I in One attled. rattle S$ me; old of fF 1 at- © I be- y sal- 1onth, > only midly a that count “Ac- a tall, n rat- 1 ) , and know , and man. npled one 7" gain,, self- some ul se- d the d the said, om a as if it, 1 come keep but that or a said. pro- 0 a | the rind- g an ood- \ the ped ‘old- cket him t, as lone t us Ss on an- the n a do- 5. hol- for >ck- one e it the 1i1l- the He out om ny in- 1k | | : “ = —_— wig 3 a SS art EEG a rT ch Soi oe GS ba: A ee ee SREB Rl fe Y 3 Ei 7 = ha 5 JAMES B. OLDE * NANAOTH - FARDWAR- 0] WILL BE | Or i For the Largest . Binders, Mowers, Hay Rakes, Hay Forks, Kramer Wagons, Studebaker Wagons. Harness, Stoves, BEST QUALITY! LOWEST PRICES! 1895. tl RBAL! and Best Line of Hay Tedders, Hay Loaders, Geiser Engines and Threshers, Carriages, Buggies, and Ranges.’ Don’t fail to see our Store this week. ‘Avoid Those Baggy Knees ! Have your Trousers made at MILLER’S The largest stock of Suitings and Trimmings between Philadelphia and Pittsburg. MAURICE MILLER, 204 Franklin St., Johnstown. ‘W. B. DIBERT in the I and Price, go to “Johnstown’s Leading Tailor. To getthe best of every- thing in the General Merchan- dise line, and big values for your money, is at J. D. Miller & Sons’, ROCKWOOD, PA. This is the oldest and largest store in Rockwood, as well as one of the leading stores of the county. We will positively not be undersold, quality and style of goods considered. We send Greeting ito our hundreds of customers during this, our county’s Cen- tennial year, and shall try to merit their patronage in the | future asin the past. | J. D. Miller & Sons. CHAS. F. Cook & Co., PLANING or vehicles of any kind,do you need repair- at C. H. SUFALI’S Shop, on Patriot St. POMPEI HOTEL E. L. COOK, Proprietor. Johnstown, Newly refitted and furnished. Everything first-elass, and service of the best. To my Somerset county friends I extend a special invitation to give me a call when in the city. GW. & H.B.KEMP, ——:0: PROPRIETORS OF THE :0:— HARNEDSVILLE : NURSERY. Harnedsville, Pa., Are still in the MARKET with the choicest NURSERY STOCK of all kinds. Why buy. of traveling “sharks” when you can get better goods at lower prices at home? Buy of home men and get something suited to our climate. You will then know what you are getting for your money and with whom you are dealing. I. G- JONES & SON — DEALERS IN — ALL KINDS OF LUMBER, BLINDS, SASH, MOULDINGS, . DOORS, and General BUILDING MATERIALS. LUMBER HILL YARD. Hee MILL Office WORK AND MILL - 2 SouTH oF | SOMERSET, SPE- Town PA. CIALTY Booksellers | and Stationers, | Berlin, Pa. | | THE ONLY BOOK :*:: STORE PATRIOT ST7., F. B. GRANGER, Contractor :: and :¢ Builder. Dealer in all Kinds of Lumber and Building Materials. SOMERSET, PA. SOMERSET LIVERY, SOMERSET, PA. 3 J C r ‘ IN BERLIN, ISAAC SIMPSON, Proprietor. y i i the vd Stati - | Horses, Buggies, Carriages and Wagons Everything in the Book and Station for Hine, TORE Slane and Wagous ery Line. We solicit your patronage. { in connortion: 7 JAS. B. HOLDERBAUM. AVOID THOSE BAGGTRNESS | NAVI NA ' Wnolesaie and Retail Dealers in ) y 3 % i Send for Catalogue and prices. TLieads all competiors Line. For the Best in Quality DIBERT, Johnstown, Penna. OWNERS OF Buggies, : Wagons ing of any sort ? You can get.the Best Work Bed ford Street, Penn’a. T good, cool ginger beer and the big gin- MILILINERY? Largest and Best Sclected Stock in the county. Ladies’, Misses’ and Chidren’s Cloaks and Furnishings ofall kinds. Prices Low. Customers treated fairly and equally. MEN'S AND BOYS SUITS sold by sam- ple. Pries Low and fit guaranteed. A. SNYDER, Rockood, Pa. REMINISCENCES. BY PROF. JOSEPH J. STUTZMAN, SOMERSET COUNTY’S FIRST SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. county came from eastern Pennsyl- vania. The majority of these were of German origin, and for the most part belonged to two different religious de- nominations. The more numerous body were the Brethren, familiarly known as Dunkards, whose principal settlement was in Brothersvalley, the beautiful re- gion to which they gave its name. They also became numerous in other parts of the county. The other was composed of Mennonites, chieflv of the Amish branch of that society, who set- Modations, Rates $1.50 per day. tled in the southern part of the valley | and on both sides of the National Road ; E® RIVERSIDE HOTEL, also in Stonycreek and the border town- W. A. SWAN, Proprietor. ships of Somerset and Cambria in the north. Nearly all these people were farmers, and each of these bodies had its distinctive style of dress. They had some habits in common, still re- garded by them as of religious obliga tion. One of these was the duty of hospitality, and another, the relief and solace of members under the bur- den of grief or calamity. Moreover the old-timers among them had the praise of all who knew them, for their strict integrity in matters of business. The Lutherans and Reformed composed the third element of what are still call- ed the Country Dutch. They co-oper- ated in building the first churches in the county, which they used in com- mon. The English-speaking people of the farmer class were to be found be- low the Allegheny and Savage moun- tains, and on and convenient to the principal routes of travel across the county, and predominated in the town- ships of Addison and Lower Turkey- foot. English was also more or less spoken in the villages, but rarely else- where among people of German de- scent,—a race that in this country al- ways adhered too closely to the tradi- tions of their ancestors. PURDY BROS, BARBERS AND ITAIR DRESSERS, SoMERSET, Pa. Hot and Cold Baths. Located opposite Hotel Vannear. CONFLUENCE HOUSE. SCOTT STERNER, Proprietor. Bar attached. Best of accom- Special attention given at this leading ConfluencelHotel to the commercial men. Free bus to and from all trains. Some Ancient Somerset Newspapers. Several citizens of Somerset have in their possessipn some very ancient newspapers. Among them are the Somerset Whig, People’s Guard, and Somerset Herald And Whig. Of these The Whig is the oldest and was estab- lished and published as early as 1810 or 1812, by John Patton. The editor of The VEpETTE, while looking over a copy of the Herald And Whig dated August 10th, 1853, noted particularly the advertisements in its columns, and discovered that among the numerous advertisements therein there was only one inserted by a Som- erset man who is living and in business in Somerset at the present time. That man is Isaac Simpson, who is in the liv- ery and harness business on Patriot street. The following is almost an exact fac simile of Mr. Simpson’s ad- vertsiment in the Herald And Whig: The Same Old Shop. THE undersigned would respectfully in- vite the attention of his friends and the public generally to his shop, nearly opposite J. H. Benford’s Hotel, where he is now man- facturing and will keep constantly on hand an elegant assortment of articles in his line of business, made in a workmanlike and du- rable manner, and superior material, at pri- ces lower than ordinary, and terms to suit the times. His stock, consisting of saddles of all kinds, full Spanish, half Spanish and County The homes of the two principal Ger- man bodies, as I knew them, were per- fect hives of industry. The clearings were still made by girdling the trees and burning the logs and underwood, so that when the trees came crashing down, by the time another crop was wanted there was a fresh job of clear- ing to do. There was not much wheat IEE Hood usted wd leh nasser of | Faised, but plenty of rye, a bushel of every description, plain and ornamented, | which was for years the ordinary wage horse collars, trunks, valises, ete, will be . found superior to any other in the borough. | of a farm-laborer, except in harvest- the Shortest “Hotiee: ive hin i "hue Shot | time. The climate was thought to be and you will be satisfied. too cold for corn, which was planted i Binds of produce taken in ex- only for summer use, but it was all phi x. right for buckwheat and potatoes. Rye was extensively used by the distillers. The other staple products of the coun- ty, besides cattle and horses, were oats, butter and maple sugar. Oats found aready market on the National and other turnpike roads. Butter was bought up by the local merchants and other dealers, and hauled to Baltimore ISAAC SIMPSON. We are glad to note that this pioneer advertiser has an “ad” in this issue of the CENTENNIAL Veperre ; and further- more, we hope he may live long enough to give us an advertisement for the Centennial issue which we intend to publish in 1995. He ought to contract for his space now, for it is a good idea Te ye in wagons, while maple sugar went to o speak for a good thing in time. : 5 10 spe: g fhingin time. Our Bedford and Westmoreland in ex- type setters, Albert Sanner and Thomas Zufall, have already applied for a job on the edition of Tnr VEpETTE to be published one hundred years from this date, and they’re not a bit too early, either. change for flour and salt. The women spun and wove the home-grown flax and wool, and in many households no other goods were worn. They also made the butter and soap, and assisted, when needed, in much of the out-door work of the farm. Rye whisky was cheap and freely used by all classes. Whether the vis- itor was a neighbor or stranger, a saint or a sinner, the bottle was a pledge of welcome. In the harvest-field, at the public sale,—“two dollars in one cent, Somerset County Centennial. To all our old friends who have gone West and will return to help celebrate our County Centennial we would say don’t fail to go to Pisel’s for a glass of ger cake; it will remind you more of Most of the early settlers of this | i | great farce was concluded. Those who had borne tke burden and heat of the day then mingled with the spectators, and were fain to regale themselves with the ginger-cakes and home-brewed beer, the only refreshments permitted on the ground, I think, and the great crowd came surging into the village, where those who preferred it could get some- thing stronger. Soon, as if by precon- certed arrangement, a great ring was formed, in the center of which two stalwart figures were seen, both strip- ped to the buff. It was a common thing to see men vying with each other in feats of strength or agility, sometimes winding up with a knock-down, but at other times, as in this case, a challenge had been passed between two parties, and here they were to fight for the championship. The delighted crowd took sides at once, and while the par- ties dealt sledge-hammer blows that might have felled an ox, shouted lusti- ly for their favorites. Miller was the larger man and should have crushed his antagonist but had too much li- quor aboard. Ringler beat him till he was tired, but the fallen hero vowed he would fight him again, and he did too. too had theirjgrievances to settle,which they at once proceeded to do, but who they were or what it was about nobody knows. These parades were abolished prisonment for debt. having been steadily reinforced by ac- cessions from the east, especially after the close of the revolution, but still more by a sturdy growth of sons and daughters, native and to the born, not only in race and creed, but in lan- guage also, which was of itself a great obstacle to the cordial union vation of the whole. Amish had strong settlements in the ! east, where they had their German and mixed with and even a dictionary adapted to the use of those who understood no other lan- | guage but their own peculiar dialect. [t was a new Germany on American | soil, from which we were saved by bus- iness necessity more than anything else, as the farming class had not yet developed a body of business men. The humorous selections copied in the Mey- ersdale Commercial are fair specimens | of the dialect as it is still spoken, but the orthography isa sight to behold, an evidence that the progress of the | public school system has caused the | neglect of German teaching. In this | county the Amish continued to uphold the gospel of ignorance, concluding that since “a little learning is a dan- gerous thing,” that little had better be limited to reading, writing and arithme- tic in their own tongue. In teaching reading the German Psalter was used, a book that children could not under- stand, and for that reason was not like- ly todo them any harm. The rest of the community were more practical in their views. Those whose education was in German generally preferred that their children, especially the girls, should learn to read German first, but the general tendency was to neglect it altogether. The testament was at first the only reading book, but the English Reader afterwards took its place. Ow- ing to the circumstances of the people the school terms were necessarily short. schools, newspapers | your youth than anything in the world, except the old homestead itself. Any- body in the county can tell you where two dollars in one and the next bidder a dram,” so rendered by a popular auc- tioneer of that period,—wherever men Pisel’s place is, opposite the court- came together for business or pleasure, house, in First National Bank building. | the bottle was there. It is claimed We keep everything to refresh man, | that the whisky was not so injurious in | woman or child. We don’t deal in |its effects as the modern tipple, but to | cheap truck; our things are first-class | my mind any liquor is good enough, | and will give you satisfaction. Ice |and the best is a very good thing in- | cream, cooling drinks of all kinds kept | deed—to let alone. Another article on ice; cakes, pies, sandwiches and | then manufactured that was worse | bread, all baked by ourselves. We can than the whisky. In the fall after the | give you a lunch of hot coffee, bread best of the fruit had been gathered, | and butter and pie for 15 cents and up | the rest, sound and rotten all together, | to a square meal for 25 cents. We have | was dumped into the still to make large parlors up stairs where you can | what was called apple-jack, or rot-gut. | bring your wife and sit down and eat | Belike it did its deadly work in the | while resting. Don’t forget the place. |slums of the cities. When 1 be- | A. E. Pisen. |came a resident of Salisbury, seventy - - | Years ago, most of the heads of families Our Reputation in Old Bedford. were drinking men, their regular place We are in receipt of a kindly invita- | of meeting being at the red tavern, tion to attend the One Hundredth An- long kept by Henry Fuller. In the re- niversary of the organization of the | gions round about there were plenty of county of Somerset, at Somerset, Pa., | the same sort, to say nothing of the on July 3,4 and 5. There is no place | roughs who used to come in from Mary- to which we would rather go to spend | land, and generally managed to get the 4th, and as the “Frosty Sons of up a row. Drunks were common at | Thunder” up in old Somerset never do every public gathering, but the “ Big things by halves, we know that if we | Muster ” was what they called a “high get there we will have a royal time, | old time.” By the laws of the State all princely entertainment, the best the | able-bodied men under 45 years of age land affords to eat and drink from roast | were enrolled for military duty, which turkey to “mountair dew,” and floods | consisted of bne day in each year in of eloquent oratory for which our Som- company drill, and another in the bat- erset lawyers and statesmen have al- tallion parade, the absentees, unless ways been famous.— Bedford Inquirer. they were members of a volunteer com- pany, being liable to = fine. Those who | had arms brought them, and were days to be seen at the Centennial. | placed at the head of their companies, Some of the crude old implements of | but the array of broomsticks and corn- our forefathers will be an interesting | stalks was largely in the majority. feature. It is requested that all per- | They answered the roll-call, then sons having any of the ancient relics in | marched up and down, burnt powder their possession bring them to Somer- | and looked very brave. At last they set. Old-time agricultural implements, | spinning wheels, flax-brakes, etc., can be made n very novel feature of the parade, was = - Many will be the relics of by-gone | were formed into a great long line of nearly the length of the field, and as it ed their arms to the Brigade Inspector, he officers came marching along, pass- | still i play a trick on him, though the school would generally withdraw out of po- | liteness and have a [ he found himself overloaded the more | | miss the school. This happened so often | that “ No school till Monday ” became lif | bring it down in such a w ay as to ts There was no labor-saving machinery, and but little money, so that the farm- er’s work and from early spring till the advent of winter | the boys were constantly employed, | while the girls were equally busy ey doors. It was a common saying that nobody was considered fit to teach un- less it was an Irishman or a Iessian. was never done, Both these were terms of reproach | among the ignorant, the one applied to the English speaking people from abroad, and the other te German emi- grants, who have never been numerous here; but the fact that this saying was applied to teachers as a class, shows that they had not succeeded in winning public respect. teach- after these old-time repeated Stories about ers used to be long they had passed over to the major- ity. Sometimes the bottle would be conveniently hid in a hollow stump outside of the building, to which it was necessary to make frequent vis- its, even if it were only to see if it were there. If the dominie happened | to fall asleep from the effect of his po- tations the big boys would sometimes good time. Bat if usual and sensible course was to dis- a standing joke. The discipline of the schools was simple and easily enforced. All the pedagogue had to do was to march along rod in hand, (as long as the pupils would submit to the treat- ment,) yell out “Mind your books,” and there were symptoms of disorder, the measure of several backs at once? The greatly facilitated this part of the business: besi slab benches saved time, and as the for was divided nobody | Major Hanna, who caught them on the | soon learned to forecast the weather fly and returned them in the same way. The roll was then called a second time | to see that none had got away, and the Some others then recollected that they | some time in the forties, years after im- | At the beginning of the century the | settlements had already become strong, | manor | We have seen that they differed | and ele- | eo | The Brethren and | | tion to be here if possible, we note the | and D. W. Sloan, Esq., of Cumberland ; | Cyrus | The Committee on Invitations on the Somerset — etal, | from the countenance of the teacher, and when it boded squalls every one | was on his good behavior. There were | but few schools until within the last 40 years in which Grammar and Geogra- phy were taught. Reading was purely mechanical, and whoever could pro- 2 nounce the most wordsin the least time was esteemed the best reader. Arith- metic was the hobby of the country schools, and the routine of the school was often interrupted while teacher and pupil were pegging away to get the ans.er to some knotty problem. The practice among the larger boys was to copy their work into a book, and very likely the next season the process would be reversed by copying from the book to the slate. There was no Mental Arithmetic, nor could either teacher or pupil tell how the answer was got, but then who ever thought of such a thing anyhow ? Spelling was another hobby, but as few understood the pronuncia- tion taught by the book it must have been very difficult to learn. Spelling bees were common and have survived, but the custom of “barring out the master” has happily passed away. The pedagogue might be coming along some morning near the 25th of December and | find the house closed against him. Per- | haps he expected it and took it quietly, otherwise he might go for an ax and bang the door, but the best way to set- tle the matter was to enter into a treaty, based ou apples and cider, chestnuts or gingerbread, as the case | seemed to require. If he broke in there would be a general scampering, but the big boys were known to hold the fort as much as a week at a time. Let us leave them there, and rejoice that the good sense of the people has at last abolish- | ed this nuisance. : | | | | | | | | | | | “ GETTING THERE WITH BOTH FEET.” | Great Interest Taken in the Cen- tennial by Outsiders. Not only are the residents of Somer- set county taking great interest in the coming Centennial, but outsiders are putting their shoulders to the wheel also. Of the latter class who have sent very encouraging letters to the committee on invitations, expressing a determina- following : T Judge Edward Stake, of tagerstown; Hon. Wm. McKegg, Hon. - F. Richmond, Hon. Lloyd Lowndes 1 I i Hon. A. V. Barker, of Ebensburg ; Hon. Gordon, of Clearfield; Ton. Lucien W. Doty, of Greensburg, Mayor Boyd, of Johnstown, is also en- thusiastic. He has sent the following letter to the committe: MAYOR'S OFIPICE, ! JOHNSTOWN, PENN’A, June 17. § County Centennial, Somerset, Pea. GENTLEMEN—Your kind.favor of the 15th inst, inviting the citizens of Johnstown to participate in your grand celebration, has been received. In behalf of the citizens of Johnstown 1 wish to thank you for the honor conferred. Somerset being my na- tive county, I will use every effort in extend=- ing the invitation to our citizens and en- deavor to have as many as possible join us in the celebration in such manner as shall place it on record as the greatest event in the history of the county. It will give me great pleasure to meet you all at stated time. Respectively, James K. Boyn, Mayor. Among other prominent men who are greatly interested and will be here if possible, are: Judge Longenecker, of Bedford ; Hon. J. D. Hicks, of Altoona ; | Hon. Chauncey F. Black, of York ; Hon. George I. Bear, of Reading; Cyrus El- der, Esq., of Johnstown. Some of these distinguished gentlemen will favor us with speeches. — Ln *“Shoo! Fly, Don’t Bother Me.” The knowing ones do not always know it all, and right here we wish to say a few words for the benefit of a few human insects that have in a round- about way been trying to throw cold water on the CENTENNIAL VEDETTE. Every community has a few profession- al busybodies, and of course Somerset is no exception to the rule. However, we are glad to say that Somerset has a smaller number of these pests than most towns have. But there are a few here, a very few, that always judge everybody else according to them- selves, and as soon as they learned that a man from another town was at the helm of this paper they had all sorts ot dire predictions to make. Some of these insects lost no time in telling the busi- ness men of the town that the stranger would likely collect a lot of money in advance, that his special edition would not make its appearance, ete., ete. Our readers are invited to scan our adver- tising columns closely and judge for themselves as to what the efforts of the busybodies amounted to. The stranger has robbed no man, neither has he de- frauded any man. He went quietly about his business, treated everybody fairly and honorably, did not ask for a cent of money in advance, thinks he will be well satisfied with the outcome of his venture, will pay all his bills A promptly, just as he always has done, thanks the busybodies for the great amount of valuable free advertising they have given Tue Veprrre and ex. pects to leave here with the best of feeling for Somerset and its unusually large number of good people. Why a few pessimists should have raised ob- jections fo a man from another part of the county taking charge of the Souve- nir edition is more than we can und:r- stand. Somerset has all along been trying to make it thoroughly under- stood that this is a county centennial and that the people of all parts of the county are alike interested. If that is the case, which of course it is, what grounds did the busybodies have for opposing a man from the borough of Salisbury who came here to help to boom the Centennial and do all in his power to make it a success? The edi- tor of this paper is a resident and tax- payer of one of the oldest, wealthiest and most prominent communities of this county, and he does not propose to t a back seat in the County’s affairs orap on that
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers