The Oregon daily journal., December 20, 1908, Page 35, Image 35

r the I Oregon ; sunda ' journal! Portland ' Sunday - horning, ' December " 20, " 190s'
v
s'y
LOOKING back at the event, after all these years,
one Is forced to the conclusion that the tree
was an everyday evergreen. Not overly large,
or It could not have been taken through the
front doors of the church. The church still 'stands,
and the double doorway is there diminished,
shrunken, attenuated. Where is the wide and lofty
portal of long ago? It has shriveled even as the town
of Antloch has shriveled. And yet the Business Men's
Improvement Association Insists that the town haa
grown at an amazing clip, and points to the new
bub and spoke factory as backing up the claim.
When the tree was brought In Antioch was geo
graphical center of the universe. The sun rose out
of Wilderzen's cornfield and set about a mile beyond
Hutton's hay press. The first faint rumblings of
Christmas joy were heard almost as soon as, the com
munity had recovered from the gorge practiced under
the name of Thanksgiving. To arouse a preliminary
excitement the druggists began to exhibit in their
windows silver-bound combs and brushes. New stock,
supposedly, but we remembered some of the old fa
vorites of the year before beautiful, but too expen
sive for Antloch, even at the most reckless season.
Another early symptom was the Inflammatory de
velopment of religious .'sentiment among the very
young. On the first Sunday In December the Infant
class had spread beyond the usual limit of four long
benches, and filled i not less than six. The other
classes, except Brother Sharpley's mature Bible class,
.over In the corner, showed tho same growth of In
terest in lessons to 1e , derived from the Scriptures.
Carrie Purvis, who was secretary, read In her report,
that the attendanco had increased In two weeks from
110 to 135. The McCabe children, four In number, had
been reclaimed after many 'months of absence, and
were on hand, scrubbed to a soapy pallor and stran
gled with ribbons. No less than a dozen boys from
the sawmni settlement (borderland of civilization)
had enrolled themselves, and were simulating ah In
terest in the Red Sea episode. Instead of hunting
rabbits both morning and afternoon, they were doing
all their hunting in the morning, and in the after
noon were ranged along the front row of Miss Gun
ning's class, the first one north of the stove.
James Buzwell was superintendent of the Sunday
school and had been for many years. Before each
annual election of officers he declared himself not
a candidate. After being waited upon by a repre
sentative committee and told that he and he alone
could manage the school, he reconsidered and prom
ised to serve for just one more term. Mr. Buzwell
was a product of Antloch. The supreme test of worth
Is to attain eminence in a town where one was known
as a boy. James Buzwell had done this. When he
was but 18 years of age he had a full growth of
beard and was bookkeeper in Dalton's general store.
When he was 22 the nomination for town clerk came
to him, unsought. It was James Buzwell who, at
funerals, walked ahead of the pall-bearers and or
dered up the livery rigs for the mourners. By the
process of natural selection he became secretary
of every Republican convention held in the township
of Antloch. About this time every man of pious dla?
fiosltlon who wore whiskers was an ardent Repub
ic&n. '
Mrs. Buzwell had been a Humphrey. The Hum
phrey tribe went West Just in time to meet the grass
hoppers In Kansas, but Mrs. Buswell remained to
teach a class of girls In the Sunday school.' Some
people used to hint around that ethe BuzWells had
altogether too much "say" in the running of the
Sunday school. ' 1 '
It was It must have been the first Sunday is
December. After the infant class had trooped back
from the Jj In which the prayer meetings were held
on (Wednesday evenfngs and the assemblage had sung
"Shall We Gather at the RlverT" Mr; Buswell. mov
ing over the ingrain Carpet with a catlike tread, came r
t the front - of the platform and beamed upon the
it-- , nack was made of a. wiry mosaulto bar or netting lly ar
"As. if. court injunctions could have kept him
away from Main 6treetl"
restless company. He carried a lesson leaf, which he
continued to roll and unroll as he spoke.
"Can any of you llttul boys or girls tell me what
day Is coming soon?" he asked. "No, don't say It yet;
Just hold up your hands."
Immediately the air seemed to coagulate with
wriggling fingers. Superintendent Buzwell smiled be
nignly. "Now Uien, what is the day?"
Grand chorus: "Chnsmuss:"
"That's right, "children; Christmas is coming, and
that will do." (This to the eight or ten who still
had their hands up.) "Christmas is coming, and in
accordance with our usual custom we are to have a
Christmas tree." (Profound sensation, as if all of them
had not known! A growing murmur of excitement,
and sawmill boys arising only to be pulled back into
their places.) "Ys, we are going to have a tree,
and mebbe old Santy will be with us. if sleighing
is good." (General laughter, affecting even the Bible
class. Smothered 'Comments of a skeptical nature
from the older boys.) "We have held a teachers'
meeting and appointed committees to look after the
work. I want to say that Squire Sharpley has prom
ised us a tree. That's right. Squire, ain't it?"
Squire Sharpley (rising): "You can have the big
gest tree on the place."
During the spasm of laughter which greeted this
speech the Squire settled back into his corner nest,
feeling that he had missed It in not being a platform
-entertainer.
Superintendent Buzwell: "I will now call on the
secretary to read the committees."
Carrie Purvis, in a voice quavering with emotion,
read a&j follows:
Committee to Get the Tree Ezra Bliss.
Committee on Putting the Tree in Place Sher
man Williams, Gil Thornton.
Committee on Decorating Tree Mrs. James Bus
well, Mrs. Arthur Bowlds, Carrie Purvis, Clara and
Minnie Hutton. Schuyler Colfax Buckley and Clement
Hawkins.
Committee on Putting Presents on the Tree
Oliver Dodson. Chad Graves, Joseph Heffenberger,
Maude Williamson and Mrs.- Ephraim Chisolm.
Committee on Program Superintendent Buzwell,
Mrs. B. P. Buckley, Mrs. Ella Wilson, Serepta Nebeker
and Elmer Crane.
Committee on Distributing Presents Captain G.
W. Halsey, Wilson Batchelder, Frank Bowlds, Juanlta
Slmison and Emma Thornton.
Executive Committee Superintendent Buzwell,
Gideon Welborn, Captain G. W. Halsey and the Rev.
ErneBt Riddle.
Every ' year these ponderous committees were
named, and yet their publication deceived no one, for
it was known that Ezra Bliss would get the tree and
put it where it belonged, while the Buzwells would
absolutely . boss all the subsequent ceremonies.
Of course, no one but "Cap" Halsey could call
off the presents. He had a deep cavalry voice with
a sandpaper rasp In It the' kind of a voice, every
boy Imagined, that General Phil Sheridan brought
With him on the day that he rode down from Win
chester, twenty miles away. "Cap" Halsey had been
in the Legislature; also in the army a lieutenant
Soon after the suspension of hostilities he was made
a captain by general consent. Although he never
went. to Sunday school, and was, in fact, a worldly
man, being an auctioneer of wide repute snd pro
fane accomplishments, he was- so public-spirited and
vocally impressive that the public overlooked his
shining faults. For Instance, usually he returned ')
from a soldiers' reunion with, his sword banging
from the small of his back. 1
I It . was .likewise known, weeks in advance, that
Ezra Bliss would bring in the tree.
At least ten days before Christmas the1 commit
tee on decorating the tree met at Mrs.' Buzwell's to
string popcorn and make the' candy, aaakj, Each
nack was made of a wiry mosquito bar or netting
fashioned rudely Into the shape of a stocking and
when ready to be put on the tree contained some
four ounces of mixed canay of the most deadly colors.
Each child who had been enrolled for three weeks
"Found him oiling a set of harness."
preceding Christmas was entitled to one sack of this
llowery sweetness and one medium-sized orange. The
popcorn strung on the threads was meant to be merely
decorative, although It was told, one year, that the
saw-mill boys had pulled down about a hundred yards
of It and eaten It, threads and all.
These preliminaries retatlng to candy sacks, pop
corn and cornucopias did not hold any burning In
terest for "us boys," because we were barred from
the semi-social doings at the Buzwell house. But when
Ei Bliss brought In the tree, that was when we be
gan active co-operation.
No doubt, every town of the Antloch description
has an Ezra Bliss. Ha was the luminous figure In
every undertaking of a quasi-public character that
called for physical exertion. Buzwell commanded
the realms of Intellect and spirituality, Bliss did the
heavy lifting, and asked for no reward except the
word of approval.
Four days before Christmas came a lazy snowfall
big, cottony flakes that blotted out the black road
ways and pine sidewalks and made the lane out to
Squire Sharpley's an unbroken trail of the very whit
est kind of white. When the snow came we knew
that Ezra would get' out his sled. It really is a good
deal more Christmas-like to have the tree brought
In by sled. Ezra had a long-walsted "Jumper" that
he had made all by himself, using two saplings for
the runners. On winter evenings he would take the
young people over to Marvin Junction for an oyster
upper, and keep them out until nearly midnight.
No one ever heard of his charging for this service.
That was the trouble with Ezra. He had no business
gumption, usy the year round could turn his hand
to anything and never appeared to be extravagant
and yet it was common talk that even his team
of bay horses was mortgaged to old man Rand of the
State Bank. They couldn't have a barn-raising, hog
killing or sheep-shearing within Ave miles of town
unless Ezra Bliss was there to superintend and
brighten the occasion with rays of expert knowl
edge. He was a famous hand at locating "veins"
of water, far underground, by means of a forked
twig of hazel. Did it for the mere fun of the thing
and to prove that he knew how. He could feed a
threshing machine, do rough carpentering, paint a
little, was considered an excellent nurse, and they
always sent for him to sit up with the dead.
Clearly there was but one man In Antloch qual
ified to biting In the tree, and that man was Ezra
Bliss.
It being reported that he would go after the tree
' "'Can any of you littul boys or girls
on Tuesday morning, a few of us strolled up the alley
toward his "barn" on Monday afternoon, and found
him oiling a set of harness.
"Are you going after the tree tomorrow, Mr.
Bliss?" asked Grant Williams.
The "Mr. Bliss" was an unusual honor, but he
knew what ulterior motive prompted this politeness.
"May and then agin may not," he replied, with
out looking up from his work.
"We're goln' with you," said Philip Sheridan Bil
lings, timidly. It was more of a feeler than an out-and-out
confident declaration.
"Mebbe Squire Sharpley don't want a pack of boys
tearln' around his place." said Ezra, as he poured
ome of the black oil into the bowl of his hand.
"Aw, he don't care." said every one of us.
"Well. I'll Jes think it over."
And all the time he knew what his reward would
be the triumph of coming down Main street with
the boys yelping behind his "Jumper."
The winters we have nowadays do not bring morn
ings such as that on which Ezra and the boys started
out to Squire Sharpley's place. After the snowfall
came a crystal and freezing sunshine. Every hedge
and bush lay sagged and sldewlse under a lumpy
hood. The town seemed deathly quiet,, with a shroud
tucked in about it, and all the wood smoke stood
straight up from the chimneys in gray columns.
Ezra had filled the wagon bed with straw. One
condition he imposed when the alley scouts caught
him in the act of harnessing Frank and Dolly. He
said the boys would have to help him hitch up. "Don't
know as you can ride back." he said, not hoping to
discourage them, but merely testing their zeal for
the enterprise. "It's li'ble to be a big tree."
As if anything could change our purpose. In we
tumbled, kicking up the straw. Ezra squatted
.;vu-i'T
gainst the dashboard, . and simulated a calm Indlf- '
ference to the glorious excitement of the expedition.
He nodded calmly to the men on Walton's corner,
while the boys cheered. Apparently he did not take .
cognizance of the fact that many Doys dashed madly
from side streets and "hooked on." so that When he
passed the flouring mill at. least a dozen were hyster
ically "wallerlng" In the straw. And all twelve of ,
them assisted In opening the red gate that led to the
avenue of maples that led to the white house where
Squire Sharpley lived.
The Squire came out of the back door the front door
had not been opened for years and was leaning
over the fence when Ezra brought his puffing horses
to a halt alongside of the pump. .
"All of them your boys, Ezra?"
"No, I've Just took 'em to raise. Got anything for
'em to do?"
"I reckon I could set 'em to cuttln' chop feed.
S'pose you're after that tree?"
"Like as not."
"Well, I'll show you."
The Sharpley place was one of the oldest in the
township. When the squire settled there In the JO'sj
he put out four acres of evergreens, which had grown
into a high, matted Jungle, above the furry tops of
which two gable windows looked toward Antloch. The
Sharpley place, protected by these gloomy depths,
was an unexplored region to most of the boys. They
were willing to go there in the daytime with Ezra
Bliss, but at night they went past It on a dog-trot.
Ezra found an axe In the woodshed, and then, fol
lowed by the Squire, he brushed In among the Inter
locking trees. The boys trailed Indian fashion, giv
ing loud advice, which was ignored with a majesty
that only Ezra Bliss could assume. We voted for a
tree that was almost as tall as the courthouse, and
openly spoke our disapproval when Ezra and the
Squire selected one hardly fourteen feet high. But It
tell mo what day is coming soon!"
was symmetrical, with stout branches, and the Squire
assured us that it would be more "sizable" when aet
up in the "poolpit."
Ezra knelt down under the tree and hacked at the
gummy trunk. At last the snowy plume wavered and
then came toward us. We scattered, but there was n
danger. The tree settled into the ' close embrace of
other green branches, and then we attacked It and
lugged It forth and put it on the sled.
Clinging to the bed and whooping In the excess of
undefined but uncontrollable Joy, we went gliding
back to Antloch. r .
"Are you goln' up Main street, Ezra?"
In the growing hilarity the formality .of "Mister
was now neglected. '
"No, I guess not. It's a shorter cut down past
the schoolhouse. Besides, I've got to put on a racic -before
noon, so's I can get an early start to Denny's
for a load of wood."
Unanimous appeal: "Aw, Ez, go up Main street.'
As if all the court injunctions in Jefferson county '
could have kept him away from Main street! ;
How the bells Jingled, and didn't the people come
running from the stores; And maybe us boys," half
frozen, but still hanging on. didn't shriek all the way
from the elevator to the millinery store! And Ezra
Bliss trying to let on to be grimly unconscious of his
greatness!
At the real festivities we were crowded Into the
background, but none could rob us of the annual
glory of bringing In the tree. -
V