every month.”