Item

One Hundred Years Ago

Pilot

Jan. 9, 1879

A Hundred Years Ago

One hundred years ago not a pound of coal, not a cubic foot of illuminating gas had been burned in the United States. No iron stoves were used, and no contrivances for economizing heat were employed until Dr. Franklin invented the iron-frame fireplace which still bears his name. All the cooking in town and country was done by the aid of fire kindling in the brick oven on the hearth. Pine knots or tallow candles furnished the light on the long winter nights, and sanded floors supplied the place of rugs and carpets. The water used for household purposes was drawn from deep wells by the creaking "sweep." No form of pump was used in this county, so far as we can learn, until late in the commencement of the present century. There were no friction matches in those early days, by the aid of which a fire could be easily kindled; and if the fire "went out" upon the hearth over night, and the tinder was damp, so that the sparks would not catch, the alternative remained of wading through the snow a mile or so to borrow a brand of a neighbour. Only one room in any house was warm, unless some of the family were ill; in all the rest the temperature was at zero many nights in the winter. The men and women of a hundred years ago undressed and went to their beds in a temperature colder than that of our modern barns and wood sheds and never complained.

Beacon

Jan. 10, 1901

Relic of the Past

Occasionally reminders of the distant past are met with in one's daily experiences. Not many days since, an old gentleman, who had almost reached his ninetieth birthday, had occasion to go to the Bank of Nova Scotia to transact some business. A pen was handed him to subscribe his name to a piece of paper, but he shook his head, as much as to say that he had no use for such "new-fangled ideas." Reaching down into his pocket, he pulled out a quill pen - one of the kind that was in general use a hundred years ago - and dipping it into the ink, wrote his name clearly and rapidly. The noise of the quill passing over the paper grated upon the ears of all those who were in the room, but it seemed to be music to the old man. When had finished his writing, he took the quill lovingly into his mouth, removed the ink and then restored the quaint implement to his pocket.

St. Croix Courier

Jan. 7, 1965

St. Andrews Was Commercial Centre 100 Years Ago

While on an extended vacation in Europe, Herbert J. Holland recently had good reason to feel pride in his adopted hometown, St. Andrews. On a quick swing through the better-known financial districts of Europe, Mr. Holland had occasion to pay a visit to the Bourse, which is the Brussels equivalent of The City of London or Wall Street, in N.Y. While on the main trading floor after the Bourse had closed for the day, he spied a huge wall mural depicting North America of 100 years ago. Not too many names were printed, or rather painted, into the design, but one which caught his eye was St. Andrews. "Which goes to show," said Mr. Holland, "that St. Andrews of 100 years ago was a centre of communication for commerce between Europe and North America. Names of shipping companies, long since legendary, once used the port of St. Andrews at a time when few of our larger, better-known cities were known in world trade and commerce. It made my trip complete," he added, employing an old quotation to round out his remarks.