implements were in use were made of wood in so far as possible. Each
prosperous farm had its blacksmith shop, with a set of tools for
doing such
iron work as the "handy man" could do. A carpenter shop, with a foot
power
turning lathe, and carpenter and other mechanical tools sufficient
to out
anything that was needed on the farm from a shaved shingle, a
barrel, up to a
barn or dwelling house. The house was stocked with two or three
varieties of
spinning wheels, several hechles, reels, swift and sometimes a hand
loom for
weaving clothing and carpets.
Soon after the pioneer settled in Brady Township the reaping of
grain
with a sickle was superseded by the grain cradle. The wooden fork
and the scoop
shovel were succeeded by the steel fork and steel shovel. Shortly
before 1860,
the horse power threshing machine was invented and threshing grain
with a flail
and tramping out process gave way to the new imvention. The stump
machine came
in by which the land was cleared of stumps, and which permitted the
mowing
machine, hay rake and binder to succeed the old process of mowing
and raking
hay by hand, etc. The hand card for carding wool was superceded by
the
"fulling" mill where the wool was carded into rolls for spinning
purposes and
the coarser wool into "batting" for filling "haps , quilts, etc.
Thus man
gradually drifted from the laborious work of "eating his bread in
the sweat of
his brow" to the more lazy method of machinery.
The pioneer's earlier method of disposing of his commodities was by
barter. The miller took toll from his grain, the owner of the
threshing machine
took toll for his labor. The woolen mill took toll from the wool,
and the
weaver took toll from the cloth. It was a cooperative process that
they
followed, until about 1860 when lumber commenced to be salable and
money -
flowed into the country. However, the raising of flax and wool for
the making
of home made clothing continued up until the seventies, when the
woolen mills
started their wagons on the road to trade manufactured cloth for
wool.
When DuBois was started it furnished a market for the surplus
products of
the community, and the people drifted more and more from the pioneer
to the
more modern methods.
The first sewing machine came in about 1860, and was a chain stitch
affair operated by hand and sold for $200.00. If one wanted a stand
and pedal
$50.00 was added for these luxuries. Of course there were none sold.
The first
washing machine was composed of three corrugated rollers, two of
which were
about 1½ inches in diameter, and the third one 3 inches, set in a
frame like
the modern wringer. The two small rollers were set parallel, with
the large one
on top, and this machine was fastened on the side of a tub and the
clothing was
rolled back and forth through this affair in the same manner as a
modern
wringer. The housewife soon tired of this and threw it on the scrap
heap.
To the disgrace of man he permitted his women folk to labor over the
old
corrugated washboard for many years, and I know how hard it was for
I helped my
mother do the washing.
From 1860 the world has seen more progress in the way of labor
saving
devices and methods of taking the drudgery out of work, and in
discoveries for
the prolonging of human life than were witnessed in a thousand years
prior to
that time. I am glad that I have been able to live in this period.
William C. Pentz.
DuBois, Pa.
December 1, 1931
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