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Growing Up in the Clifford and Lenoxville Area in the Years from 1918 through 1935

by Walter Cook

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The following is a brief account of what it was like while growing up in the Lenoxville / Clifford [Pennsylvania] area in the years from 1918 until 1935. To enjoy a cup of coffee in those days you first went to the woodpile and brought in kindling to start a fire. You then went to the well and brought in water. You then boiled the coffee, skimmed out the grounds and enjoyed your coffee. This is an example of how things had to be done back then as opposed to the conveniences that we enjoy today.

Aerial View of Clifford, Pennsylvania

Looking northeasterly along Creamery Road and Dundaff Road into and out of town

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Aerial View of Lenoxville, Pennsylvania

Looking to the east

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~ ~ About the Cook Family ~ ~ My father, Andrew Cook was born in 1891, the son of Henry and Harriet Cook, and raised in a farm about a mile from Lenoxville. My mother, Maude Wells, the daughter of Walter and Clara Wells, was raised on a farm about one mile from Clifford. While working for Emory Green, a farmer living in Clifford, my father became acquainted with my mother, and they were married in 1912. Residing in Clifford, Dad obtained a job in a sawmill located near Elkdale. This involved getting up at 5 A.M., walking four miles to work, working ten hours, and then walking home. A year later, Dad obtained a job in Carbondale, working as a teamster for the Carbondale Milling Company. While my

folks were living in Carbondale, I was born in 1916. Dad had always wanted to be a farmer, so in 1917 he had the opportunity to rent what was known as the McCarty farm, located on a hill about one half mile east of Lenoxville. Dad jumped at the chance, quit his job and moved his family to Lenoxville to start his new career as a farmer. Since I was born in 1916, by the time 1919 rolled around I was getting old enough to observe and remember, and, over the next two years, to get a brief glimpse of how life was lived in the “good old days.”

~ ~ 1921 ~ ~ Starting in 1921, with the introduction of a dependable Model T Ford at a price that was within the range of the ordinary working man, conditions and society began to change rapidly. Prior to

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this, life on a farm was lived pretty much the same as it always had been since the Civil War.

A dependable Ford at the Clifford Hotel

Traveling was done with the horse and wagon. For hauling heavier loads, Dad had a wagon pulled by a team of horses. For social traveling, we had a buggy pulled by a single horse. In cold weather, we had a heavy blanket that was pulled over our laps. In extreme cold we would put a lighted lantern under the robe to keep our feet and legs warm. There was no threshing machines in those days, so all crops such as oats, buckwheat, wheat and beans had to be processed by hand. This was done as follows. A space would be cleared on the barn floor where hay had been stored, and a large canvas would be spread out on the floor. The canvas would now be covered to a depth of about six inches by the grain to be thrashed. The farmer would now take a flail and start beating the straw to shake the grain loose from the straw. A flail, by the way, consists of two pieces of wood, one about the size of a short baseball bat, and the other slightly slimmer and longer. A hole is drilled through each piece of wood about one inch from the end. A piece of rawhide is then threaded through each hole and tied so that the thick piece of wood dangles about three inches below the other. Grasping the thin piece of wood as a handle, the thick piece of wood can now be flipped in such a manner that it strikes the grain flat, jarring the grain loose from the straw.

After the straw has been beaten free of the grain, the farmer takes a fork and removes the straw, brings in another batch, spreads it around and repeats the process. After the threshing has been completed, the farmer shovels the grain from the canvas into grain sacks. The next operation involves a fanning mill. A fanning mill is a boxlike structure about half the size of a car containing a large paddle wheel inside. When turned by a crank on the outside, the fanning mill generates a strong breeze. The grain is now sifted down through this blast of air where the lighter chaff, dust and leaves are blown away, and the heavier grain falls into a container. The grain is now ready for use. Corn was handled differently. Before cutting and stacking into "shocks," the ears were picked off and stored temporarily on the barn floor where the threshing was done. Getting the husks off of each ear of corn was a long and tedious job, so the answer was to hold "husking bee." Opportunities to get together socially were limited, so everyone looked forward to an occasion such as this. The farmer would pass the word around the community as to the date and time, and his wife would bake cakes and refreshments that could be passed around. Seats and blankets were spread around the big pile of corn ears, and as the crowd arrived they went to work removing the husks. A good time was always had by the banter and tall story telling that always went on. If one of the girls happened to remove the husk from an ear of red corn, she got kissed by all of the eligible young bachelors. Rumors went around that some young ladies brought a couple of red ears with them. The husked ears of corn were then stored in a crib, and fed to the pigs and chickens as required.

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Community potato harvest On the road leading into Lenoxville, directly behind the present location of Walters Garage and Auto Agency, there used to be a large dam, the water from which powered a large grist mill located next to it. (A grist mill ground grain into flour.)

The Lenoxville Falls and Dam

In about 1925, a flood destroyed the old dam. About 1780 a soldier by the name of Isaac Dowd received his discharge from Washington’s Army, along with a land grant of 475 acres. It is recorded that he took up his land grant around Lenoxville. Because dams were essential for operating saw mills and grist mills, it is possible that this excellent spot for a dam may have been an inducement for his locating here, although there is no recorded evidence of who built the dam.

Original Lenoxville Mill and Store

The dam was not only essential for operating the grist mill, but was also a source of ice for the farmers and storekeepers, who needed ice to cool their milk during the hot weather. Our icehouse on the farm was a rather crude structure about twelve feet square and about eight feet high. Prior to bringing in the ice the farmer had to haul in several loads of sawdust for insulation. First, a layer of sawdust about 6 inches thick was placed in the bottom of the icehouse. When the ice reached a thickness of 12 to 15 inches, the farmers could start cutting.

Harvesting Ice

Each block weighed about 100 lbs. The first layer of ice was placed around the sawdust, keeping the ice about 6 inches away from

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the sides of the building. This layer of ice would now be covered, sides and top, with sawdust. The second layer of ice would be laid over the first, and the process repeated until the icehouse was filled. It was amazing how well that sawdust preserved the ice, even in the hottest weather.

Offloading ice at the Creamery, 1932

One of the bright spots in those days, was going to the store, especially for a kid. The principal store in Lenoxville was owned and operated by Clarence Stephens, and is still operating today, after many alterations and several owners. Back in those days there was no self-service. All produce was left behind a counter, and you were waited on by a clerk. The well-equipped country store such as Stephens’ carried not only groceries, but yard goods and sewing supplies, boots, shoes and work clothes, hardware, fishing tackle, ammunition, and most important of all, a candy counter. If the clerk was busy, you had to wait your turn. He would fill your order, one item at a time, and when finished would write down each item and its price, add the figures up, and give you the duplicate copy of your bill. Some people who had established good credit would pay once a month. Others had to pay cash. Many items were in bulk. Sugar was ladled into a bag and tied with a string. Cookies came in a large box. The clerk stuffed the kind you wanted into a bag and weigh them. If you wanted kerosene or molasses, you brought your own container and filled it from a barrel.

Over the old bridge to the Lenoxville Store Going down to that store on a Saturday night was like a special occasion. You might see people you hadn’t seen in a long time, and everyone was eager for news. Telephones were rare, and the only way news got around was by word of mouth. Toward the back of the store was a large stove, and around it was a rig of chairs and boxes so that 12 or 15 could gather. Boxes of sawdust were provided for those who chewed. When a family arrived to shop, the husband usually turned his wife loose, and he headed back for the stove. It was here that the latest news was passed around, and the latest scandal, and the latest gossip. At that time the nearest creamery that bought farmers’ milk was located in Nicholson. To get their milk down there, Dad and three other farmers took turns. When it was Dad’s turn he would load his cans of milk onto the wagon, go around and pick up the other farmers’ milk and head for Nicholson. It was a long ten mile trip, and used up most of the day getting there and back. Around 1920, Dad decided that he needed a larger farm. So, after looking around, he decided on a farm located one mile north of Royal on the Welch Hill road, and offered for sale by Frank Hasbrouck. We moved there in 1921. One of the good features of the farm was that there was a telephone in the house. Telephones in those days were pretty crude devices. The top portion was a boxed-in area about 1 foot square that contained the mouthpiece, the bell ringing

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system, and a crank on the outside. The box underneath contained two batteries, each about the size of a one pint Thermos bottle. The system was broken up into several local lines, each with about eight other people on your line, with a central located in Clifford and operated by Bert Lott.

“Central” (the Clifford telephone exchange) Each person on your line had their own ring signal. Ours was five short. Jones’ was two longs. Sheridans’ was a long, a short and a long. A short was produce by about 1 turn of the crank. A long took about three turns. If you wanted to talk to someone who wasn’t on your line, you called Central (a short, a long and a short) and they connected you to your party. If there was an emergency in the area, or an important announcement to be made, Central would issue a long series of short rings, which was the signal for everyone to come to the phone. A favorite pastime for some people was picking up the phone and listening in whether it was their call or not. This led to some caustic remarks being passed back and forth. If the sound of your phone started to grow faint, you probably needed new batteries. You removed the old batteries and took them to Mr. Lott’s house, located in Clifford near the corner where Dundaff and Elkdale roads crossed. Mr. Lott would then exchange the old batteries for a new set.

~ ~ 1922 ~ ~ Early in 1922, Dad decided that because of the frequent trips to Nicholson to deliver his milk, that he needed a new Model T truck. At that time Clarence Stephens’ son Howard had the Ford agency and a small garage in a shed next to the store.

The Stephens Ford Dealership in the 1930s Dad ordered the truck (cost $350.00) and about three weeks later it arrived. Dad had never driven a car, so the first thing he had to do was have Howard teach him.. The truck came with just a bare frame behind the cab, so Dad took the truck to Will Wallace in Clifford to have a box built onto the back of the truck. Mr. Wallace was a general handyman who could build just about anything. His workshop was located behind his house, which in turn was located just about across from what used to be the firehall in Clifford.

A customized 1930s Dodge in Clifford . . .

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. . . converted to a AAA tow vehicle

A Model T was a lot like a mule. It could be contrary, obstinate, stubborn and frustrating ... and it could kick. (Explained later.) At the same time it was a durable tool that served the public well. Learning to drive a Model T was not an easy task by today’s standards. The cab had no door on the driver’s side. You exited and entered by a door on the passenger’s side. If you had a passenger you either had to crawl over them or they had to get out. To start the car you made sure the emergency brake was on, turned on the ignition key, and adjusted the spark and gas levers (located just behind and on each side of the steering wheel). You then went around to the front of the car where the crank was located. You now engage the crank and start giving short brisk quarter turns. When the car starts, you hurry around and adjust the spark lever, or the car is apt to stall. You now climb back into the cab, and get ready to go. On the floor in front of the driver are three foot-pedals. The left hand pedal is the key. When this pedal is pushed half way down, the car is in neutral. When it is pushed all of the way down the car is in low gear. When it is released all of the way back the car is in high gear. The middle pedal when pushed down puts the car in reverse, and the right hand pedal is the brake. The emergency brake, located on the driver’s left, when pulled on, not only applies the brakes, but also takes the car out of high gear. If you cranked the car without the emergency brake on, the car would be in high gear. If the motor started, the car would lurch forward and either run over you or pin you against the side of a building. Several

people were killed while starting the car when it was in gear. Your car is now started, and you are ready to drive away. You press the left pedal half way down, and release the emergency brake. You now depress that left hand pedal all of the way to the floor. You are now in low gear. You add more gas by adjusting the gas lever, and when you think you have attained enough speed so the car won’t stall, you remove your foot from that left hand pedal. You are now in high gear, and away you go. If you come to a hill and the car slows almost to a stall, you depress that left hand pedal to the floor and hold it down until you reach the top of the hill. If you want to back up, depress the left hand pedal half way down and depress the middle pedal all the way down. And when you park it, be sure that the emergency brake is on. Referring to the Model T’s ability to kick when cranking it, if the spark lever is not adjusted properly, the engine is apt to fire prematurely, and drive the pistons violently in reverse. When this happens, the crank is torn violently from the hand of the cranker, sometimes with such force that the crank comes all of the way around and strikes the cranker on the arm half way between the wrist and elbow. Many Model T drivers have had their arms broken in this way. This description of a Model T was done to illustrate how lucky we are to have the cars available today.

~ ~ 1923 ~ ~ About 1923 the Woodlawn Dairy Company moved to Clifford and converted the old skimming station into a creamery, and started buying local farmers’ milk. The creamery was operated by two local men named Ralph Owens and Clyde Coleman. This eliminated the need for that long trip to Nicholson, and Clifford instead of Lenoxville became our local shopping area.

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The Clifford Creamery

The enlarged Creamery in full production

My earliest recollection of Clifford started in about 1918, when I became old enough to visit my grandparents, Walter and Clara Wells, who owned a farm about a mile from Clifford on the Greenfield road. My grandfather would take me with him when he took his milk down to the Clifford skimming station, where they extracted the cream from the milk, purchased the cream and sent the skimmed milk back home to be fed to the pigs. The businesses in Clifford at that time pretty much consisted of two grocery stores, the hotel, the skimming station, a post office and the telephone exchange.

The Clifford Post Office on Main Street

One of the stores was owned and operated by Mr. Elmer Finn. Mr. Finn was regarded as one of the civic leaders in town, and took

care of many minor legal matters for the local people. He also loaned money to a few people who were buying property. When my parents bought the Hasbrouck farm, they borrowed money from Mr. Finn.

Cobb family reunion at Finn Hall, Clifford Over Mr. Finn’s store was a large empty space that served as a community hall. It had a small kitchen at one end, and had tables and chairs to accommodate forty or fifty people. All community activities and holiday celebrations were held here. Memorial Day and Fourth of July were always big events in Clifford. Ceremonies in the cemeteries took place in the forenoon, along with a big parade down Main Street. At noon, the ladies aid would always put on a big dinner in Finn’s hall, after which two or three prominent people would make a speech. After the dinner and speeches, the crowd would gravitate toward the baseball field (located where the abandoned school now sits across the road from the cemetery). Most every sizable community had a baseball team in those days. Clifford always had an excellent team.

Baseball (Royal vs. Carbondale)

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It must be kept in mind that in those days there was no radio or TV, and very few telephones. So people had to generate their own entertainment. Inviting friends in for Sunday dinner was common. Another source of entertainment was the house party. An individual or group of ladies would get together and plan when and where. Invitations would go out, along with instructions on what to bring (a cake, a dozen sandwiches, or a pound of coffee). Usually, about 15 or 20 couples attended. The men would usually play cards. The women mostly talked and the kids amused themselves. About 11:30 P.M. the women would start getting the refreshments ready, and serve about midnight. The party usually broke up about 1:00 A.M.

The Clifford Hotel (and Barber Shop)

About 1923, when Mr. Finn was getting rather old, he sold his store to brothers Frank and Glenn Hasbrouck. They operated the store, and in about 1925 added on a garage in the space between the store and Clifford Hotel. I cannot say who was operating the hotel at that time. I do know that several years later Melvern Spedding took over the operation. Soon after the garage was built Glenn Hasbrouck move to Carbondale, and Frank took over the business. At about the same time Frank needed a permanent place to live. So, he converted the old hall over the store into an apartment, and moved in with the family.

Hasbrouck’s Store, Main Street, Clifford

Frank Hasbrouck and daughter in his store

Two annual events always attracted quite a crowd to Clifford. Each fall a group from town went deer hunting in Pike County. (There were no deer around here in those days.) When they returned from hunting they always hung their deer in a tree behind the hotel. They always brought back 6 or 8 nice deer and people flocked in to see them.

Hunting party returns to the Clifford Hotel,

December 1932 Another group always went to Canada fishing in the summer. The day after they

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returned they put their fish on display just before dividing them up. The catch consisted of Walleye and Northern Pike. A few of those Northerns would weigh between 15 and 25 pounds. They looked like small alligators.

Walleye and Northern Pike from the annual

Canadian fishing trip In those days Prohibition was in effect. The only way booze could be obtained was through a bootlegger. The farmers got around this by producing hard cider. Each fall many farmers (and some others) would put up about two or three barrels of sweet cider. (I know of one farmer who put up between 18 and 20 barrels each fall. His hired help worked for almost nothing, but they were drunk most of the time.) After the sweet cider had set in the barrel for about 6 months, it had a chance to ferment. The result was a rather pleasant drink that had an alcohol content slightly higher than beer. The years rolled on, and a fire company was organized in Clifford. To raise money, they held a carnival each summer. For the first couple of years it was held on the flat across from the old Clifford [Valley] Cemetery. However, this proved to be too small an area, so it was moved to its present location.

Site of original Clifford Fireman’s Carnival

The Clifford Firehall

~ ~ Through the Late 1920s ~ ~ Half way between Clifford and Lenoxville lies the sleepy little village of Royal. The story goes that many, many years ago the Royal Baking Powder Company, as an advertising stunt, offered to present a flag to any community that would accept the name of Royal and that is how Royal got its name. Royal’s claim to fame back in those days was that it was home to a dance hall that had a spring floor. It was reported that there were several spring floors around the country, but the one in Royal was the only one in this area. The underpinning of these floors was constructed in such a manner that when a group of people were dancing, the floor would move up and down to the rhythm of the music. It was reported to be a most pleasant experience. The dance hall was a wing that had been added on to an old hotel located on the Lenoxville Road about 100 yards from where that road joins Route 106. It must have been very old, because when I first saw it in 1924 it was showing its age and was in disrepair. At that time, it was owned by an old gentleman named Rally Wells. Around 1930 the old building was torn down to make way for a new house owned by the Granich family. Also in Royal at this time was an empty building located at the corner of the Lenoxville Road and Route 106 that had

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once been a store. Around 1926, a man by the name of Jack Horn purchased the building, renovated it, and added a dance hall on the side. For many years Jack held dances on Saturday nights, and served lunches and soft drinks. The pavilion was also used for basketball games and boxing matches. Some years later the place burned down, and Jack moved to Clifford and opened a diner. One of the colorful characters in Royal in those days was Bill Klein. Bill ran a gas station at the same location as the present station. The station consisted of a large room in front, where Bill sold tobacco and candy, with small sleeping quarters in the rear. Bill enjoyed playing cards, but he really hated to lose. In the center of the front room were a dining room table and several chairs. When Bill wasn’t pumping gas, if anyone was around, he was usually playing cards. The interesting thing was that after Bill had lost a couple of games, he would get mad and start moaning and cursing. It got so entertaining that men from all around the community came around not only to play cards, but to listen to Bill take on after he lost. On several occasions after Bill was on a losing streak he would throw the deck of cards in the fire. This went on for several years until Bill passed away and the place was torn down to make way for the present station.

Using horses instead of cars in the winter

During 1922 to 1925, everyone seemed to be getting cars, but there was one big catch. Those country roads were unpaved, and designed for horses rather than cars. In summer, travel generated clouds of dust. In winter some of those old roads drifted full, shutting down car traffic. In late March and early April when the frost was going out, many of those roads turned into a muddy quagmire that shut down traffic completely. Every spring back in those days, Dad was busy helping people who came knocking on the door wanting Dad to bring his team of horses and pull them out of a mud hole. (There used to be a rumor going around Clifford that one farmer hauled water at night to some holes near his home so that he could make money the next day by hauling people out who got stuck.)

The same road flooded in the spring (Route 106 from Clifford to Royal)

The first major road improvement project that I can remember was when the state paved Route 106 from Carbondale out though Clifford, Royal, West Clifford and on to join the Lackawanna trail at Kingsley. This project started around 1923 and was completed about three years later. The state took care of the major routes, but it was up to the county or townships to improve the rest. One method used by Clifford Township was as follows. The town supervisors would determine how much money that they had available that fall, usually enough to build about one half mile of road. They would decide which road needed improving most, and then set up the project. Farmers living near the project were asked if they had an old stone wall

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that they would be willing to donate. They usually did. A horse drawn grader was used to scrape dirt out of the middle of the road and build up dirt on each side of the road to a depth of eight inches. This left the road like a trough fourteen feet wide and eight inches deep. Two or three dump trucks would be hired, depending on how far the stone had to be hauled. A crew of about six men would be hired to load the trucks. When the loaded truck arrived at the proper location, the hammer gang took over. This gang consisted of eight men and a supervisor. The truck would dump its load about ten feet ahead of the hammer gang. Their gang consisted of four men with 8 pound sledge hammers, side by side across the width of the road. The other four men would then start pitching the rocks back in front of men with hammers who then cracked the rock into small pieces. All of the men wore goggles and leather leggings to protect themselves from flying chips, which could cut right through the skin. After dinner, the hammer men exchanged places with the feeders, so that everyone had four hours of swinging the hammer. The supervisor insured that the road was filled in to a depth of eight inches and that the surface was hard. After the rock cracking was completed, a heavy roller was hired to roll the rocks smooth. After that, the trucks hauled in gravel, and a three inch carpet was applied over the stones after which the road was rolled again. This produced an excellent and very durable road. As an example, the road from Royal to Welsh Hill was improved in this manner seventy years ago, and it is still in excellent shape. (I know that it has a good foundation, because I was on the hammer gang that cracked the first mile.) For this type of work, the township paid 40 cents per hour.

~ ~ Through the Early 1930s ~ ~ Money was difficult to come by back in the 1920s and early Thirties. A good farm could be purchased for $5000.00. A farmer with a herd of twenty cattle could expect an annual income of from $30 to $3500.00. A man hired on a steady basis by a farmer was paid $30.00 per month plus board. Labor hired on a day-to-day basis was paid about 35 cents per hour. To get a real good man to help with haying might cost 40 cents per hour. And that is pretty much the way it was way back then.

Driving cows down Church St., Clifford, PA

circa 1910-1920

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Walter Cook Binghamton, New York

2005

[Pictures were provided to the Clifford Bicentennial Committee by various contributors.]