MEETINGS
The next few meetings will be held at the Mill at 7 p.m. – on the second Thursday of each month. Come and learn more about the Society, see where you can help – an hour or many hours – all help is needed.
AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL
On Friday, May 14, some thirty of us met for dinner and a program at the Freeport United Methodist Church on 4th Street. Following a delicious meal, a slide show featuring work done on the Mill last summer was shown. Door prizes were given out during the evening and some awards were presented.
Certificates and photos were presented to Dave Rowley, Jim McCurdy, Gordon, Eric and Elaine Brenneman, Jim Seagriff, Jr., and Ed Wosniak. All of these brave and talented people worked on replacing the Mill roof. Some are not even members of the Historical Society. Richard Buday was presented a beautiful photo of the Mill taken by Frank Craig. Rich generously prints this Newsletter for us and we cannot thank him enough. Frank Craig, who organized the slide show, who has done a lot of research for us and who is our Web lackey, was presented a copy of an original water color art piece done by J. Brenneman, a renowned artist and sister-in-law of Gordon.
VISITORS – WE GOT ‘EM
The mill had some 30 visitors on our first Open House of the year on May 22. The following day members of an organized canoe trip stopped on their way down Buffalo Creek and toured the Mill, having made arrangements to do so. The Mill will be open June 26, July 24, August 28 and September 25, from 11 to 6. Come and visit, learn about our Mill and the history of our area.
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME
In July Freeport International Baseball Invitational will celebrate its 10th anniversary – so this organization already has 10 years of history.
But baseball has always been big in Freeport. Years ago the Railroad had a league, Schenley Distilleries had a team, churches had teams.
If you go REALLY far back in history we learn that Charlie Kuhns, born October 27, 1877, in Freeport, played 3rd base and shortstop for Pittsburgh and Boston in the National League from 1897 to 1899. The Boston team was known then as the Boston Beaneaters. Other names for this team were the Boston Red Stockings and eventually the Boston Braves. Charlie died July 15, 1922, in Pittsburgh.
Then there was James Harvey (Red) Bowser, born in Freeport on September 20, 1881, who had a major league career with the Chicago White Sox in the American League. Well...sort of. Red played one game, on September 13, 1910. On May 22, 1943, Red died in Moundsville, West Virginia.
A PICTURE IS WORTH...
In this edition of Grist is printed a picture of the Freeport baseball field as it looked many years ago. Answer these questions and perhaps win a prize.
1. Where was the water well located?
2. What ws the name of the beer garden behind homeplate?
3. What year was the ball field moved to its present configuration?
Send your answers to the Freeport Area Historical Society at P. O. Box 107, Freeport, PA 16229 or Email to pchale@salsgiver.com.
TOBY FULLERTON MAKES GOOD
Ed. Note – the following article was printed in the April 14, 1911, edition of the Freeport Journal.
Charley Fullerton, the young man with bright eyes and an inexhaustible supply of saliva, who let Los Angeles down with three hits and one run in Thursday’s game with Portland, has big league connections.
That is, his big brother, Clyde, is with the New York Giants. Clyde, like Charlie, is also a heaver. Playing professional baseball is an ailment which seems to run in some families and the Fullerton family is one of these.
Charley and Clyde have an uncle who is some baseball “bug”, and it is to his early influence on their sweet young lives that they owe their ball gaming ability as much as anything else.
The Fullerton boys learned the game on the sandhills of Freeport which is within the Pittsburg smoke zone and which has turned out as many good ball players as any burg of its dimensions in the country.
The fact that Charley was raised so near Pittsburg, where his home is at present, is believed to account for the iron in his arm, and his fund of saliva is believed to have been developed while spitting coal cinders out of his mouth during babyhood. Charlie can scatter more homespun saliva over the surface of a baseball sphere in a given time than any other “spitball” artist in the country.
Professor E. P. Johnson, formerly principal of a school over on the north side of Pittsburg, is the aforementioned uncle who was instrumental in starting Charlie and Clyde on the highway to baseball fame. Every Saturday Professor Johnson would visit Freeport for the sole purpose of “batting flies” to the Freeport team in practice and on these occasions Charlie and Clyde gathered in all the baseball wisdom that dropped from his lips.
Charlie, who is known in his hometown as “Toby” was with Fall River in the New England League last season. This year he had offers from the Southern and Eastern Leagues, but he heeded the advice of Dick L. Guy, a Pittsburgh baseball writer and cast his lot with McCredie. –Los Angeles Express, April 1, 1911
TO CONTINUE WITH OUR THEME
The June 29, 1923, edition of the Freeport Journal has an article entitled “Freeport Church Baseball League – Rules for Baseball Ground.”
These grounds have been leased to the Freeport Church Baseball League, are under their control, management and jurisdiction, and are therefore subject to such rules and regulations as they may adopt, which are as follows:
1. Cursing, swearing, obscene and indecent language is prohibited.
2. The use of the grounds for any purpose on Sundays will not be permitted, and loafing or loitering on the grounds, will not be tolerated.
3. Card playng or gambling of any nature is forbidden.
4. The firing of explosives, fire crackers, canon or firearms or explosives of any description is prohibited.
5. Violators of any of the above rules, whether spectator or player, will subject themselves to the penalty of being denied admission to or use of the grounds at any time.
6. Any person or persons removing or defacing this notice or wilfully destroying any property on the grounds will be prosecuted under the Act of Assembly provided for in such cases.
AND LATER THAT SUMMER
From the August 3, 1923 edition of the Freeport Journal we read:
Freeport Church League Schedule August 7th. Methodist vs. Catholics.
August 14th, Catholics vs. Presbyterians.
Owing to church picnics and other events being scheduled for several Thursdays in the future, all Thursday games have been discontinued. Standing of the clubs, August 1, 1923: W L
Catholics 3 1
Presbyterians 2 3
Methodists 2 3
A HOT DOG AND A BEER
This recipe comes from the Family Traditions cookbook published by the Historical Society – copies still available for purchase. This recipe comes from Tacy’s and Company and is said to be 300 years old.
2 lbs. Barley
1” stiff pure licorice
1 lb. Long grain brown rice
2 cakes of yeast
2 lbs. Whole kernal corn
12 gals. Spring water
4 oz. Hops (many types may be used)
4 lbs. Liquid malt (two – 2 lb. Cans)
5 lbs. White sugar
3 lbs. Brown sugar
Cheesecloth, 1 box of caps
1 caper
5 ½ cases of bottles
12 gal. Crock
Clean crock and wipe dry. Brown rice, oil free in fry pan. Do not burn. In a large kettle, add 1 ½ gal. Of spring water. Place hops in cheesecloth, make a tea bag. To kettle, add corn, barley, and tea bag. Bring to boil for 45 minutes.
While above is boiling, prepare yeast by adding to a large bowl some spring (water?), 2 T. Sugar and yeast. Open both cans of malt set in warm water. This will make it easy to pour. Add remaining water to crock and by just dangling a 100 watt light bulb on surface of water, raise temperature to 78 degrees. Remove light.
Add all sugars to crock. Add molasses and both cans of malt. Bfeak and add licorce. Let mash that has been boiling cool to 78 degrees. Add 1 cup mixture. Cool rice and add to crock. Squeeze juice from tea bag and dispose of hops (do not put in mixture). Stir mixture good for 5 minutes. Check temperature and if 78 degrees then add yeast mixture.
Cover crock with a wood cover, then a plastic cloth and then with a blanket. Store in a place where the temperature does not vary. Ex.: Near a water heater or in a room on the shady side of the house. It is a good idea to have the crock on a strong table as to prevent drafts and for ease of siphoning later on.
Let mixture set in crock from 18 to 23 days, or until mixture starts to slow in action. One day prior to this, remove all mash with a screen or flour sifter. Do not stir from this point on. Procure a rigid siphone tube and place just above sediment in bottom of crock.
To 5 ½ cases of washed bottles add one level teaspoon of sugar (we assume they mean to each bottle). Add liquid to bottles and cap. Store in cool dark place for at least 2 months. Enjoy!
Editor’s Note: Molasses is not listed under ingredients, so we have no idea how much is required. And, what’s with the caper? No directions for its use appear, but just what difference can one caper make with a mixture this size??!! My suggestion – visit Freeport or G & D Beverage,,,it will be faster. But, we hope you enjoyed reading about this old time recipe.
IN CLOSING
Charles Edwards Emailed us through the Web page asking for information about John Craig, his wife, Martha Clark Craig and their household. John and Martha raised Robert Cathcart, Charles Edwards’ great, great, grandfather. Charles would like to find out what happened to Robert’s parents. We have Emailed Charles with phone numbers of Don and Rod Chapman who may have information to help him. If you can add any information, please contact us and we’ll put you in touch with him.