The Dallas post. (Dallas, Pa.) 19??-200?, December 28, 1929, Image 6
History of Dallas As before stated, the earlier settlers about Dallas, after McCoy, Worthington, Wort and probably half a dozen other families of Connecticut Yankees were nearly all Jerseymen. They brought with them many of the customs and beliefs of the Jerseymen, which gave as distinct an individuality to the Dallas settlement as the Con- necticut Yankees, the Germans and Scotch-rish Ihave given to other set- tlements in Pennsylvania. n Ireligion they were Methodists, and in politics Democrats. Methodism for many years had no rival. The first services were held at private houses and in barns. The houses of Philip Kunkle, Richard Honeywell and Christian Rice were among the places for holding prayer meetings and Sunday meetings until the old log school house was built in 1916. This became then the regular place of worship and so continued for many years until the Goss school house, the Frantz school house and others were from time to time erected. The first Methodist Church—sti'l standing, 1886—near Dallas village _ {since converted into a broom factory) was erected in 1851. No other religious denomination has yet succeeded in getting sufficient followers in Dallas to erect a church, though there are now numerous representatives of other denominations. The Methodist Church in Dallas borough, designed by Messrs. Kip and Podmore, archi- tests, at Wilkes-Barre of which a cut is elsewhere given), was. begun in September, 1888, and finished in the spring of 1889. The ground for this church was obtained from George WW. ~ Kirkendall, a former resident of Dal- las(, but then of Wilkes-Barre. The work of erecting the new church was begun with some ceremony in the presence of about fifty interested per- sons. Mr, G. W. Kirkendall threw out the first shovelful of dirt. The church was erected at a cost of about $9,000. I am told that the Methodist Episcopal Church of 1851 was erected by Almond Goss at a cost of $960, his bid being below cost, and $40 lower than any other bid. Politically, the Jerseymen in Dallas have not all been so steadfast in the faith of their fathers. This assertion may be questioned by some, for Dallas township has long been farmous as au stronghold of Democracy. At one time it was unanimously Democratic, but as early as 1836, thre men, Fayette Allen, Christian Rice and Alexander Fergusn parted company with the old line Democrats and unted themselves Leonard, new Episcopal ‘with the Whigs. For three or four years afterwards they stood alone in this faith. increased by eleven by the accession of John Williams, Abram Ryman, Jacob Rice, Charles Ferguson, Joseph Shaver, Henry Simons, Samuell Wor- den and Joseph Richards. From this eleven Whigs has grown the Repub- lican element which has. .a slight ma- jority in the borough and a threaten- ing ‘minority in the township. The influence of polics was, how- ever, quite insignificant in and about Dallas during the earlier pared with religion. Only on rare oc- casions, when there was a great na- tional agitation, did politicians visit that back country. Religion took a deeper hold, and was almost constant- ly kept before the people by local ex- ‘horters and revivalists. So great was the need of, and haste to make use of, the present Methodist Church edifice that it was pressed into active service as soon as it.-was enclosed and before any floor was put down. The congregation sat on logs. After its completion this .church, like the old log school house, was put to a great variety of uses. ance, hygiene, travels in Holy Land, magic lantern panaramas, day school and Sunday school exhibitions, Fourth of July celebrations, funerals, revivals and “protracted meetings” held at the church, and they were matters of such general public concern that they usually attracted as large a nassemblage of the general public us any of the other meetings or “goings on” at the church. Even a funeral was diversion in that .rough _and lonely county. “Uncle Oliver Lewis,” everyone called him, was at one time famous in that country for his funeral n 1840 their number was days com- Lectures on temper- were all as sermons. He was very sympathetic and wept copiously, ag did the mourn- ers and 'most of .the audience, during His discourse was usually an hour or more in length, and was devoted largely to panegyric and the narration of touching incidents in the his sermon. life of the deceased, interwoven with minute and torturing details of the sepecial sorrow that this and that member of the family would, for par- ticular reasons, feel. The first two or three seats directly in front of the pulpit always for mourners. The open coffin was placed directly under and in front of the pul- between tlie At all meetings and services in this meeting were reserved pit about midway preacher and the mourners. house it was the invariable rule for the men and women to occupy sep- After the funeral the men were invited to pass arate sides of the house. around and view the corpse, pass down the isle on the women’s side, out doors and re-enter and seats again on their own side. A reverse operation was. then per- by the women. After all had thus finished viewing the remains, the mourners were invited to take a last lingering and agonizing This public exhibition of mourn-~ ing was often carried to ridiculous and uncontrolled extremes. Some- times, possibly, from love of display, and again perhaps, through fear that any lack of suficient demonstration on the part of a near relatives or friend might be, as it sometimes was, the subject of unfavorable comment in the community. Of all the occasions in that churcli, however, intensity of feeling and excitement as the “revival” season. take formed strangers look. none ever approached suck or “protracted meeting” These meetings usually began late in the fall, about the time or just after the farmers had finished their fall work. The first sympton usually ap- peared in the slightly extra fervor which the minister put in his sermons and prayers on Sunday. Then a spe- cial prayer meeting would be set for some evening during the week. Other special meetings soon followed, that, if all things were favorable, the revival or “protracted meeting” would be at a white heat within two or three weeks. In the meantime the fact would become known far and near, and the “protracted meeting” would be the If parties would be formed miles away to with protracted as their obpective visiting point, often from idle curiosity or for want of something more instructive and entertaining to do. Others went equally far, through storm and mud, in wagons or on foot, from a higher SO leading event of the neighborhood. the sleighing became good, £0 this sleigh riding meeting sense responsibility and it grave and seriouS business. The house of personal duty. With many was a most was usually packed to repletion. Pro- fessional ambulatory revivalists, often from remoter parts of the county, would stop there on their re- state or ligious crusades through the land, to attend and help at these meetings. Many of these were especially gifted in the kind of praying and speaking that was usually most successful at such times. say that many times on a still night the noise of those meetings was heard the On one occasion I saw a leading exhorter tI is not overdrawing to a mile away from church. at one of those ‘meetings enter the pui- pit, take off his coat, hurl into a cor- ———— The finest bread knife made at any price. Made of high grade carbon steel and can ve re-sharpened in the same manner that you would any knife. real bargain. golutely FREE. With Every One Year To This THE \ LINDSAY BREAD New Subscriptions This is your opportunity to get a Send in your sub- scription now—read this news- aper for a full year—and get a LINDSAY BREAD KNIFE ab- JUST FILL OUT COUPON BELOW, Knives free. ing address: EDITOR OF THE DALLAS POST: Kindly send me one of the new $1.00 Lindsay Bread I am enclosing $1.00 for a year’s new sub- scription to the Dallas Post. Send the Post to the follow- Send the knife to this ad- Subscription Newspaper FAMOUS KNIFE Retails At $1.00 Cuts bread hot or cold and does it better. Approved by Good House. keeping Institute DALLAS POST, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1929 : a a tai a: mre meri ner and standing in his shirt sleeves begin a wild and excited harangue. After possibly half an hour of most violent imprecations and raving he came down from the pulpit, jumped up on top of the rail which extended down the center of the room and divided the seats on the two sides of the house, and from there finished and exhausted himself, begging and plead- ing with sinners to come forward and be converted, and invoking “hell fire” and all the torments supposed to ac- company this kind of caloric, upon those who dared to smile or exhibit a sentiment or action not in accord with his. The principal argument at those meetings was something to excite fear through most terrible picturings of hell, and the length of an eternal da:n- nation and death. Scores would be converted, and many would backslide before the probationary period had ended. Some were annually recon- verted, and as often returned to their natural state. Many mained true to the new life and be- came useful and prominent members of the church and community. It can- not be successfully denied that many are reached and reformed at those meetings whose could have ’' been touched by any milder form of preaching... They had to be gathered in a whirlwid or not at all. A famous revivalist and assistant at those meetings was Elisha Harris, personally well known to many now living in Luzerne county, and also ex- tensively known in fields, through what eRv. Dr. Peck and others have written of him. His home was near the Dallas Methodist Church and he was a frequent visitors there, and a most zealous worker at those “pro- tracted meetings.” His familiar and tremendous shout, “Amen! Glory be to God,” was heard always at such times clear and distinct above all other Its efefct was often again re- consciences never larger noises. most NZ 9. 9. 9. 9. $059 0909-0 0-00 7 > be * J © 6 6 ee 6 6 ¢ Leslee edd dednddded * 00 00 Sa 0 02 00 oS. o% 00% 9% 06% 9% 90 4 9. * COR AR AR IR FR RK J Do? 00 0S 0,9 0.9-0,904 + See this test! 00 o% + HEH, When stretched be- yond their limit, these cords break. That causes bruises, flat tires, blowouts. £ Only Goodyear Tires * are made of SUPER- TWIST—a cord pat- ~ ented by Goodyear— which stretches up to 609 farther than the best regular cord be- fore it will break. 0. 0 0. 0. 0.0. 0 0 0 0.0 OO. 0.0 0 Ca Do? 0o¥ oH 0900-050 050-0,9 0.00 p01 000-0 & & 000-03 7 ® o 2% % 9, © ® 9. ooo ¢ & * ®, 9 069 09% 9, Os 0. 0, O05 0-00 1 ¢' &, 6%, rs 20 te eu eo 20 ote o% 3-009 069 059 69% 9 94 - woven Cah 1 “ startling and ludicrous. tI washis ex- pression of approval of anything that was said by any one e€ither in prayer | It was a short thun- dering punctuation mark wheh he could not refrain from putting in| whenever he listened to a prayer or sermon. On one occasion, at Izhman | Center Church, he came in lateat an experience meeting, when some pro- bationers were giving their ‘“experi- | ences,” etc. since conversion, As he entered the church he observed some one standing up apparently to speak. Not wishing to disturb any one he quietly seated himself unobservel in a seat behind everybody in the oom near the door. The person speaking talked so low and indistinct ony al faint sound of the voice could be hard | by Elisha. As the speaker sat dwn Elisha heard apparent mutterings of approval from the good brethren vho sat nearer and felt sure that sone- thing good must have been said. The old shouting instinct at once irresist- ibly came over him, and in that silat moment “Amen, at a venture,” cane thundering up from his | powerful throat. The shock to many was quite severe. He had so managed that net | half a dozen in the house knew of his | He enjoyed such surprises | | and rather took pride in the distine- | tion they gave him. | John Lingskill, a brawny Yorkshire | Englishman by birth, a man of good | sense and sterling honesty, of whom | more is said elsewhere, wasgalso heard | often with good and telling effect at] those meeting. or in speaking. presence. O Famous ‘Black Shirts” The black shirt was eriginally wom by the Italian shock troops during the World war. D’Annunzio at Fiume. adopted it as a symbol of the new pa- triotism. Oo © P0 oP6 6% Pres Toes aTo a 0s a Pi oF 0% yl CP EPO P OATS ITD ETC IRB ATI LEI AT Hitting rocks, holes and road obstruc- tions bends in your tires—stretches the cords inside the casing. Os 0 0% ogee Later it became part of | the uniform of the legionnaires of | The Fascist! _Vernon- Quite a number of parents and | friends attended the Christmas enter- | tainment and Christmas tree exercises given by the pupils of the Vernon | school on Friday afternoon. Our school is progressing nicely with Miss Bessie Ross as the teacher. Mr. and Mrs. George Rogers enter tained . about forty relatives dud friends to a venison dinner on Thurs- day evening. } Mrs. William Weaver spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. John Montross lof Jenks. f Miss Ethel Race spent Thursday ahd Friday visiting friends and relatives of Noxen. | Mrs. Mary Frempter, Tawrenice Frempter and family spent Sundfiy with Mr. and Mrs. Leon Dalley [of Plattsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Harry DeRemer fof New Jersey spent the week-end wijth the latter's parents, Mr. and Mid Corey Newman, : Mr. and Mrs. William Conden Kunkle visited Mr. and Mrs. Clyde} Eggleston on Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Ralph Weaver visited Mr. Mrs. George Rogers and family { om Sunday afternoon. Miss Florence Frempter is spend the week with her aunt, Mrs. Mandus Searfoss of Piattsburg. —_— Ore Worker Not Understood He who would do some great thing In this short life must apply himself to work with such a concentration o his forces as, to idle spectators, wh live only to amuse themselves, 100k like insanity. —Parkman - O- Beckoning Light 8 Two lights are seen on the ho —one the fast fading marsh ligh The Fascisti organization | power; and the other the slowly was founded by Mussolini in March, | ing sun of human brotherhood. 1919, at Milan. / Eny your next tires from the Inside © ut? 4 Ls li SUPERTWIST (8% ~ CORD —patented by Goodyear—streiches up t 60 % farther before it will break Come in—we’ll AS AN EXAMPLE 29x4.40 Goodyear Pathfinder Supertwist Cords Only $5.95 ¥ James F. Besecke Lake Street, Dallas, Pa. Monk Hardware Shavertown, Pa.” 00% sla 0 oo 0 + sorbs the extra cost. 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