Grist for the Mill
MEETINGS
April 4 and May 2 – Both meetings will be held at the Freeport Community Center at 7 p.m. Please attend. We need to set dates and times for clean up work at the Mill. Also, this summer we would like to have the Mill open and that needs to be scheduled.
HEIRLOOM RECIPES
SUMMER/WINTER PUNCH
1 bottle white wine
1 large bottle raspberry/cranberry juice
½1/2 to 1 t. nutmeg
½1/2 Cup lemon juice
½1/2 Cup white sugar, or to taste
For Summer: Make sure all ingredients are
Well chilled. Mix above together, add 1 pint vanilla ice cream.
For winter: Mix above ingredients together, add pint of cream. Heat gently.
This is a very old recipe taken from the cookbook of Mrs. Elmer J. Mickey (Ida May Garris Mickey).
OLD LETTERS WANTED
Do you have old letters from days gone by? If so, could we use them in the Newsletter? These old letters give us a wonderful look at what life was like in the past.
THANKS
Nancy Reeser has donated 4 flour sacks that were used by Valley Mill. They are in pristine condition.
Jim Elliott has made a cash contribution to be used for postage to mail out this Newsletter.
Thanks, Nancy and Jim
ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO PRINT…AND REPRINT
In the mid 1950’s, Vernon Ross of Freeport wrote a series of articles for a local newspaper. Recently a scrapbook he kept was found and we will share some of the Articles in our Newsletter. The first one deals with the practice of bartering for goods.
Barter used in Trade a Century Ago in Borough
Barter and trade was in common use in Freeport 150 years ago. In the 25 years between 1830 and 1855 business was prosperous. This was the height of the Pa. Canal period.
As trade in those days was often an exchange of farm produce for finished goods or items not produced by local farms, much of the buying and selling was carried on without any exchange of money.
There was no bank in Freeport until a number of years later.
One store operating about 1850 was a miniature department store. It carried dry goods, hardware, clothing, groceries, perfumes, jewelry, turpentine and tar.
The proprietor traded with the farmers for anything the farmer produced. These included buckwheat, cider, apple butter and home knitted socks.
Other merchants also bartered for much of their stock.
Farm produce not sold locally was shipped by canal to Pittsburgh markets.
Employees of the salt works at Butler Junction and at Bagdad were paid in “white bucks.” These were exchanged at local stores for merchandise.
The merchants in turn used these “bucks” to purchase salt at the refineries. This salt was then shipped to Pittsburgh by canal. From there it went via riverboat to southern markets where it was exchanged for sugar or molasses.
Salt was a very important commodity in the early days of the borough. It was frequently the medium of trade exchange.
The records of Freeport Methodist Church around 1840 show that several members of the congregation listed pledges of barrels of salt as payment on their church subscriptions. At the time salt was selling for ¼ cent per pound.
Some of the other prices of the day were: chickens for 25 cents a pair and butter for 6 cents a pound. Eggs were frequently sold to the canal boats in wooden buckets for 50 cents - bucket and all. –Vernon Ross
FROM JOHN SHOOP’S WEATHER BOOK
1848 – 1870
On the 01 Sept 1857 thermometer Stood 85…on the 13 Sept thermometer stood 95…the river raised 3 feet Sept. 20 & 21, 1857…on the 19 Sept 1857 the river was the lowest we had it in 1857…The river rased 12 feet Oct 16, 1857…the first snow we had in the flal of 1857 was the 20 of Oct & the first ice frose on the 6 Nov 1857…We had hevy thunder in the Southward & warm wether followd…We had a very hevy snow storm Nov 19, 1857 and it was very cold on 21 Nov 1857 the thermometer stood 20 below freezing point…the first ice appeard in the fall of 1857 was Nov 21…the ice run thick on the 22…the wether to moderate on the 22, 23, & 24…the therm Stood at 8 above zero Nov 26…The first ice appeart on the river on 22 Nov 1857…the water was let out of the canel 25 Nov 1857…the Packets boats stopped running 23 Nov 1857 on canel…the river closed with ice Nov 27, 1857…the river broke up again Dec 1, 1857…we had thunder in South Nov 30, 1857 all day…I started to Pomroy Dec 8th 1857 and got home 18 Dec 1857…Crismas Day 1857 was dry clear & Plesent no snow on the ground, river in good stage…The First of January 1858 was a clear Day & warm no snow on the ground, river hi…John Arnold Died December 30 1857.
Editor’s note: Spelling and punctuation are as written by John Shoop.
Q AND A
Q. Where was Putneys Lane and Meenenville?
A. Rev. Mr. Galbraith, a Presbyterian Minister and schoolteacher wanted to further the education of the children of the village. So he began building an Academy on Putneys Lane, (now known as Franklin Street.) On April 14, 1852, he made application to the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church to rent two rooms in the church basement. The rent was to be $45 per year, paid in two payments of $22.50. If the Academy was completed before the second payment was due, he had the privilege of withdrawing from the agreement.
During the 1860’s Rev. Galbraith purchased approximately 600 acres of land bordering the Freeport Borough boundary with South Buffalo Township. He deeded several acres to the Borough for a cemetery to replace the old burial ground on Fourth Street. At the same time he also deeded several acres to St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church for their cemetery.
The acreage he purchased ran down over the hill to the Allegheny River. He sold a sizeable plot along the river to a Mr. Meenen for the purpose of establishing “Meenenville.” Several houses were erected there, but the town never developed.
Thanks to Rod Chapman for answering yet another question for the Newsletter.
Do you have a question? Would you like to answer questions? Please contact Carol at pchale@salsgiver.com.
NEXT NEWSLETTER
The deadline for articles for the next Newsletter is May 24. If you have an old letter or an article that would be appropriate, please contact us as above.