WHAT THEY SAY. -----Towanda People Speak of Things Serious, Humorous, Odd, Peculiar and Otherwise. [ Transcribed by Denny Hieronymus from the Bloomington, Illinois Daily Pantagraph, dated November 26, 1904; page 3 - column 2 ]
-- John Smith-- "Towanda is not the largest place in the county, but it is a pretty good place for Daily Pantagraphs, I am rural carrier on No. 1, and know that there are 150 Pantagraphs come to this office every day, in addition to quite a lot of Weekly Pantagraphs. I should say that this is a pretty large list." -- Fred Lormer-- "Towanda is not very much of a sheep point, still there are several persons who raise them and find it profitable to do so. Mr. B. W. Stover, two miles north, keeps 200 sheep for wool and market. Price and Maurice Jones, two miles southeast, keep fifty to sixty sheep for wool and for sale. C. M. Heller, one mile east of the village, keeps from fifty to sixty head of Cottsdale sheep for breeding purposes only. Daniel, Cornelius, Charles and William Kraft, one and two miles east of town, keep from twenty to twenty-five sheep apiece, as also do Rufus McKenzie and Edward Henderson." --Rufus McKenzie-- "My farm is a mile north of Towanda, but I reside in town. For the past three years and a half I have been in the Galloway cattle business and like it very much. I keep an average of thirteen on hand all the time. They take no more care or feed than ordinary cattle and bring much greater returns. A yearling female sell for $50 to $85, and a male of the same age brings about $100. Aged animals sell for $150 to $200 apiece, except males, which readily sell as high as $400 to $500 apiece. They pay fully as well as horses and do not require nearly so much care, as a Galloway will rustle for itself, while its hair protects it from flies and insects. They are easily fattened and are good milkers, although they excel as a beef breed. I have to buy a new male every two years. The breed, I understand, originated in Ireland." --Roy Vannaman-- "George W. White is the richest man in this township. He owns 1,300 acres of as good farm land as can be found anywhere. He lost one arm when quite a young man by the accidental discharge of a gun and was handicapped in the race of life, as was supposed. His father left him 80 acres of land, but by hard work, economy and excellent management he added to this till now he has a fortune of fully $150,000. He raised cattle, hogs and horses, and worked hard and late. He did many sorts of work that would be supposed beyond the power of a one-armed person, and still works right along. He can shingle, make fence and do work of that kind as well as most others who have two good arms and hands. He has a wife and several children, all highly respected." --Mrs. Mary Macy-- "I very well remember my great grandfather, Jesse Edwards, who was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on May 4, 1752, and who died at the home of my mother in Indiana on November 2, 1854. He was 102 years old when he died and was very bright and smart. He served through the whole of the Revolutionary war. First he
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was a minute man in the New Jersey volunteers, and was in the battle of the Brandywine in 1777. He was afterwards a corporal in the New Jersey Continental line and was in the campaign against the Six Nations from March 11 to November 5, 1779. He was in the battle of Yorktown from October 1 to the 10th, and was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his command October 19, 1781. He served till the close of the war and his name was the last borne on the pay roll dated May 20, 1783. Of course I am proud of my ancestry." --C. M. Heller-- "For the past thirty-five years I have been raising Poland China hogs and for the last twenty years have also reared Cottswold sheep. I have paid much attention to stock thoroughly believe that for the ordinary farmer the Poland China is the best for an all purpose pig. I came from Hamilton County, Ohio, the home of the Poland China, and each year I go back there and buy a male of the best strain. I raise from sixtyfive to seventy five pigs a year, which I sell for breeding purposes. A female at the age of seven months brings about $20, and when bred $30. A male sells for about $25, and the demand is always good. I endeavor to have my sows have two broods each year, as, of course, it pays much better to have two litters than one. I have paid a great deal of attention to the raising of stock, and, for the past thirty years, have not sold a bushel of grain from my 120-acre farm. I frequently buy corn to feed, as I always feed a car load of fat cattle for the Chicago market each year. I generally keep from forty to fifty head of Cottswold sheep, and find that it pays to do so, although there is no the demand for sheep from feeders that there is for hogs. My sheep average 20 to 24 pounds of wool to the fleece and last season I got 5 cents a pound for it." --George H. Jones-- "The Jones family is one of the oldest and most respected in the county. Four brothers, Nelson, Cyrus, Abram and Frank, came to Smith's Grove, three miles east of here, about 1854, and their father, Abram R. Jones, followed, all from Ohio, shortly after. Cyrus took up a land warrant for 160 acres of land at $1.25 and acre. This same farm was recently sold to George W. White, of Towanda, for $145 an acre. Cyrus Jones moved to California some twenty-five years ago, where he yet resides with his wife and an adopted daughter. He had no children. Frank Jones lives in Bloomington and a sister, Mrs. Phoebe Arthur, also lives there. Mr. Cyrus Jones recently disposed of all his land holdings in this vicinity, having sold 500 acres to his nephews, Maurice, Edward and Price Jones, at about $150 an acre, this land being situated at Smith's Grove. Cyrus is past 82 years of age, and is probably the wealthiest of the family. Mr. Frank Jones, of Bloomington, has four sons, of whom Grant lives in Arizona, Edward in Bloomington, and Maurice and Price near Towanda. All are wealthy and highly respected, as indeed are all of the family that I know of. I am a son of William Jones, who came from Ohio in 1860, and died here. Abram Jones has one son near Anchor, and the widow of Abram and daughter, Mrs. John Cameron, live at Smith's Grove. Messrs. Maurice, Edward and Price Jones own over 1,500 acres of very valuable farm land near here. All the Joneses are Republicans, and there are lots of them. Two years ago, when Cyrus was here from California, there was held a reunion of the Jones family at Smith's Grove that was attended by 100 persons, all of whom were Jones, either by birth or marriage, and hardly half of the family were able to be present at that time. Our grandfather was a soldier of the war of 1812."
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Towanda District Library - Towanda Area Historical Collection
