C0iit! VOLUME 15 AIcCONNELLSDURG, PA., AUGUST 121914, NUMBER 4s LIGHTNING STRIKES BARN. Storm in Wells Valley Saturday Shocks Several People and Burns Barn. Picnickers Save House. During the severe electrical .tnrm that passed over Wells Valley last Saturday, lightning ctmck the barn belonging to Mrs. Hattie Barcroft and burned it to the ground, together with 'two calves, all feed, grain, hay, Ud farm machinery which was ,M.. - Wed in the building. Her son Jtacey, of York, is visiting his another, and saw the fire in time ) run his auto out of reach of he flame3, but made a narrow scape from having the store of asoline take fire and explode. There were several strokes of ,'htning in close succession, Vhich drove the family from the rch into the house, a moment kfter which another stroke caused ie of them to peep through a indow blind when he saw smoke buing from the roof. Embers !rom the burning roof fell on the ay, straw, &c., and quickly set re to the whole structure. We ere unable to learn the amount ' damage sustained by Mrs. Bircroft, but were assured that was great, and that the very r.iall amount of insurance will ) but a short way towards cov ing the loss. A picnic was be 2 held at Cold Spring, nearby, jr.d by the very prompt help of. e picnickers the house was feved; otherwise it surely would lave been burned. At least two people made . nar- iw escapes from being electro- f ted during the storm, namely G. A. Horton, and Leda Amick, tho happened to be touching a re fence about 1,000 yards from there the barn stood. Both re shocked severely. But one Mr. Morton's fingers was in Jatact with the fence, but that M enough to draw the electric lid. This property, to the older peo Je, may be better known as the irouel Willet or the. Frnnlr Mp- m farm near the VnlW M P. urch-the latter having built e barn. Mrs. Arabella Erwin Diclil. Mrs. Arabella Erwin Diehl. wife of Mr. James F. Diehl, and mother of our former Presbyter lan pastor, Kev. John M. Diehl, died at her home in Adams coun ty, Thursday evening, August f, una ii. - i i . l uie resuic or enronic car diac disease, aged GS years, 5 months, anc 21 days. Her maiden name was Foino- roy, and she was born in Con cord, Franklin County. Survi vingare a husband and right children; Kev. Frederick at Wells boro, Pa.; William Pomeroy, at Seitzland, Pa.; Oscar Nevin, York, Pa. ; Rev. John Maclay, Greencastle, Pa. ; Robert Black, Gettysburg, Pa.; James Erwin, M. D., Trenton, N. J.; Elizabeth Maclay, at home; Samuel Rey nolds, student at Princeton Semi nary. Three brothers, Robert Pomeroy, John Pomeroy and William Pomeroy, all of Shelby, Iowa; and one sister, Elizabeth Pomeroy in Concord, Pa. Mrs. Diehl was well known in McConnellsbug, she having vis ited her son, John M., while he was pastor of the Presbyterian church, and was greatly loved for her sweet Christian character. Her remains were laid to rest in Evergreen cemetery, Gettysburg, Pa., on Monday, August tenth. BEDFORD AL'TOillOBlLE S10LEN. Fire Near Dane. ,un Wednesday morning, Au- M. the farm house belong- f to Harry Lear, and occupied acou Wible, a mile north of I ie, was burned to the founda- n. together with all the con- p, with the exception of a bed two pillows. Mr. Wible was fat home at the time, and Mrs I' escaiiml with u-kof DUkJ . ...vi Tiuub one iiau which did not include shoes. I Wible had just finished iron ? the week's fnmilv s Preparing to bake bread, ':n sue discovered that the 'ng about tho stnvnni'nn urao Ping. Shp nttomrf,l f I. , " .w.iupigu tu call Ph'hbors. but , T.tiwj VilCJ ill 1 1 V 11 was too late to save any "B- Scott Brant attempted nter by a hank psome clothini? thnt Mr D1eSaidwas hnnTin(Tnnn.tlla 'Jw in the sewing room, but Mlds null(.,l h;m e 4U e-fllll'd !inn,.f 4.1. FKht the risk too great. Neiirh V "berated some chickens and f'eQ SOmo tnrla C.w, U ,ctl was burnt. There was no :rate on the house, nor on "contents. Fire originated ; ie pipe 0f the kitchen The house was built of . ,0f - weather-boarded and I ' ua not been estimated; but I as vere, as the house was ru and mimk j .i.a- -..,4 Kuuu cioining "OUSehold muvl. A i!U!rbile party imposed , - -aivey strait and two s j80"3 Gordon and Harry; rkhart rdon- Mrs- Ann'e inter son; Misses Lizzie frdnn , ana Margaret r., cnoxa reier ana .n the hnma Tvr rSaluvia. y League Social. The Epworth League, of the M. E. Church of this place, held a delightful social on ex-county Treasurer C. B. Stevens' lawn last Friday night, in honor of Rev J. V. Adams and family who were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ste vens. The lawn was beautifully decorated with Japanese lan terns, and the moon, which was at its best that night, added bril liancy to the occasion. A cozy nook had been prepared under the grape arbor that span3 the brook that flows through the lawn, thus affording a retreat for those who did not care to engage in the more active sports and amusements incident to a lawn fete, but were very highly enter tained by Mrs. G. W. Risner who brought out her splendid vie trola. After refreshments, the young folks were delightfully entertain ed by the Adams family who are talented vocal musicians; and by Mrs. J. V. Royer in some of her recitations. It will be remem- beredjthat Mr. Adams led the music for several years for the County Institute, when he was pastor of the Methodist church in thi3 place, some fifteen years ago. The Bishop's Address. Bishop Sansford, of Ilarrisburg addressed an immense audience on the Court House lawn last Sabbath evening. His subject was "The Saloon Must Go." The Bishop drew word pictures of the conditions arising from the presence of the open saloon in America which not only harmed the male portion of our citizens, but he gave an account of how our women were being drawnin- to the trap. He said that by ac tual count for twenty-six hours 119G women of all walks in life entered a certain saloon on Dia mond Street in Pittsburgh; and that in the mean time, other sa loons in the city, and in other cit ies, had catered to the appetites of proportionately large numbers of women. He called attention to the growing sentiment that rum be abolished from our land, until politicians of all parties have been forced to put a local option plank into their platform. And not only this; pressure has been brought to bear on our law-makers to such extent that bills pertain ing to the rum traffic dare not be ignored as was formerly the case so that some progress has been made in legislating against the business. The Bishop freely pre dicted that enough states would soon ratify the proposed amend ment to our National Constitution to abolish the saloon from this great country. Nine states have already done so, and seventeen more are about to follow. Thief Headed Toward Eastern Markets, Run Out of Oa.olinc on Cove Mountain. Early Monday morning as Reed bnssinger was getting ready to start to Fort Loudon with E. R. McClain's freight wagon, he noticed a five-passenger Huj mobile car pass somewhat hur riedly through McConnellsburg with no occupant except the dri ver. As the driver of the car be gan the ascent of the mountain ease oi town, Me generously gave seats to George Stoch ami Mart in Wolf who were going to work on the State road that is being built across the mountain. On account of the fact that the dri ver was something of a novice, that his radiator was leaking and gasoline nearly exausted, he had considerable difficulty in getting the machine to the ton of the mountain, Stoch and Wolf leav ing him at the quarry about a mile west of the top. About the time this was tak ing piaco i armor bcott btuckey, who resides along the Lincoln Highway, four miles west o f Bedford, made the discovery that his new Hupmobile had been stolen from his garage during the night. His sons hastened to Bedford, and soon the telegraph and telephone wires were hot flashing the intelligence east and west. Shortly a reply was re ceived from Cline's garage i n McConnellsburg saying, "Ma chine as described passed east ward through McConnellsburg about 7 o'clock this mornin The boys then went to the Key stone garage in Bedford, and at 11 o'clock, the two Stuckey boys, with harl bwartzwehter 'hold ot i i i it i me steering wheel, in a big six- cylinder Cole, were hitting the pike less than sixty-miles an hour in the direction of McConnells burg. At Ilarrisonville, (I miles west o f McConnellsburg, they learned that a stranger with a Hup, had applied forjive gallons of gas, saying that he was in a hurry and that he would pay for the gas on his return the next clay. Merchant Hollins- head wisely kept the gasoline, The pursuing party got no fur ther clue of the missing car ex cept what they got from the gar age in McConnellsburg and the workmen on the mountain, until they reached Gettysburg, where they were informed that the car had been found near McConnells burg, and was safe in tho Mc Connellsburg garage. As Reed Grissinger was return ing, from Fort Loudon Monday af ternoon with the freight wagon, he met the Stuckey party about a mile west if Fort Loudon, and from them learned of the theft of the automobile, and told them. that he bad seen a machine like the one described, pass through McConnellsburg early that morn ing. Further up the mountain road he met a man walking, whom he at once recognized as the driver of the Hup that he had seen in McConnellsburg. It then occurred to Grissinger that the machine had been left along the road, and he began to look for it. When ho reached, the top of the mountain, he saw where a ma chine had left the road and had been driven off into the woods. He followed the tracks, and did not go very far until he came up on the machine in a secluded spot, the machine having been turned around and headed for the like. The driver of the car had taken the precaution to put the switch plug in his pocket when he left the macnine, but a cotter pin or small key in Reed's pocket did the trick, and soon Reed was emergfng from tho woods with the machine. He placed the freight wagon in the care of Her bert Ilelman, and Reed took the automobile to McConnellsburg, placed it in the garage, and the information was telegraphed to the Chief of police of Gettysburg who notified the Stuckeey party, J Made Good Roads. The citizens of Millerstown, on tne river above ilarrisburg, are wise; they did not propose to be caught with bad roads this fall; so they turned out and made a frolic of fixing them last Friday, and now they are in fine shape. They fixed 'em right, too, didn't go along throwing some leaves and sods into the middle of the road to be washed away by the first shower, like we used to do when we "worked" out our tax. Perhaps some good stories were told to enliven the occasion, but this time the workers meant to get something for their labor. Do you remember how we used to "work out our tax" by taking a light shovel and follow along after a plow and throw a few s loonfuls of dirt into the road while we "chawed terbacker" Ti ll . 1.. anu torn stories, ana then eot a receipt, for our share of the tax Those were great times, weren't they? Let's see this is about the eighth time we have remind ed ourselves that the outlying roads will not be reached by the State fur several years, and that they will soon be hard to distin guish from a hole-in-the-ground f we do not turn out and fix them ourselves. COINTY AGENTS' WORK. Had Narrow Escape. On Wednesday, July 20th, B. Winegardner of Clear Ridge, and two women narrowly escap- d death on the E. B. T. railroad tracks, near Three Springs, when a locomotive tossed their wagon Mr. Winegardner had on a load of country produce, and a- Mrs KinKer ana ner daughter were on the wagon with h i m. seems that he was on the second crossing below the Three Springs depot while the 9;15 train was bearing down on them, but which was hidden from view by a house Had the wagon moved only six inches more it would have eseap ed being hit by the engine, but the rear of the wagon was caught and tossed about a rod. Bert re ceived a bruised hip and knee; Mrs. Rinker received bruises on her wrist, and the daughter es caped without a scratch. The top and one wheel of the wagon were demolished, together with 100 dozen eggs. Had it happen ed one second earlier, we would doubtless have a far different story to tell. KcisncpSctts. On Monday, at noon, August 10, 1!)14, Mr. John II. Reisner and Miss liertha uetts were uni ted in marriage at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred II. IJotts, of Kingston, N. Y., by the Rev. John A. Mcin tosh, D. D., of Ithacs, N. Y. Mr. Reisner is a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Reisner, of McCon nellsburg, Pa., is a graduate of Yale, and will receive his A. M. degree this fall at Cornell. Mrs. Reisner is a graduate of the School of Domestic Science at Pratt Institute, and also a graduate of Cornell, in which in stitution she afterwards became an instructor in Domestic Science. Mr. and Mrs. Reisner will sail for China this fall, where they will accept positions as members of the faculty of the University at Nanking. Mr. Reisner and his bride came to McConnellsburg Tuesday eve ning and are the guests of the groom's father, at whose home a reception was held on Wednes day evening. who' by that time had arrived in that town. They at once turned about, and were in McConnells burg by midnight. The machine was found with but little gasoline in the tank. t had been run hot, and the rad iator damaged. It required but a short time Tuesday morning or O. L. Greathead to put it in trim, and the party left here about nine o'clock, much pleased that they had recovered the sto len automobile. Letter of Explanation of the Establish ment of County Agents and the Work Done by them. Knowing that many of our readers are anxious to know how far the work of the Agricultural Extension Bureau has succeeded in establishing Agent, nd what duties are required of the agents the News asked the Experimen tal Station at State College. Ta.. for information, and received the following letter for publication; Pennsylvania has eleven coun ty agents in the field and other counties are actively promoting tho organizations to secure an agent. The county agent movement is an effort to place in as manv counties as possible men with a thorough, practical and funda mental knowledge of agriculture to cooperate with the farmers in dividually and through their or ganizations towards the solution of farm problems. Its purpose is to make the best agricultural information of the day common and applied knowledge. The county agent becomes ' the link which more closely connects the farmer with his Experiment Sta tion. Their activities are wide. ihe men who serve as county agents do not pose as knowing flllabout agriculture. They serve rather as studedts and helpers, They spend their time studying the farming interests of their re spective counties both from the standpoint of production and of distribution. They study plans, methods-and practices, and aid in improving them when this can be done They bring from farm to farm information as 'to the best methods practiced by farm ers in the different localities and the results obtained by the Ex periment Stations. They study the marketing and transportation conditions and aid in bettering them whenever they can. They also conduct county-wide move ments, such as campaigns for special purposes. The up-build ing of the soil by the proper ap plication of manure and fertili zers; the testing of seed corn; the renovation of old orchards; the proper use of spraying ma materials to prevent insects and plant diseases; the promotion of the livestock industry through the use of pure-bred sires: the increase of breeding herds and community breeding; the organi zation of exchange bureaus for feeding stock and pure seed; the planning of balanced rations for farm animals; the making of sur veys of the cropping system and business management of the farm are some of his activities. The organization of breeders' associations, cow-testing associa tions, and other producing asso ciations; the organization of boys and girls clubs and contest work in corn, tomatoes, pure-bred live stock, etc., are other lines of activity, some of which an? un dertaken by every agent. In ad dition.Jhe agents may be active in other ways, such as promoting good roads, better rural schools, more social life, and better con ditions in general. Each man emphasizes some special line ol work and makes that his leader. Its nature nec essarily depends largely upon the needs of the county. The work also varies with the char acter and personnel of the bureau backing him. As no agent can be a specialist in all lines of agri culture, each one calls upon the specialists of the College, when help is needed. All agents are n close touch with the College at all times and do their work under its general direction and supervision. The agent's' work is effective in proportion as the interest and cooperation of the best farmers of the county are enlisted. That this may be secured, the organi zation of a farn bureau compos ed of the best farmers of a county is necessary. Each member then works shoulder to shoulder with Timely Topics. Last week, a correspondent re ported that "oats filled well, con sidering the short straw." A "scientific" man would tell us that plenty of berry-making acid phosphate had been used on that land; else, both the straw and the heads would have been short on account of dry weather. From another source we heard of stiff, long straw, but poorly filled, this indicates an abundance of stalk making potash, and perhaps ni trogen; but it plainly indicates the need of acid phosphate. It is by just such tests that our ex perimental stations would have us learn to be our own "soil doc tors;" and it is to teach us a hun dred more things that the Sta tion is anxious that each county should arrange to keep a live man (agent) at work. A question that will come up for solution of wheat-seeding time is the price to pay for fer tilizers. "Cheap" fertilizer is not necessarily "poor" fertilizer. Acid phosphate is "cheap" but is good, if the land needs it; but -4L 11 1 411 n wouiu do aear ' at $iu a ton if the land does not need it. The men who had short straw and well-filled heads, would per haps better buy nitrogen at $.)0 per ton, and potash at same price while the long strawed field need only $13. acid goods. In either case, about the same amount in dollars should be spent per acre. See the point? This is where the economy of having a county agent comes in he saves us from buy ing useless goods if we cannot de termine the kind to buy. f I . m ( . une pnase oi iarmmg that is receiving more and more atten tion in Pennsylvania is the pro duction of meat, and wool. There is not a shadow of doubt as to prices. Nowhere in the United btates is there enough cattle to supply the need for meat. The same is true of the whole world i'ulton county once sent great droves of stock cattle to market, Last week a herd of eighty cat tie were driven into McConnells burg and sold to the highest bid uer. vv nen we were ooys we had cattle and manure, and we had grass to plough down by turning it under with a drag- chain attached to the plow. Do you remember those days? ALL IS NOT GOLD THAT GLITTERS. the fellow farmers of his county. ueing in touch with them he is inspired to better effort on his own lram and to serve as a source of inspiration to others. The agricultural conscience of the people soon becomes aroused and their attention is focused not only on increased and more eco nomical production of agricultural wealth, but also on its proper use. The prime requisites for an agricultural agent are that he must have been brought up on a farm, or have spent the greater part of his life on the farm, that lie be a good organizer and that he have a strong, pleasing per sonality. Not less than $2500 is neces a1. t i m sary me nrst year, inis covers the salary of the agent, office and traveling expenses. An agent usually spends one or two days a week in the office where he can be reached in person or by telephone. The balance of the time is spent in the field. The funds are provided cooper atively by the Pennsylvania State College the Department of Agri culture and the local organization The county commissioners are authorized to appropriate not to exceed $1500 a year for this work and the local funds may be pro vided in this way or by local sub scription. The reports from all the coun ties where agents are at work are to the effect that excellent service is being rendered. I trust that in the course of the next couple of years we may have sufficient funds to make possible more systematic worK in your county. Very truly yours, M. S. McDowell. Little Talks on Health and Hygiene by Samuel G. Dixon, M. D., LL D., Commissioner Health. In these days of magnificent hotels we are attracted by the toilet rooms, radiant with porce lain bath tubs, lavatories and til ed walls. After a long day's travel ty train or motor the sight of such immaculate fixtures tempts us to turn the tap to see the rushing water flow against the white enamel bath tub and prepare to take a plunge. Our confidence is won by the beautiful design and the cleanly appearance of the entire finishing of those mo dern toilet rooms. The sanita rian, however, is halted by the mysterious workings of the fix tures. A pretty porcelain cross .shaped handle stands out from the running spigot gradually backs up into the tub or basin. It is the little piece of waste pipe that extends from the outlet in the tub back to the plug that soon becomes dirty and retains the germs of disease of the skin and mucous membrane ,of the previous bathers that is filled by the first flush of water and then gradually fills up into the tub or basin in which you wash. The person having used the ba sin just previous to yourself may have had tuberculosis and have rinsed his or her mouth into it. More or less mucus from the mouth will settle on the sides of this little piece of pipe which is a part of the basin, and cannot be reached to cleanse. This sort of plumbing is dangerous to life and should be legislated against. Until we can have the evil re moved those traveling or using public bath tubs or basins, to guard against contracting dis ease, should run the hot water through this pipe for ten or fif teen minutes before turning the plug of the fixture. The shower bath is the safest for public use. Good Chance to Advertise Is. Speaking of marking the Lin coln Highway to make it inter esting to tourists, reminds us that there is a look-out on top of the Cove mountain that should be marked by a hand-board, and a path made to it. Thousands of tourists pass within 150 yards of this magnificent view, who would e glad to "take it in" if they knew it was there. All the hun dreds of Southerners who pass this way would also feel kindly towards us if the Confederate graves east of town were marked in a manner to attract attention. Another thing that would be ap preciated by tourists, would be listorical cards, on which bits of ocal history were printed. A brief history of the Forbes road; accounts of local skirmishes dur ing the Civil war, guided to Con federate graves, and many other interesting items would be gladly paid for by curio hunters. Let's wake up and make a noise like a live place. Pastors Out of Town. Rev. J. L. Ycarick will be ab sent over two Sundays August 10th, and 2o'rd, on his summer vacation, which ho will spend in Philadelphia. Souderto n , and Bethlehem, Pa. Mail will reach him at Philadejphia, care of the Publication Board of the Reform ed Church, 15th and Race streets and at Souderton, Pa. He will return August 27th. Rev. and Mrs. J. L. Grove started on their summer vacation yesterday. They will stop at Lewistown, Pa., for two days to visit Mr. Grove's nephew, Rev. W. B. Grove, and Mrs. Grove's cousins, Mrs. Nellie Corbin, and Mrs. Grace Owens. From there they will go to New Wilmington ra., to attend the Missionary Conference. Thence to Chautau qua and Niagara Falls. They will be absent about two weeks,
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