October 14, 1910

“The melancholy days are come”[i] and the “sere and yellow leaf”[ii] is conspicuous amongst the green leaves of the trees. Yet there are delicious days, sunny; mellow, hazy October days, Nature bedecking here arena in crimson. The pale rays of the sun cast a halo over the surrounding scenery. “The squirrel eyes the chestnuts browning”[iii] and acorns are failing in the forests nearby. A lazy feeling creeps over us as we meditate on our beautiful morning walks. Out thoughts go back to the long ago when similar scenes presented themselves to a youthful mind, not then in a condition to become enraptured with its environments. The Oct. sunshines come once a year and it seems to us there are no other sunshines like them. They will soon be gone. Time in its onward march will soon introduce the hyperborean blast and we shall be shivering in the clutches of Arctic weather. Summer is past. If there was nothing else to remind us of the fact, the discontinuance of excursion trains on the M. D. & V. R. R. would do so. Summer visitors are gone to their home and to their work, in idle hours to dream over the summer, whether it be of bliss or sorrow, of captivation or estrangement, they will dream many, many times over the summer of 1910. Such is life.

The troublesome leaves are beginning to claim the attention of the industrious housewife. The shade of the trees is delicious during the hot and sultry summer days, but when autumn comes and they begin to shed their foliage, the trouble begins. It is a continuous sweep, sweep until all are gone. Yet in autumn we are only paying for the pleasures of summer.

The political battle is now on and to view the personnel of each party it does not appear hard to pick the best man. As far as the temperance question goes it will not be hard for the teetotalers to know which candidates are wet or dry.

A Cave Neck young man had a runaway on Thursday. When coming down the grade in N. Milton, part of the gears became unfastened and he could not hold the horse. The buggy ran on to the horse which ran to get out of the way of the buggy until level ground was reached when the animal was stopped.

Virginia Brockinton and Mrs. Esther Bolinson left last week for Philadelphia to enter the Medical Children’s Hospital to study for trained nurses.

A carload of charcoal was shipped from Lorimer Switch to Philadelphia on Saturday.

Chestnuts are selling for ten cents a quart.[iv]

Two gentlemen, one an ex-soldier, were walking down the street under an umbrella when a man slightly tipsy said to another man: “Does the government furnish ex-soldiers with umbrellas?” “Certainly, who else does?”

Dr. R. T. Wilson has bought of Joshua Gray a Buick auto. Mr. Gray is a sub-agent for the machine.

Clarence Welch, a former dry goods salesman of Milton who went to Philadelphia some time ago and secured a job as driver of a delivery wagon at Cobbs Bakery, is said to have been promoted to foreman of the establishment.

Rev. I. F. Lusk has removed his family to Westerly, R. I. for a time and is now keeping bachelor hall at the M. E. parsonage. The effect of this was apparent on Sunday when he was unable to preach. J. B. Welch officiated in his stead.

H. A. Draper and the Royal Packing Co. closed on tomatoes last week. It is agreed by all the canneries that the pack has been about half that of an ordinary year. This is hoped to be for the best as it may cause an advance in price.

Miss Elsie King went to Rehoboth and entered the school there on Monday as one of the assistant teachers.

James A. Betts has the foundation laid and cellar made for his new building on North Union Street.

On Monday as John Walker turned a corner with a load of fertilizer on his wagon, he broke the tongue and was detained quite a while.

There was no preaching service at the M. P. Church on Sunday. Rev. Frank Holland is expected to return from Pittman Grove on Wednesday [where] he has been recuperating from typhoid fever.

Oct. 23rd will be observed as Rally Day at the M. E. Church.

Mrs. Jennie Blizzard left on Monday for a visit to Philadelphia.

Many people went to Georgetown on Monday to attend the show and others to attend Court. On Tuesday a few persons visited Milford also, to attend the show. Train communication with Milford is all right now.

John U. Jones, real estate agent, has sold to H. K. Wagamon the house and lot on Federal Street known as the ex-Governor Ponder Mansion property.

Chas. Maull of Cave Neck is said to have gathered this year, from seven trees, eight bushels of chestnuts.

Supervisor Mustard is now stoning a part of the north part of Chestnut St.

Miss Leonora Stridler is paying a business visit to Milton.

The item that appeared in our communication of a few weeks ago relating to a watch and chain being stolen from George W. Jones of near this town, by a colored man in his employ, appears to have been the means of leading to the arrest of the thief/ The history of the occurrence is as follows: Someone at Greenwood saw the item in the Milton letter and believing he had spitted the man “putting up” near town, wrote an anonymous letter to Mr. Jones, relating his belief, and not wishing to be mixed up in the case signed himself “confidential.” Mr. Jones wrote to the Deputy State’s Attorney at Georgetown, relating the details of the anonymous letter. The Deputy Attorney immediately acted on the case, by sending a detective to Greenwood and he having the details of the Greenwood letter had no trouble in locating his man, who after being closely questioned admitted the theft. He was taken to Georgetown and after a preliminary hearing was lodged in jail. He is also guilty of the larceny of a gild watch at Richmond, Va. Should the Virginia authorities not wish to extradite him he will be tried for the offense at the February term of Court at Georgetown. The gold watch stolen at Richmond, Va., and Mr. Jones’ silver watch and chain are now in the possession of the Deputy State’s Attorney. Mr. Jones desires to sincerely thank the unknown friend at Greenwood who sent him the information, leading to the thief’s arrest.

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[i] Quotation from the poem Death of the Flowers, Bryant, William Cullen, 1832

[ii] From Macbeth, by William Shakespeare; an expression often used to denote advanced age

[iii] The quote is actually “The squirrel eyes askance the chestnuts browning” from the poem September, by George Arnold (1834 – 1865), an author and poet. As with Bryant’s Death of the Flowers, nature poems were very popular in anthologies of literature for children in the 19th century. David A. Conner, a former primary school teacher, would have been quite familiar with these and many others.

[iv] The population of American chestnut trees was devastated by a fungus in the first half of the 20th century; most of our chestnuts today are imported.