Thursday, August 31, 1899
It is with emotions of sadness that one, who admires beautiful scenery, hears the noble pines – princes of the Alleghany forest – falling to the earth with crashing sound to be carried away by the flood as articles of commerce and then, after awhile, reappear as store boxes, furniture, etc. But such is business in the 19th century.
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In the days of cattle driving to Pennsylvania, one of the noted cattle stands was the Herron place near Frost. It would not be an extravagant estimate to say that a hundred thousand fatted bullocks have grazed for a night on these ample pastures in the course of the droving period. The place is now owned by the Gibson brothers and is being put into fine condition for meadows and crops.
CORNERSTONE LAYING
The cornerstone of Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church South, at Academy, was laid August 16, 1899. The day was bright and our hearts joyous. Nearly every Mason in the county, about 40 in number, was there, and the crowd has been estimated at 500. At 11 a.m., services were held at the church… Dinner was served in Okey Kinnison’s beautiful grove. The tables were burdened with good things, and the large gathering was soon served by the ladies. The Presbyterians vied with the Methodists in making the day a success…
At 3 p.m. the Masons marched from the Academy building to the dinner grounds, and were joined by the citizens, and then to the new church lot. J. Willis Baxter, Grand Worshipful Master, commanded silence, and Rev. J. H. Dills requested the Masons to lay the cornerstone. Prayer was offered by Capt. Smith, then the people sang: “On this stone now laid with prayer, Let thy church rise strong and fair.”
In the cavity there was deposited the Holy Bible, by little Neva Dills; two old copies of the Episcopal Methodist, published in the days of Dr. Bond, by Isaac McNeel; an old coin, by J. W. Beard; a list of the members of Wesley Chapel; the subscription list; and a list of the members of the Huntersville Lodge, No. 65 A. F. & A. M. As the stone was slowly lowered to its resting place, we sang: “Rock of Ages cleft for me.”…
The stone is of Pocahontas black marble. A rough boulder was taken from the mountainside on the lands of Captain W. L. McNeel. It was sent to Hinton and was finished and lettered by R. E. Noel. The only expense was the freight, $1.33…
Helen Keller
Having finished her preparation for college in three years instead of four, which had been assigned for the work, that wonderful woman, Helen Keller, blind, deaf and dumb, recently took the regular entrance examination for Radcliffe College in geometry, algebra, advanced Greek and advanced Latin. Of course, she could not see the examination papers or hear the voice of anyone reading them. Her faith- ful companion, Miss Sullivan, with whom she converses by the sense of touch, does not know Greek or Latin or the high mathematics. A man who had never met Miss Keller, transcribed the examination papers in Braille characters, the system of punctured points now much used by the blind… Miss Keller was used to the English braille system, but the gentleman used the American system, which she read with difficulty. Moreover, her watch, made for the blind, had been mislaid, and there was no one who could tell her how much of the allotted time she was consuming in preparing her answers and printing them with a typewriter. In spite of all obstacles, however, she passed triumphantly, her examination in Latin and Greek being especially creditable. – New York Independent.
A WEST VIRGINIA HOME
One of the closing evenings of July 1899, just passed away, was of surprising beauty. Sunset must have been much like that which inspired the broken-hearted, care-burdened, widowed mother when she explained in plaintive words why sometimes she was “not home” in twilight hours.
“I love to seal awhile away
from every cumbering care,
and spend the hours of closing day
in humble grateful prayer.”
Owing to reasons not needful to specify, the writer found himself unable to reach an appointment for one Friday evening, and he turned in to pass the night at a home nestled among the hills. Still loveliness reigned supreme, and there was nothing to be heard, save the mischievous but suppressed chirping of 30 or more half-grown turkeys as they seemed to be sportively chafing each other for a favorite roosting place amid the branches hidden from sight by the dense somber foliage of a balsam fir tree of ample proportions.
The family group consisted of parents of middle age and six daughters and five sons… One of the literary treasures of this household is Mrs. Sangater’s “Home Life Made Beautiful” Among the illustrations, the one on page 23 seemed most interesting. “The Mother’s Hour.”…
