A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

professional butcher and without money. The shoe maker and tailor, with their kits of tools, made theirsemi-annual rounds to make or mend our shoes and coats, the materials for which were providedbeforehand by the head of the family. Our inventory of furniture would be incomplete did we omit tomention the flint-lock rifle, or musket, with powder horn, shot or bullet-pouch, all of which were placedupon wooden forks fastened to the upper joists.In the loft was an ample supply of catnip, sage, tansy, pennyroyal, wormwood, elecampane, dogfennel and boneset, gathered in their season. These constituted the materia medica of the pioneer.‘Apothecary medicine’ was not much in demand. Strings of dried-apples, peaches and pumpkinshung in graceful festoons from the rude rafters, while the winter’s store of hazel, hickory, walnuts andbutternuts covered the upper floor. To guard against the ague, a jug of bitters composed of cherry,dogwood bark and prickly ash berries was provided. To ward off attacks of worms among the children,tansy or wormwood bitters was regularly administered.Hospitality was hearty and unbounded. No visiting by card, no primping or simpering, none of theheartless formalities of modern artificial society. ‘Bring your knitting and stay a week,’ was theoutspoken invitation. Whatever was provided for the table was placed at once before the guests; andwithout apologies or ‘courses,’ all were expected to help themselves. Manners, customs, and habits havechanged, perhaps for the better; but the memory will cling with fondness to those of other days. Itgratifies our pride to have all the adventitious aids in preparing and serving our food. It is pleasant to havea house of eight or ten rooms, each supplied with its appropriate furniture and adornments; but we verymuch doubt whether these things make us more happy or contribute greatly to our family and socialenjoyment.Our Libraries and SchoolsThe library of the intelligent pioneer consisted of the Bible and hymn-book, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’sProgress, Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Baxter’s Saints’ Rest, Hervey’s Meditations, Aesop’s Fables,William Riley’s narrative, Gulliver’s Travels and Robinson Crusoe.The school books were very few; that for beginners was a paddle with the alphabet and words of twoletters pasted on one side, and baker, cider, &c., on the other. This answered the double purpose ofinstruction and punishment.The school house, like the dwelling, was built of logs, with a window one pane of glass wideextending the whole length of the house. Sometimes in place of glass, paper greased with raccoon fat wasthe substitute. The seats were made of slabs or ‘puncheons.’Our schools were sustained by subscription, and our teachers received from $8 to $12 per month fortheir services and ‘boarded round’ with their patrons. On certain festive days the custom prevailed of‘barring out’ the teacher, the pupils not permitting him to enter the school room until he treated to cider,apples, gingerbread or candy. Our old fashioned schools were excellent and the boys and girls obtained agood, practical primary education. On account of the sparseness of the population and the work to bedone at home, in which the young of both sexes had to lend a helping hand, we had usually but ‘twoquarters’ of school in a year.Our WardrobesOur clothing was mostly of domestic manufacture. Our shirts were made of linen tow. The men andboys raised the flax, broke and swingled it, and the women hetcheled, spun and wove and made up thegarments. The recollection of the new tow shirt with its pricking ‘shives’ almost makes us scratch as ofyore. Toweling, tablecloths and bed linen were of the same material, as well as our summer pantaloons,frocks and aprons.The winter garments of both sexes and all ages were made of wool shorn from our own sheep,carded, spun, colored and then woven in our own looms. Sheep-washing was regarded by the boys as finesport. The sheep were confined in a pen near a running stream of water, then taken one by one into thestream and cleansed. After being left a few days for the wool to dry, the fleeces were shorn with shearsmade for the purpose. This, as I remember it, was hard work.Our Farming UtensilsOur farm implements were few and simple. The ax was in the most constant use, and was always17