A Bimonthly Publication of the
Freeport Area Historical Society December, 2002
MEETINGS
December 12 and January 9 meetings will be at 7 p.m. in the Freeport Community Center. Please come, and bring a friend who might like to join. Find out what is happening at our Society.
WHAT'S UP WITH THE MILL
Congratulations…to us! The Mill is now officially off the tax rolls - saving us nearly $1,000 per year. The grants are still being processed. Jeff Coleman's office is helping.
NEXT NEWSLETTER
The deadline for articles for the next Newsletter is January 30. If you have an old letter, picture or an article that would be appropriate, please contact us - Don, 295-4635, Carol 353-2527, or Email to pchale@salsgiver.com. We are appreciative of some things shared with us recently and welcome even more.
HEIRLOOM RECIPES
Spice of Christmas
¼1/4 C brown sugar 1/3 C red cinnamon candies
1 to 2 cinnamon sticks 6 to 8 whole cloves
3 C unsweetened pineapple juice
3 to 4 C water 3 C cranberry juice
Put the sugar, candies, cinnamon
sticks and cloves in your coffee pot basket. Pour juices and
water into the coffee pot. Percolate the mixture and serve.
Hmmmmm!
Contributed by Melissa McDermott
FROM JOHN SHOOP'S WEATHER BOOK
1848 - 1870
There was a snow fel on the 25 Feb 1859 6 or 7 inch deep it fel…In the Spring election of 1859 Election for constible Golden was beat by Ranshaw about 40 votes…there was hevy thunder hail & rain on the night of 25 Feb 1859…we had hi water on the 10 of March 1859…we had hevy rain & hevy storm on the nigh of the 11 March 1859 it stormed tremendous…Ember Day 16 March 1859 was a delite full Day clear calm & worm…on the 18 March We had the Equinox storme it rained very hevy & stormed a most hevy the above came from the Southwest and hevy thonder from the South…there were 2 Rafts Stoyed on the piers 21 March 1859 there was another raft stoved on 22 March…We had white frost & ice frosen in the tubs on the 23 of March 1859…there was quite a snow on the ground on the morning of 26 March 1859…on the morning of 5 March 1859 there was a hevy snow storm…the water was let in the canel on the first of April 1859 it was well clened out…There was a goodeal of Snow fel on the 8 of April 1859 but Moderate…we had a very hevy Sno Storm on 8 April 1859 & very cold…There was hevy ice froze Apr 9 1859…Their was hevy thunder at 11 oclock PM in the South April 10 1859…the ground was covered with snow on Millers Hill April 16 1859…Mrs. Mike Thompson Died on the 15 of April 1859…The Spring of 1859 was cold and wet hi water all the time the raft navigation (…) for 2 months…on the 23 of April 1859 We had a most tremendous snow Storm it snowd all Day with out sesing very hevy I never saw such a snow storm this time of the year you could hardly see across the street for snow all day
Editor's Note: Spelling, punctuation and grammar are as written by John Shoop.
FREEPORT MEN SEEK GOLD IN CALIFORNIA
Another article written by Vernon Ross and published in a local newspaper in about 1956.
It is not known how many men from Freeport joined the California Gold Rush in 1849, but several young men left their jobs or sold their businesses and made the trek west. No one struck it rich out there…or, if so, they didn't return to Freeport to share the wealth.
At least one of the men suffered a misfortune as a result of the arduous journey. Details are sketchy, but somewhere enroute there was an accidental discharge of a shotgun. The unlucky man was so seriously wounded it was necessary to amputate a leg. After he recovered sufficiently, the journey was resumed. The injured man would hobble about camp on a wooden leg, doing whatever chores he could while his friends panned for gold.
The group returned to Freeport where the injured man, aided by his friends, opened a grocery store on Fifth Street. He became a familiar figure each morning hopping along on his peg leg, rolling hogsheads of molasses and other merchandise from the Pennsylvania Canal to his store.
We don't know the full name of this young man; his last name is said to have been Weaver. Most likely he was related to several people of that name who were among the first settlers. A number of the Weavers became merchants and importers in Freeport during canal days.
Next Newsletter will include an article about another Weaver who became the first Republican mayor of Pittsburgh - guess where he was born!
Q & A
Who was "two-minute Minnie?"
Minnie Heck was the clerk in the water office located in a building at the corner of 5th and Market across from Shoop's. Minnie and her sister lived a block away in a house next to the current National City Bank in the spot where Toy's Barber Shop has been. The water office had no "facilities" so when Minnie felt a call of nature, she stuck a sign in the door that read "Back in 2 Minutes." She locked the door and hustled up the street to her home.
In those days everyone paid $2.35/month for water --it didn't matter if you were a family of 2 or 6 or 8 or 10. During the Depression the Water Company tried to keep tabs on water usage. Bill McDivitt also worked for the Water Company. He could be seen in the evenings driving through town on the look out for a garden hose in use. If he found that you had one, you would pay an additional 35 cents a month.
Minnie would sometimes ask customers who came in to pay their bill "Do you have a hose?" You can imagine the young men in town reacting to such a question! Minnie was a very nice looking maiden lady, very prim but well dressed and friendly. She tolerated no foolishness and was strictly business as the Water Company Clerk.
Thanks to Rod Chapman and Pete Hale for the answer to this question.
WEB SITE
Have you checked out the Web Site yet? Remember, it is a work in progress. Check it out at www.fahs-pa.org. Thanks to Frank Craig, our computer guru. Isn't it great -history meets modern technology!
ROWLEY ALBUM
Member Dave Rowley has shared information received from Irene
Rowley of Petaluma, CA. In the next few Newsletters we'll be
including some of her research.
Dr. David Alter, married to Laura Rowley, daughter of Polly (see previous newsletter) bought Lot #4 in June, 1842. This property was located on the shore of the Allegheny River, on the northwest corner of Water & First Streets. It was also near the mouth of Buffalo Creek. David and Laura came to Freeport from Elderton between 1837 and 1840 and had lost 2 or their 3 children in the winter of 1841. Laura also died very young, just after they settled on Water Street on October 6, 1843.
Dr. Alter mourned for 6 months, then married Laura's sister, Amanda, in May, 1844. With her he had 8 more children. Dr. Alter conducted his scientific experiments in the barn, communicating with the main house via his telegraph. Unfortunately 5 more of his children died at very young ages of various illnesses, perhaps aggravated by the damp, cold air from the river.
As for Dr. Altar, his fame as a scientist and inventor was growing. In 1845 he visited Pittsburgh to see the devastation of a great fire. In the remains of a glass factory he found a shard of glass that acted as a prism. He took this home with him and came up with the idea of spectral analysis, one of his most famous discoveries. In 1871 Dr. David started a "signal service station," a method of reporting the river levels. His son, Myron, and granddaughter, Anna, continued to manage this into the 1900s.
Thanks again, Dave - next newsletter
we'll learn more about the family.