Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.djvu/47

COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIUS cents, at which sum it remained for many years, until within the recollection of many it was reduced to two cents.

The only bank in this section of the State was at Northumberland, and William McKelvy, a resident of Bloomsburg. who was one of the directors, drove down every Monday morning to attend a meeting of the board. Mr. Hartman remembers going down on horseback one time and making a deposit of $500 for his employers. Eyer & Heffley, returning the same day. The merchants did but little bank business—scarcely any at all The principal business was the making of deposits for safe keeping.

In the "good old days of the past” few of the present conveniences were even dreamed of. As a rebuttal lo the claims of the survivors of those limes that the old days were the best, let us review some of the details of life in those times.

In the good old times of the early years of the eighteenth century every gentleman wore a queue and powdered his hair. His clothes were more elaborate than now, more unsanitary, and of brilliant colors which often faded badly. There was only one hat factory in America, and that made "cocked” hats. Dry goods consisted of “men's stuff” and “women’s stuff.” and was limited in character and quality.

Stoves were unknown and all cooking was done before open fireplaces. China plates were a great luxury, and were generally objected to because they dulled the knives. It seems that the only habit left us from the past Is the one prevalent in some classes of society of eating with the knife. A girl was not permitted to marry till she could bake a loaf of bread and cut it while warm into even slices. When a person had enough tea the spoon was placed across the cup. Pewter spoons and steel knives were highly prized and were handed down from one generation to the other. Wooden bowls, platters and trenchers were the usual table utensils.

Books were very expensive, many small volumes costing S15 each. There was not a public library in America, and most of the books in private libraries came from Europe.

Virginia contained one fifth of the population of the United Stales, and the Mississippi valley was not as well known as the heart of Africa is now. Two stagecoaches bore all of the travel between New York and Boston, and the trip required six days. Two days were occupied in the trip from New York to Philadelphia, while the journey from New York to Charleston by land occupied twenty days.

In those good old days there was no regular post office department, all letters being carried by private post, the cost of the letter varying from one to three shillings. There was not a mile of railroad in the country, no steamboats, no street cars, no telephones, no telegraph lines, and the news in the papers was usually about ninety days old when it was printed.

There were then no kerosene lamps, no electric lights, and the chief method of illumination was by tallow candles. Matches had not come into general use, so flint and steel were carried by all who went on a journey, while the housekeeper kept a coal of fire lit all the time.

Sometimes when the fire went out it would be necessary to mount a horse and go to the nearest neighbor for a tight, the coals being carried in a wooden bucket filled with ashes.

The church collections were taken by means of a bag on the end of a pole, with a bell attached to awaken the sleepers whom the parson's prosy and long-drawn-out sermons had lulled into slumber. If the sermon did not suit the hearer he dare not criticise it lest he be heavily fined.

Imprisonment for debt was a common practice, and the whipping post and pillory were means of punishment. An old copper mine in Connecticut was then used as a prison, and many of the inmates died from the effects of their incarceration in it. Yes, these were the "good old days" we sometimes hear about.

Another important event in those days was court week. The county seat was at Danville, subsequently removed to Bloomsburg. and people from all over the county attended. The hotels for days were busy making preparations for the entertainment of the crowd, and as newspapers were scarce it was a time when information was exchanged as well as the business which brought them transacted. Mr. I. W. Hartman frequently saw men walking from the upper end of the county at the present location of Jamison City, to Danville to attend court, the first day they would walk as far as Orangeville, stay over night, and finish their walk the next day. This was necessary, as there was no other way of getting there except by driving down and many did not keep a horse. There were no bridges to cross the river and the only one along Fishing creek was at the site of the present double bridge at the Lazarus farm below town. At that time it was a single track affair and very primitive in its construction. There was a foot bridge over the creek