Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/263

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��HISTOEY OF RICHLAND COUNTY

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��stipulations were made which proved satis- factory to all.

This foolish and barbarous custom was such an enorafted and fixed one that it has not be- come entirely rooted out yet, after all these years. Even parents and school officers sjnile half-approvingh'. still, wdien their boys threaten to '• bar out the master."'

The best men on x\merican soil once belonged to this profession, and among their older memo- ries and reminiscences they treasure the recol- lections of '■ Iveepin' school and boardin" "round;"' of grandfathers stories of the Revolution, told from his seat in the warmest corner : of the sup- pers of mush and milk ; of the farmer's ros}'. robust daughter, toward whom the}^ cast " sheep's eyes ;" of the nightly feast of walnuts and doughnuts and cider ; of the countr}' sing- ing-schools, and of the jealous swain in gay wamus ; of the first love that only survived one winter ; of the monej' they earned all them- selves, and of the pride that swelled them when the school officers said '■ Well done." The vent- urous boy of a few months before stood up, strong in his new manhood, full of a sound, sweet taith in himself feeling the force of the poetasters creed, when lie sang :

Better lore did never Science Teacli to man tiian self-reliance. 'Tis the law of Him who made you — Aid yourself, and God will aid you.

The spinning and weaving and clothing of large families comfortably, as did the thrifty pioneer mothers, is to the women of nowadays a marvel beyond their comprehension. How could they do it. those nursing mothers with large families! They rose early and worked late, and improved every moment of time. They did nothing by halves. When they went visit- ing they took their worli. not embroidery, or migniardise. or crocheting, as of present times, but substantial sewing or knitting. The min- ister's wife, for an afternoon's employment, one time, took a bed-tick and a paii- of panta-

��loons, both new linen, and made them with her deftly flying left hand too. She was the woman who hurriedh' told her day's work, saying, " I've w^ashed an" baked an' ironed six pies to-day."

Linen for Sundaj^ clothes was made of cop- peras and white, checked or striped, and when bleached was ver}' pretty and soft. For very choice Avear it was all flax; for every da}' or second best, the warp was flax and the filling tow. Linsey-woolse}', or linsey, was wool and cotton, ver}- much the same as water-proof or repellent is now, onl}' that it was harsh and not finished. Dye-stuffs in early times were in reach of all — butternut or walnut hulls colored brown ; oak bark with copperas d^ed black ; hickory bark or the blossoms of the golden- rod made yellow ; madder, red ; and indigo, blue : green was obtained by first coloring yel- low, and then dipping into blue dye. Stocking yarn was dyed black, brown or blue ; and, for very choice stockings, strips of corn husks were lapped tightly in two or three places around a skein of ^arn, and dyed blue. When the husks were removed, whitish spots were found, and the rare *■ clouded yarn " was the result. The little tub of blue dye, with close- fitting cover, stood in the warm corner in every well-regulated household, and it made a very convenient seat, and the cover was always worn smooth. Man}' a lad inclined to matrimony has sneaked slyh' along and seated himself on the dye-tub as soon as the old folks retired. When carding machines came and lessened the labor of the toiling women, one of the first in- dications of anything as fine as " store clothes " was the soft, pressed flannel, grand enough for an}' uncommon occasion, called "London brown." The fijlds lay in it. and it shone to eyes accus- tomed to look upon nothing finer than home- made barred flannel, like lustrous satin. It smelt of the shop. howcAcr ; the odor of d}e- stuff' and gTease and gummy machinery clung to it for a long while. Al)Out this time a bet- ter (luality of men's wear appeared in the same

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