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SHORT STORIES
Russell's Place
Some Chips Gathered in Old Windsor
By: Stanton
Ironton Register, Thursday, August 21, 1890
Submitted by:
Sharon M. Kouns

EDITOR REGISTER.
Thirty or forty years ago, the caption of this
article was the proper name for this place, for then it was owned
by Frank Russell - the store, the tan yard, the mill, the farm on
which the village now stands - everything was directed by him. He
is gone; some of his children are gone; other of his children and
some of his grandchildren are here, but no man can truthfully
assert that he controls this village now. Instead of one store,
there are three now, Snyder & Betts’, Waldeck & Booth’s and Mr.
Hamilton’s, each firm getting its share of the business, which is
considerable for a country village. The tan yard has taken its
departure since Mr. Russell’s death, and the mill is owned by
Snyder & Betts, but is run by Andrew Russell, a son of the
previous owner of the mill. The mill has had sufficient water to
do its work throughout this summer season thus far, and it is a
good thing for the owners of the mill as well as for the people,
that this is the case, because the Rockcamp and the Holschew mills
both having shut down for repairs, makes it very convenient for
the people that this mill should be able to do the custom work
regularly this season. What a change in the appearance of the corn
since the rain! But Mr. Waters tells us that there will not be
more than a fourth of a crop of early potatoes in comparison with
last year’s crop, and that the chintz bug is working on the late
potatoes. Getaway, as this place is popularly called, is the only
village in the county known to your correspondent that had the
wisdom to set out a grove in which to hold its picnics, public
meetings, etc., yet all will admit the desirability of such a
grove, the great convenience of having one but it takes so long to
grow one large enough to be used. Such reasons given for
non-action reminds one of the answer received by the Arkansas
traveler when he interrogated the cabin owner as to why he didn’t
roof it. Getaway has a conveniently located grove of its own
making, and it is fenced in and seated, so that let whatever kind
of meeting come that will - political, quarterly, picnic or what
not- Getaway opens the gate to her park and says "Come, for all
things are now ready." Your correspondent called on the model
fruit grower of this county, Nelson Cox, who lives three miles
back from the village. Here is an orchard of 130 acres, with more
Rome Beauties than all other kinds combined; and yet Mr. Cox says
that he does not think that there will be a bushel of Beauties in
the orchard. Among all his peach trees he said that three peaches
had been gathered. Here Mrs. Cox interposed to say that he (Mr.
Cox) had gathered one himself, hence the crop consisted of four
peaches. Mr. Cox is pleasantly situated back on the hill there,
and has his farm under cultivation, so that he may gather some
other crop when his orchard fails. As your correspondent crossed
the ridge between Ice creek and Leatherwood, he was reminded of
the fact that there is a road badly needed to connect the Getaway
pike with the Marion pike. As he drove up the branch towards the
Williams settlement, where the road crosses the ridge, he was
accosted by one who remarked that when a man drove along that
road, generally he was leading, looking back all the while,
presumably saying to himself, "This is my last trip through this
way." John Williams remarked to your correspondent that he didn’t
suppose one could get up the main road across the ridge with a
horse even. There ought to be a road built connecting the two
roads mentioned above. Let it extend from the mouth of the branch,
where Manuel Brammer lives, up by John Brammer’s and across the
ridge through John Williams’ and Jas. Lambert’s farms, and down
Rockcamp branch to Rockcamp. It would be a better route to Ironton
from this place than the one (___________sentence
missing_________) a way for those living on both sides of that
ridge to get out either way to market or to mill. The way the
roads are now is sufficient "to ostracize" some in that section.
Your correspondent was told of one man living in there who has
probably not been more than two miles from his home for the last
ten years. The informer didn’t say that the roads were what kept
him at home.
STANTON.
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