February 5, 1909

A tornado that passed over this vicinity about 1 o’clock on Thursday morning did little damage; but frightened many of the half awakened inhabitants. The cloud, which is described by one who was watching it at the time, was of an inky blackness, and looked very portentous; and the wind which was severe, scattered a few old boards from Curtis Reed’s front porch on Front Street. This is about all it did, except to change the atmosphere, and usher in a windy day.

Steamer Marie [Thomas] broke a part of her machinery last week, while going up the Delaware en route for Philadelphia, and was obliged to put into Wilmington for repairs.

The home residence of John H. Conoway on Federal Street has been painted by J. F. Outten.

The barge being built by J. P. Davidson at Carey’s Landing is nearly completed and will soon be launched. Mr. Davidson built one here last year which was christened “Barge No. 5.”

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Stevenson, of Stevensonville, a suburb of Milton and named in honor of Mrs. Stevenson, ae probably the oldest married couple in this locality. Mr. Stevenson is quite an active man for his age, being 81 years old, the 8th of last September. His wife is several months his junior.

Superintendent John Brooks visited the Milton Schools last week.

Post Office Inspector Maxwell visited the Milton office last week and found the business straight.

A local teachers’ institute will be held in the Public School building on next Saturday the 6 last.

The young lovers of historic art are preparing for the rendition of a drama to be presented to the public on the evening of Washington’s birthday,–in School Hall.

Captain Louis Darby of Camden, N. J., visited his Milton relative and friends last week.

The M. D. & V. R. R. Co., is putting more ties in its road bed […] from Milton.

On Saturday prothonotary N. W. White received as a present from a friend at Chincoteague a ten pound wild goose. It is will be understood that Mr. White still resides in Milton.[i]

Captain Joseph Warrington of near town has exchanged his farm with John Clifton for a part of his property on Broad Street. The two will soon remove to their newly acquired residences.

J. C. Hazzard left on Saturday to spend the remainder of the winter with his son-in-law and daughter, Dr. and Mrs. P. W. Tomlinson, at Wilmington.

Harry Robinson is still buying and shipping corn from the Milton station to Philadelphia. 60 cents per 70 pounds on the cob is the price paid.

Willard Clifton has opened a repair shoe shop on the farm of Dorn Watson near Slaughter Beach, for the accommodation of the ladies and gentlemen of that locality.

Five workmen were somewhat premature in stating that the M. E. Church would not be a “cold storage this winter.” Last Sunday was different, and the auditorium of the church was disagreeably cold. Some attribute this to the fault of the heating apparatus; others to the very airy condition of the windows; whichever it may have been makes little difference, for it was cold!

A little excitement was created in town on Saturday evening when Harvey Sipple and Thomas Scott got into a fight. To make a long story short, Scott struck Sipple, and Supple licked him. An action at law is threatened by the town authorities, but the parties live in the country and have not been seen in town since the occurrence. Hence they are non-committable under the town law.

The protracted meeting at the M. P. Church continue with increased vigor. The church is crowded nightly, and many are being gathered from various walks of life that the ministry and the church have failed to reach heretofore. It is to be hoped that the professed converts’ actions may hereafter prove the truth of their profession, and that they may demonstrate to the world that “they have been with Christ and learned of him.” “By their fruits ye shall know them.”[ii]

The telegraph poles along the line of the M. D. & V. R. R. Company have been straightened up, rearranged and made to look better.

The electric wires running from Unions Street north, down Chandler’s slip to Anderson’s cannery are nearly down to the ground. The tornado of Thursday morning may have blown them where they are. However, they are not in use, but their conditions does not look pretty.

Harold Palmer, son of Captain and Mrs. John Palmer, died at the home of his parents on Walnut Street, on Sunday evening of a complication of diseases, aged 21 years, 2 months, and 6 days. Funeral services were held at the M. E. Church on Wednesday afternoon by the Rev. G. R. McCready, and sepulture made in the M. E. Cemetery. Deceased leaves behind a father and mother, three brothers, Benjamin Paler of Camden, N. J., and Robert Palmer and Captain J. C. Palmer of this town.

L. J. Coverdale of this town, who was taken to Farnhurst on the 21st of last September, died at […] on Monday afternoon of […] and general debility. S. J. Wilson went after the body on Tuesday morning, and is […] Milton Tuesday evening. The funeral will be held at the M. E. Church on Thursday afternoon, by the Rev. A. C. McGilton, D. D. and interment made in the M. E. Cemetery.

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A cold wave struck on Saturday afternoon and Sunday a hyperborean blast prevailed all of the day. The ice men were presumably in ecstasy in hope of a general freeze. On Sunday night the wind blew so hard that neither the river nor the lake were frozen. On Monday night the wind died away and the water having become chilled more thoroughly the river and the lake were frozen over, the ice being about one half inch thick, the wind veered to the south on that morning and, alas! the prospect for an ice crop at this freeze is vanished.

On Tuesday afternoon the wife of Miers Harmon had John Harmon and Isaac Harmon [arraigned] before Squire Collins on the charge of assault. At the hearing it developed that the fracas was nothing more than a drunken brawl. The justice so considering it discharged the defendants by payment of the cost.

J. K. P. Jefferson is quite ill at his home near Reynolds Mill.

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[i]  N. Wallace White would move his family to Georgetown in November of 1909 for the duration of his term as prothonotary of Sussex County, to avoid the estimated 13,312 miles he calculated he would have had to travel from Milton to Georgetown during his tenure in that job. There were no rail connections to Georgetown at that time.

[ii] Quotation from the New Testament, Matthew 7:16