Culled from May, 1907 issues of The Andes Recorder —- 100 Years Ago
THE NEWS IN AND ABOUT ANDES
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Events of a Week as Chronicled by the Man on the Street
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The train from Andes at 6 p.m. to Arkville which carries the workmen, makes the run in 47 minutes, stopping at all stations. [Jim Andrews comments that the train would have run from Andes to Kaufman’s Station on the Tremperskill, then on to Shavertown, Union Grove, Arena, Dunraven and Margaretville, with the time including loading and unloading.]
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An engineering corps in charge of Nathan Miller was here the first of the week surveying for a site for the proposed summer boarding house which will be located on the hill to the west of the village. [JA: I am assuming that this was to be located on the site of the current Highlands development above the Dick Cole farm, and never came to fruition.]
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Two or three cases are before the grand jury this week for alleged illegal liquor selling at Union Grove and Shavertown. According to all accounts that end of the town is far from being “dry.” [JA: I believe that Andes went “dry” in the middle 1870’s (one of the presumed factors in the demise of the Hunting Tavern). Rev. James Bruce (Buffy’s great grandfather) was instrumental in garnering enough support to “dry up” the town and fought to keep it dry for the rest of his life (he died in 1913).]
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The shanty at John Fowler’s, which was used by the Italians, has been torn down this week. [JA: The “Italians” had a construction camp on the flat below the Fowler farm (now Joe Eisle’s) on the Tremperskill and there were several shanties. Marguerite Fowler could vividly remember the Italians who stayed there—they used to come up to their barn for milk every day. She said they were very respectful and didn’t speak much English. ]
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We understand that President F. F. Searing, who occupied David Ballantine’s residence last season, will have it again this season. [FF Searing was president of the Delaware and Eastern Railroad—the one being built in Andes at the time. He had spent some time up here at the Dowie house and fell in love with the area—this prompted him to plan to bring the railroad to Andes.]
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One day recently George Fenton’s cream separator was put out of commission by Mrs. Fenton getting her dress caught in it. Fortunately she escaped injury.
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Memorial Day in Andes passed quietly. In the morning there was the usual march to the cemetery and the decorating of the sacred mounds. [JA: As simple as this may seem, I believe that they are referring to the graves in the cemetery. The old practice with burials was to mound extra dirt on top of a recent grave to accommodate the hole that would eventually be created when the coffin decayed and collapsed. The cemeteries weren’t that well cared for nor were they regularly mowed so it was common to see mounds with gravestones in front of them.] In the afternoon an excellent address was delivered by Rev. Hugh B. Speer, of Bovina.~
Item in a May 1907 front page issue of the Andes Recorder:
Will Plant a Forest.
The Pennsylvania Railroad company, impressed with the necessity of providing a future source of supply for the five million railroad ties used annually on its system, will undertake what is said to be the most extensive private forest planting on record, and that altogether 2,250,000 red oak, Scotch pine, chestnut, locust and catalpa tress will be set out this spring. The total area planted will be about a thousand acres at Mount Union, Holidaysburg and Altoona, Pennsylvania.