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Surnames
appearing in this article include:
Hollingsworth, Hall, Swisher, James, Shumard,
Smiser, Gilbert, Mitts, Ransdall, Johnson,
Bierly, Evans, Heathman, Threlkeld. Vance,
Harrison, Brengle, Harrison, Crain, Kipper,
Cash, Ameen, White, Cook, Morgan, Sprinkle,
Decker, Long, Chinn, Sanders, Guthrie, Key,
Dye, Fisher, Kesner, Chapman, Rash, Dawson,
Sebastian, Milner, Curry, Wood, Sanders,
Barrow, Riley, Hall, Thompson, Peters,
Rogers, Martin, Boyd, Dawson, Moore, King
Pioneer
Cites Cases to Prove His Route From Paris
Isn’t
”Going To The Dogs”
By
D.L. Hollingsworth
The
only time that you might make me believe the
rural section has gone to the dogs is when
the dogs get into a bunch of sheep like they
did at John Hall’s a few days ago, killing
and crippling fourteen or fifteen ewes and
lambs.
The
last of October will round out three years
of service for me as rural mail carrier on
Route One out of Paris.
Three years is but a short space for
thought after one has lived them and we
usually reckon the things accomplished in
such a way that they carry nothing of the
weight of the next three to come.
Changes are so gradual that the
average person seldom notices them only at
the time, and in a couple of months hold
their place with things that have happened
in the years past.
After
reading an article in a paper a few weeks
back I found myself skeptical as to the
theme of the article in which the author was
picturing the farms as being almost as
desolate as the battlefields of France, and
folks as defeated soldiers with no country
or home to return after failure.
Of course, I may be a little jealous
of the patrons of my route and thin they are
on a good average, if not a little above,
the average when it comes to being a nice
lot of thrifty, industrious people.
They are my kind of people and I like
them everyone and they have made me more
than feel that they returned that feeling
and that I am one of them.
I was raised on the farm and know
some few things about farming conditions.
I can gather as much corn by a hot
stove in the winter as anybody and when it
comes to ham and, I can do a little better
than anybody.
But this isn’t to be about myself.
It’s supposed to be about something
worth while.
Getting
back to reading the article I mentioned, I
began thinking about the conditions on my
route since starting on it, about the
changes that had taken place, those for the
good and those for the bad.
To tell the truth about it I was
surprised at some of the strides that have
been made without a lot of publicity to put
them over.
There
is one big thing that I want to emphasize
and that is there hasn’t been but one
piece of property sold for the mortgage and
that wasn’t a farm.
Another thing, we lost one lad owner
to the city and a man from the city bought
the land and moved to it and, after a couple
of years, keeps liking it better.
Some of the improvements that deserve
mentioning may be an oversight on my part or
off the road that I travel, so for that
reason I may not enumerate them here but I
think I will mention enough to prove my
point that the dogs may get in once in a
while but they haven’t got control.
There
was a big mud hole on the hill just south of
Jim Swisher’s gate, and everyone admitted
it was a shame and that it would be mighty
nice for those that traveled that road
(including the mail carrier) to have it
fixed, so Mr. Swisher took his team and not
only graveled the bad place but the rest of
the road to his gate and also the road up to
his house, almost a quarter of a mile.
I’m going to give him credit for
doing it himself, and there is no need of
mentioning his farm because a fellow that
does those things out on the road looks
after things at home.
Besides
a program of keeping the buildings in
repair, fencing and good farming Paul James
built a nice concrete cellar, one that would
please anybody.
He sowed a good sized field of
alfalfa that looks like lots of good feed to
me. On
top of that and what Paul and Virginia would
call their best in the way of possessions is
Kenneth Burton, their little eighteen months
old boy who took the Monroe County Baby
prize at Madison last year.
H.L.
Shumard, E.P. Smiser & Son, J.B. Gilbert
& Son, Earl and Lonnie James live off of
my line of travel but I understand they have
limed extensively and find it a great factor
in improving their land.
This
spring C.E. Mitts built an addition of
several rooms to his house, putting a
basement under the new part, greatly
improving the looks and value of his farm.
Mack
Ransdall built a new threshing machine shed,
also has the basement dug and the foundation
in for a new modern bungalow which he will
complete as soon as threshing season is
over. When
that is finished, I expect Mack won’t be
able to rest until the road is graveled out
to his place.
Mrs.
Henry Johnson and her son James are seeding
their farm to grass which will be quite an
improvement in the value of the land.
John
Bierly has set out quite a few young fruit
trees, something that is seldom being done
anymore.
Vest
Evans built an addition to his chicken
house.
Rollins
Heathman remodeled his house into one on the
bungalow order, adding more room.
It
is seldom that one sees a house set vacant
for over a year or two that doesn’t begin
to show neglect, but the old William
Threlkeld place is an exception.
Of course it doesn’t do it by
itself.
Ora Vance is usually on the job when
something needs to be done.
You will seldom find two sets of
improvements taken care of by one man and
they are close to two miles apart.
The place just mentioned and Mr.
Vance’s home place, are kept in tip top
shape.
About
two years ago Tom Harrison spent better than
fifteen hundred dollars on his house and
last fall he put concrete foundation under
his barn and new siding on all of it and
painted.
Weldon
Brengle doesn’t think $150 is too much to
pay for a good bull calf.
He has also built up his cow heard
until he has nothing but registered or near
registered stock.
Two years ago he told me he sold six
calves at six months old that brought him
around $96 per hear.
John
Harrison put a concrete foundation under his
large barn and new siding, and then covered
up with a couple of coats of paint, and it
looks good.
Mr. Harrison is a good farmer and I
wish I had room to bring in some of his
ideas about farming.
He has raised seven boys and one girl
and has several hundred acres of land paid
for, and you can’t make me believe it was
all luck.
A feller told me once that it was all
luck (such things as Mr. Harrison has done)
but that you just added the letter “P”
and made it read a little difference, but it
change the meaning a whole lot.
This
isn’t supposed to be about persons so
much, as what has been done, so will move
on.
I’ll
venture to say you won’t find a bank the
size of the Granville Bank that does the
business it does and pays on its capital and
surplus the dividends it pays.
Mr. R. G. Crain, their courteous and
efficient cashier, told me the bank examiner
commended them very highly on his last
inspection.
The Granville bank, situated as it
is, can well be appreciated as a community
asset that could hardly be dispensed with.
Ernest
Kipper, Granville’s confirmed “Stern Old
Bachelor” bought a little house just east
of the Cash Store and cleaned it up,
repairing here and there, new fences and
completed dressed up with paint, it now
looks like “Kipp” ought to have a woman
in there to make things complete, but he
says he has no hard feelings against the
women so don’t want to try to mistreat
them that way.
M.N.
Ameen, the proprietor of the Cash Store has
bough the building his store occupies, the
warehouse across the street, and built a
long garage and warehouse combined and
enjoys his share of the business of that
community.
Down
at the other store, conducted by Mrs. And
Mrs. Ernest White, new cream testing
machinery has been installed and better
service is added if possible.
Mrs. White is a fine type of woman,
always a smile and encouraging words for
everybody.
She couldn’t be any other way.
George
Cook took the old Morgan house and worked
wonders with it.
New porch, doors, roof, fences, paint
and set out a young orchard.
They take a great deal of pride in
their little home.
“Bill”
Heathman and son Jake are to be commended
very highly on their ability as road men.
And I want to tell the world like old
man Henderson, that they have made me feel
good by grading about 15 miles of road on my
route.
And although it may be digressing a
little, I want to thank the County Court for
buying equipment large enough to do the job
up right, and the judges tell me it is their
aim to perfect a road grading system that
has been sadly neglected, for Monroe County
but it can’t all be done at once.
I have found them always willing to
listen and co-operate as much as possible on
anything reasonable.
Let’s hope we always have as good a
set of judges as we have now.
Frank
Morgan put a tile drain from his cellar.
He also built a road drag he isn’t
afraid to hitch onto once in a while.
George
Sprinkle bought another farm on which
Charlie is now living.
He also purchased a new tractor with
most all modern attachments.
George built a dandy brooder house.
Earl
Decker bought more land adjoining him.
He also put in a basement drain and
repainted his house.
Pierce
Long decided he needed a wife, so turned in
his armor and got married.
Wilbur
Long repainted his house.
Mrs.
Lena Heathman bought thirty acres of land,
moved a house on it and built a new barn,
besides doing quite a bit of fencing.
John
Chinn built a new garage.
Chester
Sanders re-roofed his house and barn and
painted the house.
Also set a mile or so of new fencing.
Then he did what we all ought to do
sooner of later—got married.
Gene
Guthrie sold a young untrained saddle mare
for $250.
Smith
Key sold a two-year-old saddle more for
$300.
George
Dye built a convenient sheep shed, besides
an addition of one room to his house.
Charles
Fisher bough 240 acres of land and has
repaired the greatest portion of the
fencing.
Glenn
Kesner bought the J.T. King house in
Granville and made some major changes in the
looks and value of the place.
The
Granville Community Association was
organized and the slogan “We work together
for all that is good” was adopted.
They hold a meeting once a month and
besides their regular business programs for
the betterment of the community, they have
put on several home talent plays which have
been very successful and remunerative as
well as highly entertaining.
M.H.
Heathman painted his house.
He also got several of the boys
together and put twenty-two loads of gravel
in a mud hole in Granville, so that means
one mud hole that won’t bother any more.
Roger
Champman built a new barn on the Rash place
where he is living.
Lindon
Dawson built a new garage and brooder house
but unfortunately the brooder house burned
down. Will
have to put in a few words for Mr. and Mrs.
Dawson as I usually feed and water my team
there when the roads are bad and they
won’t allow anybody to eat at the barn.
I guess you know what I mean.
I
want to say something about the cooks out on
route one.
There are but very few places that I
haven’t had a chance to try their cooking,
but don’t think I am going to be foolish
enough to try and figure the best.
I’ll just say that I have eaten
meals all over the U.S.A., Walla Walla and
other places, but none better than I have
found out there.
Some folks might say it was because I
was hungry and hadn’t had anything to eat,
and so on, but when a little fellow like me
can eat three good sized dinners on one
trip, they’ve gotta be good.
Noah
Sebastian bought a chicken house, moved it
to his home place and painted it.
Frank
Milner rebuilt quite a bit of fence.
He also built a large pond for stock
water.
Charley
Curry bough the improvements and thirty
acres from Herbert Wood, then proceeded to
repair in a way that made them good as new.
He repainted the house inside and out
and put on a new roof.
Repainted the barn and will re-roof
it this fall, besides building some new
fence.
Herbert
Wood built a new house, barn, chicken house
and other new buildings on his unimproved
land, painted the house and will paint the
barns and outbuildings this fall.
Emmett
Wood treated his house, chicken house,
garage and brooder houses to a couple of
coats of paint this spring.
James
L. Sanders bought 320 acres more land and
says he got in a pretty decent crop this
season by putting in one minute and a half
when he only had one minutes to do it in.
Ed
Barrow shingled part of his house.
Jeff
Riley graded a road to his house which sets
back off the road.
John
Hall built a turkey house and also new board
fence along the road enclosing his front lot
and improving the looks of his place.
Fred
Thompson built an addition to their barn.
Clarence
Peters painted his house and built a new
granary.
Joe
Rogers had some new fencing put along the
road in front of his farm where Leon Martin
lives.
He also re-roofed the chicken house.
Boyd
& Dawson, besides building new fences,
re-roofed part of their house and did some
plastering.
Whitewashed all the board fences and
gates, besides other improvements.
When
I get around this far I am ready to stay in
high until I pull up at the post office to
check in.
I do want to mention that Tom Moore
has a 20 acre meadow along the road that
netted him thirteen stacks of hay this year,
and the way he has them lined up reminds me
of inspection day in the army. They
look like they would pass too.
There
are a good many patrons that I have not
mentioned that I would like to, but I just
wanted to sum up some of the improvements
that have taken place that I remember
readily, and like anyone else, I probably
have left out some of them that I have
forgotten and overlooked.
It may be different in other sections
of the country but I can’t see how things
are going back in the section I cover.
Of course there are some that
probably have not made any money but there
are plenty of men in business who have not.
Another thing that I feel good about
is the attitude that most of the men I have
talked with took in regards to this backward
season.
I have heard less complaint this
season that any since 1920.
We have all weathered the slump,
depression period or whatever you want to
call it, and are stronger for it.
Wet weather is bad but a drought is
much worse.
If
you think I have just entirely neglected to
look at the bad conditions, just show me
some of them on route one.
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