THE GARMAN-GILL FAMILIES, Elizabeth Garman Gill, January 1971.
Small coal mines were drilled into the coal out in the Hollow and Father leased some of these for selling house-coal as well as providing for our own use. A lovely long path traversed the length of the Hollow ending at the fields of the Mock farms. Other paths led up to the Somerville Road where the Somerville family lived, and others in the opposite direction led up over the hill where we could look down over Barnesboro and across the river to the little village called Steal Corner.
Below the woods were fields where corn, oats, wheat and rye were planted. To the right was a large orchard with peaches in the highest fields and an apple orchard below that contained a variety of apples,--Northern Spy, Rambo, Pippin, Russet, Jenny Lind, Jonathan, Honey Sweet and Winter Sweet.
Before the railroad came through our land, the river made a wide curve to the right and back again. When the railroad was built in the early 1890’s, it cut across the curve on bend in the river and we found on our property a fine body of water we called the pond. In winter it froze over quickly providing wonderful skating for us and our friends. As the winter deepened the ice on the pond became very thick and beautifully clear. Father had built an ice house on the edge of the pond and filled it with sawdust. Where the ice was thick and heavy he and the boys cut it in great cubes with long saws and buried it in the sawdust for the family to use in the summer. With our ice cream freezer, homemade ice cream was a common dessert. When Father dug out the huge blocks of ice in the summer we kids were always with him to bury our bare feet deep in the sawdust and fish around with our toes for ice. Father was never too busy to take us along on the wagon or sled, or to give us a ride on the horses and he plowed. Sometimes there were two or three on a patient old horse.
Small coal mines were drilled into the coal out in the Hollow and Father leased some of these for selling house-coal as well as providing for our own use. A lovely long path traversed the length of the Hollow ending at the fields of the Mock farms. Other paths led up to the Somerville Road where the Somerville family lived, and others in the opposite direction led up over the hill where we could look down over Barnesboro and across the river to the little village called Steal Corner.
Below the woods were fields where corn, oats, wheat and rye were planted. To the right was a large orchard with peaches in the highest fields and an apple orchard below that contained a variety of apples,--Northern Spy, Rambo, Pippin, Russet, Jenny Lind, Jonathan, Honey Sweet and Winter Sweet.
Before the railroad came through our land, the river made a wide curve to the right and back again. When the railroad was built in the early 1890’s, it cut across the curve on bend in the river and we found on our property a fine body of water we called the pond. In winter it froze over quickly providing wonderful skating for us and our friends. As the winter deepened the ice on the pond became very thick and beautifully clear. Father had built an ice house on the edge of the pond and filled it with sawdust. Where the ice was thick and heavy he and the boys cut it in great cubes with long saws and buried it in the sawdust for the family to use in the summer. With our ice cream freezer, homemade ice cream was a common dessert. When Father dug out the huge blocks of ice in the summer we kids were always with him to bury our bare feet deep in the sawdust and fish around with our toes for ice. Father was never too busy to take us along on the wagon or sled, or to give us a ride on the horses and he plowed. Sometimes there were two or three on a patient old horse.
