In our previous post, #5, the Drums finally arrived in
the Drums Valley, probably sometime during the 1790’s. The earliest date of
their presence in the valley that has so far been documented is May 8,
1804. However, the family most likely
arrived in the valley between 1792 and 1797. We will return to this discussion
in a later post to investigate this more.
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| Homes in Drums, PA. Just as pretty as a picture. |
The little group of settlers, mostly German, that gathered in the beautiful valley through the 1780’s and 1790’s, worked hard to make themselves into a community.
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| The traffic lights at the intersection of Hunter Highway and West Butler Road. There are more at the intersection of Hunter Highway and St. Johns Road a bit further north and again at the entrance to the Can-Do Corporate Center just south of I80. |
To look at the community today with
electricity, energy-efficient houses, cell towers, interstates, and even not
one, but THREE, sets of traffic lights along Route 309/Hunter Highway, it is hard to
believe the first structure built in the valley consisted of poles leaning
against a tree and covered with brush and leaves; built in 1784 by John Balliet[1].
It is a most beautiful valley. From the overlook at Penn
State University’s Hazleton Campus, on the crest of Butler Mountain[2] just
east of the Conyngham Gap, a visitor can view the valley below. From this
vantage point, Sugarloaf Mountain can be easily seen standing guard over the
valley of fields and woodlots, rivers and streams, all spread out across the
valley floor like a great quilt on a feather bed; separated by a few roads that
connect comfortable-looking homes, churches, and businesses with each other.
Your eye wanders across the peaceful and picturesque scene until it reaches the
Nescopeck Mountain, the edge that forms the northern horizon. It is a most
impressive site.
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| The view from the Penn State Hazleton Campus overlook. Sugarloaf Mountain is on the left and Drumyngham is somewhere behind those trees on the right. |
But don’t take my word for it, here is how Rev. Harry F. J.
Uberroth, pastor of the St. John’s German Reformed Church, 1922-1935, described
the valley in 1924[3] (the
year Harry Drum(Elmer ,Nathan A., John, Philip, George, Jacob, Philip) celebrated his first birthday anniversary).
In traveling north from the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, a few
miles, one comes to the summit of Buck Mountain, 1,802 feet above the ocean,
the grandeur and sublimity of the far famed (sic) Butler Valley being at your
feet. You stand in mute silence before the awe-inspiring scene. Here, indeed,
is a grand temple not reared with hands, too sacred a place to be profaned by
the course and vulgar…. To the north of the crest, Nescopeck Mountain can be
seen for a distance of thirty miles; to the west rises majestically the cone
shaped Sugarloaf, like a “grim sentinel keeping watch o’er the valley.” Through
the valley, the Big and Little Nescopeck streams meander peacefully from the
east to the west. Here, truly, the powers of God expended themselves in a
diversified and picturesque scenery; in dazzling scintillations of color, in
the fresco of the sky, in the golden fruitage of vineyards, orchards and
rolling fields, and sometimes in the full orchestra of the tempest in which
branches flutter, winds trumpet, thunders drum and all the historic splendors
of earth and sky clash their cymbals.[4]
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| The valley as seen from Conyngham Gap looking Northeasterly. The two green lines mark where I-81 can be seen and the red arrow points to the approximate location of Drumyngham. Sugarloaf Mountain is off the picture to the left. Pulpit Rock (see below) is off the picture to the right. This photo was taken around noon on July 4, 2018. |
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| This is a postcard from the 1970's that shows the valley as seen from Pulpit Rock on the Eastern end of the valley. I've labeled points of interest. At least I think I have these points marked correctly. |
Again, according to various researchers, these six
families were shortly followed by Philip Woodring, Henry Davis, Andrew Mowery,
and George Drum. [8],[9]
Another check of the 1790 census shows that of these four, only Henry Davis and
Andrew Mowre (note spelling) are listed. In addition to the above, other
reported early settlers included Benner, Beisel, Hunt, and Raup. [10] Of
these only Henry Hunt is listed in the 1790 census although two Reip’s (Jacob
and Leonard) do appear.
Even John Balliet is missing in the 1790 census, yet
it is almost certain he was in the valley since 1784. Three names that are
familiar names in the valley that do appear in the 1790 census but are not
noted by these sources are John Shafer (another name that often gets tortured
by spelling variations/inaccuracies/inconsistences), Valentine Santee (an
ancestor of Elmer’s wife Ella), and Bastian Sybert (possibly a member of the
family for which the Sugarloaf Township village of Sybertsville was named),
although this is not a conformation that these individuals were living in the
valley at the time of the census since the list covers all of Luzerne County.
As each year passed more and more families arrived, some
locating in areas that came to be known as Conyngham, Sybertsville, and Rock
Glen while others cut their farms out of the parts of the valley later to be
called Fritzingertown, St. Johns, Honey Hole, Kis-Lyn and Drums. They lived off the land, traded and shared
with each other, and bartered with the Indians.
John Balliet’s son, Stephen, remembered that, as a boy of
10, they would travel many miles to take their corn to the mill - Sultz’s Mill
on Lizard Creek. Lizard Creek is approximately a mile southwest of present-day
Lehighton, approximately 30-40 miles southeast of Drums.
By Ox
Cart, it would take at least ten hours going one-way. The farmers would go down one day, have the
corn milled overnight, and then head back home the following day! A story often
told by the Valley settlers, probably with a wink, had it that the
trip was so long, and then the wait at the mill being long as well, and
stomachs being what they are, most of the corn was eaten before it ever got to
be milled forcing the farmer to return home for another load![11]
By Ox
Cart, it would take at least ten hours going one-way. The farmers would go down one day, have the
corn milled overnight, and then head back home the following day! A story often
told by the Valley settlers, probably with a wink, had it that the
trip was so long, and then the wait at the mill being long as well, and
stomachs being what they are, most of the corn was eaten before it ever got to
be milled forcing the farmer to return home for another load![11]
Balliet quickly replaced his lean-to with a log cabin –
required to make it through the winter! His first cabin was probably a “Round-Log”
or “Pole” cabin covered with bark. If so, it had a door but no windows, a stick
and mud chimney set on a bare, earthen floor, perhaps with a dried animal skin
laid down here and there to cover the ground. Furniture, beds and tables, was
built right into the walls. A bed was made by driving a leg into the earthen
floor. A hole drilled into the wall received a pole that was attached to this
leg. Another pole was set into another hole in the second wall and was also
attached to the leg. This formed a rectangle through which raw-hind straps were
stretched from the poles to the walls. Bedding was then laid on these straps,
probably consisting of animal skins as well.[12]
In 1786, Balliet’s cabin and all its contents was lost to
a fire. John rebuilt, of course. Whether it was this building or the next,
Balliet is credited with building the first frame house in the valley.[13] As
the 1780’s moved into the 1790’s, necessities began to be put in place. One
account says Samuel Woodring built a primitive saw and grist mill on the Little
Nescopeck Creek in 1788. It was described as being very small and had
“home-made” mill stones. Evan Owens built the “Owens Road” (closely followed
present day Route 93) from Berwick to Mauch Chunk, known today as Jim Thorpe,
in 1786. [14]
In 1792, some of the German settlers organized the German
Reformed congregation and in 1799, the day after Christmas, their fellow
settlers organized the Lutheran congregation. Eventually these two
congregations would each establish their own churches, today’s St. John’s
United Church of Christ and St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church respectively.[15]
What is so clear to us now was even MORE clear, all TOO
clear, to the families of the valley right from the start. They needed each
other to survive. In today’s world, we can live across the street from someone
and never know their name! We may even only notice them when they come or go;
and they us. We can even live in the same APARTMENT BUILDING and not know the
person’s name living in the apartment above us or right next door! However, for
the people of the Drums Valley, in the days before Cell Phones, 911, and
Emergency Rooms; the Emergency Room was someone’s parlor, a shout was the Cell
Phone, and 911 was a bell or just a plume of smoke or an orange glow on the
horizon!
When injuries occurred, or illness struck, one counted on
the neighbors to help get them through, care for the children, feed and water
the stock. That orange glow in the sky at night caused all who could see it to
rush toward it, knowing it was a house or a barn on fire. Someone needed help.
And when the fire was out, everyone helped everyone
rebuild. When a couple got married, everyone helped everyone celebrate. When a
loved-one died, everyone helped everyone mourn. Everyone helped everyone
because everyone knew everyone! Instead of a community, it was more like an
extended family. That sense of “family” built trust and that notion of trust
created fellowship; strongly felt and continuing long after the original
settlers had passed away. It continued throughout most of the Valley’s history
with a few of the longer-time residents feeling it yet today.
An example of this emerged during a situation that arose
in 2000 between members of my family and our neighbors, Clyde and Jo Ann Young.
A question of property boundaries came up and the conventional wisdom at the
time was that a written agreement was required to settle the matter. Somehow, I
was designated as the one to present the question to Clyde.
 |
| Ransom Young, Sr. |
Ransom, Sr., or as he liked to be called, “Grandfather
Young”, celebrated his 100th birthday anniversary on November 8,
1910. As a way of saying thank you “to all my friends who have so kindly
remembered me…with their presence, a nice gift, or a card…” he dictated a
letter of thanks that appeared in the November 17th edition of the
valley’s newspaper of the time, the Valley Vigilant.
 |
| This masthead is actually from the May 23, 1913 edition. |
So, a date was set for my meeting with Clyde and Jo Ann
and, at the appointed hour, my wife, along for moral support, and I arrived at
the Young’s home. Jo Ann opened the door and there on the coach sat one of the
pillars of Drums, larger than life. Although close to ninety, there was nothing
wrong with Clyde’s active mind. I explained the issues and concerns. Then I
explained the conventional wisdom and offered over a written agreement for
signature.
Clyde never touched it.
He folded his arms over his chest. His eyes narrowed. His
jaw set. After a huge, long sigh, Clyde said, “How I wish your father was still
alive,” to which Jo Ann interjected, “Oh, Father, I’m sure he does too!”
“I do, Sir, so do I,” I managed to get out.
“Your father and I had been neighbors since 1953,” Clyde
continued. “We never needed any written agreements. If I had a question, your
father and I discussed it. If he had a question, your father and I discussed
it. When we understood each other, you know how we signed “the agreement”? We
shook hands. He’d shake my hand. I’d shake his hand.” Then he grew silent and
stayed that way for a very long time.
No one said a word.
Finally, he broke the silence by saying, “A hand shake
was good enough for your father, it should be good enough for you.”
It was the perfect summary of how the Valley, the
Community called “Drums” worked, probably from the start. Being a citizen of
Drums meant you were a member of the family. One doesn’t make written
agreements with family. One discusses the matter and comes to an understanding.
One trusts family.
I left with my tail between my legs. The man was right.
In a follow-up letter, I said that I felt and understood Clyde’s pain that I’d
caused; the insult that I’d given. Counter to the evening’s discussion, I said,
I had “great faith” in what Clyde had to say and “always believed him to be an
honest man.” A few days later I received a letter from them. He had signed the
agreement but by then, it sure wasn’t necessary or needed any longer! We had,
after all, shaken hands!
In 2015, I found myself living in Maine. Worried about
Drumyngham, I asked Ransom if he could check up on it upon occasion. I even
offered to pay for the service. It was then that I suddenly felt like I was
right back in that living room talking with Clyde! Ransom exclaimed, “No need
for THAT! This is what neighbors are for! This is what neighbors DO! They look
out for each other!” I began to wonder
how often I’d have to learn the same lesson.
And BTW, the extended family still continues to this day.
On February 7, 2018, it snowed a lot. So out I went to shovel out my 120-foot
driveway. As I came within about 15 feet of the road, I heard the distinct
sound of a large machine approaching. Looking up, who was smiling back at me
but Ransom Young in his front loader, coming to plow out my driveway! If I’d
only known...
Return to the Drums of Drums, PA on September 10,
2018 for the 7th post, Village Remedies.
[1] Bradsby,
H.C., ed, History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: S.B. Nelson
& Co., 1893). Chapter XXI (continued): Butler Township. http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/luzerne/1893hist/
accessed 6/7/2016
[2] Butler
Mountain is also known as Buck Mountain. I think it should be called Drums
Mountain, but I am prejudiced.
[3] Actually,
Uberroth probably, unless he wrote it for Rev. Stoyer, plagiarized this passage from a document written by his
predecessor, Rev. William D. Stoyer, the church’s pastor from 1911-1921. The
passage is almost word for word the same as one that appears in Historical
Souvenir of St. John’s Reformed Church, St. Johns Pa. 1917 written by W.D.
Stoyer and published by the church in 1917.
[4]
Uberroth, Rev. Harry F. J., “Saint John’s Church, Saint Johns, Penna.” Reformed
Church History of Hazleton and Vicinity (Hazleton, PA: Reformed Pastoral
Association; July, 1924) p. 7.
[5] The
Lions Club lists the names each with an “s” (Benners, Shobers, etc) probably
referring to the families and not part of the sir name, itself
[6] Two
Hundred Years of Progress: Butler Township, 1784-1984 (Drums, PA: The Drums
Lions Club, May 1984) p 6
[7] Bradsby,
Chapter XXI (continued): Butler Township
[8] Two
Hundred Years of Progress
[9] Bradsby,
Chapter XXI (continued): Butler Township
[10] Drum,
Nora, Miss; Mrs. R. S. Small, and Mrs. Millard Shelhamer, Drums Methodist
Church and Valley Notes (Drums, PA: St. Paul’s Methodist Church, 1953)
[11] Bradsby,
Chapter XXI (continued): Butler Township
[12]
Bradsby, Chapter III: Habits and Customs
[13] Bradsby, Chapter XXI (continued): Butler Township
[14] Bradsby,
Chapter XXI (continued): Butler Township
[15] 200th
Anniversary: 1792-1992 (St. Johns, PA: St. Johns United Church of Christ,
1992)
[16] Drum,
Nora
[17] According
to the booklet Drums Methodist Church and Valley Notes, Rev. F. H.
Brunstetter was the pastor of St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Drums from
1904-1911.
[18]
“Ransom Young’s Letter: Centenarian of Butler Township Dictates Letter of
Thanks”, Valley Vigilant, November 17, 1910
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